3/3/12

I do not know how to put into words the special activities of the past weekend. On Saturday, we put into action some plans that we have been working on for months. Well to be realistic, I just followed along with my family putting all of the effort and planning into a fabulous day. For a number of years my family has had what we call “Sib Night” with each one taking turns and planning an event for all siblings and their spouses. This year it turned out to be “sib day”.  All nine of my kids and five spouses furnished and served the entrée and dessert for a meal at the Cherry Street Mission in Toledo for at least 135 people.  Three things made it extra special.  First of all it happened during the Lenten season. Secondly, all of my kids and most (over half) of their spouses participated.   Last but very important, a son “borrowed” a 17 passenger bus from his neighbor who uses it for family excursions, so we could all be in the same vehicle. He picked up most of us at our homes with one from Decatur and one from Wauseon driving to meet us at Fayette.

It was an incredible day.  The fact that we were doing something for someone else less fortunate, along with the togetherness we shared as a family, made it an exceptional experience. We all thank Dave for  his accepting the responsibility of driving the bus, which made it impossible for him to join in the friendly interaction  of just riding along.

Visiting the Mission was a humbling experience, seeing so many individuals who, many from no fault of their own, were in such circumstances. Also it made us appreciate our own status.
We furnished a combination of several meats and several types of beans (We call them Jim’s Beans and have them at most family gatherings.) served over a bed of rice, and seven sheet cakes, which were quite appreciated and a cold drink.  The mission furnished a tossed salad to complete the meal.  We were given a tour of the facility which was a great example of doing good with what you have. Plans from the generosity of several businesses are in place to update some of the facility.

The man who was managing while we were there told me that I was boss, (He could tell from my white hair that I was the oldest) and could tell everyone what to do!  I relinquished this offer and took every one up on their choice of duties of filling trays or serving them. A chuckle for the day was his inquiry if one of my sons-in-law were grandpa.  Since there were more than one, I will not disclose his name, but for the rest of the day he was known as “Grandpa”.  

When someone asked if they had lots of offers to do this he answered quickly  “Oh, no, you folks are a blessing”, making it an easier day for them as they serve three meals a day, seven days a week to those who need it.  I get so many requests for help that it is impossible to respond to them all, but this weekend will make me keep the Cherry Street Mission on my list.  There was a disappointment in the afternoon as a session was planned for Laser Tag. Arrangements were made previously, but they were behind schedule and it was impossible for us to wait.  They were excusing me from participating, but I had decided that I  was going to prove to them that I couldn’t keep up instead of admitting it without trying.  Perhaps my Guardian Angel was looking out for me ??  The day ended at a restaurant serving burgers and sides, compliments of our hosts, Nete and Jerry. We are ever thankful for them for a great day.

In case you missed the presentation of “Mary’s Way of the Cross” presented Sunday afternoon at St. Mary’s Church by the Christian Formation Committee, you shouldn’t have. They very successfully presented what it must have been like for a mother to watch her son’s crucifixion, along with the commentary pointing out our own shortcomings in our daily lives. The singing and characters were all portrayed by St. Mary’s parishioners, and was a very powerful and emotional presentation for the Lenten season giving a much more vivid and memorable picture than reading about it.

In case you are not giving up sweets for Lent, I have a different kind of cookies for you to try. Maybe you could make them and then give them away to make the penance even greater!
                               
HONEY BARS
½ cup shortening
½ cup sugar
½ cup honey
1 egg, well beaten
2/3 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup flaked coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup chopped pecans
Cream shortening, sugar and honey until light
 and fluffy. Add egg and blend. Combine flour
 with soda, baking powder and salt. Add to the
creamed mixture. Add oats, coconut, vanilla and
nuts. Spread in greased 10 by 15 inch pan. Bake at
350 degrees oven for 20 to 25 minutes. When cool
cut into bars.

The recipes for today come from a 25 year old book, so the amount of yams may have to be decided from the size of the baking dish.  What was large them may not be “large” now.
                       
YUMMY YAMMY CRUNCH
2 large cans yams
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup frozen orange concentrate
1 cup flour
¾ cup sugar
Dash of salt
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
2 cups miniature marshmallows
Place yams and raisins in a buttered 10 x 6 inch baking
dish. Pour the orange juice over the yams and raisins. Combine
flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the
mixture is coarse. Sprinkle over the yams. Bake at 350 for 30
minutes. Sprinkle with marshmallows and broil 4 to 5 inches from
 the broiler until marshmallows are golden brown.

2/23/12

Last Saturday morning I had my faith renewed in things that I do not understand and have no control over.  I mastered a great experience and now that I am home, I am working on my abhorrence of church elevators. The two have no connection whatsoever, but until I am forced to use the elevator in my church, I will walk up and down the stairs.  Just today a friend ( I think) suggested that if he could, he would push the button to strand me between floors!  I just told him to shut up and go on home!

