Day 10: In honor of her gift of hospitality (my Mom)

Apple Crisp

Oh, this one took me back! As you can see from the weathered, worn recipe card, this was a classic and used quite frequently. I remember the group of pitiful apple trees in our backyard at the farm on Bushmill and the teeny, tiny fruit it produced most years. This leads to memories of Mom peeling what seemed like a HUGE bucket of these tiny apples just to get enough for this recipe. Those apples were awful to eat straight off the tree, but when Mom dressed them up in this recipe - Oh Yeah!! Delish!! I remember the last time Mom made this dish. It was a few months before she left her Earthly home for her Heavenly dwelling, and she knew my kids would enjoy it! That was Mom! Always wanting to provide something that people would enjoy and find comforting in some way! I remember watching her  deft fingers kneading the ingredients for the topping, knowing instinctively just when they were perfect to create this delicious garnish to the tasty, but plain apples. I was surprised by the simplicity of the recipe, which I should not have been. Did I not KNOW this by now about my Mom's ability to take the simplest things and make wonderful creations from them?!! The apples, a bit of sugar, pinch of cinnamon, and water make up the fruit foundation. Who knew?! I remember having this often as a child because it was one of Dad's favorites and I now realize it was quite economical also - another reason for its frequenting our dinner table on a regular basis during harvest time for the pitiful apples! Oh, the lessons on frugality and simplicity that my Mom offered on a daily basis! It is in reflection that I truly appreciate them. Thank you, Momma! Miss your daily wisdom being spoken over my life! I do hear your voice in a faint whisper in my memories and will always hold them in my heart. You are loved!

Day 9: Honoring her gift of hospitality

Baked Chicken Casserole

     I was talking to Ash the day I made this chicken casserole and when I mentioned the dish she immediately asked, "So what was the deal with the Style Show at the church, anyway?" Wow. I did not even have to articulate the connection, she already made it! This was a recipe in Mom's collection, but it gained fame as the main dish for the Autumn edition of the bi-annual Style Show at the Clarksburg UM Church. This was quite the phenomenon for the residents of the Clarksburg/Frankfort area, as the ladies would pack the church to overflowing for the opportunity to be served a lovely, filling lunch (this casserole in the Fall, chicken salad in the Spring), see a lovely collection of the latest fashion modeled by members of the CUMC congregation (yes, I was drafted for this almost every time!), and potentially win a lovely door prize. This was so big, that at one point the Style Show made more $$ than Field Day! Whoa! So, memories of this dish revolve mostly around this event more than my Momma. 

As for my review of this dish, it is economical and filling. It calls for just a few ingredients: cooked chicken, cut up; torn bread; chicken broth; eggs; 1 can of cream of mushroom soup; and garlic salt. I used a rotisserie chicken (more flavorful) and the King Hawaiian rolls as the bread (very rich!). I forgot to add the garlic salt before baking and could definitely tell the difference. It was a bit more bland by trying to add the garlic salt after baking. If you need a cheap dish to fill the tummies of the family, this works! Nothing elegant, basic comfort food really!  

     

Days 5 through 8: In tribute to her gift of hospitality

Here it is, the treasured box of recipes! I retrieved it from Ash's cupboard, which she gladly allowed me to keep for this project. It is so reassuring to see Mom's handwriting on so many memorable recipe cards, as well as scraps of paper, newspaper clippings, and pages torn from magazines. The earliest of items contained here, dates back to 1966 - I would have been 6 years old at that time. An added joy was finding recipes in the handwriting of relatives and friends that were amazing cooks as well. If you have never perused the recipe files, or cookbooks from your heritage, I encourage you to take the time and travel along this memorable journey! It will fill more than your stomachs, it will bring your heart to overflowing!

