Smile!

You're On Candid Camera.

This is a recent picture of our granddaughter, Kira, showing off one of her birthday presents. Look closely at the jewelry set she is wearing. This set includes the tiara on her head, the necklace around her neck, and the dangle clip on earrings on her ears. This beautiful heart shaped set includes all three heart shaped, pink plastic 'stone'. The set does include a ring with the pink plastic heart, but is not visible in this picture. This beautiful jewelry set was given to Kira by her cousins from Corpus Christi, Texas. They were in town visiting for the party. This was the social event of the day with a 2 year birthday party hosted by the grandparents, Lance and Pam, at a local eating establishment. Numerous friends and relatives enjoyed hamburgers, chicken nuggets, fries, and drinks accompanied by ice cream and cake. Happy Birthday Kira!

Recipe Wednesday #17

This week I am taking another recipe from Creative Cooking. Follow this link for the whole story concerning this Recipe Booklet:

First Recipe Wednesday for Wednesday, April 30, 2008

You may also find this page by going into the Blog Archives for 2008. Look for the Wednesday, April 30th Blog post.

Now for this weeks recipe:

Guacamole

Bobbie Horst

2 medium very ripe avocados
2 medium ripe tomatoes
1 small onion, finely grated
2 small Serrano or any hot chiles, chopped, or 2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. lime juice
2 tsp. lemon juice
Dash paprika
2 tsp. salt (more or less)
Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. coriander

Mash avocados with fork. Add the other ingredients and stir into paste that is not too smooth. Note: This dish is best if made immediately before serving, but if made ahead of time put avocado seed in the spread and cover tightly to prevent darkening.

This recipe was submitted to the recipe book by my mother, Bobbie Horst. Please see the Archive post for Wednesday April 30, 2008 for the story behind the cook book.

Recipe Wednesday #9

Well let’s try to get back into a routine. This is Wednesday and I did miss a recipe day last week. More about how busy I’ve been and why I missed last week’s recipe at a later time. Let’s get right to the recipe.
-
This week I have taken the recipe from Creative Cooking, you may remember that was the cookbook inspired by and dedicated to my sister, Michal. (Refer to my previous Recipe with the Creative Cooking link. [Mouse Hint (no not the mice in your attic): When you put your cursor over the link, right click and choose "Open in New Window" or "New Tab" and you will not have to keep using the 'Back Arrow' in your Browser.] The recipe this week is another one of her recipes and is entitled Five Can Stew. I don’t remember if she ever made this when I was visiting with her. She did not do a lot of cooking when I was around. I do remember her cooking once and inviting me over for a special recipe she wanted to try. As I recall that recipe was Swedish Meatballs. I can’t seem to find that particular recipe and there is an interesting story that goes along with that recipe but, that will have to be at a later time. For now, the Five Can Stew seemed to be a proper substitute. Please try this recipe and enjoy Five Can Stew with your family and friends.
-
Five Can Stew
-
2 lb. ground meat
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (No. 303*) can mixed vegetables
1 (No. 303) can tomatoes
2 (No. 303) can whole new potatoes, diced
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce (such as Hunt’s new tomato sauce special with tomato bits, onion, celery, and green peppers)
-
Brown Meat and onion. Drain excess grease. Add vegetables, tomatoes, diced new potatoes and tomato sauce including all juices from cans. Bring to boil; simmer 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 4-6 generously.
Easy and the perfect solution to what to fix quickly after work for super.

-

*Please note: A No. 303 can is a measurement of 2 cups or 16 oz.

