An American Thanksgiving~

It is going to be a real party here starting the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day. All the beds will be filled and cooking will be a-foot.  Pam, George, and Andy's brother Jimmy are coming in early to help.  Jimmy, for his photography class, will shoot a picture tableau of an American family's Thanksgiving preparations and celebration. He and Andy take college classes during their retirement. Then Brooks and Alyssa arrive home from their schools so the house will be a-poppin. I love a full busy house. Plus, we have a lot to be thankful for this year.

What we enjoy doing is turning the two turkeys over to George who is the turkey wrestler.  We buy two turkeys to prepare one for the occasion and one to be cut up for guests to take home so they have Thanksgiving left overs to enjoy.  While this is going on I get two or three hot dips going in the oven and we feed George tidbits while he is working so hard. So then, what to have for lunch.  It must be easy because people will be going to the airport to pick up the students as well as all kinds of coming and going. This year I have fixed a favorite of George's, ox tails over buttered noodles.  I will have a second dish for those who do not care for that country comfort. I have started the cookie making, so they will be a quick pick up for dessert.

This recipe is the next on the baking menu.  For some reasons raspberries were cheap for the last two weeks. NOTE: I made two double batches of these this morning.  Very easy, very pretty, but have not tasted.

Raspberry Crumb Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 9 - 12 bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup rolled oats (old fashioned)
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup raspberry jam, seedless if preferred

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 by 8-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang of foil on two sides. Grease foil.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in oats and brown sugar, and use clean fingertips as needed to break up brown sugar clumps. Add butter, and using fingertips, work butter into mixture until evenly moistened.
• Add 2 cups of the oat mixture to the prepared baking dish and press into an even layer. Spread raspberry jam into an even layer over oat layer, coming within 1/4-inch of all edges. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining oat mixture, then slightly press into jam layer.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 34 - 38 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container.
• Recipe Source: adapted from allrecipes

Wed. dinner:
Then for dinner, we will have take out Chinese or pizza because by then we will sick of the kitchen and the food that is in it.  Everyone will have jobs.  I am turning over the long table setting and decorations to someone else this year.  There should be around 24 place settings.  The drinks are on the porch along with the cheese trays, dips, & balls.

George, last year on the porch with one of the roaster turkeys. He is a master carver too.

The long table from last year. 

Another table in the same room.

Holiday baking has begun~

The recipe is Mrs. Field's chocolate chip recipe.  It makes a ton and I used chunk white chocolate and cappuccino chips with pecans instead of chocolate chips. The cappuccino chips are new to me and very good.  They are from King Arthur.  The white chocolate hunks or small squares are from the same source.  Beth always celebrates her birthday with pancakes, so after we go out for that tradition I am going to try the same recipe with home made applesauce and some other delicious goodies--what ever I lay hands on in the baking cupboard. I have not made cookies for years because they are so time consuming, but I found if I put everything on a tray and have it ready and at room temperature, things run a little smoother.  On the 22nd of this month Cook's Corner will have their cookie recipe inset in the Columbus Dispatch.  Several pages of reader's favorite cookie recipe.  I put one in for consideration called dessert cookie which is a cake like country cookie with a burnt sugar topping. 
                                    

                                                 

I am making a second batch tomorrow and adding home made apple sauce to this recipe and maybe raisins instead of the other goodies.

ABOVE: Same batter but with home made applesauce.  This makes it more cake like.

These are just like Mrs. Fields...makes 112 cookies."

Ingredients:

2 cups butter, softened 2 cups white sugar 2 cups packed brown sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons baking soda

4 eggs 4 cups all-purpose flour 5 cups rolled oats 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips 8 ounces finely grated chocolate bar 3 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2.	Cream together butter or margarine, white sugar, and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla.
3.	Mix together in a separate bowl: salt, baking powder, baking soda, flour and oatmeal (put small amounts of oatmeal in blender until it turns to powder. Measure out 5 cups of oatmeal and only "powderize" that, NOT 5 cups "powderized" oatmeal).
4.	Mix all of the above.
5.	Add: chocolate chips, grated chocolate bar, and chopped nuts (any kind).
6.	Bake on greased cookie sheet (make golf ball sized balls) and bake about two inches apart. Bake for 8 -10 minutes. Do not over bake. Note:There are many recipes for Mrs. Field's cookies but this is the one I use. I have a hankering to try lamb shanks. (Hankering? Where did that come from?)  I don't know why.  I think it is because our friends in Chevy Chase always ordered them when we ate out after an antiques show.  I am on the look out for recipes although it does not seem too complicated. I guess any shanks would do, but I have found that now the prices of ox tails and shanks have risen to steak level for some reason.  It is practically all bone, so why the price escalation? One butcher in Cincinnati said it would be about $10. a pound.  I said forget it, I missed that boat.

