Dear Kitchen Saints,

I have little four-year-old Olivia Jean this morning to take care of. But she is such a good little girl. I don’t know who is taking care of who. Her sister Isobel, 8 years old, is in school but she comes here after school for a few hours. She is a lovely child, too, and sings like a bird. She goes to a Catholic school and Olivia will go to preschool there in a few weeks. Their folks pay me well and are beautiful Christians.

Then next week, I will get the newborn baby Olivia Rose. I will have two Olivia’s. Rose will be about three and a half weeks old when I get her. She is a lovely baby girl. I got to see her once at about a week or so old. I mean, this baby girl is exceptionally beautiful. She looks like an angel. I can’t wait to hold her.

I just have a bit of time here while Olivia Jean is playing and wanted to write about some more meal ideas. Ya know back in the old days, probably about the 1930s, the Mothers made a lot of the layered dishes. They would take a 9 by 13 pan and butter it really good. Then they would layer some vegetables and meat. Like, for example, they would put some sliced raw potatoes on the bottom of the pan. Salt and pepper each layer. Then maybe the next layer would be home canned green beans, then a layer of carrots cut up in slices. Then the next layer onions and the next a pound of partially cooked hamburger or cubed chicken or ham, whatever meat you have. Then over the top of this whole casserole some of their home canned tomatoes. You could even put about a fourth cup of flour sprinkled over the meat and then, with the canned tomatoes poured over this, it would make a sort of thickener or gravy. Then put salt and pepper over the top. Then the Old-time Mothers would put about a half stick of butter chopped up on the top and then cracker crumbs. They had plenty of butter out on the farm and used it liberally.

My aunt and mother have no idea about cutting down on fat and have always used a stick of butter on everything. Their food is so delicious but, man, I would be hard pressed to use that much butter. But the Old-Time farm Mothers used lots of cream and butter and eggs in a lot of what they cooked. And in the old recipes I have read, it seems they threw home canned tomatoes on everything. Well, especially in the winter as they wanted to use up the canned tomatoes before summer of the next year. The farm Mothers also had root cellars where they stored their potatoes and carrots and other root veggies for the winter. So this layered dish was one they made a lot in during the cold days to use up their potatoes and other root vegetables.

Our family ate many meals like this, as we ate a lot of potatoes and veggies and not much meat. Well, we never used a lot of butter — who could afford it? Anyway, this would be a nice big meal for a large family. I made some kind of homemade bread each day. Either it was a yeast bread or cornbread or biscuits. But this meal and cornbread would be a good filling meal for a large family on a cold winter’s day.

Love,
Connie

Dear Mothers,

Good Morning! This morning at 11:15, Baby will come for the day. What a joy little David is and he is only a month old. Later on, I want John, my son, to drag my big baby buggy down from upstairs so that I can take David for a walk. I want to show him off in the neighborhood. It’s very cool out today so it won’t be a good day to take him out.

We have our gardens all plowed up and soon will be planting, probably after Mother’s Day. We will have mainly tomatoes and peppers, so it has to be warm for these. John’s family will have their garden here, and David’s. John’s family will come over this morning to help me with some household things.

I had fixed some chicken breasts yesterday for dinner and I have some left over. For today, for lunch, I am making a Macaroni Chicken Pasta Salad. I will just mix the bite sized pieces of cooked chicken with that curly pasta and some raw vegetables, then just pour the Italian vinegar and oil dressing over the top. My herbs are thriving and I will cut up some fresh chives and marjoram to go on the cold salad. I need to get that all made this morning so it can sit in the fridge a while. Then I will make cornbread, too.

I made two nice rhubarb pies yesterday that we will have today. I try to use all of my rhubarb in the spring so the new stalks will grow up again and I can use it all again in the summer. Then I try to use it all again so the new stalks will grow again for the fall. I plan to freeze some for the winter for at least two batches of winter pies.

