Monday, May 30, 2011

The Monday Recipe Blog

How is your Monday going?  Time seems to be flying by this year!  Here is a nice Lois Elaine Mueller recipe for you to try....

This blog features Lois Elaine Mueller's recipes every Monday. Lois' heyday was in the 1950's and 1960's, and her children swear she was the best cook that ever lived. Many baby boomers will remember these mouth-watering recipes, and these dishes are just as tasty today as they were in the sixties.

Lois Elaine made her own frostings for her homemade cakes, and everyone knows that the frosting defines the cake.  Here is a recipe for an Orange Cream Frosting that will just make your mouth water....

Lois Elaine's Orange Cream Frosting:

Combine 3 c. sifted powdered sugar, 1/3 c. butter, 1/2 t. shredded orange peel, 1/4 c. hot orange juice, 1/2 t. lemon juice and a dash of salt.  Add a few drops of yellow food coloring (optional).  Beat at high speed till smooth.  Add more powdered sugar, if needed.  Spread on the cake, and cut into squares.  Top each square with a bow made from a strip of orange peel;  Stud with a whole clove.

Friday, May 27, 2011

The Friday Dog Blog

Hello, and what a great Friday!  Here is a nice dog for your entertainment.

It's Sofi the Talking Schnauzer again, this time emerging from her bath.  Sofi hates getting wet, and uses her "don't ever do this to me again" stare whenever she takes a dip in the tub....

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Remember on Memorial Day

It's that time of the year, again.  The time when people visit cemeteries and "decorate" graves.  A time to remember the ones lost in war, giving their lives for our freedom.  A time to remember those who served and have gone on, like my father. 

Please don't forget to remember. 

Monday, May 23, 2011

The Monday Recipe Blog

How's your Monday going, everyone?  Ready for another week of work?  Here's a recipe to get you through the week. 

This blog features Lois Elaine Mueller's recipes every Monday. Lois' heyday was in the 1950's and 1960's, and her children swear she was the best cook that ever lived. Many baby boomers will remember these mouth-watering recipes, and these dishes are just as tasty today as they were in the sixties.

Today we have a recipe for Gum Drop Cake.  The '50's and '60's were known for their inventive recipes, and this is one of them.  This cake actually has gum drops in it.  As goofy as some of these recipes may sound, they all turn out delicious!  Be aware that you need a tube pan for this recipe.

Lois Elaine's Gum Drop Cake:

3 c. sifted flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c. applesauce
2 c. chopped dates
1 pound gumdrops (remove the black ones before measuring), cut into quarters
3/4 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped

Sift flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together.  Cream butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs.  Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with applesauce.  Fold in dates, gumdrops and nuts.  Spoon into well-greased 10 inch tube pan and bake in a slow oven, 300 degrees, for 2 hours.  Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes.  Remove from pan and continue to cool. 

This cake improves on standing, but must be stored in a cake box or wrapped well.

Friday, May 20, 2011

The Friday Dog Blog

Hello and happy Friday.  We're still in May and twister season - watch out for tornadoes!

Max the superdog exhausted himself with various heroics.  After gathering his toys and treasures for a much-deserved rest, he fell right out of bed.....

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Disc Golf, Anyone?

Went out for another round of disc golf last weekend.  Had a nice outing, a long, healthy walk in the fresh air, and a really good time.  If you haven't considered this fun game, you really should.  Almost every town has at least one disc golf course, usually maintained by the city or by disc golf enthusiasts, and usually on city-owned property.  Most disc golf courses that I have played are in city parks. 

A disc golf course is usually 18 holes, just like a regular golf course, with a tee box and a basket instead of of hole in the ground on the green.  The point of the game is the same as in regular golf - Put your disc in the basket in the fewest number of throws. 

The best part of disc golf is that it's usually free.  Purchase a couple of discs (driver and putter) and you're good to go.  Although they look like the old frisbees, they are different, and you should really have disc golf discs rather than toy frisbees purchased at the discount store.  Discs are generally around $10.00 or so, and I've found that the Internet and places like Academy Sports have good selections.

Speaking of the Internet, there is a wealth of information out there about disc golf, including sites that list the disc golf courses in the U.S.  Just Google it.

I also play regular golf, and while I enjoy it, I've found that it tends to be much more stressful and a lot more expensive than disc golf.  Also, because golf clubs are heavy, I use a golf cart on the course, but always walk the disc golf course, making disc golf a lot healthier.

You can play disc golf even if you have never thrown a frisbee.  It's not hard, and there aren't a lot of nuances involved with flinging a disc (unless you are a pro). 

Disc golf is something you can play by yourself, with another person or an entire group.  And it sure beats walking around the block for exercise!

