The Joys of Cooking

While working on Fry Bacon. Add Onions: The Valentine Family & Friends Cookbook I was reminded of a lot of recipes I haven't made in years. Just like the shoemaker's children have no shoes, so the cookbook author's kitchen can go through long periods of neglect. However, lately I've been cooking up some of my favorite recipes and it is sort of amazing to realize how powerful food/tastes can be at stirring up memories.

One of the recipes in the book, for my Mom's Pizza Sauce, had been whispering to me so over the weekend I made a smaller batch of it and it was even more delicious than I remembered it. While it was simmering that fragrance reminded me of the way we used to make “grilled pizza” sandwiches with it. You buttered two slices of bread lightly and sprinkled a little garlic powder on them. Place one, butter side down in the frying pan and top it with a couple spoonfuls of the pizza sauce. Add 2 slices of provolone cheese and some thinly sliced onion and the other slice of bread, butter side out. Grill, flipping once, until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is gooey.

As soon as the sauce was ready I made one and it was so delicious, and tasted so much like “home” that I promptly made another one.

So I decided to make another recipe that was always a favorite, Gram's Instant Cole Slaw. Gram used to make it all the time and keep big jars of it in the fridge. The longer it sat, the tastier it got but it never sat for long. It got used as a salad but also as a relish on sandwiches. It is wonderful on hamburgers or hot dogs, too. I made a 2 quart container full of it and it only lasted a couple days so I made it again.

Gram’s Instant Cole Slaw

This is absolutely delicious, and keeps for a long time, or would if it wasn’t so delicious...

Heat to boiling:

2 c. vinegar, 2 c. sugar, 1 tsp. celery seed, 1 tsp. mustard seed, 1½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. turmeric

Pour this over:

1 quart shredded cabbage

2 shredded green peppers

1 chopped sweet onion

2 grated carrots

1 small jar of pimentos

Mix very well and pack in jars for the refrigerator. Chill at least 12 hours before serving. Will keep for weeks in the refrigerator.

Something in the combination of the celery seed, mustard seed and turmeric is just delicious and spicier than conventional mayonnaise-based slaw.

In Pittsburgh there is a chain of sandwich shops famous for their use of cole slaw. I've only been in the original Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh's Strip District but their sandwiches are delicious. They make most every sub you can think of and, once the meat and cheese is heaped on the bread they add a generous scoop of french fries, a big scoop of their cole slaw, and sliced tomatoes. Yum. I think Pittsburgh may be the original home of french-fries-as-sandwich-garnish.

This morning my cousin Bonnie Heindl sent me an email to tell me that she had made up batch of Aunt Rosie's Sauerkraut Balls from the cookbook recipe and they were a big hit in her house. That makes me happy.

And she added that my brother Wayne had stopped by to visit her Dad --- and brought him a fresh, home-made peach pie. How nice was that? It is wonderful to hear about such things --- Mom and Gram would be so proud.

Thanks for reading.

The Kimono Project: Using Fabric Creatively II

This is another variation on the Crane Kimono Jacket. I made it 4 or 5 years ago and wear it pretty often in the winter as it is quite warm. I interlined it with a thermal fleece to add warmth. This began with 2 fabrics, 2 trims and some pretty, sparkly buttons.

I had purchased an entire bolt of 64" wide black panne velvet at a fabric mill store in Uxbridge that was liquidating their stock. The whole bolt was $30 so that's about $1.33/yd. I later purchased some black-on-black embossed lining fabric at JoAnn Fabrics on sale for 33% off. The trims were rummge table finds at The Fabric Place, a length of 1/2" rayon soutache braid in black and 4 yards of commercially made black Venetian lace. The soutache and Venetian lace were good finds because they are both sturdy enough to stand-up to substantial outerwear.

The coat is made from the same McCall's pattern only longer, just below the knee in length. The panne velvet is very lusterous so it is hard to photograph. In the picture it looks wrinkled but when you wear it the fabric drapes beautifully.

Here is the stand-up collar trimmed in Venetian Lace and you can see the brocade lining.

I had five beautiful, jet black buttons in my collection which are cut with a bevel that makes them sparkle. The buttonholes are loops made from the brocade:

The cuffs turn back and are trimmed with the Venetian lace:

I love these pockets. They are large with a center pleat. The brocade, faux-flap is trimmed with soutache and a button.

