Savory Saturdays

This isn't a family recipe, but it's always been in my family and is one of my favorites that Mom used to make.  While the final product looks like a brownie when cut into pieces, the flavor is more unique and rich.

Sharing these recipes with you has brought back such fond memories, that I hope to continue this every Saturday.  May you enjoy every bite!

Texas Cake

4 T. cocoa

1 C water

2 sticks oleo

Mix together and bring to a boil, slightly.

Mix:

2 C sugar

2 C flour

1/2 t. salt

1 t. soda

2 eggs

1/2 C sour cream

Add the chocolate mixture, mix together well.  Pour into lightly greased pan 15x10x1.  Bake at 350°  for 20 to 25 minutes.

Frosting:
4 T. cocoa
6 T. milk
1 stick oleo

Heat until oleo melts.  Pour over 1 lb. powdered sugar.  Add 1/2 t. vanilla.  Spread on warm cake.  Enjoy!

Monday's Musings

Monday is my favorite day.  Scout's honor.  Maybe because it's a fresh beginning; a chance to start afresh.

This makes me realize why I liked the beginning of each school year.  No matter how bad the previous year ended, I knew that this was the year everything would turn around for the better.

Various scents also have a fresh beginning smell.  New textbooks when you first crack them open and bend your nose over the pages to take that first whiff of a new book aroma.  Each year was also the time for new clothes and shoes.  As my mind wanders, I remember the smell of crayons, the vinyl in 3-ring binders and my floor mat for kindergarten naps.  Each scent evokes such pleasant memories.

May this week bring you a fresh beginning as you recall the favorite times in your life.

Savory Saturdays

The smell of caramel corn will always evoke warm memories of my maternal grandmother. I would like to take today to share her recipe with you in hopes you will start sweet traditions with your loved ones.


Mimi's Caramel Corn

1 C sugar
1 stick margarine (oleo)
1/2 C syrup
1/2 t  salt
1 t  soda
4 quarts popped corn

Combine everything except soda.  Cook 260°.  Drop small amount in cold water.  If it is hard, it's done.  Remove from stove and add soda, stirring rapidly.  Pour over corn in a large pan, stirring corn so it will cover.

Put in 250° oven for 1 hour.  Stir every 15 minutes.

Note:  dark Karo syrup and sorghum added can give additional flavor.

Friday's Fair Memories

The seventies were an interesting decade.  Funny how ten years can have so many changes.  I entered the decade playing Barbies and exited as a woman starting college.

While I would love to be this thin, young girl again, I wonder if girls today would be caught dead in cut off shorts.  This was a generation of doing with what you had and making it last.  At least, this was how it was with my family.

I was blessed to grow up in a two-parent family where weekends were spent with the simple pleasures of camping.  My family shared our time together playing board games and cards along with a lot of laughter.

Dad is gone and time with Mom is occasional, but these memories will hold me for a lifetime. May you all find those sweet moments in your life to see you through the rough patches.

Let There be Peace

My intention for this blog was strictly to be humorous.  I wanted to be the female equivalent to Dave Barry.  However, in light of this week's horror in Boston, felt more inclined to the somber side of life.

So many posts on Facebook asked what is wrong with the world.  I'm not sure that anything has changed in the world, with the exception of instant coverage.  We are made aware immediately and graphically when things go awry.  Mankind has always had those individuals bent on cruelty starting at the beginning of time with Cain killing his brother Abel.  Hitler murdered 5.5 million Jews and millions of other people deemed racially inferior.  Idi Amin was President of Uganda for a mere eight years, yet an estimated 100-500 hundred thousand people were killed under his regime.

The United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor and we retaliated with dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.  Gang violence and innocent victims caught in the crossfire, school shootings, shootings in movie theaters are all examples of deranged individuals expressing their demented world views on people unaware.

We say we will never allow such atrocities to continue, but each time I tell myself there's nothing I can do, then I am turning my head away from what is happening and refusing to help.  Yes, I believe there is more good than evil.  People have always been more than generous in helping with both time and money.

The world still needs more love.  Can we all make an effort to step away from our cell phones for just an instant and look up and smile to those around us?  People are lonely; people are craving for attention and validation; they want to know that they matter to us.

Will evil ever be eradicated?  As long as humans continue on this earth, I suspect evil will be present.  Perhaps, though, we can make an effort to care just a bit more.  Smile, be present, listen to those around you.  Let's make sure we let others know we see them and let them know they are worthy; they have a purpose.

Boston and Beyond

The media is once again honing in on tragedy.  Yes, the bombing in Boston needs to be covered.  We must find the culprit and seek out justice.  But, to what end?  The fact that I'm writing about this subject adds to the fuel of frenzied feelings.

In all honesty, I haven't watched the coverage on television or listened to the radio.  As I was driving to work on Tuesday, one station wasn't reporting the news, they were playing the sounds of the tragedy.  People screaming, the second explosion, crying, running.  I had to turn the dial.

We shouldn't be like ostriches with our heads in the sand, but I don't want to be a spectator in someone's grief.  My fear is that so much coverage gives glee to the person(s) responsible; giving them power.

Can we find a way to report without sensationalizing?  Perhaps if we tone it down and strictly report the facts, we show whomever is responsible that we're not going to sit glued to the television and watch with horror every play by play scene.  Let's reclaim our power from these murderous individuals.

Blessings to Boston

As a child, I remember my mom finding me crying in the garage and asking what was the matter.  I told her the neighbors were arguing and it broke my heart to hear people at odds with each other.

The world has grown and so has its problems.  Even though I, too, have grown, tragedy still tears at my heart.  My thoughts and prayers are with those who's lives are scarred by today's bombings in Boston.  My heart goes out to all as they move beyond today's terror.