Sunday, November 30, 2008

My Dad's Books

I took these pictures back in July, & I'm just now getting around to posting about them. This is one of my few 'personal' blogs. LOL I don't really get very personal here. I'm mostly about recipes & gardening in the summer. So here's something just a little more personal.

My dad loved to read. As I look back on it, my dad read a LOT. I can close my eyes & see him in his recliner reading a book. I didn't read that much as a kid. Oh, I read...just not like I read as an adult. I remember reading Magic Elizabeth & James & the Giant Peach. I also enjoyed reading The Littles.
After I was married in the mid eighties my dad started loaning me some of his books now & then.
One of the first books my dad loaned me was Christy by Catherine Marshall. It was a hardback & my mom had given it to him for Christmas in 1970. I really loved it, so he loaned me his book by the same author, A Man Called Peter. This is a hardback too, & was puplished in 1951. In the front it has his address sticker in it. I grinned when I first noticed it, because it was the address he had after coming home from the war & after he graduated from college at Purdue. He worked in another town. He was still a bachelor! He bought this book before he & my mom married in the 50's. I don't know why, I just got a kick out of that.
Years later he & mom were asking us if there was anything of theirs that we'd like to have after they were "gone". At the time I couldn't think of anything, & it felt funny to think like that anyway. A few weeks later I thought of these two books. They were two things of my dad's that I would like to have. I thought of it later & told my dad I'd like to have them, someday. He smiled really big & went to his bookshelf & got them down for me. He wanted me to have them now. I read them both again this last year & really enjoyed each of them again.
He really enjoyed bringing out out books for me to read, & for our teenage daughter to read. He'd even bring books for my husband to read too. He brought him books about Charles Lindbergh & Eddie Rickenbacher (sp?). I also remember him loaning my husband his North & South trilogy by John Jakes. David really enjoyed reading them & would tell me about them. So after he read them I read them too. Gosh...that was a long time ago! It was probably around 1988 or so. And not to leave our son out (he's only 5 so he didn't get very many years with my dad) I have pictures of my dad reading Richard Scarry's Biggest Word Book Ever to him. It was a present to our son from my parents. He still LOVES that book. :)
A few years ago Dad brought out a big crate of books to us. He said, "Here, maybe that'll keep ya busy readin' for a while." Here are the books in the crate he brought them in:


I said, "Wow Dad! I'll be a while before I get this back to ya." He smiled & said, "Oh, just keep them here." And he winked. He gave me these just a few months before he died. It's all of his James Harriot books. He knew we loved them. Our daughter had done a book report on All Creatures Great and Small quite a few years ago. She had borrowed his book. I think he stuck that Tommy Franks book in there for my husband, & that blue book is Treasure Island.

My dad died about two & a half years ago. My mom's way of dealing with things at the time was that she wanted us kids to go through his things & pick out things we wanted, the afternoon of his funeral! I just couldn't, really. I think we each got a few little things, but none of the four of us felt like 'going through his things' that day. I did pick out a few of his books, but none of my siblings had picked out any yet, so I didn't want to be greedy with them, if that makes any sense.
I didn't want to be grabbin' all his books up without the other kids having a chance to get what they wanted. So I just got a few that day.

Well, now it's been more than two years since he's been gone (wow, do I miss him!).
My mom started dating a man & they got married over the summer. In consolidating two households into one, they both had a lot of stuff to get rid of. My mom was calling a lot to see if I wanted this dish or that pot & what-not. One day she called & asked if I wanted any of Dad's books. I think I drove out to her house THAT DAY. LOL

And there were his book shelves, & they were still full. She said the other kids had already got what they wanted, so I figured I could get all I wanted. I asked mom if I was taking too much. She assured me that I could take them ALL if I wanted. Well, I didn't take them all, but I did get a lot! Here is most of them:

Here's a close up of his James Michener books. He loved reading Michener. I remember he'd get them for birthdays & Christmas. That little book there on top is an old copy of Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Here's another box. It has the Charles Lindsbergh book in it & one of the North & South books (Heaven & Hell), but we just couldn't find the first two books in the trilogy (he probably loaned them out). I also found some surprises! He had some Mitford books! I did NOT know my dad read the Mitford books! I only just discovered the Mitford books & just finshed book 2 last night, which was my dad's copy. I had checked out the first one from the library this summer. He had book 2 and book 5, so it looks like I'll be checking the others out from the library. I also didn't know that he had a copy of Through the Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. I read that last year, again, checked out from the library. I also noticed that we ended up with two copies of Mutiny on the Bounty (well actually, it's The Bounty Trilogy) by Nordhoff & Hall. He loved this book (maybe that's why he had 2 copies? lol), he brought it out to me once years ago, but I just couldn't get into it.
I also got two books by Betty Smith, Joy in the Morning & Maggie-Now. She is the author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. He didn't have a copy of that, & I've never read it. I did read Maggie-Now YEARS ago, like probably 1985, & I thought it was so depressing! But, I'm more than 20 years older now, so maybe I'll see it differently & like it now. I'd like to read it again, as it was the first book I remember my dad loaning me.

