Merry Christmas to All

Yes, today is Christmas and I wish a very Merry one to all. It is a day of reflection for me...reflecting on the warm family Christmases of past. Today I sit here with my little dog. We have had many other friends in the house, but today it is he and I.
I think back to when I was little. We had Aunts, Uncles, Great Aunts and Uncles, Grandmothers, cousins...the house was filled with Love. And today, most of them are gone...either deceased or moved away. Each one with their own lives to live. I remember the joyous laughter and delight as us little ones opened up each gift.
Today I remember my parents. And I am thankful for them. They were really good to us growing up. They did the best they could.
We did have traditional food on Christmas....ham, sausage, potato and macaroni salads, pierogi, sweet bread, jello salad, usually a cake or pie or nut or poppyseed rolls. I did most of the decorating...loved it then.
So, today, as I sit here with my little guy, Taco. I reflect on the past Christmases and the joys of those days gone by. And relish in the knowledge that life must go on...one day at a time.
Merry Christmas and all the Blessings of the Season to you and your families......

MMMM Paprikas

My goodness, here we are in the middle of December. The months have flown by and winter has arrived.

This cold weather is good for soup but we had Chicken Paprikas. I remember Gram in the kitchen making the paprikas. Of course, ours was not like everyone elses. Our paprikas was white...not red. Served with mashed potatoes and a veggie and mmmmm...so delicious. I never did get the recipe from Gram but I made up my own. I needed a way to make it so that it would cook all day in the crock pot and be ready for supper.

I used Chicken breasts with the skin on...In a heavy skillet, I melted butter or margarine and sauteed a medium onion that was diced finely. Then I took the chicken and put it in the skillet after the onion was translucent and removed. In my crock pot, I put the onions in and add two regular size (10 ounce) cans or one 26 ounce can of cream of mushroom soup and add one large can or two small cans of water and mix well. I then add two small cans of mushrooms drained and the chicken after it is slightly browned into the mushroom soup mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Let it cook in the crock pot until chicken falls off bone...remove bones . Add one 8 oz. container of sour cream (first temper this before adding...to temper...place two tablespoons of sour cream in bowl, add hot stock in about 4 tablespoons and mix well...then add to the rest of the sour cream and add more hot stock and continue to mix....pour into stock/chicken mix stirring continually)(Prevents curdling.) Serve over mashed potatoes or noodles that are cooked with a salad or veggie. Enjoy. I just made it today and the house still smells so good....Have a great week!!!

Thanksgiving

Wow, time sure flies by. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Thanksgiving meant a lot to me as a child. We would visit the poultry shop where the live chickens, ducks, and turkeys arrived in the crates and I would like to play with them...since the owners of the shop were relatives, it was a lot of fun...I saw the carcasses but never did observe the killing of any of them. The poultry was nice and fresh and so tender...something different than now days. As I matured, our Thanksgiving was at my parents and then my husband's family. We would split it between them. And as my mom aged and my husband died, my brother and his wife would host the Thanksgiving dinner. Mom and I really enjoyed going there for the dinners and seeing the boys grow up. It was a special time as we did not see my brother or his family much throughout the year. Now that mom is gone and dad, things are different. No family get togethers...no visits...no laughs or stories to remember. I am so thankful to my cousin and his wife. They have been there every step for me. They helped pack up mom's apartment and helped when my dog died and have helped me out more than I can ever repay. Tomorrow I will thank God for them. They have invited me to go out with them and I will thoroughly enjoy the company. Thanksgiving was always a fun time...Gram made stuffing that was soooooo good. Mom cooked the turkey, made bread, mashed the potatoes, baked the yams, baked pies, I made jello salad, and we had cranberry sauce in the shape of turkeys, had corn....and invited older relatives or relatives without spouses for a family gathering. It was a day of laughter and remembering. I will remember the Thanksgivings of past days with fondness. And I wish all of my followers many blessings and good wishes this Thanksgiving....

MMMMMbread pudding

I remember the cool fall nights....the smell of leaves burning...just the crispness in the air. I can remember coming home from school to the wonderful scents wafting through the door when you opened it....Grandma made bread pudding...yum-o. So, here is her recipe...it is soooooo Goood.....warm with a splash of milk, or scoop of vanilla ice cream....or cold in a nice slice....just terrific...
Bread Pudding
2 cups bread cubes 1/2 cup sugar 2 cups milk 1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs beaten 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Soak the bread in milk for 5 mins. Stir in eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Pour into buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Place casserole into shallow pan of hot water. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 min. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Now enjoy!
(You can add white raisins to this as well just soak them in warm water to plump them and add)
Hope you will try some of the recipes and enjoy them as much as I do.