-
Disclaimer: Please remember that I type these things in just as they are printed from the original source in order to retain the original flavor (more than obvious reference to recipes and food) of the recipe as printed. Please note super at the end of the recipe. I guess this is supposed to be supper. I guess it could be a reference to a super supper or perhaps a super husband for whom you are preparing this supper. When I type these recipes the ‘spell checker’ and ‘grammar checker’ go wild. Recipes seem to be filled with phrases, incomplete sentences, and run-on sentences. I guess I need a ‘Recipe’ setting in the word processor which will allow these kinds of phrases which appear to be numerous in older recipes. At any rate, I hope you will try this recipe from my sister Michal. I’m sure she would hope that it will bring you and your friends and family a bit of enjoyment and fellowship at your next meal whether it is super or supper!

Oops! You can't do that.

One of my own items on the Summer "To Do List" for this summer is to organize and clean up some of the photos and videos on my computer. I was looking through some of the earliest videos taken and I found some interesting mistakes which have been made. Here I'll share one of those earlier problems which I didn't give much thought to at the time. A couple of years ago I gave one of those small digital video cameras to Pam for Christmas. You know how Christmas goes. You open the package and want to start using it immediately. No one has time to read instructions or look at the sugggestions for use. We really never did that as I remember and we have been using that camera occasionally to get short, quick videos at various special family events. What follows is one of those early videos we took at the Birthday Party for Quianna at her second birthday. She is the daughter of my niece, Meridith, and her husband, Victor. Take a look at this video:

Did you notice the problem with this video? I'm sure you noticed it needs to be rotated for the image to be upright. I knew that rotation of photo images was possible in several of the photo programs I currently use. Oops! It never occured to me that I would not be able to rotate video images, or at least if it is possible, I have not yet found the program which will do this. I would appreciate any comment which might help me with this problem.

Recipe Wednesday #7 - Oops, It's already Friday!

I guess this will have to be 'Recipe Friday #1' or maybe 'Late Recipe Wednesday #1' or perhaps it should just be 'Recipe Wednesday #7 - Oops, It's already Friday!'

-

I apologize for the late Recipe posting. I was extremely busy with close out procedures and other duties at my place of work. Some of you may know that I work in the field of education. For those who do not know, I work at a large public high school as a counselor and some of my duties include such things as preparing student schedules for next school year as well as grade and credit verifications for all grade level of my high school students, especially for those senior students who are graduating from school. This does include the unhappy task of helping those students with the upset of failing grades and incomplete credits. These students will either not promoting in grade level or will not graduate. They must plan for summer school or some other means of recovering the grade and credits required. As you can imagine the end of the school year can be one of the busiest times of our year. For another perspective and for a look at a different level of education and how busy the school year can be for educators you might be interested in my brothers Blog post "It's Always a Learning Experience" or "The End of an Era-Sort Of". These give his "perception of the world" as another educator. He is a kindergarten teacher at his current school assignment in Central Texas.

--

Well, whatever the reason for the tardiness (more than obvious reference to the classroom and education) and whichever title you prefer, here is the Recipe for today:

---

----

Aunt Dora's Pulled Mints

-

2 cups sugar, 1/2 stick butter, 1 cup water, 1/8 tsp. oil of peppermint.

--

If color is used, add at the first and cook in coloring. Combine ingredients. Put on stove and boil to 264 degrees F (hard ball). Pour out on marble. Cool 2 or 3 minutes. Make a fingerprint in the center of the candy and put in it 1/8 tsp. of peppermint. Fold all edges over. Pull until stiff, with little ridges. Stretch out on the edges of marble, away from the hot-spot. Cut with scissors. Leave on marble and cover with wax paper for the night. Store in airtight box. Might need to put a little butter on hands for pulling.

---

Now, for the story behind this recipe. No, I don't have an Aunt Dora and neither does my wife! I was looking through one of our family recipe books for this weeks recipe. I found a piece of paper with a recipe printed on each side of it. This is not a hand written recipe. It was printed for public distribution by some individual or group. There is no other identification or reference to anyone or anything other than the two recipes. Neither my wife nor I are familiar with the recipe or the paper and where it might have come from. The cook book in which I found the paper is entitled "The Family Cookbook". I have not used this book for any recipe yet. The paper looks like it might have been cut or torn from another part of some kind of circular or advertisement. I simply thought the recipe looked good and it seemed like it might be easy to try. Please enjoy "Aunt Dora's Pulled Mints".

