About 10 years ago, I copied this recipe from an old 1976 Bicentennial Heritage cookbook before the book was donated to Goodwill.  Recently, as I was updating my computer files, the recipe turned up and looked interesting.  It was way too high in calories and fat, though, so I adjusted the recipe considerably.  My youngest daughter and I enjoyed it for dessert – and it’s just right for these nice autumn days.

GINGERBREAD WITH CARAMELIZED APPLES

For the Caramelized Apples

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 4 cups thinly sliced tart apples (Golden Delicious or Granny Smith)

For the Gingerbread

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/3 cup oil (Canola)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tblsp. light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup boiling water

To make the caramelized apples: In a large skillet, melt the butter and add 1 cup brown sugar.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Add apple slices and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is as thick as syrup and apples are tender.

To make the gingerbread: Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, molasses and oil.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, soda, salt, baking powder, 2 Tblsp. brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon.

Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture alternately with the boiling water, stirring just until blended.

Spread the apple mixture in the bottom of a 9-inch ungreased baking dish.  Pour the batter over the apples.

Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Increase heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 15 minutes longer or until cake tests done when a tester is inserted in the center.

Remove pan to wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes…

…then invert the pan onto a large platter, apple-side-up, to continue cooling.

This cake is delicious slightly warm and keeps its soft texture for several days.

I started making this pie in 1989, using the Bartlett pears from two trees on our country property.  I’ve baked it at least once a year ever since, using pears from the farmers’ market for the last 10 years  after having to leave our pear trees behind.  The recipe is adapted from one in a 1966 Better Homes and Gardens Pies & Cakes cookbook.  It’s a great pie and just right for these early fall days.

PEAR CRUMBLE PIE

• 9 inch unbaked pastry shell  (see my favorite recipe here)
• 5 cups pared and sliced ripe Bartlett pears
• 3 Tblsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. grated lemon peel
• Crumble Topping (see below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Place pears in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice.  Mix the sugar, flour and lemon peel together and stir into the pear slices.  Spoon into the unbaked pastry shell.

Crumble Topping

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 4 Tblsp. butter, cut into small cubes

Mix together the flour, sugar and spices.  Cut in the butter until blended.  Sprinkle on top of pear mixture in unbaked pie shell.

Bake in a 375 degree F oven for approximately 45 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 6 to 8 delicious servings.

One of my earliest memories is of sitting at a table with my mother, father and little sister.  We are in a one-room, second-floor flat on Elm Street in downtown Cincinnati in the mid-1930s.  All day, Mother has watched over a simmering pot of beans with a pig hock added for flavor.  My father has come in from his timekeeper job on the WPA and we are having about the cheapest supper possible in the midst of the Great Depression.  I have a plateful of beans and a tiny bit of the small amount of meat that is on a pig hock (my father gets the biggest portion of meat and my mother claims to love chewing around on the bone).  The beans are steaming and the teaspoon or so of meat is flavorful – I love it!  It was said in my family that you weren’t an Applegate if you didn’t love beans, so I guess I qualified as a full-fledged member of my father’s side of the family.

As time went on and my father moved to better jobs with the City of Cincinnati and then Dayton Acme (a World War II defense plant), there was more money in my mother’s food budget and she stopped using the mostly-fat pig hocks and either threw in a pork chop or two to cook with the beans or had crisp bacon or fried ham on the side.  This was the only time my father ate pork … along with his beans topped with chopped onion and a lot of black pepper.

By the time my future husband started coming to the house for meals, Mother had added a big cast iron skillet full of fried potatoes to the menu.  It was his favorite supper.  After we were married, I continued to have this meal one night a week.  Every time I hear the John Denver song, “Back Home Again” and the line about “supper on the stove” and the wife who felt the baby move, I think about my young husband coming home to an expectant wife in our little apartment with the windows all steamed up and a big white and red graniteware pot of beans simmering on the range.

My four children didn’t inherit their parents’ love of a bean supper and I got out of the habit of making it.  But now that I’m alone, I crave the beans of my childhood, especially in the fall and winter.  I make a healthier, easier version with a slow cooker.

GREAT NORTHERN CROCKPOT BEANS

• 1/2 lb. Great Northern dry beans
• 6 cups cold water*
• 1-1/2 tsp. ham flavored soup base (L. B. Jamison’s)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Place the dry beans cold water in the slow cooker.  *I use this amount of water to insure that I’ll have enough broth to make dumplings.  Cook on low overnight – approximately 8 hours.  Add the ham flavoring, then taste before adding salt and pepper.

I was the only one in the family who liked dumplings with my beans and I used to make a one-person serving.  This works very well for me now when I want to make a meal just for myself.

DUMPLINGS FOR ONE

• 1/4 cup of My Biscuit Mix**
• 1-1/2 Tblsp. (approx.) of cold water

In a small bowl, stir the biscuit mix and water together to make a thick, moist dough.

Heat about 1 cup of bean broth and 1 cup of beans in a small pot to boiling.  Drop the dough into the boiling mixture by the tablespoonful, making three dumplings.

Lower the heat to simmering, cover the pot and continue simmering for 10 minutes without lifting the lid.  Note:  The white and red graniteware lid is from my original 1952 set.

