Lazy Applesauce

Apples will get me into the kitchen, a place which rarely feels my footsteps.

On a cool fall day, what better thing is there than to make applesauce?  Especially when Hanukkah is drawing near.  And now that it is here, you need applesauce more than ever, right?

Since I am a lazy cook, here is a recipe for lazy applesauce.

You need several pounds of cooking apples.  But they don't have to be cooking apples.  I've used Gala and even Honeycrisp.

Be aware, some apples will produce a grainy applesauce.  Macouns and MacIntosh will make a nice, smooth sauce.  I like mine a little chunky.  Cortlands and Pippins, if you can get them, will make a chunkier sauce.  The harder the apple flesh, the grainier.  Tartness is a personal preference.

So: take your favorite apples.  Wash them.

Core the apples.  Cut into pieces, perhaps 8 pieces per apple.  Peeling is optional.  Put the apples in a pot.  Add about 3/4 of a cup of water, or, if you have it, apple juice or apple cider.  If you want sugar, use brown sugar. 

Cook the apples under medium low heat  until they are ready to be mashed with an apple masher, perhaps 25 minutes.  Add cinnamon or cloves to taste.  Let the aroma float through your house.  Savor the aroma.  It's time for comfort food.  Puree it if you like.  I don't.  I'm lazy.

Some people add butter.  I do not.

One thing I've done in recent years is add raspberries to the sauce.  We weren't able to pick raspberries last year, but had the chance to pick raspberries last year and still had some in the freezer.

If you do, just be sure to strain all those small seeds out.

My Mom used to make applesauce with cinnamon candies, which dyed the sauce red.  It's a wonderful memory for me.  In turn, I made applesauce with my young son, years ago. He's graduated to peppery hot sauce now. He even grows his own jalapeños for it.

Serve your applesauce, fragrant with the scents of autumn, warm.  Or cold.  Serve with potato pancakes (as spouse did on the first day of applesauce).  Or, just eat it as is.

One final thought - remember those cores and peels (if you peeled your apples?)  You don't want to throw them out.  On Saturday, I plan to give you a recipe that will use them.

Do you like applesauce?  How do you make it?

Nesselrode Pudding Pie #FlavoursomeTuesdays #Blogboost

One of my spouse's childhood memories of growing up in a suburb of New York City resolves around a pudding/pie made with Nesselrode sauce.  His mother served it around "the holidays" (in our country, the period between late November - Thanksgiving - and Christmas Day, December 25).

It didn't come out to be like a pie in a crust.  It came out more like a pudding.  He remembered it being made from a nesselrode sauce that came in a jar. He doesn't remember much more about how his Mom made it.

He remembers a "Delmonico pudding" with layers of ingredients in a tube pan, and nesselrode sauce was one of the layers.

The nesselrode sauce was chestnut based with cream.  What he remembers didn't have raisins or dried fruit in it but we are finding online recipes do have those ingredients, plus rum.

Several years ago, my sister in law came up from New York City to visit, and we went online to try to find nesselrode sauce.  Apparently, they stopped making the sauce commercially some 25 or more years ago.  I tried again this past weekend and could not find a commercial sauce version.

But nesselrode pie itself is apparently making a comeback. 

Here is another version.

And if you are really ready for a workout, how about this heirloom recipe from 1874?

It would seem this wonderful desert (originally served frozen) dates from around 1814.  In other words, it is over 200 years old.

I also found a recipe for nesselrode sauce.  Apparently this was a New York City area favorite between the 40s and the 60s.  My spouse grew up in the 1950's and 1960's, so the timeline fits.

Day 2 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Join Shilpa and Bellybytes on the first Tuesday of every month for #FlavoursomeTuesday.  Their theme this month is Breakfast but, as some like to say "Eat Dessert First!"

In Search of the Perfect Tuna Fish Sandwich - #FlavoursomeTuesday

On September 3, 2013 I ate the perfect tuna fish sandwich.  Today, I repeat a blog post from September 3, 2013 about it, with some small editing updates.

St. Louis.  1968.

My uncle Henry (who will be celebrating - updated  his 94th birthday later this year!) drove me and my father to St. Louis for the day, from his then-home in Iowa.

I don't know at what point we ate, but my choice was a tuna fish sandwich.  Back when I was a child and a teen, I loved tuna and I'm surprised that I never turned into a fish.

The tuna sandwich I had was not like any restaurant-made tuna sandwich I had ever had.  No, this was sweet.  It had a taste that was absolutely wonderful.

Several years later I was back in the area and ordered a tuna sandwich at a diner and it had the same taste.  What was it? I couldn't quite place it.  My spouse, an excellent cook, went by my description and guessed it had sweet pickle relish in it.  I suspected it might also have Miracle Whip as an ingredient.

Miracle Whip is - well, it is something like American mayonnaise, but unless you live in the U.S. (or, apparently, Germany) you won't find Miracle Whip.  I've found it to be a regional taste here in the United States.  My midwestern relatives use Miracle Whip in things such as potato salad that call for "white stuff in a jar".  My New York relatives use American Mayonnaise in dishes needing "white stuff".

