Looking Back At The Weekend

 

We only spent twenty-four hours at the lake.

It was enough time to rest, to recharge our batteries.

This was the only "work" that took place.

 

But the fish were all smarter than the cooters.

Cooking Like Betty

I grew up before there was a ready-made version of a whole lot of things. Even the very simple things. But as the food industry grew and grew, they trained us to think that we can't make many of the things that we now purchase in a box, a bag, or a bottle. Canned milk was our convenience food!

I am a fan of Hidden Valley Coleslaw Dressing. But sometimes I can't find it at the grocery store. Some stores sell it; others don't. I usually keep some on hand. When I looked for my bottle of coleslaw dressing and didn't find any this time, I knew I would have to make my own. The rest of my supper was already in the works and I was not going back to the store. In years gone by, I made it myself without a recipe, with varying results. So in hopes of a better dressing, I pulled out one of my most favorite cookbooks.

Long before there was a food network—my goodness, it was long, long before cable TV—there were cooking shows on local channels. Betty Feezor was on TV for years with a popular cooking and homemaking show. I credit part of my cooking skills to watching her show as I was growing up. (Then the airwaves must have shifted and we no longer could get local television from Charlotte.)

Looking through this cookbook is like a trip back to another time. It's funny how recipes go out of style. I trust Betty's recipes to be good, but there are some that just belong to another era. Molded jello salads. Rum Baba. Several recipes with cut-up hot dogs. Time marches on, even in the kitchen.

I found a cabbage slaw recipe in her book. But as usual, I didn't have quite the right ingredients to make it like Betty. Here is my re-do. Some substitutions. And an addition of chopped pickles, which we like. Daddy-O gave it a thumbs up. We had it on pulled pork sandwiches. You can find the slow cooker pork recipe here.

CREAMY COLESLAW

1 (16-oz) bag of coleslaw mix
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon instant minced onion
a little freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup salad cubes or chopped sweet pickles

Put slaw mix into a large bowl. (I like to pick out any huge pieces from bought cole slaw mix. Or, use a chopper to cut up those pieces.)

Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour dressing over slaw mix and toss to combine. (Or, do what I did and dump it all together and stir.)  Refrigerate until ready to serve. It's better if made a few hours ahead of time.

I'm not promising to give up the convenience of a bottled dressing—one that is very good. But this is a good recipe to keep handy for days that I want it homemade.

Just for fun, I googled "Betty Feezor" and found some YouTube clips of The Betty Feezor Show. If you have a spare minute, you might enjoy looking. Oh, how times have changed!

Come Again Another Day

Mother Nature has teased us one more time. Earlier this week, just before dark we saw these low hanging clouds that held the promise of rain. But once again, it passed us by. We had a few drops but not enough to help our drought.

We watch the news and see that other parts of the country are having too much rain. Floods. Drought. Does anyone live where there is the right amount of rain?

Remember the rhyme, "Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day?" Well, it IS that "another day." We need rain.

The bottom fell out just as I was leaving a meeting at church last night. It was a novel feeling—getting wet as I ran to my car. Less than two blocks from the parking lot, though, the rain had nearly stopped. The road leading to the farm was dry for miles. Still no rain here at home. But at least I've seen some!

And to keep this from being a totally bleak post, let's talk food. Okra grows even in a drought! Here is an update on the roasted okra recipe.

I didn't change the cooking directions at all, but I decided that cutting it my usual way made it easier to stir a few times during the cooking time. The split pods had to be turn over one at a time. I've done it this way twice now and unless I want the split pods for a fancier presentation, I think this is how I'll do it from now on.

ROASTED OKRA

1 pound fresh okra
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I didn't measure, just poured a little)
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper (or *House Seasoning)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Discard any hard pods. Cut off tops and tips of okra. Slice the okra into good size pieces into a bowl. Pour oil over okra and toss to coat. (I used my hands to toss it, making sure the okra was evenly coated with oil.) Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 10 minutes. Stir and roast 10 minutes. If needed, stir and roast 5 minutes more to get a good brown color.


*House Seasoning: 1 cup salt, 1/4  cup black pepper, 1/4 cup garlic powder. Mix together and store in airtight container.

Keeping It Simple

Just because you don't feel like cooking doesn't mean you don't have to cook. There are nights when you need a super easy dish. Last night was one of those. Daddy-O had a third helping of this casserole, so it passed the taste test. It isn't fancy. It isn't made from all fresh foods. But last night it was just fine.

If I lived where Jessica lives, I would have made a phone call and in thirty minutes or so, supper would arrive at the door. It might be Thai or Indian or barbecue. Nearly anything kind of food you can think of can be delivered if you live in the city.

But we live in the country. No delivery of any kind. Take out is limited to pizza or a sub sandwhich or a fast food burger. And that requires about 25 minutes of driving to get it and bring it home.

So last night I used an "emergency" recipe. It is mostly canned things. I don't do that often, but last tonight I was happy to have these cans on the shelf and to have this recipe tucked away. You open the cans, mix and bake.

You might need this kind of recipe one night, too. Keep the appropriate cans on your shelf and you'll have supper in the oven in minutes.

ZITI CHICKEN CASSEROLE

2 cups ziti
1 (12-oz) can chunk chicken
2 cups shredded Munster or Monterey Jack cheese (think any kind would be fine)
1 (10-oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 soup can water or milk
black pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook ziti according to package directions. Drain. In a large bowl, mix soup and water. Stir in pasta and all ingredients except Parmesan. Mix well and spoon into a 9-in square dish. Sprinkle Parmesan over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Let stand a few minutes so pasta can absorb some of the sauce.