Columbus stores~

Wild Wonders. Delicious

For some reason I have been to many stores in the last couple of weeks and believe me I have been shocked.  For instance I have been thinking about a new coat.  I have several but have not bought any for years.  When I wanted a coat or two for the London and Paris winter outdoor antiques markets I always went to Burlington Coat Factory at Graceland Shopping Center...yes, that's a long time ago because the store has been gone for years.  At Burlington I also bought at that time, jeans (as tips) for people in London and Paris because the jeans were so expensive over there and so cheap here that they really enjoyed the treat of a new pair or two of jeans. (They also got whiskey and smokes as well.) So, Beth and I decided to go to Burlington at Sawmill and route 161.  I have rarely been as shocked as I was when I entered the store.  Beth was parking the car or I would have backed out and run.  The place was a total dirty mess.  It looked like a bomb had gone off.  The store was packed with people and kids running wild.  People were throwing merchandise in the aisles and on tops of racks. People tripping over boots in the aisle, but not stopping to pick them up. All the clerks were at the cash registers and no one was walking the area to contain the mayhem. The sizes were all mixed together so one had to look at each tag, most of the stuff was on wrong racks to begin with.  If you were looking for a coat you might run into a pair of pajamas between two coats.  It was dark and stuffy and just plain unpleasant. We got out of there plenty fast.

And what is it with the dark stores?  Andy and I went to Kroger's on Morse Road to get his bus ticket and to look for packets of Cincinnati (or Skyline) chili seasoning.  It was so dark in there I could hardly see the merchandise and several people commented about it... maybe because I kept pointing it out.

On the other hand the Meijer store at Cleveland Avenue and route 161, where you might expect it to look run down, was a glowing example of how a store should look.  I complimented each and every person I saw with a red vest or shirt.  It was a super delight...bright lights, clean and waxed floors which they do over every night, excellent shelving, beautiful produce, happy workers, and organized within an inch of its life.  I loved it and was totally surprised by it. Again, I had not been in that store for years, but I plan to go back.  The only thing that shocked me was the price of their paper products like cards and gift bags.  The price shocked the clerk when I asked him to check to see if a empty gift back was really $5.49.  He checked at the register and it was. Oh, I forgot to say their books and magazine section was outstanding and it was at the front of the store.  It is a large store, so I did not get to the middle or the far back; I was too busy enjoying what I could see and get to in a hurry.  Good for them, good for us.

Writing about good, now that our tomatoes are done for, we tried Meijer's Wild Wonders tomatoes--a bit larger than cherry tomatoes and in wild colors of yellow, red and plum.  They have so much flavor.  If you crave tomatoes during the cold season or fall, try this Sunset product. They are greenhouse grown and full of tasty goodness.

Today I made two large baking dishes of lasagna, one for tonight's dinner and one for the first meal on Thanksgiving day.  I like to use Bob Evan's zesty sausage in my lasagna and today I put in some pepper bacon and baby egg plant.  In a skillet I brown the bacon, egg plant, sausage, onions, yellow peppers.  In a bowl I use small curd cottage cheese, 2 eggs, fresh herbs, salt, pepper some other seasonings to place in between the layers.  I use Carfagna's basil tomato sauce with layers of different kinds of cheeses, using up left overs from cheese boards and that from shredded cheese bags. I bake the lasagna low and slow. I then cool the one for Thanksgiving and freeze it... when it is warmed on the day of its use, it cuts into squares beautifully.  It is what restaurants do to get those nice clean edges. Bake it now, cut it later.

Take a look at this site.  I want to try lamb shanks and never got around to it. David Lebovitz Coffee-Braised Lamb Shanks - Tasty lamb shanks braised in coffee and lively ancho chile, a Paleo recipe inspired by Joshua Weissman of Slim Palate .

