DENT KNEES CHEESE SOUP (Like Denny’s)

DENT KNEES CHEESE SOUP (Like Denny’s)

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Joy Of NOT Cooking – Any More Than You Have To (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Nov. 1983, p. 71).

Slightly different than Big Boy’s Canadian Cheese Soup is this creamy cheese soup – with just a bit of minced ham in it – at Denny’s. When we enjoyed it at their Carson City (California) restaurant, it was like this…

INGREDIENTS:

5 TB butter or margarine

10-oz can [condensed] Cream of Chicken soup

10-oz can [condensed] Cream of Celery soup

[5-oz] Kraft’s mayonnaise

8-oz jar Cheez Whiz

14-oz can clear chicken broth

Salt & pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put [first 5 ingredients, as listed] into a 1½-qt saucepan, stirring constantly, over medium heat, until smooth. Stir in broth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir then occasionally until piping hot – but do not let it boil! Serves 4-6 nicely. Do NOT freeze this soup (due to the mayonnaise in it). Keep [leftovers, if any] refrigerated and well covered, to be used within a week.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Making Mondays Memorable

VINEGAR PIE

VINEGAR PIE

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Joy Of NOT Cooking – Any More Than You Have To (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Nov. 1983, p. 148)

INGREDIENTS:

14-oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup light vinegar

1 tsp bottled [or fresh] grated lemon peel

3 raw egg yolks

Baked & cooled 9” pie shell

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine first five ingredients listed, beating with an electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth. Pour into pie shell and chill for several hours before cutting to serve 6. Garnish slice with crushed pecans or walnuts or chopped Maraschino cherries.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Virtual Shopping Slays Malls

CHOP SUEY BUNS, WITH MACKINAC FRUIT BARS VARIATION

CHOP SUEY BUNS, WITH MACKINAC FRUIT BARS VARIATION & THIN VANILLA ICING

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in her self-published cookbook, The Joy Of NOT Cooking – Any More Than You Have To (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Nov. 1983, p. 182).

Chop Suey Buns:

INGREDIENTS:

2 2/3 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 TB baking powder

1 tsp salt

¼-lb butter, melted & cooled

1 cup milk

2 TB sour cream

3 eggs

½ cup each: chopped candied cherries, scissor-snipped dates, raisins, and chopped walnuts

1 tsp bottled grated orange peel

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine [first 4 (dry) ingredients] in a medium bowl. [In a separate bowl,] Beat [next 4 (wet) ingredients] together until well combined. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture. Stir with mixing spoon to completely moisten all dry particles and then stir in remaining ingredients.

Grease 18 muffin wells with Crisco. DO NOT flour them. Fill each ¾-full with the batter, which will be thick! Bake at 400°F about 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans while warm. Makes 18 large buns.

Mackinac Fruit Bars [Variation]:

Prepare Chop Suey Buns batter (above) and spread it evenly into bottom of a 9”x13”x2” cake pan. Bake at 400°F, about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes and apply Thin Vanilla Icing [2] over top and sprinkle with pecans. Cut into bars. Makes 3 dozen [small] bars.

Thin Vanilla Icing [See “Recipes” tab: Thin Vanilla Icing (2)]

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Unforgettable Family Fun

Pillsbury-Style Hot Rolls Mix

Pillsbury-Style Hot Rolls Mix (with Dinner Rolls & Sticky Buns – options)

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Joy Of NOT Cooking – Any More Than You Have To (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Nov. 1983, p. 134)

LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING about the Hot Roll Mix that may save you some time and trouble! When I was putting the ingredients together, testing the best combination for an at-home version of the store brand mix, I found that the smaller the quantity you made, the easier it was to mix and blend the ingredients.

If you double or triple the mix ingredients (to store for 90 days or longer), per directions in the recipe; remember to also double or triple, as the case may be, the mixing time. The milk powder must be thoroughly distributed throughout the flour mixture.

You can sift it or shake the mixture through a wire sieve several times or you can use a portable electric mixer on low speed to blend the dry mix ingredients. But, for every 3½ cups of the mix, you will follow the yeast, water, sugar portions, as noted in the recipe.