In this next box you can see a book called, The Case of the Runaway Corpse! I thought that was funny. It's an old Perry Mason book. There's another old Perry Mason one in there too somewhere. They are old, they have that old address label in them, so I know he had these before he married my mom. There's also another copy of Mutiny in this box, so I gave it to our daughter. She got quite a few books too. Her favorite is Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
My dad also cut out newspaper clipping & put them in books. If it had something to do with the book, or if an author died he'd cut out the obituary & place it in one of that author's books. James Michener's obit is in one of his books. He's got quite a few clippings of Ernie Pyle in a book about him. He was a famous WWII correspondent. He was from here in Indiana & I remember my dad talked about him a lot. There's even a special postage stamp taped in there, a stamp they put out quite a few years ago with Ernie Pyle on it. My dad also got some books from his aunt who lived in Washington D.C. I got a few books that had her name in them, & sure enough, she did the same thing with newspaper clippings! So every now & then I get an additional surprise when I open one of my Dad's books.

Well, that's it. That's my long post on books I've been meaning to write. I hope you enjoyed it.
I know I'll enjoy these books for years to come. I have finished only a few of them. I just finished the 2nd Mitford book that he had, A Light in the Window by Jan Karon, & a book called 5o Trees of Indiana. I'm now ready to dig into one of his James Michener books.
But which one?!



Friday, November 28, 2008

Friday Felicities



  • A nice Thanksgiving
  • Bountiful food!
  • a FOUR day weekend! I don't know how many years it's been since I've had a four day weekend!
  • Leftovers
  • Family
  • My dad's soft & comfy flannel shirt
  • Vacuuming without having to move playpens around...lol
  • A Mitford book (I'm on book 2)
  • The thought of getting ready to dive into those leftovers!

See more Friday Felicities at Becky's site.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Psalm 100

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

GIANT Sycamore leaf! It's 15 inches wide by 14 inches tall.
Held by kindergarten son:

And senior in high school daughter:

This site has some more info on sycamore trees.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

My tip today is uses for mayonnaise jar lids. ( I had to look that up for spelling. I didn't remember mayo having 2 n's. I'll be referring to it as mayo from here on out! lol)
I always save my lids from mayo jars. They fit on any regular mouth canning jar. I wish that the bigger mayo jars lids fit the wide mouth jars, but they do not. I've tried just about every brand over the years. If you need wide mouth lids, you have to buy them specifically for the wide mouth jars. Here are some uses for these lids:

In this picture they are perfect lids for covering jars of homemade chicken stock. I was 1 short. That gold one in the back is from something else. I don't know from what, I've had it for years. LOL
Here they are nice lids for some of my little jars of herbs from my fist herb garden this year. The yellow lid must have come from a different brand, but it is a mayo lid.
To the left is camomile, dill seeds are in the middle, & corriander seeds on the right.
I still have some herbs drying, so I better get some more lids. These jars are half pints & pints.
And here's a good trick. It's my pepper catcher! I keep a lid under my pepper mill when it's stored in the cabinet.
See all the pepper it catches? If I didn't have this lid under it, this pepper would be in my cabinet & I'd be cleaning it out all the time. (Well, I WAS wiping it out all of the time, until I thought of using one of these lids.)

And here is my freezer jam. It is stored in the freezer in quart sized freezer bags. When our jar is empty, I get a bag out of the freezer & fill a pint jar. Since it's a regular mouth jar, the lid fits perfectly. And oh my goodness...look at all those lids!

Edited to add:
I just had to giggle this afternoon as opened the frig & took out a half pint jar of
green pepper jelly. It had one of these lids on it. Then at suppertime I reached in & grabbed the tomato sauce. Same lid.
It made me laugh. I sure use these lids!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Chicken Stock

I've only been making my own chicken stock for a few years. Let me tell you how easy it is! And you will never go back to store bought again. You also cannot believe what a bargain it is to boil a whole chicken! I buy a whole fryer for less than $5. I get so much out of it. First, here is the stock I got this evening. I got 7 & a half quarts!

I'll put caps on these jars & put them in the frig. When they have completely chilled, the fat will rise to the top so you can easily scoop it out. Then I usually put the stock into quart freezer bags, 2 cups to a bag, & freeze them. I always do this shortly before Thanksgiving so I'll have plenty of stock on hand. I just used up all of my chicken stock the other day because I made Homemade Bean with Bacon Soup (...yum).

