3/15/12

One of my favorite memories of my mother’s parenting was the adage “Pride goeth before a fall.”  Whenever we thought we had things all lined up to perfection, she would always point out the danger of being over confident . This came back to me this week when one of my daughters asked my sister and me to do another skit like we have done numerous times in the past.  It really sharpened our ego and we agreed to do one for a ladies retreat in Wauseon.  We started out fairly confident but by the time the real production was due last Saturday we were ready to go on a two week’s vacation in the other direction. The dialogue was all written, retyped and edited.  Costumes were all ready and the day was at hand. Both of us expressed our concern about the fact that we were a number of years older, we did not know our audience and what would make us think that we could still do this.  The only bright spot in my mind was the fact that I knew only a very few of the people and hopefully they would soon forget if we were less than they expected.  The best thing I can say is that I have also been told that most of the things that you worry about never happen. So that must have worked here because our audience of about 30 ladies were very appreciative of our efforts which boosted our morale considerably. Requests to our guardian angels were answered and we came home with our heads held high. Another magic day when younger people still think that us “old ducks” still can contribute to society!

Last Friday was the birthday of  my youngest sister who is a resident of the nursing home in Butler. Another sister and I visited her and she was enjoying the day as the nurses were giving her special attention, she had received several floral arrangements, her family had supplied cupcakes for her to treat the staff and all guests who stopped in to wish her a great day!  It was so nice to see her enjoying the celebration. We both will admit that we consumed a cupcake, that is if you do not tell our doctor.   We shook them real good and I am sure most of the sugar fell out.

The book I used for recipes last week was still not back in place and as I am more than a little lazy this evening, I decided to see if I could find something else of interest without much effort. I was amazed at the simplicity and the combination of the first recipe. The note suggested that it was a colorful spring favorite, especially served with the “potato stuffed franks” that I gave you on January 26, 2012. In case you did not save it,  just split franks and generously cover them with prepared mashed potatoes, with a bit of onion if you prefer. Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese on top and bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

              SAUERKRAUT and TOMATOES
1 can (1 #, 11 oz. )sauerkraut
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
2 tablespoons sugar
1 can (1 lb. ) stewed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Heat thoroughly, about 15 minutes. 

The next recipe is a bit unusual, both its name and ingredients.  Even though my sister says I have a very large vocabulary, this word in the title is not in my big dictionary, I do not know what it means and I do not remember ever seeing it before, especially related to food.   It suggests that you will be pleased with the compliments you will get when you serve it  on a buffet.  I would be happy if my family ate it and didn’t complain!

                    MIXED VEGETABLE MORNAY
2 pkgs. (10 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
½ cup Parmesan cheese
2 slices bread, torn into tiny pieces
2 tablespoons melted butter
Cook vegetables as directed on package until barely tender. Melt 3 tablespoons butter, blend in flour. (Do not brown.) Add milk and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Add seasonings and cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Place drained vegetables in 1 ½ quart shallow baking dish. Cover with cheese sauce. Toss bread pieces in remaining butter and scatter on top.  Bake in hot oven about 10 minutes or until  browned.

A handy hint that I use often is using a coffee filter to cover small bowls when heating in the microwave.  Another suggestion was to slide the wooden stick through a filter before handing frozen treats to small children to prevent dribbles.  Wouldn’t hurt if you were giving one to an elderly lady either!!

3/22/12

It looks as if this will be one of those days that the proof readers must be really on their toes.  Already, and I just started, I used the wrong date.  Maybe I am alert enough  to continue because I did think that it couldn’t be right.  Seems as if I have an outdated calendar still within my reach.  It is just the right size to keep on my computer desk, but I can’t think of a single other reason that it has not been discarded three months ago!   It is gone now!

Those members of St.Mary’s who are over 62 and did not take the time to attend the honorary luncheon cooked and served by the Altar Society missed a real treat consisting of ham loaf, scalloped potatoes, a St. Patrick salad and topped off with peanut butter sheet cake! The attendance was exceedingly small. In trying to justify that, I could  invent only one  possibility.  They called us Senior Saints. I know there were a lot of absent Seniors.  Couldn’t they classify themselves in the “Saints” category?  The luncheon was followed by a challenging presentation by Jean Wise, a speaker, writer and retreat leader, on the reality of Angels in our lives. Stay alert.  Our gratitude is extended to the Altar Society for appreciating us as an important part of our congregation. One qualification for me was really evident.  I went with a daughter and son-in-law!  That really makes me a senior.  Perhaps we should just let the issue of “saint” pass by without discussion.