Monday, May 16, 2011

The Monday Recipe Blog

Hello, hope you are having a great Monday - here is a recipe, just for you!

This blog features Lois Elaine Mueller's recipes every Monday. Lois' heyday was in the 1950's and 1960's, and her children swear she was the best cook that ever lived. Many baby boomers will remember these mouth-watering recipes, and these dishes are just as tasty today as they were in the sixties.

Today, we have a recipe for Brown Sugar Chews - these are walnut cookies, and Lois Elaine specialized in cookies, so you are going to love these!  AND, the walnut is a super food....

Lois Elaine's Brown Sugar Chews:

1 egg
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. sifted flour
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1 c. coarsely-chopped walnuts

Stir together egg, brown sugar and vanilla.  Add sifted flour with salt and baking soda.  Add walnuts.  Bake 18-20 minutes in a well-greased 8 inch square pan at 350 degrees.  Cookies should be soft when taken from the oven.  Cool in the pan.  Cut in squares.  Makes about 25 cookies.

Friday, May 13, 2011

The Friday Dog Blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw&NR=1

Hello and happy Friday!  Doing something a little different today for the Dog Blog.  This may be the funniest dog video I have ever seen, and I HAVE to post it here. I have watched it about 10 times, and that's not enough! I hope this link works - if not, I apologize in advance!!

**I have fixed this link and I think it actually works now....

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Time For Another Ghost Story....

Doesn't everyone love a good ghost story?  Especially when it involves a place that we know well?  I came across another good one the other day, involving an area around Tishomingo, Oklahoma.  I grew up north of Tish, and have been there many, many times.  Tishomingo was the original Oklahoma Chickasaw capital, and the old, stately building still stands proudly there today.  Tishomingo is the home of Murray State College, an excellent 2 year school.  Part of its beauty comes from its river, the great Blue.  When I was a kid, there was a terrific swinging bridge over the river - cars would creep across and the bridge would swing back and forth.  Crazy stuff.

Many of Oklahoma's ghost stories come from our Native American population, and the Tishomingo story today is no exception.  If anyone knows the area around Tish well, and has seen the burial mounds mentioned in the story, please post a reply - I would love to take a look at them.

Credit goes to legendsofamerica.com for this story, which was written by Charles M. Skinner in 1896.

A Battle in the Air


In the country about Tishomingo, Indian Territory, troubles are foretold by a battle of unseen men in the air. Whenever the sound of conflict is heard it is an indication that many dead will lie in the fields, for it heralds battle, starvation, or pestilence. The powerful nation that lived here once was completely annihilated by an opposing tribe, and in the valley in the western part of the Territory there are mounds where hundreds of men lie buried. Spirits occupy the valley, and to the eyes of the red men they are still seen, at times, continuing the fight.

In May, 1892, the last demonstration was made in the hearing of John Willis, a U.S. Deputy Marshal, who was hunting horse-thieves. He was belated one night and entered the vale of mounds, for he had no scruples against sleeping there. He had not, in fact, ever heard that the region was haunted. The snorting of his horse in the middle of the night awoke him and he sprang to his feet, thinking that savages, outlaws, or, at least, coyotes had disturbed the animal. Although there was a good moon, he could see nothing moving on the plain. Yet the sounds that filled the air were like the noise of an army, only a trifle subdued, as if they were borne on the passing of a wind. The rush of hoofs and of feet, the striking of blows, the fall of bodies could be heard, and for nearly an hour these fell rumors went across the earth. At last the horse became so frantic that Willis saddled him and rode away, and as he reached the edge of the valley the sounds were heard going into the distance. Not until he reached a settlement did he learn of the spell that rested on the place.

Monday, May 9, 2011

The Monday Recipe Blog

Hello....Happy May Monday - Hope things are going well in your neck of the woods!  Here's another Lois Elaine Mueller recipe for you to try -

This blog features Lois Elaine Mueller's recipes every Monday. Lois' heyday was in the 1950's and 1960's, and her children swear she was the best cook that ever lived. Many baby boomers will remember these mouth-watering recipes, and these dishes are just as tasty today as they were in the sixties.

Today we feature Lois Elaine's recipe for Bacon Wilted Lettuce.  This is a dish that I grew up with, and I'm sure a lot of you did as well.  My mother always had a big garden, and May was the month that produced a lot of lettuce, straight from her garden.  One of her favorite dishes was wilted lettuce.  She always had a metal container on the stove that held bacon drippings, and it was always used for this recipe or that.  Before it's pointed out that bacon grease is unhealthy, I have to say that my mother is 84 years old, my grandmother died at 92 and my grandfather lived to be 91. 