Chicken Stock:

1 whole chicken, cut into 'frying pieces' (leg, thigh, breast, etc...) leave in all bones & skin
1-2 large onions, leave skin on, cut into quarters
1 head of garlic, leave skin on & cut in half
6 carrots, peeled & cut in half or thirds
5-6 celery stalks, with leaves (lots of flavor there!), cut into thirds
nice handfull of fresh parsley, rough chopped
6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme
10 sprigs of fresh dill or 2 t. dried
salt to taste, I always forget the salt & it turns out fine
1 t. whole black peppercorns
And this time I added about 1 T. dill seed ('cause I have a LOT) & 1T. corriander seed (cause I have a LOT) And I just remembered that I also added a few sage leaves.

Use a LARGE pot. I have a big 16 quart pan that I use for this. Put the chicken in & cover with water. I fill my pot to about 4 inches from the top. Add the rest of the ingredients. Set on stove on high to bring to a boil. . Stir often when if first comes to a boil & watch that it doesn't boil over. Simmer for a few hours. The house will smell unbelievable!
Here's what mine looked like before it came to a boil. The chicken & carrots sink to the bottom at first so you can't see them.


When it's done, I use a large slotted spoon to remove the chicken. It's usually falling off the bone. Put all the chicken on a plate & set aside to cool. I also use a slotted spoon to remove the carrots because we love to eat them. They are very tasty cooked with the chicken. The rest you pour through a small strainer into another large pot. I use one of those little hand held mesh type screen like strainers. The celery holds a lot of stock, so I usually press it a little & get every bit of stock out I can.

When the chicken is cool enough to touch, you can pick all the chicken off the bones. It sounds gross, but it's not. This is where you taste it & realize it's THE BEST CHICKEN YOU'VE EVER TASTED. It is so MOIST & FLAVORFUL. My kids can't keep out of it. They are usually sneaking bites before I'm even done picking & sorting it! Here is the plate of chicken I got from 1 fryer chicken...that cost less than 5 bucks...that's a lot of chicken!

And with 3 cups of this chicken (it was about 1/4 of that plate), I made a really good chicken salad for supper. Can you believe I've never made my own chicken salad before?

Here's the sandwich I had at supper. It was really good! (I'll post this easy recipe later.)

I still have chicken left over! It's hard to tell by this picture, but it's a good 3-4 cups worth at least. I could put 2 cups of this chicken in a large ziplock bag along with 2 cups of stock & put it in the freezer. I use this for a chicken speghetti casserole that I make (but haven't posted yet). Or I could just leave it in the frig for sandwiches. It makes the best chicken sandwiches...just mayo & salt & pepper. The kids will probably want me to do that.

I got all of this stuff from 1 $5 whole chicken:
7.5 quarts of chicken stock
1 nice sized bowl of chicken salad
1 large chicken sandwich (this is what daughter had at supper)
3-4 cups of left over chicken
*edited later to add:

left over chicken salad sandwiches for lunch AND supper the next day
2 cups of chicken left over was chopped & added to 2 cups of stock to put in the freezer for a casserole for another day.
Now that's a bargain!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Tuscan Bean Soup

This is a new recipe to me. I love trying a new recipe & having the whole family really like it. It then becomes a KEEPER. This is my newest KEEPER. This recipe is the perfect size to cook in my cast iron dutch oven. I'm trying to use it as often as I can so it'll be good & seasoned.
This recipe comes to me from my dear friend Dana (go read her blog, her writing is A-mazing). And a link to the origional recipe can be found here.

Tuscan Bean Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth
1 cup canned whole tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups kidney beans, cooked
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1 cup seashell pasta
ground black pepper to taste

In a large pot over medium high heat, combine the oil, onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and saute for 3 more minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the thyme, spinach and pasta. Simmer for 5 more minutes and pepper to taste.

I did add fresh mushrooms, because I had them & I couldn't remember which recipe I needed them for. Mushroom don't keep long in the frig, so I used them. I reckon now I'll remember what I needed them for & won't have them. LOL I sliced them & added them in when I added the green pepper ('cause I didn't have red) & sauted them until tender. Then proceeded with the recipe as written. I also used my own chicken stock, & the canned tomatoes I used had garlic & basil in it. I also used more spinach that the recipe called for. I don't like spinach, but I sure liked it in this soup!

