By james art 
From gardening raspberries as a child to the sharing of Dzhambalai in retirement, Sandy Hanson’s life reflects the taste filled with faith.
Food and faith have always been deeply intertwined, forming the rhythms of everyday life and family traditions. For Sandy Hanson, a cradle from Iu Claire, Wisconsin, the dinner table has always been more than a place to eat.
“My mother was a good cook, and cooking means family time,” she said. “She taught me to cook and if Mom had a meeting in the church, I had to cook for my brother when I got home from his work. Our food was based on meat and potatoes and vegetables. It was not an ethnic food because both my parents were raised on a farm, so cooking farms. “
Her parents’ families were from Wisconsin. Sandy’s great -grandmothers immigrated from the Netherlands with their priest and community, seeking freedom to practice their Catholicism.
“When I grew up,” said Sandy, “I had friends who were either Catholics or Lutheran. My father was a Catholic on the cradle, and my mother turned before they got married. We lived on a block from the church and I got a lot in Church activities.
Sandy visits the University of Wisconsin at YI Claire, where he studied geography and met with her husband, an instructor of geography. After graduation, they moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana as her husband pursued a doctoral degree. He became a professor of geography at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR). Sandy works with several public agencies and non -profit organizations.
“My last position was to work with the Faculty of the Ministry of Criminal Justice at UALR. I helped the faculty to go through some classes to the online and helped students learn to adapt to online classes, “she said.
“Online hours were especially useful for police officers, women with young children and employees in the criminal justice system who wanted to progress in their careers. They could meet the requirements for the class at a time that works with their schedules. “
After living in Little Rock for 45 years, Sandi Hanson and her husband Jerry moved to Virginia to retire. Now they live in Ashburn, Virginia, close to their two sons and their grandchildren and are members of St. Theresa. Sandy participates in Catholic activities in his 2000 retirement community and participates in the Scripture study, accepting participle in the home and praying for residents physically unable to attend the liturgy.
Food remains an important part of her life. Her cooking, based on the tradition of food economy in the Midwest, is also influenced by the cooking of Kajun and Creole of Louisiana and the southern influence of Arkansas.
Growing up, her favorite dish was ham. “It was a special dish for our Easter treat,” she said. “I was the oldest of seven children and my mother often helped me help in the kitchen. The least favorite of her recipes was the liver, “because it’s good for you.” I liked mom’s pork chops, beef Stroganoff, homemade pea soup and her homemade dill pickles.
“My parents had a garden and raised green beans, carrots, tomatoes, radishes, peas and cucumbers in the summer. I was the one who was often charged to choose raspberries because I had not yet learned to like them, so all the fruits reached the kitchen. All my sisters used mom’s recipes. During a memorable trip back to Wisconsin from Little Rock To, we had beef Stroganoff three times while dining with different sisters. “
Now retired, Sandy Hanson has free time to experiment with home cooking. She noted that one of her favorite recipes is a Louisiana dish adapted to Arkansas Rice, which reminds her of the “hot dishes” that her mother relies on. “Jambalaya can be a favorite of a poem by replacing shrimp like a protein,” she noted.
Recipe: Jambalaya
Serves 4 to 6
“Ricland is the brand of rice grown in Eastern Arkansas,” Sandy says. “I preferred long-grain-not as sticky as rice with medium grain,” she noted, adding: “For food, replaces 4 tablespoons of sausage oil and add boiled or canned shrimp instead of meat.”
- 8 ounces small sausages cut
- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 Quart Chicken or Beef Bouillon
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 1 cup raw rice
- 1/4 cup sliced parsley
- 1/2 to 1 cup diced ham
- 1/2 to 1 cup cut boiled chicken
- 1 tablespoon of Warkstershire sauce
- Salt
In a large kettle for soup, brown sausage until it is almost made. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Stir in Bouillon, thyme and parsley. Heat until boiling and add rice. Reduce heat and simmer until the rice is tender. Add ham, chicken, Warkster sauce and salt. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, stirring well. Serve hot.