Grandparents - 2, or Two Grandparents

Pam and I are doing that Grandparents thing again (see my previous Blog from March 9, 2008). We have the granddaughter, Kira, for the day since mom and dad are both at work. Although it is work tending to a young child (I'm not sure we can say she is a baby now - she is growing up so fast) it is one of those things you don't mind and one might say it is even enjoyable. This is the 'Second' Blog entry for this topic - thus the title 'Grandparents - 2' but, Pam and I usually do this together as 'Two Grandparents'. I never really thought much about what these kinds of days might be like before I actally became a Grandparent. Yes, there have been some trying and even painful times going through through that 'Parenting' process. Yet, it has all been memorable and the Grandparenting thing seems to be making it all worthwhile. My brother recently entered his Blog on "Re-Looking at Re-Cycling" and it occured to me that Grandparenting is 'kind'a like' Re-Cycling Parenting.

I will occasionally Re-visit this topic of Grandparenting to share some of my thoughts and experiences on the topic.

Now for the real reason for this particular blog post - an opportunity to share with you the joy of Grandparenting:

Nap Time, No Not Yet!

Recipe Wednesday #6

This week I’m going to give a recipe for another one of my all time favorites, a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Rather than give the simple and quick version of this all time favorite, I decided to look at some of my recipe books and see what kind of recipes might be suggested for the plain and simple Grilled Cheese Sandwich. This recipe is taken from the following source: The Modern Family Cook Book, by Meta Given. The copyright date is 1953 and it was previously published in 1942. The recipe is for ‘Cheese Toasties’ on page 175. I believe we got this book from my wife’s mother after she passed away. As you can see by the date it is no longer so “modern” but I’m sure it was for my mother-in-law when she first got the cook book. I found the recipe to be an interesting variation on one of my own personal favorites, the grilled cheese. Here follows the recipe for “Cheese Toasties” which you may share with your family and friends for a delightful summer snack.

Cheese Toasties

½ pound American cheese, grated
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
2 to 4 tablespoons milk
Dash salt
6 hamburger buns
Butter

Mix grated cheese with mustard, milk and salt. Split buns in half, toast or not as desired, and spread cut surfaces with butter and cheese mixture. Place under the broiler and toast until cheese is puffy and golden brown. Serve hot. 5 or 6 servings.

Recipe Wednesday #4

Sometimes I find simple, easy recipes on the package or box for some food item I have bought at the local grocery store. The following recipe sounds like it would be very good and seems to be a simple as could be. This recipe was found on the side panel of a box of 'Kroger' brand 'Boil-in-Bag Rice'. With a little variation in ingredients and amounts the recipe could be easily changed to fit your own personal or family tastes or needs. I have not tried this recipe but I plan to soon make a:

"Quick Chicken Dinner"

1 bag Boil-in-Bag Rice

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 teaspoon thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 can (14 1/2 oz) stewed tomatoes

1 medium green pepper, cut into strips

1 cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Prepare rice while chicken is cooking. Sprinkle chicken with thyme, salt, and pepper.
In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil. Stir in all ingredients except rice. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, until chicken is done. Serve chicken mixture over hot cooked rice. Serves 4. Refrigerate any leftovers.

See below:

Recipe Sunday! Or is it Mothers Day Sunday?

Recipe Sunday? Wait a minute, I think I have something wrong here. Recipe day in this Blog is supposed to be Wednesday. Well this will be a variation on that weekly Blog Post to commemorate my sister, Michal, and Mothers Day Sunday. As previously mentioned Michal passed away after a brief battle with cancer. This was also after she gave birth to her first and only child, Meredith. As I explained earlier I am getting some of my recipes from the cookbook, "Creative Cooking" published for a young women's group from her church, West University Baptist Church. Instead of a recipe I have chosen to take an excerpt from a page entitled

"FOOD FOR THOUGHT"

"(Some of Michal's favorite scriptures)"

"You are the world's seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world? And you yourselves will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the world's light - a city set on a hill, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father."