Now back to my  original experience.  It has been at least 6 years since I have traveled by air. I have a grandson and his family who live in  a suburb of Houston, Texas.  They have two young daughters and the youngest was being baptized last Sunday.  They were including me in the festivities and before my son had the facts out of his mouth I replied, “Yes, I want to go”! He asked me about my ability to walk and I assured him I could walk fairly well but not at the speeds they would be walking through the airports. I acquiesced to the suggestion that they get a wheel chair for me.  It was a wise decision because some of the distances would have been a challenge to me.  Besides, just think how important it made me feel when we landed and there was a wheel chair and a “pusher” available with a sign that said “Welcome, Sanders”.  It got us through security faster, too.  We won’t mention the asset of them knowing where I was at all times and doing what I was supposed to be doing! The whole weekend was memorable, with some of the relatives remembering me from when I was there for the wedding years ago.

As we were traveling over 30000 feet in the air with only God and science  holding the weight of the plane and so many passengers, I had to marvel at the wonder of it and the fact that I was experiencing it. Another magic moment was the view outside my window as we left on a cloudy, gloomy day and when we got airborne above the clouds the sun was shining majestically on the formation of clouds that appeared to be frozen wastelands spotted with snow drifts.  Then it would change to fields of cotton candy making me more aware of the beauty and wonder of this world of ours.

The baptism was a special experience also.  A four or five year old boy dressed in all white was also baptized.  The parents and godparents were in the entrance processional, then after the homily they went back down the middle aisle where a huge fountain  in the aisle was located for the actual baptism.  We were seated nearby where we could see all of the ceremony. Thanks are extended to Andy, Jen and their family for hosting the celebration and to Jim and Cara Lou for bothering with me so I could have a great experience forming a magic weekend. My only complaint was that it was quite cold all of the time we were there.  It was good since it was 12 degrees here, but not the sunny, warm Texas that I was expecting. It was only in the forties all of the time we were there. We left home immediately after the funeral of my sister-in-law, drove to Detroit, then a layover in Cincinnati, then on to Houston. As I think the thrill of flying is in takeoff and landing, I was sufficiently thrilled.

After I got home I had planned to do absolutely nothing the next day, but those plans were changed. I had a number of phone messages, one of which informed me of the death of a cousin in Elkhart. So I spent the day ordering flowers and finding transportation to get there for calling  hours.  There were 32 cousins and God has called all but 12 of us to leave the magic of this world to a better one.
Congratulations are in order for the St Mary’s fifth grade trophy for the basketball tournament for Catholic Schools in Northwestern Ohio.  St. Pat’s of Bryan won the champion trophy, winning by only one point.  Good job, boys of both teams!

I have a rib boneless pork roast cooking in my crock pot.  It should be done before I go to bed.  I was wondering what I could do with some of the meat while I was looking for recipes.  I noticed a recipe for sauce for beef and pork roasts.  It jumped off the page at me because I often run out of barbecue sauce and I always weaken the prepared sauce with ketchup. So tomorrow I will make this and hope it will help you in the future.
           
BARBECUE FOR BEEF AND PORK ROASTS
½ cup ketchup (my kids prefer Heinz)
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons finely diced celery
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Dash of salt
Combine ingredients and cook until onions and celery
are tender. Add to finely chopped meat.

My mother, who was cooking for nine people three times a day on the farm always cooked enough, especially potatoes, for the noon meal so we could have leftovers for a simpler meal in the evening.  I am certain that she would have enjoyed and used often this suggestion.
                      
BAKED CREAMED POTATOES
1 cup dairy sour cream
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
5 cups sliced, cooked potatoes (6 medium potatoes)
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Mix together sour cream, milk, onion, parsley, salt and pepper.
Place half of the potatoes in a greased baking dish. (10 by 6 inch)
Top with half of the sauce. Repeat layers, and sprinkle the top with
cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
When frying with cooking oil add butter to it.  The oil makes the butter brown at a  higher temperature and is better than using either alone. It was suggested to use 1 tablespoon oil and two tablespoons butter.

2/9/12

Saturday was a special day in my sister’s life.  She was celebrating her birthday, (We won’t say which one because she is OLD)!  I can say that because she is 3 ½ years younger than I am.  All four of her kids, from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Edgerton, along with many grandkids and greats, gathered at her home for a birthday dinner. I was pleased to be invited, but I already had three things that I wanted to do that day.  I took a rain check on the dinner and stopped in later to extend my good wishes, but I did pass up my great granddaughter’s highest scoring for her JV basketball record. Wish I could have been there. Good Job, Hannah!