A cool day

Good morning! Today is a crisp, cool one here i n Ohio. I can remember coming home from school to the delicious smells of grandma's baking. In going through mom's boxes of recipes, I found a favorite of grandma and mom....it is for OATMEAL BREAD it was so good right out of the oven for an after school snack....I can smell it now.....
OATMEAL BREAD
2 1/2 Cups lukewarm water, milk or potato water (milk should be scalded and cooled)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. soft shortening
1 cake compressed yeast
2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
5 1/2 to 6 cups flour
Mix together the liquid, sugar, salt and shortening. Crumble the yeast into the mixture and stir unitl the yeast is dissolved. Add the rolled oats and mix in the flour--half at a time, using what is necessary to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough out onto lightly floured board, cover and let stand 10 mins.; then knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and let rise until double in bulk (1 1/2 to 2 hrs.). Punch down dough. Divide in half. Shape into 2 loaves. Put in lightly greased pans. Cover with damp cloth and let rise about 1 hr. Bake 30-40 mins. in 400 degree oven. Cool and enjoy.
Hope you will try this....it is a good bread for the cool days of autumn. Till next time.............keep warm and toasty!

New things are showing up

Hi!

Well, I have been bad about not writing, but I have been busy. I am making cards and been online playing Yoville and Farmville. I am going to post a picture of my mother's parents...Dominic and Sophia...It has to be from the 1920's I believe...not sure maybe earlier.

Gram liked potato pancakes and so do I...so the recipe is....Potato Pancakes....

5 Tbsp. flour l small, peeled grated onion l unbeaten egg

l l/2 lbs. pared, raw potatoes (3 Large) 1 tsp. salt l/8 tsp. black pepper

Measure the flour in a bowl; grate the potatoes, stir in the rest of the ingredients. Grease a heavy skillet. Place over medium heat. Drop potato mixture by heaping Tbsp. into hot skillet. Fry until crisp and golden brown on the underside. Brown on other side. Serve as a vegetable.. Makes about 16 pancakes.

You can eat with a dollup of sour cream or plain yogurt or just plain. Hope you enjoy them! I do.

Til later.......

Oh, my school begins!

It sure is hard to believe summer is almost over. School is starting. Football season is here! Time to start the cooler weather.
My world was turned upside down...I lost my one big dog. He was a friend, confidante and constant companion. He hung on and on, but he did die a natural death at home with me by his side.
Now it is time to turn over a new leaf....my little guy and I are off for places known and unknown. We are taking a trip to Frankenmuth, MI next month. Then who knows where to next.
I am stamping now and ordered a Cuttlebug..I anxiously await its arrival.
Here is a quick dinner......for those days you want to hurry up ......
Garlic lemon shrimp
1 lb. uncooked large shrimp, peeled & deveined 2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 sliced cloves garlic 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. ground cumin 1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley Hot cooked pasta or rice
In a large skillet, saute shrimp in oil for 3 mins. Add garlic, lemon juice, cumin & salt; cook & stir until shrimp turn pink. Stir in parsley. Serve with pasta or rice.
Approx. cook time is 20 mins. Serves 4.

Quick and easy and delicious. Enjoy. I will post some of my cards next time and tell you of my travels. Till then.....have fun!!!

