{"id":550,"date":"2011-05-12T03:48:21","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T03:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/?p=550"},"modified":"2011-05-12T03:48:21","modified_gmt":"2011-05-12T03:48:21","slug":"whitewashed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/?p=550","title":{"rendered":"Whitewashed"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Chinese Chicken Salad (It’s the chopsticks that makes it Chinese!)<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mark Twain<\/em><\/p>\n

Andrew and I were in the kitchen cleaning up recently when the subject of friends came up.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo who are you hanging out with these days?\u201d I inquired.\u00a0 Andrew rattled off a few names and except for one, they seemed to all be gringo names.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you find that you hang out with mostly white kids or Latino kids?\u201d I pushed him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I sort of move around from group to group.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like to just be in one type of group,\u201d he confided and then added, \u201csome of the Latino kids call me whitewashed.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked him how he felt about that and he said he didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 He told me that they gave him a hard time about how little he knows about the things they take for granted like where to go and eat tacos.\u00a0 I found it hard to believe that taco knowledge was the great cultural divide, but it is eighth grade after all.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t find it hard to believe we were having this discussion. I had been expecting it for sometime.\u00a0\u00a0 As a white guy raising a brown boy, you can\u2019t ever escape the feeling that you are somehow colonizing a human soul.<\/p>\n

With the first decision to speak mostly English, I knew that I was making a choice that would silently scream something about my values.\u00a0 It was a choice, too, because I speak Spanish at a native level.\u00a0 However, I decided that I needed to make sure he could compete in the larger world and in my mind English was the first step.\u00a0 I made other choices as well.\u00a0 Our read \u201calouds\u201d were classic English Lit 101 for kids, our food was strongly European, and the music concerts were opera and classical.\u00a0 Our first trips together were to the Utah Shakespeare Festival and a road trip from Paris to Rome.\u00a0 Andrew was even so immersed in my family and our culture that he once asked me, \u201cSo if your twelfth great grandfather came over on the Mayflower, that means that he was my thirteenth great grandfather.\u00a0 Right?\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t have the heart to tell him that a more likely scenario was that my twelfth great grandfather gave his twelfth great grandfather a good case of the plague and it probably killed him.<\/p>\n

The irony is I have spent the better portion of my life immersing myself into the heart and soul of Latino culture.\u00a0 My love affair with everything Latino started many years ago in Chile where I spent almost two years as a missionary.\u00a0\u00a0 I went on to live in Spain and Mexico and even got a degree in Spanish literature.\u00a0 My home is Spanish inside and out, my music collection is easily described as South of the Border, and I can\u2019t think of a single close friend that doesn\u2019t speak Spanish.\u00a0 And I spent 17 years teaching in Latino neighborhoods.\u00a0 In retrospect, it makes perfect sense that I would end up with a Latino son.<\/p>\n

I know there has been a lot of controversy about white parents adopting children of color, but I had been told that I was \u201cmore Mexican than a frijol\u201d so many times that I never imagined that the controversy applied to me.\u00a0 Upon hearing what Andrew\u2019s friend were calling him, I had the \u201cnear death\u201d experience of seeing my life with Andrew flash before my eyes.\u00a0 I suddenly had to confront the possibility that even though I had spent thirty years trying to assimilate everything Latino, I have spent the last five years blindly whitewashing him in my tiger mother-like pursuit of ensuring he has access to the American dream.<\/p>\n

I worry that I\u2019m no better than Tom Sawyer tricking others into the business of whitewashing so the Aunt Polly\u2019s of this world will feel better.<\/p>\n

However, I am a white dad with a rich and beautiful heritage of which I\u2019m proud.\u00a0\u00a0 I love my son and I want and will share this part of me with him.\u00a0 It\u2019s what every parent does for his or her children.\u00a0 It\u2019s the right thing to do.<\/p>\n

I want Andrew, as well, to fully realize his Latino heritage and feel equally proud that he has a foot firmly planted in both worlds.\u00a0\u00a0 If I can help him do this, I know it will serve him well in the future.\u00a0 A recent experience gives me hope that I may be on the right track after all.<\/p>\n

On our trip to Mexico, I warned Andrew that much of it would be spent just \u201changing out\u201d and that most nights would continue long past midnight.\u00a0\u00a0 We had been there a few days and had seen the pyramids, Guadalupe, and the rest of the Aztec ruins which Andrew loved.\u00a0 But it was the first night in Veracruz with my ex\u2019s family that I realized there wasn\u2019t enough paint in the world to cover my son\u2019s Latin heart.\u00a0 We arrived late and they were all there at the house waiting for us.\u00a0 We pulled up a chair and for the next three or four hours the house was filled with laughter, kids running around, adults catching up, and we finally went to bed around 2:30 am.\u00a0 As I helped Andrew prepare his bed, he turned to me and said, \u201cDad, this is the best vacation we\u2019ve ever had.\u00a0 I like it even better than Europe.\u201d\u00a0 I knew where this was coming from, but I asked him to explain, \u201cIt\u2019s just that everyone was together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get together in the U.S. too,\u201d I prodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I know, but it\u2019s different.\u00a0 I can\u2019t explain it, but it\u2019s just different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what you mean, Andrew.\u00a0 I feel it too.\u00a0 I feel it every time I come here and it\u2019s what keeps me coming back again and again.\u201d<\/p>\n

