Recipes from Ollie J -- Easy Apple Cake

As mentioned earlier, one of the themes of this year's blogging will be a focus on my grandmothers. I'm starting out by exploring some of the recipes that were found with their effects and in their recipe boxes.

Grandma Ollie Jane is my mother's mother: a strong Southern farm wife who was never particularly known for her culinary skills. In later years, and NOT in her hearing, the family joke was that it was a wonder she hadn't ever accidentally given her husband food poisoning, as she was wont to leave food out for hours after a meal and/or to cook meat to the consistency of a hockey puck. She could make a mean scratch biscuit though, and I rue the fact that I never did quite get the knack for making them.

I have pulled a number of recipes to try out this year and to preserve. Although she's been gone awhile now, I'm hoping to hear her voice in my ear, and her hand on my elbow as I try these out and make my own culinary discoveries about cooking and baking, and being her granddaughter.

The one thing I've already discovered in transcribing some of these recipes is that a LOT of information was never put down on the cards. Some knowledge is assumed. Pan sizes, cooking times, temperatures, and other things are often left off. I'll be making notes as I go along, and have already warned friends, family, and colleagues that they are going to be my taste testers.

Easy Apple Cake

2 cups diced peeled apples (I used Fuji's, most likely NOT what Ollie would have used)
1 cup sugar (white)
1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)
1 cup flour (all-purpose)
1 tsp soda (baking)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Bake 350 degrees

I used an 8x8x2 pan, baking in a pre-heated oven for about 25-35 minutes -- until the center looked firm, and a knife came out almost clean.

I mixed the apples, sugar and oil together, and then added all the dry ingredients. The vanilla and beaten eggs were then added to the batter. I left the nuts out.

It's a VERY moist cake that got eaten in less that 30 minutes in the office.

Christmas Vacation 2009 A-Z: C is for

Crochet: Projects, finished quite a few
Chile Verde Soup: Some of the best is at Los Lupes .... (which reminds me. I need more soup!)
Christmas: With some of the gang. It's fun watching little ones unwrap things and to look at the equal piles of debris to loot.

But boy, it passes in a blur,

and people get grumpy unless there are Candy Canes involved.

Christina: (Who is going to kill me when she sees these pictures [cameos by "Studly" aka Nathan b.1/14/10]). Cute Cousins: Say cheese kids!

On Beeing Star Struck

We interrupt these regularly scheduled blog posts, to bring you an update on one of the coolest things that has happened to me in a very long time.

Less than 18 hours ago, I was ....

20 feet from STING!

Yes. Auntie Nettie has a fan girl crush. Yes. She realizes how silly that seems, but 20 is the number of years that I have been crushing on Mr. Sting, so somehow it seems appropriate that I was that many feet away from him. (Plus, it's closer than a restraining order specifies ...)

Thanks to a friend in production who knows of this silliness, I got an e-mail entitled "Jealousy" yesterday afternoon:

I stopped by your desk, but you were gone. I just wanted to say that I was sorry for stealing your boyfriend this afternoon and tomorrow……..I’ll be hanging out next door in the penthouse with Sting in a few minutes. He’s on the Joshua Bell Live from Lincoln Center gig tomorrow night! Luckily, I got called to work the gig too! I’ll tell him you said hi!

Needless to say, I called her back and said some things that sound like puck (sorry about that Cynthia -- you know I was being facetious, right?) ... and one thing led to another and she sneaked me into the tech rehearsal for about 45 minutes. As I carefully walked around cameras, over cables, sauntering by crew with headphones, I got to watch the lighting rigs get minutely adjusted, musicians refining their entrances and intonations, and lots of producer types lurking about. I ran an errand or two for Cynthia to earn my keep and missed Sting's appearance, but I got to sit there during his rehearsal.

Usually when I get to see Sting he's either on a flat screen or inches high -- because I can only afford the nose bleed seats and he's so far away. This time, there were about 4 empty rows of chairs between me and the stage. You know, rushing distance. Plus there wasn't arena security. Luckily for all involved, I'm not the rushing type. I may have looked like I was a jaded New Yorker but deep inside me there was a not-so-little fan girl jumping up and down screaming:

STING! THAT'S STING!! OMG(oodness), OMG! THAT'S STING AND I'M RIGHT HERE AND HE'S RIGHT THERE!!!!! STTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGG! I LOVE YOU! ROXANNE! Dream of the Blue Turtles! SOUL CAGES! FRAGILE!

All I could think of was "Don't geek out. Don't geek out. Be cooooooooooool, Auntie Nettie. Don't embarrass yourself OR Cynthia." DEEP BREATHS!

I wish I could have taken a picture, but that would have been uber tacky, especially given the circumstances. A flash in the dark would have certainly given away my position and called attention to the fact that I wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. Plus, I didn't want to appear gauche.

Thankfully Sting has shaved off the hoary hairy beard that he's been sporting recently, but I'm pleased to report that he's lean and lithe. So, he's looking older? Who isn't? Josh is also starting to show his age, does it really matter? They are both talented musicians and it was wonderful to see the shorthand that they have developed from working with each other in the past.

I've always enjoyed watching the behind-the-scenes stuff more than performances, mostly because I know how much hard work goes into rehearsing, scheduling, publicizing, and funding events. Backstage crews, tech crews, productions crews, and other administrative support NEVER get their props -- so here's mine. You guys ROCK!

Between seeing Sting, Joshua Bell, and Chris Botti, the gorgeous flower arrangements, the awesome views of the sun going down over the Hudson, and the very cool set and lights, I have to say it was a very very good night. Thanks Cynthia. What a way to liven up a Wednesday night.

