Chapter 12-School Days

I have always looked forward to September, my favorite season of fall begins and for most of the Septembers of my childhood, I was actually excited to go back to school. I genuinely liked reading and learning, and got good grades easily. My mother gave me a good jump start by teaching me to read a little before kindergarten. Not that it was completely utopian, there were still nasty boys trying to bully us on the way home, or the occasional times I’d get in trouble for sticking my foot in my mouth. Some teachers liked me better than others and vice versa. But I still love the smell of freshly sharpened pencils.

We had to wear dresses or skirts to school in the 1960s. My mom sewed a lot of these, and I can tell from photos they were both cute and practical.  I don't recall anything frilly or princess-like unless it was a costume for a play or Halloween. Nor did the dresses look anything like adult clothing, they were clothes you could play in, and we did have recess twice a day that involved a fair amount of running, climbing and ball games. Finally in 1970, the Powers That Be decided we could wear pants on cold winter days, and by the next year I think they were allowed in all seasons. As we approached the teenage years, my mother did not try to sew as many of our clothes; besides, Diane and I liked a trip to the mall to see how well we could do with a set amount of money to spend. Sometimes that caused us to buy a shared item, and that was known to lead to fights over who got to wear it first!

2nd grade, home sewn dress

We had progressive reading classes, so I did not get bored by being stuck with work that was too easy. Later , there was progressive math too. I did not enjoy math as much , but was persuaded to go advanced in 6th grade so I could get out of taking it later. We chosen few gathered around telephones with headsets and a thing called a telewriter, and Mr. Nugent would teach us remotely from a nearby junior high. Computers were not yet common and PCs did not exist at all, so this was really state of the art technical stuff! But the coolness factor did not make up for the tedium of being drilled on equations every day. The “take it now so you don’t have to later” argument repeated until I got all the way to calculus in high school, and then finally got to college and discovered I already had more math than I needed for my major!

Homework was not too intense in early grade school; I remember being able to spend time playing before settling down to do it, and then still having time for TV after supper. As the pace picked up in later grade school, Diane and I could look forward to our homework helper- Muffin was a master of sitting on the papers or books we had spread out on the kitchen table. Sometimes we would whip up a batch of cookies to fuel ourselves. The early 1970s was also when my mother went back to work, her teaching certificate was no longer current, so she started at a florist until she could get it reinstated. I think she liked the creative aspects of that job.

Muffin "reading" also shows sofa reupholstering in progress

 So around this time, it often became easier to have supper on time if Diane or I pitched in to make it. We were quite competent at it, though we weren't attempting anything complex. I remember Tator Tot Casserole being a very popular thing at the time though I now see it as the American food industry’s messed up version of Shepherd’s Pie. I still make it sometimes, and the cast iron skillet option is my own idea to save dish washing. My mother never used them, she had some paranoid notion that they were unsanitary! Once in college I learned that they actually do add iron to the food cooked in them. Since I’d had some trouble with anemia when I was younger, I decided cast iron skillets were good insurance against a recurrence.

               

                          Tator Tot Casserole

Recipe By: don't know where my mother got it from! Everyone was making it.
Serving Size: 4

-= Ingredients =-
1 pound Ground beef ; or ground turkey
1/2 cup Onion ; chopped
1 can (12 oz) Cream of Mushroom soup ; or cream of celery
1/2 cup Milk
Salt & pepper ; to taste
1 pound Green Beans ; frozen, thawed, or fresh in season
1 package Tator tots

-= Instructions =-
This is one of those recipes that works great in the cast iron skillet, you can go from browning to combining to  oven in one dish.

Preheat  oven to 350.

Brown ground meat with chopped onion, Drain if needed.

Stir in soup, milk, salt & pepper to taste. Stir in green beans,

Cover with tator tots and bake about 30 min until tots are heated through and crispy

chapter 11- Summertime

Some of the early summers that I can remember were spent away from home. Until we got Muffin, my dad was taking summer teaching jobs at universities in other states, and we would have some kind of house sitting arrangement with a local professor. Though Burlington, Vermont was the first, it made some deep impressions. Coffee ice cream at the U of Vermont, the stuff that would later become Ben & Jerry’s, was a fairly regular treat. It may say something about me that the only other 2 things I remember clearly were 1) impressing the neighbor kids by being able to count to 20 , and 2) touring a maple syrup factory! It smelled absolutely divine.