So that is one more variation on the same, kimono-style pattern using very different fabrics and techniques. Next I'll show the third variation, the Winter Solstice coat.

Thanks for reading.

Summer is coming...

The Kimono Project: Using Fabric Creatively

Over the weekend I spent some time in my sewing room organizing fabrics and doing some sewing. For years I have hoarded fabrics which I keep in 2 gallon zipper bags according to color or coordination ability all with an eye to someday making a kimono-style jacket. I've made a few of them over the years but am making myself a promise to make more.

Below are five patterns I've had for years and keep because they are perfect for kinds of jackets I like to make. The McCall's pattern, bottom center, is my Old Reliable as it has been used in at least five jackets or coats including my Winter Solstice Coat. I bought it in 1995 and have never found a better one. The Vogue pattern to its right is from 1985. I made burgundy and black brocaded rayon jacket lined in black silk that I wore for years before it finally  died. I used the McCalls pattern for the Crane Kimono Jacket below made 6 or 7 years ago.

For this jacket I used three fabrics: 2 100% cottons purchased at Loom & Shuttle in Ipswich and a jade green lining fabric from The Fabric Place. The two cottons were coordinated quilting fabrics with black backgrounds. One had a small pattern of white cranes and gold, green and rose flowers, the other was a large, multi-colored pattern of flowers, fans and more cranes.

I had read an article in Threads about making Chinese Knots for closures and used the technique described in that article to make the closures from the green lining fabric.

The smaller crane print was used for the collar, cuffs and pocket welting. I used a very lightweight batting and channel quilted all the trim. I also made Chinese Knot trim for the cuffs.

In the picture below you can see the welted, stand-up collar and facing. There is a piping of green lining fabric as well

And this is the pocket welt trimmed with piping.

I've gotten a lot of wear out of this jacket. With a white t-shirt and jeans or a pretty camisole and dress pants or skirt it is always a hit. It's getting a little worn now but my new objective is to make a couple more like it and show the process here. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for reading.

Stunning Video of the Milky Way

The White Mountain from charles on Vimeo.

Stories, stories, stories...

One of the pure joys of the last week, since the cookbook has been available, and people are ordering it and reading it, is the number of cousins who have contacted me. Some I have not heard from in decades. This is a wonderful treat. I've never really gotten the hang of all that cousin stuff – I know first cousins are the nieces and nephews of my parents but when it gets more complicated than that I get lost. Diane and Bonnie W. are the daughters of my Dad's niece Jean Jundzillo so that makes them my second cousins I guess. Bonnie H. is the grand-daughter of Dad's sister Viola so, okay, that's a second cousin, too. But Gretchen is the daughter of Dad's first cousin, Thad, and John is Mom's first cousin so I have no idea what they are --- cousin will do.

Anyway, I am happy to be hearing from them and even happier to hear how much they like the cookbook. John just called a little while ago and told me two wonderful stories! Stories are such a wonderful part of family lore. I wish I could remember more of them.

In the first story he told me one of his uncles had been out in the woods. It was not deer season but there was this fat, juicy-looking deer just asking for it. So the guy shot it and stuffed it in the trunk of his car. On his way home he noticed he was being followed by a cop car and, when the cop pulled into his driveway behind him, he knew he was in trouble. He got out of his car. The cop got out of his car. He started to earnestly explain that, yes, he was in the woods and, yes, he had a gun with him but, honest to God, officer, I didn't shoot anything. In the midst of his sincere explanation a great ruckus interrupted him. The ruckus was coming --- oh no – from the trunk of his car! So, with the annoyed police officer looking on, he opened his car trunk and out leaped a deer, slightly bloody but far from dead. It took off down the driveway and, well, you can guess the rest. That was one expensive deer.

The second story was about Great-grandfather Werner (right) who was the town constable for awhile. When his middle son Edward was in his rebellious teenage years Great-grandfather had his hands full. One day he was called to a disturbance of some sort where some hooligans were up to no good. Among them was his son and, so, he had no choice but to put him in jail along with the other rapscallions. That night, when he arrived home he discovered a dark house with no heat and none of the familiar smells of dinner cooking for a hard-working man. He discovered in the kitchen his little wife, Great-grandmother, sitting with a look of fierce determination on her face. “There will be neither heat, nor light, nor food in this house,” she announced, “until my son is also in this house.”

So there.

