One of my favorite recipes is one my mom learned when we lived over in Okinawa. This is the version of the recipe we make since the person who taught my mom never wrote down their recipe. The recipe is originally from the Philippines. Shanghai Lumpia or Wontons Ingredients: lb. lean ground beef ½ lb. lean ground pork 1 large onion 5 to 7 fresh garlic cloves (2) 8 oz. cans of water chestnuts (2) 9 oz. bottles of oyster sauce Lumpia or Wonton wrappers (can be found in oriental food stores) Directions: Chop the onion into fine pieces and put in a large frying pan. Peel and mince the garlic (easiest way is to use a garlic press), then mix it together with the onion. Add a little olive oil and fry the mixture until it is lightly browned. The onions may take on a greenish tone due to the olive oil. Once the onion and garlic is browned put it in a large metal bowl. Make sure that the bowl is large enough to hold all the recipeÂs ingredients and still have room to stir them. Grind or mix the beef and pork together and put in the same frying pan that was used to cook the onion and garlic. Cook the meat until it is completely done. The cooked meat must be in small pieces. Put the meat into the bowl with the onions and mix together. Chop the water chestnuts into small pieces (be sure not to puree them if you use a food processor) and add them to the bowl. Pour one of the bottles of oyster sauce into the bowl and stir all the ingredients together. Add in as much or as little of the second bottle of oyster sauce as you want. The mixture should be moist but not to the point that it starts to look soupy. Wrapping: Make sure to have a large, clean table or countertop to work at. You will need a small bowl of water per person. If using wonton wrappers, lay out about a dozen wrappers and place a spoonful (do not overfill the spoon) in the center of each one. Using a finger spread water on the edges of the wrapper and then fold it in half over the mixture. Seal the edges of the wrapper together, making sure to squeeze out any air pockets first, and the place in a storage container. Be careful not to rip the wrapper. If you do, then take out the filling and throw the wrapper away. Any rips in the wrapper will cause the wonton the split open and filling the spill out during cooking. If using lumpia wrappers make sure to get a type that easily peels apart. These wrappers are extremely thin and will rip. Use the same amount of filling as with the wonton wrappers. When rolling up the mixture it is expected for the wrapper to rip some when starting but there canÂt be any rips in the outer layers of the wrapper. The finished lumpia should resemble a medium sized egg roll. Putting the filling in the wrappers is very time consuming. We usually make it a family project and make several containers of them at a time since we only make them once or twice a year. Stack the finished wontons/lumpia in large flat plastic containers. Place sheets of wax paper and poster board between each layer of wontons/lumpia to help keep them from sticking together. Makes approximately 200 wontons/lumpia. Store the containers in the freezer. When you want to cook some, heat up a pot of oil and add the wontons or lumpia to the hot oil frozen. Cook them until the wrapper is golden brown.

OK, I'm back and can't help myself, I've got to get into this grits discussion. I spent my childhood eating cornmeal mush, I liked it best poured into a loaf pan, left to set, then sliced and fried in butter and topped with maple syrup. Polenta is acceptable, depending on the additions. I've never met a grit I actually liked, including those in various establishments through out the south. The worst were in Georgia. (shudder) As for dinner, it's still the noontime meal for the old farmers here in Michigan too. Dinner here is always the biggest meal of the day, regardless of time. Supper is the smaller meal you have at day's end, dinner is the big meal at mid-day, while you still need the fuel to work for the second half of the day. As for canning disasters, KatieC and I just gave some "classes" to Cooking Forum members on various canning recipes. We made Habanero Gold, two batches. Same recipe, same cooks, same ingredients, same day. One batch set, one didn't. (shrug) Katie's been canning 30 years, I've been canning over 40. With a combined 70 years of canning experience, that jelly still is syrup. It happens. Annie

My favorite Mexican food is from the Yucatan. Here is my favorite recipe; the achiote paste is what gives it the Yucatecan flavor and there is no substitute for that: Yucatecan Style Chicken Enchiladas Ingredients: 1 pound cooked (preferably poached) chicken or turkey meat, chopped 2 tbsp chicken fat (or combination of chicken fat, butter, olive oil) 1/4 cup flour 1/2 onion, finely chopped 2-3 serrano peppers, minced (some seeds removed) 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes 2 tbsp cumin 2 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp vegetable soup base 1 tsp chicken soup base 2 tbsp achiote paste (ground annatto seeds) 2 tbsp Ancho chili powder 1 cup chicken stock, as needed (can substitute chili sauce* for the chili powder + stock) 12-15 corn tortillas (optional) grated cheese (Monterey Jack, Swiss, or Jarlsberg) Directions: Chop the meat, if you have not done so, and set aside. Melt the fat (or butter and oil) in a large saucepan, and add the flour to make a roux. When the roux is a pale brown, add the minced onion and cook a bit more so that the onion will become soft and the roux turns a light brown. Then add the peppers and stir to combine. Add the canned tomatoes, including all the liquid, and blend. Add the cumin, chili powder, oregano, soup bases (in place of salt), achiote paste, and chili powder. Stir until blended. Reduce the heat and add sufficient chicken stock or water to make a thick sauce. Using a stick blender, pur�e until fairly smooth, or at least until tomato pieces are fully incorporated; you may have some onion pieces that do not get pur�ed, but this is okay. Remove about 1/3 of the sauce to reserve and add the chopped chicken or turkey meat to the rest of the sauce. Spoon about 2 to 3 tbsp of the reserved sauce into a 6-inch x 10 inch (or similar size) baking dish, and spread fairly evenly, along the bottom and sides. Heat the tortillas on a covered plate in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, turning them and restacking them so that the center ones are top and bottom. Once they are soft, spoon a bit of chicken filling into a single tortilla, roll it into shape, and place it in the baking dish. You can stack them tightly or else make two loose layers. If you make two layers, put a bit of reserved sauce in between the layers. At the end, add all remaining sauce to the top and spread evenly. Add grated cheese, if desired. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350� for 15-20 minutes, or until they are hot. *If using canned chili sauce, buy La Victoria brand, or any brand that is made without tomatoes. You can make chili sauce by simmering Ancho, Pasilla, and Guajillo dried chilies in water with a bit of garlic, but this must be strained before using. Lars

I love PW's website/blog! I have made many of her recipes and ALL of them have been really good. I am also a fellow Okie, and have enjoyed learning how to make classic okie food with a Ree boost of goodness! She knows how to take those few extra steps and make a dish that much better... Like making your own cream of chicken instead of canned. I'm in my late 20's and have been married for only a couple of years, so I enjoy being able to learn different techniques that my mother really didn't teach me... Her being in the generation of everything being convenient and canned for the working woman. Hopefully PW loosens up in the next few episodes, though. She seemed nervous and a bit too scripted. Punkinhead, I also consider myself somewhat sophisticated and not gullible.... And I also know that Obama really is the president. I don't think I've ever met anyone in the last 3 years that thought he wasn't??? Not sure where you live in Oklahoma... Maybe a rural area? PS- Pawhuska, OK (Where PW lives) is only 52 miles from Tulsa. You can definitely find pancetta and wild mushrooms in Tulsa!