For a quick-rise hot roll mixture, in which you don’t want to wait through two risings, add an extra package of yeast to the water and sugar, when you prepare the rolls. You will have more of a yeast flavor in the rolls with the added package, but it will double in bulk in half the time.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

3 level TB Crisco

1 TB sugar

¼ cup dry milk powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a medium-size mixing bowl, blend all ingredients thoroughly, using a wire whisk or potato masher. (I prefer the whisk.) When mixture is even in texture and of very fine particles, equal almost to that of gravel, store the mixture in a well-covered container and keep it at room temperature, to be used within 90 days. You can keep it up to 6 months if you refrigerate it. And it keeps up to a year if you freeze it. Makes 3½ cups of mix [enough from which to make 6 rolls].

TO USE THE MIX: (for Dinner Rolls)

1 envelope dry yeast

½ cup lukewarm water

1 tsp sugar

3½ cups Hot Roll Mix [above]

Soften yeast in warm water and stir in sugar. Let stand in a cup until it bubbles. (About 5 minutes.) Stir it into the Hot Roll Mix. Be sure that all dry particles are completely moistened in the yeast mixture.

Knead it with lightly floured hands – in the bowl – until smooth and elastic in texture. You should not have to use more than 2 or 3 TB flour, while kneading this dough. Place dough in greased bowl, turning dough once to grease top of it. Invert a second bowl, greased inside, over the bowl of dough and let it rise about an hour or until doubled [in size].

Punch it down and knead it about 8-10 times, in the bowl. Let it rise again, until doubled. [Split and] shape into 6 balls, equal in size. Place in greased muffin wells. Wipe top of each in soft butter or margarine and let rise until doubled, in a warm place. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 6 rolls.

HOT ROLLS’ STICKY BUNS (option):

Prepare the Hot Rolls’ Dinner Rolls (above). After the last rising [divide and] shape into 12 balls [and set aside]. Prepare the following syrup:

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

3 TB butter

2 TB honey

2 TB water

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a small saucepan, combine [ingredients], over medium-high heat. Stir until it comes to a boil. At once, remove from heat. Divide equally between 12 ungreased cupcake wells. Drop the 12 balls of prepared dough into these. Let rise in warm place 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan half a minute and invert onto greased platter. Scrape down any excess syrup mixture and spoon over rolls. Makes 1 dozen.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – The Joy Of Copycat Cookery

Chocolate-Covered Cherries

Chocolate-Covered Cherries (from 2 other recipes)

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Joy Of NOT Cooking – Any More Than You Have To (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Nov. 1983).

THERE ARE MANY BASIC ingredient recipes that you can convert into other forms than [for] what the original mixture is intended. One of my favorites is a candy mixture that was originally developed to use on our coffeecakes and yeast breads, as a basic icing.

I prepared it one day, intending to use it on the coffeecake that was then in the oven, but was interrupted when a radio station phoned and asked me to fill in for a guest who couldn’t make it. So I poured the icing into a container, put it in the refrigerator, and forgot about it, until the next day.

I was interested in the texture – how it had thickened and stabilized to the point that it could be shaped into balls and dipped into melted chocolate and flavored in various ways to become any number of kinds of candy.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe of “Vanilla Candy Icing” [see “Recipes” tab]

1-lb candied cherries

¼ cup light Karo syrup

1 recipe of “Truffles ” (using almond extract instead of coconut)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare 1 recipe of our “Vanilla Candy Icing” [see “Recipes” tab]. Mix candied cherries in light Karo. Use coffee cream plastic cups, as in “Truffles ” recipe [or use ice cube trays]. Prepare [“Truffles ”] chocolate mixture with almond extract instead of coconut.

Drop enough chocolate mixture into each cup to coat bottoms. Drop in a cherry and enough icing to fill cup 2/3 full. Add warm chocolate mixture over this to fill the cup. Let “set” 2 hours. Do NOT refrigerate or chocolate will change color.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – New Beginnings

VANILLA CANDY ICING

VANILLA CANDY ICING

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes© Book (Secret RecipesTM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 220)

THERE ARE MANY BASIC ingredient recipes that you can convert into other forms than [for] what the original mixture is intended. One of my favorites is a candy mixture that was originally developed to use on our coffeecakes and yeast breads, as a basic icing.

I prepared it one day, intending to use it on the coffeecake that was then in the oven, but was interrupted when a radio station phoned and asked me to fill in for a guest who couldn’t make it. So I poured the icing into a container, put it in the refrigerator, and forgot about it, until the next day.