Serve immediately with chopped onion and a grating of black pepper.  A small serving of meat is good, but not necessary (to me, at least).  Today, I happened to be browning hot sausage to freeze for my Thanksgiving stuffing and kept back enough to make myself a small grilled patty.  It tasted wonderful.  This is truly my soul food.

**MY BISCUIT MIX

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tblsp. baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco)

Mix together the flour, salt and baking powder.  Cut in the vegetable shortening.  Store in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

This is good for making individual servings of biscuits, pancakes … and dumplings.

Recipe for Walt’s Polish Stuffing

I always make the fruit pies I’ll serve on Thanksgiving well ahead of time.  When I was competing in county and state fairs, I found I could bake a fruit pie and freeze it.  Then the night before I needed it, I could take it out to thaw and the next morning crisp it in a 350 degree F oven for about 10 minutes with basically no change in the original pie.  I had to do it this way for the Ohio State Fair because of time restrictions plus a 2-hour drive and I continued to win ribbons.  I’ve used the technique since the early 1980s to get a jump on holiday baking.

This morning, I baked two apple pies which will go in the freezer after they have cooled, and I was remembering other Thanksgiving pies I have made through the years.  For the 20 years we lived in Blue Jay on the Ohio/Indiana border, I had the benefits of a front yard full of fruit trees.  In July, there was one old tree that produced a huge amount of tart cherries.  These snapshots from 1991 show my son and his family who were visiting from St. Louis and helping me by picking some cherries.

The little girl with the pail graduated from college last year and the baby is now a sophomore in college.  Time flies.

I froze a lot of cherries but to have the very best pie for Thanksgiving, I made one while the cherries were fresh off the tree – my husband’s favorite.  Here’s the recipe:

TART CHERRY PIE

• Pastry for 9″ double crust pie
• 4 cups fresh tart cherries, pitted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 Tblsp. quick tapioca
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 2 Tblsp. butter
• 1 Tblsp. milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

In a large bowl, mix together the cherries, sugar, tapioca, salt, and almond extract.

Fit bottom crust in a 9″ pan, pour filling into crust and dot with butter.  Place top crust on pie, crimp edges and brush with milk.  Cut vents and place on a larger flat pan to catch spills.

Bake @ 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.

Cool pie completely on rack.  Serve to a hungry family or wrap and place in a two-gallon ziplock bag.  Place in the freezer until needed.  For best flavor, use within 6 months.

I only wish I had one of those fresh cherry pies in the freezer for this Thanksgiving and my husband here to enjoy it.

A good piecrust recipe

My favorite apple pie recipe

In the past 9+ years, I’ve been able to find Concord grapes at my supermarket only twice.  This past Friday was one of those days and although I had told my daughters we wouldn’t be having pie for Sunday dinner until after Thanksgiving (to whet their appetites for holiday pies), I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make one of my favorites.  I posted about my Streusel Concord Grape Pie back in 2007, when I had just begun blogging.  It’s a messy looking pie, but the flavor of the grapes is just incredible.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, my husband and I lived on a two-acre plot of land that included every type of fruit that grows well in our southwestern Ohio area, including Concord grapes.  I used to have five-gallon pails of them setting in the kitchen waiting for me to cook up something delicious.  The grape jam and jelly were good but the pie was a family favorite from the beginning.  It takes some time to make, but is well worth it.  Check out the recipe.

Streusel Concord Grape Pie

Our meal was also an old standby – grilled pork tenderloin, sweet potato patties, and Spinach and Mushroom Casserole.

Spinach and Mushroom Casserole

I did try out a different recipe for a marinade, based on one I saw on All Recipes.  It was delicious.

PORK TENDERLOIN MARINADE

• 2 Tblsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tblsp. teriyaki sauce
• 1 Tblsp. liquid smoke
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. onion salt
• Grating of black pepper

Mix ingredients in a 9×9 square baking dish.  Add 1/2″ thick slices of pork tenderloin and toss until coated.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours, turning occasionally.  Remove from marinade and grill – I use a stovetop grill.

Above recipe is enough to marinate about 2 lbs. of sliced pork tenderloin.

I served dinner with some fresh homemade potato rolls and enjoyed a beautiful autumn day with my family.

Easy Potato Yeast Rolls

I’ve posted before about the beautiful Amish country of Holmes County, Ohio.  My oldest daughter and I made another trip just in time for the peak colors and gorgeous landscapes.

This area is also a shopper’s paradise, particularly for quilters.  My three favorite quilt shops are Helping Hands (Berlin), Gramma Fannie’s Quilt Barn (Berlin), and Miller’s Dry Goods (Charm).

Although I buy a lot of fabric for specific quilt projects, I especially love to find a bin filled with bags of remnants.  I found three this trip – a 75-cent bag…

…a $2 bag….

…and a $5 bag.

The little Amish lady behind the counter told me the remnants in the $5 bag were from a quilt she had just completed.  I would love to see her quilt with all those pretty fall colors.

We always stay at a cottage set in the middle of Amish farms – very quiet, picturesque and charming.  There are plenty of restaurants serving Amish-style, hearty meals and lots of fun things to see and do.