Yes. Yes, I would.

Happy Birthday, Little Sister

 

Our granddaughters now live so much closer to us. Still in a different state, but only a few hours away now instead of a two day drive. That meant I could go down to help with first-day-of-school things last week. It was so much easier for Mommy to do what was needed without getting the two little ones in and out of the car over and over. Big Sister is now in high school. Hard to believe.

And then there was a birthday to celebrate. Little Sister turned 5! Big Sister suggested she needed a birthday crown for her part. Little Sister said she had a better idea—her fireman's hat! Maybe it was because there were so many candles! What was Baby Girl doing during the party? She got a tiny taste of ice cream and loved playing with the gift bags! It was fun family time.

Daddy-O joined us for a birthday weekend. And her Aunt Jecca came for the party.  My daughters now live about 30 miles apart. How wonderful it was for all of us to be together. Before the move, that only happened at Christmas and maybe Fourth of July.

 Happy birthday, Little Sister!

The Birthday Bunny

I DID do several loads of laundry. I DID clean out the refrigerator. I DID cook chicken to make chicken salad. But the rest of the day, I played. I made clothes for the cutest little bunny that will soon belong to Little Sister. I put the pencil in the top photo so that you can see how small the bunny is. The bunny came wearing a little pair of pants. Plus, it had the most adorable tin suitcase—which was empty.

Well, a suitcase needs something in it. So I made a tiny dress for the bunny. I studied pattern making in college. I never thought way back then that I would use that knowledge for bunny clothes! I used hand rolled hems to finish all the edges. Another skill I learn back in the dark ages. I was a little surprised I remembered how to do that. But it was like riding a bicycle—it came back quickly.

I knit more than I sew now, so I knitted a tiny hat and a tiny shawl. It was nearly 100 degrees here, but when it cools off, this bunny will be properly dressed.

There was still a little room in the suitcase, so I made a scarf to match the hat. All of these things were so much fun. No patterns to follow. Just using leftovers from other projects and making things up as I went along. I've been watching Goodnight Gram's Blog for weeks, following along as she is knitting so many doll clothes for a charity project. She inspired me to try a few for tiny bunny.

And then I thought, "What would make this playable?" I asked my Instagram friends for suggestions. All of them were good, but I needed to make something from things here in the house. This was to be a one-day project. My friend Betsy suggested a blanket and pillow. I only had three fabric scraps here at home (I don't sew much any more) but one was a quilt print. Perfect! Because it was so small I just sewed it all by hand. That was a fun change from machine sewing. And it seemed authentic for this tiny country bunny.

Little Sister will be five years old this weekend. This was finished just in time to take to her party. I know Little Sister doesn't read this blog, so it's okay to give you an early peek at the birthday gift. I don't know how much she will enjoy playing with this (you NEVER know with kids) but I had a terrific time today spending my time with the tiny bunny.

My day was also a reminder that my eyes don't see these tiny needles as well anymore. I had to fish out the needle threader. Back in the day, I never needed one. My fingers aren't quite a nimble as they once were. But back when my eyes and fingers worked better, I doubt I would have had a whole day to devote to bunny clothes! Life requires a sense of humor, doesn't it?

Cold Supper For Hot Weather

It's August. It's hot. It's humid. I am not craving hot meals. This is a wonderful cold supper. Make it ahead so it will have time to chill. When I went down to Mommy's new house last week to help paint, she had this salad (left from her supper the night before) for a quick lunch the day I got there. She said that all of her family loved it. I made it several times years ago and we loved it. Then the recipe moved out of my rotation. We had kind of forgotten about it. It is time for me to bring it back. Thanks, Mommy, for the reminder.

SHRIMP & PASTA SALAD

1/4 cup mayonnaise
oregano to taste
16-oz spaghetti, cooked, drained, hot (whole wheat pasta is nice here)
8-oz feta cheese, crumbled (a 6-oz pkg is okay, too)
6 spring onions, chopped (or green onions)
10-12 cherry tomatoes, sliced or large dice
16-oz shrimp, cooked & peeled
1 cup light Italian dressing

Combine the mayonnaise and oregano in a large bowl and mix well.
Add hot cooked spaghetti and toss to coat.
Add the feta cheese, spring onions, tomatoes and shrimp and mix well.
Pour the salad dressing over the shrimp/pasta mixture and mix well.
Chill, covered, for 6 hours
Serve cold.

Mommy used frozen salad size shrimp for this and that was a great choice. I have used large shrimp. Buy whatever is on sale. Follow the directions on the bag for proper thawing. Or, if you're in a hurry, these directions from my cousin Audrey work well, too. To thaw: bring a pot of water (about 2-qt) to boil. Add frozen shrimp. When water returns to boil, drain and cover shrimp with ice cubes to cool. We've all done this with good results, too.

As I'm writing this, I'm thinking this would be awfully good to take to someone. Right now there seem to be plenty of folks who could use a meal. This makes a generous amount of salad, so one recipe could be divided---supper for friends and supper for us. Perfect.

For the record, Big Sister and I did a good job in her room. She and I painted and she learned lots of "how-tos" as we worked. I told her I'm trying to work myself out of a job!