Also, a few days ago, I had John dig up some horseradish root. I hope I can get some of this made this morning. We just dig up the roots and I soak ‘em in a bucket of water to clean them off. Then ya just cut the root up and peel like carrots? Then, after it is clean and cut up in small pieces, just put it in the blender with a dab of salt and white vinegar to partially cover it. Then just blend it up. Oh, we love it on sandwiches. Well, a little bit in potato salad or whatever is so delicious.

I am cooking this morning as I write. I have to vacuum, too. Need to pick fresh lilacs for the table, too. So I had better run and get goin’.

Oh, I miss my Jim but I know he looks down from heaven at me. He longs, as he always has, for me to be happy and into my homemaking. So I honor him today with a smile on my face and courage in my heart. I am wavin’ at ya, Papa. I am OK.

Love,
Connie

I am up cleaning and cooking and getting ready for my day. Johnny will pick me up this morning to go to the hospital about midmorning. He is off today so we can go together. Thank the Lord, they took Jim’s breathing tube out yesterday. I almost threw up when they did, as I had a fear he wouldn’t be able to breath on his own. But he is fine. And when I had to leave, Jim called out, “Good-Bye, Honey Bun.”

Aunt Toot said that Jim is the KING of the Come-back Kids! I agree with that. See, he hasn’t been able to talk because of the breathing hose in his mouth. All he could do was squeeze my hand or shake his head yes and no. We are so relieved that he is on the mend.

I haven’t been hardly eating so I am making bean soup this morning so I can have that to eat for a few days. I am going to write in small parts today as I have so much on my mind. I need to go wash my hair and then I will come back and tell ya how I made my soup. I have to have time to dry my hair so I can have it fixed before I go to the hospital.

Bean Soup

Well, I just got my hair washed so it can dry before I go to the hospital. My hair is very long and will take some time to dry.

The house smells wonderful with the fragrance of the Bean Soup in the oven. I just used the package of dried beans that has all the different kinds of beans in it. I bring them to a boil, then turn them off and let ‘em rest. Then I drain them of that water and rinse them and put ‘em back in the soup pot. Then I added a half pound of fried and drained hamburger. Some sliced onion and green peppers, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then I added some of the frozen tomatoes I had in the freezer from last summer’s garden, and a can of tomato soup and taco seasoning. Then water to cover it all. I put this all in the oven with a lid on a low heat like about 250 degrees. This way, I can have it anytime this afternoon. Whenever I am home from the hospital to eat. Oh, La _Dee_ Da!

Dear Kitchen Saints,

Good Morning! We will get to have Baby Rose today and we are happy about that. David and Tiff take care of an apartment complex. David does most of the work but Tiff needs to help clean today. Tiff has become a stay at home mother. I am so happy about this. We still help out with Baby Rose about once a week. David is learning to repair the appliances at the apartments and does remodeling, etc. So the kids are doing good. Tiff does paperwork and has an office at home. But she can care for Baby and does a good job.

Anyway, I am making chili for the day. It’s only 6:30 and I am making soup. I don’t make it hot and Baby will eat it, too. Also I have made some fresh yogurt and it’s nice and thick. Jim will buy some fresh fruit and we will have the yogurt. My favorite would be a can of stewed peaches with bananas and the yogurt on the top.

I think if I could give you one household tip that has helped me a lot through the years it would be to get up early in the morning and start a meal for the day. I used to always do that when all the children were home. This way, if your day gets busy, then you always have a meal ready and you don’t have to think about it. And often on a Saturday, if we had to do errands, we most always took the kids with us. Well, of course they are hungry right when ya get home at noon. And I think often if we have a meal on the stove, then the family doesn’t resort to junk food or fast food.

One quick meal I used to make for the family that is simple is just Sloppy Joes. I would just fry up a pound of hamburger and drain it and put in a can of tomato soup. My kids liked it just plain like that. Or you could add mustard, onions, green pepper, and spices. Also, for another meal, I would just fry hamburger and drain it. I would cook it in my big cast iron dutch oven with the bale handle. Then I would add vegetables, whatever I had. And over the top I would pour a can of tomato soup or any soup I had. I would dilute it with water, about 3 cans of water. Then just put this back in the oven and let it bake on low. This way, if you have to go to the store or whatever, then you have a nice comfort food to come back home to.

