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| Classic Dr. Seuss: try something new and you may like it! |
Do you like Green Eggs and Ham?
Let’s go make some, Blog-I-Am!
March 2,
2014, marked the late, great Dr. Seuss’ 110th Birthday! He was born Theodor Seuss Geisel and is still
beloved by children and adults alike around the world for his quirky,
imaginative and surprisingly profound children’s books.
When I think
back on some of my ‘learning to read’ memories, Dr. Seuss is there, right along
with Robert Munsch, Shel Silverstein and Beatrix Potter. Green Eggs and Ham was a classic (probably because I was such a
picky eater) and we always watched How
the Grinch Stole Christmas during the holidays. The speech of the valedictorian
of my high school graduating class was even interspersed with excerpts from Oh, The Places You’ll Go. There was not
a dry-eye in the house...
Dr. Seuss has been part of my journey through childhood, young-adulthood, auntie-hood and teacher-hood. As an auntie
to two amazing little boys, we’ve spent hours reading aloud together and nothing is more
fun than stumbling through the tongue-twister masterpiece Fox in Socks while a little four year-old giggles uncontrollably!
Even the older kids in my life love to get ‘Seussified’, like the Junior High
students I directed in The Seussification
of Romeo and Juliet, the Drama 7 class that brought The Lorax to life, and the English 10 class who enjoyed listening
to Green Eggs and Ham. Those almost-too-cool
high school students didn't even notice they’d transformed back into kids while
I read to them. Plus, it helped them understand
the tricky concept of theme.
To honor the birthday of the man whose books hold a special place
in my heart, as they do in the hearts of so many others (Beatrix Potter herself
included!), I was inspired to recreate the most famous, oddly-colourful food in
sandwich form: Green Eggs and Ham!
You do not like them. So you say.
Try them! Try them! And you may.
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| Green Eggs and Ham ingredients! |
For this Special Literary Lunch, you will need:
Eggs (for two
sandwiches, I used four eggs)
Ham
Sandwich Bread,
toasted
Chopped Green
Pepper
Fresh Dill,
finely chopped
Green Food-Colouring
(a few drops)
Mustard
Mayo
Ground Pepper
Swiss cheese
(for the Mouse, while you enjoy it in
your House)
How to make them here or there, how to
make them anywhere:
1 – Crack the
eggs in a skillet over medium-heat.
2 – Keep them
moving by constantly stirring them in the skillet to avoid burning/sticking and
add the green pepper and dill.
3 – Squeeze a
few drops of the green food colouring onto the eggs while they’re still runny and
keep stirring them to set the colour.
4 – Divide
the eggs into sandwich portions and remove from heat. Bread should be toasted
now to avoid drying out.
5 – Spread some
mayo and mustard on the toasted bread and place the eggs and cheese on one
slice.
6 – Arrange the
ham (the damn ham, as Scout Finch
from To Kill a Mockingbird might say)
on the other slice and sprinkle with dill. (Or if you want to dye your ham
green too, go for it!)
7 – Assemble
the sandwich and slice for easy eating.
Seuss-tacular!
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| Ready for lunch! Munch, munch, munch! |
The crisp, faintly bitter flavor of the green pepper contrasts nicely with the
sweet, slightly tangy taste of the dill – much like the up-beat, optimistic
Sam-I-Am and his bitter counterpart. The melted cheese and the sharp tinge of
mustard combine with the other ingredients at just the right moments; just as the
profound themes of Dr. Seuss’ stories don’t overpower the plot, they are
subtle, yet truthful.
Plus it’s just
so much fun to eat a Green Eggs and Ham sandwich! My inner four year-old was
giggling along with my adult-self.
You can eat them in a box, with a fox,
in a house, with a mouse.
You can eat them here or there, you
can eat them anywhere!
If you try Green Eggs and Ham, you may
like them, Blog-I-Am!
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| I do so like Green Eggs and Ham! |
Some fun,
little-known facts about Dr. Seuss:
*He wrote Green Eggs and Ham on a bet with his
publisher that he could write a book using only 50 different words. He won when it was published in 1960 and it remains one of his best-selling books.
*If I Ran the Zoo, published in 1950,
introduces the word nerd. Thanks,
Doc!
*Many of Dr.
Seuss’ books have a political bent: Yertle
the Turtle, 1958, opposes tyrannical dictators, The Sneetches and Other Stories, 1961, decries racism and Antisemitism and The Lorax, 1971,
warns of the dangers of exploiting the environment.
*Due to its
political themes, The Lorax has been on the
American Library Association’s Annual List of Banned Books. Who knew?
*Dr. Seuss
was awarded in the Pultizer Prize in 1984.
For more
Seuss titles and info, check out:
Happy Reading and Eating!
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