The next summer was in Michigan, my most distinct memory of that was my mother bleaching all our toys because someone we had played with got chicken pox. Somehow Diane and I got through our school years without having it.

Then the last summer away was in Lafayette, Louisiana. Diane and I wasted our opportunities to eat great seafood most of the time, choosing to order hamburgers instead! We did enjoy the spectacle of Cafe Diablo though, so my dad would always get that when we went to Don’s Seafood. I remember having a hard time with the heat, humidity and some kind of allergy, and there were also lizards hanging around the porch. Diane thought it was great fun to pick them up and throw them at me, but sometimes their tails fell off! We got to stay in New Orleans for a couple days on the way home, I have some vague memories of a voodoo shop, prostitutes on Bourbon Street, and a restaurant that put us in a back corner because my dad wasn't wearing a tie.

Later childhood summers were spent doing more mundane Midwestern mid-century things. Girl Scout camp, riding bikes to the library or the swimming pool, park district arts and crafts, and more time to read, color and play with friends.

Summer was also time for picnics. Most of the ones I remember were simple family affairs, sometimes just grilling and eating in our own backyard, or larger gatherings of extended family. We must not have been in Vermont for the entire summer of 1965 because there is a photo of all of us cousins on my mother’s side at a family picnic.

 Besides some of Auntie’s wonderful pies, something you were likely to see at a family picnic, large or small, was my mother’s potato salad. I am not sure she followed an exact recipe, but I helped with it often enough to know what was in it. I've since added a few touches of my own after seeing some what some chefs did with large batches. The garnishes in this photo are entirely my own doing though!

If the picnic was at our house,  Shish Kebab was nearly as likely to be on the grill as hot dogs or hamburgers. This was my dad’s project, the one thing patriarchal Armenian society allowed men to cook. Fortunately, he did not respect that limitation and cooked many other things, and was considered the green salad expert in the house.

                   

                             Potato Salad

Recipe By: Donna Nelson Simonian, with a few additions by Nicole
Serving Size: 8

-= Ingredients =-
1 ounce Onion ; minced
5 ounce Celery ; chopped fine
6 large Egg ; hard cooked & diced
1 1/2 pound Red potatoes ; cooked & cubed or sliced
1/2 ounce Pimento ; chopped
1/2 medium Cucumber ; sliced & quartered
2 ounce Green pepper ; diced
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
4 ounce low fat plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoon Mustard
1 tablespoon Sugar ; or honey
1 clove Garlic ; minced
1/2 teaspoon Dried basil
1/2 teaspoon Dried marjoram
1 tablespoon Fresh parsley ; chopped

-= Instructions =-
Combine mayonnaise, yogurt and seasonings in bottom of large bowl. Fold in remaining ingredients, adjust seasonings to taste. Chill at least 2 hours.

May wish to save one hard cooked egg for garnish. Slice and sprinkle with paprika and arrange slices on top of salad. A tomato rose looks nice on this, too.


                 

                             Shish Kebab

Recipe By: Pierre Simonian
Serving Size: 4

-= Ingredients =-
1/2 cup Wine, red
1/2 cup Olive oil
1 large Onion ; sliced
1 tablespoon Tomato paste
1 clove Garlic ; minced
Salt ; to taste
Black pepper ; to taste
1 pinch Paprika
1 pound Lamb ; cubed

-= Instructions =-
Combine marinade ingredients in ziploc bag. Add meat ( meat amount may be doubled and there should be enough marinade) and marinate several hours or overnight, turning halfway through to ensure even soaking.  Thread meat on to skewers along with veggies such as green pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions if desired.  Grill over moderately hot coals, turning to brown each side.

If I wasn't a Psycho Muser before, I am now!

(cross posted from a Facebook note)

The insanity began with trying to get tickets for a once in a lifetime chance for American fans to see Muse in a small venue, Webster Hall in NYC, capacity of 1500 for a band that can sell out stadiums. Predictably the site crashed when the pre-sale began, but we Musers were all committed to helping each other get tickets, planning to get the 2 allowed even if we did not need it because we knew someone would. I never got through to the ticket choosing part of the page, so Wendy Smith was my saviour, allowing me to buy the 2nd ticket she got. Similar arrangements worked out for other people, but it was a very stressful morning!

