Skip to main content

A virtual Trip

By
    My granddaughter Lily and I have been traveling and yet haven't left the neighborhood! You see we both took DNA test with Ancestry.com. I wasn't expecting to find much I didn't know about my family and my family roots but since Lily only knows a couple of people on her dad's side of the family we were anxious to see where her DNA originated. When I took a look at my results it was indeed as expected. Most of my DNA is from a small circle of places in Northwestern Europe, England, Wales and Ireland and Scotland. Now where I was surprised with my results was with  the percentages of each of the areas. From family stories, I thought I would be mostly German (10%) and Scottish (14%).  I am (64%) English, Welsh and Northwestern Europe?
    Lily's results were much more interesting. Of course hers would mirror mine but what about the other 75%? Well it spanned two continents and many varied regions on those continents. And that's where our travels have been. We have looked at the areas and are trying to learn a little history from each country or region. So looking at Lily's DNA we learned that 1% is from Spain. Now one percent isn't much but we thought we should honor it someway! Why not make a Spanish meal? (Yes, I always think about eating!) I decided to make a recipe from Woman's World  Low Carb Cookbook. Spanish Chicken and Chorizo Stew. This stew is smoked chorizo and chicken browned with onions and red bell peppers then simmered in crushed tomatoes and finished with olives and parsley. I served it with a risotto.
   The best thing about the DNA tests has been connecting with relatives that I didn't know or had lost touch with. I have talked on the phone to my fathers first cousins, now living in Idaho and California. And found and visited some of my first cousins on Mom's side that live in Georgia. Lily too has been contacted by cousins wanting to know exactly how they are related. Well that is a little tougher but we will work on it. Next though, my DNA is 1% Baltic. I think I will make Baltic Lamb and Rice Meatballs. Why not take a trip? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It was just a platter !

By
    There was a platter in some of my grandmothers things that my father had brought home years ago. There is a picture of a turkey on the face of the platter. It is still in fair condition considering that I am sure grandma used it a lot. We celebrated every holiday and lots of Sundays eating at her house. And since she didn't have a lot of "stuff" stored around in her small house, I'm sure I have seen it setting on the table with hams, turkeys or meat loafs to be served.      It wasn't until I turned it over that the true value of this platter was revealed to me! No it wasn't a makers mark from a fine china company in Japan or Germany. Nothing to convince me that this was valuable fine china. It was a piece of adhesive tape right in the middle of the back. Written in grandma's hand writing was a note. It read, From Mary Kathryn and Robert Lee, 1953. It was a gift to her from my parents in the year that I was born. Priceless!     The first thing I d...
2 comments
Read more

Cooking at 7200

By
     I recently I drove to Laramie Wyoming to visit my son and daughter in law. As usual, when we get together we cook. We try new techniques  and recipes that we think will compete or beat restaurant meals. I believe that we were successful with our attempts this time. Although it took me awhile to adjust to cooking at a high altitude. It takes a longer time or hotter temp to complete your dish. First up, Ty.     Ty was anxious to show me a new technique. He used a Sous Vide to cook a Prime Rib Roast. A Sous Vide device brings your dish to a perfect temperature in a vacuum sealed bag in water and holds it there until you are ready. In this case it was a rib roast. After reaching the assigned temp he then seasoned the roast and seared all sides to finish. For a beef eater this was outstanding. I can see a Sous Vide device in my kitchen soon.     I had a Cooks Country magazine from Feb/Mar 2020 with me to try some new recipes. I made their It...
3 comments
Read more

Remembering Birch Creek Orchards

By
Recently, I have been reading a book by Barbara Kingsolver titled "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle."  This book is truly inspiring and focuses on harvesting local foods to reduce the amount of fuel used to transport foods all over the U.S.  She also emphasizes eating foods only when they are in season. Over Labor Day weekend, we took a trip back home to Jeddo, MI for my cousin's wedding (shout out to the beautiful bride Sarah Lawson!!).  While there, my uncle Mike invited us to his house to pick fresh peaches, apples and pears.  I was thrilled! This was my chance to eat locally and harvest fruit while it was in season! No more California fruit for me!  I took my husband and kids and we picked away. We filled boxes full of fruit and ate the fruit right off the tree! It was a special treat for me. Then it hit me, sadness...see friends, growing up my family helped operate Birch Creek Orchards in Jeddo, Mi.  Everyone in my family helped!  Even the smalle...
1 comment
Read more