Memories of Grandpa Nelson

I finally found these old emails from July 2002 when Deni, Darin and I were doing this "Sister Survey" thing, where one of us would ask a question and we would all reply. Below are the answers to a question I asked about Grandpa Nelson. I always hoped we'd move on to talk about the other grandparents but we never quite got there. Guess that's what this cookblog is for.

Unfortunately Deni's answer is missing. I might have it somewhere and if I find it I'll add it here. I think I remember her saying that her memories weren't nearly as vivid as ours but when she thought about Grandma and Grandpa Nelson she remembered feeling very safe and loved, which I think is how we all felt.
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From Dione: When I wrote Karyn the letter about the furniture, I realized that since Grandpa Nelson died when I was only 10 or 11, I don't have nearly as many memories of him as I do of Grandma, which I think is kind of sad. (Sorry, I'm pregnant, hormonal, and sentimental.) Tell me about one or more memories you have of Grandpa Nelson.

From Darin:MEMORIES OF GRANDPA: His calmness. His quietness. His gentleness. Him working in his workshop building things (and hiding out from grandma!!!), (sometimes building cool things, like a staircase for my Barbies.)

Yardwork. He was always busy making their yard beautiful on McBryde. I remember Grandma running him ragged and haranguing him, and him just good naturedly taking it...most of the time. And those occasional yummy times when he'd snap back at her.

I remember when he retired and the two of us used to go pick Grandma up at Macy's after work. "Downtown."

I remember snuggling in the middle of their bed while they read their morning devotional and drinking my teensy cup of coffee w/way too much sugar in it.

I remember going to church w/ him & Grandma at Grace Lutheran and how he "shot the breeze" with the other "ushers."

I remember those Sundays after church and "supper" when he used to take Grandma and me for rides up to Tilden in that car I bought from him yrs later just so he'd stop driving. (By then, he steered and Grandma drove..."Ed, you're running off the road, pull to your left.")

One of my most precious memories is when I first started working at Chevron and had moved out. I used to drag my dirty laundry over there every week to use their machines. Grandma would try to wash it, Grandpa would insist on helping me fold it, and just the two of us would talk about Chevron, and South Dakota. Grandma was off in the kitchen cooking dinner.

In the latter years, him sneaking cigarettes off Chuck and them smoking out in the backyard where Grandma could see them.

And then, in the middle somewhere, camping, when they packed everything and the kitchen sink--it was like setting up a Mash unit when they went camping with Maurie and Janice at Lake Mendocino. the "bug tent."

From Dione: Re: Grandpa Nelson, I can't tell you how glad it made me that his calmness, quietness & gentleness were first on your list. Rolling through my memories of him, I realized that I couldn't remember the sound of his voice. (That's not true of the other grandparents, aunts & uncles). I remember spending time with him, but the times I remember are very quiet and calm. I wasn't sure if that was true or if I'd just forgotten...

I remember the sound of his electric shaver and the smell of his aftershave as he got ready in the morning. I remember the way a smile would slowly break across his face and turn into a huge grin. I remember him sneaking fresh baked cookies when Grandma wasn't looking. I remember he made his scrambled eggs too runny.

I remember playing a zillion games of Crazy Eights with him. I remember sitting on his lap and holding the magnifying glass for him while he read the paper. I remember how patiently he helped Grandma put up zillions of Christmas decorations. I remember spending a week alone with him, dreading it at first, because what would we do without Grandma? But then wishing I could stay longer because we'd had so much fun.