I was interested in the texture – how it had thickened and stabilized to the point that it could be shaped into balls and dipped into melted chocolate and flavored in various ways to become any number of kinds of candy.

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup margarine (or butter)

¼ cup light corn syrup

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup milk

Dash of salt

4½ cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

Bring [first five ingredients] to a boil in a 1½-qt saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly and reducing heat, as necessary, to keep mixture boiling at 1” below rim of pan. The higher the heat, the more apt it is to boil right out of the pan and create a mess. You might even have to remove the pan from the burner to let the boil subside and then return it to a lower heat.

After the first, hard, brisk boil, set your timer for 5 minutes to let it boil gently, while stirring almost constantly. Remove from heat entirely and, with a portable electric mixer on medium speed, beat in powdered sugar [a little at a time] and vanilla, until smooth.

At this point, it is ready to use as an icing on coffeecakes, preferably, or yeast rolls or yeast breads. It is a bit too heavy in consistency to frost a cake. Makes about 4 cups of icing. It freezes well, to be used within 6 months.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – New Beginnings

Peppermint Patty Balls

Peppermint Patty Balls (from Vanilla Candy Icing & Truffles recipes)

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes© Book (Secret RecipesTM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 220)

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup margarine (or butter)

¼ cup light corn syrup

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup milk

Dash of salt

5 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp peppermint extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

Bring [first five ingredients] to a boil in a 1½-qt saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly and reducing heat, as necessary, to keep mixture boiling at 1” below rim of pan. The higher the heat, the more apt it is to boil right out of the pan and create a mess. You might even have to remove the pan from the burner to let the boil subside and then return it to a lower heat.

After the first, hard, brisk boil, set your timer for 5 minutes to let it boil gently, while stirring almost constantly. Remove from heat entirely and, with a portable electric mixer on medium speed, beat in powdered sugar [a little at a time] and peppermint extract, until smooth. Beat it thoroughly, and for at least 5 minutes, as it will thicken more quickly as it’s beaten longer.

Scrape it from the mixing bowl into a large Cool Whip bowl, covered securely and refrigerating it for at least 15 hours before using. Shape the mixture into 1” balls… and arrange in single layer on cookie sheet. Chill these while you put [together the Truffles recipe (pictured below), doubling the paraffin and omitting the coconut extract].

[NOTE: If you don’t have canning paraffin on hand, melt small, clear, colorless birthday candles, removing the wicks.]

Secure chilled icing balls, 1 at a time, with toothpick. Dip to coat in chocolate [Truffles] mixture. Let dry on waxed paper. Makes about 50.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – New Beginnings

TRUFFLES

TRUFFLES

By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… The Original 200 Plus Secret Recipes© Book (Secret RecipesTM, Marysville, MI; June 1997, p. 199)

INGREDIENTS:

12-oz pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

1-oz unsweetened solid baking chocolate

4-oz German Sweet Chocolate bar [or Nestle’s Milk Chocolate]

2 TB melted paraffin

1 TB coconut extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

Melt over gently simmering water [in a double boiler, the first four ingredients]. When smooth, stir in coconut extract. Use as molds, the plastic containers in which cream is served in a restaurant, [or something similar] which looks like a large thimble. Have your friends [and family] save them for you! Line them up side-by-side on a cookie sheet. Fill with warm candy mixture. Let stand at room temperature until firm. Do NOT refrigerate or chocolate will change color.

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

See also…

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – New Beginnings

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Making Mondays Memorable

Happy New Year! Additionally, #TGIM – Thank God Its Monday and, as such, #HappyMonday to everyone! I look forward to every Monday because it’s one of my 52 Chances each year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you!

#TheRecipeDetective

#ThankGodItsMonday

Today is so inspiring, to me because it’s National Thank God Its Monday Day – which is always the first Monday of the first Month of the new year. A lot of people bash Mondays – like the Grinch bashes Christmas – but, to me and many others, Mondays represent new beginnings, which always offer new opportunities.

#TGIM

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-thank-god-its-monday-day-first-monday-in-january/

As NationalDayCalendar.com claims: “Mondays are often full of new beginnings…Not only does the observance focus on the first Monday in January, but on every Monday throughout the year.” I LOVE that! Especially since I write these blog posts, in memory of my mom, every Monday and they always energize and inspire me for the rest of my week’s workload. I can only hope they energize and inspire others, as well.