MMMM it's chicken

Hi all. It sure is hot here in OH. We finally have the summer here and most of you are looking for the fall. Hot weather and I do not go well together, but I just try and find a cool spot and stay there. And cooking.....you hate to turn on the oven. Here's a low carb meal that you cook on the stovetop. Hope you like it.....Cilantro-Lime Chicken
1 lb. boneless chicken breats 2 sm. onions
1 large lime 2 Tbs. canola oil
1 or 2 sm green or red jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced* 1 sm. piece fresh ginger (1" long) peeled and thinly sliced 2 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Tbs. reduced sodium soy sauce 1-2 tsp. sugar
Hot cooked rice or flour tortillas (optional)
*Jalapeno peppers can sting and irritate the skin, so wear rub ber gloves when handling peppers and do not touch your eyes.*
Cut chicken breast half into 8 pieces. Cut each onion into 8 wedges. Remove 3 strips of peel from lime with vegetable peeler. Cut lime peel into very fine shreds. Juice lime, measure 2 Tbs. juice. Set aside. Heat wok or large skillet over medium-high heat 1 min. or until hot. Drizzle oil into wok and heat 30 seconds. Add chicken, jalapeno and ginger; stir-fry about 3 mins. until chicken is no longer pink in center. Reduce heat to medium. Add onions; stir fry 5 min. Add lime peel, juice and chopped cilantro; stir-fry 1 min. Add soy sauce and sugar to taste; stir-fry until well mixed and heated through. Transfer to serving dish. Serve with rice or tortilla; if desired. Makes 4 servings. (216 calories; 8 g total fat; 7 g carbs.; 66 mg chol.; 1 g fiber; 1 g sat. fat; 28 g protein; 313 mg sodium; 35% cal. from fat--exchanges--3 lean meat; 1 vegetable)
There you go. I don't put in jalapeno--i don't like the heat. I add green or red pepper strips for color. Hope you enjoy this for a hot summer dinner or lunch.
Take care until I write again..........

Summer is gone?

Wow, I cannot believe it is already August. Where has the summer gone to? We did have cool weather here in Ohio, but now we have the hot muggy weather of August. Tomatoes are ripening, zucchini, cukes, corn, and I have pears are all starting to ripen up. So, today I am giving you a recipe for Zucchini Bread. It is really tasty. Hope you enjoy it. I promise not to be off for too long like this time. I just have had a bad month. So here is the recipe:
3 c. flour 2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powderr 1 tsp. cinnamon 3 eggs
2 c. sugar 1 c. vegetable oil 2 tsp. vanilla 2 c. grated zucchini 1 can crushed pineapple (3 oz. drained.) 1 c. chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. Set aside. Beat eggs til light, add sugar, oil and vanilla. Beat til creamy. Add zucchini and pineapple. Add dry ingredients and mix. Add nuts. Spoon batter into two greased, floured loaf pans. Bake for 45-50 mins. at 350. Cool 15 mins. before removing from pan. Finish cooling and enjoy.
Happy August 11th!

Didn't think I could do it

Hi there.
Well, today I did something new. I went to a class and made two cards. I had a really good time and a good instuctor, my cousin RoseAnn. But RoseAnn and I have a good time every time we get together. We have been on our little trips together and just had a lot of fun.
Going to take another one of her classes next month. Cannot wait.
By now everyone has heard the bad news of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson's deaths. Wow, what tragedies.
Hope all is well in your world. Take care. Until we meet here again......

It's Father's Day

Hi again. Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers out there. Tonite
I wanted to tell you about a recipe that my dad liked and so did
my husband. Gram made it a little differently, but my husband
liked my way. I did not like these at all growing up and even
when I made them for my husband, I ate something else. So
here are the Stuffed Peppers I made:
1 1/2 Lbs. ground beef 1 bag Minute Rice cooked
1 medium diced onion Salt & pepper to taste
2 cans of tomato soup garlic powder to taste
4 or 5 green, red or yellow peppers cleaned
Mix together the ground beef, the diced onion, the cooked rice after it cools, salt and pepper, and garlic powder. Wash and dry your peppers, cut off just the tops and scoop out the seeds and the fibrous part of the pepper, making sure to keep it in tact. Stuff the pepper with the beef and rice mix. Put top on and place in large heavy bottom kettle standing upright. Pour in the tomato soup and add enough water to fill to 3/4 up the pepper. Cover and cook for about 1 to 1 1/2 hrs. or until pepper is soft when knife is inserted. Serve with boiled potatoes and another veggie and you are all set. You can also make this by putting the pepper upright in a oven proof covered casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 mins to 1 hr.
Hope you enjoy the day. Keep an eye to the sky since we have been having so darn many storms. Take care!! Til we meet again.

It's June!