I remember there was something incredibly comforting about the routines of their day-to-day lives:

• The way Grandpa brought their coffee to bed every morning (using the same two cups every day and yes, mine in a teensy cup with lots of milk and sugar.)
• Snuggling with them during their morning devotional. (Did we all get to do this?)
• Eating something yummy for breakfast and then watching them play pinochle while I finished my hot chocolate.
• Eating a big supper at noon while they watched "Days of Our Lives" and then hanging out in the kitchen with Grandpa while he did the dishes. (For some reason I thought it was so sweet that he did them...Maybe this is why I'm still so charmed by the sight of a man doing dishes. To this day, I only buy the green Palmolive liquid that they used -though my bottle doesn't wear an apron - because the smell of it immediately transports me to their warm, cozy kitchen or to the camping trip when Grandma taught me to do dishes standing on a little stool in front of a red dishpan (and every day after that I begged to do those dishes because I thought it was so much fun.)
• Covering them with beach towels and tucking them in for their afternoon naps and then playing quietly to the sound of their snoring. (Same two towels every day. Grandma gave me Grandpa's towel, which is practically in shreds now, but I could never throw it away.)·
• The tiny glasses of red wine they drank each afternoon (doctor's orders!) and how they thought it was so darn funny to occasionally switch their wine with my grape juice and then wait for me to be shocked by the nasty taste.

I remember the time when Danny and I were very little and Grandma got us all dressed up for church in our bright white Easter outfits and then told Grandpa to watch us while she got dressed. Somehow we sweet-talked him into handing over a bag of chocolate Easter eggs. He didn't want us to make a mess so he made us eat them outside...in the hot sun. By the time she was ready to go, we were both covered in chocolate. Boy did he get in trouble.

I remember the time he braved snakes, spiders and rats to rescue a puzzle piece I dropped through one of the cracks in the deck. (I thought that was the ULTIMATE declaration of love.)

I remember how much Grandma missed him when he was gone and dreamed of seeing him again in heaven one day... Always made me hope I'd love someone that much someday...

From Darin: (Answered above...but naturally has more to say after reading Dione's remembrances) Dione's remark, "I remember there was something incredibly comforting about the routines of their day-to-day lives" was very true/touching w/me also. It's one of the things I've faulted myself on not giving my girls, that structured of a routine.

I remember explaining to a therapist how I felt guilty about this, and she asked me to describe a day/week at the Good's...and she said "whether you know it or not, that IS Structure." Well, it wasn't structure compared to the comfort of structure at grandma's, but maybe the best a working mom can do these days.

I was also touched by Dione remembering about the disappointment, worry, anxiety of "being stuck" alone w/Grandpa until Grandma got home from work...until you learned that he was a pretty different, more playful, etc., kind of guy away from her scrutinizing eyes : ) That was one I had to catch on to, too. Grandma sort of stole the show, but when the Cat was away, the Mouse was a fun grandpa.

My big thing about Grandpa Nelson was that I always thought their Marriage was sort of 'way ahead of its time', as far as sharing traditional duties like housework, etc. I always admired him for that, still do. Probably part of it might have been from being raised on farms, where everyone pitched in and helped with everything, but in the 60's, my dad & my friends' dad's didn't do housework, etc. Then again, their wives didn't run grocery stores and work in shipyards. So that from the time I first started catching onto Grandpa being that way until we lost him, I always respected him tremendously for that.

As for Grandpa and the Heroic Puzzle Piece...sorry, but that pales in comparison to what my favorite, heroic Aunt Marge did when I was about 4or 5 and I dropped my colorful plastic bracelets into the toilet in her bathroom where there was actual poop in the toilet (probably David hadn't flushed, he never did)...she Reached In, Retrieved Them, Washed Them Off, and Returned Them. I was impressed for years by her bravery.Probably until I owned my own toilet and realized that you couldn't flush plastic bracelets or Buicks down toilets without having serious plumbing problems that made your husband go absolutely NUTS, as witnessed by when Katie pee'd her pants at age 3 and flushed the evidence.

This Picture Just Made Me Happy

From Darin:
Thanks for posting the pics, Dione. This one just made me happy, so I had to post it here. I don't think I've ever seen it before. There's so much going on in this picture--you and Grandma Bea in private conversation...but it captured the essence of Grandpa Nelson for me: How many guys would take time to notice the doll? This just captured his spirit for me and took me back to what a special guy he was.

