Lime Salad

Lime Salad

Dorcas Annette Walker

Lawn mowers are buzzing and garden plots are being tilled and planted here in the mountains. I always reveled in the freedom this time of the year from a mother’s point of view that allowed my kids to play outdoors without the time consuming task of putting on coats and hats of winter days. Springtime also takes me down memory lane of my days as a youngster when spring meant the beginning of toughing bare feet by daring each other to walk across gravel, the exhilarating feel of soft grass under our feet for the first time, and racing about in sheer ecstasy without the burden of cumbersome coats and hats. It was a time of fascination as we discovered all kinds of spiders and bugs crawling around. We thought nothing of pulling off ticks that somehow mysteriously latched onto our skin after a day of outdoor pleasure. Bug spray was an unknown factor.

Today things have changed quite radically. When I discovered a tick on my foot after kicking off my shoes several years ago at an outdoors Sunday dinner in the western part of the state I wasn’t alarmed. The next day my foot swelled up and a red streak ran up my leg so I went to my local doctor. At the time Lyme disease was not known to be active in Tennessee and I wasn’t showing the symptoms of the bull’s eye that was characteristic of Lyme disease. Little did I know that from that day forward my life would be changed forever. The Lyme spirochete travels rapidly throughout the body embedding inside tendons, muscle, the heart, and the brain triggering multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s, chronic fatigue and other degenerative diseases. Only a minority of cases show the bull’s-eye rash and a positive Western Blot antibody test- the criteria used to make a Lyme diagnosis. Antibiotics only put the Lyme biotic into remission and can trigger again without warning. I had finally put the nightmare days of searching for answers of what was happening to my body after being infected with a tick behind me with relief. I didn’t have time to be sick as I helped my daughter prepare for a wedding, traveled with my husband around the United States, and home schooled our son for his high school years. When Dwight graduated I turned my attention to writing full time with great anticipation. Suddenly my body began going to pieces for no apparent reason. My doctor ran tests that didn’t identify anything matching my symptoms. I slowly got worse. My husband kidded me that I was going through the change of life stage. I pushed myself to keep going, but my body refused to cooperate. Despite increasing medication I became bedfast and unable to function normally. After eight months of continuous antibiotics, my Lyme has finally gone back into remission. It has been a long slow haul to get back on my feet again. Today I have continuous bone pain with bouts of chronic fatigue, arthritis, and fibromyalgia. Everywhere I go I warn people to make sure and spray before spending time outdoors. Children are especially vulnerable as they play outside during summer months. For more information about Lyme disease visit my website at: http://www.dorcasannettewalker.com/ or contact me by email.

My Lime Salad is a decorative addition to any meal with its cool zesty taste. It is easy to make and uses only five ingredients. This Lime Salad embodies the warm days of summer and can be served in different creative ways: by itself in a glass dish, put into a mold, with fruit, nuts, or on lettuce. The Lime Salad takes only ten minutes to prepare then can be left to sit in the freezer until stiff and cooled until firm in the refrigerator while other tasks are done. This recipe of Lime Salad serves ten.

Lime Salad

Mix together in a microwave bowl:
2 (3 oz) boxes of lime jello
1 (20 oz) can of crushed pineapple
1 (8 oz) cream cheese
Microwave for three minutes until the cream cheese is melted stirring often with a Wisk.

Add:
1½ c cold water
Place in freezer for about two hours until the mixture becomes stiff.
Then add:
1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk
Mix thoroughly and chill in the refrigerator until firm. Garnish with cool whip and serve!

Weekly tip: To slide out a molded salad with ease first spray the mold with a cooking spray or rinse with cold water. Also rinse the salad plate with cold water before turning out so that if the salad is off center you can slide the molded salad on the plate to center it!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, syndicated columnist, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net For more information check out: www.dorcasannettewalker.com