It's been years, over 30 years, since I was in the St. Louis area, but my spouse and I ended up staying the night of September 2, 2013, about 50 miles (80 km) west of St. Louis, Missouri.  This morning, I decided to drop in on a local cafe called the Lewis Cafe. Their menu was in our motel room and it advertised that the owners raised their own beef.  And, it had been in business since the 1930's. [2018 update, it is still in business].

And, they made their own tuna fish salad.

They were closed yesterday (due to Labor Day) so dinner there was impossible.

But, they opened today at 5am. Our motel's desk clerk called them about 8:30 am (after sharing her recipe for tuna) to make sure they made sandwiches to go that early - they did.

So, what did we find?

Just the friendliest service you would ever want.  We were offered seats, and plenty of ice water while we waited.  The young lady who waited on us even suggested we use the restrooms.

Here are a couple of pictures of the interior of the Lewis Cafe.

The young lady put together our "to go's" including a slice of pie, plenty of  napkins, forks, my husband's fried cube steak (fantastic, according to him) and this:

Heaven.  I've waited over 30 years for this sandwich. And it just wasn't the tuna.  This wasn't store bought rye bread, I'm convinced.

So how does the desk clerk at Budget Lodgings in St. Clair, Missouri make her tuna?  Sweet relish (one point for spouse).  Miracle whip (one point for me). Chopped sweet onion.  Chopped hard boiled egg.

Joining up with #FlavoursomeTuesdays (hosted by Bellybytes and Metanoia) 

So What is a Spiedie, Anyway? #FlavoursomeTuesday

Every part of the world has its own food specialty.  In the Binghamton, New York area, it is something called a "spiedie", a food perfect for #FlavoursomeTuesday.

A spiedie is a marinated meat - the traditional lamb, or other choices such as chicken, pork, venison - called "spiedino" in Italy - marinated in oil, herbs and vinegar - grilled and then served on Italian bread. 

This is the food that launched a three day festival in Binghamton, New York this past weekend.   And I'm a little amazed to realize that until this year I had never seen any of the cooking contest.

But first, a confession - As delicious as they are, I rarely eat them. I have a problem with swallowing (I've had to have my esophagus stretched once already) where I can't eat certain dry foods. Served in bread, I find them hard to swallow.  So if I eat them, I skip the bread.

But many people love them.  Here's a brief history.

Back in 1983, a cooking contest for spiedies was first held - it quickly evolved into the three day festival we celebrate the first weekend of every August, complete with music, balloon launches, and more.

In 2013, the Spiediefest Facebook page published the winning recipes from that year's competition. A few of them are below:  Enjoy!

Ray Parkes, pork division winner (he also won this year, and here he is being interviewed).

3 pounds pork sirloin, cubed
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup olive oil
¾ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Add ingredients to cubed meat and mix thoroughly. Marinate for at least 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
Cook over white coals til done. Serve on Italian bread. Take cook out for a drink.

I am not sure who she is but I loved her competition booth!

Don Wright, poultry division winner
6 pounds chicken
Fresh lemons
Red wine vinegar
1 cup corn oil
6 cloves of garlic, minced
Parsley
Basil
Oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Combine ingredients and marinate for 2-3 days, mixing occasionally


Teresa Lockwood and Kathy Lockwood, lamb division winner
5-7 pounds lamb
6-7 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
1 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
1 ½ tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons oregano, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Equal amounts olive oil and red wine
Mix all spices into meat until evenly distributed. Add wine and oil mix. Marinate 48-72 hours, adding oil and wine as needed to keep meat moist.
Cook, being careful not to overcook - meat should be pink in the middle.

WBNG (a local TV Station), celebrity division winner (the women in the middle)
 All Purpose Spiedie Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil
¼ cup vinegar
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano, hand-crushed
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon horseradish
¼ to ½ cup lime juice or lemon juice (optional; add during the final hour of marinating)
Place everything except juice in a blender or jar with tight-fitting lid and mix until completely blended. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag, add meat and place bag in the refrigerator. Turn bag several times while marinating. Times: 2-4 hours for beef, 1-2 hours for chicken or pork, ½ hour for shrimp. For use as a basting sauce, mop onto meat or kebobs during grilling or roasting.

Joining up with #FlavoursomeTuesdays (hosted by Bellybytes and Metanoia) 

An Edible Walk #FlavoursomeTuesdays #BlogBoost

Let's take a quick walk on the Vestal Rail Trail near Binghamton, New York.  Why not find a couple of edibles and take a trip back in time to the early 1980's, when my spouse and I lived in rural Arkansas and did some experimentation with wild edibles?

Elderberry.  Our next door neighbor had a huge elderberry bush almost on our property line.  He welcomed us to pick all we wanted.

I used to make elderberry jelly. 

Homemade jelly tastes so much better than store bought, but it is a lot of work.  All stems must be removed from the tiny (and I mean tiny) berries.  Then there is crushing, straining, cooking (I always used store bought pectin), then canning in canning jars in a boiling water bath (fun in the hot Arkansas summer).  We would work on this after working our day jobs and the hour commute home, sometimes staying up until near midnight when we had several batches of produce to process - now, just thinking of all that work makes me feel tired.

My spouse made elderberry wine and, one time, even made elderberry flower wine.