Since I am on a mission of ridding my home of a number of unnecessary items (mostly so my kids don’t wish they had taken my available cash away from me years ago) I started with a few magazines that are overflowing my lower computer shelf.  At least one of them was really necessary since I did find the recipes that I want to use today in it, even though it is over 10 years old. Maybe next week I will put it in the recyclables.

I have not tried it because red raspberries are about in the middle of my favorite things that I like to eat but I have several friends who often order raspberry tea when eating at a restaurant.  Wouldn’t  you know the first thing I noticed in the perusal of my ancient magazine  (well, I did have a short nap and had to retrieve my magazine from the floor) was a recipe for raspberry tea. This made me think that your Guardian Angel pointed it out to me so you could make your own.
                                               
RASPBERRY TEA
4 quarts water
1 ½  cups sugar
1 package (12 oz.)  frozen, unsweetened red raspberries
10 individual tea bags
¼ cup lemon juice
In a large pan, bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved.  Add the raspberries, tea bags and the lemon juice.  Cover and steep for 3 to five minutes. Strain. Discard berries and tea bags. Cool over raspberry ice cubes made by gently rinsing the berries, then placing three berries in each section of your ice cube tray then fill the tray with the tea that you just made. Freeze the tray several hours and add several cubes to each glass of tea when serving.

Our speaker today told us that “God gave the angels wings, and he gave us humans chocolate.”  That is no doubt why the page with the recipe for brownie mix jumped out at me with a recipe for walnut brownies and brownie cookies.  It is a recipe that is 50 years older than the date of the magazine, so it will be a good one.
                       
BROWNIE MIX
8 cups sugar
4 cups all purpose flour
2 ½ cups baking cocoa
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons salt
2 cups shortening (I would use Butter flavored Crisco)
Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shortening until it is like coarse crumbs. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to  six months.
                  
WALNUT BROWNIES
4 cups  Brownie mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Combine brownie mix, eggs and vanilla.  Mix well. Fold in chips and nuts. Put in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
                                   
BROWNIE CRINKLES
4 cups brownie mix
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
Combine ingredients and drop by tablespoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pan to cooking rack. Enjoy your raspberry tea and the chocolate that God gave to us.  Maybe I will wait a week or  two before I part with my Quick Cooking magazine and I will take another look at it.

3/15/12

I do not know where I will go with this today.  The most exciting thing that I have done this past week was a doctor and a dentist visit!  For excitement, you would think I could do better than that! I tried to pad my excitement account with a visit to the nursing home.  I have a new friend who is a patient across the hall from my sister and she is a delight to visit.  She is past her 100th birthday, her mind is in better shape than mine, she is always in a cheerful mood, and she likes me!  I always leave feeling exhilarated from my visit with her. She and my sister both accept their confinement with such courage and contentment that it is a pleasure  to spend time with them.  My aunt is there, too but she has trouble hearing me so that makes a conversation much more difficult. My elderly friend quoted a scripture to me the last time I was there “about God’s mysterious ways his wonders to perform” and said it was certainly a good thing she fell and broke her arm, resulting in her stay at the nursing home, or she would have never met me!  What a way to build someone’s ego! Whenever I feel let down and alone, it is a real treatment to visit with her and it fills my day with magic moments.  It is a pleasure to fill her request for me “to be sure and come back”!

I made the “four ingredient” recipe for Swiss Chicken breasts last week. White meat is not my favorite and therefore made a lot of it for me to eat but it was quite tasty. I finished the last one for my lunch today.  I added a little more liquid and sliced the meat before heating it in a sauce pan. Along with a slice of New York Garlic toast, it made a nice lunch.  I was making it from memory (which is scary) and thought it was mushroom soup. As I searched my pantry cupboard, I discovered someone must have came when I wasn’t home and stole my mushroom soup!  I later reread the recipe and found that it called for the chicken soup that I had used.  I think it would be good with the mushroom soup, too.  If I have a lot of time on my hands, the next time I think I will pound the chicken and then brown it before adding the soup and baking it. That is why I tell everyone to adapt the recipes to suit your family’s preferences.

I rescued a cook book in my box of “ones to go” thinking that I might have missed something good.  After spending some time with it, I decided my original idea was a good one.  I did settle on a couple, but if you do not like them be grateful that I did pass on the one called DEVILED SARDINES and one called SZECHUN NOODLES with PEANUT SAUCE ! By now you will be scared to try the ones I did select.
            
COLE SLAW with CARROTS and RAISINS
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
Salt and pepper
4 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup grated carrots
½ cup raisins
2 tablespoons celery seed
Combine mayonnaise, buttermilk, onion, lemon juice, dill weed, salt and pepper.  Blend until smooth.
Combine cabbage, carrots, raisins and celery seed. Pour in dressing and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to allow flavors to blend.