Mom's Layered Vegetable Salad

This is a fantastic salad. Found this recipe in the Grace Lutheran Cookbook, pg. 13 but have seen others through the years.

Of course I made changes.

1 head lettuce (wash/dry and chop in small pieces) line the bottom of pretty bowl
5 stalks celery (coarsely chopped) next layer
10 oz pkg. frozen peas (3rd layer) Do not cook or thaw
Green pepper (sliced thinly) 4th layer (or red pepper would be nice)
I bunch of green onions. . . cut in thin slices
Broccoli florets . . . cut in small pieces (I put this layer on top of the green onions.)

"Frost" with mayonnaise (I used Best Foods lite) carefully sealing the ingredients. Refrigerate 5 - 24 hours. I like to make this salad the day before and because it is sealed with mayo, the vegetables are really crisp.

Just before serving spread a layer of grated cheddar cheese
3 sliced hard boiled eggs (optional)
1 or 2 thinly sliced tomatoes on top.

The neat thing about this salad is that you can use any vegetables you want. Grated carrots would be nice, sliced red pepper, cucumbers, radishes, thinly sliced red onion. . . whatever.

As you can see it makes a great presentation. Mix together at the table just before serving. The leftover salad was even crisp and good the next day.

From Dione: Mom said that we should pay attention to what order the layers go in because it's prettier if different colored layers are next to each other. Clearly she doesn't think we're smart enough to figure this out on our own. Not saying that we are... but still. Oh and Mom did not want me to mention that this salad got rave reviews from family on Easter Sunday. But on occasion I do not listen to my mother. Sorry Mom.

Poll # 5 - Courtney's Suggested Question

From Darin: Unfortunately, the following question comes from Courtney, who I really don't think we should take very seriously, as I think she probably mis-remembers thing when it comes to whoppers that her parents told her when she was growing up:

What is the Biggest Lie Your Parents Told You When You Were Growing Up?

Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes

Aunt Lynnie made these when I was very pregnant with Alyssa and then sent me home with a bag of them. They were DELICIOUS and as I was gorging my pregnant self on them, for some reason I got it in my head that these would be the perfect thing to make when I went into labor so that folks would have something to munch on while they waited for the baby to be born. Yep, I was planning to just whip up a batch of these between labor pains, I guess.

I know... don't ask me what I was thinking. I remember Deni telling me that before she had her babies she'd stock up her freezer with casseroles. Well I knew I'd never be able to pull that off. No, I couldn't supply my family with a stockpile of warm nutritious meals, but darn it, I could supply a few cupcakes for my kid's birthday.

I bought the ingredients to keep on hand but somehow the whole labor and delivery thing just keeps taking me by surprise. The night I went into labor I forgot all about baking cupcakes... which is probably a good thing. Darin was awfully patient with all my excuses for not leaving the house that night but I'm not sure how she would have reacted if I'd said I had to whip up a batch of cupcakes.

So there you have it, I couldn't deliver the cupcakes, but I delivered something even better. (Now how's that for a corny line... not to mention an obvious excuse to include a picture of my cute kid?)

1 (18 1/2-ounce) package chewy fudge brownie mix (recommended: Duncan Hines)
1 (12-ounce) package peanut butter chips or 24 miniature peanut butter cups

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 regular muffin cups with paper cupcake liners. Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies. Fill the cups half full with brownie batter. Place about 1 tablespoon peanut butter chips in the center of the batter, or press 1 peanut butter cup into the batter in each muffin cup until the batter meets the top edge of the peanut butter cup.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the cupcakes are set.

When they can be handled safely, remove them from the muffin tins and let cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

(Recipe contributed by Dione. Alyssa, also contributed by Dione, seen above at 5 months old.)

Aunt Jacque's French Toast

When I ran across this recipe the other day I immediately knew I should post it because Scott asks me for it now and then and I can never find it. (Oh how I love an online cookbook. I rarely lose my computer.) So I've never made this French Toast but I've eaten it many times and it's yummy.