I would highly recommend a visit if you’re ever in this section of Ohio.

When I met my future mother-in-law in 1951, she introduced me to her very popular Doughnut Balls.  She told me that when her four kids were little, she would get up early in the morning and make these treats before her husband went off to work so he could have some fresh and warm for breakfast and the kids could eat some later when they woke up.  Actually, the recipe is easy and quick enough to do just that.  I never made them for her son for breakfast because he preferred bacon and eggs, but I did make them many times for my own four children and my mother loved them for lunch with a cup of hot coffee.

Here’s a 1950s picture of my mother-in-law, later known as Grandma Mary, at her familiar place in the kitchen, getting a meal ready for her family.

For our first Halloween together as a married couple in 1953 before there were any children, I decided to make special treats for the “beggars” as we called them in those days.  When I was a child out begging one Halloween, word had come along the street that someone was handing out hot doughnuts.  We raced up to the house only to find they had run out, but I always thought that sounded like an ideal Halloween treat.  So, using a wedding gift electric deep fryer, I set up an operation near the door, mixing up batches of Grandma Mary’s recipe and offering piping hot, sugary Doughnut Balls to some very surprised trick or treaters.  I had also made a huge batch of hot chocolate and passed out small paper cups of this to wash down the doughnuts.

I was very pleased with my Halloween treat idea but by the next year, I had a six-month-old baby and after that there were more children and less time, so I never duplicated that 1953 Halloween.  However, we still enjoy having these Doughnut Balls for breakfast and I think of Grandma Mary every time I make them.

GRANDMA MARY’S DOUGHNUT BALLS

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 Tblsp. melted Crisco shortening
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• Crisco for deep frying
• 1-2 cups of confectioners’ sugar for coating

In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, milk, egg and melted shortening.  In a separate small bowl mix together the flour, salt and baking powder.  Combine dry and wet ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are incorporated.

Heat Crisco shortening to 365 degrees F in a large pan with a fryer basket*.  Drop batter by teaspoonful into hot shortening – 4 to 5 doughnuts at a time.  Fry for 3-4 minutes.  Doughnut balls will flip over and become golden brown on both sides.

*If you don’t have a basket, lift and turn doughnuts with a slotted spoon.

Drain doughnuts on a paper towel.

Continue frying remaining doughnuts, placing the drained doughnuts in a brown paper sack along with about a cup of confectioners’ sugar and shaking until doughnuts are coated.

I’ve never had time to count how many doughnut balls this recipe makes since it requires fast work for a few minutes, frying, draining and coating – and anyone who is in the kitchen grabs a warm doughnut as soon as it’s finished.  These are best when eaten while still warm.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Update: It’s a long time since 1953 and a different world.  I wouldn’t recommend having children eat anything homemade by people they don’t know.  But Doughnut Balls and hot chocolate would be nice for a family Halloween party!

Actually, my birthday isn’t until Wednesday, but my two daughters and I like to celebrate birthdays the entire weekend before the big day.  So, on Friday evening my oldest daughter showed up for her usual weekend visit with flowers and two pints of gelato – let the fun begin!

When I went to the kitchen on Saturday morning I found a gift on the table to think about until my daughter got up for breakfast.

It was two towels, hand-embroidered redwork with horses – I’m sure they’re harness horses.

We met my youngest daughter and her two children for lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant and did some shopping in the afternoon.

On Sunday morning, on the kitchen table was the most gorgeous box that was shaped like a book – and I wondered if it might be a book or a box with something wonderful in it.

It was indeed a box with some amazing contents:  An 1883 autograph book that belonged to a woman living in Cozaddale, Ohio – a small town close to where we live.  Each page was filled with sentimental verses in the most elegant handwriting.  Did everyone write that beautifully in the 1880s?  In addition, there was a handwritten list by the woman’s daughter identifying the people who had contributed to the book.  Then, my daughter had taken it further by finding census records for the people and information on Cozaddale, as well as locating a book written in 1960 about the founder.

And the day had just begun.  At lunchtime, my youngest daughter, her husband and children came for dinner, after which there were more gifts including a Garrison Keiller CD, a Minnesota State Fair book, microwave steamer dishes, a big brass alarm clock with an alarm I can actually hear, a new garden flag and a set of solar lights for the front yard,

…a candle, a Jadite hen covered dish, mini loaf pans, a drop cookie maker, embroidered pillow cases and embroidered redwork panels for me to use to make a quilt.

The grandchildren, known here as Jellyfish (10) and Dolphin (6), made their own special gifts.  They each made molded, fragrant soap and they made decorated boxes to hold the soap.  Dolphin also made a horse light catcher and Jellyfish worked with his mother in assembling a book of his photographs of my “favorite things” – family members, of course, and all kinds of neat things that are in my house.

As usual, the youngest daughter brought her renowned Best of Show White Cake with Caramel Frosting.  After cake and gifts, the girls, the grandchildren and I took a drive to – where else? – Cozaddale – a pretty drive on a late September day.

I was sorry to see everything end – and I don’t think it could all have been done in less than a weekend.