Well, it is almost the middle of June already. The weather just doesn't seem to want to warm up, but I'll take this over the extremely hot or cold we have had.
Just don't like all the storms that come with warm weather. Have enjoyed the gentle rains we have had. Last Saturday I got to enjoy the sounds of Raggae music from the Black River Landings. I just go into the backyard and can enjoy it there. This week is supposed to be Jazz night. Hope it doesn't rain.
Thought I would share a recipe for the Microwave with you. It is a Chicken and Rice one.
1 1/3 cups 5 minute rice 2 cans (10 3/4 oz. ea.) condensed cream of
chicken soup 2 soup cans milk (2 1/2 c.)
2 medium sized ribs celery sliced (3/4 c.) 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
4 chicken legs (drumsticks & thighs 2 1/2 lbs. skinned) Paprika Mix all ingredients except chicken in a 13 x 9 in. microwave safe baking dish. Arrange chicken on top, meaty side up, in a single layer: sprinkle with paprika. Cover with vented plastic wrap. Microwave on high 25-30 mins. rotating dish 1/2 turn twice, until chicken is barely opaque in thickest part when tested with a knife. Let stand covered 3 mins. until opaque. Now serve with your favorite veggie sides. Enjoy!!
Have a great weekend. Happy Flag Day!!!

Finally found it! Success!

Yes, I cannot believe it. I have found the famous sweet bread recipe that my grandmother used to make. We loved this bread. The house always smelled so good when we came in after gram had been baking. I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it too.

Polish Sweet Bread

1 cake of yeast 1 cup sugar

2 cups lukewarm milk 4 eggs (beaten)

8 cups flour 1 cup white raisins

1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup soft margarine or butter

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of water. Melt margarine/butter in milk. Add sugar and salt. When cool add eggs, yeast and flour. Then add cinnamon and raisins. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Let rise until double. Punch down and let rise again. Put into greased loaf pans. When it has risen in pans, brush with egg and put crumb topping on. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Crumb Topping

1 beaten egg ( use to brush on top of bread loaves then add)

4 Tablespoons sugar 2 Tablespoons butter

2 1/2 Tablespoons flour Few drops almond flavoring

Wrap cooled loaves in wax paper then aluminum foil. Makes 4 loaves using small pans or 7 or 8

loaves when recipe is doubled

It's almost June

Hello again.
It has been quite busy for me. I went out to eat with my girlfriend and my cousins and celebrated another birthday on May 16. It was uneventful except for all the days out to eat.
My cousin RoseAnn and I went on a wonderful day trip. Had a great time in Medina. I used to live in Brunswick years ago and boy has that area changed. Had a great time.
I don't have a recipe today, but I do hope you all have a great Memorial day weekend. Enjoy.
Cook out and have a great time.
Will try and find a good recipe for you next time.
Happy Memorial Day!

Finally eating

Hurray!
I had my first food--real food. I didn't realize how much I missed veggies. Had some salad and tomatoes today. They sure did taste good. Was thinking about some of the dishes I fixed for my mom when she had her problems eating. One of her favorites was pork chops and rice. It is very easy to make:
4-6 pork chops seasoned with salt and pepper 2 cups white rice
2 cans cream of mushroom soup 4 cans of water
Season your pork chops as you want. Put your rice uncooked into a casserole. Lay the seasoned pork chops on the rice. Open your soup and pour into a bowl, mix in the water. Pour over your pork and rice. Cover. Bake at 350 degrees for 90 mins. or until water absorbed and rice cooked thru. You can add peas or broccoli to this and bake it and have a meal in one dish. The pork chops come out nice and tender this way.
Try it you might enjoy them.
Well, keep you posted on my progress eating. Have a good week.

Creamy Rice Pudding

Hi gang!
Still having problems with my teeth. It seems like I cannot get used to these things. Went for a reline and the girl who did it had a stomach ache and felt nauseated. I got it then. Boy, was I mad. Called them and told them they need to keep their personnel home when they are sick not working.
Here's a Creamy Rice Pudding to make:
1/2 cup rice 5 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup raisins (Optional)
Bring to a boil 4 cups milk, salt and sugar. Wash rice in cold water and add to boiling milk. Simmer slowly for 30 mins. or until rice is tender. Put rice in buttered baking dish, add remaining l cup of cold milk, flavoring and raisins. Bake at 400 degrees for half hr. or until the top is slightly brown. Serve hot or cold with cream if desired.
Gram used to make this and sprinkled the top with cinnamon or nutmeg, depending on her mood when it came out of the oven. We used to love it. Hope you will try it.

