Roger's New England Clam Chowder

2 dozen chowder clams (quahogs) - you can use frozen clams, if necessary, one box should be enough
3 cups white wine
1/2 pound salt pork or fat back, diced fine (bacon can be used, if necessary)
4 Tablespoons butter (not margarine)
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 bay leaf
pinch of thyme
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream

your choice of crackers

Steam the clams in the wine until they just open.  Remove and strain the liquid.  Reserve.  When the clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from the shell and chop them.  Set aside. 

In a large skillet, cook the salt pork until crisp.  Drain and discard the fat. 







In a large pot, melt the butter with the oil and add onions, celery, bay leaf, thyme, and crisped pork.  Cook until vegetables are softened and translucent.  Add reserved clam juice and bring to a boil.  Add potatoes, milk, and cream.  Cook until potatoes are just cooked, about 7 to 8 minutes.  Add chopped clams and bring the chowder to a slow boil, stirring occasionally.

Serve with crackers.

Yield:  4-8 servings.

It's a Snow Day... ummm... Snow Week! Yea!!

This is an extremely old recipe for Snow Cream. It was my grandmother's and I think she got it from her mother. (My grandmother passed away last year just shy of her 101st birthday, so the recipe is tried and true.)  Enjoy!

Snow Cream

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 - 2 teaspoons vanilla
3 - 4 cups milk
Sugar to taste (about 2 cups)
A dash of salt
1 large bowl of fresh, clean, powdery snow (not crusty or packed)

Pour milk and beaten egg into a saucepan and heat on low, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil. When the mix begins to form tiny bubbles, slowly add the vanilla and then the sugar, all the while stirring the mixture. Turn off heat and allow to cool a bit. Gather fresh snow and divide into individual dishes. Carefully pour the milk mixture over the snow, stirring until you get the consistency you want. Add more snow or milk mixture, if needed. Refrigerate leftover milk mixture.

P. S.  Last night I decided this would make excellent "Hot Vanilla", too.  For those that don't like Hot Chocolate, can't have it for some reason, or just want something different - add more milk to the liquid and heat it up.  Delicious!  

Albert G's Sweet Potato Pie

I love Sweet Potato Pie.  I didn't know it until I married my husband.  I was prepared to make Pumpkin Pie for our first Thanksgiving, when he announced that he would prefer Sweet Potato Pie.  I had heard of this type of pie, but I had never tasted it and had no idea how to make it.  Fortunately for me, about that same time, The Tulsa World printed the recipe for Albert G's Sweet Potato Pie.  Albert G's is a local Southern-style barbecue joint.  Everything they serve is delicious, but heads above the rest is this pie. 

(The recipe is at the bottom of this post.  Bear with me.)

 

I'm not sure why I failed to take any photos of the ingredients or the preparatory stages of this recipe, but I didn't.  I baked these in Frankoma pottery pie pans.  I think Frankoma pottery is fantastic!  I own the Oklahoma Centennial collection (pie pan, rectangular pie pan, square baking pan, and large round bowl), two of the Oklahoma-shaped baking pans (one in each size), a cornbread pan, a super-large round bowl, and a few other pieces.  The Centennial collection has the most wonderful graphics baked into the pottery.  Another time I will post photos of the set.  They are gorgeous! 

I bought almost all of my pieces at the Frankoma Factory Store in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, which isn't far from my home in Broken Arrow.  I bought a lot of them in the Seconds section and a few of them off of the "Ugly" rack, which was where they put the items that were still suitable for use, but had cracks, glazing inconsistencies, etc.  The items on the "Ugly" rack were only $1 each, so even if I only got one or two uses out of them, they were still a bargain!

I used the Williams-Sonoma Piecrust Cutters to cut leaves for decorations.  I cut lots of them and lightly sprinkled the extras with cinnamon and sugar and baked them on a Silpat sheet.  I used the extras for dog treats.  My dogs loved them! 

This pie went to my neighbor's mother.  She is a very sweet, elderly lady, who couldn't bake for herself this year for a variety of reasons.  My neighbor is also very sweet, so it was nice to do something for them.

I kept this pie for us, as I stuck a knife in it to check for doneness. 

The pies set for several hours until they were thoroughly cooled.

This is Leiua after she consumed a LOT of the piecrust leaves. 

Albert G's Sweet Potato Pie

(Filling)

2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (freshly cooked and still warm, although I have warmed and mashed canned sweet potatoes in a pinch)

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

1 small can (5 ounces) evaporated milk (NOT sweetened condensed milk)

9-inch pie crust shell, unbaked (The recipe calls for one pie crust, but I have always had enough for two pies.)

In a mixing bowl, blend softened butter with warm sweet potatoes until smooth.  (Use a low to medium speed, so that you don't splatter the batter.)  Add remaining filling ingredients and beat in mixer at low speed until mixture is smooth.  Pour into pie shell and bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  (NOTE:  If you are using a Frankoma pie pan or similar pottery, it is important to start with a COLD oven, not a preheated one.  You will have to adjust the baking time to account for this.)  Be sure to check the edges of the crust after about 30 minutes, as you may have to use a piecrust shiel or aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.