Some of my family arranged a nice sum of “maid service” for a Christmas present.  I saved it for last week when I was entertaining my Home Extension Club.  Since I will admit to a few frailties, there are a few household chores that I have trouble accomplishing.  I requested all of the dishes in a large china closet be washed and rearranged.  I picked this because the crystal dishes had begun to look more like pewter and I couldn’t move anything without leaving a dust ring on the shelves. After a major task is accomplished it makes you realize how badly it needed done. I also had to give up mopping on my hands and knees.  I needed to supply an evening meal for 14 ladies. I enlisted the help of three daughters to prepare a salad and dessert,  help serve the drinks and dessert and then they washed all of the dishes!  Like the old adage that “many hands make light work” was proven and it turned out to be a nice evening.  I ordinarily never have a good time at my house, but since I turned most of the responsibility over to others, we can give it a successful rating.

I saved a few hours of my gift to have the front porch windows washed.  I can do them, but if my neighbors see me out there standing on a step stool planted in the stones around the front porch, they will call the authorities to check on that stupid woman!

I have resorted to canned biscuits a few times recently and they just don’t quite measure up to from scratch ones.  I noticed this recipe from a church cook book for “cloud” biscuits.  Now shouldn’t they be light and lovely like the ones our mothers and grandmothers used to make? The comment says they are the best ones she has ever made.
                        
CLOUD BISCUITS
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup shortening
2/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add eggs and milk. Knead briefly until smooth. Roll out ¾ inch thick on a floured board. Cut with a biscuit cutter. Place rounds on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
For those of you who do not eat “red meat”, do you need a different way to cook chicken?  This sounds interesting and should be tasty.
         
CHICKEN BREASTS SUPREME
6 chicken breasts, halved
12 bacon slices
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 ½ cups sour cream
1 package of dried beef
3 ounces cream cheese
Pepper
Cooked rice
Pepper, but do not salt chicken breasts. Wrap one slice of bacon around each half. Place  layer of dried beef, not corned beef) in bottom of a baking dish. Arrange bacon wrapped chicken on top of beef slices. Combine soup, sour cream, and creamed cheese.  Pour over chicken. Cover tightly with foil. Bake in 325 degree oven for 2 hours. When meat is tender remove foil and let brown slightly. Serve on a bed of hot rice.

If you enjoy today, it was not wasted.

2/2/12

I have never been in such a drastic need of a magic moment. So far there have been no impressive brain waves and other than the fact that I have two recipes chosen, I have no idea where this will lead. Besides it has to be finished this evening because I have tomorrow scheduled so full there is no room to procrastinate and hope for something better tomorrow morning.  I mentioned last week that I was going to diminish my supply  of cookbooks. Would you believe that I have l already sorted out over 5O? I still have more to go through.  Then If I go through the ones I have saved and discard half of those, I will be closer to what is a sensible amount to own. I bet Good Will won’t be thrilled to see me drive up to their back door.

As I chose a recipe from an old,  old recipe magazine, my mind went back to my childhood when canned salmon was a rare treat in our household.  We usually had it only once or twice a year during the winter months after Christmas.  I like it myself perhaps because of those memories of it being a special treat when we ate mostly what we raised on the farm and my mother canned. I recently proved to myself that the person who does not read is no better off than the person who can’t read.  One of my emergency meals that I keep in my pantry cupboard is a box of macaroni and cheese and a can of albacore tuna. I just reached into the cupboard, grabbed the box of macaroni and what I thought was a can of tuna.  It seems that my old mind had forgotten that I had found and could not resist some cans of the same size that were salmon!  I did not read the label until I thought that the contents looked different than they should and I already had added it to my entrée.  The rest of the story is that I liked it better than I did the tuna!  Some time when you feel adventurous try it.  You might like it.

I was very pleased with the favorable comments about the peanut butter squares that I decided to use another cookie bar recipe that I had clipped from a week end magazine, perhaps American Profile.

            GLAZED APPLE BARS
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 red apple such as Gala, chopped, peeled if desired
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup 2% milk
   GLAZE
1 ½ cup powdered sugar
2 ½ tablespoons warm milk
1 tablespoon soft butter
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Cream butter and brown sugar with mixer. Add salt,
 Nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and egg. Beat until well
blended. Combine 1 cup of flour and soda. Add to butter
mixture. Stir in apple, raisins, and pecans by hand. Add
milk and remaining flour. Spread in a lightly greased 15 x 10
jellyroll pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes until light
brown. Cool 10 minutes.  Prepare glaze, combine powdered
 sugar, milk, butter and vanilla. Mix well and spread over
cooled bars.  Cut to serve into 2 dozen bars.

                        SALMON CAKES
1 can (14 ¾  oz.) salmon
2  1/2 cups prepared mashed potatoes
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
½ cup sliced green onion
Dry bread crumbs
Drain salmon and break into chunks. Mix together potatoes
with egg whites and parsley until well combined. Gently fold
in salmon and onions. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high
heat. Form mixture into ¼ cup patties. Roll in bread crumbs.
Fry 2-3 minutes on each side. It suggests to serve with Horseradish
Dill sauce.(maybe tartar sauce) 

For me, God did not intend for us to
eat horseradish or He wouldn’t have made it taste so bad.