NationalDayCalendar.com suggests that we… “Stop shaming Monday and look at what Monday has to offer… 52 chances to see a beautiful sunrise… share your talents with the world… teach someone a new skill that will better their lives… of meeting new people.”

Since reading that a few years ago, I now see Mondays as my 52 chances to share memories of my mom and tell her story, over and over again; hopefully, re-inspiring someone else’s love in the kitchen, in the home and family, throughout the neighborhood and around the world. Mondays were always one of Mom’s favorite days, also.

FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

As seen in…

My Cup Runneth Over and I Can’t Find My Mop (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989, pp. 54-55)

RADIO AND BOB ALLISON’S ‘ASK YOUR NEIGHBORS!’

RADIO turned out to be the most appropriate way by which we made people aware of what we were doing…my involvement with the wonderful world of radio actually came about without any specific intention of becoming a regular part of the broadcasting field…

I didn’t know I had what is considered ‘a radio voice’. Heaven knows our five kids will, to this day, even in their adulthood, testify to the fact that, on occasion, during their up-bringing, I had been known to discover conditions that would prompt me to accelerate, vocally, in a pitch that only dogs in the next county could here!

My introduction to radio began with Bob Allison and [the] ‘Ask Your Neighbor’ show. I was folding diapers at the kitchen table, waiting for my favorite daily segment of ‘My True Story’ to come on the air when, instead, WWJ [a Detroit area radio station] announced that it had been replaced with a NEW show.

This new show turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me…almost every Monday morning I [would] visit with Bob Allison and his neighbors…

NEIGHBORS

When ‘My True Story’ was replaced by Bob Allison and his ‘Ask Your Neighbor’ show… I was, at first, very disappointed. Household hints and problems around the house that you cannot solve yourself seemed like just too much homemaking information to please me.

I soon, however, became ‘hooked’ on the show, as almost everybody does, to the point that, on Fridays, when Bob would sign off and say he would talk to us again on Monday, I was spending the weekends just looking forward to the show on Monday.

I called the show about 2 or 3 times a month for the first year or two, to ask questions of Bob’s “neighbors” that my newspaper column readers were asking me. When I couldn’t find the answer from consulting other sources, I knew I could rely on Bob Allison’s ‘neighbors’ to come up with the right answers for me.

In return, I would often… phone in an answer that I occasionally had in reply to one of their questions or recipe requests. Bob did not recognize my voice as a regular caller until I had initiated the newsletter, however.

He asked me where the [hamburger sauce] recipe came from that I was giving, in reply to one of his listener’s requests, which is how his program has always worked… In mentioning that the hamburger sauce recipe would appear in the next issue of my monthly newsletter… Bob reacted with great interest and curiosity.

‘You have a newsletter, do you?’ He asked. ‘Well, tell us about it and how much it is and where our neighbors can get it.’ That was all it took to get us well-acquainted with Bob’s ‘neighbors’ and, in no time at all, our subscription orders went from a few to many.

‘Don’t count your days, make your days count!’ – source unknown

#LearnSomethingNewEveryDay

Reading more and learning something new every day have been other successful New Year’s resolutions of mine, which I continue to repeat each year. Mom instilled in me, when I was very young, the importance of knowledge and to Learn Something New Every Day! As the old adage indicates, knowledge is wealth!

There was a time when women and girls weren’t even ALLOWED to read or learn anything other than how to be a good wife and homemaker. Unfortunately, I think that’s still so in some places around the world. So even evolution, itself, is still evolving.

Over the past few years, in my own quest to Learn Something New Every Day, NationalDayCalendar.com has been one of my favorite go-to-sources for information. Something is celebrated every day of the year even if it’s not a federal holiday and I’ve found National Day Calendar’s website to be a really great source of information about what’s being commemorated (and how) each day, every week, and in all months!

Some of January’s month-long observances include… National Blood Donor Month, National Hot Tea Month, National Mentoring Month, National Oatmeal Month, National Slow Cooking Month, National Soup Month, and National Sunday Supper Month!

#NationalSlowCookingMonth

#NationalSundaySupperMonth

#NationalSundaySupperDay

Disappointingly, January’s celebrations of National Slow Cooking Month and National Sunday Supper Month, plus, this coming Friday’s National Sunday Supper Day aren’t done much in America – not even by British/Irish descendants, from where the tradition supposedly originated.