Aunt Jacque makes it, my mother-in-law makes it and Scott makes it (please refer to the Does Tia cook? post and find a boy who can cook). Even Amanda has made it with Grandma (see photo). So I can't imagine WHY I would make it…but if the need arose for me to make French Toast, this is the recipe I would use, because I could make it ahead of time and it doesn't require constant supervision the way normal French Toast does. Man, I can really screw up regular French Toast…one piece burnt, one piece raw in the middle… Anyway, now for your enjoyment:

Aunt Jacque's French Toast

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temp
12, ¾ inch thick french bread slices
6 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt

Butter bottom of large baking pan. Arrange bread. Beat eggs and all ingredients. Pour over bread. Turn bread to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn bread and continue to bake until brown. Keep cooking on both sides until browned to your liking.

(Recipe contributed by Dione, photo is of Amanda and her Grandma Travis. The picture is from Christmastime 2005. I don't remember the exact details but I remember my mother-in-law saying it was a good thing it was just family eating that French Toast.)

Poll # 4

What is the greatest lesson your children have ever taught you?

Umm... no food-related question, this time. Get over it.

Poll # 3

Non-food related question:

• What did you get into trouble for more often than anything else as a youngster?

Food-related question:

• What food above all others would you find absolutely impossible to give up?

Poll # 2

Looks like it's time to get things moving around here again. You'd think coming up with a poll question would be easy, but I was feeling rather uninspired so I dug out this book of questions...but as I flipped through it I kept saying nope, dumb question... nope, nope... no way...Shouldn't someone like Courtney be coming up with these questions? She'd be better at this... Who wrote these questions?

Then I finally had to pick one at random because I couldn't find a single question I liked. Of course after I'd picked the question I continued flipping through the book and then I kept thinking was, Oh great question! Good one... Interesting... Oh who needs Courtney, these are great... So I found several others which I should probably save for later. Except I have no self-control... so we'll see how long I can wait. But here's the randomly selected question for today:

• When you were very young, what did you want to be when you grew up? When you were a teenager, what did you think you might want to do for a living someday?

For those of you who are uptight about this being a "COOKBOOK," you may answer the alternate, food-related question:

• What was dinnertime like in your home when you were growing up? What was a typical meal? What was a typical evening for your family?

And yes, those of us who find it difficult to stop typing may answer both. Oh and if anyone wants to jump in with new poll questions, please feel free!

Aunt Lynnie's Baked Spaghetti

Like Darin, I also married into a family of really great cooks. (Luckily they only ask me to bring desserts to family gatherings. Lucky for them, I mean, because I'd hate to have to show up with a batch of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Though I could "fancy it up" by throwing in some sliced Oscar Mayer wieners for the meat eaters in the group.)

Aunt Lynnie definitely falls into the great cook category and we have been lucky enough to live only a short distance from her so we often get invited for fabulous dinners and then get sent home with delicious leftovers. Unfortunately, Aunt Lynnie and Uncle Bill will be putting their house on the market in the very near future and moving closer to the rest of their family. (So yes it's unfortunate for us, but fortunate for the rest of the family.)

Anyway, last night they had us over for dinner and Lynnie made this spaghetti. It was yummy. I'm not usually courageous enough to attempt Lynnie's recipes but she said this was easy and I thought hmm… I wonder if I could actually make this. I'm not particularly good at multi-tasking especially when it comes to cooking. Yes, I can check email, blow-dry my hair and breastfeed a baby all at the same time, but I panic at meals that require having multiple things hot and ready at the same time. I much prefer recipes like this one that I can make ahead of time when nobody is crying or begging for my attention and then just pop it into the oven at dinnertime. (Which reminds me…I love being able to say, "Oh dinner is ready and in the fridge, let me just pop it into the oven. Makes me feel Grown-Up and Competent. Feelings I don't have on a terribly regular basis.) So anyway, I haven't made this recipe but I'll give it a shot one of these days.