CREAMY TURKEY TETRAZZINI

• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 10 oz. good turkey broth/gravy
• 8 oz. cream cheese, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup chopped cooked turkey
• 2 Tblsp. chopped pimiento
• Salt/pepper
• 1 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Saute onions and celery in margarine over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Add sliced mushrooms and continue cooking until mushrooms are cooked through.  Add broth and cream cheese, stirring over low heat until cheese is melted.  Add turkey and pimiento.  Taste before adding salt – it will depend on how your gravy/broth is seasoned.  Grate some black pepper over the top.  Pour into a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish.  Top with grated cheese.  Bake @ 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile cook 7 oz. of spaghetti or fettucine according to package directions.  Drain pasta.  Serve hot chicken mixture over pasta.

Yield:  4-6 servings.

For dessert today, I made my version of Tiramisu, developed about 15 years ago when we had enjoyed the dessert at a restaurant but I had no idea of how it went together.  We all like my version which uses low-fat versions of some ingredients and 1/2 cup of Kahluha.

MY FAIRLY LIGHT TIRAMISU

• One package Italian lady fingers (about 12 lady fingers – I use Alessi Biscotti Savoiardi)
• 4 oz. light cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
• 15 oz. light ricotta cheese
• 2 cups light Cool Whip whipped topping
• 1/2 cup Kahlua (to pour over lady fingers)
• One small block of Ghiaradelli chocolate (I like milk chocolate)

In a large mixer bowl, beat together the cream cheese and ricotta cheese until smooth.  Fold in Cool Whip whipped topping.

Place half of the lady fingers in layer in bottom of 9×9″ pan.  Pour half of the Kahlua (1/4 cup) over the lady fingers.

Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture over the top of the lady fingers.  Repeat with the remaining lady fingers, 1/4 cup of Kahlua and remainder of cheese mixture.

Grate the Ghiradelli chocolate over the top of the dish.  Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Yield:  8 servings

We all agreed that it was a good meal and a little bit different even if the entree did include turkey!

Head back over to the coast for Maine’s plush foliage scene. Peak time is mid-October. The rugged coastline makes for different scenery from the rest of the northeast, and the richly forested areas just scream for attention with their bold reds, oranges, and yellows. Check out Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park and Bradbury Mountains State Park (keep your eyes peeled for hawks), both north of Portland. (Make sure you stop at the L.L. Bean Flagship Shore Freeport—open 24 hours a day!) Go inland a bit to find the Sebago Lake region—climb Douglas Mountain to see the ocean in one direction and the White Mountains in the other. Southern Maine offers boat excursions from Bath, some to Casco Bay and some to Kennebec River. A ferry service also runs to the islands in Casco Bay. Camden is a perfect place to stop, for dinner or for lodging, and also offers gorgeous ocean and mountain views, all surrounded by to-die-for foliage. Don’t forget Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island, in addition to the quaint and historic town of Bar Harbor.

Oh, and one more thing: whenever you’re in Vermont, make sure you stop by the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory in Waterbury. It truly is the greatest place on earth.

Happy Fall!

• New York City Fall Foliage on a Tank of Gas
• Boston Fall Foliage on a Tank of Gas
• 10 Great Places for Fall Foliage
• Kids are in School, Airfare is Down – Fly to US for Fall Foliage
• Fall Foliage Staycations

Now, back to Fall Color in New York City – there is plenty of it – and in each borough’s parks. Get Medieval at the Cloisters. But you may want to get out of the city to the Catskills or Hudson Valley Fall Foliage Trips – under 2 hours from Manhattan. Or go west to the Poconos and ride antique trains and admire the bright reds and oranges of Pennsylvania fall foliage.

Visiting relatives on the Island? Check out the Fall Colors on Long Island while touring one of the historic mansions. Leave the Tank of Gas at home – take the LIRR and a bike.

And if you have a hybrid and want to include some of America’s best wineries in your long weekend – don’t miss Fall Foliage in the Finger Lakes. If you pick the right weekend, you will probably get a harvest festival or two to boot.

• Special Events in Manhattan and New York City
• Places to Visit in Manhattan and New York City
• Fun Things to Do in Manhattan and New York City
• Family Vacation Ideas for Manhattan and New York City
• Romantic Vacation & Getaways in Manhattan and New York City
• Spas in Manhattan and New York City
• Other Posts on New York

New England Fall Foliage

• Cruise up the Kennebec River or take the local ferries for Maine Coast Fall Foliage.
• Almost any road and any town will reward you with views of the world-class Vermont Fall Foliage.
  
• Massachusetts Fall Foliage with some history, in Concord, MA or at the seashore in Halibut Point.
  

Mid-Atlantic Region

• Hudson Valley and Catskills Fall Foliage -Drive to Woodstock, pick up antiques and stop for the views at the Ashokan Reservoir. Visit the mansions overlooking the Hudson.
• Further north, opening up the season is Adirondack Fall Foliage, definitely a place to get away from the crowds.
• Combine the harvest festivals with Pennsylvania Fall Foliage near Lancaster in Amish country.
• Bike along the Potomac for DC and Maryland Fall Foliage.
  
