I was in junior high before I began to understand what my mom
does for a living. During my grammar school years, she would drop
me off at San Ysidro School in the morning and pick me up at the
sitter’s house after school. I didn’t think too much about what she
did in between those two times of the day.
I was in junior high before I began to understand what my mom does for a living. During my grammar school years, she would drop me off at San Ysidro School in the morning and pick me up at the sitter’s house after school. I didn’t think too much about what she did in between those two times of the day.
In junior high, however, my schedule changed. After school, I would walk 10 blocks or so from South Valley to El Roble, where my mom taught fourth grade. There, I’d see her tutoring kids after school, shaping up lesson plans for the next day and organizing the entire classroom. She always wanted creative bulletin boards, bursting with colors and kids’ work, and so my sister and I would spend hours helping her staple up the latest art project or writing assignment.
Before open house, she would be in a frenzy, making sure parents got to see the full scope of what their children had been learning. She’d put on something a little fancier than everyday, high heels and a little Chanel No. 5 and race off to open house. My dad would get us dressed up and take us to her classroom a little later, so we could all see what she had been up to. Then, as now, I scrutinized people. I remember watching her talk to all of the parents and thinking that she was so beautiful and so smart.
That was more than 20 years ago. This Friday “Mrs. Midtgaard” will retire from her job as a teacher and principal after more than 32 years in her profession, most of them in the Gilroy Unified School District. Her teaching and principal positions have taken her through El Roble, Jordan, Brownell, San Ysidro, Eliot, Rucker and Del Buono elementary schools.
Someone asked me at her retirement party how I felt about her being “foot loose and fancy free.” It came to me in an instant: I won’t know where to find her.
All these years, if I needed my mom, I knew where to go: the playground at lunchtime. As a principal, it was her busiest time of the day, but the time she loved the most: coaching a softball tournament, showing a new player how to hold the bat, teaching girls double-Dutch with the jump rope or replacing a flattened tetherball. I think the playground reminded her why she was spending countless hours coaching teachers, picking the right books, setting standards and sitting in meetings.
Watching her with her students, I know why she chose this profession. She loves learning, reading, playing, prodding, creating, growing, becoming, succeeding. And during these 32 years, she made that happen for a lot of people. Including me.
•An old favorite: Lots of people who have worked with Mrs. Midtgaard will recognize this recipe. I know she baked it for more than a few school staffs. It’s moist, so it’s perfect as a snack or topped with a dollop of whipped cream for dessert.
Mrs. Midtgaard’s Apple Cake
4 cups apples
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 eggs
1/4 cup marsala wine
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Dash salt
1 cup nuts
3/4 cup oil
Soak apples and sugar overnight. Mix with all other ingredients. Grease a rectangular cake pan and fill with batter. Bake at 350 degrees for half an hour.
•These two recipes are from Lana Ailes in the Luigi Aprea cookbook. Other
versions of this soup take a long time to make, but this one is quick and easy. This is a hearty soup, best served with a light salad and some crusty French bread.
Pasta e Fagioli Soup
3 slices bacon, diced
1 large thin-skinned potato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large carrots, diced
1 medium red onion
2 tsp. garlic, minced
2 (16 oz.) cans red and/or white kidney beans
2 (16 oz.) cans chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
8 oz. dried ditalini or elbow or small shell pasta
1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes, drained and chopped
Freshly ground pepper
Cook bacon in a 4-quart pot over medium high heat, about 4 minutes or until crisp. Add potato, carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 4 minutes, until onion is translucent.
Meanwhile, mash 3/4 cup of the beans and add to the pot with the remaining beans, broth, water, pasta and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is firm-tender. Season with pepper and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
•Cheese biscuits: These cheesy biscuits go with just about any dinner and are also delicious just by themselves. My girls especially like the garlic butter on top. Here’s another idea: use this recipe as a topping to a chicken pot pie to add a little flavor to the crust.
Garlic Cheese Biscuits
2 cups Bisquick baking mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 to 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. garlic flakes or 2 cloves garlic, pressed
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together baking mix, milk, cheese and half of the garlic to form a soft dough. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix butter and remaining garlic together. Brush over warm biscuits before removing from baking sheet. Serve warm. Makes 10 to 12 biscuits.
•Mandarin salad: This salad claims little fat but lots of flavor. Don’t skimp on the Mandarins. They’re really very good, especially with these sugar-coated almonds.
Almost No Fat Spinach Salad
Salad:
1/2 cup sliced almonds
3 T. sugar
1 bunch spinach, torn
1 cup celery, chopped
2 whole green onions, chopped
1 can Mandarin oranges
Stir almonds and sugar in saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and coats the almonds. Toss spinach, celery and green onions.
Dressing:
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
1/4 cup Karo syrup
1 T. parsley
2 T. vinegar
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Mix together ingredients for dressing. Just before serving, add almonds and oranges to salad. Toss with dressing.
Tip of the Week:
Allen Hayes sent in this tip that he picked up from a grilling cookbook: After making hamburger patties, make a 1-inch diameter indentation in the center of the patty. This will prevent the patty from swelling up in the center.
Notes from Jenny’s Kitchen
• Telemarketers stealing your time? Shoo them away. Write to: Telephone Preference Service, c/o Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014. Provide your area code and telephone number and say, “Place me on your Do Not Call List.” You can also provide your address and ask to be taken off junk mail lists. Be sure to sign and date your letter. They’ll keep your information on file for five years, after which you can send another request.
• I found a great monthly organizing newsletter by Maria Gracia, the author of “Finally Organized, Finally Free.” Her e-mail newsletter suggests monthly organizing goals for home, work and personal life. For instance, in January, she suggested consolidating all plastic containers in your kitchen. In February, clean out the bathroom medicine cabinet. You can take a look at her website at www.getorganizednow.com; for the monthly list of ideas, click on “Monthly Organizing Checklist.”
End notes: “The great use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”
~ William James
Happy cooking!