Day 5: Oven Barbequed Chicken
I truly had not remembered this recipe, so I chose it for this day's recipe. It served as a reminder of how very few of Mom's recipes would qualify for the 30-minute-meals concept so prevalent in my repertoire and generation of cooks. The sauce, as you can see, has numerous ingredients and while it did not take a significant amount of time to create the sauce, it was a radical change from just grabbing a bottle of my favorite BBQ sauce and pouring it over the chicken. Another element that dated this recipe was the use of "1 large frying chicken, cut up". I could NOT find a frying chicken in my local grocery! They package chicken by pieces (legs, thighs, etc) or the whole chicken was a small roasting chicken. I know I could have used the roasting chicken, but I was not about to cut up a chicken for this. It would have been disastrous, believe me! So, I used chicken breast and wings. My rating for this recipe? On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 5 or 6. The chicken did not get as crispy as I would have liked it, but the sauce was good!

Day 6: Calico Bean Bake
This testifies to the days Mom endured through her life of trying to stretch a dollar and feed a family as economically as possible. The most expensive ingredient is the ground beef, and this is a filling dish! BUT you have to like beans to enjoy this one! I recall this recipe as one mom would prepare before leaving for work, putting in the oven on "time-bake" and then having it waiting for us when we all returned in the evening after work and school/activities for dinner. Mom mastered the dishes using "time-bake" feature on her oven - set the time you wanted the dish to start and how long you wanted it to cook, and viola, it would be waiting for you when you returned. I used this technique often in the early years of my marriage while I was still working outside of the home. This pre-dated the use of a crock pot for me! Mom, the revolutionist!!


Day 7: McDonald House Baked Apricot Chicken






          Day 8: McDonald House Rhubarb Bake



These two recipes bring back vivid memories of a place in Bainbridge, Ohio - the McDonald House. The owner and cook, Carol McDonald served meals out of her home, which was gorgeous! The food was amazing and unique and these two were examples of the dishes McDonald House became well-known for.
I was discussing the chicken I was fixing for dinner with Michael and he immediately remembered the dish as a favorite that I used to make during his childhood. He asked how complicated the sauce was, thinking it must be quite involved due to the exotic blend of flavors it held. He was somewhat disappointed to find out that the sauce consists of 3 ready-made ingredients: a bottle of Catalina French dressing, a package of Knorr's French Onion soup mix, and a jar of apricot preserves. That's it!! But the secret is in the preparation! The sauce is poured over the bone-in chicken and then SLOWLY baked in the oven at 275 for 2-3 hours. I never tried this in a crock pot and do not think the finished product would be the same. It is an all-time favorite dish of ours! BTW: I used the same sauce several times over a boneless pork roast, baking low and slow just as the chicken. Very tasty as well!
The rhubarb dish? Well, if you think you do not like rhubarb, then THIS is your dish! So simple, and so decadent, thanks to lots of sugar and butter!! You just cook the rhubarb on top of the stove with sugar until the rhubarb is softened and somewhat mushy. Pour that into a baking dish, then using day-old dinner rolls (this go-round I used the Hawaiian sweet rolls) you tear them up and put on top of the cooked rhubarb. Drizzle this with cinnamon, more sugar, and then a stick of melted butter (rings of a Paula Dean recipe, huh?!!)!! Bake this for about 30 minutes and that is it! Delish!! Mom did not make this very often, but reserved it for special occasions. It often appeared on the table for Easter dinner! I highly recommend this one!

Tribute to her gift of hospitality - the journey continues

DAY 3: Broccoli Salad

While this recipe was not original to Mom, she always recognized new and innovative recipes by the standard of her day. I say that because by today's standard, this would not be considered revolutionary and one has to consider regional 'norms' as well. For South Central Ohio in the late 1970s, this was revolutionary. To combine the sweet and savory in a cold vegetable salad was not typical, but Mom saw that this combination would work and appeal to her family and guests. Broccoli, raisins, onion, bacon, and walnuts in a dressing that was tangy due to the vinegar and sweet due to the hint of sugar in its recipe. It definitely caught on in our family and was soon a frequent request when we gathered for any holiday. 

