Tastes & Treasures II Cookbooks to Basha's

As one of the major donors for Tastes & Treasures II: A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona, Historical League member Pam Stevenson delivered complimentary books to Ashley Shick at the Basha's headquarters. This facility is located at the Basha's Art Museum which is a fabulous collection that Historymaker Eddie Basha built.

New photos of Historymakers on www.HistoricalLeague.org

Each Historymaker has a professional portrait done for our Historymakers Gala and Recognition Program. But we also collect artifacts, memorabilia and background photos. Many of these personal and family photographs are now available online at www.HistoricalLeague.org/Historymakers.aspx

Childhood photos and family pictures are an insight into our Historymakers. No matter how famous, how well known, how creative, we all started from humble beginnings.

Who do you think these children grew up to be?

Answers: Eddie Basha, Bill Owen, Esther Don Tang, Sandra Day O'Connor, Bob Goldwater, Jim Bruner

AHS Museum featured in Best of the Valley Phoenix Magazine

Interesting article on page 142-151 featuring AHS Museum at Papago Park along with the Heard, MIM and Phoenix Art Museums. The article tells the story of the treasures stored in the archives at these museums. Shelves filled with artifacts and collections at AHS: over 14,000 objects in the A.J.Bayless Collection, nearly 8,000 related to The Wallace and Ladmo Show, jewelry from Gov. Rose Mofford, cash registers from Eddie Basha and paintings from Ed Mell.

Centennial book presentation to ASU Alumni and Friends

So many of our Historymakers are connected with ASU in so many ways. They either graduated from ASU, endowed the University, taught at ASU, coached at ASU or contributed to the University in some capacity.

The Historical League has been asked to talk about the Historical League's Centennial book to ASU Alumni and friends at the University Club. Arizona Recollections and Reflections - Presentation by Zona Lorig, Ruth McLeod, and Joan Robinson, Arizona Historical Society -Thursday, February 9, 12:00-1:30 p.m. - Tempe Campus, University Club- RSVP by emailing Gwyn.Goebel@asu.edu

Celebrate Arizona's Centennial at ASU's colloquium luncheon with the co-editors of Arizona Recollections and Reflections, an Arizona Centennial Historymakers Commemoration. Presenters will highlight the contributions of twenty Historymakers(tm) connected with Arizona State University including Bill Kajikawa, Eugene Grigsby, Barbara Barrett, and Eddie Basha.

Jana Bommersbach reviews ARIZONA Recollections and Reflections

"You can't know Arizona unless you know her people. There's no better way to know her people than through the Historical League's Commemorative Book. It's a priceless contribution to the history of Arizona and offers hours and hours of wonderful stories about wonderful people." --Jana Bommersbach, journalist and author

Celebrate Arizona’s Centennial by turning 320 pages of history in this beautiful leather-bound 8.5”x 9.5” book!

Living when honored, first-person oral histories from these Arizona Historymakers serve as the basis for this collection of biographies and memories. Photographs, many from personal family albums, provide further glimpses into the lives of these men and women whose achievements have impacted Arizona’s record of events in such diverse areas as the arts, community service, politics, sports and entertainment.

Read the interesting stories of Historymakers such as Erma Bombeck, Eddie Basha, Adam Diaz, John Driggs, Barry Goldwater, Jerry Colangelo and Sandra Day O'Connor in this collections that will be great for your coffee table.

Contact RuthMcLeod@earthlink.net for more information or visit www.HistoricalLeague.org

Historymakers at the Centennial Gala

The Kick-Off to the Centennial for Arizona was a wonderful event at the Historymakers Gala. Photographed that evening are Arizona Historymakers (back row) Bill Thompson, Eddie Basha, Ed Mell, John Driggs, Elisabeth Ruffner, Karl Eller, Barbara Barrett, Bill Shover, Calvin Goode, Alberto Rios and chairman Marilyn Parke. Seated J. Eugene Grigsby, Sandra Day O'Connor, Dinky Snell, Bil Keane, Stevie Eller, and Navajo Code Talkers Joe Kellwood, Keith Little and Samuel Tso.

We were pleased to introduce the new Centennial book, ARIZONA RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS featuring rare photographs, memories and biographies of our Historymakers with a timeline of our heritage from pre-history to the present. Presented in a rich, leather-bound book it is a wonderful remembrance of the Centennial.

For more information and photos www.HistoricalLeague.org

Quinoa, Tomato and Mint Salad

Historymaker Eddie Basha gave us his family recipe for Tabouli Salad with cracked wheat, parsley and mint. It is a Lebanese dish with lots of flavor found on page 130 of Tastes & Treasures. Here is another version using quinoa.