A new cousin

Well, here it is Sunday. I still haven't gotten to eat. Real food that is. Got on the scale and I have lost about 15 lbs. since I started this ordeal. Oatmeal has become a staple in my house.
I forget what meat and veggies and fruit is.
Good news, though. I have a wonderful new cousin. Yes, little Lila Catherine Estelle. She came into the world on April 22 at 5:08 p.m. and weighed in at 7 lbs. I am so happy. Just love babies.
But they don't stay babies too long.
Hope your week goes well. Enjoy the nice weather while we can. I hear we are to have storms
this week. Til later on......

Soup, yum

Hi everyone.

Well, it has been a week since the surgery. It still feels like yesterday. I wish I would have done things differently. Got the flu on top of everything. Nausea and all. Caught it from one of the dental workers who was sick with the same symptoms. I think people who are sick should stay home especially in that field.

Well, I haven't been able to eat much, but I thought of a good soup to make:

Oxtail/short rib vegetable soup

Use one oxtail or more if you prefer two packages of short ribs

one can of corn (drained) one large can of whole tomatoes

one can of peas (drained) one can of green beans(drained)

one can of wax beans one can of carrots sliced

one can of potatoes one can of butter beans

one stalk of celery diced one onion diced

two cans of low sodium beef stock

In a large pot, place oxtails, ribs and cover with water. Bring to a boil. When the water starts to have sacum (brown frothy matter) use a spoon to remove and discard. After this has cooked about 1 and 1/2 hrs. add the vegetables and the stock. Cook until the meat is tender about 2-3 hrs in total. Then enjoy. You may need to add more water if needed. Keep covered and stir the

soup frequently to prevent sticking.

Enjoy. This is one of my favorite soups. Mom liked it too. Hope you will.

MMMM eggplant

Hi again.
This week has been murder. Had oral surgery. They said that it wouldn't be bad, but it was a lot worse than I could have imagined. As I sit here thinking of different foods to eat, one thing comes to mind that I really enjoy. Eggplant. Oh, I have had it many ways, but by far my favorite way is the way my grandma and mother fixed it. Mom finally broke down and told me how to do it.
Take one large eggplant, peel it. Cut it into small cubes. Take one potato, large, peel it and cut into cubes the size of your eggplant. Boil the potato in water (salted) along with the eggplant. Drain both when done well. Mash the eggplant and potato together. Finely dice one small onion and add to eggplant/potato mash. Add salt and pepper to taste. One egg and mix together. Take a muffin tin and grease or Pam the sides and bottoms well. Add the mixture. Take bacon and cut into pieces and place one piece per muffin cup on the top of eggplant mix. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 mins. to 1 hr. or until the bacon is done. Pop out of the muffin tin and enjoy as a side dish.
I really like my eggplant this way. Hope you will give it a try. Enjoy!!

Where has the time gone

Well, here it is Thursday after Easter already. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Lots of goodies.....hopefully your chocolate bunnies had ears.
Sitting here and thinking about some of the good food we had as children. The wonderful pigs in a blanket or cabbage rolls. Was talking to my sister-in-law and she gave me a recipe that was a whole lot easier than all the rolling. She baked hers as a casserole, I put mine in a crock pot and cooked it. I enjoyed it.
Take one head of cabbage and place it in a pot of boiling water. Boil about 15 mins. and remove.
Take one bag of minute rice and cook according to package directions. Rinse in cold water.
Saute one onion in margarine or butter until transparent. Brown 1 and 1/2 pounds of ground beef, chuck or turkey in skillet. Take outer leaves of the cabbage and lay in pan or bottom of crock pot. Slice the rest of the cabbage head into thin strips. Mix meat, onion, rice with salt and pepper to taste and layer with shredded cabbage in casserole or crock pot. Add two cans of tomato soup, and four cans of water.(This is for the crock pot only) For casserole--add two cans of soup and two cans water and bake at 350 for 1 hr. covered. Turn on crock pot on low for 6 hrs. or 3 hrs. high. Make some mashed potatoes and you have a fantastic supper. I have a lot of left overs. Enjoy.
Hopefully next week I will be able to add more recipes. See you then.

Poor bunny

Hi!

Well, here it is almost Easter. Wednesday. A time to be shopping for the ham. Getting things in order for the Sunday dinner. Just read an email from a friend who is having dinner at her place. I know what it is to cook and get prepared and work. A lot of preparation to have the family over. After reading her email, I was reminded of an incident when I was a child.