Next, rhus glabra - smooth sumac.  We had a lot of sumac on our Arkansas property. 

We experimented with making a tea from the berries of sumac, which you do once the berries turn red and ripen.  It was too tart for my taste.  I've now found the leaves and roots of this particular sumac were used medicinally by Native Americans. 

Next, something I don't personally eat, wild roses.  Most of the roses on the rail trail are white rugosa roses, but I was pleased to find this pink rose in mid June.

Roses are related to apples (among other fruits) - if you've seen wild rose hips, they look (to me) so similar to crab apples.  Those who eat these will add the rose petals to salads, or take the buds, dry them, and make tea.  Then there is rose water - something we never made from our rose plants in Arkansas, but apparently it is quite easy to do.

Finally, Rubus odoratus - purple flowering raspberry.  I found this walking on the Vestal Rail Trail on Sunday - it is edible, but I have never tried them.  This is the flower I found Sunday.  Unlike most brambles, they flower in late June and early July where I live.

I've been thinking a lot of the things we used to do years ago, that we abandoned in the past thirty or so years.  One day, we hope to go back to some of what we used to do.Why not?

Life is here to be enjoyed!

Joining up with #FlavoursomeTuesdays (hosted by Bellybytes and Metanoia) and day three of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #BlogBoost

Carolina's Gold Rice #FlavoursomeTuesday

In 2011,  I took my first trip to Charleston, South Carolina and immediately fell in love with the city.

Now, in the aftermath of the snowstorm that hit the Southern United States, and drove temperatures in Charleston down to record levels, Charleston is on my mind.  I had come close to visiting it this month, but it never happened.

But back to 2011...

In that visit we had a wonderful location and easy access (an easy walk down the narrow sidewalks of the historic Ansonborough neighborhood where we stayed) to the Charleston City Market.

The Market consists of several open buildings in a four block area. These are the entrances to two of the buildings, as they appeared in 2011.  If you had watched coverage of the Charleston snowstorm, you saw this market.

The Market (at least, when we visited in March of 2011 and 2014) is not primarily a "farmers market" and not all the goods are locally produced, either.  But we had a wonderful time talking and interacting with some of the local artists, and went back several times.

One product that is local, and a revival of a historic heirloom food, is Carolina Gold Rice.

What we bought was grown locally and distributed through Charleston Specialty Foods. The distinctive yellow cloth bags packages of this rice are sold by several vendors at the market, and also are for sale at various historical venues throughout the Charleston area.  As the bag explains:

"In 1685, a distressed merchant ship paid for repairs in Charleston with a small quantity of rice seed from Madagascar.  Dr. Henry Woodward planted the seed in South Carolina, beginning the state's 200 year history as the leading rice producer in the United States."

So why should you pay a lot more for an heirloom variety of rice than the plain old (I won't mention any brand names) stuff you find on the supermarket shelves?

For various reasons, including the freeing of enslaved populations whose labor had permitted the cultivation of rice, rice farming had slowed in the South Carolina low country. The Carolina Gold Rice Foundation is attempting a comeback for this rice, and as the bag also explains "We are proud to be South Carolina's first product made with Green-e Certified Renewable Energy."

So how can you go wrong?  In one swoop you encourage the production of heritage foodstuffs, and support renewable energy and sustainable agriculture.

The rice can be ordered online and they ship on - why not? Tuesdays. (I just offer this for information; I am not receiving any compensation for this.)

So, how does it taste?  And what is the rice like?

I would judge it as medium grain.

It's definitely distinctive, and delicious.   Spouse (our family cook) made a pilaf with it.  It came out fluffy, and nice.  To me, it also tastes like butter was already added to it.

And the best part? One of my cousins in my recent Florida visit had tasted Carolina Gold Rice and had much the same opinion.

I think South Carolina has a winner here.


Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia for their linky party at #FlavoursomeTuesdays. If you want to share a food related memory, why not join us?

Alligators and Crab Shacks - FlavoursomeTuesdays

In 2006, my spouse and I rode the Auto Train for the first time. (The Auto Train is a train that runs from Northern Virginia to Central Florida, and vice-versa, not making any passenger stops.  To ride it, you must have a car, which travels on the same train.  It's the only such train in the United States).

I've never slept well on the Auto Train, and something happened on that first trip that has become a tradition.

I woke up from a fitful sleep to realize we were traveling through a city.  We were passing under an Interstate, and some large billboards were visible.  One billboard, lit up, advertised "The Crab Shack. Tybee Island."

I didn't have Internet access on that trip and had never heard of Tybee Island. But I researched it as soon as I could and found it was an island close to Savannah, Georgia.

In March of 2009 spouse and I traveled on the Auto Train again.  I woke up from a fitful sleep, and as my spouse softly snored next to me, I peeked out of the window and saw the very same sign.

It was a sign, that sign!  I was being told to eat at the Crab Shack.

We were supposed to drive through Savannah on the way home but had car trouble, and had to take the Auto Train home.  We swore we would visit Savannah and we subsequently did, but didn't eat at the Crab Shack.

In March of 2013 we rode the Auto Train still again.  This time, we both woke up as we were traveling through Savannah, and my spouse spotted the sign even before I did.  Marveling at this huge (to our sleep-bleary eyes) sign, we decided that yes, we would go to the Crab Shack.  We would fill in this hole in our travels.