This soup is really good!
Thanks Dana!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Southern Steak & Gravy

I've not posted anything here in more than a week. It just seems that for some reason or another I've had little to no computer time. So, here I am with a borrowed recipe!
I like to visit
The Southern Plate when I can. I enjoy trying her recipes. I've tried a few (& they've all turned out great!), & have pictures of them, I just haven't gotten around to posting them yet. Here is a link to her recipe for Southern Steak & Milk Gravy.
I like to make this in my big cast iron pan & serve it right in the pan on the table. Here you can see all the cube steaks before I turn them to coat them with that super good gravy.
This picture isn't so great, you can't really see the meat, but this is how I put it on the table. Trust me, it's more appealing in real life. LOL
I was sure I had a picture of the dinner plate, but I can't find it. I usually serve this with just a big batch of mashed potatoes. I've also served it with fried potatoes. YUM.

Southern Steak and milk Gravy
4 Pieces Cubed Steak (I use 6 steaks)
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Milk
Place enough oil (Jane whispers that you can use ***bacon grease***) in a pan to just coat the bottom, put that on medium heat while you prepare your steak. In a bowl, place 1 C flour and add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/ 4 tsp pepper (more if you prefer). Stir that up. Dip each piece of steak into flour on both sides to get it coated well. Place each piece of steak in pan and cook until good and browned on both sides. Remove steak to a plate while you make your gravy.
Place about 1/4 C flour into skillet with meat drippings. Add a little more salt and pepper and stir this over medium heat until the flour is slightly browned (just a few minutes). Slowly pour in 1 1/2 Cups of milk, stirring constantly. Continue stirring, with a wire whisk to help with lumps, over low heat until thickened and there are no lumps. This will happen rather quickly. Add a little more milk if you prefer thinner gravy. Return steak to the pan and turn to coat with gravy on both sides.
Serve steak and gravy together in a bowl or serve gravy on the side to go with Mashed potatoes.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

The big Maple tree is now at peak.
An inside look:

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Kitchen Tips Tuesday

My kitchen tip this week is the ONION BOWL. It's kind of a silly name actually, but that's what I've called it for 20 years. I have one Tupperware bowl that I designated as my onion bowl & that's all it contains. Onions. I learned early on that you can't just wrap a pratially used onion in plastic wrap & put it in the frig. If you do, everything in the frig will smell like onions, including things in the freezer! Ziplock bags work pretty well, but they are expensive. My m-i-l gave me this particular orange Tupperware bowl with lid, at least 20 years ago. It is just the perfect size for an onion too. So everytime I cook something & I only use part of an onion, the rest of the onion goes in the frig in this orange onion bowl to be used another day. This onion bowl NEVER holds anything else. Even if I scrub it in really HOT soapy water, I can still detect an onion scent. But that's ok. That's what this bowl is for. Onions.
So find yourself a little bowl with a lid, & designate it your onion bowl, & you'll never have an onion smellin' frig again.
And I thought you might like to see how my thyme & parsley are doing. LOL It's now been TWO WEEKS since I put them in the glass of water to keep them fresh. The picture actually doesn't do it justice. It still looks fresh! I decided to just leave it in the glass of water to see just how long it will last. LOL....

Monday, November 3, 2008

Pickled Beets

PICKLED BEETS! YUM!
I realize it's a little late in the season to be posting this, all I can say is that I'm very behind on this blog. :)
Although we did have a late crop of beets because I planted a second time after we harvested the first row. Here's a doosie of a beet! I could just barely get both my hands around it from top to tip.
I use the recipe from my Ball Blue Book.
Pickled Beets
3 quarts cooked, peeled beets
2 C. sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
1 T. whole allspice
1 1/2 t. salt
3 1/2 C. vinegar
1 1/2 C. water
Combine all ingredients, except beets in a large pot. Simmer 15 minutes. Pack beets into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. (cut larger beets into quarters, or you can slice them)
Remove cinnamon. Bring pickling liquid to a boil. Pour hot liquid over beets, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles with a rubber spatula. Adjust caps. Process pints & quarts 30 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield: about 6 pints.
That's the exact recipe. But I usually have more than 3 quarts of beets, so I 'play' with the recipe a bit. I usually double this recipe, plus add about 4 more cups of water. This recipe above is a bit too vinegary for us. I add the 4 cups of water to cut down on that a bit, & to also give me more liquid to use, as I tend to run out of it & need to make more. I also usually add cloves & sometimes I'll add pickling spice to a cheesecloth bag, or just dump it in the pot & then run the liquid through a strainer before using. And this year I also added corriander, since I have a ton of that from the herb garden. :)

This last batch I canned 8 quarts & 1 pint.
I pressure can my beets instead of a boiling water bath.
I lost a little of the liquid out of some jars, but as long as they are sealed, they're fine.


Here's a bowl that I served with supper one evening.
Just give me a fork & some salt & I'm good to go.