R A M Romote Area Medical, my passion

Years ago Andy and I watched Wild Kingdom and laughed because the star, Merlin Perkins who was older, used to send this big strapping guy on ahead to wrestle the lions, tame the snakes and do the dirty work.  This man, the greater of the two, saw the need to service rural America when he retired  with free medical care.  People line up two days in advance and wait to receive one of the sought after numbers (1600 for the day.) They stay through rain and bad weather afraid to lose their spot in line to get a number. Hundreds  are turned away to wait another day or year hoping to be one of the lucky ones next time.    I have heard and seen the information on many needy organizations and used to actually rebel against United Way, because the money wandered here and there and sometimes got in the wrong pockets and serviced some organizations that needed to service themselves.  100% of the money you give R A M  goes to the rural America citizens of OUR country.  I am from rural America and I can say these people are among the most honest, helpful people you would ever want to meet. When I die, I don't want flowers, I want the money to go to R A M.  I don't want birthday or Christmas presents, I want the money to service rural Americans who are truly in need of free medical care. The volunteer doctors and nurses and workers take no salary and enjoy no luxuries while serving the needy.  This is the most worthy cause that I have ever encountered.  This is the cause that people like the Kardashions, who gave a one year old baby a $60,000 one of a kind purse for her first birthday, should be supporting. (That money could have bought 6 more dental stations.)  It is simply unconscionable to think these kinds of things go on in America while we nanny the rest of the world and the celebrities nanny themselves.

Mobile Clinics: Stan Brock founder and president

Remote Area Medical provides medical care through mobile clinic events in under served, isolated, or impoverished communities. Most clinics provide general medical, dental, vision, preventive care, and education unless otherwise indicated such as veterinarian services. Find a clinic near you here:

On line...

RAMUSA.org

or

Mail gifts to:

RAM

2200 Stock Creek Blvd

Rockford, TN 37853

or

call gift in: 865 579 1530


Recently, 60 Minutes heard about an American relief organization that airdrops doctors and medicine into the jungles of the Amazon. It's called Remote Area Medical, or "RAM" for short.

As correspondent Scott Pelley first reported last March, Remote Area Medical sets up emergency clinics where the needs are greatest. But these days that's not the Amazon. This charity founded to help people who can't reach medical care finds itself throwing America a lifeline.


In a matter of hours, Remote Area Medical set up its massive clinic, for a weekend, in an exhibit hall in Knoxville, Tenn. Tools for dentists were laid out by the yard, optometrists prepared to make hundreds of pairs of glasses, general medical doctors set up for whatever might come though the door. Nearly everything is donated, and everyone is a volunteer. The care is free. But no one could say how many patients might show up.

The first clue came a little before midnight, when Stan Brock, the founder of Remote Area Medical, opened the gate outside. The clinic wouldn't open for seven hours, but people in pain didn't want to chance being left out. State guardsmen came in for crowd control. They handed out what would become precious slips of paper - numbered tickets to board what amounted to a medical lifeboat.

It was 27 degrees. The young and the old would spend the night in their cars, running the engine for heat, but not much - not at $3 a gallon. At 5 a.m., Pelley took a walk through the parking lot.

"We got up at three o'clock this morning and we got here about four. We've been out where a little while it's cold," Margaret Walls, a hopeful patient from
Tennessee, told Pelley.

"Why did you come so early?" Pelley asked.

"'Cause we wanted to be seen," Walls replied.

Marty Tankersley came with his wife and his daughter, asleep behind the front seats. Tankersley says he drove some 200 miles to get to the clinic and slept in the parking lot for hours.

"Just to have this done?" Pelley asked.

"Yes, sir. I've been in some very excruciating pain," he replied.

Tankersley had an infected tooth that had been killing him for weeks. Most of the people who filled the lot heard about the clinic on the news or by word of mouth, and they came by the hundreds.

Note:  I have been searching for the negative on R A M  and have come up empty.  I am glad to have received their catalogue in the mail today because after the 60 Minutes story on this organization years ago, I had lost contact after having sent a check. It was like Christmas for me today to receive word from them through the catalogue telling me this was not a flash in the pan, they are still doing their good work and even expanding. I have sent them another check today.  Bless all their hearts. 

Fire, flour, and fork~

It is time to gear up for the holidays because they are not going away without a feature. I have several soups prepared in the freezer for the first meal of Thanksgiving and for George and Pam who come the day before and Beth who will be helping this year.  Beth who is a professional organizer has started arranging one of the big pantries and believe me when I say I do not have to go to the market any time soon.

                                 

One pantry.  These doors are examples of 'still life', painted by Ann Poling.  This is a journey through the reorganization by Beth.  There are two of these pantries each with different paintings.

Beth is a professional organizer and she took on these projects for me.  Thank you.

Beth organizing one of the pantries. The start.

Ahhh, now I can see what I have and I can start cooking! There are bins for rices, bins for pastas, bins for crackers...just pull them forward and tra-laaaa, you get what you see.

The second pantry which has already been organized, but full access is now possible.