I decided to attempt an explanation \u201cI can\u2019t put my finger on it, but I think it might have to do with life not revolving around all the things that money can buy.\u00a0\u00a0 It feels like people work to live here and not live to work, so there seems to be more time for being with family and friends. I guess I always feel like no matter what I\u2019m doing here, they make me feel like that moment with me is more important than anything else they could be doing.\u00a0 They seem to live like there\u2019s no tomorrow and we put all our energy in what tomorrow might bring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I mean!\u201d he answered in one of the few teenage moments where he actually agreed with me about something.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s like all they want to do is spend time with each other and enjoy life,\u201d he concluded.\u00a0 I suddenly couldn\u2019t have been happier that he was with me on this trip.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that he didn\u2019t love seeing the Eiffel Tower or the Roman Coliseum.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that he doesn\u2019t need to know the Western canons of literature, music, and art.\u00a0 He does.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to need all the knowledge and opportunities that I can uniquely provide him.\u00a0 But just as importantly he got what it means to be Latino.\u00a0 It\u2019s not about knowing where the best taco joint is, but knowing that a taco is much more than a taco when it\u2019s a shared communal experience.\u00a0 He has seen through all that glitters to find that Latino gold is found in the heart of family, friends, and the bonds the table can forge.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m at peace.<\/p>\n

The kid\u2019s going to be all right.<\/p>\n

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Not So Chinese, Chinese Chicken Salad<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Chinese Chicken Salad<\/p>\n

Even though one of my Mexican recipes would be a great thematic fit here, you just can\u2019t get any more \u201cwhitewashed\u201d than this salad.\u00a0 The only thing \u201cChinese\u201d about it is the name.\u00a0 This has been a Wilson family staple since the early 70\u2019s and is one of Andrew\u2019s favorites.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great way to get kids to love cabbage and onions.\u00a0 It\u00a0 has a few eyebrow raising ingredients since it\u2019s coming from a guy who tries to be organic and sustainable most of the time, but the Top Ramen component is crucial.\u00a0 It just wouldn\u2019t be \u201cChinese\u201d without it.\u00a0 And, yes, I do understand that Ramen is Japanese.\u00a0\u00a0 I promise that if you try this once it will become a family favorite.\u00a0 Regardless of national origin, it\u2019s just plain good.<\/p>\n

1 small head of cabbage<\/p>\n

5 or 6 green onions (scallions), finely chopped<\/p>\n

2 to 3 chicken breasts, boiled and meat pulled apart into small shreds<\/p>\n

\u00bc cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted<\/p>\n

1 package Top Ramen, broken into pieces and toasted<\/p>\n

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds<\/p>\n

1\/3 cup fresh, chopped cilantro (optional)<\/p>\n

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Dressing<\/p>\n

2 tablespoons sesame oil and olive oil to complete \u00bd cup<\/p>\n

3 tablespoons sugar (yep, that\u2019s why the kids love it)<\/p>\n

\u00bc cup rice wine vinegar<\/p>\n

\u00be teaspoon salt<\/p>\n

\u00bd teaspoon pepper<\/p>\n

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Cut the cabbage in half and core it.\u00a0 Thinly slice the cabbage and then turn it and chop into bite size pieces.\u00a0 Place it in a large bowl with the onions, chicken, and cilantro, if using.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, place the sesame seeds, almonds, and broken-up ramen on a cookie sheet and place under broiler until lightly browned.\u00a0 Watch carefully as it goes from brown to black quickly.\u00a0 I\u2019ve even had the ramen catch on fire before!\u00a0 Set aside to cool.<\/p>\n

To make the dressing just place all the ingredients in a small canning jar or Tupperware and shake vigorously until mixed well.<\/p>\n

Pour the dressing on about 10 minutes before you serve it and toss the salad with the toasted dry ingredients just before serving.<\/p>\n

We like the taste of the vinegar a lot and sometimes add more at the table.<\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0 This is a great potluck dish and will get eaten up fast.\u00a0 Bring the dressing separately in a jar and the dry ingredients in a Zip Lock and toss it together when you get to the party.<\/p>\n

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  Chinese Chicken Salad (It’s the chopsticks that makes it Chinese!) \ufeff Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit. Mark Twain Andrew and I were in the kitchen cleaning up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recipes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":559,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions\/559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}