And so we did.

From the outside, it looks like a "tourist trap".  But the food (noting I do not get compensated for this or any other review) was good.  My spouse still remembers their soup.

Inside, I noticed the restaurant had open walls to the outside - with only a screen between diners and the great outdoors.  If only I could live in a place like that, said my winter-starved inner voice.

Not so fast, said reality, as I saw movement outside the screened in wall.  Can you see what I saw?

After lunch we went outside, to see some of the 78 alligators the Crab Shack owned. These are all domestic, as in "born in captivity".  The Shack does not tolerate any abuse of the gators by customers, but they were easily accessible (if someone dared) and I hope they have good lives.

Up close, they almost look fake - but they certainly were not fake.

Here's their menu.

So, guess what.  This month we are hopefully riding the Auto Train for the first time since 2013.

 I wonder if we will see the sign again?


Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia for #FlavoursomeTuesdays. If you want to share a food related memory, why not join us?

Me in Food from A to Z - Flavoursome Tuesdays

Back in 2011, I blogged a A to Z of my food likes and dislikes.  Now that I am participating in a meme called Flavoursome Tuesday, I thought updating this would be a lot of fun.

I thanked a blogger called Christine at Inspired-to-Create back in 2011, and will do so again.

Yes, food is so basic, and, as they say, we are what we eat.   Why not get to know me through food?

I had a lot of fun with this one.  I wonder where it first started (Christine got it from another blog, so I hope I am giving credit properly), and I want that very first person in the chain to know it was a lot of fun doing this.  I did it in 2011 during a thunderstorm, for what that is worth.  Maybe it means I am crazy.

So here is my January, 2018 update.

A is for Apple: What’s your favorite variety?
My favorite is the Honeycrisp apples.  I live in a part of NYS famous for its apples so there is no lack of local apples.  If there are no Honeycrisps (their local season is short) I also like Fuji and Gala.

B is for Bread: Regardless of nutrition, what is your favorite type?
I prefer whole grain breads.  I love breads baked by Wegmans, a local grocery chain.

C is for Cereal: What is your favorite kind currently? (just one!)
Trader Joes O's, which are like Cheereos (a cold oat cereal shaped like O's).  The nearest Trader Joes is about an hour and a half drive from here, which tells you something.  Please, Trader Joes, put a store in or near Binghamton.  Do you take bribes?)

D is for Donuts: You might not currently eat them, but what kind do you fancy?
No to donuts.  When I was in my 20's I worked for several months in a donut store.  That cured me forever.

E is for Eggs: How would you like yours prepared?
In an omelet.  With cheese, please.

F is for Fat Free: What is your favorite fat free product?
Um....broccoli?

G is for Groceries: Where do you purchase yours?
Wegmans.  This chain started in upstate New York as a dairy store, and is now spreading into North Carolina and Massachusetts, among other places.

H: is for Hot Beverages: What is your favorite hot drink?
In the winter hot chocolate, or a really good cup of tea.  In the summer, I do not drink much that is hot, except for coffee.

I is for Ice Cream: Pick a favorite flavor and add a fun topping.
Before Weight Watchers (2012) Perry's Chocolate Panda Paws with whipped cream.  Today:  Turkey Hill Frozen vanilla yogurt.  I so wish I could eat Halo Top or other of the high protein low cal ice cream like desserts, but for me they are intestional disaster.

J is for Jams or Jellies: Do you eat them? If so, what kind and flavor?
Not really.  But if I do buy a jam or jelly I get a homemade type at a farmers market or stand.  Grape or sand plum are faves.  Strawberry.  I used to make my own, but haven't in about 30 years.

K is for Kashi: Name your favorite Kashi product?
Their crackers are good.  Don't like their cereals.

L is for Lunch: What was yours today?
Trader Joes pastrami on a slice of Wegman's (is there a pattern here?) organic 27 grain and seed bread.

M is for microwave: What is your favorite microwave meal/snack?
I use the microwave mainly for reheating.  Or for popcorn.

N is for nutrients: Do you likes carbs, fats, or proteins best?
Proteins. They keep you full the longest.

O is for oil: What kind do you like to use?
Ask my spouse-he's the cook.  But, I love baking with coconut oil.

P is for protein: How do you get yours?
Many ways.  Cheese, lean meat, poultry fish such as salmon, meatless combos using the protein complementation principle popularized by Francis Moore Lappe.  I must admit, my healthiest time was when I followed that diet and was a vegetarian.  But I fell off that wagon years ago.

Q is for Quaker: How do you like your oats?
Instant, on really cold days in winter.  But the instant oats are too sweet.   Could you cut your sugar in half, please? (without putting artificial sweetener in).

R is for roasting: What is your favorite thing to roast?
Ask the spouse.

S is for sandwich: What’s your favorite kind?
Tuna and fresh garden tomato, mayo, lettuce, on whole wheat bread.

T is for travel: How do you handle eating while traveling?
Sometimes we get a kitchenette and spouse cooks.  Sometimes we eat out and try to find local foods.  Like, in Charleston, SC we tried crispy flounder and shrimp and grits.

