Pulling Together As A Family

I’m sure most of us would agree that when it comes to families getting along it is usually easier said than done. It’s far easier to love but sometimes much more difficult to like those that are the closest to us. The other night while sitting out on the deck sharing a couple beers with my friend Chrissy we each shared some of our family get together stories. Chrissy remembered a special time when everyone in her family all got along beautifully. The time was when her grandmother got everybody together to make pulled taffy. For whatever the reason all the ugly baggage that had a tendency to show up didn’t at this particular time……….
Maybe it was the use of all that sugar, it just gave everybody a much sweeter disposition.
For whatever the reason, those are the memories that help carry us through the less than perfect times.

Old Fashioned Pulled Taffy

3 cups of sugar
1 cup of white corn syrup
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of butter
1/3 cup of vinegar
1 tbsp. vanilla or flavor of your choosing
A drop of food coloring, optional

Mix sugar, syrup and water in a 4 quart sauce pan and place over medium heat. DO NOT STIR. Cook until mixture reaches soft ball stage (234 to 240 degrees). Add butter, vinegar and vanilla. Cook again until mixture reaches hard ball stage (250 to 268 degrees). Again, DO NOT STIR. Pour out onto a greased platter let cool enough to touch and begin to pull. Keep hands lubricated with butter and pull the taffy with a partner. The more taffy is pulled the better when you see it looking the way you would like cut into pieces and wrap in saran or waxed paper.

Smiling From Heaven

It has been almost 30 years since my grandparents decided to leave Rochester and retire to Florida. At that time my grandmother decided to give each of us some of the things that she had of our great great grandmothers. One of the items was an antique waffle iron whose grids were obviously quite seasoned from many years of use. My grandmother said that Mama Rose (our great, great grandmother) made the entire family waffles every weekend. My grandmother who has been blessed with many more years on this earth than her own mother thought that she would like to see if the waffle iron still worked and make all of us waffles over the weekend.
My father was the one who had ended up with the waffle iron, so he brought it to her for her to try. My poor grandmother was a nervous wreck about making the waffles she kept telling us that in case they don’t turn out its bacon and eggs instead. This past Saturday the waffle iron got plugged in for the first time in over fifty years and that little waffle iron began to sizzle with heat just as it had done decades ago for Mama Rose. The batter was made and ready to be poured onto the grid. My grandmother closed the lid and we waited for the waffle iron to do its magic when she opened it the waffle was shaped perfectly but it was a little burnt (the first waffle or pancake is always the worst one). The second pour of batter was the charm and so was the third and so on and so on. My grandmother just watched us with anticipation as we all caressed those tender steamy waffles with butter and syrup. We all just sat there and moaned in ecstasy, they were so good my grandmother just smiled watching her family eat, just as her mother had done so many years before her. You could just feel Mama Rose smiling at all of us from heaven and for that moment in time all was right with our world.

Mama Rose’s Waffle Batter

2 cups of flour
4 tsp. of baking powder
1 tbsp. of sugar
1/2 tsp. of salt
3 eggs
5 tbsp. of melted shortening or butter
1 1/2 cups of milk

Mix first 4 ingredients together, beat eggs then add milk and shortening. Add flour mixture and mix until batter is smooth, heat waffle iron, pour batter and bake until done.

Ooh La La

My cousin Pat was born and raised in Paris, France. Pat and her mother moved back up here about 20 years ago. This is one of the dishes that Pat and her mother ate quite often back in Paris. Since moving back to the states they have been making it for us whenever there is a family function, they could triple the recipe and it wouldn’t be enough (it is that good)!

Fingerling Potato and Lox Salad

2 pounds fingerling potatoes
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 pound of lox or other type of smoked salmon (flaked or shredded)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise, as needed

First, cook the fingerling potatoes in a large pan of lightly salted boiling water until they can be pierced with a thin paring knife. Drain well, return to the pan and let cool to room temperature.
Peel the cooled potatoes and slice into 1/2 inch coins and put into a glass or stainless mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the cider vinegar and season with salt and pepper, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Once chilled toss the potatoes with the celery, dill, green onions, mustard and lox. Fold in the sour cream and then add in enough of the mayonnaise to bind the salad together.
Tastes better at room temperature