My grown children miss these soups and stews and often talk about them. Dan says he doesn’t like for me to make soup in the crock pot as he is used to the big black pot on the stove. Cast iron does give food a different flavor. I like it, too.

And then I always had homemade bread to eat our meals with. If it wasn’t a yeast bread, I would make baking powder biscuits, cornbread, or a quick bread. Peanut Butter Bread was good. I haven’t made that in a long time. The quick breads are easy to make. I loved them, as I didn’t get out my mixer for these as you just stir them up like you would muffins.

I enjoy stirring things up in my bowl with a favorite spoon. I have a nice collection of crock bowls and also I collect the speckled enamel spoons. I have all sizes and I have the blues, blacks, and reds. This is what I enjoy looking for at garage sales in the warmer months. I don’t like to get an electric mixer out when the family is all home as you can’t hear anything when it is on. Also you can’t cook and mix things up and talk at the same time. I like to visit and teach my daughters and daughter in laws what I am doing as I cook. And they give me some modern tips, too, which I love.

One of my favorite kitchen chores is when Papa and me are here alone in the evening. And I will stand in the kitchen by myself and stir gravy. If it’s quiet in the house, I love to stir gravy on the stove. But if the house is busy and I have to run back and forth, I don’t enjoy the stirring. It’s too hectic. With gravy, you have to stand there and stir and if ya don’t it will get lumpy. After I fry meat, I just add about a fourth cup of flour to the skillet. I smash it in with my spoon. Then I add about 3 cups of milk or water and stir.

Here’s a story I don’t know if I told you all yet and it I was so funny.

Well, when the kids were all home, I had a hard time keepin’ food on the table and the kids all fed. Anyway, I had decided to buy a beef roast. It was small but all meat and I planned to slice it thin so we would all have a small slice. I had made mashed potatoes and gravy and it was a nice meal. So at the last, I called the kids to get the milk on and to help set the table. So I put the roast on a nice plate and began to slice it. I took a little piece of fat off and laid it beside the plate and decided I needed a sharper knife. So John was about 12 and was standing near me. And I said to him, “Here, John, give this to the dog,” meaning the little piece of fat I had stuck beside the plate. John misunderstood, as he is a dreamer and an artist, and he gave the family beef roast to the dog. So I go to the kitchen to get the sharper knife and come back to cut the meat and it was gone?

I was hysterical! I am like, “Where is the meat?” John’s answer was, “Well, Mom, you said to give it to the dog.” I was at the table standing and I turned around to see if Jim heard this. I thought, “He will kill the boy.” I mean, we rarely had a piece of meat and now it is gone. Well, our dog Daisey loved it — she ate the whole thing in no time. But here I am, with all the fixings for a beef roast, and we have no meat in the platter. I just went in the living room and told Jim, “John accidentally gave the dog our dinner.” He took it well and didn’t kill John. It’s a wonder! But, anyway, we just ate the potatoes and gravy and went on our way. What a scream!

Then after that, about a month later, I was fixing a small chunk of ham in the oven with potatoes and carrots. I was checking the dinner and had it on the oven door. Daisey came along and snuck the ham out of the roasting pan. But I caught her and yanked it back out of her mouth and washed the ham off and put it back in the pot. I thought, “I am not goin’ through that again.” I didn’t tell the family what I did. They would have killed me! We fed our dog and she didn’t need to do that stuff. She was fat and healthy and lived to be 15 yrs old. But she was half pig and loved to eat. But back then, in the old days, tryin’ to keep food on the table was an all day occupation.