The notion of being 'cutting edge' in her cooking was not the hallmark of Mom's arsenal of recipes. However, this one was just that and it brings to mind another daring attempt she took with chicken salad, based on her experience with her close friends Marilyn and Marty at the very chic restaurant in the Lazarus store in Downtown Columbus on High Street. Chicken salad with grapes and pecans! Remember the time and the place - this was unheard of! This may seem silly and maybe a bit trivial, but I was always very proud that my Mom would try new things and embrace ideas originating outside of the county in which we lived. She, in my youthful eyes, was willing to think about things "outside the box". She did not fall into complacency, but still embraced who she was and where she came from; a delicate balance for her generation. I always admired that about my Mom and I know she instilled this strong belief that one perspective is not all that exist, and that trying new and different things could lead to real discoveries and broadening of the mind. This obviously has translated from food to life in my experience and I am eternally grateful to her for modeling this for me and my children. And it all started with some broccoli and some raisins!

DAY 4: Peanut Butterscotcher Bars

OMG, these are fabulous! In keeping with the trying something different theme, these bar cookies fit the bill. The cake-like cookie is lightly lemon flavored and the topping is peanut butter, butterscotch bits, and Corn Flakes! The unlikely combination really works!! And they must be cut on the diagonal - don't know if that was in the original recipe, but it was how Mom always served these yummy delights. 

I am working on the visual presentation idea for each of these recipes and while I am far from artistic in the presentation (which is a future goal), I did want to add the handwritten recipe to the shot for this dish. I did so in tribute to Mom's younger sister Ginny who left this life much too soon (this week) for a reunion with Mom, her husband (Uncle Sherrill), their brother (Uncle Roland), and their mother, (Grandma Marguerite). Handwritten letters, journal entries, cards, and notes were a priority for this side of my family - it mattered that you took the time to write it yourself. And no one practiced this more faithfully than Aunt Ginny. Ashley had just received a few days before her passing, an Easter card with a handwritten message inside for Avery's first Easter. We always smiled when we shared one of the letters or messages inside cards from Aunt Ginny because she would consistently share important news from her family and always inquire about ours with lots of questions. I think it was her clever way to insure we would respond :) It has hit me this week how much seeing the handwriting of loved ones we have lost truly means to the spirit of the reader. It does create mental images of the person and fosters a link to their lives and their memory. So, this one is for you Aunt Ginny. I am typing my tribute, but I think you see the love within the lines of print. You will be missed. Share an embrace with Mom for me. 

In Tribute...through her gift of hospitality

Crunchy Onion Bread with Cheesy Butter

UNsweetened Orange Ice Tea & Chili

I am a firm believer in Divine Intervention and what I will call "Divine Nudging" and recognize it as the impetus to this new project. In light of recent losses and a general funk I am experiencing, I am taking my inspiration from Julie Powell, the young writer and devotee of Julia Child depicted in the lovely movie "Julie & Julia" from 2009. In an effort to reconnect with my beautiful mother, whom I miss desperately these days, I wanted to honor her gift of hospitality by recreating one of her recipes each day for the month of April. In reflecting on this notion, I decided, why not expand it to how ever many days it takes to get through her recipes in the cherished wooden recipe box that currently resides on the shelf in my beautiful daughter's home. I am sure she will allow me custody for this experiment, no this spiritual journey! 

What do I anticipate as beneficial from this journey? As I mentioned, to reconnect, to feel closer to the loving spirit of my beloved Mom as I view her handwriting on each of these little 3x5, weathered cards, or scraps of paper. I can almost hear her voice or see her presence standing at the stove, or working at the counter in the endless hours of chopping, mixing, stirring, baking, and serving that she loved so dearly. I am hoping to rekindle the significant part of my heart, my identity that was fostered by the love Mom showed in her care and her service to others through her gift of cooking.

I will share on a regular basis, the goal being daily, what dish I prepared and a bit about the memories it conjures as I partake of it. I began with some basics and some favorites as I departed from Ash's home last visit, sans the beloved recipe box. So, I begin with the few recipes I have on hand, albiet the fact they are some of the favorites for holidays. 