I love these stories. I was talking to my Aunt Rosie's husband Jim a little while ago. They married a few years back after the deaths of my Uncle Buddy and Jim's wife Lillian (they had all been friends for years). Jim said, “Even though I never met these people, these stories are right out of my life. I just read them over and over.”

What could be a better compliment than that?

Mom's Apple Cake for Lunch

My sister Anne called this morning to tell me that she is holding a little luncheon party today. She bought a couple more copies of the new cookbook and has invited two ladies, friends of our mother's, to lunch today so she can give them the cookbooks and do some catching up. What a sweet idea!

"What are you making?" I asked her.

"Right now I've got Mom's Apple Cake in the oven," she told me. I can easily imagine how wonderful her house smells!

Mom’s Apple Cake
Cream together:
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 stick of softened margarine
2 eggs
½ tsp. salt
Blend in:
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. milk
2 ¼ cups flour
dash of vanilla
Stir well. Gently fold in 2 c. chopped apples. Mix well and pour into cake pans. Sprinkle the tops with brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Lorraine McMackin lived right next to us. She and her husband Mickey had 7 children and it seems each of us in our family had a McMackin of the same age except for one. My brother Wayne and Lorraine's Mick are still friends.

Ann Weis, her husband Bill, and their four kids lived across the street. I talk to their daughter  AnnMarie nearly every day on Facebook. One of the most beautiful things about old friends is that shared history.

I wish I could be at Anne's lunch today but, since I can't, I'm sharing Mom's Apple Cake recipe with you. Amazon finally has the full order page for the cookbook online so anyone who wants one can have it. As of yesterday it was the #1 Bestselling German cuisine cookbook on Amazon. Thanks, Mom!

Fry Bacon. Add Onions - now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

The new expanded and redesigned edition of Fry Bacon. Add Onions: The Valentine Family & Friends Cookbook: five generations of good eating is now available to be ordered online:

Amazon.com     |     Barnes & Noble Online

 

As of yesterday the book was ranked #2 on Amazon for cookbooks featuring German cuisine:

Fry Bacon. Add Onions: The Valentine Family & Friends Cookbook

ISBN #978-0-9785940-4-6

180 pages

Book Description: In this combination memoir and family cookbook blogger and novelist Kathleen Valentine combines 30 posts from her blog with nearly 400 recipes collected from family and friends. Growing up in a "mostly Pennsylvania Dutch" family she collected and recorded recipes from grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, cousins, friends, etc. which were combined in the first Valentine Family & Friends Cookbook published in 1981. 

This was expanded in the 1992 edition and now, in this third edition, nearly 400 recipes combine with essays recording memories of growing up in rural Pennsylvania and photographs from six generations. Essays topics include making sauerkraut and soltz (a German pickled meat loaf), toasting marshmallows and catching fireflies, the old-country Christmas traditions of making stollen and visits from Belsnickle, old world ghost stories, their grandmother's quilts, and more. Traditional family recipes include schmarn, panhaas, moultasha, a variety of sausage recipes, hassenpfeffer, and liver dumplings, a wide variety of pickles and relishes, as well as keuchels (a type of fried dough), apple dumplings, and rhubarb crisps and pies. 

Contemporary recipes from the younger generations of the Valentine family expand the collection with everything from dips and cocktails to chowders, cakes and cookies. Among the more popular recipes first featured on Valentine's blog are three maple syrup pies, an apricot-apple crisp with maple cream, caramel peachy-pear pandowdy, a honey & white peach pie, and her own Pennsylvania Dutch hot and sour soup. Though this collection is a memoir in food of the Valentine family it could be the story of any first, second and third generation immigrant family. 

From the book: "Most Pennsylvania Dutch families evolved from immigrants who were peasants in "the Old Country". They learned, out of necessity, to use everything they could to feed their families and they devised ways of preserving those things through the long, harsh winters. Pickling, preserving, smoking, canning were necessary to get a large family through the bitterly cold winter months. As I worked on this cookbook I was continually aware of how so much of the food that was part of family tradition was also making good use of commonly available food sources that were abundant and cheap. My Gram Werner used to say that the reason pigs were so valuable was because you could use every part of them except the squeak. In the cold hill country of Pennsylvania maple trees grew in such abundance, that maple syrup was a frequently used sweetener. Cows were kept for milk, cream, butter, cheese and sour cream. When I read these recipes now some seem so rich and loaded with calories but back then people needed those rich, calorie-laden foods to see them through long days in the fields or the factories or lumbering in the forests."

