"Spiced Curried Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad"

This recipe I created has all you need for a meal or you can use it as a side dish. The beans and rice form a complete protein and the brown rice has great fiber. The flavor of cilantro curry and the red wine shallot vinaigrette is fresh and bright.
1 cup brown rice
2cups water
1 bay leaf
1 t curry
1/2 t coriander
pinch of cayenne

bring to boil and then turn to simmer for 30-35 minutes
cool immediately.

when rice is cool add all ingredients below and toss with vinaigrette.

1 1/2 cup black beans "dried and cooked or canned", if canned please rinse well under water.

1/2 cup each
cucumbers, diced
fresh red bell pepper, diced
celery diced
fresh cilantro, rough chop

1/4 cup dice red onion or shallots

Vinaigrette: 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 cup olive oil or canola oil, 1 T minced shallots and 1/2 t minced garlic, 1 T water. Shake well and use only enough dressing to moisten salad to your taste.

Bon Appetit

How Does Place Shape Toshio and Kyoshi's Identities? Essay 4 Dialogue

Toshio and Kyoshi were born in a time when the world seemed large, other places were far away, communication and the level of education was limited to the few not the many. The 1930’s is the time in which this story is set and Hawaii is the place, a territory of the United States at this time. Asian’s were immigrating and coming to Hawaii for work and a better life, working on the Sugar Plantations. Along with these immigrants came their superstitions, folklore and the tradition of filial piety. These two brothers, Toshio being the oldest and the filial son, Kyoshi the second son, did not realize fate was going to take them on a journey that would shape their lives and Identity with past generations and a future that would open them to a world of choices their parents never had.
Culture, language, place, ethnicity and time help to cast the mold of which they are destined to travel, but, can change if they are open to viewing life objectively and Toshio and Kyoshi were certainly observing their own situation. Claiming a distinct place of their own was difficult at best and really their only release was gathering and talking to others their age which gave them a sense they were not the only ones who felt the injustice. In our time today we take for granted all the ways we have to communicate in the world the education we are generously endowed with and how we have crossed generational differences, but they did not have that. These two brothers wanted out from a life of debt and filial duty and the course of events that take place help them to accomplish this, however their duty to the family is a shadow they feel has to be erased before they can move forward.
For Toshio and Kyoshi place definitely shapes their identities, imagine living on an island then imagine living in the conditions they did and during the time in history. How could you get away from it and develop a different way of thinking if you have this constant reminder you are here to pay a debt for your parents and this is your life. Mr. Snook was the only adult that gave his students an opportunity to alternative means of thinking. He was let go because of his teaching methods and therefore the message was sent, the plantation governs how you think, your filial duty governs how you think and where you live governs how you think. Who we are is definitely shaped by many factors, place being one of them. I am sure we have all traveled out of California and noticed differences, some small, some huge and some leaving us shaking our heads because of what we are use to here. Toshio and Kyoshi's story is much more complex than what can be imagined by most of us, who enjoy the freedom of thinking for ourselves.

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What Do You Think of The Ending? Week 16 Dialogue

I thought the ending of “All I Asking For is My Body” was triumphant! It gives you the feeling that big dreams are attainable and to never give up, no matter what the situation. For the Oyama boys it was World War 11 and the chance to become free of their prison of plantation life. Even though it seems they rejected filial piety in the end Kyoshi did not.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor was the vehicle which propelled Kyoshi to close his eyes to his mother’s wishes and volunteer for the military. Kyoshi figures no matter what happens to him his parents will get the money for their debt from the military if he dies and if he does not die he will send as much as he made before to them monthly. Kyoshi develops a system of gambling that wins him the money for the family debt and he sends it to Toshio to send to their parents. In the book it seems Kyoshi rejected the duty of filial piety but in the end he did not. He still had a sense of duty to tradition and culture he was brought up with, however he found his freedom his family debt was paid and he took care of his “body”.