Year of the Rat: Nutritional Guidance for the 2008 Presidential Election: Barack the Vote 5 Cup Salad

Ladies and gentlemen, brother and sisters, it's time to Barack the vote! I'm celebrity chef and home economist Jewell Rae Jeffers and I spent hours in the "Tastes Like Home" test kitchen creating this phenomenal salad dedicated to the great Senator from Illinois. In fact, it was in the kitchen that inspiration struck for my collection of recipes offering nutritional guidance for our 2008 election season. This year the stakes are high. We've got to eat well so we can vote right, though for many of us that means more left than right! Celebrating the democratic process, honoring our nation's leaders and their years of public service, discovering the perfect culinary creation appropriate to their personalities: that's what whets my political appetite! One taste and you'll see why my Barack the Vote 5 Cup Salad is as idealistic and refreshing as the presidential hopeful himself. Even my husband Brick agrees, Senator Barack Obama is the dreamiest (and smartest) dish in the hunt for the White House.

I knew it would be a tall order (6' 2" to be exact) to create a recipe worthy of Senator Obama. I wanted to create something elegant and simple, yet refined without being off-putting. I envisioned a stand-out classic that had a modern flair on the mouth but traditional in components and structure. It was in the doing that I found the perfect recipe. It's my tangy, succulent, yummy Barack the Vote 5 Cup Salad. I think you'll find it to be bright, inspiring, uncomplicated, and delightful. Best of all, it's cool. Very cool. And did I mention that, like Senator Obama, it didn't vote for the war?

Barack the Vote 5 Cup Salad

1 cup sour cream
1 cup freshly diced Hawaiian pineapple
1 cup Japanese Satsuma tangerine segments
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup unsweetened organic shredded coconut, divided
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, toss the pineapple with the tangerine segments. Blend in the sour cream and miniature marshmallows. Add 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, reserving the remaining 1/2 cup for garnishing. Spoon the salad into your handsomest serving vessel. Refrigerate and chill for four hours. Garnish with remaining 1/2 cup shredded coconut. Additionally, you may add a 1/2 cup of chopped pecans, walnuts, or pistachios for fortitude and crunch.
Serves 6

I suggest you buy organic whenever possible. Use only the freshest Hawaiian pineapple and Japanese Satsuma tangerines, alternately, you can substitute Clementines. There's no way around the marshmallows, they add the angel fluff and trashy sweetness that every presidential hopeful requires. The chopped nuts are optional. However, in light of the mess George W. Bush has left his successor, they'll be put to good use. Its gonna take a pretty big pair of cojones to clean up the mess in our kitchen from our looming recession and continuing war. Take heart, Barack Obama is up to the task. His leadership skills, his years working to organize and better communities, his support of labor and immigrants' rights, his unabashed inclusiveness, and his level-headed sensibility make him the right man for the job. Plus he's fine. It's been years since we've had a rocket in the White House. Although, I give Bill Clinton an "A" for effort. Seriously, y'all...after 8 years of George Bush, America deserves a good looking president.

This dish is perfect as a light side salad offering for lunch, as an understated dessert, or with a cup of perfectly strong coffee for an early morning treat. Suggested pairings include someone you love unconditionally, your fiercest smile, and Taj Mahal's "In Progress and In Motion" 3-cd retrospective.

Comments

[kmurtitowardchange]

I like the idea of setting a plate therewith consuming an apropos experience. Clarity. Like I've said before, you can't call Barack a crypto-Muslim anymore than Bush stands for the meek & those who'd deserve to inherit the earth. You know the strife of eating at a strangers table--for a traditionalist--is the pain of having to go around the corner to provide the welcome wagon for the new family in town. He/she may find it disconcerting their neighbor prefers fish over chicken. I say quit looking at the menu, you know what your there for, so eat.

[jeskiley]

Great recipe, I wouldn't change a thing. But a true chef would be able to concoct a similarly delicious recipe for Madame Clinton, without relying on citrus to uplift and enhance. And then, an honest dish prepared, the foodie should be allowed to compare and contrast flavors for herself. I'm thinking vegetables...