Quinoa, Tomato and Mint Salad
For best flavor, allow quinoa to cool to room temperature before combining into salad.
Quinoa
1 c Quinoa
1 1/2 c Water
pinch Sea Salt
Dressing
1 t Rice Wine Vinegar
1 t Balsamic Vinegar
2 T Olive Oil or Grape Seed Oil
1 lrg Shallot (2 T), sliced or minced
1/2 t Soy Sauce
1 T fresh Lemon Juice
Zest from 1/2 Lemon, finely grated
1/2 t Sea Salt

1/2 lb Tomatoes, 1/2″ dice
Handful fresh mint, chopped
a few small mint leaves reserved for garnish

1. Prepare Quinoa. Rinse and soak quinoa for 10 minutes. Strain and combine with 1 1/2 c water and sea salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover pan with a lid, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for @ 15 min., stirring once. Remove from heat, fluff, and set aside to cool.
2. Prepare Dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a fork to combine. (For best lemon flavor, grate lemon zest directly over bowl so the lemon oil which releases when zesting will land in bowl.)
3. When quinoa is cool, combine quinoa, tomatoes, mint, and dressing in a bowl and toss well. Place on serving dish and garnish with remaining small mint leaves.

Serves 4

Recipes well received at Master Gardener class.

Work in the garden and you'll work up an appetite, as attested by the food consumed at my Master Gardener class. Every 5 weeks my group is responsible for bringing in 'snacks' for the class. I brought in Tabouli Salad pg. 130 and Very Lemon Bread pg. 119. My friend, Carol, brought in Granola pg. 196.
The lemon bread had been stored in the freezer and it served much nicer and firmer than when fresh. It looks so nice with fresh lemon slices and fresh blueberries.
Carol's son, Serge, loved the Tabouli Salad...very refreshing with mint, parsley, basil, green onion, tomato and lemon juice.
Historymaker Eddie Basha commented on this recipe, "As long as I can remember, tabouli salad was a favorite in our family regardless of the day of the week or season of the year. This culinary and Lebanese delight continues to be a most popular salad of the Basha family."

TABOULI SALAD
1/2 cup cracked wheat
4 tomatoes, chopped
3 bunches parsley, stemmed and chopped
1 bunch green onions, sliced
Small handful of fresh mint, stemmed and chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Soak the cracked wheat in enough water to generously cover in a bowl for 30 minutes and drain. Press the excess moisture from the cracked wheat. Combine the cracked wheat, tomatoes, parsley, green onions and mint in a bowl and mix well. Stir in the olive oil and lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Delicious served cupped in a variety of lettuce or fresh grape leaves. Serves 6 to 8.

Option: I used more lemon juice and less oil. Also used whole grain quinoa and cooked it first according to instructions. Used fresh chopped basil from my garden.

Cracked Wheat Quinoa

We are Costco fans. It is that simple. Where ever we travel, we like to visit one...from the Big Island of Hawaii to Calgary, Canada to Cancun, Mexico to the local neighborhood Phoenix store. Yesterday we found Whole Grain Quinoa and I boiled it for dinner in place of a rice dish. Nice and simple. Then I realized that is what Eddie Basha's mother may have used in her Tabouli Salad. Great stuff and so versatile. A classmate from my Master Gardener class brought it as a salad which tasted very much like Basha's Tabouli Salad also. Interesting how a Lebanese staple has now entered the US market.

Pronounced "keen-wa". Quinoa is a complete protein grain (50% more than wheat), high in lysine, more iron, phosphorus, vitamins A, E and B, and more calcium and fat than other grains. Quinoa kernels have a waxy protective coating called saponin which will leave quinoa bitter unless rinsed off under running water before cooking. Expands to four times its volume when cooked. Combine with millet, bugler or buckwheat for variety. Substitute for bugler in tabouli. Makes a very light breakfast cereal.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1/4 cup (43 g)

Nutrient Amount % DV

Calories 160 Calories from Fat 20 Total Fat 2.5 g 4% Sodium 10 mg 0%

Trip home from Eleuthera

Small planes (Regional Airlines in Abaco, Bahamas) are exciting but five hours in a jet is not my idea of fun. This time the flight from Charlotte, NC to Phoenix went so quickly because I sat next to a lovely lady. A.E. has only lived in Chandler for 2 years and asked about places to visit. Science Museum, Heard Museum, Children's Museum, Art Museum and Phoenix Museum of History are the usual things to see. Of course, I recommended the AHS Museum in Tempe with our new exhibit honoring Sandra Day O'Connor opening October 24 to the public. We are also planning the Arizona Centennial Historymakers Gala February 2011. Talking about the Historymakers Gala and Recognition Program, she told me her neighbor is Historymaker Eddie Basha. Her step son is good friends with their sons. Small world. Eddie has a great food memory in our cookbook with Tabouli Salad on page 130.

Tabouli Salad

1/2 cup cracked wheat
4 tomatoes, chopped
3 bunches parsley, stemmed and chopped
1 bunch green onions, sliced
Small handful of fresh mint, stemmed and chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Soak the cracked wheat in enough water to generously cover in a bowl for 30 minutes and drain. Press the excess moisture from the cracked wheat. Combine the cracked wheat, tomatoes, parsley, green onions and mint in a bowl and mix well. Stir in the olive oil and lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Delicious served cupped in a variety of lettuce or fresh grape leaves.