The next one is an ideal appetizer containing only 15 calories per tablespoon with no fat and is high in fiber.  Healthy and I hope it will be tasty.
               
15 CALORIE CHILI BEAN DIP
1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, drained, reserve 3 tablespoonfuls
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Assortment of crisp vegetable sticks
Combine drained beans, liquid, vinegar, chili powder and cumin in blender and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and fold in onion and parsley. Refrigerate until chilled and serve with ice-cold vegetable sticks.

If you ever want a delicious spread for on hot biscuits, rolls, corn bread or whole grain and oatmeal breads, mix I stick of butter with ¼ cup of honey.
This recipe book is going back in the “to go” box!

3/10/12

Since my life is back to a more normal schedule for an octogenarian after my plane trip to Texas and our fabulous family experience last weekend at the Cherry Street Mission in Toledo, nothing leaps to the forefront for me to expound for this week.  Sometimes we are blessed with ordinary things that we do not appreciate until someone else points them out to us.  I was talking on the phone with a daughter and she had to call me back on her lunch hour.  I told her I was leaving at one o’clock to take my sister to Bryan to have her hearing aid repaired. She remarked how nice it was that we looked after each other for things that we can do.  Her comment was, “I certainly hope that when I am 87 I can take my younger sister to the hearing aid specialist”!  See, I am blessed without appreciating it.

I was going to say I haven’t done anything really dumb to write about, then the thought came rushing by that  this same daughter and phone call was for something that she needed that was in my bill fold.  Would you believe I could not find my bill fold which is supposed to be in my purse with the needed document in its special place? This made my heart beat faster and my blood pressure rise, but I assured her I would have it when she called back.  Now do you want to know the rest of the story? After nervously searching the logical places that I might have put it, I sat down to review the previous day when I knew I had it.  My first mistake was that I took it out of my purse to carry it to the local grocery store to get a small needed item. They did not have what I wanted but suggested that the local Dollar store might have it.  I was walking and it was a beautiful day, so why not just walk to the other store? Since I was walking by my home, I decided to drop off my mail and my bill fold, putting 3 dollars in my pocket for my small purchase.  Little bells started ringing and I remembered leaving it in a certain room. Only where did I put it, probably that nosey little old lady had it again!  Wouldn’t you know my guardian angel pointed out the perfect place to keep it out of sight so the robbers wouldn’t find it, and I casually informed my daughter that the lost had been found.  Wouldn’t it make my life simpler if I kept it in my purse at all times?  Necessity has improved my life in one area.  I was always looking for my glasses and my husband said, “If you would leave the darned things on your face, you wouldn’t spend so much time looking for them”. Guess I am just a slow learner.

A little excitement was created last week at my Home Extension monthly meeting. We have several members who report each month on a number of topics. Our Health and Safety leader gave a detailed report on the importance of eating properly, especially eating enough fiber. We have secret pals and I received a rather heavy package for Valentine’s Day. Someone asked what I got because it was a rather heavy package.  I opened it eagerly to find a bag of 2 ½ pounds of Hershey’s Kisses, to which I exclaimed, “Oh, boy. Fiber, fiber, fiber.”  I am not sure my doctor will approve so I will no doubt ask for help in making them disappear.

Having grown up during the Great Depression recovery years, it is difficult for me to throw out any food. (That is unless it gets lost in my refrigerator and knits its own little green sweater!) On
Saturday I boiled a small head of cabbage that was beginning to look a little tired, fortified it with a generous dab of butter and really enjoyed it, reminiscing about eating it in my childhood days over just plain boiled potatoes. We had lots of meatless days and meals that were  not prescribed penance.  We just ate what was available. Today the remainder of the cabbage and juice was still here. My innovative mind started clicking and wondered what I could with it to keep from throwing it down the disposal. I added one onion, a package of frozen peas and carrots, two diced potatoes, thinking that wouldn’t taste so bad.  It looked rather anemic so I opened a small can of Southgate Beef Stew and added it to my concoction.  It was delicious and I baked two slices of Texas toast to enhance my soup. Making do with what you have was a valuable lesson that I learned from my parents.
Since we are economizing this week, I am going to my Four Ingredient cookbook for some ideas. Hope they appeal to you.
                                               
VEGETABLE SOUP CASSEROLE
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 can (10 ½ oz.) Vegetable Beef soup
Brown beef and onions, drain. Place potatoes in a slightly
greased casserole dish. Spread beef and onions over potatoes.
 Pour soup over the top. Cover and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes.
                       
SWISS CHICKEN CASSEROLE
6 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
6 slices Swiss Cheese
1 can Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted
¼ cup milk
Place chicken in greased casserole.  Top with cheese. Mix soup
with milk. Spoon over chicken and cover. Bake for one hour at 350.