DAY 1: Chili soup with UN sweetened tea

One of the first things my Mom taught me to cook was her chili soup. The recipe was so simple and was a staple for our family as marking the beginning of our favorite time of year, Fall. It was almost always accompanied by a yummy pumpkin pie with the best pie crust I had ever experienced! As the days turned cooler, the table would be set with big bowls of soup, saltines to make it even thicker (Daddy's preference, which caught on!!), iced tea to drink and a pie cooling on the counter - smelling amazing!!! Hearty and comforting, those are the words that come to mind while eating Mom's chili.

The UNsweetened ice tea (orange flavored) was revolutionary for its time. In the age of 'sweet tea' and NO one doing the flavored tea 'thing', Mom chose to mimic the practice of close friends, The Alexanders as they always had UNsweetened tea. I think it was due to dietary restrictions, but Mom honored it by always having both sweet and UNsweetened tea in separate pitchers, labeled with masking tape and black marker on the lid! Whenever I drink this tea, which quenches my thirst better than anything coming or going, I think of the endless number of social events hosted by Mom in various settings! Our home, a picnic, family reunion, birthday parties, holiday gatherings, carry-in dinners, you name it and UNsweetened flavored iced tea was there. To this day, I cannot drink ANY drink that is sweet. Not coffee, soda, or any type of tea! The flavored teas of today taste syrupy and artificial to me. Give me a huge glass of Mom's UNsweetened iced tea when I have a thirst that won't stop!!

DAY 2: Crunchy Onion Bread with Cheesy Butter
Oh, my niece Krista's mouth is watering just at the mention of this one!! I believe my first memory of Onion Bread w/Cheesy Butter was at Easter, but I can't recall the year. Since Krista's birthday often fell near, or even on Easter, it was often on the menu for her birthday dinner (more about those in a moment) and I think that is how her passion for this bread began! Now, I am a bread lover from birth and this one always hit the spot when I was craving some carbs! The combination of the Durkee Onions in the bread itself and the highly complicated Cheesy Butter (Cheese Whiz and a stick of softened butter - NOT margarine, had to be butter!) came together in such a unique way! Mom would bake it in a 3-quart Pyrex casserole dish, which gave it its unique round shape. I always felt quite Cosmopolitan whenever this was on our table. Round bread!?! How cool was that?!! And the butter had CHEESE in it? Whoa.

So my memories associated with this bread is around Krista's birthday meals, which brings to mind the special way Mom would celebrate ALL our birthdays. We, of course, could have full reign over the menu and everything was always homemade!! The birthday meals, as we got older, left home and expanded the family with spouses and children of our own became an event because we knew everyone would be gathered around that dining room table on Bushmill Rd, or Co Rd 550. Mom would use the good dishes, never paper products, and she would have fresh flowers she picked from her flower garden and arranged herself as the centerpiece. Her organization for preparing meals was the exemplar I modeled with her comprehensive list that always began with listing the entire menu. From that she would create her shopping list, and then plan the preparation of each dish, writing the timing for each dish to go into the oven, come out of the oven, and when things would be on the table! Yes, Ash, I get it from Grandma June. I bet even money that for Avery's birthday dinner in the not-so-distant future, you will have a similar list :) Mark my words - it's genetic. 

Changes

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

~Isaiah 32:17

Am I one who loves change? I must say I do enjoy the unexpected, and often am easily bored with a stagnant daily routine. But I am also known for holding onto traditions and am the first one to sob at those emotional, life-marker moments; you know, graduations, first day of school, first day of college - the biggies! Wow. In this case, God has tested my emotional stability this month of August as very significant life-marker moments, changes, have occurred in my life! I left a job I loved at a place that was a part of my life for almost a decade, Michael moved from dwelling in the college dorms to being a tenant in his first college house experience, and my precious 'baby girl' moved from Ohio to North Carolina.

