Everyone I know has a life story to share and today I am sharing a glimpse into my sister Christina’s life. She is one of my older sisters who had a terrible accident as a child and became hard of hearing. All her life she has learned to persevere and fight on.
She faced the biggest fight of her life on December 2013. I clearly remember having the conversation with my sister. She texted me saying something wasn’t right and that she felt lumps on her breast. I remember asking her so many questions, like “did you get your annual done this year, did they say if anything was abnormal, when did you feel the lump” and the list went on. As she told me everything I remember having a gut feeling that something just wasn’t right. It seemed obvious at the time that she might have breast cancer but somehow, I knew there was something else going on with my sister.
After interrogating my sister about her lumps and her last annual examination I had to calm myself down and offer my sister the best advice I could. I told her to immediately go to her doctor the next day and to get checked. Christina saw her doctor the next day and they ordered mammograms and ultrasounds and well to make this long story short she was diagnosed with breast cancer and referred to several specialists in the Austin area. I felt something else wasn’t right and told her to go speak to her specialists and get a genetic test. Why would I tell her that after they diagnosed her with breast cancer? You see my sister, brave Christina, had already had cancer, she had cervical cancer when she was in her twenties. She was lucky enough to have had a handsome boy, my nephew Donovan, before she got cancer. So, for her to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, then breast cancer set my radar off. My sister got the genetic testing done and was diagnosed with the BRCA-1 gene on January 16, 2014. I was mortified and scared and everything in between and knew this was the gut feeling that was lingering in the pit of my stomach from Christmas until we got the results. I wish my gut instinct wasn’t right.
If you are not familiar with the BRCA-1 gene, it is a gene on chromosome 17 that prevents cell growth, and so a person that has BRCA-1 has a higher risk of getting ovarian, prostate, breast and other types of cancer.
My brave and courageous sister took this diagnosis by the horns and underwent chemotherapy and kicked cancer’s butt! She fought the good fight and went through a lot of pain, sadness, bouts of depression, and anything else you could imagine a person fighting cancer can go through. It was hard. It was really, really hard.
I remember flying my mom to be with her as she underwent the surgery and then seeing my sister shortly thereafter. It pained me to see her struggle to eat because her taste buds were impacted. I just wanted to fatten her up with healthy foods so she could kick cancer’s butt. I remember feeding her lots of Indian foods with curries and turmeric. She lost so much weight, it pained me to see her so fragile.
I am so in awe of my sister Christina, she has been cancer free for the past four years and I hope for the rest of her life! She changed her lifestyle and eating habits and focuses on eating foods that will help her remain cancer free. She eats tons of veggies and fruits a day and still favors the curry, turmeric and Indian spices.
So why do I write about this on a food blog that has a recipe for Watercress Serrano Salsa? You see the inspiration for my food blog is my family and seeing their life changes and how food is attributed to that. As my sister was fighting cancer and my eldest sister was recovering from her heart attack they looked to healthy foods that were full of nutrients to help them stay healthy and it opened my eyes to foods in a different way.
I did a lot of research and skimmed National Institute of Health studies during my sister’s diagnosis and chemotherapy so I could understand the BRCA-1 gene. The recipe I developed and am sharing with you was a result of something I read in a NIH study that stated that watercress has antioxidant properties that may help prevent cancer, who knew! I never grew up eating watercress and so, I ventured into watercress and took my first bite. Boy was it strong and spicy. This kick butt spicy green leaf vegetable was unlike any spicy food I had grown up with. I thought wow maybe I could make this into something I could eat daily, something that an average person can eat daily because we all could use some healthy foods with antioxidant properties that may help prevent cancer. Then a light bulb clicked and I thought of a salsa. Being an American German Mexican living on the U.S./Mexico border I grew up eating salsas, it’s a daily staple. Hence the watercress & serrano chile salsa was born. So if you have never tried watercress before please venture out and try it for your health.
Buen Provecho!
Watercress Serrano Salsa
Printable Version
Yield: Serves 4-6 Total Time: 5-10 minutes
Ingredients:
-4 Red Tomatoes
-Handful of Serrano Chiles
-3 Pieces of Garlic
-1 Bundle of Watercress
-2 Lemons (not Lime)
-1 Tablespoon of cumin (more if
preferred)
-20 dashes of regular salt or Pink
Himalayan Sea Salt
Equipment Needed:
-Blender/Food Processor
-Cutting Board
-Knife
-Juicer
-Measuring Spoon
-Large Glass Bowl/Glass Jar for Storing
Prep:
– Rinse Watercress bundle and remove long stems
– Rinse all tomatoes and slice off the ends of each tomato and slice in quarters
– Rinse the handful of serrano chiles and cut off the tails
– Then roll and rub the serrano chiles against the cutting board with your hands (it may
be an old wives’ tale but legend says if you roll and rub the chiles it helps make the
chile spicier- I always do this.)
– Juice 2 Lemons with a juicer
– Peel three pieces of garlic
Directions:
– Combine all ingredients in the blender or food processor
– Add 1 tablespoon of Cumin into the blender or food processor
– Add about 20 grinded dashes of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt into the blender or food
processor
– Then cover the lid and chop all ingredients in the blender or food processor until it
forms a salsa texture
– Get a serving bowl and pour the salsa and eat with chips or your favorite dish
*****If the watercress serrano is too spicy for your tastes, simply add an extra tomato and mix. Keep adding extra tomatoes to adjust the spice to your liking. You might have to add more cumin or salt based on your taste buds but please add minimal amounts gradually. ******
*****On the flip side if you don’t think this sauce is spicy enough, simply add a few more serrano chiles and mix into the original mix to help increase the heat. Keep adding serrano chiles to adjust the spice to your liking. *****