One time we were goin’ to visit Jim’s sister for the day. We were to be gone the whole day. I told John to change the cat litter as we had two cats. Well, I had put the cat litter outside as it had stunk. But I wanted fresh litter in the pan before we left for our trip. So John goes out and empties the cat litter and fills it with new litter. On the way up to Aunt Mary’s house, my mind is racing and hoping we turned out all the lights in the house, etc. etc. So I am asking the kids, “Did you do this and that as I had told you?” Then I ask John if he had done what he was to do with the cat litter. Then fear grips my heart. “Now, John, you brought the cat litter in the house for the cats — you didn’t leave it outside, did you?” He says, “Well, the cat litter box was outside, so I cleaned it out and left it out there.” So the cats were inside and the cat litter was outside for the day.

This was a regular life for me when I was raising John. He was always dreaming of firecrackers and inventions. He is a wonderful artist. The boy can fix anything. But he tried my patience as his mother. He wouldn’t wear underwear to school under his jeans, as he said Indians didn’t wear underwear. I told him, “Well, this Indian will.”

In the evening, a lot of times before I had the kids to come in to help with supper, all the neighbor kids would come over and play hide and seek with our kids. So the house would be kinda quiet in the late afternoon. So Jim would be watchin’ TV and I would run into Jim and say, “Honey, MUTE the TV — I think I heard the kids on the roof.” So Jim would quick mute the TV and we would stand in silence.

Joys of Housewifery

So, anyway, we would try to catch the kids on the roof and then get after them. Jim would holler, “This is why my roof is always leakin’ because of you kids getting on the roof!” Our kids and the neighbor kids. Boy, Jim would he be mad.

Another time, my nerves were shot tryin’ to keep up with my kids. So I got up really early one summer morning and just decided to go outside with my cup of coffee and look at the garden in peace, as I thought all the kids were sleeping. So I barely got out the door and was heading for the garden and a lit firecracker exploded right in front of me. Jimmy had gotten up early and was lighting firecrackers and throwin’ them over the house. He didn’t know I was in the back yard.

Well, I should have known better than to have four boys. What was I thinking? We had two girls, too, thank the Lordm and they were always helping me put out firecrackers.

Jimmy was in the Navy and came home with these bottle rockets when he came home on leave. Everything would be quiet in the house and I would hear a bottle rocket go off by the side door. Jimmy would shoot them off when I wasn’t looking and then keep the same conversation going on with me in the dining room. I thought someone else was shooting them off. (Hoping, anyway.) He would shoot them through the snow. And he had some that would go off underwater.

Then we had this Catholic school fair and they had this beer tent? It was right up by our house and folks would get drunk and try to park their cars by our house. So for about 3 days in the summer, we had a lot of noise and drunks walking by our house. One night Jimmy got up in the tree by our house. He was about 16? And he had this pellet gun and if folks were really drunk when they walked by, Jimmy would shoot ‘em in the butt with his gun. They didn’t know where the shot came from as Jimmy was hiding good. Then he had this gorilla mask that he would wear and he rigged it up so it would light up with this switch he held in his hand. So if someone was really drunk, he would jump out of the tree at night and land in front of the drunk and scare the livin’ daylights out of ‘em.

Really, it was terrible as the drunks would pee in our neighborhood yards, etc. So we were all tryin’ to discourage them from parking around our homes. Aunt Toot’s husband is black. And he said all he would have to do is sit in our yard on a lawn chair and all the white folks wouldn’t bother us. “As everyone knows Black folks steal hubcaps.” Oh, what funny days those were. Luther was always good for a laugh. He was supposed to have died a month ago but hasn’t and is getting better as he goes.

Well, Jim is up and I guess I should go.

OK, last evening, Jim wanted me to make baked apples. So I still had the pan with the drippings of butter and brown sugar and cinnamon in it. Then, this morning, I made pancakes and had some leftover pancake batter, about a half cup. So I took the fryin’ pan that I had the baked apples in (from the night before) and I cut up about 4 big apples and put them in the syrupy pan. I sliced them thin. Then I put a bit of water in the pan and cooked the apples a bit. Don’t cover the apples, use just about a cup of water. Then, when they were bubbling, I poured the leftover pancake batter over the top, and now, I am baking the apples in a hot oven.

