Family Recipe Friday – Mom’s Microwave Minestrone Soup

Posted on June 27, 2014 by kathy

Say that 10 times as fast as you can!

As I mentioned last Friday, my husband was sick last week so I became the caregiver – a role I haven’t played in a year. It felt good to be able to take him to doctor appointments, pick up his prescriptions, go to the grocery store, and do a little cooking. I wasn’t too pleased that some of these things required possible exposure to lots of germs. Grocery carts… Doctor offices… But I’ve developed a new habit – using hand sanitizer as soon as I return to the car. Or, in the case of the doctor’s office, I used it as soon as I sat down in the waiting room!

I’ve become quite the germaphobe.

Hubby wanted soup and our cupboards were nearly bare (before I made that trip to the store), but an old microwave recipe of Mom’s came to the rescue. You can substitute freely with what is on hand. Sometimes I add a can of chick peas or white beans. It’s quick and easy. I didn’t think to take a picture until there was only this little bit left.

I like to include the written recipes to preserve example’s of the writer’s handwriting. Mom wrote this out for me. I added a couple of notes in parentheses. You can see by the smudges and spills that it’s been used a few times!

MINESTRONE SOUP

1 can (15 oz.) tomatoes, undrained (I always use diced)
1 can (14.5 oz.) beef broth (or chicken or vegetable)
1 cup water
1 small zucchini, halved and sliced
1/2 cup broken spaghetti (about 1 1/2 oz.)
1 tablespoon instant beef bouillon (or chicken or vegetable)
1/2-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 package (10 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables
Parmesan cheese

1. Cut tomatoes into small pieces. Combine broth, water, zucchini, spaghetti, bouillon, seasoning and pepper in 2 1/2-quart microwave safe casserole. Cover with lid.
2. Microwave (high) 6-7 minutes, or until steaming hot. Add frozen vegetables. cover.
3. Microwave (high) 16-18 minutes until veggies and pasta are tender – stirring once. Serve with cheese.

I never remember the cheese.

Fred M. Webber Comments on Regents’ Prayer Decision: “Not a Great Tragedy”

Posted on June 24, 2014 by kathy

BS Segregation Baltimore Miller Bros.jpg

Fred M. Webber 1962

It is surprising how frequently the news today echoes the news of the 1960s. As one example, courts in 2014 are hearing cases concerning prayer in public meetings and whether a Bible curriculum written by the conservative Christian and owner of Hobby Lobby can be taught in public schools. On June 25, 1962, the Supreme Court delivered a decision on Engel v Vitale, a case involving a state-written prayer for use in the public schools in New York.

Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country.

“As supervisors of the state’s public education under New York law, the Board of Regents wrote this classroom prayer in 1951. Formal religion has no place in public schools, they said, but ‘teaching our children, as set forth in the Declaration of Independence, that Almighty God is their Creator’ would give the ‘best security’ in dangerous days. They recommended their prayer to local school boards; some accepted it, including the board in New Hyde Park, which voted in 1958 for the prayer to open each school day.” (1)

The parents of ten students in the Hyde Park school system objected and asked a New York court to stop the use of the prayer. The state court upheld the use of what became known as the Regents’ Prayer in the schools. In 1961, the Supreme Court accepted Engel v Vitale for review. And on June 25, 1962, the Supreme Court reversed the state court’s decision, saying that it violated the First Amendment’s ban against the establishment of religion. The court ruled that “any state-sponsored prayer, even if it is denominationally-neutral, represented an unconstitutional effort to promote religion and an infringement of the wall of separation that the Constitution set up between church and state.” (2)

As one can imagine, the decision sparked a great controversy, with a number of prominent church leaders and politicians speaking out against the decision.

President Kennedy was asked about the decision during a press conference on June 27, 1962:

And later that day, Fred M. Webber, General Presbyter of the Presbytery of Baltimore, spoke briefly at a celebration of the the 110th anniversary of the founding of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. Fred M. Webber addressed some of his comments to the Supreme Court decision and recommended that people “read and heed” what President Kennedy had to say. He is quoted as saying:

“I find it a little difficult to think that the striking down of that prayer is a great tragedy.”(3)

I’m with you, Uncle Fred.