The practice of Sunday suppers has been traced back to the UK’s Renaissance Era, when families congregated after church for a large meal; with a slow-cooked pot roast, being the traditional choice. The Sunday supper gathering was where you usually learned about your family’s stories and history, traditions and beliefs.

Royal bodyguards were supposedly known as ‘beefeaters’ because of their love of eating roasted beef. This actually became the design for Beefeater restaurants, also known as The Sign of the Beef Carver restaurants. Mom imitated many dishes from them. Here’s one (below) from Mom’s self-published cookbook, Eating Out At Home (National Home News, St. Clair, MI; Sept. 1978, p. 22).

#NationalHobbyMonth

Additionally, January is also National Hobby Month. Thus, I want to re-share one of Mom’s stories (aka: memories) about her dining room table, family-based business not being a hobby. It was her profession, career, and livelihood; but it was never work – not to Mom – and certainly never a hobby!

MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

As seen in…

My Cup Runneth Over and I Can’t Find My Mop (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989, p. 53)

RISKY BUSINESS

THERE ARE MANY RISKS involved with going into business for yourself, no matter what product or service you intend to offer. If I had thought more about the risks, than I did about the possibilities, I never would have moved an inch toward doing any of the things about which I now write. My husband is not a risk-taker. I am. We complement each other well. He still becomes uneasy and anxious about every new idea I have for another book or another project, on the basis that ‘we can’t afford it.’

I have learned, over the years, to keep many of my projects to myself until they are completed; which, in the long run, saves Paul from worrying unnecessarily about something that will very likely turn out well, and keeps me from worrying that Paul is worrying.

When I have been asked about goals or destination, it is been my feeling that every corner I turn has a new goal, a new destination awaiting us. I have never thought of any one point as being the top. Life has so many wonderful opportunities for each of us to take advantage of, that it does not seem reasonable that I should give myself the limitations that would determine just how far I should be able to go.

Because this was never a hobby, never WORK, never a job, I have had no problem with the worry or concern that accompanies a position from which one expects to retire. I would not want to give up what I have been doing [writing] since I was a child. It would be unfair to have to give up doing something that has also brought so much pleasure and good information to so many people.

It was, however, only when I realized WHAT I should be writing about and what I should be sharing with the readers – what I knew best – that things really began to happen. Of course, my husband wisely reminds me, when someone asks about writing their own cookbook, that WRITING it is the easiest part. Knowing how to SELL it is the hard part!

LAST THOUGHTS…

Back to Sunday suppers – Did you know that there’s a difference between “dinner” and “supper”, even though many people use the terms synonymously? Dinner is a large meal, usually eaten about mid-day (aka: lunch); while supper is a lighter meal, with something like soup and a sandwich, that’s eaten in the evening.

Another difference between the two terms, according to Merriam-Webster.com (Jun 28, 2018), is that “Supper is used especially when the meal is an informal one eaten at home, while dinner tends to be the term chosen when the meal is more formal. In some dialects and especially in British English, supper can also refer to a light meal or snack that is eaten late in the evening.”

IN CLOSING…

In honor of January, being National Soup Month, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Dent Knees Cheese Soup”; as seen in her self-published cookbook, The Joy Of NOT Cooking – Any More Than You Have To (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Nov. 1983, p. 71).

#NationalSoupMonth

P.S. Food-for-thought until we meet again, next Monday…

#LearnSomethingNewEveryDay

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

The first week of January celebrates, among other things… National Diet Resolution Week, National Celebration of Life Week, and New Year’s Resolutions Week! 

Today is… National Buffet Day and National Cream Puff Day!

Tomorrow is… National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day, National Drinking Straw Day, and National Fruitcake Toss Day!

Wednesday, January 4th is… National Missouri Day, National Spaghetti Day, and National Trivia Day!

Thursday, January 5th is… National Bird Day, National Keto Day, National Screenwriters Day, and National Whipped Cream Day!

Friday, January 6th is… National Bean Day, National Cuddle Up Day, National Shortbread Day, and National Technology Day! 

Saturday, January 7th is… National Tempura Day! Plus, since it’s the first Saturday of January, it’s also… National Play Outside Day, which is the first Saturday of EVERY MONTH!