Here is another Sweet Potato Pie I made in 2007 using this same recipe.  I used Williams-Sonoma Piecrust Cutters to decorate this pie, too, but from the set put out that year.  I layered the shapes around the edge of the pie to create the rim.

Chicken Curry with Apple

This recipe was slightly adapted from 365 Ways to Cook Chicken, by Cheryl Sedaker.

The photo doesn't do the recipe justice.  The monochromatic colors of the dish belie the deliciousness of the flavor blend.  Of course, the bowl - a vintage piece of Fireking Peach Lustreware in the swirled pattern - is also too close to the shade of the curried chicken.  I should have picked a brighter color for the plating.

Chicken Curry with Apple
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine (I used butter.)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup peeled, chopped apple (I used Pink Lady or Gala.)
1 can (16 ounces) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 cup chicken broth, or more if needed (I used about 1 3/4 cups.)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon curry powder, or more to taste (I used about 3 Tablespoons.)
4 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped or shredded
Salt & Pepper, to taste (I used freshly ground black peppercorns and a combination of Black Lava Hawaiian Kai Sea Salt & Red Alae Hawaiian Kai Sea Salt.  These salts are much "saltier", if you will, so you use less.)

Garnishes
Toasted Coconut
Mandarin Orange segments
Chopped Peanuts
Raisins
Cooked Bacon
Mango Chutney
Sour Cream
Chopped Chives
Dietz & Watson's Jalapeno & Cayenne Pepper Cheese (This is my favorite.  It adds a nice "bite" to the dish.)
Greek Yogurt, plain (This is my husband's favorite and adds a different type of "bite" to the dish.  It is the garnish shown in the above photo.)

1.  Melt butter in a Dutch oven or a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add apple, tomatoes with juice, broth, lemon juice, and curry powder.  Simmer, uncovered, about 35 minutes.
2.  Add chicken and heat through, about 5 minutes.  Add more broth and curry powder, if necessary. 
3.  Serve with a scoop of white rice, either above or below, and your choice of garnish on top or on the side.

After making this recipe for the second time, it occurs to me that curry powder is an excellent organic food colorant (if it wasn't something you necessarily wanted to eat).  Below is a photo of my beautiful blue silicone spoon.  After using it to make this dish, the spoon part is on its way to becoming forest green.  : /

12 Days of Christmas Swap!

Sami over at Symmetry in Motion sponsored the Christmas swap and it was an exciting 13 days!  Yes, that was 13 Days of Christmas for me, because my swap partner, Sylvia of Mi familia, included a birthday gift for me.  I was so excited to get the box.  It was heavy!  I opened it as soon as I got in the house.

It was loaded!  Sylvia put cute little, fuzzy stickers on each package, along with a short note on most of them.  She included ribbons and that really cute flower hairclip as package decorations.  I am sorry to say I was much less clever with my wrapping.  Now days, if someone actually gets wrapping paper it's a miracle!  (I at least wrapped all of the items I sent.  LOL)

The first package was for my birthday, which was December 7th.  It was the BIG 5-0, so it was nice to have that little extra remembrance.  It was unexpected, and therefore, even more special.

Possibly the most adorable Nativity scene ever!  : )   Since we went low-key with decorating this year, it fit in perfectly with our decor.  (Yes, that's a Rosemary bush doing double-duty as our Christmas tree.)

Day 1:  A Christmas DVD by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and a CD of assorted Christmas music helped to set the holiday mood.  These were quite inspiring!

Day 2:  Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!  This went to my office where it's locked away. LOL

Day 3:  Sylvia was right.  You can't have too many of these!  We have been using the heck out of these kitchen towels.  They are thirsty and work great!

Day 4:  This leather-bound journal with pen has been my go-to book for keeping track of all my work-related stuff (i.e.  Court information, mileage, hours worked, dates/times of visits, etc.).  It has been a life saver, as the State has not provided us calendars this year and I keep forgetting to go buy one for myself.  I haven't used the stickers yet, but you can be assured that I will.

Day 5: I love the ladybug perforater.  I always wanted one, but never bought one for myself.  The rolls of ribbon and the cute Christmas tree buttons will go to good use. 

Day 6:  Cookie cutters!  These were so cute!  Sylvia made some very good choices.  I especially love the Noah's Ark one.  There is also hand sanitizer (a must in my field) and some Hemp hand lotion.  Good choices!

Day 7:  The Lorax and Fancy Nancy: The Show Must Go On.  I love children's books!  And I recently learned I am going to be a Grandmother, so these will make great additions to my library.

Day 8:  A "blingy" crystal nail file (which I absolutely love!), Plumeria body wash from Bath & Body Works, Redken shampoo & conditioner, and a lip liner pencil in the perfect rosy shade for me.  Couldn't have chosen better myself!