Matthew 5:13-16

Please note the obvious reference to flavoring or seasoning - that is the recipe connection. What I noted was the positive message and thoughts of praise. That was my sister, Michal. Positive and thoughtful for all of those around her, even in her most trying of times.

You may see a picture of my sister, Michal, on my Second Recipe Wednesday.

Here is a picture of my daughters, Janna and Kari, with Michal's daughter, Meredith.

Here we have my wife, Pam, and my daughters, Kari and Janna.

Happy Mothers Day! (Pam, Kari, Meredith, and Michal)

and also to Britt, Thomas' mother (Kari's mother-in-law)

Recipe Wednesday #3

We need to get a main course meal for the weekly recipe.

The recipe this week came from a cook book we got from my wife's parents house after her mother passed away. The copyright date for this cook book is 1953. The recipe itself was not one of the recipes from the book. Instead, it was a recipe clipping from a newspaper or magazine which I found in the book with some other handwritten recipes and other papers. The date on one of these papers was May 11, 1965. I believe the following recipe was a clipping from the late fifties or early sixties which may have been found and cut out to be kept in the cook book for later use. I don't know if this recipe has ever been used by my wife or her mother. Pam did not remember the recipe either. Please try this recipe and see if it is right for you and your family. Enjoy!

Swiss Steak – Hunt Style

1 ½ lbs. round, chuck, or rump; Flour
1 medium sized onion, sliced; 3 tbsp. chopped green pepper
3 tbsp. fat; 1 can Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
1 cup water; 1 ½ tsp. salt; ¼ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Pour flour into steak and pound it in with edge of plate. Cook onion and green pepper in fat until tender. Brown meat on both sides in fat. Add delicious, spicy hunt’s Tomato Sauce, water, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Cover and simmer about 1 ½ hours or until meat is tender. Your family will rave . . . and you will save!

The following is a scan of that original newspaper or magazine clipping:

Now and Then

How about some 'Now' and 'Then' photos. I'm going to try showing you some recent photos and then comparing them to some past photos. Well, well, well, this could be interesting!

Janna and Kari (with Kira) 'Now':

and

'Then' (notice what they had with them then):

Thomas, Kari, Kira, & don't forget Bruce 'Now':

and

'Then': (No, Bruce is not in this picture.)

Mom and Dad 'Now' (well, not exactly now but at least more recent than the next photo):

and

'Then':

Recipe Wednesday

As I mentioned last Wednesday, I will endeavor to bring you a new recipe every Wednesday on the HORST ONLINE Blog. This week I will again take the recipe from the 'Creative Cooking' cookbook published by the West University Baptist Young Women in 1978. This week I will use one of the recipes submitted by my sister, Michal Cook. She was a member of West University Baptist Church and part of the W. U. B. Young Women group. My sister passed away in March of 1977 after a brief battle with cancer and this cook book was dedicated to her. The dedication began with:


"This book is dedicated to Michal Cook, whose Christian spirit and faith under severe trial deeply affected our lives for our eternal good."


Please try, and enjoy the following recipe from Michal. This sounds like another good recipe for some summertime enjoyment.






CREAM OF CUCUMBER SOUP


Michal Cook


In the container of a blender combine:


2 c. peeled cucumbers, coarsely chopped
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. light cream
¼ c. chopped chives
¼ c. chopped celery leaves
3 sprigs of parsley
3 Tbsp. soft butter
2 Tbsp. flour



Cover the container and blend the mixture until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve either hot or cold. If served hot garnish with a very small amount of dill weed. If served cold, garnish with finely chopped cucumbers and a bit of grated lemon rind.