The pancake batter is very thin and will make a nice top crust of the apples. You can put cinnamon and sugar on the top. I had diluted the pancake batter with a bit of the syrup from the pan so it is sweet and a thin batter. I should write The Leftovers Cook Book.

Well, yesterday on the group, we discussed Yohimbe bark and refrigerator biscuits. So what’s the discussion today? God only knows.

Well, today I will cook my Summer Sausage. Jim’s hands are stronger than mine and I have him mixing it up and shaping it into long logs to bake. You have to knead it each day for 3 days and then shape it into long logs to bake on the fourth day. The house will smell good with the sausage in the stove all day. I can smell the fragrance of garlic and black pepper as Jim is shaping the loaves at the table beside me. I will add more black pepper and garlic powder over the top, just before I put them in the oven. I will keep them on a low temp all day and keep turning them so they will stay round and tube like.

Today I think I will make goulash for our noon meal. Then Wild Man has to go to work in the late afternoon. Goulash is so good. When Dan first moved out, he would come back home and say, “Mom, do you have any leftover goulash in the fridge?” Oh, we Hultquists have eaten a ton of goulash in our day. I just cook hamburger with an onion and some green pepper, and drain it. Then I add the cooked macaroni, diced tomatoes, and a can of mixed vegetables. And either a few cans of tomato sauce or tomato soup. We just eat this in a bowl and eat bread and butter with it. Probably a few pickles, too. I love mine with potato chips and soda pop. Or a pan of cornbread would be good. But my oven is full of sausage, so no cornbread today.

I could make Squaw Bread in a fryin’ pan on the stove. Ya just take baking powder biscuits, cut the dough up, and fry it in a greased cast iron skillet. Make sure the skillet is hot before you lay the dough down on it. I roll my dough out a bit thinner than I would for biscuits and then I just cut the dough in pieces. This is a quick way to make a lunch bread to have with soup or something. My Mother used to make this for us children at home.

But back to the goulash! You could even just take a box of Mac and Cheese and make it as usual and then put in the fried meat and tomato stuff. It’s good like that, too.

Now we could discuss all the ways to make Mac and Cheese. I know we have discussed all of this before. But there are a lot of new ladies that would probably like the discussion. Aunt Toot used to add a can of prepared chili to hers and her family liked it like that. You can add any of the creamed soups to the prepared Mac and Cheese. It makes it more creamy. How do you all make yours? I sometimes just add more cheese. Even the cheese in a jar you use for tacos would be good to add to the Mac and Cheese after it is made.

Well, Happy Homemaking. Keep a smile on your face. Keeps the devil wondering what you are up to! Get some lovin’ in your oven and your apron tied on tight for the day. Kitchen Saints, use your weapons of warfare, your cooking utensils in your kitchen.

Exalt Wisdom and she will promote you.

OK, you girls quit talkin’ about Yohimbe bark. It’s too funny! I sent Aunt Toot the story I told on her and she I will want to kill me.

Michelle sent a good recipe for muffins using the refrigerator biscuits. Christine, John’s wife, and I were talking about using those, too. In the 70’s, we girls had a ball using refrigerator biscuits. I got some on sale lately for 25¢ a pkg so I will make some treats with them. Our family isn’t into the real sweet desserts. We hate Krispy Kreme donuts. Ick. So Christine and I were talkin’ about the donuts made form the refrigerator biscuits.

You just put a giant hole in the biscuits and deep fry them. Then, when they are done, just sprinkle them with sugar and cinnamon. Or with powdered sugar. Or you could lightly frost them. You could make jelly donuts by just putting a Tbs of jam on the biscuit and wrapping the biscuit around it. Michelle’s recipe would be good for the cream filled muffins using cream cheese and put them in a muffin tin.

I used to make pies with the refrigerator bisuits. You just take one of the biscuits and flatten in on a greased cookie sheet, till it looks like a pancake? Then take a spoonful of cherry pie filling, or apple or whatever, and put this in the center, then flatten the next biscuit and put this on the top. Just press the edges good with a fork. Cut a hole in the top to let out the steam. Then you could put sugar on the top or cinnamon, too. You can get about 5 pies on each cookie sheet. These are great to send in husband’s lunch, as they stay together and can be eaten with your hands.

