Sunday, June 27, 2010

Tomatoes

OK, my hat goes off to those bloggers who can keep up with summer activities, vacations, work AND cooking and blogging.  I am not doing so great at it and as much as I tell myself that I am going to "buckle down", cook something and blog about it, it just isn't happening.  Now, I know that my grandma has plenty of recipes that are just perfect for the summer.  Being a school teacher, I am sure that she found summers to be the best time to cook...after all...this meant more time for socializing, bridge playing, family gatherings and trips to see good friends or friends dropping by.  Boy do I envy the thought of "summers past" and I feel guilty about not cooking something from all those recipes, but then again..I have a lifetime of my grandma's recipes...who says I have to try and get them all in in a year or two?. So while I may cut back on cooking (well not cooking, but at least stuff from my Grandma's recipe box and the kind of stuff that anyone would want to read about), I do know that I have some things to blog about and no doubt, I can tie them back to summers with both my Grandma's. I thought I would start, by sharing a picture of my tomato plant.  Admittedly, it isn't pretty, in fact, I suspect most will look at it and determine that I am a pathetic excuse for a Nebraskan (I mean, after all, shouldn't all good Nebraskans know how to grow stuff?)...but I want to tell you something about my tomato plant.  It has produced a number of tomatoes that are plump, juicy and full of flavor...Just ask Duke, my (now weighing in at 108 lbs) chocolate lab.  He is my gardening companion when it comes time to pick tomatoes.  I think he knows that the chances are pretty good that he will get a tomato and he loves them!  Now for Bubba, I'm not sure he even knows I have a tomato plant, but that's OK...just means more for me (and Duke)!  I'll water my flowers and my one tomato plant (I actually have 2, but the other one hardly counts...I think it has produced a total of 2 tomatoes) and then pick a tomato right off the vine and eat it (Duke gets one too). As I think about my 2 Grandma's, it is my father's mother that was the gardener.  Grandmother loved flowers, but I always remember her planting a tomato plant or two in her flower beds and taking great care of them...and for those that remember my grandmother, I bet they know that I get my "just picked" eating habit from her!  Any way...here's a picture of my beauty!  It's mine and I am sure my grandmother is getting a kick out of me and Duke and the tomato plant.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Strawberry Yum Yum

Alright, I must admit that when I found this recipe in my Grandma's recipe box, I had a "reaction" to the title.  I just wasn't really ready to take the recipe serious...I mean "yum yum", it almost sounded as if she consulted her first graders in the title of this recipe.  Of course, I know that wouldn't have been the case for a couple of reasons...1) She didn't create recipes, she just copied them, cut them out, typed them, wrote them (on anything that had room for a recipe) and 2) She wouldn't have made this for 1st graders...while they would love it (after all, it has some "yummy" ingredients) it was probably a challenge to take a freezer dessert to school.  One of the things if have found about the recipes in my Grandma's recipe boxes is that they are generally down to earth, easy for a busy mom or grandma.  The title for this recipe is "Right On!". It is easy, refreshing and "Yum Yum" captures exactly how you feel after you taste it.  It leaves you wanting more. It's cool, light and the crumb topping provides a great accent to the creaminess of the strawberry mixture.  Frozen fruits are so easy to use these days and I would consider using frozen blueberries instead of the strawberries.  Imagine serving a pan of the strawberry and a pan of this in blueberry for the 4th of July...it could look very patriotic.  My Grandma loved the 4th of July!!!  I'll have to save that for another day!

Strawberry Yum Yum
1 c. flour
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped nuts
2 egg whites
1 c. sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
1 - 10 oz Pkg frozen strawberries
1 large carton cool whip (I used Cool Whip Free)
Mix the first 4 ingredients until crumbly and press into an 8x8 inch pan.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Cool and break into crumbs.  Combine egg whites, lemon juice, sugar and strawberries and beat at medium speed for 15 minutes.  Fold cool whip into strawberry mixture.  Put half of crumbs in 9x9 pan, spread strawberry mixture over crumbs.  Top with remaining crumbs and freeze.


This recipe was written on the back of a census card...the blank backside really did make a good recipe card!