like carrots, radishes, red onions and collard greens. I also like using cilantro.” In the past, Tracy confessed that the chopping process provides her with mindless enjoyment and a healthy dose of stress relief. Like Steve, she had spent the afternoon getting caught up on work and was ready for some break time in the kitchen. Tracy showed workmanship and proficiency in quickly slicing up each fruit or vegetable and filling up the respective bowls. This visitor couldn’t wait for the main course, sampling the veggies and finding a special liking for the thin apple slices. As she wrapped up the prep work, Tracy turned to another type of wrap — a rice-based, see-through wrap commonly found in the grocery store. The wrap didn’t look strong enough to serve as an outer layer, but Tracy soon proved me wrong. She gave each wrap a light coating and then set to work, stuffing a generous portion of chicken, veggies and apple into a tight package. She placed about a half-dozen wraps on my platter, neatly arranged. She continued the process, creating more of the wraps for the rest of the family. As if that weren’t enough, she placed bowls of dipping sauce in front of me. I was offered a variety of oils, soy sauce and sambal oelek ground chili paste. To show you can never have enough spice in your life, Steve brought out the hui-hui soy sauce. Once again, there were no rules or regulations regarding double dipping, or even three and four dives into a bowl with one spring roll. I even rotated, using different sauces on the same roll. The zippy sauces gave a zing to the hard, crunchy fruit and vegetable fillings. Tracy viewed her work as artistic as well as tasty. “I think that using slivers (rather than large chunks) gives it more of a profile and makes it easier to put together in the wrap,” she said. “It’s also easier to hold and eat the wrap.” But the lingering cold weather also brought a desire for comfort food. Flashing a sly smile, Steve brought out a large bowl of couscous. The North African granules, made from crushed durum wheat, looked like pellets at first. But the addition of water soon produced a flavorful explosion normally served with a stew, meat or vegetables. In this case, we enjoyed the couscous on its own with no need for an accompaniment. Steve dished up heaping servings and handed out a special sloped spoon for capturing each morsel. “Now, this is real comfort food,” he said. “I really wanted something like this because it tastes great and feel so good in your stomach, especially if you haven’t been feeling well. This (couscous) does wonders for you.” Steve disappeared briefly, heading out back to check on the smoker. But unlike his previous forays with flatiron steak, lamb, ham and pork chops, he was smoking a side of vegetables. In this case, it was a healthy serving of green beans. He previously offered me a few raw beans with a special coating. vHIS EATS continued on page 14 Call or Stop By For All Your Heating and Cooling Needs! 2018 Broadway, Yankton 605-665-4348 M-F 8am-5pm Saturday 8am-Noon We Stock Filters Brad Haas HISVOICEvMAY/JUNE 2018v5