Honor Our Veterans

Veteran's Day is coming up next Wednesday, November 11th.

Around our house every day is Veteran's Day. My husband is a vet who was badly wounded in Vietnam in 1969 at age 19.

We met in 1989 when he came into my showroom and asked me to help him redesign his kitchen. He was walking on his prosthetic legs at the time. Dumb me! I had no idea he was a double amputee until I arrived at his door to measure his kitchen.

Needless to say, I was momentarily taken aback. That was my first experience working with a disabled client and, in those days, our education and training didn't encompass working with the disabled.

He showed me his kitchen and we talked for several hours about the possibilities. He had already removed a wall that once divided the kitchen from the dining room. He related how he had once spilled a pot of boiling spaghetti on his lap in an effort to move the pot from his stove to the sink. I was horrified because kitchen safety is one thing I strongly advocate.

I told him that the $25,000 that he had saved for his project, while perfectly adequate for a "normal" kitchen remodel, wouldn't be nearly enough for the customizations that he would need to make his kitchen safe for use in a wheelchair. We parted with him disappointed and me disturbed.

The next morning, as I prepared for work, I couldn't get him out of my mind...And then a brainstorm! At the time I was on the Board of NARI (the National Association of the Remodeling Industry) San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. We had just started the chapter and were looking for ways to publicize the organization. We could remodel his kitchen as a community service project!

There was a Board meeting a few days later. I broached the idea and the rest of the Board thought it was wonderful. Right then and there we passed a resolution to remodel George's kitchen and get all the materials donated to make his cost as close to nothing as possible.

Excited, I called George with my news. His response: "No way. I'm not a charity case!" It took me three months to convince him. He finally capitulated when I told him if he didn't participate I would find somebody else who would!

I set to work to get together donors and volunteers. Everything was delivered to the site and we commenced with tearout on October 16th 1989. By the end of the day George's kitchen was down to the bare studs.

The following day, at 5:04 p.m., the Loma Prieta earthquake struck the Bay Area. Suddenly all of the contractor volunteers, who had been scratching for work before the quake, were overwhelmed with work. Many came from the East Bay, and the Bay Bridge was down. The project that I had so carefully planned to take three weeks stretched to three months of interminable nagging on my part, and complaining on George's part, before it was finally complete.

At long last, George had his wheelchair accessible kitchen. My task was complete. Needless to say we didn't stop the relationship we had forged over the 8-9 months from that fateful night when I stood on his front porch for the first time. Instead allowing it to bloom into a 20 year relationship and marriage that has endured the tests of time.





















Hopefully my story will inspire others to assist our veterans, especially the disabled ones, to live fully realized lives. In this spirit, I continue to offer free design services to disabled veterans. So, if you are a disabled vet reading this, and you need my design services. Please email me. I am happy to oblige, on this Veteran's day, or any day.

If you want to help a vet, a good place to start is with Wounded Warrior Project. Or volunteer at a VA hospital near your community. In the Bay Area we have the San Francisco VA Medical Center, and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, also a smaller division in Menlo Park, and another in Livermore.

Peggy

Rethinking Cranberries

My mom had a run-in with cranberry sauce early in her immigrant life.

It was 1963. The administration at St. Alexis Hospital had invited all the foreign residents to spend Thanksgiving with a host family. At the time, my parents socialized with immigrants from India, Mexico, and South America. Eager to broaden her experiences, my mom convinced my father to accept the invitation. The staff provided my parents with the name and address of an American family living in Cleveland. And like Marco Polo, my parents set off to discover the mysteries of their new world.

I like to picture them stepping out of their black VW bug. My mom in a carefully pressed silk sari; her shoulder-length hair tucked into a plump bun. My father in a dark suit with the buttons discreetly fastened. When they reached the door, they were welcomed by a middle aged Caucasian couple, two children and a grandmotherly figure who all turned out to be gracious hosts. Other details about the family - their names, hair color, clothing - have faded with time. My mom memories of the meal, however, remain poignant.

Soon after they sat down to eat, the grandmother commented on my mom's slender build.

"You're too skinny. You need to eat more!"

The grandmother insisted that my mom be given an extra large helping of turkey. Before handing my mom her plate, the woman of the house asked whether she wanted cranberry sauce. The sauce reminded her of the savory pickle she ordered from ABC Trading Company (Canal Street, New York, New York along with cumin, cardamom, coriander and other pantry staples). She nodded politely. At last part of the inner circle, my mom happily swallowed a forkful of turkey smothered in the burgundy-colored sauce. It was tasteless compared to the spice-laden meat to which she was accustomed and the sauce was sweet! She found the pairing incomprehensible and still recalls how she had to fight the nausea that begun bubbling up her throat. To her horror, there was a huge chunk of cranberry turkey still resting on her plate.

The following year, my parents celebrated Thanksgiving with the Mennons who had also immigrated from Kerala. Mr. Mennon's employer had offered him a turkey and my mom had insisted that he accept it. She and Mrs. Mennon basted and roasted it under the wing of Good Housekeeping Cookbook (which still has a hallowed place in my mom's kitchen.)

The meal did not include cranberries.

I remember my mom serving canned cranberry sauce off and on at Thanksgiving. Perhaps she felt obligated to include it the longer she lived in the states. Everyone ignored it. After eatingKerala dishes day in and day out, we were wary to let sweet and savory flavors mingle. I have never bothered to include cranberries at the holiday meals I've hosted. But lately I begun itching to make room for the garnet colored fruit on the table. This year a cranberry walnut upside down cake from Gourmet will grace the table.

TIPS:

- I love the warm taste of cinnamon and add 1/2 teaspoon to the dry ingredients when preparing this cake.

- It's best to invert this cake directly onto the serving dish because it has a delicate crumb, despite its rustic appearance. If you plan to move it more than once, add a tiny layer of oil to the surface of the wire rack or dish before you lay it down.

Cinnamon Bread Pudding

I've some leftover cinnamon buns and I want to give it a twist to something else. Bread butter pudding is a very traditional English dessert that usually serve with a dollop of ice cream or custard.

I made this pudding for breakfast so we eat it without adding any toppings. The bread pudding is very tasty with the smell of cinnamon together with the raisin and walnut. I like the crusty texture on top and soft moisture texture at the bottom. It's simply the best!

How I made it:

Lightly grease an oven proof shallow dish and preheat the oven to 170C. Cut three cinnamon buns into chunky pieces and place on the dish. In a sauce pan, warm 150ml fresh milk and 150ml fresh cream (or you could use 99% fat free butter milk). Add 1 tablespoon of natural maple syrup or honey until well combine. In another bowl, lightly beat 1 egg and add in the warm mixture and whisk until well combine. Pour the mixture to the cinnamon buns and bake at 170C preheated oven for 20 minutes. Serve warm.