Aunt Lynnie, we'll miss having you nearby but we'll visit and thanks again for dinner and for sending home the leftover Snickers cake, last night. It will not go to waste! Mmmmm…

(Oh and Darin please tell the story about Chuck and Mom's spaghetti.)

Aunt Lynnie's Baked Spaghetti

2 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 small bay leaves
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1 cup grated cheddar
1 cup grated Monterey Jack

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a stockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasoning mixtures, sugar, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat and let simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until fully cooked, with no pink color remaining. Drain the fat from the meat, and then add the ground beef to the stockpot. Simmer for 20 more minutes. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Cover the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan with sauce. Add a layer of pasta and then a little less than 1/2 of each cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the sauce. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, return it to the oven, and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 more minutes. Cut into squares before serving.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

(Recipe contributed by Dione. Photo is of the Rullman sisters, left to right: Aunt Jacque, Andrea (my mother-in-law), and Aunt Lynnie. No doubt I'll be sharing other recipes from these sisters in the future.)

Amanda, My Superhero Niece

Could someone please come up with a recipe so that we have a reason to leave this picture here? This picture speaks to me in so many ways, that I keep having to go back and forth to the other blog to enjoy it.

Isn't there like some SuperHero Cookie recipe out there or SOMETHING? Some recipe on how to make Kriptanite or something?
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Mother of the Superhero jumping in here… I was trying to come up with a recipe for SuperSomething when it finally occurred to me I should go directly to the source. So I asked Super Amanda, "What do Superheroes eat?" And she said, "Superhero Stuff" (I'm not sure but I would swear that as she answered, she shot me one of those looks… you know the look that she will spend the next 13 or so years perfecting…the look that says, parents can be SO DUMB sometimes). "Oh yeah, of course, Superhero Stuff. Can you give me the recipe for that?" I asked.

To which she replied, "Sure Mommy!!! What's a recipe?" So then she told me. But as she listed the ingredients and I asked her how much or how many she was rather vague. Or she would say, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9,10… 4!" like she was trying to trick me. I'm afraid that either she doesn't know the exact recipe because she's one of those cooks who just throws in a little of this and a little of that and it comes out just perfect or she doesn't actually want me to know how to make Superhero Stuff. You know, since I'm a mere mortal and all. So make this at your own risk. There's no guarantee it will be as good as the stuff the superheroes eat.

Superhero Stuff

A lot of macaroni
10 peas (optional*)
Chicken
Some corn
Sausage
One piece of pepperoni pizza
4 trees (broccoli)

Get a foon. Get a bowl. Put it all in together. Get the salt and get the pepper. Shake.

*I told Amanda that Aunt Darin doesn't like peas and asked her if there was something we could use instead. She said, "Hmm. I don't think I want any peas in my food either. But what are we going to do with the peas?" As I looked around at my currently pea-free windowsills, I said, "I don't know, but please don't ask Aunt Darin."

Superhero Buzzert

11 marshmallows
A lot of chocolate
5 M&Ms
6 lollipops (lollipops are good – any flavor)
Like 88 Reeses peanut butter cups
All the boxes of chocolate ice cream at the store… like five!

Put it together in a really, really big bowl. Don't forget to take the paper off the lollipops. Eat it with a fork or foon.

When I asked Amanda what Superheroes drink, she said, "Water. They drink water. They don't ever drink chocolate milk but I do. Can I have some chocolate milk, Mommy?"