Day 9:  Two stamp pads and six inspirational word stamps.  Now I have no excuses for not attempting to make my own cards.  I already have a Cricut and now I have the stamps.  I'll keep you posted on my progress in this area. 

Day 10:  The flower hairclip I mentioned earlier was the decoration on this handmade box.  (At least I think it's handmade.  Sylvia did such a great job on it, the box looks store-bought.  You can't completely see the design, but it's a very tired angel soaking her feet.  Cute!)  The pearl necklace is gorgeous!  I love it!! 

Day 11:  This adorable tile, which I think Sylvia stamped and drew the flowers and bee using paint markers similar to the ones she included with the gift.  Did I tell her that the office I worked at was 72B and often referred to as "The B"?  (I even made bee cupcakes for work once.)  I don't think so, and that makes this present even more special.  Obviously, it was serendipity at play.

  

Day 12: Good day, and welcome to Day 12!  (Kudos to anyone who got the "Doug & Bob Mackenzie's Great White North" reference.  For those of us who remember and for those who have never seen it:  Doug & Bob Mackenzie: 12 Days of Christmas.  It makes me laugh every time.) 

Anyway... back to Day 12:  European Chocolate Truffles.  Need I say more?  Simply delicious!!!

Thanks to Sylvia for such great gifts and for keeping me guessing each day.  Thanks to Sami for sponsoring the bloggers event.  And a special thanks to the United States Postal Service for getting the package there on time.  It was great fun!!

Ode to my Oven

 Ode to my Oven

(AKA Decent Poetry Takes a Holiday, as does my Oven)

Oh oven, dear oven

Why hast thou forsaken me?

Cookies, pies, and cake

Were supposed to bake

To perfection

In your toasty tummy.

Now no heat radiates.

No delicious smells emanate,

To make us anticipate

The delicacy on the plate.

Christmas draws ever near

And it appears painfully clear

That the repairman won't appear

Before the beginning of the year.

No Chex mix, no cupcakes,

No casseroles or strudel.

No brioche, no biscuits,

No shortbread or noodles.

You may hear me exclaim

As I drive out of sight,

"The oven's not working,

It's pizza tonight!"

The Road Home

If you take I-35 South out of Norman, you will soon come across Exit 104, Goldsby/Washington.  Take that exit and keep going south on Highway 24. 

You will drive about seven miles before coming to this sign.  As you approach the town, there is a three-way stop.  Turn right.  Welcome to Washington, Oklahoma, in McClain County.  The town was named after George Washington, an Indian Chief, who once lived in the area.  (I have forgotten the name of his tribe.)

Washington is a small town - just a dot on the map.  When I was a Senior in high school, way back in 1979, we only had 151 students from Kindergarten through 12th Grade.  (I know this because I was editor of the Yearbook and had to count those photos more than once.)  The town is a little bigger now.  I think there are a few hundred in school and there is a four-way stop at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 24.  There is even a set of apartments.  There are four churches, a Senior Citizens' Center, one convenience store, a medical supply store, and a bakery/cafe, but not much else.  There used to be a bank and a movie theater way back in the 1920s, but those burned down and were never rebuilt.  More recently, there was a cotton gin, Maynard's Drug, Haxel's Hardware, Burns' Mill, Clyde's Barber Shop, Keith's Grocery, a domino hall, and a laundromat.  Retirement, illness, death, and the economy took care of those, however.  They are now and forever only in the town's collective memory. 

My grandparents owned the drug store.  (See my previous post from October 1st about that, if you are interested.)  They lived southwest of town in this house.  They built the house in the 1950s.

Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren loved to come visit.  There was a ping-pong table in the basement, a trap door with a secret entrance (which was really a laundry chute, but no child would ever want to believe that!), fields to run in and play softball, a barn to explore, two ponds for swimming and fishing, a huge front porch with a swing, and countless cows, chickens, dogs, and cats.  When the cousins were at Grandmother's house, everyone wanted to be there, too.  Dominoes, Rook (with special Maynard Family rules), and teasing the children were standard game play for the adults.

Granddaddy passed away in 1987.  Grandmother lived alone for several years before her health forced my mother to move in with her around 2002, in order to help care for her.  My mom was the oldest of the six children and the only one of to be widowed, so it worked out well.

Grandmother lived a good and full life, surrounded by her family and friends.  She passed away on September 26, 2010, five days before her 101st birthday.  My mother currently stays at the house part-time, but is preparing to move back to her own home.  My mother and aunts and uncles have not yet decided what to do with the house and land.

My mother is 81 now and I haven't lived in the Washington area for over twenty-two years.  But this is the place I was raised and it is a big part of who I am.  There is a peaceful feeling that descends over me when I recognize the red dirt in the landscape and I know that I am truly home.

But I am struck by the question of how much longer will I be traveling this road to home?  ...and it makes me a little bit sad.