Recipe

Featured Recipe: Adriana Govea’s Vaquera Salad, Winter 2020

(Photo courtesy of Two Peas & their Pod) 

We want to share a little of Adriana Govea’s story with you. She’s from Mexico City and moved to the United States in 1994. She began participating at Familias en Acción in 2018, where most of her effort has been devoted to our Abuela, Mamaá, y Yo (AMY) program. Adriana has also taken part in Familias’ leadership training programs, including AMY training, and she has become an active advocate for improving the health of her family and  community. When asked about AMY, she said, “I love it. I grew up with my Grandma, and this program reminds me of her and her traditional dishes. For me, she is still alive and present; she made me what I am today. AMY takes you back and makes you think about your roots and where you came from. It’s easy to move somewhere and adapt to the culture, forgetting who you are. So AMY makes you reflect on who you are and think, ‘Why am I here, what am I doing? I came for a dream, to keep my family moving forward…” 

She believes AMY “promotes leadership and provides a model that doesn’t try to change people…It helps you recognize that you have a voice and makes you see a reflection of yourself.”

Adriana sees her community as strong and connected. “We treat everyone equally, we are united, and we strive even while living in a place with so much hate and with people reminding us that we’re not from here…yet we can still remain positive.” However, Adriana wants to see more “equity and more opportunities for everyone, especially more programs like AMY. AMY is a welcoming program where “You want to be here because of who you are, not who you represent.”

Here is one of Adriana’s favorite recipes that she would like to share with our communities:

Recipe: Vaquera salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup each of four types of beans:
    • black, pinto, kidney, peruvian
  • Bell peppers:
    • 1 green, 1 yellow, 1 red
  • 2 tomatoes
  • Cilantro
  • 2 cloves of Garlic
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil
  • Juice of ½ large lime or 1 medium lime
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • ½ Sweet onion
  • Optional: chopped spicy peppers
  • Optional: avocado

Instructions:

Cook each type of beans until well-cooked. Chop the peppers, onion and tomatoes in cubes. Put the vegetables in a large bowl and add all the cooked beans. Peel and chop the garlic. In a small bowl, combine it with the oil, salt, pepper and lime juice to make the dressing. Add the dressing to a large bowl and mix well. Garnish with cilantro or avocados. Enjoy!

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Featured Recipe: Sautéed Multicolor Squash by María Segura, Fall 2019

As our Abuela, Mamá, y Yo (AMY) program has grown and expanded in the last few months, we would like to introduce a new series of featured recipes that will be shared by various people throughout the Latino + Latinx communities of Oregon who are involved in the AMY program.

Photo courtesy of: The Spruce Eats

Interview by Rebeca Márquez

María recognizes that times are hard. “Our mental state is not easy, what with racism, discrimination, and the need to be forever alert, wondering how we look to others, how our ethnicity goes over.” Her dream is for the Latino community to feel proud of who we are and also knowledgeable of how to take care of ourselves. She would like us to make exercise a part of our everyday lives and to modify traditional recipes to make them healthier. She has been delighted to form part of “Abuela, Mamá y Yo” and likes to imagine a future in which we are healthy and strong. She understands that to get there, we must take action now. 

I would like to tell you a little about María Segura. She is from Mexico and arrived in the U.S. eleven years ago. For the past five years, she has been actively involved in the programs that Familias en Acción offers. After taking leadership seminars and thorough training, she now facilitates several of our health education programs: Abuela, Mamá y Yo, “Tomando Control de su Salud”, “Manejo Personal de su Diabetes”, “Camine con Gusto”, “Siembra la Cena” and ”Empoderate”. What she likes best about our “Abuela, Mamá y Yo” nutrition and Food Equity program is that it’s focus on healthy eating, something not always easy to achieve. “It teaches you about serving moderate portions, modifying traditional recipes, and something even more important: breaking bread with family, friends, and your community.” She considers an openness to learning new things as an attribute of the Latino community. However, she adds that “…we need more educational programs that help us promote our health, prevent diseases, and set a good example for our kids.” She also mentions how important traditions are and how proud she is that they are passed down from one generation to the next. She is a model for her children and her community, as well as an inspiration due to her work with us. María would like to share one of her favorite recipes with you. Enjoy!

Multicolor Squash

Ingredients:

  • 3 yellow squash
  • 3 green squash
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 yellow or orange pepper
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 finely chopped onion
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • Garlic salt
  • Jalapeño, serrano, or habanero chile
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil

 Procedure:

Chop up onion and garlic. Cut vegetables in julienne strips. Stir fry onion and garlic, add squash and peppers, cook on low heat for seven minutes. Season to taste. Enjoy!

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