Wacky Wednesday

I spent a delightful Thanksgiving with friends. Talk turned to foods, familiar and exotic (several of us were from the Midwest, some from the south, and some from the Philippines). Succotash, which I had always assumed to be a Native American dish served throughout the Midwest, turned out to be unfamiliar to friends from Minnesota. In a quick search of the web I found references to New Hampshire Native American food and to Southern cooking and no references to the Midwest, so color me confused! Does anybody else from the Midwest recall this dish as an autumn staple? My daughter and I had a discussion about recipes for succotash and we both like it quite simple, with just salt, pepper, and maybe a little butter, but recipes abound calling for milk, cream, cheese, onions. . . . Maybe next time I make succotash I will experiment a little (a southwestern version piqued my interest).

SAT Word of the Week: ENIGMA, ENIGMATIC

An enigma is a mystery, a puzzle, or a baffling (confusing) situation.
Enigmatic is an adjective meaning mysterious, puzzling, or baffling.
The Enigma machine was a device the Germans used to encrypt (set into code) messages during World War II. The word is based on the Greek word for riddle or “dark saying.” (A dark saying is one not easily understood or explained.) The sphinx is a symbol commonly used to indicate an enigma.

Learning Alternatives

I absolutely believe that learning can (in fact, should) be fun! There are some great games for building communication skills. Two of my favorites are Taboo, and Catch Phrase. I have recommended Taboo to families wanting to improve their English fluency; it is also a great way to encourage kids to elaborate, explain, describe, and think about how to get an idea across to other people. Catch Phrase is something friends introduced to me recently, and I like the way it reveals different communication styles and makes you think about whether or not something might be familiar to your team members (this is particularly salient when different generations play together). Both games are timed and team-oriented. The Catch Phrase I used involves a relatively high-tech disk which is passed around, sets the task, buzzes when time is up, and helps keep score. My Taboo game uses a very low tech set of cards, a tiny “hour glass,” a score card, and a rather loud horn (the kids love that). Amazon sells both games as well as some other word-related games your family might enjoy.