I managed to get us (Wendy, Lisa, Crystal, Maria, Amanda and me) a room in a not too expensive hotel not too far from the venue, Wendy took care of flights, so this dream was ready to come true! Wendy and Lisa's mom gave us a great head start by allowing Crystal and I to sleep over there so we could be ready to grab the light rail at the crack of dawn. I am not often seen at this time of day, so the paleness may be real.

me, Lisa, Wendy and Crystal

Soon after we were in the air on the way to the Big Apple, my first time, I got a few glimpses during descent, but our flight path did not give me a good view of any landmarks. Lisa fortunately knew her way around the subway a bit; our first ride included a dude ranting to all who would listen , seemed one part Black Lives Matter and one part religion.  We arrived at the Hotel Pennsylvania way early for check in. Once again, some luck and Muser teamwork helped. Another group of Musers had arrived early and already eaten lunch, so they offered to watch our bags while we went to lunch. Crystal found Friedman's, a trendy spot near the hotel,with her gf app,  so we had to wait a bit for a table, but it was well worth it; everything was prepared with attention to detail and the portions were huge too. The fries were amazing, so we split an order, though my giant Asian chopped salad would have been enough food. Then it was finally late enough to check in. 

Hotel Pennsylvania

I would say the Hotel Pennsylvania was slightly faded elegance, large beautiful rooms, but some minor cosmetic repairs needed in spots, nothing that detracted from being able to relax and have fun though. We had a huge suite with 4 beds and 2 TVs that never got watched :-) Soon Maria had got through customs and joined us.She flew in from the UK, and she was not alone in being a long distance traveller, Catherine from Australia of course, but also many other US states represented. So we started sorting out who was going to shower first, where and when to go to dinner since Amanda's bus did not arrive until 6:30. Then we found out people were queuing at the venue already!! So we hoofed it over to see if it was true, since I had already dressed to go out I was not wearing good shoes at the time and got a minor blister. And it was true, 8 people had started queuing! So we planted ourselves and got numbered  ( I got 11) and then figured out who was going back for our "camping supplies" Clearly I needed to change so I volunteered, and Crystal went with me on pleasant cab ride with a mellow chatty driver. We returned with sleeping bags and more suitable clothing but the second cab driver was completely different; he had the aggressive driving style I expected from a NYC cab driver :-). Meanwhile, others willing to queue overnight had been arriving, and Amanda caught up with us there. Soon some decided to order pizza since none of us had had a proper dinner. A place was within walking distance so we did not even need sidewalk delivery, and so this was how I had my first real NY pizza! We also lucked out that the weather was near perfect for overnight camping, clear and not too cold.

Our queue was down the sidewalk a bit from the venue at this time because there was a Noel Gallagher show going on. Attendees of that gig seemed pretty surprised to see us on their way out. :-) We did cause  quite a bit of comment from a variety of passers-by. Most simply wondered who we were lining up for. A self-proclaimed "sexy bum" offered his services. There were also a couple other drunks that seemed to think we would not be warm enough without their help, but Mandy, who has a way with words, was able to convince the worst of them to leave. Catherine also had some good responses "we're conducting a social experiment" or "we're actually homeless but the police won't run us off if we say we're queuing" I am not sure what time this photo was taken, before or after we got shifted around.

me, Catherine, Mandy and Wendy

Those of us numbered 10-18 or so were in front of post office garage so we knew that might not last, at some late hour we finally had to move. First we tried across the street, and one of the bouncers at the nearby billiard place came out and was very nice to us. Then about 15 min later his not so nice boss came out and told us to get lost. So we returned to the original side and a few were able to cram in, but we were kind of out of space. A few of us decided at this point to take short shifts sleeping at the hotel and then come back when Webster Hall was able to let us use more of their sidewalk at 4 am. So I got a couple hours of sleep in a bed closer to a toilet. Before that we'd been using a nearby Whole Foods or the bar across the street. Dawn rewarded us with the sight of the Muse sign going up on the marquee and not long after, the arrival of the Muse truck.  At this point, we took turns looking for bathrooms and breakfast, I got a very nice deli breakfast sandwich.  