Also, I used to make up tuna salad and put this in the biscuits like I did the pies. These are so good hot, or even leftovers cold. You could put sesame seeds on these tuna pies. Make an egg wash and put that on first so the sesame seeds will stay on. You can do anything with this idea.

Another idea is to take the biscuits and flatten them out on a cookie sheet and make personal pizzas for the kids. Let them help and put on the tomato sauce. Maybe if they like hot dogs they could put some on thinly sliced and, over that, sprinkle cheese. Then bake them. Also, we would take hot dogs and wrap them in the refrigerator biscuits. When done, the kids would dip these in ketchup.

I mean we did everything with these refrigerator biscuits. I always had these in my fridge and will again. And I don’t mean the big expensive biscuits. NO, these are the cheapest ones. And, no, they aren’t homemade but they are alotta fun, for the kids, especially.

You could even take the biscuits and roll them out like long snakes and make bread sticks. Rub them with an egg wash. Just take an egg and beat it with some water and slick it on the bread stick dough. Then you could put on the bread stick stuff like sesame seeds, garlic salt, etc., or whatever. These would be fun to have with soup. I saw Martha S. make bread sticks once and she just rolled out her dough in long snakes, and then she wadded them up on the end of the pan from left to right lengthwise so the dough would stay long and thin. Pinch dough to the edge? But, well, with these refrigerator biscuits, you would want to go across the pan, as I don’t think they would reach the long ways.

But just play with this dough like you did Play dough as a kid. Make all kinds of goodies. Have a ball. Knock yourself out.

Keep your kitchens fun, warm and loving. Children happy! Jolly Homemaking.

The Hippy 70’s

Oh my, the 70’s were a hoot. There was a rush of homemaking back then. And I haven’t seen another one since. Well, I say that with tongue in cheek, as the Revolution hasn’t come yet. But when it does, hmmm, look out, devil.

But Jill’s son Tony says he wont get married until he finds a woman who looks like his mom did in the 70’s. We young homemakers ran about our homes with the long hair and long, flowered skirts. Soup was on and had every vegetable you could think of in it. Jill put so many health food things in her bread that it made her sick.

We went to this health store, Emily, before we met your mom? I think it was torn down by the time we met Dixie. Oh, that place was a shack and Jill and I couldn’t wait to get enough food stamps together to get to the health food store to spend them. Was that a place to go! I talked Jim into taking me once and he and the kids were in the car. And he parked a few blocks away so no one would know he was with me. Well, the ladies there didn’t shave their underarms and wore sleeveless blouses, and long, flowering, flowing skirts. No, Jim said “No” after going once with me after he was saved. “I ain’t goin’ in there again. You can go but leave me out of it.”

Well, see, this was back when the herbs weren’t even popular or the health foods? Back in the 60’s, folks trusted in everyone who came down the pike. If ya didn’t buy food from a regular store, then you were a hippy? Our world was different then. But anyway, we would go to this little store and they always had soup on the stove in the back room which added to the mood of the store. Jill and I would buy all kinds of dried beans in bulk and loads of fresh dried herbs. We would bring our own jars and buy corn oil from a large vat with a spigot? We would spend hours there, just soakin’ up the atmosphere. Oh, we were a riot.

Well, it’s gettin’ busy here at the house, so I better go. Have happy days with the family. Keep your apron on and a smile on your face. Busy hands are happy hands.

Good Morning Kitchen Saints,

Well, last night I made the Summer Sausage. Didn’t have the recipe I was lookin’ for, so just made one up. I kinda remember my other recipe so I just winged it. You take 5 pounds of hamburger and mix in Tender Quick Salt. That is a curing salt. But I put in 1 Tbs per pound of hamburger. (I won’t kill anyone with this, will I, Cindy? You use the curing salt, right?) After I thought about it, I thought, “Man, that is too much.” Well, I cured it for sure.