U is for unique: What is one of your weirdest food combos?
Macaroni and ketchup.  It almost led to divorce.  Now I only indulge if my spouse isn't around.

V is for vitamins: What kind do you take?
B Complex, D3 and Calcium.

W is for wasabi: Yay or nay?
Yay, if it's real.  Notice how much "wasabi" really is some other horseradish with food coloring?

X is XRAY: If we x-rayed your belly right now, what food would we see?
The mixture would astound you.  Grapes.  Coconut yogurt.  Chocolate. 

Y is for youth: What food reminds you of your childhood?
Schav.  Sweet cucumber salad with thinly sliced onion.  Kasha vaniskas.  My father's side came to this country from Belarus in the early 20th century.  Oh, for a cold bowl of schav with sour cream....

Z is for zucchini: How do you prepare it?
My cookin' spouse makes a zucchini Parmesan.  It's awesome!

 Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia for #FlavoursomeTuesdays. If you want to share a food related memory, why not join us?

Day 9 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Sweet Tea

Welcome to day two of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost and #FlavoursomeTuesdays.

In reviewing 2017, I realized I had never blogged about the several days my husband and I spent with our adult son, traveling in separate cars (but together) from upstate New York to Columbia, South Carolina. It was the first vacation together we had in 11 years.

Our son helped us when the entire state of Virginia turned into a parking lot, with seemingly the entire East Coast of the United States having the idea of  traveling to South Carolina to see the eclipse. His young nimble thinking ran rings around what suddenly seemed like our senior thoughts stuck in concrete.

It's kind of funny - I had chosen the word determination as my word for both 2016 and 2017.

And now it was my son showing the determination, as one hour of avoiding stuck traffic stretched into hours.  My son led the way, as we kept in touch by cell phone.  He found secondary roads to escape Interstate 81, which had turned into a parking lot.  At one point we even thought of turning back.  That thought never entered his mind.

When had we become quitters, more interested in comfort than adventure? Yikes.

Fancy Gap, Virginia

Finally, past the traffic jams, we entered the mountains on the Virginia/North Carolina border and my son asked me to take a picture of the runaway truck ramps.

We got to our first stop, Mt. Airy, North Carolina, a couple of hours after my son arrived.  We had called the motel to tell them he would be getting there before us.  And the desk clerk complimented us on our "nice polite son".

The man who made fun of our garden as a teen admired the gardens of the South Carolina state capital after we arrived the day before the eclipse, and took this panoramic picture for me of the African American mural.  Yes, my son had to show me how to take a panoramic picture with an iPhone.

It doesn't look it in this picture, but it was a brutal, humid 95 degrees F (35C) Sunday with a heat index of 100.  The central South Carolina sun beat down upon our Northern heads (although I had protected mine with a hat).  After a few minutes of gazing at what the grounds of the state capitol offered (it was our second visit, and I highly recommend it, incidentally), we fled, trying to escape terminal roasting, to find some good air conditioning. (I must add here that I've lived in Florida, Texas and Arkansas, and summer heat is not unknown to me.  But I am no longer used to it.)

We made our way to a local restaurant called Rush's After ordering some broasted chicken, a young server came to our table and offered us some sweet tea.

Here, for my foreign readers, I have to pause to explain.  In the northern United States, iced tea is drunk without sweetener.  However, in the South, it is assumed you will be drinking sweet tea unless you specify "unsweetened".  My son had never had sweet tea.  I must admit, I do not like it, but then again, I am not a true Southerner.

If you want to try it out, here's a recipe.

But son said "yes" to the tea, as we all gulped mass quantities to quench our thirst. He loved his broasted chicken dinner, too - so much so that we ate at Rush's again the next day, after the eclipse.

not our family

Dear son, who hated the history museums I took him to (I love history, while he was a science person), explored the South Carolina State Museum with great enjoyment, while waiting for the eclipse to begin.

That afternoon, we used our tickets to view the total eclipse of the sun with hundreds of other people on their front lawn.

And the eclipse itself - our third, his first, we felt wonder together.

The horizon during totality, Columbia, South Carolina

At totality, I yelled with other participants while son exclaimed over and over "This is crazy!"

This video was taken by the local newspaper - I was one of the people screaming in that crowd.

I found out we had some similar things on our bucket lists besides viewing a total eclipse of the sun- visiting Iceland one day, for one thing (I'll pass on his skydiving goal, though). 

I don't know if we ever will taken another vacation together, but I do know I will remember this trip for the rest of my life.

It made 2017 for me, realizing that I enjoy the friendship (my non-word for 2018) of my son.

And there was that sweet tea....something to bond over.

Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia for #FlavoursomeTuesdays. If you want to share a food related memory, why not join us?

Day 2 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Peanut Butter and Jelly for New Year's Eve #FlavoursomeTuesdays

When I was a teen, I developed a strange custom for New Years Eve.

By the time I turned age 13, it was just my father and I, living together in an apartment in a housing project in the Bronx, in New York City. Several times, in my teen years, I was invited to spend part of the Christmas/New Year's school break with relatives in Brooklyn (and I am still close to my two cousins, who are slightly younger than I am.)  But eventually, I found myself alone.  Well, for an older teen, being alone with her father can be considered being alone.