Neat Joes

This post is dedicated to someone very near and dear to me, her name is Christine. Chrissy as I more lovingly call her who has been a part of my family for many years now.
Chrissy helps me to unlock some of the many memories that I have stored deep inside of me. One day when we were having one of our infamous conversations she had brought up my grandfather whose name is Joe “Peepa” as I lovingly call him. As we talked about my grandfather for awhile I was remembering what a neat man that he was and Chrissy said that’s too bad cause then you could have written a post about Sloppy Joes. Then I remembered that he actually did like Sloppy Joes. So I thought even neat Joe’s eat Sloppy Joe’s we both had a good laugh.
So here is to all the neat Joe’s out there, my Peepa who is watching me from up above and to Christine my earth bound angel.

Sloppy Joes For The Not So Sloppy

1 lb. hamburger
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green or red bell pepper
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon mustard
1/4 tsp. of garlic powder
1/4 tsp. of onion powder
1/4 cup brown sugar (add more or less to taste)
1/4 cup ketchup
Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown your hamburger add onions and green peppers. Drain off grease and add remaining ingredients and simmer slowly to desired thickness and flavor.

FYI- The thicker you make them, the neater they are to eat!

Happiness Is On The Menu

My mother the queen of onions has been in her glory these past couple of weeks. The nursing home has added a few new items to their dinner menu and two of them contain pearl onions. My mother said that one night she got some type of beef burgundy with pearl onions and the other day they had put some caramelized pearl onions in her green beans. It may not sound like much to you and I but to her it’s the world. This morning she called me to tell me that last night they served her chicken cacciatore and it was delicious, she is all giddy. It’s actually quite cute to see the amount happiness something as simple as a menu change can bring.

Roasted Pearl Onions

1 pound of fresh or frozen tiny pearl onions

1 tbsp. sugar

Salt & pepper

Paprika

Butter

Drain onions and place in baking pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika and sugar, dot generously with butter. Bake in a 450 degree oven, turn occasionally until browned (12 to 15 minutes).

Too Pooped To Pucker

Is anybody out there getting enough sleep these days? I know that I definitely am not and it really does start to take a toll. I find that I am spending more and more of my time trying to find ways to boost my energy. I do exercise but that does not last the entire day, sometimes you just need some type of quick fix that will get you through the rest of the day that doesn’t come with any jail time lol!

Here is a quick and easy pick me up that is great to take with you when you are on the go.

Instant Energy

1/3 c. honey
1/2 c. crunchy peanut butter
1/2 c. non-fat dry milk (whey protein)

Mix honey and peanut butter in a bowl. Stir in non-fat dry milk, a little at a time, until thoroughly blended. Shape into narrow roll. Wrap in waxed paper and chill until firm. Cut into 1 inch pieces and wrap in cellophane, makes about a half a pound.

May also shape into balls and roll in chopped peanuts, wheat germ, granola or cereal.

Broken Yolks

For the last few Saturdays my grandmother has taken to making bacon and eggs for our breakfast get together. The bacon is all fried before we get there and the freshly baked corn muffins are waiting in the warmth of the oven. Upon our arrival she puts the water on for coffee and breaks the eggs into the hot pan. With her 89 year old arthritic hands she gently moves the eggs back and forth trying not to disturb the yolk. The perfect yolk has always given her a great sense of pride when serving her loved ones breakfast. All was going well until she went to put the eggs in the dish, her hand shook a little and two of the yolks broke. My grandmother was so upset that she ruined the yolks. I said don’t worry Meema, that is actually just the way we like them, they are perfect.
When someone puts that much love into preparing food for you even if it is as simple as a little fried egg how could it not be perfect.

Since bacon and eggs really do not require much of a recipe perse, here is an Asian twist that I think you will all enjoy.

Bacon and Egg Fried Rice

1 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of rice
6 pieces of bacon
3 or 4 eggs
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped onion
2 tbsp. Ketchup
1 tbsp. soy sauce

Bring water to a boil and add rice, cook for 30 minutes. While waiting for the rice to boil fry the bacon and save 1/2 of the grease to fry the rice in. Scramble eggs in bowl, add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste, add 2 tablespoons of water to eggs and mix well. Fry egg mixture like a pancake. Fry rice; add chopped onion, chopped bacon and catsup. Cut up egg omelet and add to rice. Mix in soy sauce and serve.