Some of Lois Elaine's recipes also featured bacon drippings, so I have to believe that the use of this tasty oil was not limited to farm families.  Anyway, here is Lois Elaine's recipe for Bacon Wilted Lettuce....

Lois Elaine's Bacon Wilted Lettuce:
1 bunch of leaf lettuce
1/4 c. sliced green onions
6 slices bacon
2 T. bacon drippings
1/4 c. vinegar
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1 t. dill weed

Tear lettuce into sald bowl.  Add onions.  Cook bacon until crisp, drain and crumble.  Add vinegar, salt and pepper to bacon drippings and bring to boil.  Pour over lettuce and onion.  Toss lightly with bacon and dill weed.  Serve immediately.

Friday, May 6, 2011

The Friday Dog Blog

Hello, and TGIF!!!  Here's a dog for your viewing pleasure....

Geina's Bella loves the camera.  She really LOVES the camera!  In case you can't tell by the black leather nose and swooping eyebrows, Bella is a Schnauzer, the best breed of dog in the world!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

My Schnauzer Flunked Out Of School!

Hello, and hope your Wednesday is not stormy - we're into May and that makes me nervous.  Tornadoes love the month of May in Oklahoma.

The resident Schnauzer has been in school for the past 8 weeks, working very hard to learn all of her lessons.  This is her third semester - puppy class, beginner class and now novice class.  Novice class has proven to be much more difficult that the other two.  The demands were pretty stringent, both on the pup and her handler (me).  Hold the leash THIS way, move your feet THIS way when you turn.  Begin walking off the LEFT foot when heeling, and the RIGHT foot when leaving the dog.  I thought I was back in grade school.

But the bowser loved going to class, and seemed to get a lot out of it, not the least of which was seeing tons of other dogs.  The entire semester led up to the big final exam, which consisted of proper heeling, a figure eight, leaving the dog and walking several yards away and calling her, and she comes immediately and sits prettily.  Also the dog in a sitting position, leaving her, walking away while she sits for one minute.  And last, the dog in a down position, walking away while she lays down for 3 minutes.  Whew.  It's safe to say I dreaded this thing for an entire week, because the rover has an attention span of a gnat and for her to pass everything was a real shot in the dark.

The big night arrived, and the canine was wild as usual.  But to my amazement, she breezed through every single test.  Until the last one - the 3 minute down.  I had no worries, this one she handled on a weekly basis - I would consider this her best area.  For some reason, she had the ability to lay there and just look around for 4 or 5 minutes - 3 minutes was nothing!  Week after week she would nail the 3 minute down.

Of course, she has a mind of her own.  And her mind decided that on this night she would not down for even a minute.  The kindly judges allowed her to try again.  And again.  And again.  To no avail.  She would down, I would walk away, and when I turned to face her, she would pull herself up and leisurely stroll toward me.

No matter how well she did on the other areas, she could not pass the course if she completely failed in an area.  So we took the walk of shame out the door, while the English Setter, the big bulldog-type thing and the Doberman Pinscher received their diplomas and box of dog yummies.

The red-faced pooch and I have decided that this failure was actually a good thing - a character builder and a defining moment in the life of a dog.  NOT!

Maybe my grade-school dropout and I will venture to the dog park on Saturday.  She will be lurching ahead of me, nose to the ground, walking around on her hind legs and generally annoying all of the other dogs, and I will, as usual, just smile at the absolute best little dog in the world.... 

Monday, May 2, 2011

The Monday Recipe Blog

Happy May, everyone!  Here's a recipe for you to try....

This blog features Lois Elaine Mueller's recipes every Monday. Lois' heyday was in the 1950's and 1960's, and her children swear she was the best cook that ever lived. Many baby boomers will remember these mouth-watering recipes, and these dishes are just as tasty today as they were in the sixties.

Our recipe today is for Creamy Chocolate Frosting.  When Lois Elaine was making her great cakes, there was no frosting in a can.  She made her own, and collected quite a few frosting recipes.  If you ever make your own frosting rather than reaching for a can, you will know why cakes in the '50's and '60's were so much better than today....(and this recipe has NO harmful preservatives!)

Lois Elaine's Creamy Chocolate Frosting:
Combine in bowl and beat until creamy:
1 3-oz pkg cream cheese
2 T. milk

Add and beat until smooth:
2 envelopes Nestle's Choco-Bake (substitute chocolate powder here, I don't think Choco-Bake is made anymore), 1/2 t. vanilla, 1/2 t. salt.

Blend in gradually:
2 c. sifted powdered (confectioners') sugar

Fold in 1 c. heavy cream, whipped.