Oh, how we looked forward to the Easter basket in the morning. To see what the Easter bunny brought to us. Each Saturday night before Easter, we would get a plate out (my brother and I) and put on it celery and carrots for the Easter Bunny to enjoy on his way so he would leave us nice baskets full of goodies. One year, my mom caught me in the refrigerator after the plate was put out but before I went to bed. She said to me, "What are you doing?" I replied, "Counting the celery and carrots." "Why?" she asked. "Because someone said that the parents just take the celery and carrots and put them back into the refrigerator because there is no Easter Bunny." Not wanting to put an end to the Easter Bunny just yet, mom took the celery and carrots and put them in the basement up on a shelf where we wouldn't find them where they rotted away. It went on like that a few more years before we found out there was no bunny.

And we had to watch out for mom with our chocolate bunnies, they usually were earless. Ma had a thing for the bunny's ears and would bite them off. For the longest time I never knew chocolate bunnies had ears!

Fun memories........Hope you have some to remember this Easter. Have a Happy One! Til next week..........BJ

It's April

Wow! Where has the time gone. It is April already. I cannot believe Easter is just a week away. Time is going fast. Time to go visit the cemetary and put the flowers out for Easter. Time to prepare for Easter morning. My mom made sweet bread for Easter, but I have yet to find that wonderful recipe. It had raisins and was a sweet bread yeast dough. The top had a special crust that was so yummy.

Easter sunday we went to Lakeview for pictures at the basket. Cold, rain, sun, or warm we went. Had ham and boiled eggs and either macaroni salad (for me, I hate potato salad) or potato salad for everyone else. Some of the other relatives would be over, aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts and uncles, grandparents. What wonderful, warm memories to cherish.

Easter just gets to be another day as we get older and the family disappears. The dinners are gone. But the memories we can cherish in our hearts forever. Happy weekend. Will see if I can find the wonderful bread recipe to share....

Almost Easter

I don't remember having big family get togethers with my great grandmother, but we did have my great aunts, great uncles and cousins and aunts and uncles over for some of the holidays.

Easter....my favorite time. Grandma made sweet bread...Babka. My mother followed suite. However, I have not been able to find their recipe. I am posting a recipe from the Polish cookbook that I found:

• 1/2 c soft butter 4 cups flour


• 1/2 c sugar 1 t salt


• 4 egg yolks 1/2 t cinnamon


• 1 c milk, scalded l c white raisins


• l cake yeast l egg yolk, beaten


• grated rind of 1 lemon 2 T water


• 1/4 c lukewarm water l/4 c chopped almonds

Mix butter and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add salt to egg yolks and beat until thick. Add to sugar and butter mix. Add yeast softened in 1/4 c. lukewarm water. Add lemon rind and cinnamon. Add flour aalternately with milk and beat well to make smooth batter. Add raisins and knead with hands until batter leaves the fingers. Let rise in warm place and is double in bulk (approximately 1 1/2 hrs.) Punch down and let rise again until double in bulk. Butter fluted tube pan or bread pan generously and sprinkle with fine bread crumbs and fill with dough. Brush top with mixture made by beating 1 egg yolk with 2 T. water. Sprinkle with almonds, let rise and bake in 350 degree oven about 30 mins. check for doneness and browning.

Hope this babka reminds you of your youth.....I'll keep looking for my grandma's recipe.

More pierogi fillings

Well, here are some of the new fillings for the pierogi I found:

• 6 apples



• 1/2 cup sugar



• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Peel and put apples through coarse blade of grinder. Mix with cinnamon and sugar and add to pierogi.

It's Friday

Well, today is Friday. What to make to eat? Pierogi take time to make, so we go with grandma's other recipe for Fridays.
Here it is:

• 1 box of Farfalle (bow tie pasta) (1 lb)
• 1 small onion diced finely
• 1 eight ounce container of cottage cheese (low fat or regular)
• salt and pepper to taste
• margarine

In a large pot cook pasta as per directions on box. Drain. While pasta is cooking, melt about two Tablespoons of margarine or butter in a saute pan. Add and saute onion until transparent. Remove from heat. After pasta is drained, return to pot, add cooked onion and the cottage cheese. Mix together. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with your favorite tuna fish salad, fish fillet, salad. Just enjoy. It's quick and easy and tastes pretty good, too.