Kept company only with my father and Guy Lombardo (although not in 1946 per the above video), I came up with my own New Year's Eve custom.  It originated just after I turned 16.

The year before, my father had called his brother, my uncle, right after midnight January 1 our time.  But in the time zone my uncle lived in, it was still December 31.  I loved the idea of talking to someone living in another year.

So, why not do it with food?  Symbolically eat something from the old year just after midnight?

About all I had available and easily made was a jar of peanut butter, some bread from the store and some jelly.

So on December 31, that year I had recently turned 16, and right before midnight (and the New York City ball coming down), I made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  And after the New Year rang in, I ate it.

I did that for the next several years, believe it or not, until I had a steady boyfriend.

I feel a little foolish admitting this custom, but why?  It isn't that ridiculous, after all.  About an hour or so from where I live, someone is going to have a family friendly New Years Eve bash, including peanut butter and jelly sliders.

I was just years ahead of my time.

Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia for #FlavoursomeTuesdays.

Manicotti Traditions #FlavoursomeTuesday

Yes, it's Wednesday  I'm a day late.

We never thought a tradition would end this way.

In 2015, I blogged about my in law's traditional family Christmas.  We would all travel downstate, some 190 miles (305 km) to a city near New York City, and visit my mother in law's in laws.   But in 2015, we had to move my mother in law (who is now 90) up here to be near two of her sons.  We weren't able to make the trip.

A cousin of my spouse's hosted the dinner for years.  Even during her two bouts with breast cancer, she insisted on hosting.  She made her specialty.  She told me she timed it around her bouts of tiredness and other side effects of the medication she was taking.

Tradition.

"I am not an accomplished cook." she told me once.  "But all you need to do is learn to make one dish, and make it well.  Make it better than anyone".  And so, she developed her specialty.

Manicotti.  The kind of manicotti that is pronounced "mon-i-gaut" (accent on the final syllable). Perish the thought anyone in my inlaw's family would ever pronounce it "man-i-cotti".

I hate the lighting in my house sometimes - gives everything a yellowish cast.

No, manicotti is not the stuff served in pasta tubes in some clueless Italian restaurants (and you know which ones they are).  No.  Manicottis start with light as air crepes, each painstakingly cooked by hand, spread out.  Then they are filled with a pillowy mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, parsley, and love. Covered in homemade tomato sauce simmered with meatballs and Italian sausage, they are a dish worthy of Christmas dinner.

In 2015, the thought of missing her manicotti hurt us almost as much as the fact that we would not see their maker or the other family.

So I begged my spouse to call, and get the recipe from her.

I didn't know if she would reveal the recipe. But she likes us.  After some hesitation, she gave the recipe to us  She emailed it to us.  But first, she cautioned that my spouse (the family cook) really had no business making it.  Perhaps she would come up and visit us, one day.

My spouse promised he would not embarrass the family.

He cooked the crepes.

He mixed the ricotta filling.

He assembled the manicotti.  On Christmas Day 2015, he served it.

Now, in 2017, due to a combination of various situations, my spouse won't be making manicottis.
Instead, he will make a standing rib roast.  I'm sure it will be delicious.

Maybe one day the homemade manicottis will be back on the menu.  But for now, we have to let go of tradition.

Welcome to #FlavoursomeTuesday.

Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia for #FlavoursomeTuesdays.

Latkes #FlavoursomeTuesday

Tonight, at sundown, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins.

Hanukkah House, Binghamton, New York

Tomorrow, I will blog more about this year's visit to Hanukkah House, a museum in Binghamton, New York open one month a year, but today is a time for food memories.

Hanukkah is an eight day holiday - this year beginning at sundown tonight (December 12) and ending sundown, December 20. (Our days begin at sundown, and we follow a lunar calendar, so holidays fall on different days on our secular calendar each year.)

The holiday (briefly) commemorates a miracle where, after enemy occupation, our Temple was restored to us, and a menorah, powered by oil, was to have been lit.  But there was only enough oil for one night.  It would take eight days to get more oil (remember, transportation in the second century BCE was somewhat slow) and, the flame burned those eight days until more oil arrived.

Several types of foods are traditional for Hanukkah in my cultural tradition:
Fried foods - two examples would be jelly donuts and latkes.  There are many more.
Hanukkah gelt - chocolate coins. Ok, chocolate in the shape of coins, with foil wrappers.  Fun!
Dairy - I didn't eat these as a child, but as adults, my spouse and I enjoy a fried cheese patty which, blending in his Italian tradition, he covers with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce and bakes in the oven. Not like the original.  His own.

But as for those latkes - I loved when my Mom made them.  (And I love when my spouse makes them in his own way.)

Mom would take out a 4 sided grater and hand-grate Russet (baking) potatoes, followed by onions.  She would squeeze any accumulated water.  To the mixture, she would then add matzoh meal (you can substitute flour), eggs, salt and pepper.  She would form into patties and fry.  Many Jewish households of the day used chicken fat for the frying but if you did that, you would not be able to eat with dairy food.

I can smell them cooking now, filling our small apartment's kitchen with the scents of Hanukkah, as I watch the candles burn.

My Mom would serve with homemade applesauce if a meat meal, or, with sour cream for a dairy meal.