A second truck arrived shortly and then equipment unloading began. We wondered how it would all fit on a small stage and indeed a couple things were wheeled back in. It was also challenging for the guys to get some of the bigger stuff up the stairs.] Meanwhile some who had not been back to the hotel earlier went now to freshen up. Gradually the sun hit our street in full and it started to get quite warm. I looked forward to the bar across the street opening for lunch, but that was a while off yet, so my next bathroom run was to Walgreen's and included a purchase of cold water and sunscreen. The queue started growing more rapidly now, reaching the movie theater at the corner. We grabbed shade when we could, benefiting from a truck that pulled up to repair something in the venue. Venue staff were looking out for us too, at the hottest part of the afternoon, Kristina brought us popsicles! 

Then we saw street barriers being fussed with, and figured our Muse boys were due to arrive soon. Some of the staff doing this were more prickly and squeezed us into an unreasonably small sliver of sidewalk, though before they got to that, Morgan Nicholls walked quickly by. A few of us knew him by sight and said hello. 

Wendy's photo of Morgan and me

After what seemed like forever, a shiny black SUV pulled up and our guys entered with a quick wave only as they were running late. I managed to get one decent photo of Matt.

Matt ( and Lisa's hair and hands!)

 couldn't resist zooming in on that smile

Then we tried to get ourselves back in queue order, and it was now late enough that people were getting their camping supplies put away. Then we heard some screaming and turned to see Matt, Dom and Chris leaving to go to supper. A few managed to get close enough for quick selfies with the guys, but I was not among them :-(  and after that bit of chaos , we re-ordered ourselves once more, and not long after staff gave us wristbands to identify who was of drinking age. And it seemed like a long time after that, but it probably wasn't, they began to let us in. This went fairly smoothly and those of us who got the 30 or so barrier spots were ones who had waited the longest, but I noticed the next row behind us was less orderly, People numbered both 29 and 76 were right behind me. A couple other girls further back, not sure they even had numbers , announced they needed to be on the barrier, and I told them there was no way they were getting my spot after I'd waited 24 hours! The place filled up quickly. 

looking back from my barrier spot

Bear Hands

Next I had to wait through the support band, Bear Hands, nothing wrong with their performance but it was not my thing.  Finally our 27 hour wait was rewarded ; Muse took the stage and opened with Psycho which had us jumping and moshing in no time. The floor itself was literally bouncing which scared me a bit, but this was not a new venue, figured it had been built to take it. However, this did make photography difficult, 2/3 of my shots were blurry. I managed to find a few still moments though, like this one , which I think may have been during Dead Inside.

For many of the rest, I can't quite remember which song the photo is from.

  matching drone pilot suits

The band was as fired up as the crowd, Matt managing to do a lot of jumping and twirling in the small space 

Apocalypse Please

Newborn

It got quite warm and sweaty, but I kept my hair down for headbanging anyway :-) 

hot

Reapers was amazing to hear and see live, a great rocking song where Matt's magic fingers are at their best, I almost could not believe what I was watching him do!  And it ended with guitar violence! Another special moment was Bliss, this next photo may be during that.

Bliss

We had plotted beforehand to wear LED sunglasses on the barrier, similar to what Matt wore on the Resistance tour. We decided on wearing them for the first song of the encore, which was Bliss. Matt loved it and dedicated the song to us :-D  This was also my first time hearing it live. 

 https://youtu.be/i9FLH0jnGl8?list=FLSZvD6Tpq8ZNWk8qZHeAgHw

I was poorly positioned to get photos of Dom, so just take my word for it, he was looking buff! I did get this decent one of Chris.

Man with a Harmonica

Too soon, it was the closer, Knights of Cydonia. One last hard rocking song to test the strength of the dance floor.

Knights of Cydonia 

Then the band said good night quickly. I tossed a pair of crazy socks on stage for Matt, but not fast enough, he did not see them at all :-( I hope he got them later. I missed further chances for selfies and autographs somehow, though some of my friends were in the right spot after the show. So this set list is from Caitlyn 

Part of the problem with me being unlucky was indecision about where to celebrate- I was initially trying to save a table in the bar across the street, then we remembered one of our group was under-age, so we headed back to the hotel for a wine and pizza party. Getting a cab was impossible, so another subway ride, this one with an elderly lady serenading us with "Only You"  she was actually a decent singer, but it was surreal after where we had just been! 

So we got more yummy NYC pizza and wine.  I had no idea photos were being taken! Someone should have told me to put some pants on! 