***
If you would like to read more about Fred M. Webber, click the Fred Myron Webber tag/link at the bottom of this post.

Sources:
1. “The Warren Court, 1953-1969.” The Supreme Court Historical Society. http://www.supremecourthistory.org/history-of-the-court/history-of-the-court-2/the-warren-court-1953-1969. (June 23, 2014).
2. “Religion in Public Schools: Engel v Vitale.” Digital History. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=1197. (June 23, 2014).
3. “Cleric Says Court Ruling Is Not ‘A Great Tragedy’.”The Baltimore Sun.” JUne 28, 1962. Pg. 48.

Family Recipe Friday: Dad’s Chocolate Chip Cookies – Revised!

Posted on June 21, 2014 by kathy

Well… what to do? I posted this yesterday, then posted to Facebook and tagged my sisters and asked if they had any stories about these cookies. The conversation that ensued leads me to make some revisions. So the new stuff is in blue.

Cookie Recipe Revenge

First, my sister Karla said that she thought this was the “Neiman-Marcus” cookie recipe that was going around years ago. Sure enough, I googled it and it is almost the same as the recipe that goes with the urban legend. Then I looked back at the recipes I copied from Dad and found the original that he had printed from an email.

Then I found a compilation of recipes that Dad typed up with the same cookie recipe – but the brown sugar is missing.

Guess he made a mistake.

Now I understand why my cookies didn’t turn out quite as I remember his… He used the copy he typed to write out the recipe for me, so they are missing brown sugar. – He also cut the proportions in half so it would make a smaller batch. The cookies are good as I made them, so if you don’t like really sweet cookies, go ahead and leave out the brown sugar.

My sister Kim added a great story to go with the cookies, so I’ll share that too: “Dad does not really follow recipes. He makes lots of adjustments. The first time he made them he blended the oats and then measured them so he had way too many dry ingredients so the batter was too thick for the mixer. Rather than add water or milk, dad started melting sticks of butter and adding sweetened condensed milk. They were very good but I renamed them cookies of death!”

We all get a laugh at Dad’s expense on occasion because of his recipe revisions. Love you, Dad!

What follows is my original post with the addition of brown sugar. Enjoy!

My husband has been really sick this week so the shoe has been on the other foot – with me taking care of him for a change. Hubby wanted a cookie yesterday and asked our daughter to get him one at the store, but she came home without cookies!

What could I do? I had to bake cookies. They were required for his well-being after all.

After looking through my cookie recipes, I decided to bake some that my Dad(Jim) often makes. I don’t know why, but I hadn’t made them before. Guess I always made Mom’s recipe.

After consuming waaayyy too many of these one weekend, I asked Dad for his recipe and he wrote it out for me, as you can see here. When I was making them yesterday I discovered that he left off the oven temperature and my baking time differed, so I’ll type his directions and add my edits.

I need to do more of Dad’s recipes. He started cooking beyond the grill later in life – and he especially enjoys baking. A visit to their house means desserts are plentiful – and usually includes cookies, cake, and a couple of pies. And maybe some brownies for good measure.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups oats – measure and then blend to fine powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
12 ounces chocolate chips
1/2 8-ounce Hershey bar (grated)
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (usually pecans)

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda – add chips, candy and nuts.

Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 6 minutes. Should make approximately 66 cookies. Original recipe says to bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

My changes: I mixed the dry ingredients together and added them to the creamed sugar/butter/egg mixture. I baked at 350 degrees for about 10 or 11 minutes. Maybe if you bake at 375, the cook time will be shorter. I didn’t have a Hershey bar around, so missed that extra bit of chocolate. 🙁 Also, my chocolate chips were the oversized kind, which makes the cookies look smaller in the picture, I think. There was just enough dough to hold the chips together!

I decided that since we have a real problem with limiting our cookie intake around here, I wouldn’t bake all of the dough. I rolled it into balls on a cookie sheet and stuck it in the freezer. Once frozen, I put my cookie dough balls in freezer bags for future freshly baked cookies. I haven’t done this before, but it seems like a good idea.