This is how my spouse, the family cook, makes them nowadays.

Do you have a favorite holiday dish?

Happy Hanukkah to all of my readers who celebrate.

Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia for #FlavoursomeTuesdays.

Egg Creams #FavorsomeTuesdays

An exhibit on Jewish Food all over the world at a local museum led me into today's memory.

Somewhere around the turn of the century (the 20th century, that is), a Jewish immigrant in Brooklyn created the first egg cream in his candy store.  It wasn't my grandfather, although he was one of many such immigrants who owned these Brooklyn candy stores.

Never mind the turn of the century.  Few people grew up in the New York City of the 50s or 60s (and beyond) without falling in love with this drink.  You didn't have to be Jewish or of any special nationality.  I think drinking this was pretty universal among New Yorkers.

There are three simple ingredients (none of which are eggs or cream) in a classic chocolate egg cream, yet, it takes certain conditions to make a perfect one.   These are the ingredients:

Ice cold whole milk  (it must be whole milk, or you won't get the head)
Seltzer, ideally commercial seltzer under pressure
Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup


Your milk must be icy cold.  You can use chocolate syrup other than Fox's, but it won't taste the same.  And, if you don't have soda fountain type seltzer, you can use the bottled stuff.  But again, it won't be the same.  You can order Fox's U-Bet syrup online, by the way.

Here is some information on the history of the egg cream.

Now, in my imagination, I walk into my local candy store in the Bronx, which was called Manny's.  On weekdays, Manny would sell my Dad the New York Daily News, already saved for him and rolled up, which my Dad would take on the subway and read on his way to work.  On weekends, my Dad might take me to Manny's for an egg cream.

In my imagination, I sit on the round, green, padded stool next to the stack of soft pretzels and ask Manny for an eggcream.

His recipe was something like this.

I know the drink must be consumed right after it is made, or the creamy head will disappear.  On a hot summer day (the door to Manny's is open - it wasn't air conditioned) it was so refreshing.  I sip the egg cream, served in a glass decorated with a Coca-Cola label.  The cream foam top tickles my lip, and I take in the cold, milky goodness and the chocolate heaven of Fox's U-Bet.

Manny's is long, long gone.  I haven't had a true New York City egg cream in possibly 20 years or more.

Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia for #FlavoursomeTuesdays.And, my apologies to Shilpa Gupte for mangling her last name. 

Charlotte Russe #FlavoursomeTuesdays

Two years ago, I blogged about being invited to a 104th birthday party for my spouse's last living aunt.  She lives several miles from my childhood neighborhood in the Bronx.   In fact, I grew up about two and a half miles (four kilometers) from the restaurant where the party was held.  It's in a part of Yonkers that is heavily Irish, and within walking distance of the Bronx border.  (And yes, I'm pleased to announce that this aunt will be celebrating her 106th birthday early next year).

The first time I ate there (for this aunt's 100th birthday) something interesting happened.  I couldn't resist walking after the 100th birthday party - I needed to stretch my legs.  I went out walking with my sister in law and my spouse.

As I walked down the street, I passed a bakery, an Italian bakery.  It had an old sign on it, a sign that may have dated from the 1960's.

Suddenly, something seemed so familiar.  I couldn't shake the feeling that I had been on this street long ago.

My mind took me back over 50 years, back to when many bakeries in the Bronx featured a special treat that is only made by one or two bakeries any more.  It was a street dessert called the Charlotte Russe.

I loved this special treat.

The Bronx Charlotte Russe was simple- a round piece of spongecake, with whipped cream and topped with a cherry.  You bought it in a push-up cup - you pushed it up from the bottom as you ate.  It was more of a cool weather delight.

I remember taking a bus with my mother to a place in the Northern Bronx where I got my hair cut, and she would visit her life insurance agent to make a monthly payment on a small life insurance policy.  Then, she would buy me a Charlotte Russe.

One day soon after, on Facebook, someone from the Bronx posted a picture of a Charlotte Russe.  I knew what it was right away.  Some things you never forget.

The Russe was sitting on a box from the Holtermanns Bakery in Staten Island.  So I went online, and, sure enough, Holtermanns still makes these gems of sweetness.  Although, perhaps, not for much longer, as the push up cups are becoming harder and harder to find.  And, it seems they don't always use the spongecake - they use pieces of pinwheels or other cakes that didn't sell.

But Staten Island was a long way from the restaurant where the 104th birthday party was held.

Now, in 2017, I see Holtermanns Bakery still makes Charlotte Russe, at least if their website is up to date.  But for how much longer, I wonder?  I've found a second bakery, Francesco's in Hicksville, Long Island, that may also be making them (a comment on Trip Advisor), but I can't find absolute proof on their website.

Will I ever eat a Charlotte Russe again?  Will I ever feast on its whipped cream?

Do you have a favorite food that is no longer made or hard to find?

Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia for #FlavoursomeTuesdays.

A Thanksgiving Memory - #FlavoursomeTuesdays

A while back, in 2015, I shared the below memory with you of my young adulthood, when my spouse was in the Air Force, and we were spending our first military Thanksgiving, together with other people serving, away from home.  At that time, I couldn't find the recipe for my Memory Pie, which is a soybean pie (no, really, please keep reading) that tastes like a pumpkin pie.