• Central Park is pretty obvious for New York City Fall Foliage , but each borough has its own show. Combine with a medieval castle at the Cloisters.
• Tour of some of the historic Gold Coast gardens and mansions for Long Island Fall Foliage
• Cruises out of Pittsburgh for Southwest Pennsylvania Fall Foliage.

Rockies

• Colorado Fall Foliage is about adding 14,000 ft snow covered peaks to your orange, purple, red, green and brown pictures.
  
• Closer to Denver, enjoy Colorado Rockies Fall colors in the mining town atmosphere of Georgetown.
• Canoe trips on the Rio Chama in New Mexico.

And last but not least, for our fans in the South – Virginia Fall Foliage is at its best in the Western part of the state, in the Shenandoah, Blue Ridge and (further south) Smoky Mountains.

My mother died in 1991 – she would have been 91 years old on this November 28th.  When she was 72, she made a tape, telling all of the family stories she could recall.  She gave this accounting of the day she was born in  Morrow, a small railroad town in Ohio.

“On Thanksgiving Day my father came downstairs and he told my mother, he said, “I dreamed we had a little girl and we named her Martha” and she said, “Well, you better go get the doctor because I think your dream’s going to come true” and he went for the doctor and I was born before the doctor got there.  He went running down and said, “Hurry up, hurry up, doctor, the baby’s already here” and old Doc said, “There’s no use hurrying if your baby’s already here.”

So, we always associated Mother’s birthday with Thanksgiving and occasionally it even fell on the exact day.  In 1952, her birthday was on the day after Thanksgiving.  I had been away from home for the first time, living with my new sailor husband in Portsmouth, Virginia.  As it turned out, my husband got an early discharge from the Navy and was due to go home the first week of December.  I wanted to surprise my mother by walking in on her birthday and we decided I would go home alone and my husband would follow when his discharge came through, so we spent our first Thanksgiving together just waiting around for time for me to get on the train and never did get a Thanksgiving meal. 

I rode on the clackety train all night and arrived home on a chilly November morning.  I walked out of Union Terminal in downtown Cincinnati, hailed a cab and watched the familiar landscape go by the window with complete joy, vowing to never leave Cincinnati again.  We pulled up to the front of my parents’ little house and I got out of the cab to pay the driver.

My father was just coming through the gate and he stopped short.  He didn’t say anything to me, but turned and called back to Mother, “Lil’s home.”  My favorite image of heaven is that I will pass to the other side and will see my father in the distance, wearing his twill pants and plaid shirt.  He won’t speak to me or raise a hand in greeting – he’ll just turn to the others and say, “Lil’s home.”

I had the supreme pleasure of walking through the side door into the dining room and completely surprising Mother on her birthday. 

I know that Mother’s best gift that year was having her daughter back home and since we rented the upstairs apartment from my parents for 8 years (at the astounding fee of $12.00 a month) before our family got too large, we had a lot of wonderful times together.

I always think of Mother on Thanksgiving and all the great dinners we had together, but I remember especially the year that I was one day late for Thanksgiving but right on time for a special birthday.

I call this “Polish Stuffing” only because I got the general instructions from a wonderful Polish gentleman in my office (about 20 years ago).  I’m sure he used some kind of great sausage and maybe some extra herbs, but this was my version and my family always wants a side casserole of this stuffing for Thanksgiving.  I don’t stuff the bird with it in consideration of those who don’t like spicy ingredients in their turkey.  First, though, I make the bread that I use, an adaptation of an old Saco Buttermilk Powder recipe.

HERB BREAD FOR STUFFING

• 4-1/4 to 4-3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 packages fast-rising yeast
• 1/4 cup SACO buttermilk powder
• 2 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 2-1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tblsp. shortening
• 1-3/4 cups of water heated to 130 degrees F
• 1 tsp. sage
• 2 tsp. celery seed
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, place 2 cups of flour, yeast, buttermilk powder, sugar, salt.  Mix to blend and add the 130 degree F water and shortening.  Beat on medium high for 3 minutes.  Insert dough hook and add sage, celery, seed, nutmeg and pepper.  Beat for a total of 6-1/2 minutes more, adding flour as necessary to make a stiff dough.  If necessary, knead a small amount of flour into the dough by hand.  Cover and place in a warm spot to rise for 30 minutes.  Punch down and spread dough in a thin layer in an oiled jelly roll pan.  Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Bake bread for approximately 15 minutes until dough has baked through and the top is golden brown.

Let cool on a wire rack.  Best to make the bread the day before use and then cut it into small cubes.

Note:  If I don’t have time to make this bread, I use a purchased 14 oz. bag of seasoned bread cubes.

RECIPE FOR WALT’S POLISH STUFFING

• 1 lb. of good spicy hot pork sausage, cooked until the pink is gone
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 12 cups of herb bread cubes or 14 oz. pkg.
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Freshly ground black pepper

Mix all of the above ingredients together and place in an oiled baking dish.  Cover and bake approximately 20 minutes @ 350 degrees F.  Uncover and bake another 10 minutes.

