Green Salad with Shrimp

The breeze coming through the doorway is heavenly right now. Thank goodness for fall and temperatures finally dropping in Phoenix. The table at the Historical League meeting is decorated with harvest and halloween to help us get into the spirit of the season.

This salad sounded so delicious probably because I love marinated shrimp and avocados so I decided to make it for the League meeting.

Green Salad with Shrimp page 174 Tastes & Treasures Cookbook
2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 or 3 avocados, sliced
2 pounds small shrimp, cooked and peeled
1 bunch spinach, trimmed
1 head romaine, trimmed and leaves separated
1 head iceberg lettuce, trimmed and leaves separated
1 pound bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled

Combine the oil, cottage cheese, onion, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, peppercorns and cayenne pepper in a blender or food processor and process until mixed. Combine the cottage cheese mixture, avocados and shrimp in a bowl and mix gently. Chill, covered, for 8 to 10 hours. Rinse the spinach, romaine and iceberg lettuce and wrap in damp clean kitchen towels. Chill for 8 to 10 hours.
Tear the greens into bite-size pieces. Combine the greens and the shrimp mixture in a salad bowl and mix gently. Sprinkle with the bacon and serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10

Note: This is too much oil for my taste so recommend cutting it in 1/2. I also pureed the cottage cheese mixture for a l-o-n-g time but it still separated when I poured it on the lettuce. Not a pretty picture. This salad tasted great but not the best looking presentation. Too bad.

A Conversation with The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor Breakfast

On Friday, October 9, eighteen members and two guests of the Historical League attended “A Conversation with The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor Breakfast” at the Arizona Biltmore. Justice O’Connor was delightful as she told of her experiences as a graduate of Stanford Law School in the early 1950’s. She was third in her graduating class and unable to get a job because she was a woman. One very distinguished lawyer had the nerve to ask her what her typing speed was! She eventually talked her way into her first law position by stating that she would come every day for no pay if they would just try her out. Her desk was placed in the area near the office secretary where she loved her job and eventually worked her way into the firm and into a real office!

When asked how she had learned to deal with difficult times, she replied, “Well, I think I learned that growing up on the Lazy B, where something was always happening and needed attention right now. We just saddled up and went out to take care of it and that is pretty much how I deal with any problems I have had.”

Justice O’Connor told about how her former home came to be reconstructed in Papago Park. She said that the house looks so beautiful there and that everyone is welcome to come to see it and to also visit the wonderful Historical Society Museum that it is built near.

Members attending were Pat Faur, Jeannine Moyle, Susan Dale, Marilyn Parke, Sharron McKinney, Toby Daum, Kassie Walters, Mary Ann O’Neil, Sandy Goodheart, Janie Burke, Mary Parker, Margaret Baker, Barbara Simons, Renee Donnelly, Gail Lucky, Pat Tanner, Peter Welsh and Ruth Ann Hogan. Guests were: Gena Brown, a guest of Gail Lucky, and Gabrielle Shores, the daughter of Toby Daum.

Reported by Ruth Ann Hogan

The Origins of Scottsdale

At our October meeting, Jo Ann Handley, shown with Kathleen Fischer (on the left), entertained League members not only by recounting a detail-rich history of Scottsdale's origins, but she added a personal touch. Jo Ann's family dates back to settlement in 1895 and she has literally "lived" through much of Scottsdale's transformation.

Just a few interesting tidbits from her lecture:

• Winfred Scott paid $2.50 an acre for his land purchase, which is now the area bounded by Scottsdale Road, Hayden, Indian School and Chaparral.
• The original name of the town was Orangedale.
  
• Scott was a Baptist minister so there were no saloons in town, but no churches, either. Services were held in the school basement.
• The cheapest way to have a house in 1900 was to buy a tent and for many a tent was home.
  
• During World War I the U.S. was blocked from importing cotton from Egypt so Pima cotton, first grown over a 1000 years ago by the Hohokam, was planted in Valley fields.
  
• Scottsdale Airpark was originally an airbase training station built by Hollywood moviemakers.

The Little Red Schoolhouse in Scottsdale was the first school and it was constructed of sand and gravel from the bed of the Salt River. It was finished in 1910 and the two room building cost $5000. Today it houses The Scottsdale Historical Society.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Here we are bringing snacks to our Master Gardener class. The class enjoys it when our turn comes up because they know the recipes are good from Tastes & Treasures cookbook. That's Carol Vie (the blonde) in the green shirt with the oval pan of yummy coffee cake. It was gobbled up very quickly. I'm in the middle with Carrot Bread pg. 197 and Serge Vie (Carol's son) with Salmon Pate pg. 166.

Cranberry Coffee Cake pg. 199
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce

Confectioners' Sugar Glaze
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons (about) warm water
2 teaspoons lemon juice

For the Coffee Cake: preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Beat the butter in a bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the walnuts.
Spoon half the batter into a greased and floured tube pan, 9 X 13 inch baking pan or bundt pan. Spread with 1/2 of the cranberry sauce. Top with the remaining batter and remaining cranberry sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup walnuts. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes for the tube pan or bundt pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes for the 9 X 13 pan or until the coffee cake tests done. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and invert onto a serving platter.

For the Glaze: mix the confectioners' sugar, warm water and lemon juice in a bowl until of a glaze consistency. Drizzle over the warm coffee cake. Let stand until set.

Serves 16

IAFCI Convention Loves Cookbook

Who would have thought that the International Association of Financial Crime Investigators would enjoy our Historical Cookbook? Karen Russell with members services emailed, "We saw your book online and saw that the Arizona Historical Society Museum was a non profit. When looking for speaker gifts we try to incorporate something local and thought the cookbook was perfect!" She worked with us to get the 30 cookbook autographed by co-authors Donna Roe and Gaye Ingram, and we delivered them to the JW Marriott Desert Ridge for their convention.

FREE Author Event October 8, 2009 7:00-8:00pm

Heidi Osselaer
Presents
Winning Their Place
Arizona Women in Politics, 1883-1950
at the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe

“As a proud member of the 1998 Fab Five, it was fascinating to read a complete account of the women upon whose shoulders I have stood. The stories and the details found in this book are captivating.”-Betsey Bayless

Author book signing after presentation.
Books available at presentation for purchase.
October 8, 2009.....7:00-8:00pm

For information, contact Megan Gately
mgately@azhs.gov 480-929-0292 x137

Smithsonian Museum Day

September 26, 2009: AHS participates in Smithsonian Museum Day
Museum Day is a one-day event where participating museums and cultural institutions across the country offer free admission to Smithsonian magazine readers and friends with a Museum Day Admission Card. Museum Day is an outstanding way to celebrate the country's cultural offerings. Arizona Historical Society museums in Tempe and Tucson will provide free admission on Saturday, September 26, 2009 to each attendee (plus one guest) who presents a Smithsonian Museum Day Admission Card upon entry. (Either the printed version available in the September issue of Smithsonian magazine or the downloadable version available on the Museum Day website is acceptable.) For more information, visit the Smithsonian Museum Day website at http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/affiliates.html.