Anyway, then I added black pepper and little container of mustard seed. Garlic and paprika. So, anyway, ya mix this meat all up in a bowl with a big spoon and your hands, like meatloaf? Then you put it in a plastic bag and put it in the fridge. Then, the next day, you take it out and knead it again, as to get all the spices evenly distributed. Then the next day, you do this again, and then the third day.

Then, the fourth day, you knead it again and bake it. You shape it into 3 loaves that look like frozen bread dough. Then I put mine on a cookie sheet and bake them, like, all day. Turn the oven temp to barely above warm. Bake these, like, for 6 hours. Keep draining the grease as you go. And keep turning the meat so that you have a round sausage.

Now, get the cheapest ground beef you can get for this. Because you need the fat in it to keep the sausage moist and basted, as it has to bake all day. All of the grease will drain off of it, anyway. Just keep draining it off as you check it and turn the sausage over and over to keep it round. Now the ground deer meat would work for this recipe, too. But be sure to make it half cheap hamburger for the grease. Yesterday I got my hamburger in a big tube for 6 bucks for 5 pounds of 73 percent lean. So Jim said, “Well, there ya go — get that and make your sausage.”

Johnny, the other evening, just bragged and bragged to Christine about my Summer Sausage. I hadn’t made it in a long time so thought I would make it again.

Now, once John and Christine taste this at our house, they will run home and make it themselves. They love to cook — both of them do. They make bread now like crazy. They will make some in the bread machine and by hand to see which comes out the best. If the bread don’t come out right, then they stick it on the tree for the birds and they watch the birds eat it. They live right by a lovely park with a lot of trees and woods. So they see many different kinds of birds in their backyard. Their home is in a lovely setting. It’s just a little house. The kitchen isn’t even big enough to put a table in it. It is a bit bigger than mine — well, twice as big. But they have a festival in that kitchen, cooking and baking. They will love the Summer Sausage and will love making it.

But, yes, I put too much curing salt in this that I just made. I think like a tsp per pound is what it is to be. Not a Tbs. Well, it will be good, anyway.

I used to make this for the family at Christmas or New Years. Then I would slice it thin on a plate and put Ritz crackers on the plate, too.

You could even use half ground turkey and half ground beef.

One Christmas, when the children were still home, I made the sausage sweet. I put in the curing salt and brown sugar and ground up apples. Also cinnamon and ginger and ground cloves and nutmeg. It was good and tasted like a mincemeat. When ya have a big family, no matter what ya make, someone will eat it.

John, I know, will experiment with the sausage himself and will make it with hot peppers, onions and garlic. Sage would be good in it, too. I tried it one year, not putting in the curing salt and just letting it set in the fridge for a day. But it wasn’t good. You need the curing salt. And to bake it all day at that low of a temp, you should have curing salt in it. The curing salt keeps the meat fresh and keeps it from getting sour and spoiled.

Keep the kitchens warm and happy!

Good morning. Wow! My life has been an ongoing soap opera lately. Someday I will tell ya about it, if I find the nerve. But last night we had a ball.

John and Christine and Romeo were here for supper. I swear, they show up right when we need ‘em. Well, one of my favorite meals to fix is fried cabbage. I fixed this and the kids just love it. I was sort of crazy yesterday and made cornbread without any baking power. Boy, was that bad. So then I crumbled it back up to put eggs and milk over it and bake it again. And it got worse, like a brick. I said forget that. So we just ate the fried cabbage dish and had a good time.

I never did get the tomato bread made a few days ago. So after supper I made that. Johnny had tried to make bread at his house and it was pretty good. But I just gave him a bread demonstration after supper, as I needed to make bread anyway.

So we all drank coffee and played with Romeo. Grandpa put the Winnie the Pooh tape on and we all glanced at that here and there. Of course, we got out the whipped cream again for our coffee and Granpa squirted it in his mouth again to show Romeo how to be a kid. Romeo finally did it and now we said he is a REAL KID.