In going through mom's stuff, I found a cookbook first printed in 1948. A Polish cookbook - it really is quite interesting. It lists a lot of different fillings for pierogi. Cheese with currants and cinnamon and sugar, cottage cheese with lemon juice, cabbage and mushroom, mushroom, sauerkraut, mushroom and meat, prune, ripe plum, fresh berries, cooked fruit, & apple. If anyone's interested in these other fillings, let me know and I'll print them.

I'll try and find more stories and recipes later. Have fun. Keep warm. We're supposed to get snow flurries again. The robins were out in the yard yesterday, now they need to go get their winter coats on again. Til the next sunrise.

This is a pierogi?

Hi there. Today was quite a change from yesterday. I thought our weather would be warmer, but winter still wants to hang on.
As promised, I'll tell you my pierogi story. In our household, a pierogi was about 3-4 inches wide and 5-6 inches long. As a child, you could barely eat one. We did have a lot of leftovers. My grandmother made them filled with prunes or with cottage cheese. Our pierogi were coated in breadcrumbs and lightly toasted in butter/margarine in the frying pan. Then kept warm in the oven until supper. When I left home and lived in Brunswick, I worked at Parma General. On the menu were pierogi. My co-workers were so excited and I was looking forward to them as I had not had any in a while. I went up to the counter and placed my order---mmmmm pierogi, I thought. I was handed a plastic plate with three small, pale white doughy things covered in slices of onions. I looked at them and said "What the heck is this?" the girls replied "Pierogi!"
As I took my tray to the table, dismayed, I sat down looked at these poor, pale white doughy things and cut one open. "You're gonna love them!" I was told. Well, I ended up giving them away as I did not love them and never bought them again. I did, however, learn to like pierogies like this as well as the way grandma made them, but that first time--it was memorable.
Here's a great recipe for pierogi dough--easy to work with:
Makes approximately 40 pierogi

• 4 cups flour
• 5 Tablespoons sour cream or half n half
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons of oil

Mix all ingredients in order given in bowl or food processor till moistened. Remove from bowl and place in plastic wrap or bag and place in refrigerator for 10 mins. Take out and bring to room temperature. Cut into 4 pieces. Roll each piece on floured surface and cut with large biscuit cutter. Place filling in center and fold in half pinch edges togeter and place on cookie sheet covered with floured towel in single layer (You can slide this in the freezer now and freeze them for later) or set aside. Boil water in large pot with salt. Place pierogi in. Let pierogi float up to top of water and start timing for 5 mins. Take out and place on cookie rack. Now you can roll in plain breadcrumbs and coat them on both sides and replace on cookie rack until all are coated and then melt butter in heavy skillet and add pierogi and lightly brown on both sides OR you can cook them however you're used to cooking them.

Filling:

• 1 container of dry cottage cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 small finely diced onion
• margarine
• l egg

Saute onion in butter, cool. Mix together cottage cheese, salt, pepper, egg, onion. Set aside. Fill pierogi.

You can use whatever filling you want--they have prune filling (in the baking section) or use mashed potatoes and cheese or mashed potatoes with onions and cheese, or whatever you desire.

Hope you enjoy this recipe. I know you won't have bad luck like I did with my first pierogi dough because this one is great. Have fun! Happy Pierogi Eating! See what I cook up next.

A new way

Well, today I learned about blogging. It is a new experience and as of late I am really trying to absorb more about computers.
This blog is going to be about a lot of things. Some are life experiences, some are learning experinces, and some are fun experiences.
Please feel free to leave your comments and suggestions as they are appreciated.
When I was growing up, my mother's mother lived with us. Both my mom and dad worked and grandma was always there. She made sure we went to school and got home safely. And boy could she cook. Her mother (my great grandmother who was 95 when she died & I did know her) was from Polish decent. We did have some very unusual food to eat. In this blog, I'll share some of the recipes that I remember. I do hope you will enjoy them. Next time I'll share the experience of my first pierogi at Parma Hospital cafeteria and give you my recipe for our pierogi.
Til the next sunrise.

My first post on this blog

Wow, I have a blog set up and can actually go to a site. How about that--I'm finally getting to be a little more computer savvy. Who would've thought it? Not me for sure.