But, thanks to a decluttering project, I have found the recipe.  This was my second copy of the cookbook - I had worn the first one to shreds.

So what happened when I found the recipe?

I offered to make it, but my spouse took one look at the recipe, and said "no". When we went to our local supermarket, I couldn't even find dried soybeans.  So I am not going to bake a pie for you.

I will leave you, instead, with a link to the recipe, which is available online.

But I will not leave you with the pie.  Just a memory for FlavoursomeTuesdays, a weekly meme started by two bloggers.  Here is my memory:

It was the mid 1970's and we were over a thousand miles from home.  It was my spouse's first Thanksgiving in the military.  He was undergoing technical training in Texas.  And he had friends in his class, all of whom were far away from home, too.

For the most part we were in our late teens or early 20's, but among us was a slightly older man.  Sgt W. was from Iowa and he was a soybean farmer.  As I recall, he had joined the National Guard and was training with my spouse's Air Force class.

Sgt W. had never eaten a soybean.  He had never sampled the crop he grew.

In the mid 1970's, soybeans weren't common the way they are today.  But I had become an on and off vegetarian in college, and I had fallen in love with a couple of books - Diet for a Small Planet and Recipes for a Small Planet.  As I wasn't working at the time, and my spouse was making the tiny salary of an airman, money was tight and we used the methods explained in this book to stay healthy.  We ate whole grain homemade breads, bean and rice casseroles, and even dishes made with the healthy soybean.

In one of these books was a recipe for a mock pumpkin pie made with pureed soybeans, pumpkin pie spice and other ingredients I can't remember (nor could I find the recipe in a long Internet search last night). 

My spouse invited several of his classmate friends, including Sgt W., to Thanksgiving dinner.  And, an idea hatched in my mind.  Why not make something with soybeans for him?

We had a turkey, and other items no longer remembered.  It was one of the happiest Thanksgivings I remember, because we were all away from home but not lonely, and I remember our companionship much more than I remember the food.

Except for one thing.  When I served my "pumpkin pie", Sgt W. dug in, and said he liked it.  So did everyone else.  I even liked it, and I don't like pumpkin pie.

So I admitted to him that his "pumpkin pie" was really soybean pie.  And he didn't seem to mind.

I wonder what he said when he returned home to Iowa when his class was over.  We never saw him again after that.

I don't know where Sgt W. lives today, or if he is even alive.  Sadly, I  know at least one of the young men at that dinner passed several years ago.  So I don't know if W. remembers the young woman he had Thanksgiving with, in an apartment near an Air Force base in Texas in the mid 1970's, and the soybean pie she served him.

If you are out there, Sgt. W, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Join Bellybytes at Mumbai on a High and Shilpa Gupte at Metanoia at #FlavoursomeTuesdays.

Mr. Softee #FlavoursomeTuesdays

A summer evening in Brooklyn.  I am visiting a childhood friend.  We've known each other for 50 years.  You can't get more nostalgic than that.

A familiar bell rings in the distance.

It's the Mr. Softee truck!

Mr. Softee was one of the staples of growing up in New York City, along with the Good Humor man.   But I hadn't had a Mr. Softee in - oh, 50 years?

I didn't even know they existed any more.

I had to have a Mr. Softee.  My friend's husband bought me my favorite, a soft vanilla cone. No sprinkles, no gunk, just pure vanilla pleasure.

I need to explain that Mr. Softee is a brand of something we call soft ice cream, or, sometimes, "custard".  I'm not sure how popular it is outside the United States, but, even today, it is popular where I live in upstate New York.  The soft ice cream is normally eaten on a cone, sometimes with sprinkles, or fudge topping (which freezes into a hard shell).  The favorite flavors are vanilla and chocolate, but, more recently, exotic flavors have joined the ranks.  And, for those lactose intolerant (as one of my childhood friends is), there are even milk-free varieties.

In the summertime (and this is still true today) ice cream trucks cruise residential neighborhoods, bells ringing, and stop every couple of blocks so the neighborhood children, clutching their money, can buy some spur-of-the-moment ice cream.

What happens when you try to relive your childhood memories?  Memories of food - taste, texture, and events surrounding the food are some of my strongest childhood memories.

So, I decided to go on You Tube, and, to my delight, I found I wasn't the only one who remembered Mr. Softee.  But, good news - they still exist.

This video shows the soft ice cream being served, and shows a vintage ice cream tune music box.

Sometimes, though, other things happens when you try to relive your childhood.  Like when I ate that ice cream cone above.

I had already eaten dinner, and I ended up with a stomach ache.

Why am I reliving childhood food memories?

Several weeks ago, I was invited by an Indian blogger, who goes by the name of Bellybytes, to participate in a weekly meme called "FlavoursomeTuesdays".  I promised her I would participate, and then life happened - more than once.

But I am finally posting today, and keeping the English spelling of (what we spell as "flavorsome") flavoursome, to keep the flavor.  So, if you have a food memory to share, why don't you participate, along with Bellybytes and Shilpa and me on #FlavoursomeTuesdays with "your droolworthy memories of food."

Tomorrow - Garden Bloggers Bloom Day