Is imagination dead? by Shelley Hopkins

Imagination

            I have heard people say imagination is dead, and with all the electronic toys, video games, and movies it would be easy to believe.  When I see a small child staring blankly at an iPhone, I feel a very deep sadness.  It is easy to believe that children do nothing all day but watch TV and play video games.

            All week I have been away at a family oriented retreat we call campmeeting.  Each family spends a week in cabins we call tents, the children running and playing under the trees and on the swings, the teens hanging out and playing volleyball, and the older adults visiting under the porches.  Each tent is placed in a circle with the open air church, called the arbor, in the middle.  I grew up attending campmeeting, walking to the store, we call it the stand, for candy and cheap toys, playing outside for hours, swinging so high in the tree swings I felt like I would fly, and mainly playing imagination games for hours.  My cousin and I were Sherlock Holmes and Watson, and I can remember tracking the evil professor Moriarity through the woods behind the tents.  I can still see the fogs of London moving through the trees and criminals hiding behind the light of the lampposts in those hot southern mornings.

            In our imagination we truly could see and experience what we were pretending.   Our family used to camp near Grandfather mountain, and I remember creek hopping, playing on the stones of the creek and being chased by an evil sheriff as we, the alien children like in Escape to Witch Mountain, had to flee and save ourselves.  When I think about that campground years later, I still see the adventure we were involved in, within our minds.

            When my kids were little they were Ninja Turtles, Magic Treehouse children,  power rangers, and my youngest daughter was Pocahontas.   I could almost see those imaginary worlds as well as they could.  This is cooperative play at its best, as they climbed over fallen logs and created the story they were in.

            Today I sit on the porch of our tent, back at campmeeting.  One family has erected some playground equipment nearby, a tree house fort with a slide, ladder, and a plastic tree for climbing.  I was only half way watching several young kids playing until I heard one little boy, with extreme urgency in his voice, yelling,  “The ship is leaving, hurry up and get on before the ship leaves.”  All the kids swarmed the fort, and the ship took off, flying to the stars.  Imagination is thriving still and that gives me hope for the future.

how to cook fish, favorite recipes by Shelley Hopkins

Fish for Supper?

            I hear people say all the time, “we need to eat more fish, but I don’t know how to cook it.”  No one wants to eat an overcooked or bland and rubbery fish, but it is actually one of the easiest meats to prepare.  It can be a fast and tasty option for dinner on a busy night.

            We eat a lot of seafood, and we enjoy a variety of fish dinners.  Growing up the most common way to see fish cooked and served was lightly fried with a side of coleslaw and hushpuppies or fries.  In the south we used to eat out at what we called fish camps, and this was the standard fare, with of course super sweet tea and pie for dessert.  I am getting hungry just writing this.

            Last night I had no dinner planned, but around 4:30 I looked in the freezer and found frozen tilapia.  I pulled out 5, and placed them under running water while I chopped up a red pepper, green onions and a cucumber.  I started the side dishes, put each now thawed fish on a square of tin foil and layered veggies over each one.  I poured a tablespoon of soy sauce and sesame oil over each fish, sealed the tin foil and put the packets in the oven.  In just a few minutes I served my family baked fish with veggies, cheese grits and green beans.  Everyone enjoyed the meal, and I was happy because it had been prepared so quickly on a night I had no dinner planned.

            Here is the actual recipe for that Chinese Fish Packet as well as a few others.

Chinese Baked Fish in Foil

Ingredients

4 catfish (flounder or perch will work also, I used tilapia which is thinner)

1 scallion

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger

¼ cup seeded diced cucumbers

½ cup diced red peppers

1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  In a cup mix soy sauce and sesame oil until well combined.  Save this mixture.  Tear off 4 12 inches squares of tin foil and place 1 fish filet in the middle of each square.  Sprinkle each fish evenly with the chopped scallion, diced red pepper, diced cucumber and minced ginger.  Next drizzle each fish with the soy sauce mixture.

Fold foil over filets to make packets and seal edges tightly.  Place the packets on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

Open the packets at the table, being careful of the hot steam.

Another fish in foil recipe is as follows.