Want to see the glossy, rehearsed, and outfitted version of what I got a glimpse of, watch Live from Lincoln Center's Joshua Bell with Friends @ the Penthouse tonight, January 21, 2009 on PBS or check your local listings. Click here for more details. Guess what I'll be watching tonight?

PBS ROCKS TOO!

Christmas Vacation 2009 A-Z: B is for

Babysitting: trips to the park and stores with Drew, New Year's Eve with the girls
Boots: Boy were they muddy; Drew picked me out some new ones (florescent green!)
Bacon: YUM ----MMEEEEEE (Yes this warrants it's own entry. I ate a LOT of bacon. A LOT. My gout has flared up to remind me why I can't eat pork.)

The culprits

Brothers: Fathers, Uncles, Patriarchs -- but still my little bros.

Brushfire: Painting crockery with Kelli and Drew

Flowers for Grandmary's house

Christmas Vacation 2009 A-Z: A is for

Avatar = AWESOME. Saw it once, must see it again on the IMAX in 3D. Thanks Bro.
Altitude: It's not fun to hike in the ...
Attitude(s): Little people have them; Travellers on delayed airplanes have them; I have a MAJOR one.
Airports: Crazy, crazy, crazy lines .. 'nough said
Arizona: Nice to visit. It's a lovely Dam place.

and .... AMBER

Girl in motion Big Sisters do rock!

Amber is being watched over. Girl at play Hiding. (Don't worry. No one can see you like that!) Having fun

Amber: "I'm not a fairy. I'm an ANGEL."

(and telling Santa so.)

These are the rednecks in your neighborhood

What's the Western equivalent of a redneck? You know, that person who might be a redneck if:

~You keep major appliances on your front porch.
~You have a Barcalounger and/or sofas on the front porch.
~The neighbors started a petition over your Christmas lights.

or other sayings like this*...

So I'm with my sister-in-law in a VERY nice subdivision in Utah, heading up the hill to a VERY exclusive and chi-chi spa (to pick up stuff, sadly, NOT to get treatments), when we came across a home that had a variety of "lawn ornaments" in it that almost defies description. [Quotations used correctly, thank you very much!]

You know I had to stop and take pictures, although they don't do the place justice. I may have to go back in the spring to see if they are still up, AND to see if they light up as much as I suspect they do.

"I study and watch the eagle fly

Spreaded wings and sort across the sky

So gracefully he flew

Rising effortlessly

I wanna to know just how to be free."

~Gaither Vocal Band

I don't think this is type of graceful and effortless free flight that the lyricist had in mind. If it was just the bird, I'd say the family was patriotic, but look closer.
Our majestic national symbol apparently has an editorial comment about the state of the union. It's digested a bit of plastic.
I don't know of what I'm more scared ... the giant gopher/squirrel/rodent thing, or the fact that I see frog legs being regurgitated by the angry-looking pelican/heron/crane thing. Notice the skulls of previously digested creatures studding the landscape. The random phallic cactus ... the random heart. Oddly, I think the tumbleweed is not intended to be there, but blew in with the winds.

Mountain Goat got your tongue? Ram it back in there.

Don't be an a**. They did this to their yard on purpose.

Did they leave their Thanksgiving decorations up too long? Squanto seems to be eyeing that fowl thing. Is this their rendition of the Crying Indian? If he wasn't crying before, he would be after he saw this house!

Does Taco Bell serve turkey burritos? Because this makes me think so.

Plus, what's up with the GIGANTIC wooden roadrunner? Beep Beep!

All of the lawn "ornaments" totally distracted me from the fact that there's a "cowboy" by the front door (which I didn't get in pictures), as well as an iguana on the roof.

*RE: the Ram photo: One of the items on the Red-neck list is: "Your boat has not left the drive-way in 15 years. If the neighbors ARE rednecks, does that make you a certified redneck by association?

You realllly have to wonder what the neighbors think. I know what I think ... but I'm an Eastern intellectual snob with a sense of aesthetic.

Retroblog Jan. 18, 1983 and 2010 Themes

Today is Teasday Jan. 18, 1983 Time 5:14 pm

Today is o.k. I think I have a cold. We finally got snow! About 1 month late. Late! That's right LATE! We had a sunny but cold Christmas. It came on Saturday. Thursday is Grandma Jones birthday.

Isn't it amazing how into snow I was? It must have been because we got snow days. No snow days now ... and I don't care if it snows on Christmas, as long as I make my flights in and out of New England before it does snow.

The note about Grandma Jones' birthday gives me the perfect segue into one of the major themes of this year's blogging: my grandmothers. While 2009 was all about the retroblogging from one of my old journals, this year is dedicated to going through old letters, memories, and recipes from my grandmas: Ollie Jane and Roa Sarah. If it works out, we might touch on the current grandmas (of the nieces and nephews), Mary, Cheryl and Virginia.

I'm hoping to transcribe the letters that we exchanged over the years. I have many of the latter letters that they sent me, and was able to reclaim the ones that I sent them when going through their effects. I'm going to start off with some of the recipes that I found in Ollie Jane's battered old recipe box, and mixed into the many little notebooks that she kept with notes on genealogy, random bits of trivia, and phone numbers. I'm hoping that one of my aunts and/or cousins has a lead on if Grandma Roa actually even HAD a recipe box.

While neither grandmother was particularly known for their culinary expertise, I feel that preserving these bits of family and regional history are important for the future generations of Auntie Nettie's extended family.

Hope you enjoy the trip with me!