About this time of year – a week or so before Thanksgiving, I start getting ready for the big day.  At this point, it’s mostly paper work.  I only feed 6 people but I need enough food to cover a big Thanksgiving dinner at noon, leftovers for supper and a huge bag of food to send home and eat over the weekend.  This requires organization, so this week I do my lists:  Menu, groceries needed, groceries on hand, shopping list, to do list, cooking schedule.  I do all of the cooking myself – my choice – and do as much as possible beforehand.  My family likes pie so I make a lot of them – one apple, three pumpkin and sometimes one by popular request (in past years these have been pecan, blueberry peach, grape, cherry).  Two crust pies can be made in advance and put in the freezer.  The trick is to take them out the night before and in the morning, do a quick bake to crisp them up.  I also make the pie crust for the pumpkin pies ahead of time but like these pies baked fresh on Thanksgiving day. 

My schedule calls for picking up the turkey on Tuesday so I can have Wednesday free for advance cooking.  On Wednesday, I make a Polish Sausage Stuffing, bake sweet potatoes (less marshmallows), steam cauliflower, and get fruit pies and yeast rolls made the previous week from the freezer.

Thanksgiving Day starts with having the turkey stuffed with regular dressing in the oven by 5 AM.  With more space in the refrigerator, I put the cranberry sauce inside to chill, then fill the pumpkin pies and take the turkey out long enough for them to bake.  At the same time, I crisp the fruit pies, then put the turkey back in the oven and sit down for breakfast – usually pretty light on Thanksgiving.  I prepare the relish tray, put other items in the refrigerator to chill and peel, cook and mash potatoes.  These can be kept warm in a crock pot for up to 2 hours.  Then I set the table and get the turkey out of the oven to rest.  I use this time to heat the sweet potatoes and Polish stuffing.  In the final minutes, I fry the breaded cauliflower that my daughter always requests, put the rolls in the oven and get the turkey onto a platter.  By noon, it’s time for everyone to come to the table.

Every year, I make up a souvenir menu for each person, usually using a photo from the year before.  My menu photo last year was of my youngest daughter and her children doing the traditional testing to see if the turkey is done.

I always call this my yearly cooking marathon.  I’ve had marathons in past years when I had fruits and vegetables to process quickly from a large garden and a lot of baking to do in preparation for a fair, but this is my only marathon now and I enjoy it.

There were many veterans in my family during World War II.  Three of my uncles served for the entire duration of the war.  The first uncle, Frank, was drafted before Pearl Harbor, just months after he had married a young girl who had to wait for 4 years before they could resume their married life.  Frank sent great letters home to everyone, including me.  My mother thought he made my letters especially history/geography related, assuming I’d be taking them to school and he was right.  Almost every day, someone brought a letter from some distant war zone to share with the class. 

One letter from December 20, 1943, tells about a nine-day leave he had just completed in London.  He wrote, “I saw some good shows while I was there and ate at some of the most famous places, rode the subway and two-deck buses all over, and set my watch by Big Ben.  I had a good look all over the city and London was really blown up during the blitz.”

In a letter to my father dated May 29, 1942, he tells about a radio they were able to get to listen to news from home.  “The Lieutenant got us a radio the other day – an Echophone Commercial – it is made in Illinois and it’s a pretty good set.  It has 3 wave bands.  It’s an amateur outfit something like a Sky Buddy.  It has a B.F.O. and a jack for head phones if you want to use them.  It also has a band spread.  It only cost us about $32 American and that also included one of those long fish pole aerials, too.  We get the U.S. just as clear as if we were at home. ”

Frank was a big guy, rather fair-haired with a loud voice and a hearty laugh.  He told a lot of jokes and funny stories, all of them punctuated regularly by his laugh.  In another letter to my father , Frank writes, “I am still getting close to the good earth.  I have holes dug all over to hide in and I can sure as hell use them sometimes even if it’s only to keep away from work – ha ha.”

Frank was part of Patton’s Third Army through the Battle of the Bulge.  He sent home these pictures captioned “Pagny (Moselle) France” and “Taken at Metz”.

My uncle Phil followed his brother into the service and served his time with the Merchant Marines. 

Phil didn’t write as often, but we do have a couple of letters from his training days in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Phil wrote in 1942, “Well, I guess you still feel the after effects of Thanksgiving, eh?  Did you have turkey?  We did but I didn’t enjoy it at all.  Some of the fellows here didn’t get any turkey at all.  The cooks thought they had plenty and the ones that got there first sure got plenty.”  And, “By the time I get out of here the damn war will be over.  But I can tell people I was in the Merchant Marines in St. Petersburg, Fla.  Ha! Ha!”

It turned out that he did get out of Florida and saw action throughout the remainder of the war.

The third uncle to leave, Mike, was in the Air Force, was shot down over Germany, spent about a year in a German prison camp, and eventually escaped.  He served for the remainder of the war and after coming home, became an FBI agent.

Among the letters home, I also have a letter from their mother to my parents.  I had been with Grandma many times when she went to the big rural mailbox, hoping for word from one of her sons, only to find it empty.  In her letter of February 4, 1942, she’s concerned about not hearing from Frank.  “I am so worried about Frank, I don’t know what to do.  I have cried all day.  I could just scream as loud as can be.  We don’t know where he will be.  I had my picture and a prayer book for him but now I have to wait until I hear from him.  I sent him some homemade doughnuts and an angel food cake.  He said he wouldn’t leave until Monday and here he left on Saturday.”