Ila Good’s Vegetable Soup Recipe

Contributed by Darin Good, a major fan

(This soup is so good that we have knowingly exposed our children to viruses just hoping we’d get Grandma’s soup out of the deal if they got sick.) Jack Good insists there is a soup pump at Ila’s that just pumps this stuff out. However, if the pump goes dry, here is the actual recipe that primes it again:

First get a pot. A BIG pot.
Brown a couple of pounds of beef stew meat. (I cut it into smaller pieces.)
Put a diced onion in the beef after it browns and cook it awhile.
Add some water and simmer till it gets tender or you get too hungry to wait any longer.
Add a can or two of diced tomatoes.
Add a few diced potatoes, carrots, a can of cannelloni beans or whatever you like.
A half cup of barley is good if you like it.
I usually put in a bag of frozen mixed vegetables and a couple of cans of beef broth.
Throw in a cup or two of frozen okra near the end of the cooking time.
Put in anything else you like, such as frozen corn & lima beans
I like to cook a cup or two of pasta and add it about the time I put in the okra.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
Love, Ila

Note from family members: If you are able to score a jug of this soup from Ila, always return the jar once empty--it's possible that it will come back refilled in the near future. This soup can cure almost any thing (broken hearts, really bad days at work, bad grades, actual illness, etc); we have resorted to shameless ploys to get some.

Giovanni’s Tuna Noodle Casserole

Submitted by Auntie Darin on behalf of Giovanni Silizar Nelson, viosomething@msn.com

OK, Giovanni ain’t officially a Nelson Sister—thank goodness, cuz he’s way cuter than all of us; and if he was a girl, with that hair and eye lashes, we’d be so jealous of him that we’d SCREAM. But he is one of The Best Nelson Brothers, so we need to include this recipe.

This recipe is particularly of note, because it is the only Tuna Noodle Casserole that Chuck will eat. I don’t know if this is because “a brother” has cooked it (maybe it’s a ‘guy thing’ to eat each other’s cooking) or it’s especially good, but Chuck will not eat any tuna casserole I make, as his theory is canned tuna is meant to be chilled, served in Tuna Salad Sandwiches. However, Chuck does like Giovanni’s casserole, so it must be included in the family lore:

2 cups thin egg noodles
1 can tuna, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
¼ cup milk
Potato chips, like Lays (1 cup?) (the recipe called for bread, but GET SERIOUS, Giovanni knows what’s good)
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese
Paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a casserole dish. (I think Giovanni used Pam Spray.) Cook noodles in a pot of boiling water for 8 minutes. Drain in a strainer. Put noodles into a casserole dish. Add in tuna, soup, and milk. Crumble potato chips and put on tope of casserole. Spread cheese on top of casserole. Sprinkle with paprika and bake 25 minutes.

Serve to Chuck. Listen about how GREAT it is compared to Darin’s.

Does Tia Cook?

I’m about to submit Giovanni’s casserole, so I need to make sure that Tia’s recipes are not excluded. However, Tia is EIGHT YEARS OLD and I don’t know if she has RECIPES. (However, if she submitted her Mom Vicky’s enchilada recipe, I know that it would be much appreciated.)

However, knowing Tia, I wouldn’t be surprised if she graduated from The Darin/Katie School of Cooking: Find a Boy That Can Cook. Then, keep the boy entertained while talking to the boy while he cooks for you in the kitchen.

First, you have to: Get the boy to come over. Here is Katie’s recipe; I’ve heard it a million times on the cel phone: “Breandan, I’m hungryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Please come make me some macaroniiiiiiiiiiiii.” Then Breandan comes over and makes something really elegant and we all live happily ever after. A boy that can cook can have any woman he wants.

(Aunt Dione jumping in with photographic proof that not only can Tia cook, but she can also accessorize. Though I totally agree with Darin and Katie's advice:
Find a Boy That Can Cook.)

Darin (& Betty Crocker's) Cinnamon Puffs

The following recipe is taken from my Betty Crocker’s New Boys and Girls Cookbook. The cookbook is inscribed “Merry Xmas to Darin From Grandma McGraw – 12/25/68”

The following recipe is from page 144, SPECIAL OCCASIONS – breakfast.

Surprise Breakfast*

*Darin’s note, HA, they weren’t kidding about that!