A  PDF version of the book is also available for instant download. It is all black and white for ease in printing and consists of 180 pages/6.7MB. Cost is $10. You may order through PayPal with any major credit card:

After completing your order wait to be sent to the download site. If you are not redirected, email inquiry@parlezmoipress.com and the link will be sent to you within 24 hours.

Thank you.

Deconstructing a Mink Coat

So ast night I started taking apart the mink coat to see what I could find... and what was still useable. This is what I found. All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

1.) Once the satin lining is pulled back you can see how a taffeta underlining is hand-basted to the pelts to reinforce them.

2.) Here I pulled back the facing and you can see the interfacing and the hand-basting that holds it in place. I decided not to remove this until I know what I am going to do.

 

3.) You can see how a long strip of taffeta was folded double and then basted over the edge of the pelts to protect the hem.

  

4.) There is a strip of pleated satin sewn around the neck of the lining which forms a little ruffle under the collar area.

  

5.) There is a very wide facing to the cuffs. It is a separate piece with more interfacing.

 

6.) Once the cuff interfacing is opened up you can see the stamp marks on the underside of the  pelts. These stamps are used to grade the type and quality of the fur when the underside is prepared.

 

7.) Here you can see the seams on the underside of the sleeve. These are the seams I'll have to open up when I get ready to work on the new design.

  

8.) Here is one of the holes in the sleeve/shoulder area. The pelt is split but there is no deterioration of the hide so it can probably be stitched together with taffeta reinforcement.

  

9.) And here is the culprit -- why the pelt split. Interfacing was glued together and the glue hardened, cracked and split open. This will have to be taken out.

  

10.) This is a little shoulder-pad made of four layers of a stiff interfacing. It doesn't add much bulk but provides shaping.

So that is what lies between the lining and the pelts. Now I have to decide what to do next.

Thanks for reading.

Seaman Scarves Fund-raiser on March 2 at Cape Ann Brewery

The pattern is ready!!!

In a previous blog I talked about using the very old, traditional knitting pattern for Seaman's Scarves as a possible fund-raiser here in Gloucester. The Seaman's Scarves are used for endeavors such as  Christmas at Sea, a project The Seaman's Church Institute. Ever since 1898, during the Spanish American War, The Seaman's Church Institute has sent thousands of packages to mariners at Christmas time. Included in the packages are hand-knit items donated by knitters from around the country. These include watch caps, socks, vests, and, of course, scarves, in addition to lip balm, hand lotion and toothpaste and brushes. Last year over 10,000 garments were sent by knitters and thousands more were needed. (They also offer information on how citizens can help our mariners who are the victims of pirates at sea.) Their web site offers a list of free patterns in PDF format for both knit and crocheted patterns for the items they need.

Subsequently I designed 2 original Seaman's Scarves. One is in Aran Style:

 

And the other is Guernsey Style:

 

I am writing the directions for these scarves and Tuesday night, March 2nd, at 6:30, I will be at Cape Ann Brewery with the patterns. Knitters are invited to come and "purchase" a pattern for whatever donation they would like to make. Cape Ann Brewery has graciously offered to match whatever is donated and the proceeds will be donated to the fund for the children of Matteo Russo, a Gloucester fisherman who was lost, along with his crew in January of 2009. I will be present to help knitters get started on the pattern, if they wish (bring worsted weight yarn and size 8 needles) and I'll help anyone who is interested with either of the patterns.

This should be a great time -- an opportunity to learn something new, do some good for our community and have an excuse to drink Cape Ann Brewery's scrumptious product. I look forward to seeing you there....

Thanks for reading.

The Allure of the Unavailable Male

A couple months ago I wrote a blog about The Allure of the Dark in which I mentioned a television miniseries called Wire in the Blood that I was hooked on. The problem with getting hooked on a series like that is that when you run out of episodes there is nothing more to look forward to. So, after that was over I started watching HBO's Big Love but I soon lost interest. The story was fairly interesting but, other than Barb the long-suffering first wife, I didn't much care for any of the characters. It had some of the dark allure of The Sopranos but lacked the charisma, at least in my opinion. Then I stumbled upon the 13 episodes of NBC's 2006 series Kidnapped. What the hell were they thinking when they canceled that?