“Frank sent me a fine pillow top and it has Camp Walters, Texas, on it in big letters and a flag and red roses and a mother reading on it.  It made me cry as I am so blue about him.  If I only knew he would be safe. 

I will close and say goodnight.  It is 10:30 PM and it sure is raining up here – a good time for the blues.”

All three sons survived the war and came home to raise families, take up careers and eventually retire.  These three veterans are all gone now, as are most of the World War II men after over 60 years, but on this Veterans Day, it’s good to remember them and the ones they left behind.

Several years ago, my daughter gave me a great redwork piece showing Grandma and kids preparing Thanksgiving dinner.  I had just started quilting and designed a bottom piece to make a wall hanging. 

Above the Thanksgiving scene, I hang a punch needle pumpkin that my daughter made. 

She also does rug hooking and made a turkey for the front door ….

….and one with three pumpkins for fall decorating.

I look forward to getting out all these pretty things each November to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I bought this pattern while I was in Holmes County (Ohio) Amish Country earlier this year.  I thought it would make a nice wall hanging in my cheerful yellow kitchen.  The pattern is by Becky & Me and the basic pattern measures 16×16, a nice size for a pillow or a wall hanging. 

I used the fusible method of applique and decorative stitching to complete the project.  It has a nice country look for the Thanksgiving season.

We have a beautiful little park close to my house in Loveland, Ohio, where I like to take my dog, Rusty, and my four-year-old granddaughter.  There is a nice play area for Dolphin ….

For over a year, Dolphin has been fascinated by a huge tree that was cut down and is still there near a big stump. 

On Halloween Day we were surprised to find a face carved on the stump – so appropriate to the day.

There’s a beautiful bridge that connects two playgrounds and leads to a trail in the woods (Rusty’s favorite spot).

To add to the fun, there’s a pretty lake with ducks and usually a bunch of kids feeding them.  Rusty’s not choosy – he’ll sniff anywhere.

All in all, it’s a nice place to spend some time on a sunny autumn afternoon.

Maybe it’s because I was born and raised in southwest Ohio, far from Nantucket, but I had never heard of a Nantucket Cranberry Pie until I noticed one on a blog by Live, Love, Laugh and Learn.  For anyone who isn’t familiar with this dessert, it’s not a pie at all – no pastry crust, a thin layer of filling and nothing underneath the filling.  It’s not a cobbler although a batter is poured on top of the fruit.  The thin cake topping does not rise but is buttery rich and delicious.  It’s also not a cake because each layer is thin and just supports the other.  But this dessert, whatever it is,  is especially good and just meant to be eaten at a table in front of a window looking out on a clear blue autumn sky and falling leaves.

NANTUCKET CRANBERRY PIE

Filling:

• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Topping:

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 10″ pie plate.  Place the cranberries in the pie plate and toss the sugar and walnuts over the berries.

For the topping, cream the eggs and the butter with the sugar.  Add the flour and almond extract to the egg mixture, lightly tossing with a fork.

Pour the topping over the cranberry mixture.  If it’s difficult to get the topping to extend out over the filling, press down with water-damped hands to even it out.  Bake for approximately 45 minutes @ 350 degrees F.  Place on a rack to cool.

Serve warm with whipped cream.

Yield:  8 servings

I’m not an accomplished craft person, but I was able to make some cute stuffed pumpkins from a free pattern on Quilt in a Day, (see update below) called the Fall Pumpkin Patch.  There’s a small amount of sewing involved, and then some winding of jute twine and gluing of silk leaves.  I used some white chenille salvaged from a damaged vintage bedspread, but any type of fabric could be used.  The size and shape of the pumpkin depends on the amount of fabric used and good directions are given.  I gave a pumpkin to each of my daughters for Halloween, with the thought that they could stay on display through Thanksgiving.

Update:  It was brought to my attention that the free pattern apparently is no longer available on Quilt-in-a-Day.  My personal instructions are below:

Supplies Needed:

• 1/4 yd. pieces or fat quarters or any size pieces of fabric for the pumpkin
• Green, brown or orange pipe cleaners
• Tacky glue
• Raffia strands
• Jute twine
• 2″ wooden stems from tree branches
• Fall silk leaves – 2-3 per pumpkin

All of the pumpkins are made from rectangles.  They can be any size you like (9″x18″, 9″x21″, 7″x17″, etc.).  According to the dimensions they will come out short and fat or tall and skinny.

Fold rectangle in half, right sides together.  Leave a long tail of thread as you begin to sew and stitch a 1/4″ seam down the side of the rectangle.  Leave another long tail of thread attached after you finish sewing.

With a hand sewing needle, thread one tail into the needle and gather up one end of the tube from the wrong side of the fabric, 1/8″ from the bottom edge.  In other words, sew a straight line across one end 1/8″ from the edge.  Pull tightly and knot off.  Turn tube to right side.

Stuff the pumpkin with polyester stuffing or batting scraps.  With the hand sewing needle and thread tail at the other end of the pumpkin, sew a straight line across 1/8″ from the edge, pull tightly and  knot off.   The opening will be covered by the silk leaves.

