Happy Cream Puff Day

February 15, 2007 By Carole

In Dale’s family, Valentine’s Day is affectionately called “Cream Puff Day.” I still remember our first Valentine’s Day together, back in 1997. Dale and I used to meet at his house for lunch every day back then and he greeted me at the back door with a plate of cream puffs and the exclamation, “Happy Cream Puff Day, baby.” I asked him why we had cream puffs on Valentine’s Day and he said he didn’t know why but his mother always made them and it was a tradition.

Me being a librarian, I had to know the whole story so I walked next door and asked Dale’s mother, Ruthie, to explain the cream puff tradition. She told me that it dated back to Valentine’s Day, 1948. She and Dale’s father, Jack, who was in the Air Force, were stationed in Roswell, New Mexico (yes, that Roswell – but that’s another story) and she was pregnant with her first baby. They had no money to buy Valentines for anyone and she really wanted to do something special for the guys in Jack’s unit. So she turned to her cookbooks and looked for something she could bake to give as gifts to these men. She found a recipe for cream puffs and realized that she had all the ingredients on hand and they sounded pretty simple to make. And a tradition was born.

By the time I came along, Ruthie was making dozens of cream puffs every Valentine’s Day. She complained about how much work it was and how much time it took to make so many but I’m pretty sure she secretly loved the task. She made them for her and Jack plus their kids and grandkids. I was horrified when I realized that none of Dale’s kids even liked the cream puffs but Dale never told his mother because then she wouldn’t have given him as many. Then I tasted one and realized that sometimes a little deception is a wonderful thing.

During the last few years of Ruthie’s life, she was unable to make the cream puffs anymore. Jack, wanting to carry on the tradition, purchased them from a bakery instead but they just weren’t as good as Ruthie’s. So last year, on the first Valentine’s Day without dear Ruth, I made the cream puffs. I was a little hesitant to do this. After all, I’m not Ruthie’s daughter, I’m just her daughter-in-law and it seemed like I was maybe overstepping my bounds by taking on a family tradition as deep as this one. But Dale encouraged me to go for it and Jack said it would be okay – so I did it. I’ll never forget the look on Jack’s face when he tried one and said they were as good as Ruthie’s. And Dale’s sister Lisa’s eyes filled with tears when she took a bite of hers, so I guess I did okay by Ruthie’s cream puffs.

And now, somehow, this has become my tradition, too.

Soup’s On!

February 5, 2007 By Carole

I thought I would have a post today about a fabulous baby shower I was supposed to attend on Saturday. However, the Bookish Baby had other plans. Apparently, she wants to attend the shower in person rather than in utero. Hence, the shower has been postponed for a teeny bit. So, rather than seeing pictures of adorable baby gifts and knits, I’ve got soup for you.

I am a lover of soup. When the question “soup or salad” comes up, I almost always choose soup. And of course, when the weather turns cold, my meal planning thoughts turn towards soup. Last week I made “Roast Beef Soup” from an old Penzey’s catalog. It was fabulous. Simple to make and not too time consuming. Rich and meaty, but not a stew, definitely a soup. I thought I’d share the recipe with you all since it’s not on Penzey’s website anywhere that I can find.

Roast Beef Soup

2 lbs cubed beef stew meat
4 good sized carrots
2 medium onions
1/3 bunch fresh parsley, chopped fine
2 T vegetable oil
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp granulated garlic
8-12 cups water
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut large pieces of stew meat into smaller piece if necessary. Peel and slice carrots and onions. Place the beef, carrots, onions and parsley in a roasting pan, sprinkle with pepper and garlic, drizzle with vegetable oil and toss to coat. Put pan in oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring once in a while. Bring the water to a simmer in a soup kettle, remove the beef and veggies from the pan and add to the soup pot. Drain off any fat that has accumulated in the pan, then use some of the water from the soup pot to deglaze the roasting pan, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any tasty browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour this back into the pot. Once everything is simmering, add the potatoes and salt, and simmer until the potatoes are cooked – about half an hour. Taste before serving and add more salt if desired.

Serve it up with some crusty bread and think of me while you nourish your body and soul with the goodness of soup.

Pie!

January 23, 2007 By Carole

While certainly not as exciting as finding a lost hiker, the astute among you will understand that the title of this post signifies the return of the lost mittens. Can I get a woo? And while we’re at it, how about a hoo?

The credit for the find is two-fold. Vicki suggested looking under the seats of the car. I had already done that, but I had only looked in the Jeep. Dale, always my hero, looked in the Suburban, and there they were, crammed between the two front seats.

And just in time, too, since we actually had a teeny bit of snow on Monday morning.

The return of the mittens meant really only one thing, though.

Now I shall have some pie. Chocolate cream pie, in fact, to match the mittens.

Mmmmmmm.

Oooooh, That Smell

January 16, 2007 By Carole

Being a public servant has its privileges. And one of those privileges is a fair number of 3 day weekends. Like this past one, for example. We managed to find a terrific balance between active and inactive.

Saturday involved breakfast and a manicure with my stepdaughter Jessica. We then came home and she helped me put away all of the Christmas decorations. I don’t know if it’s the unseasonable weather this year or what but I was ready to have my house back to normal and be rid of the snowmen and greens and lights. Saturday evening we attended a fundraiser/comedy night for Hannah’s drama club. It was lots of laughs! I worked on the latest pair of socks while I was there but this was before Lucia announced her new contest so I didn’t get a photo. I’ll come up with something for that, though, have no fear.

After church on Sunday we headed to Concord to visit Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott. Hannah has been wanting to visit and we checked the website, saw that they are indeed open year round, so off we headed. The joke, apparently, was on us, because they were closed for two weeks of maintenance. There was nothing on the website about that and I was really annoyed that we drove all the way out there for nothing. We consoled ourselves with dinner at the Olive Garden on the way home. And the premiere of 24 took care of the rest of the evening. Jack’s Back! Woot!

Since Saturday and Sunday involved doing stuff we decided that Monday should be a day for hanging around. We headed to the grocery store in the morning and stocked up on supplies. Since I had the whole afternoon free I decided to prepare a roast chicken dinner complete with stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy. I even bought a coconut cake, which is what my mother often served for dessert if we had this meal on a week night.

I have to tell you, my mother has been gone nearly 9 years and I can still remember the amazing taste of her roast chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy. Mine is good but hers – oh! – hers was phenomenal. If I could eat one meal of hers ever again in my life it would be this one. And the smell! There’s nothing like the smell of roasting chicken!

It wasn’t as good as mom’s. But it was the perfect end to a 3 day weekend.

Do You Know The Muffin Man?

December 18, 2006 By Carole

I would say that Jan is truly the Muffin ~~Man~~ Aunt. She makes loads and loads every year for her family’s Thanksgiving gathering. Me, I’m not all that crazy about muffins. They’re good but I don’t get excited about muffins the way I do about a donuts. Or mashed potatoes and gravy. Ahem.

Now and again, though, I do bake muffins. And last week, when I had an early morning meeting with Scrooge and Marley (aka the Town Administrator and Town Accountant) to discuss the library’s FY 2008 budget, I decided that blueberry muffins would be a thoughtful ~~bribe~~ gesture.

The recipe is from an old Penzey’s catalog and I think they are the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had. Not too sweet and bursting with blueberries.

Blueberry Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour
1 TB baking powder
4 TB sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
5 TB butter, melted
2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 425. Combine flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl, set aside. In another bowl mix the eggs, milk and melted butter. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Fold in the blueberries. Insert paper muffin cups into a 12 cup muffin tin. Fill the cups to the top with batter. Sprinkle generously with more sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Eat.