The iphone 6 has charmed me~

I am not a phone person.  I don't like them and little good news has ever arrived (to me) from a phone that I can remember. (Well, maybe once when Andy first said I love you.)  But I must say the new iphone 6 has captured my attention.  I have not been able to get pictures from my camera's memory card to up load and go on to my blog in the last week or so.  Yesterday Mike showed me how to use the camera phone which is quick and beautifully done.  The camera is the easiest part of the phone to use except for the voice activation--just say the number and she takes care of the rest OR ask her a question and there are the details right in front of you on the phone.  I'm liking the Sprint 'Framily' plan as well with the two of us  paying around $45. each for the month. So far, just fabulous.

                                               

Although I buck and bull about new technology, I intend to stay current.  I figure it will keep me entertained in old age.  Some day I will sit and fiddle with these newfangled items and pity those who did not keep up...hey, sounds like I am nearly there with this terminology and this IS my birthday month..

While writing about the newest: By many accounts, the Midland English dialect, spoken by individuals in and around Columbus, Ohio, among other areas, is the clearest form of American English. According to Shippensburg University professor Dr. C. George Boeree, it is the version of American English most easily understood by fellow English speakers. This is out of all the states, we speak the clearest English of any of them.

Joe, Joe, and Mike are on their way to our house from Cincinnati.  I am serving brat patty sandwiches with grilled onions, peppers and mushrooms and the pasta salad from yesterday along with chili and two kinds of cake.  Since I am taking pictures of anything that moves or looks half pretty, I bet there will be a picture or two for you to see,

This is the topping for the brat patty sandwiches being served to guests today.

LikeLike · · Share

King Arthur visits ~

This lemon buttermilk cake is a mix...YES.  It has a fluffy batter that is light and generous filling the blossom Nordic cake pan which released its goodness easily and beautifully.  Both products from King Arthur.


Because I was fooling with the KING, I made this hurry-up dinner which was well received and very pretty.

 

I was so glad to see the two big boxes from King Arthur today. There is a lot of cooking going on around here.  This week end family from Cincinnati will be coming to the OSU game and then spending the night. As you know, someone or something has stolen October and no one seems to know where it went.  Now we have Thanksgiving looming on the horizon and then, of course, Christmas and then January at the beach house.  Once summer ends, you might as well kiss any peace good-bye.  It all seems so harried now days and I, of late, am always glad when it is over.  People try too hard to enjoy the holidays that once were filled with something different.  It is now like the New Year's eve party where everyone goes to extremes to show they are enjoying the occasion.  I like to buy gifts and give things during the year when it is needed and can be enjoyed because it is needed.  It gives not only pleasure but a sense of relief because the need is there.  I feel the same way about leaving 'stuff and money' when one passes on.  Why can't people have it when it is necessary rather than on a sad occasion when people sit on the edges of their chairs waiting for the other shoe to drop as the will is read.  Well...how did I get on this subject? What has this to do with flour?? So, okay, I have used King's thickening agent already in an apple crumble with granola topping (the granola that I made yesterday,) It works like magic; no lumps, no hassle, just right. If you like to cook, get on their sites and have some fun.  The only thing I didn't actually buy was flour.  Go figure.

NOTE:If you live in Columbus and need a good, a really good, appliance man who fixes all appliances and is reasonable, here is your guy: Andrew Matheny  394-6274  (called The Appliance Guy.)  He has just fixed a dishwasher and a long standing ice machine problem for us today. He is amazing.

Driven To Bake - Mobile Food Truck Finder | King

Granola day at Many Branches~

I can no longer get my (camera) pictures on the blog.  We had someone come to install a new router and now there are other problems to contend with.  Oh well, I can tell you this is granola making day.  I have done two huge batches.  I am so comfortable with this type of homemade granola that I have not made it the same way twice.  There are two steps, however that I must do.  I have to haul out the enormous iron skillet that my mother used for many years. In to the skillet goes: olive oil, one large old fashioned can of oats, 1/2 bag of coconut, some honey, some brown sugar,  some coconut sugar, some nuts, and today a half tub of my homemade cranberry/raspberry sauce.  (The last part is new.) One must stir this around on low heat until all the oats have had a chance to toast a bit. I used to skip the skillet part and mix everything in a bowl and then onto the foil lined baking sheets. But I found the oats to be a little raw and it took a lot of tossing to get them right without the skillet part. Spray the foil in the lined baking sheets and put a thin layer of the above mixture on to the sheet.  Toast it in the oven until it is golden but, of course, not burned.  One must be vigilant with this step because the kitchen witch is always ready to burn. It takes about 10 minutes on roast in my convection oven at 350-400 degrees.  But all ovens are different.  I do two sheet pans at a time shaking and shifting and changing oven racks so they brown evenly. When it's just right,  let it cool completely then pour it all into a really big tub because this is when you start adding all the goodies like the dried fruit, more nuts, raisins, banana chips, sunflower seeds... anything you like, even chocolate chips.  When completely cool, store in air tight bags or containers.  I am told some people in the family can't leave it alone.  Brooks asked for bags of it when Beth and Mike went to Parents' Day at the Citadel.