Ingredients

4 white fish fillets such as cod or haddock.  (I probably used tilapia)

1 small green pepper chopped

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 clove of garlic crushed

1 large tomato peeled seeded and chopped

2 bay leaves

8 tablespoons dry white wine

juice of ½ lemon

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375.  Place a fish on a square of tin foil.  Mix together the green pepper, onion, garlic and tomato and divide them equally over the fish.  On top of each pile of vegetables place ½ of a bay leaf, 2 tablespoons wine and lemon juice.  Season well with salt and pepper then fold the edges of the foil together to make baggy parcels. 

Cook in the oven 20 – 25 minutes depending on the size of the fish.  The fish is done when the flesh flakes easily and is opaque in color.

Fried Fish by my Mother

White fish, ( again I usually have tilapia)

2/3 cup all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon vinegar

2/3 cup cold water

Mix baking soda and vinegar.  Mix flour and salt.  Beat in dry mixture and water.  Dip fish in batter and deep fat fry 3 minutes turning once, till brown. 

This batter is also good for fried onion rings, which make an excellent side dish.

Season fish with lime juice, sugar, salt and chili powder and serve in fish tacos.  In the tacos we like coleslaw, black beans and other regular taco toppings.

            My absolute favorite way to eat fish is by the campfire.  Perhaps my husband and I spent the morning in our boat, or on the side of a lake casting out into the smooth blue water while insects buzz and breezes blow.  After several casts there is a tugging on the line and then a battle as we wrestle the fish in.  In this daydream we catch plenty, and more importantly, my husband cleans and prepares all the fish.  I wrap them in foil and cook over the fire.  Everything tastes better cooked outside and eaten by a fire, and the best fish is a freshly caught fish.

Where to eat in Charleston, part 2 by Shelley Hopkins

Where to eat in Charleston, part 2

            There are so many great restaurants in the low country, and the competition is high.  Restaurants have to reach deep to be creative, and to serve meals that the public wants to eat, but that are creative, different and yet familiar enough, and well done with fresh ingredients.  Most of the well-known restaurants are downtown, but my all time favorite place to eat is actually in North Charleston, on Ashley Phosphate.  Nigel’s serves low country food in the soul food style with the very familiar meat and three type foods, as well as shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, and plenty of seafood choices.  If you are feeling adventurous they offer more creative meals like my favorite, the Low Country Ravioli.  From the menu, this is the description of the meal; Low Country Ravioli…Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Collards Greens, Black-eye Pea & Corn Relish & Cheese stuffed Ravioli tossed in a Whiskey Cream Sauce for $11.95.  This is my all time favorite meal found in the entire state of South Carolina, so far anyway.

            Nigel is the owner and chef, and in 2007 he won first place with his Oyster Stew in an Oyster Recipe contest.  He has worked at several of the restaurants in town, and now has his own place, creating and cooking with attention to detail. 

            Nigel’s motto is Nigel’s good food, just what your soul needs.  This is reflective of the menu, since most of the recipes come from what would be called soul food.  Soul food is defined on Nigel’s web site as “a selection of foods traditionally in the cuisine of African Americans.”  The idea behind soul food was good, cheap and easy to find ingredients that produced filling food that lasted for a long day of hard work.  Soul food is traditional southern cooking full of collard greens, black eye peas, pork, corn, lots of fat, and flavor.  Soul food originates from slaves trying to create meals from what was given to them, and what could be found.  Many of the vegetables and cooking styles have origins in Africa, with okra and rice playing an important role in the meals. 

            As I mentioned the Low Country Ravioli is my favorite meal, but I also have tried the Geechie chicken sandwich, fish and chips, and another favorite, shrimp and grits.  When I had the chicken sandwich I asked the waiter what geechie was and he said it was a special seasoning that gave a lot of flavor.  Geechie is another name sometimes used for the Gullah culture found in SC, and so I assume the seasoning is something from this rich culture.

 Every once in a while a rich southern meal is good for the soul, although you can also get healthier choices in the restaurant, if you wish.  All I know is I love to eat here, but after dinner I feel like I need to walk at least 10 miles.  I could always save some of the food for the next day, but somehow that never happens, it is just too good!