Recipe Wednesday

New Feature!

Recipe Wednesday: I was looking through an old recipe book and I got the idea for a regular feature for my HORST ONLINE Blog. Every Wednesday I will endeavor to share a recipe from one of my numerous recipe sources with my Blog readers. The first recipe I share with you comes from 'Creative Cooking' a recipe booklet published by the West University Baptist Young Women. This was a social group at the Church my sister, Michal, attended when she first moved to Houston and after she was married. I will share several recipes by family and friends from this book and I will have more information about the recipe book in later blog posts. Let's get started with the recipe for now. The following recipe was submitted to the book by my mother, Bobbie Horst. I don't really ever remember her making this recipe, but I did find it in the recipe book. It sounds like it might be a good recipe for summer. Here we go with:

PICKLE SCRAMBLE
Bobbie Horst

1 (16 oz. ) bottle whole dill pickles
1 (16 oz. ) bottle whole sweet pickles
1 (16 oz. ) bottle whole sour pickles
1 cup brown sugar

Reserving juice from each jar, slice all pickles into strips. combine juice from each jar and add sugar. Stir well. Mix pickles together and add pickle liquid and sugar. Let stand in a large jar (or return mixed pickles to indivudual jars) for 12 hours or more. The longer their their flavors mix together, the better and crisper they are. For those who like pickles, this is a super recipe.



Please note: I have not personally tried this recipe as I just recently found it in the book. I do hope to try it soon. As already mentioned I don't remember my mother making Pickle Scramble for our family. If any of you Horst family members remember this recipe please leave me a comment to let me know. You are all invited to try it out and enjoy! Please come back for more recipes in future posts.

That Teacher Thing!

My brother recently wrote to an issue in one of his blog posts. Something about the Good, the Bad – no make that the Good, the Stupid (see his blog post for Sunday, April 6, 2008 by clicking on the link). The post dealt with some recent news stories he had seen or heard concerning educational type issues and the good or bad (stupid) results which follow. I’ve noticed that my brother and I frequently do similar things and this is one of those things. I tend to focus on education related news items and pay close attention to those stories. In fact, I had heard both of those same stories in the news and had some of the same thoughts as my brother concerning the issues related in those stories. I recently read a Letter to the Editor on the Editorial Page of the Houston Chronicle. This letter dealt with a tendency among many in this country to place the blame for the failures in education on teachers rather than on any personal, family, or social issues which might be involved. Please read that letter ‘Tired of being Scapegoat’ for the entire story. In her letter to the editor the writer refers to ‘Back to School’ a previous editorial about the No Child Left Behind Act. I agree with the writer of ‘Tired of being Scapegoat” wholeheartedly!

Now I’ll get to the point of this whole story. I’m trying to figure out if this is a family thing or a teacher thing. I believe this is one of those ‘teacher things’ since I taught school for a number of years before becoming a school counselor. My brother is also a teacher and has also been a principal and administrator in some of the districts in which he has worked. My sister was also an elementary school teacher and had worked at both private and public schools. Well now wait a minute. Now this is starting to sound like a family thing! How did we all end up being teachers? Neither my mother nor my father were teachers. I do remember though that they were both frequently at school for various reasons. My mother was in P.T.A. and I believe she may have been P.T.A. president a time or two. My father always came to school any time there was an event like the Fall Carnival or May Fate Dance. That was where each class in each grade level learned some sort of dance like a May Pole dance or Square dance. Each grade in turn went out onto the playground to perform their dance for on looking parents. Wow, what an event! Maybe that is why I hate to dance but, that is another whole topic.

For more information about my brother and his family as well as pictures of my sister you may visit his Blog at Horst Household Happenings. He has a Picture Monday thing where he posts old pictures from our childhood. Some of them or pretty interesting and they are a quant reflection on past times. They show what it was like for us growing up in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Now there is the History teacher in me. Maybe it is a 'teacher thing' after all!