Lisa, Wendy and I had to get up to fly back to Minneapolis though, so we did not quite party all night. We managed to get to the gate on time. I didn't really want to go home, especially knowing a lucky few friends were able to get in to the next Muse gig that night-the iHeart radio show was for contest winners only.  But I still feel incredibly lucky that I was able to be at the Webster Hall show; my number will fade, but I am keeping this wristband forever! 

chapter 10- Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts had a significant role in our childhood, right up there with church, and we often met in church basements. Diane and I joined the local Brownie troop when we were old enough, starting our adventures in crafts, cooking outdoors, camping and many other things in second grade. I remember when you first became a Brownie, you wore your pin upside down until you did a good deed. My friend Kathy and I got our pins turned very quickly as we had car trouble on the way home from the initiation meeting! It was only a few blocks for us to walk to get one of our dads to help, and we were happy to take the responsibility of fetching them.

my sash full of badges

I had no idea that some 40 years in the future conservatives would say we were learning witchcraft! But maybe they did unwittingly find a grain of truth there; we were learning to appreciate and respect Mother Nature and to be self-sufficient in ways not taught in school. Cook-outs were my early favorite, aside from involving food, there was the whole starting a fire thing. I still like doing that and am rather good at it to this day, and it did come in handy during a time in my adult life when we went 10 days with no electricity.

I am writing this as the annual cookie sales begin. Diane and I sold our share of cookies and got very competitive with each other. In those days you could go door to door in pairs safely, so we were willing to cover the same territory we did as when trick or treating. However, there were other scouts on some of those blocks so we had to restrain ourselves. Some of the varieties we sold are still popular today: Thin Mints, Savannahs (now called Do-si-dos) and Trefoils.

As we advanced to Juniors, camping was another set of skills to learn though often it seemed more like a slumber party on steroids! I probably remember as many ghost stories as knots. We also played truth or dare and attempted levitation when it was supposed to be quiet time in the tents or cabins. Singing was a big part of camping, whether around a fire or while hiking, or on the bus on the way to day camp. I remember one strange song about Adam and Eve that seemed to have little to do with scouting but it was funny. Others, such as the Happy Wanderer or Blue Sky fit our activities perfectly.

Most girls dropped out of Scouts after Juniors which generally ended in 6th grade. I stuck with it a few more years and became a Cadette, it was more service oriented as you advanced, which suited me. However, eventually my social life became too busy as well, and I gave up going to meetings in favor of working on stage crew and going to basketball games.

When we didn't have Girl Scout cookies around, chocolate chip was the family favorite. We started with the recipe on the bag of chocolate chips, and I remember Diane powering through creaming the butter and sugar by hand with a wooden spoon. She could get it done fast! I tried a few other variations over the years, and then ended up with this, which may be very close to the one Hillary Clinton released during the 1992 presidential campaign.

                   

               Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe By: inspired by Hillary Clinton’s version
Serving Size: 60


-= Ingredients =-
1 cup Butter ; softened
3/4 cup Brown sugar
3/4 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 ea Eggs
2 cups quick oats
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking soda
2 cups Whole wheat pastry flour
12 ounces Chocolate chips

-= Instructions =-
Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Stir in flours, salt and soda gradually. Stir in chocolate chips last.

Drop by scoops or teaspoons on parchment lined cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake about 9 to 13 min., depending on the size of the scoop.

Chapter 9 - Sundays

Our parents attempted to raise us Catholic, so that meant getting dressed up and going to church nearly every Sunday. I think this was also when some of the worst of my mom’s penchant for dressing us alike came out, causing more of the silly “Are they twins?” questions.

I don’t think it was the dressing up I minded so much as the boredom, having to sit still and not play with anything. Not wanting to go and having a minor tantrum was probably one of the most common reasons I got in trouble as a child, though I would sometimes try to get out of it by saying “The Devil made me do it!” Later, when I could understand more, I was not much more impressed. One of my earlier confessions included that I had thrown a snowball at the church building. I did not truly feel guilty about it , but was curious if it would get a longer penance than the usual “I was mean to my sister” and indeed it did!

I also found the content of the homilies (sermons) annoying. All too often it seemed to be about why the church needed more money, or else something really silly like the evils of hot pants! Around the time of junior high, leading up to confirmation, we were finally allowed to make our own choices and we stopped attending. Neither of us is Catholic now.