Peggy Sue ran all over the house and to each window trying to find Chance (the other cat) outside.

But, anyway, Romeo had a good time making messes and we will run after him saying, “Romeo, you pick that up (whatever he threw down) — do yo want a spankin’ with the fly swatter?” And on and on we ran. About the time Romeo should have really had a spankin’ Grandpa will say, “Oh, he’s ok — he is just a boy. He ain’t hurtin’ nothin’.” And in the midst of it all, he wanted Grandpa to make pancakes and so he did. That’s nothing new.

Anyway, this is how ya make fried cabbage. I think this dish is my favorite supper to make. I better start on another email to have enough room.

Ok, I just take out my big cast iron skillet — it’s nice and deep. Then I fry up a pound of hamburger. Make up some rice, for this to go over, while you are at it.

When the meat is half done, I cut up a whole head of cabbage in bite size pieces and load this in the skillet. Now this cabbage will ride high in the skillet… it will be heaped in there and be about 2 or 3 inches high over the top of the skillet. Well, load up some onions on the top and salt and black pepper. Throw in some green peppers if ya wanna. You could even put mushrooms in it, too. But just heap it up.

Then put a lid on it and fry it. As you fry it, the cabbage will wilt down. When it is about half the way down, then take your pancake turner and start scooping the meat up over the cabbage and onions as it fries. Then, when it wilts down some more, add about a fourth cup of water and about a fourth cup of soy sauce. Just keep fryin’ it until the cabbage wilts down and gets tender. Don’t add grease to the skillet — just don’t drain the hamburger.

Anyway, when this is done, just serve it with some rice and the fried cabbage over the top.

Oh, the kids and Jim love this stuff. It makes a lot. I had a lot of the meat left in the skillet when we were done. So I scooped it up, and the rice, and put it in a container for Christine to take home. She will add vegetables to this and have another skillet meal.

I got the tomato bread made finally. As John watched me, I said I could write out a recipe for him. And he said, “No, I don’t want one.” He and Christine cook by inspiration, too. They don’t like recipes. They are both fabulous cooks.

When the children were young, we used to always buy a quart of eggnog at Christmas. Then I would put a quart of whole milk in it. We didn’t like it so sweet, and mixing it made it last longer. I still mix mine when I get it. I got it out at Christmas but the kids didn’t drink it that much. They just drank plain milk.

Anyway, I have had a lot of leftover eggnog and wanted to tell you some things you can do with it. You can make French toast with it. I just put the eggnog in a low flat bowl, add an egg, and beat it with a fork. If it’s too thick, just add more plain milk. This makes a nice breakfast. Also, you can add it to your coffee if you like it like that. Or to hot chocolate. I have made many custard pies with leftover eggnog.

Jill makes eggnog bread. You could make muffins using the eggnog, rather than just plain milk. I have made a lot of bread pudding with it, too. You can use it for about any baking that you use sugar in. Just substitute the liquid for eggnog. You could make pancakes, too. The eggnog is just milk and cream, eggs and sugar, and spices and vanilla. So you can use it for cookies or cakes or whatever.

Custard pie is very easy to make. Old fashioned pumpkin pie is a custard pie. I have made pumpkin pie with eggnog before and it’s good. But a custard pie is a pie that is made from eggs and sugar, milk and spices. The milk sets up in the custard because of the eggs. I have made many custard pies and so don’t go by a recipe. But it would be, like, for one pie about 2 cups of milk and about 3 eggs and about a half cup of sugar and some spices. Throw in some vanilla and beat it up. I just make it and if it don’t look right, I add things. But the old fashioned raisin pies were made like this, only with about about a cup of raisins in it and cinnamon. Sour cream raisin pie is good. But I used to use fresh raw milk and so had the real sour cream. I don’t know how it would do with the sour cream from the store.

But with any of my writing, be sure to look up a recipe. Jim’s mother just cooked from whatever wasn’t tied down. And I learned to cook that way, too. Sorry.