January 8th is… National Bubble Bath Day, National English Toffee Day, and National Joy-Germ Day! Plus, as the second Sunday in January (2023), it’s also… National Mocktail Week, National Folic Acid Awareness Week, Universal Letter Writing Week, and National Pizza Week (which always start on the second Sunday of January).

#TGIM

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-thank-god-its-monday-day-first-monday-in-january/

…1 down and 51 to go!

Mondays & Memories of My Mom – Unforgettable Family Fun

Thank God It’s Monday and, as such, #HappyMonday! I personally look forward to all Mondays because they’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you!

#TheRecipeDetective

#FamilyFunMonth

We’re in the final stretch of August’s National Family Fun Month observance (for 2022) and quickly approaching Labor Day weekend – the unofficial end of summer. Kids are starting to return to school – some this week and some next week. From some of Mom’s syndicated columns, about spending the summers with us kids at home and underfoot, you’d think it was totally unbearable. In fact, she and Dad made our summers unforgettably FUN!

We lived on the beautiful banks of the St. Clair River. We had a dock from which we fished and swam, as well as a small, family-sized, Chris-Craft boat, in which we’d cruise up and down the river throughout the summer months. By the way, Chris-Craft started their boat-making empire in Algonac in the late 19th century.

I remember Mom taking us kids to the Algonac Lion’s Club Field, in town, where we enjoyed youth activities and crafts. Afterwards, we’d go next door to the community pool, with money we got for swimming, plus a little extra for a drink and snack at the concession stand. I always thought those were FUN days – at least they were for me.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Dad was involved with the Pearl Beach Lion’s Club, near our house. The Lions aren’t a fraternal or political group like many other “clubs”. Nor were they a “social” organization but they did host a lot of family and community events and activities throughout the year, every year – and still do.

According to Dad, the Lion’s Club is simply an organization of people who care about their neighborhoods and get together to do things they can’t do alone. They’re always willing and able to give their time, energy, and resources in service to their community and others. Back when Dad was a member, only men were allowed to join. Since 1987, women have been allowed to join, too.

Below is a picture of me, my siblings, and 2 neighbor-boys, standing in front of the Algonac Lions Club trolley that was in all of our local parades. I think this was from Labor Day weekend, 1970, and we got to ride on the trolley, with Dad, during the parade.

#PureMichigan

We had many family fun summer vacations, as I was growing up. My personal favorites were the trips we took “up north”.  We went all over “the-tip-of-the-mitt” and into the U.P. I remember looking for Petoskey stones on the beaches along Lake Michigan, climbing among the rocks at Tahquamenon Falls, and seeing the ships go through the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie.

Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island were the best places of all. It offers an amazing experience that takes you on a journey through time, to Michigan’s earliest known history of settlers, with two big forts to tour, as well other terrific sights – there’s no way to pack it all into one day.

In fact, just last month, Michigan’s Mackinac Island [Was] Named ‘Best Island In The Continental US (ClickOnDetroit.com; 07/13/2022). Michiganders have always known that Mackinac is quite a treasure, nestled in the north end of Lake Huron. Now the whole country is in on our secret!

Mom has duplicated many treats and dishes from the local restaurants and shops there, as well as from the luxurious Grand Hotel’s dining room. I’m only half-way through creating a “Master Index” list of all Mom’s copycat recipes from all of her books. As of right now, there are over a dozen recipes listed from this area. I want to eventually add all of her newsletters to the “Master Index”, too, but I’m missing a lot of them.

Going to Cedar Point, in Sandusky (Ohio), was another highlight of our summers, with a ton of unforgettable family fun; going on all the rides and eating ridiculous amounts of junk food. Sometimes we’d also spend the night at The Breakers hotel, next door, on the beach.

Mom often duplicated some of our favorite carnival treats at home to bring back those memories. So far, six are listed in the “Master Index” that I mentioned above. Maybe that’s why I fell in love with the television show, “Carnival Eats”, hosted by Noah Cappe, when it came out in 2014.

Mom really enjoyed watching it with me, too. We both thought it was a really fun and innovative way to do food reviews of those sinful culinary noshes, in which we allow ourselves to indulge, at least once in a great while.

We also went often to Toronto and Niagara Falls, in Ontario, Canada. Every year we went, it seemed like both beautiful towns kept growing bigger and bigger with more exciting things to see and do; plus, even more great places to enjoy a snack or meal.