However, as noted in earlier chapters, Sunday might also be about visiting relatives. When it was not, we still usually had a nicer dinner than other days, a roast or perhaps pork chops, though that was one of the few foods my mother did not cook well. She was so paranoid about trichinosis that she often cooked pork chops until they were all dried out.

Easter Sunday was of course a bit more of all of the above except the tantrums. We would get not only new matching dresses, but sometimes a hat and handbag. My mother sewed a lot of our clothes, but I think some of the Easter dresses came from Auntie Margaret; she worked in a higher end department store and most likely got an employee discount.

Easter dinner was most often a ham, a potato dish, asparagus if we could afford it, salad, some kind of fancy dessert, perhaps angel cake and strawberries, but of course Diane and I were more interested in our chocolate bunnies. Scalloped potatoes were one common choice to go with the ham, but later on it might have been this recipe for Alsatian potatoes, though it actually came from a Christmas article in the Chicago Tribune. They go very well with ham.
                      -~~~

                          Alsatian Potatoes

Recipe By: the Landis family
Serving Size: 10

-= Ingredients =-
4 pounds Potatoes ; Yukon gold best
4 tablespoon Butter
4 large Eggs ; beaten
4 tablespoon Flour
6 cloves Garlic ; crushed
4 tablespoon Parsley ; chopped
1 pinch Nutmeg
1 pinch White pepper
1/8 teaspoon Salt

-= Instructions =-
Peel and trim potatoes.  Boil until tender, about 20 min. Drain.

Mash in butter, then beaten eggs. Beat in remaining ingredients and beat until potatoes are fluffy.

Transfer to shallow buttered baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15 min. until lightly browned. Drizzle with a little more melted butter before serving.

Chapter 8- Muffin

1968 was an exciting year, elections, riots and police brutality on network TV, and we got our first pet. After much begging by me and Diane, my mother gave in, and we went to the shelter to get a cat. We settled on a grey tabby kitten with singed whiskers; my mom said the mishap was a sign of a curious and healthy cat. The shelter said it was a girl, and we named her Muffin. A few weeks later when we took her to the vet, we found out she was a he! However, I don't think Muffin cared what we called him as long as we called him for meals!

the sewing machine was the ideal spot for scouting kitchen table offerings

At first Muffin was supposed to be kept in the basement, but was very quickly allowed in the breeze-way where we watched TV. Every chance he got, though, he would bolt for an open door, so he soon had the run of the whole house during the day. Diane and I would have made that 24 hours, but he could not learn to be quiet at night, so my parents made him go back to the basement at night. I can't remember if it was finished when we got him, but if not, it was not long before he had carpet, chairs and a hide-a-bed to lounge on.

Muffin was playful, sometimes scaring us a bit when he'd make a mad dash across the back of the sofa. He was also fairly tolerant of us playing with him, submitting to the indignity of being dressed up in Easter bonnets and swimming caps. He loved his cat food, and would even jump for it, so meal time came to be called "Hop Hop" However, he also loved people food. My mother was oddly lax about letting him jump on the kitchen table, and many mornings he'd be stalking my cereal bowl. I would try to block him with cereal boxes, but that just made it more fun for him. Eventually, he'd be rewarded with the milk in the bottom of the bowl.

Other times he was fast and sneaky enough to get things we had not given him, pepperoni off a pizza, tuna right out of the sandwich as my dad was eating it, a nice buttery corn cob out of the trash! He didn't have much sense about it sometimes, jumping on the counter and helping himself to bacon grease put him in some severe digestive distress! Another unfortunate occurrence was eating the string from a rolled beef roast, my mom got the unpleasant duty of helping pull it out of his rear end! He even ate through a plastic bag to get at chocolate chip cookies a few times, luckily he did not get enough chocolate to get sick.

Muffin was supposed to be an indoor cat; he was allowed out on a leash in the backyard only. Once in a while he would escape and start exploring the neighbor's bushes. Usually he was quickly lured back with food, but sometimes he managed to be gone for a few hours. One thing he really, really liked was licking the wrappers from instant milk, a fad of the early '70s. One time I was not sure if he'd got past me when I came home from school, so I opened a milk packet. No cat came running inside the house. Then I looked out the back door and he was right there! Could he possibly have heard me open that from outside? I don't know, but it got him in.

So nearly any recipe from my youth would work for this chapter, Here is one of my mother's specialties that I'm sure Muffin liked taste testing if he got a chance.