Allow me to quote the intro on page 144:
“Have you ever wished you could get up some morning to fix breakfast for the whole family? You can, and its lots of fun! Try this exciting adventure on Mother’s Day or a birthday, or on a Sunday morning when you just want to let Mother and Dad sleep a little later than usual.” (I just didn’t know whose birthday)

Cinnamon Puffs
(See those pictured on page 23.)
Note from Darin, sorry folks—I’d scan and include the picture of these delightful little puffs, but page 23 is long gone. I probably wadded it up and threw it away the morning of July 23, 1969

Heat oven to 450 Degrees

Prepare Rolled Biscuits (page 31) (aw, heck—just use the recipe on the back of the Bisquick box, as page 31 is missing, too. Like I said, July 23 was a traumatic morning for me.)
After kneading dough, divide into 16 parts.
Roll each part into a smooth ball.
Place balls on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes

Melt in small skillet:
1/3 cup butter

Mix in small bowl:
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

While biscuits are warm, remove from sheet and roll each in melted butter; then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Makes 16 puffs.

P.S. – And this recipe, Amanda, is what to use to make a Baby Sister. Worked for me.

Please refer to: Comments: Mom said. . ."Darin, do you remember the night that I went into labor with Dione?"

http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=22851089&postID=114163153917985153

Ila Good’s Cajun Clam Chowder

Contributed by Darin Good, on behalf of the World’s Greatest Mother-in-Law. (I haven’t actually made this, my role is to devotedly slurp it; but as a devoted researcher, I criss-cross California checking all other clam chowders all year long to ensure this is Still the Best, and it definitely is. I live in the SF Bay Area, so I have access to some of the world’s best clam chowders. But none of them have forced me to have four bowls during a Serious Diet. This is Simply The Best, with no question):

2 large cans clams (51 oz – Costco)
3 (or more) jalapeños
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 lb bacon
1 lb smoked ham
3 qts whole milk
1 qt half and half
6 lbs diced potatoes
6 tbsp butter
6 tbsp flour
Salt to taste, if needed
2-3 tbsp Cajun seasoning

Large pot
Cook bacon, drain grease and save
Chop bacon and ham or run through food processor. Mix with onion mixture and set aside.
Peel and dice potatoes to ½ -3/4” size, boil about 15 minutes or until done. Drain and add to onion bacon and ham mixture. Stir in Cajun seasoning.

Add milk and half and half and juice from c lams. Heat to boiling point. DO NOT BOIL. Melt butter, add flour and mix with hot milk mixture to thicken. Add clams until clams are hot.

Good served in hollowed out French bread “mini-loaves.” (Sidenote: this might be good, but if you’re going to have 4 bowls, the bread bowl is going to get leaky.)

Ila’s note: Cajun Magic Seasoning is available in most stores. I have never used Cajun Magic. There are several Cajun seasons on the market. I use:

Ila’s Cajun Seasoning
3 tbsp black paper
2 tbsp red pepper
3 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp white pepper
3 tbsp salt
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp thyme
½ tbsp oregano
1 tbsp garlic powder

78 years ago yesterday...

Ed and Bea got married.

A while back I made this collage out of a few of my favorite photos of them. They're favorites because they look so real to me compared to some pictures from that era. And since I didn't know my grandparents when they were young, I like to think these pictures give me a small glimpse into who they were as a couple. I love Grandpa's rolled up sleeves and the cigarette between his fingers. And Grandma with her hand on her hip... or maybe her hand is on his. I can almost hear her laughing and saying, "Oh Ed..." Love the way they're holding hands in the picture in the top left and the way he's looking at her in the photo on the bottom left. Looks like she's wearing an old housedress and her hair is kind of a mess but he's looking at her like she's just the cutest thing ever. And I love the one on the bottom left most of all because it always makes me imagine what their real life might have been like... just hanging out on the couch, both reading magazines, looking totally comfy (except for those shoes Grandma's wearing.) I remember my dad telling me that he was practicing his photography at the time and this was a long exposure. He told them they'd have to sit still for a long time so he told them to get comfortable and it looks like they did. --- Dione

Our Children Are Our Only Hope

http://cookingnelsons.blogspot.com/2006/02/king-ranch-chicken.html

MY Momma Said I Had To Post These Poems to Give This Blog a Little Class. (I think the Nelson Sisters have quite a little culture of their own goin on...but hey, why not add a little poetry.)

