My First Cookbook

This is absolutely one of my all-time favorite pure American easy, but good cookbook... and it was my first. It is all tattered and falling apart... and if I could find another one like it I would buy it. There are several recipes in there I still use.

The gingerbread recipe is so very good.

When my mother was close to having my youngest brother in 1962 I was almost 15 years old. My mother being the organizer she was had a "meeting" with my younger sister and me and explained how she would rely on us to prepare the meals and keep the house going while she was in the hospital. We had another brother who was already 7 years old. My father would be busy working and making trips to the hospital.. as I had it figured out.

My mother wrote our schedule in the back of the cookbook.

My assignment was to make Saucy Hamburger Crumble, mashed potatoes, cabbage and raisin salad and peas. I was to peel the potatoes to boil at 11:00 A.M. Fix the meat at 11:30 A.M. Fix the salad at 11:45 A.M. Then I was to cook the peas at 11:45 A.M. Lunch was to be served at 12:15 P.M. It all went according to my mother's schedule... and it was a no-fail situation.

SAUCY HAMBURGER CRUMBLE

Melt in frying pan     1 tablespoon fat

Add and brown lightly     1 small onion, chopped

Then add and brown     1 pound ground beef

   1 teaspoon of salt

Break the meat into small pieces.

Stir in     1/4 cup Gold Medal Flour

Then stir in     2 cups water or milk (I always use milk)

Heat until gravy bubbles.

Serve over mashed potatoes

4 servings

My little note in my own handwriting, "Everyone liked this alot."

Now if you choose to make this and your man has done military time, he may snicker and state under his breath that there is another name for this dish.

I always wondered why my dad would always smile in a funny way when we announced we were having Saucy Hamburger Crumble for dinner.

Can you guess what this was called??

Ahhhhhh...

The mess....

Ugh!

The mess begins....

The tile people should be here any minute. We are replacing this old (25 years to be exact) linoleum with this tile... In the picture it is the largest tile. So, the mess begins. The linoleum will be ripped out and donated to Smithsonian... kidding of course... and then the tile will be laid in the utility room, small hallway and powder room. Tomorrow the men will return to put the grout in. Excited but I am a nervous wreck. Wish us luck.

Barbecued Shrimp

Barbecued Shrimp


Serves 4

6 lbs. shrimp, heads on (Do not peel!)
2 sticks butter
¾ c. olive oil
¼ c. Worcestershire sauce
Juice of three lemons (we use limes)
1 tsp. garlic powder (I use fresh, minced garlic)
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 ½ tsp. salt (or to taste)
½ tsp.Tabasco (or more according to taste)
1 Tbsp. rosemary leaves
1 tsp. oregano leaves

Rinse shrimp in cool water and drain. Spread the shrimp on a large shallow baking pan. In a saucepan, melt butter, then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Pour sauce over shrimp and marinate for 1 hour.

Bake at 325 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes. Stir a couple of times with a spatula. Do not overcook. Serve in a soup bowl with lots of hot French bread to sop up the sauce.

Be forewarned – this can only be eaten with your fingers and plastic bibs are recommended!

Also… cold, cold beer is a must or a tall glass of ice tea makes this an awesome treat!!

This recipe is by Marcelle Bienvenu from her book Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make a Roux? It’s one of my all-time favorite cookbooks to just read… and the recipes are excellent!! Bought the book in New Orleans. If I ever get around to writing my own cookbook I will fashion it after this one.

Remembering this day - September 11, 2001

I would be remiss if I didn't acknowlege what this day means to me. I heard someone on a news show today say that people are forgetting where they were when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers. Not possible unless they were in a coma. The day had started off like any other school. Rush, rush to get our youngest son fed and out the door for his short walk to the high school. I had Fox News on, but was too busy to catch the news flash. The phone rang and my dear friend, Mary Kay, asked me if I had seen what had happened. "Get to the TV", she instructed me. As I rushed to see what was happening I saw the second plane hit the tower. I absolutely could not believe what I was seeing. When we experience an historic event, we remember who we were with, what we were doing and where we were. This surpassed President Kennedy's assassination, nightmares that the Viet Cong were at my bedroom window and even remembering back on loved ones who had gone on to their reward. I thought, War of the Worlds! That's it. This was a play on the radio event that scared everyone within range of the radio towers. But it was not. My friend and I connected in horror, shock, grief and even fear. Where were these terrorists planning to attack next? Americans just don't prepare for events such as this. This changed our lives. The innocence was over. A new America was emerging. We are a little wiser, a lot less trusting, a bit sadder. But we've trudged along and demanded to the powers that be, that this shall never happen again.

I am sad to think of the people who lost their lives. Among them was certainly someone who had the answer as to how to solve world hunger. Someone else knew how to stop child abuse. Another person knew how to prevent and cure cancer. We lost the very people who could have made life better for the whole world. I am sad for their families and their friends. Their hearts will never stop aching.

We will keep going. We have learned to stand tall, pay closer attention to the world issues and governments and prayed like never before for peace.

God Bless America.