Mom always found new treats from the fudge shops and bakeries, plus dishes from the local delis and restaurants, to imitate when we went home. So far, there are almost a dozen listed in the “Master Index”, from these two areas but I know she has more from these towns, as well.

A couple of times, we drove to West Virginia for a family reunion and to visit our relatives from Dad’s side of the family. Both of his parents were from neighboring counties in West Virginia. Mom’s story (below), Vacation Returns (OR The Last Resort), is a spoof of one of those road trips and what it was like to travel that long with five children in tow.

Eons before cell phones, tablets, and other such data/electronic devices, Mom kept us all entertained on road trips the old fashioned way – with travel games like “20 Questions” and “I Spy”; plus, various versions of “Trivia”, “Story Chain”, “The Name Game”, and “The License Plate Game”.

An online survey of Americans, conducted in 2016, by the National Recreation And Park Association, found that the three most typically preferred summer fun activities (among all the different age groups) were walking/hiking, going to the beach, and having a picnic/barbeque. That sounds about right, still today!

Michigan has 3,288 miles of beautiful, fresh water coastline, surrounding most of the state. That’s a lot of beaches – and there are even more beaches along the state’s many in-land lakes and rivers, as well. It’s no wonder that going to the beach, swimming, and other water-related activities are the preferred fun activities, on hot summer days, among most (if not all) Michiganders.

LAST THOUGHTS…

Like I wrote in beginning, it’s the last days of August’s National Family Fun Month celebration. While we’re quickly approaching Labor Day weekend, families everywhere are trying to squeeze in one last “summer blast” before the kids settle back into their usual school routines.

How do you celebrate the end of summer – a weekend vacation, a day at the beach, or a barbeque in the backyard? Mom liked to celebrate right at home, whenever my siblings and I went back to school, saying that’s when her vacation began.

IN CLOSING…

In honor of TODAY, being National Chop Suey Day, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Chop Suey Buns, Like Ann Page’s” and her “Mackinac-Style Fruit Bars” variation (with a repeat of her “Thin Vanilla Icing”, for either or both); as seen in her self-published cookbook… The Joy Of NOT Cooking – Any More Than You Have To (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Nov. 1983, p. 182). I also shared these recipes in April 2021, with Kathy Keene on WHBY’s “Good-Neighbor” show.

#ChopSueyDay

#GloriaPitzersCookbook

https://www.balboapress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001062253

P.S. Food-for-thought until we meet again, next Monday…

#LearnSomethingNewEveryDay

August’s observances include: National Dog Month, Happiness Happens Month, International Peace Month, National Brownies at Brunch Month, National Catfish Month, National Goat Cheese Month, National Golf Month, National Panini Month, National Sandwich Month, and Romance Awareness Month!

Today is also… National Lemon Juice Day!

Tomorrow is… National Toasted Marshmallow Day and National Beach Day!

Wednesday, August 31st is… National South Carolina Day and National Trail Mix Day!

Thursday kicks off September, which observes (among other things)… National Better Breakfast Month, National Little League Month, National Americana Month, National Blueberry Popsicle Month, National Chicken Month, National Courtesy Month, National Honey Month, National Italian Cheese Month, National Library Card Sign Up Month, National Mushroom Month, National Potato Month, National Rice Month, National Sewing Month, National Self-Improvement Month, and National Whole Grains Month!

Thursday, September 1st is also… National Chicken Boy’s Day and National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day!

September 2nd is… National Blueberry Popsicle Day! Plus, as the first Friday in September (for 2022) it’s also… National Lazy Mom’s Day, National Food Bank Day, National College Colors Day, and National Chianti Day!

September 3rd is… National Welsh Rarebit Day and U.S. Bowling League Day! Plus, as the first Saturday in September (for 2022), it’s also… National Tailgating Day! Additionally, the first Saturday of EVERY MONTH is also… National Play Outside Day! Plus, according to AwarenessDays.com, the first Saturday in September is… International Bacon Day!

Sunday, September 4th is… unofficially Labor Day Eve (2022), as well as National Spice Blend Day, National Wildlife Day, National Newspaper Carrier Day, and National Macadamia Nut Day! Plus, as the start of the first FULL week in September (2022), it’s also… National Waffle Week!

#TGIM

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-thank-god-its-monday-day-first-monday-in-january/

…35 down and 17 to go!