親愛なる君へ :
印第安那州立大學以SYCAMORE為學校代表的象徵，聽起來、看起來都蠻浪漫的！所謂SYCAMORE，字典上面翻成一種美國的梧桐樹！但我們喜歡把這種在校園裡春綠秋黃的樹葉，叫做『印第安那楓葉』！也許就是衝著秋天那兩個禮拜，校園裡鋪天蓋地、紅紅火火，活像一幅打翻顏料的水彩畫！
我來到這個不起眼的中西部小鎮，一待就是將近五年。隨著季節看楓葉綠了又紅、敗了又綠，彷彿每片葉子記下生命中的點滴，悄悄帶走在這北美校園裡的回憶!
那天，經過圖書館，注意到牆上這片大葉子：作者將它命名為「昨天、今天、明天」，葉面聚滿無數張照片，好似娓娓道來印第安那州立大學的校史…...曾幾何時，多少老師刻畫學子；多少學子肆意青春!!!
我畢竟是這裡一屆過客，如果每年都有紀錄屬於我的一片楓葉，那今年將是第五片了吧！那已死去的四片葉子，現下該是找不回來了！也許靜靜躺在某處，靜靜地「歸檔」在印第安那州立大學的土地裡！
第五片葉子會送我回台灣，臨行前，還給我留句話：「這裡記下你的足跡、回憶，但你還得往前走，找到你下一片葉子，繼續寫下屬於你的故事！」
Ladies and gentlemen, today I proudly present you my new salad invention in Café Frank's: Farmers of Tainan.
This name comes from two key ingredients in this salad-ham & sweet potato. Sixty years ago, sweet potato was considered cheapest food for local farmers in southern Taiwan. Only rich people could afford to eat white rice for daily meals.
(Well, sweet potato is proved to contain more fiber than white rice. Which is healthier? Sounds ironic, isn't it? Most poor farmers at that time went on a very healthy diet at a very cheap cost. God really has a sense of humor!)
What about the other ingredient, ham!? It was regarded as the "luxurious" source of protein among farmers and people from lower social class in Taiwan during 1950s. According to my father, only when there was a wedding ceremony, religious celebration, or Chinese New year's family gathering could poor people have pork.
Ingredients: olive oil (bacon oil is good too), sweet potato, ham, chopped onion, 3 eggs, mixed vegetables (carrot, green bean, corn...)
This salad goes well with two pieces of whole-grain toast. Along with a glass of orange juice, it's a very nutritious meal of breakfast.
(I also added some mayo and pork fu to increase flavors. )
I haven’t been able to watch TV on a regular basis for a long time/or since I was in the U.S. This has formed my habit of not watching cabl...