I have been rehearsing the following poems for my "Oral Interpretation of Children's Literature" Class, and they make me hungry. That makes them eligible for cookbook blogging, right? (As if anything didn't go here...pah).

Here are my poems:
Mi Mama Cubana
By Mimi Chapra

When mi mama cubana cooks arroz con pollo
Her smile is as wide as a watermelon

Cutting green onions the tongue of mi mama goes clickety-clack
Her silver bracelets slide up and down jingling-jangling

With a dash of saffron spice mi mama turns boiling rice bright yellow
Ay! Sweet aroma of arroz con pollo carries me away!

Mi familia, we eat arroz con pollo delicioso.

We sing “la cucaracha” con mucho gusto!

We dance mambo, tango, cha cha cha.

Closing my eyes, I see palm trees swaying
Sea gulls circling, haciendas pink and green.
Still, si si, with my eyes open I taste salty saffron Cuba.

Muchas gracias, mi mama cubana for cooking up an island in your tiny New York kitchen.

Making Tortillas
By Henry Quintero

When my mother makes tortillas
For my father and for me,
The steel chimes, the rock pings and rattles
With each pass over the dough.
My mother tells me that her rolling pin is
Singing I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU.

Garden Footprints
By Lori Marie Carlson

I leave footprints
On the gravel path to
Mama’s garden full of CALABAZSAS,
TOMATES, GIRASOLES.
Footprints
Leading to and from this place,
Where mama spends her afternoons
Beneath a hat so big it
Shades me too
While
I kneel down and
Help plant flowers

:) Did they make you hungry? I need breakfast. First I need to figure out what "girasoles" are, cuz right now I am craving them and I haven't a clue what they are! Is that bad?

Hope you enjoyed :)
Love, Courtney

What is a Mermaid?

Courtney and her dreams!...this is the dream she had last night. I made her send it to me, cuz I liked it. Please share it with Amanda, so she will know what mermaids are.

From:"Courtney"
I Dont Know Why You Want This
To:"Mom"

I just woke up from this dream where I was driving around with Melissa Vale...shootin the breeze...

and she was telling me about some Canadian college student ritual that goes on this time every year where the "mermaids" come out.

I asked her what the mermaids were and she said I didnt want to know...
FINALLY she told me,

"they are women who think they can pee gracefully underwater"

I Don't Know Where I Get this Stuff--
and I sure dont know why you want it :)

MIDDLE SISTERS of America

Dear MIDDLE SISTERS of America:

Is it the same with YOUR older and younger sisters? Are your sisters among the very few people that you treasure like none other? Do you consider your sisters “your lifelong glue”? Do you, like me, consider your younger and older sisters your Sanity Voice? The only people in the world that you truly trust, that you would, without question:

• Consider allowing them to use your womb for 9 months for, in case they needed a warm spot for their egg to hatch and theirs wasn’t in working order.
• Ensure that they’re on the (extremely) short list of people who you’d give a kidney to without question—just tell me where to be and when, and tell them to make the scar cute.
• Take a bullet for them (preferably in the arm or leg)
• Bury a body for them, without question.

And then, does your sister send you an e-mail regarding your cooking skills, like this:

Dione wrote:
Date: Mon, 6 Mar 2006 12:17:34 -0800 (PST)From: Dione Subject: RE: the first official pollTo: Good, Darin
Awwwwww... I totally understand the whole non-recipe thing... but the thing is I DON'T WANT YOUR RECIPES. Seriously... Please do not contribute a recipe ever. I just want your memories and stories.

____

Dear fellow middle sisters: Lord almighty, there must be a 7-layer dip out there somewhere I can fake my sisters out with…(The italics and bolding are my own--I know what she was thinking--she's my sister, for God's Sake. Thank you, Lord, for my sisters!)