Using Jute twine, leave an 8″ tail.  Starting from the top of the pumpkin, wind down the sides on the seam line to the bottom, back to the top on the other side, then turn slightly and do it again, leaving thumb or finger on top to keep twine in place.  Make 6 or 8 ridges.  Tie a knot tightly at the top and then a bow.

To decorate, glue a wooden stem into the top center opening withTacky glue.  Wind the pipe cleaner around a pencil and fold in half.  Glue the pipe cleaner into the opening.  Make a bow out of raffia and glue into the opening.  Glue 2-3 leaves to the top to cover the opening.

Display with pride.

Until I was 11 years old, we lived in a third-floor flat in downtown Cincinnati.  Those were the war years when any kind of housing was hard to get and we were lucky to have a large apartment that looked out on the huge Court Street Market.  On market day, tents took up the entire wide street and the sellers hawked their fresh produce in loud voices.  We were within walking distance of every major movie theater in downtown Cincinnati, numerous 5 & 10 cent stores and large department stores.  Those were advantages but the disadvantages were not being able to enjoy small town or suburban activities such as beggar’s night or penny night or the big Halloween celebration itself.  I understand huge crowds gathered on Halloween night on Fountain Square but they were for older people and considered too rowdy by my parents for two little girls. 

We dressed up in costume for our Halloween party at school and once I was invited to a friend’s nearby apartment for a party for the girls in our class, but otherwise Halloween passed by pretty much unnoticed.  Occasionally, a scraggly little boy would make his way up three flights of stairs to beg for pennies but begging (or trick or treating as it was later known) was not an activity that we knew anything about.

When we moved to the East End of Cincinnati in 1943, it was like going to a small town where there were a lot of German, Irish, Hungarian and black families, neat small houses with tidy gardens and BEGGAR’S NIGHT.  I wasn’t at all sure about this new event that all the kids in school were looking forward to.  The thought of traipsing up and down the streets, in and out of strangers’ houses, asking for candy just seemed so strange.  But my friends were all going out, my little sister wanted to go and surprisingly my parents agreed, so out we went.  We had orders from our parents to not even look into the saloons along the way, let alone go in one, but otherwise we were free to tramp up and down steps, go into the houses if invited and to come home with a bag stuffed with candy, gum and apples.  Nothing was prepackaged in those days and we were grateful for wrapped candy like peanut butter kisses which didn’t get all gummed up with everything else in the bag.  

I remember one year when word was passed from one gang of kids to the other that someone was giving out hot doughnuts.  By the time we made it to the house, they were out of doughnuts but I loved the idea.  In 1953, my first year giving out treats as a married woman, I used my wedding gift deep fryer to make homemade doughnuts and gave them out to amazed visitors.  And I had plenty so I wouldn’t run out before the last beggar. 

I never was quite comfortable with the affair, but my sister loved it and I continued to go begging until she was old enough to go alone with her own friends.   Now, I’ve been through the trick or treat years with 4 children and 4 grown grandchildren and this Halloween, I’m looking forward to throwing some candy into the bags of my two youngest grandchildren, aka the Mummy and Glynda, the Good Witch.

The second wall hanging was made about a year later and I did the machine quilting on this one.  This hanging won a blue ribbon at our county fair.

The third hanging also won a blue ribbon at our county fair and was made 2 years ago.  I used the same cat and moon motif to make a vest for myself, which also won at the fair.

All three pieces were appliqued using the fusing method (I’m also not good at needle turned applique).  They didn’t take long to make and are cheerful additions to my Halloween decor.

Thanks to the creative efforts of my two daughters, I have Halloween decorations all around the house – on walls, shelves, chairs – just about every surface.  The oldest daughter made the wreath and the three items that are on my piano – the scottie pumpkin is new this year.  Her blog at Salmagundi Express describes exactly how she carved and painted this pumpkin.  

Some more of her work:

The youngest daughter made the little Dracula and pumpkin man along with the door handle piece when she was a teenager.  She also made the cute candle holders.

Her main handiwork now is crocheting the most gorgeous afghans and I have one for every occasion.  She also contributes a large number of these every year to the local Linus Project.

I love to look around my house and see so many beautiful things that my daughters have made for me over the years. 

Our local park has a lovely trail that makes you feel as though you are in the woods on an old farm.  The trail is cleared enough to be able to walk comfortably and get really close to a wide variety of trees, flowers and … weeds.  My 8-year-old mixed hound, Rusty, loves to go on the trail.  Unfortunately, he has a thing about riding in cars and always looks completely despondent until I take him out of the back seat and he sees where he is.  Then, it’s pure joy as he investigates every inch of every plant on our walk. 

We didn’t expect to see any really colorful fall foliage this year after a dreary, hot, drought-ridden summer, but the trees are spectacular in spite of the bad treatment nature gave them this summer.

There are a lot of almost deformed trees along our walk.  These are two of my favorites. 

This is always a slow, leisurely walk, giving Rusty all the time he wants to sniff.  He’s had some health problems, so after 20 minutes or so, we’re both ready to head back to the car.