Now beyond the 'joy' of getting to box up two children's stuff accumulated over several years combined, these moves should have rocked my world and sent me into a mode of despair and loneliness. But they didn't. No one was more surprised by this than me! How is it I spent Ashley's first day of school in fits of tears (literally, I think Michael was concerned for my sanity), yet I was able to leave her almost 600 miles and 4 states away?! As the words from Isaiah state, there is a sense of peace and of quietness and confidence as a result of our attempts to live a righteous life. If we are making every effort to live for Christ and play out our faith in truly trusting God in all circumstances, He will gives us a sense of peace. He is the source of confidence that all is well. They will be ok. He has them in His care.

I cannot remember the source, but I read somewhere that to truly use the word of God in times of trial or fear it is scripture that we should turn to. Literally. We should recite the passages that reassure us, comfort us, give us confidence and allow us to grow in our faith. This passage from Isaiah 32:17 is on my memorization 'to do' list of scripture. Then when I feel a pang of 'mom worry' I can recall God's promise; He wants me at peace, quiet, and assured that He has it under control. Praise Him!

I can honestly say that, sure I miss seeing my 'baby girl's face more regularly, but at the same time I am genuinely thrilled for her and her position in life at this very moment. God has richly blessed us and blessed her with opportunities to grow and experience new people, new challenges, new sights, and new fun! I hear it in her voice that she is excited for what is to come. That reassurance - which God is providing me through her tone of voice and attitude - is a result of having faith and trusting Him.

Change is constant; we can be assured of that. But what lies ahead, we can be even more assured, is the life He has planned for us. I cannot wait for it to unfold!

Expectantly!

At daybreak, Lord, you hear my voice; at daybreak I plead my case to you and watch expectantly!

~ Psalm 5:3

Have you ever been expecting great and wonderful things from an acquaintance, a family member, or an event, only to be sorely disappointed? Often special occasions serve as ripe opportunities for either fulfillment and joy, or deflation and sadness. You build yourself up, in expectation, for what the lovely, gift-wrapped box may hold, or for what act of love and kindness may befall you as a way of having appreciation shown for your service or work. The rise of anticipation is palatable as your scurry to unwrap the box or discern the act, and......oh. Gee. Thanks so much. (mumbled in monotone polite voice instilled in you by your parents!) Do we view God's promise from Psalm 5:3 in the same manner? Meaning do we truly watch expectantly or with a subconscious notion that if we do watch we will be disappointed....again?!

I will be honest and admit that I frequently viewed this promise from my Lord in this manner, which lacks obvious faith and trust in His word and who He says He is! Especially over the past 2 years He has proven this passage of scripture to me with blessings beyond denial. I must give total and all Glory to God for that which He has brought to fruition in my life. Things as daily as all green traffic lights on days I was running late due to lingering a bit longer in His word during morning time with Him; to finding that extra $1.50 in change to enable me to grab that quick sandwich I thought I would have to forego until late evening; to unexpected joy of one of my children calling with exciting news or that they were coming for a visit! He has also filled my life with doors of opportunity which, if chosen to walk through would bring uncertainty, but paths and affiliations I once only dreamed possible.

My God is so huge and involved in every single aspect of my life and wants good and wonderful things for me. Why? Because He not only loves me, He is in love with me! It is in the role of parent that I can best grasp at some understanding of the magnitude of His love for me. The swelling of my heart and lump in my throat that occurs every time I am able to bring joy or happiness to one of my children is the greatest feeling I think I can experience as a parent. No one could wipe the smile from my face when swept up in these wondrous moments! Oh, how much greater the joy, the scope, and the depth of my God when He blesses me on a daily basis with these moments! He tells me to EXPECT them. He is waiting with a beautifully wrapped package that will bring undeniable joy and delight because I know it is from Him. To God be the glory!

On the days God has brought huge blessing into my life, I almost burst with the acknowledgment of how fiercely He loves me. It is truly overwhelming, and I have made an effort to relish the moment of realization that in my watching expectantly He has delivered on His promise. Again. I just can't WAIT to see what He has planned for tomorrow!