                          Swedish Meatballs


Recipe By: Donna (Nelson) Simonian
Serving Size: 4



-= Ingredients =-
1 pound Ground beef ; or turkey
1 1/2 cups Bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Onion ; minced
1/2 cup Milk
1 ea Egg
1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Butter
2 tablespoon Flour
5 ounces Beef stock
1 cups Milk
2 tablespoon (or more) chicken stock or

-= Instructions =-
Combine first 9 ingredients ( easiest in food processor) , blend well and form into 1" balls. Place on a cookie sheet , greasing may not be necessary, bake at 350 about 25 min. until brown.

Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in beef consomme and milk. heat just to boiling, stirring constantly,

Add meatballs and simmer 15 min. Add sherry, heat 15 min. more. Serve over noodles.

chapter 7 Television

I can remember when we had just one black & white TV. Eventually, we got a smaller one for the kitchen, too, but we did not get a color TV until I was 12. That was a little behind the neighbors, but not by much. TV was still rather new when I was young, there were only broadcast channels, no cable, and no video players. However, there was no monthly fee other than the electricity to run it. We did develop the unfortunate habit of watching it at lunchtime. At first that was Bozo the Clown or a game show, a very suitable thing for kids. But then these got replaced by soap operas! So I was not even out of grade school when my mom got us hooked on All My Children.

Muffin lounging on our first color TV

Supper was different though, perhaps my dad did not approve, so TV at supper was only for special events, like a genuinely classic movie on Family Classics on Sunday. Diane and I, like most kids of the 1960s, liked our Saturday morning cartoons, but we still had to get our cleaning chores done, too. Evening TV was very much a family event with lots of “wholesome” shows like Andy Griffith, Batman, Dick Van Dyke, I Dream of Jeannie and Hogan’s Heroes. Bewitched was one of my favorites; I think Samantha may have influenced me quite a bit.

Advertising had its effect, too, perhaps only slightly less insidious than it is now. I know we ended up buying and eating certain breakfast cereals because Diane and I would see them and ask for them. However, it seems the positive side of TV was more prevalent back then. There was a lot of educational programming for kids before Sesame Street- we had Captain Kangaroo, Romper Room, Garfield Goose and Friends, and others.

On weekends, long before there was any Food Network, public television aired the French Chef! My mother was probably watching Julia Child to learn, but Diane and I were more likely enjoying the showmanship. I recently revisited some of these, and giggled at the ruined crepe tossed to the floor all over again. One way or another, I think we were all influenced, and my mother bought the show’s companion cookbook. I don’t know if Julia’s recipes were served at some of the elegant buffet parties my parents had for my dad’s department at Christmas, but she may have set the style for those. For me it was also more about the style and fearless attitude than actual recipes. Bœuf Bourguignon was the famous first episode of the French Chef. Watching that again, I realize the recipe I'm using is not much like it. However, it is one I tinkered with until it was tasting the way I thought it should.
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                            Beef Burgundy

evolved from several French recipes I've encountered with much fat trimming

Recipe By: Nicole
Serving Size: 8

-= Ingredients =-
24 ounces Beef bottom round ; cubed
1/2 cup All purpose flour ; for dredging
2 tablespoon Olive oil
2 Onion ; chopped
2 clove Garlic ; minced
4 stalks Celery ; chopped
2 Carrot ; sliced
2 teaspoon Dried thyme
2 teaspoon Dried marjoram
1 teaspoon Tarragon
1 cup Burgundy ; or other dry red wine
1/2 cup Tomato sauce
4 cups Beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup Peas
4 large Red potatoes -optional
Salt ; to taste
Tabasco sauce ; to taste

-= Instructions =-
Dredge beef in flour. Brown in olive in Dutch oven or large saucepan. Add onion, celery, carrot, and herbs when beef is nearly brown and continue cooking until beef is brown.

Add burgundy, tomato sauce and beef broth-broth should just cover meat, you may need to adjust amount depending on your pan. If you are using potatoes, add these now. Simmer about 2 hours until beef is tender. Or put everything in crockpot on low for 4-8 hours after browning beef.

Add peas (and pearl onions for that variation) and heat through. Add salt and Tabasco to taste-if your broth is salted , no extra salt may be needed.

Serve with a crusty French bread, or over noodles or rice if doing the pearl onion variation.