June, 2008

  1. Bad Blogger

    June 25, 2008 by Tarrant Figlio

    I have been an inconsistent blogger for the past couple of months as I prepare to move. It has been worse this week and will be throughout the week and into next week. After that though…I hope to have my cookbooks unpacked, more interest in food again, and generally be a better blogger.

    In the meantime, the house is in turmoil. My internet got fried by a storm on Sunday. My cookbooks and recipe cards are packed. My cooking has been pathetic. So…wander around and enjoy some other great food bloggers. Try some of the ones in my This Blog is Excellent post.

    I apologize and hope to be back and better REALLY SOON. Promise.

    Category retro food | Tags: | 3 Comments

  2. Red Hot Applesauce Jell-o

    June 18, 2008 by Tarrant Figlio

    This is the dish that I introduced to our blended family’s holidays. Well, that and eggs Benedict. It is one that everyone will eat. So it definitely, goes on the list of recipes to send our daughter out in the world with.

    1 large box Strawberry Banana Jell-0 (or any red Jell-0…but I use the strawberry banana)
    1 envelope Knox gelatin (optional)
    1/2 cup red hots (You can use anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
    2 cups boiling water
    2 cups applesauce (in the recipe I scrawled in the back of my Cookbook for Boys and Girls it says 1 can which means I always say I need a can…even though canned applesauce no longer seems to exist)

    Dissolve red hots in boiling water in a small saucepan on the stove. Mix the red jell-o powder and Knox in a bowl. When red hots are dissolved, pour into gelatins and stir until dissolved. Stir in applesauce. You will want to wait until the boiled water/Jell-o mixture cools a little before adding the applesauce or go back in and stir in about a 1/2 hour. Otherwise, the applesauce will settle and it won’t be as evenly distributed. Stick it in the fridge until it gels.

    Note: The Knox isn’t necessary but you will want to add it if you like a firmer Jell-0 salad OR you want to do it in a mold that you turn it out and slice it.

    Category Recipes, retro food, Salads | Tags: , | 7 Comments

  3. Tips for a Girl with Her Own Home

    June 17, 2008 by Tarrant Figlio

    1. Stuck on goo in a pot or pan? This one is the one your other mother didn’t know. Clean yucky pans and make them shine again with a mixture of 2 tablespoons cream of tartar dissolved into 1 quart water. Bring the mixture to a boil inside the pot and boil for 10 minutes.
    2. You can also add liquid fabric softener to a casserole with warm water and soak for an hour to get stuck on goo off of it.
    3. Cleaners are expensive. Mix 1/2 cup bleach with 8 cups of water in a spray bottle to clean counters and bathroom sinks.
    4. 1/2 cup cascade powder + a splash of bleach in a large bucket of water will remove blood stains…but it will also seriously bleach any and all colors. If you soak too long you also risk holes in the item.
    5. Crumbled aluminum foil works as an in a pinch scrub pad
    6. Create a place where you always keep your keys and ID and train yourself to keep them there. ALWAYS.
    7. Change the oil on the car every 3000 miles. Look for coupons. Wednesdays give “ladies” 10% off at Jiffy Lube in town. However, keep your own records of when filters/wipers/etc need changing. Do not upgrade to any service that they will try to sell you there…go home and figure out if it is really a worthwhile service and then go back if it is and they have a good deal. You are young, a girl and car repair places know how to push buttons.
    8. Good wiper blades in Florida are a must. If they stop working well and your windows are clean, replace them.
    9. Make up your bed every day before noon. It is good luck. Really. Do it.
    10. Remember you are on your own but we will be a phone call, txt message or email away. You have friends in town, your brother, and we have more people than you can imagine in town who will help you out with anything. They adore us, adore you, and really do remember what it was like to be new to being on their own. So, don’t ever think you are alone baby girl. You aren’t. Besides kid…your moms…anything. anywhere. You know that.

    Category housekeeping, retro food | Tags: | 3 Comments

  4. Moving Monday Mommy Recipes

    June 16, 2008 by Tarrant Figlio

    Bear with me non-family readers as I pass on last minute mommy information this week. My 18 yo daughter Michelle is moving out this week. She has gotten her very first apartment. We are moving out of state as well in just a few weeks. This has caused anxiety all around.

    The sweetest and yet saddest anxiety is her anxiety about cooking family favorites. She is a great cook. Invite her to any party where you need guacamole. She makes a fab chicken stir fry. She can make pancakes. Michelle even makes a good veggie lasagna. In any case she isn’t inexperienced in the kitchen. I am not worried she will starve to death through inability to cook.

    I don’t know if she needs my meatball recipe. I think she is the one who sneaks them leftover and cold out of the fridge.

    Note to Michelle: I have been using the frozen veggie meatballs for years to make these but since it is made with Lipton Onion Soup it isn’t technically vegetarian…since I believe there is some beef broth in it.

    You can bake the meatballs in the oven or cook them on the stove top before adding sauce if you do not have or want to use a crock-pot.

    I know she asked me at Easter how to make Eggs Benedict. sigh. I hope she is home with us wherever home might be for the Eggs Benedict holidays. Holidays on your own are a bittersweet mixture of “wow, I am grown up” and “I want my mommy(ies)”. They still are that way for me close to two decades after having my own household.

    Child of my heart: The measurement for the milk is estimated. You may need to add a bit more milk SLOWLY if it is too thick towards the end of cooking. Watch out for boiling…the hot splats of sauce burn!

    Leftover sauce works well for a lot of people on broccoli and on asparagus. You will need to add milk when reheating. Or you can put a dollop on an english muffin topped with Canadian bacon then stick it in the toaster oven or oven the next day.

    For some reason…Michelle won’t want the Asparagus Jell-o or the Cheese Nip casserole recipes. ;-)

    Category retro food | Tags: | 5 Comments

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