Somebody stop me!

This first offering is from The English kitchen blog.  I am going to do this for sure.  I do adore cream cheese danish but I always made it hard for myself to believe I could do it as well as the bakery. This is certainly doable.

*Easy Fruit and Cheese Danish*
Makes eight

Printable Recipe  

These are so lovely and so easy and simple to make.  Delicious.  

1 sheet of ready roll puff pastry, all butter

115g of cream cheese (4 ounces)

50g of sugar (1/4 cup)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 TBS heavy cream

2 TBS jam (I used strawberry on half and blueberry on the other half)

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water

demerara sugar to sprinkle (turbinado)  

To ice:

130g of icing sugar, sifted (1 cup)

1 to 2 TBS of lemon juice  

Preheat the oven to 400.  Line several baking sheets with baking paper. 

Whisk the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cream together.   Set aside.  Unroll your puff pastry.  Cut it into 8 rectangles. 

 Place four on each baking sheet, leaving lots of space in between.  Using a sharp knife, and taking care not to cut all the way through, score a border all the way around each, about 1/2 inch deep.  This will help the edges to rise and create an edge to help keep the filling in.  Place 1/8 of the cream cheese mixture in the center of each.   Spread it out almost to the border on each.  Top each with a few dots of jam and swirl it a bit with the end of a toothpick.  Brush the border of each with the beaten egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with some sugar. (picture and recipe from the English kitchen blog.) Second set, cheese Danish, is from Pinterest.

King Arthur has found me again. Saturday Andy brought the mail to me and low and behold there was the King Arthur Flour baker's catalogue.  It is the holiday prep made easy issue and I slobbered over each and every page.  The sun was out, the day was beautiful and all was right with the world as I waited for the other shoe to drop...but it didn't, so I set about making my wish list from the generous offering included in this booklet.  Some where along the way Arthur's catalogues got lost and this is the first one I have received in years.  What an interesting and irresistible selection from which to choose. I do enjoy their recipes as well.  When my order arrives I don't know exactly where I will squeeze the bottles and jars in the pantries, but in they will go.  Instead of a coffee station I need a seasoning and spice station.  It all needs to be at hand for shaking, pinching, and dabbing.  If you don't get their issues here is the way to get in touch with them: phone 800 827 6836; on line kingarthurflour.com/shop. I can tell you the lady taking my order was flummoxed by its size and I can only hope she got it right. I've got to stop with the kitchen supplies, I am totally out of hand,( but ready to cook for Thanksgiving.)

Have you ever heard of boiled cider?  Well, I am getting it.  The essence of apples, for everything from cobblers to cocktails can be enhanced with this addition. 'They' also use it in granola (which I make tons of) glazes, or in any apple baked goods.  It is said to give a rich background note.

I am also getting panettone mix along with the panettone paper baking pans.  Italy's magnificent holiday bread can be made fresh.  Any left overs go into bread pudding which is delicious with this addition instead of bread.

Beth and I had a day out and not only did we get a manicure and pedicure but we also went to Anderson's.  I don't think I have lauded that store in this blog. It is wonderful and now it is also huge!  The prices are good as well. It is (now) not just a grocery store or speciality store but a one shop fits all store. Andy is the only person I know who loves fruitcake.  He will eat fruit cake from the Dollar Store...I kid you not! At Anderson's I spotted little individual fruitcakes that sparkled with tons of fruit and and succulent crumbs.  I had to buy one for Andy to try.  We need to get back there, they were fabulous...each crumb delectable. Andy guards what is left and snarls like a dog if anyone even looks at it. If you live in or around Columbus and haven't been to Anderson's you are missing a great adventure.  I can't think of one thing they don't sell and they are known for their wine selection.

How do I love thee...many ways

Kathy, my niece loves these little cabbages as much as I do.  I try to please her with different renditions, but I actually think she would even like them raw.  We eat them like popcorn.  I can't say I have ever made them the same way twice, but balsamic vinegar is always involved. Those little critters sigh as their vinegar bath covers their leafy globular blooms. Poetic. No?

Today at the Lechlers: Corn beef and brussels sprout medley. (Eat your heart out, Kathy.)

Applesauce from the red fleshed apples.