9/8/11

Some days we do not have to look far nor hard to find much magic in our life. This past week was such an experience. I received word from my youngest son that he had been promoted to manager of the Bunge facility, formerly Central Soya, in Decatur! He graduated from Tri State with a mechanical engineering degree after serving 8 years in the army, three of them in Germany, where I had the privilege of visiting him. Just before graduation they purchased a home in Decatur. We wanted to question the advisability of this because it would limit his choices of employment. Fortunately our theory of keeping our noses out of our kids lives was the right one. We were available for advice and support but not control. He accepted a position at this facility that was about three blocks from their new home! It is a fantastic feeling when as Sam Levinson, an author who had his own television show years ago, said, ”It is great when others say nice things about your kids.” Success is usually the combination of the co-operation and support of family members. So here is my thanks to Mari, his wife and his four kids.

Following this news his two youngest daughters, one a sophomore at Dayton University, the other a junior in high school, sent me a message asking if they could come on Saturday and have me teach them how to bake pies! This was a great compliment because just about a month before they had been here and we baked cut out sugar cookies. It must have been a successful day because they wanted to come back again. For years, after a number of years of struggling with pie crust, I thought I could make good pie crust. Then I experienced several times some that was served by a long time friend that I decided was better than mine. I asked her for her recipe and have used it for several years. (Thanks, Treeva.)

After accepting the girls request for a Saturday pie baking lesson, I wondered if they could manage the difficulty of rolling this particular crust. My theory is that the more difficult it is to roll and handle the better the finished product will be. Why did I even question this? They were so adaptable to the project. I wanted to show them how to bake a pie shell for cream pies. After a few suggestions, Aubrie ,the youngest one, produced a perfect pie shell, better than most that I have made. A great granddaughter joined us later in the afternoon. We made pumpkin, apple, fresh peach and banana cream with Hershey Bars in the bottom. We made three small individual pies with the left over filling from each variety, which we shared after a spaghetti supper. It was a great day of interaction between the three generations, good pie and I sent them merrily on their way with three of the pies for proof to their parents that they were where they said they were going. We ate the chocolate- banana cream pie along with our three small samples. Grandmothers, if you want a day of magic, initiate a cooking school with your granddaughters for a super day of interaction as well as passing along your experiences of being a good cook.

Today I do not have to work hard to get to the idea of food. I did not have recipes selected so I turned to my old Taste of Home Annual Cookbook of QUICK COOKING. I think my guardian angel opened the book because there on that page were two simple to make complementary suggestions. Try them together and impress your family.

SAUSAGE BREAKFAST LOAF
1 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, julienned
1 ½ cups, (6 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons minced parsley
½ teaspoon onion salt
1 tube (10 oz.) refrigerated pizza dough
Saute the sausage. Cool. Combine the sausage, cheese,
one egg, parsley, onion salt and garlic salt. Mix well. Unroll
pizza dough. Roll into a rectangle 8 inches x 12 inches. Spread
sausage mixture down the center of dough. Bring dough over
filling. Pinch seams to seal. Place seam side down on a greased
baking sheet. Tuck ends under. Beat remaining egg, brush over
top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden
brown. Let stand for five minutes before slicing.

STRAWBERRY PEACH CUP
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 cups sliced fresh peaches
1 package (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons orange juice
¼ teaspoon grated orange peel
½ cup whipped topping
Divide strawberries and peaches among four small dishes.
Beat the creamed cheese, orange juice and orange peel. Fold
In whipped topping. Dollop over top of fruit. Can serve orange
cream as a dip with other fruit.
Congratulations to Ruth Kimpel for her 85th birthday. We are nearly lifelong friends as we are not related but shared the same aunt and uncle, through marriage. When my parents moved to Edgerton in 1940 from Butler, we found that that her parents had moved here from Waterloo. We rode the same school bus and continued our friendship throughout our lives.