I don't ever recall being as sucked in to a series as I became to that one. I watched all 13 episodes over a long weekend and then started watching them again. I called Leslie, my Netflix Watch Now partner, and ordered her to watch it. She did and quickly agreed with me that it was mesmerizing. Talk about complex with twists and turn, the intensity was almost unbearable.

Well, of course, after the 13 episodes were viewed and viewed again it was time to look for something new but Leslie and I kept talking about it and we agreed that it had many similarities to Wire in the Blood not the least of which was a main character who was good-looking, fascinating, unbearably sexy, and totally unavailable.

Lucian Knapp is nothing like Dr. Tony Hill. He is dark and brooding and has a mysterious past that involves escaping from a religious cult, serving in the military and then the FBI, winding up in a mental hospital, and now he is a specialist who recovers kidnapped children. He has a gorgeous female sidekick, Turner, who assures others they are not sharing a bed (“I might but he'd never...”) but who obviously cares deeply for him. Like Turner, Leslie and I definitely felt the attraction.

The character of Knapp is played by Jeremy Sisto who is a very fine actor. I saw him in The Movie Hero and thought it was one of the funniest movies I ever saw. But his portrayal of the aloof, distant Knapp is steamy in the extreme. Sisto once played Jesus in another television mini-series (talk bout your unavailable men!) and there is no denying he is fun to watch but it is Knapp that is fairly unforgettable.

I suppose a therapist would say that women who are attracted to unavailable men have personal issues that they should get help for before they waste their lives on one disappointment or another. I suppose in real life there is much to be said for that but I think there is something else. Any woman who has ever loved a man, especially a “tough guy”, can tell you they love him the most when he lets her see his vulnerable side. It's that contrast thing, yeah, but it's also that moment of shared intimacy in which he lets himself trust her with something he keeps from the rest of the world.

Someone once said about my short stories and books that the thing that comes across most powerfully while reading them is that I love men --- that I love maleness and lack the chip-on-the-shoulder that is often so prevalent in contemporary women's fiction. I took that as a great compliment. I hope it is true. I cannot tell you how many books I have put aside by women authors because the men in their stories were either wimps, bastards, fools, or creeps. I remember when I read Sue Monk Kidd's The Mermaid's Chair that, though I liked much about the book, I thought both of the male characters were so bland and gutless I could barely finish the book. Yes, I know there are a lot of guys like that but there are a lot of the other kind too.

Maybe there are several things at work here. One is the sense that a guy like Tony Hill or Lucian Knapp would be a challenge but a challenge worth risking. But also there is the sense that some men who seem unavailable are really more self-protective. They are tough on the outside because they know how soft they are on the inside. And we know how much we are going to love being the one he trusts with that. At least for 13 episodes....

Thanks for reading.

It never fails...........

... no matter how hard you try to organize something there is always one thing that gets left out. In this case it is the recipe for a cake my sister Lisa says is the most delicious cake she has ever tasted. She had a piece at her friend Tim's birthday party and couldn't stop talking about how wonderful it was. She tried to get the recipe for the cookbook but wasn't able to track it down and then, sure enough, someone sent it to her. Oh well.... maybe next edition...

From Lisa (at left with Wayne's Laura):

Here at last, the world's greatest cake- I didn't get the recipe in time to get it into the cookbook.  Someone made it for my friend Tim for his birthday and it is the yummiest cake I've ever eaten.  I never would have thought it would be that easy to make.

Kahlua Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1 (6 oz.) box instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1/2 C. sugar
1 C. vegetable oil
1/4 C. rum
3/4 C. water
Combine all ingredients and mix on low for 4 minutes.  Pour into greased and floured bundt pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes.  Cool 15 minutes before turning out. 
Glaze
Mix 1/2 C. powdered sugar and 1/4 C. Kahlua.  Drizzle over turned out cake while still hot.

____________________________________________________________
UPDATE: I made dinner tonight in my mini-crockpot and it was delicious so I decided to post the recipe:
CROCKPOT WHISKEY & ONION PORK ROAST
I sauted an onion sliced very thin until it carmelized. Then I cut the bone out of a 3 lb. pork roast and spread it out. Sprinkle with coarse hickory-smoked pepper, garlic powder, a little crushed red pepper, and a little brown sugar. Layer on the onions. Roll it up and stuff it in the crockpot (it just fit). Pour on 1/4 c. bourbon and 1 tbsp. liquid smoke and cook on high for 6 hours. It just fell apart and was unbelievably delicious!

Thanks for reading!