PUMPKIN DIP FOR CAROL AND KAY PLUS A SUBSTITUTION FOR PUMPKIN PIE SPICE

Pumpkins for sale last Fall.

There are no pictures of this dip as I am posting it for friends who have fresh homemade gingersnaps that they want to dip into Pumpkin Dip and they don't have a recipe.

Farmer's Market last Fall.

PUMPKIN DIP
Pumpkin dip is fabulous with gingersnap, fruit slices like apple or pear, vanilla wafers or even animal crackers.


1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened, reduced calorie cream cheese works well
2 c powdered sugar
1 15oz. can pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling
1 T cinnamon
1 T pumpkin pie spice
1 t frozen orange juice concentrate, I use a little orange juice and orange zest if I don't have the concentrate

NOTE:  You can use 1/2 T cinnamon and 1 1/2 T pumpkin pie spice if you prefer


In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar using an electric mixer until the mixture is fluffy.  Mix in pumpkin a little at a time.  Add spices and orange juice.  Beat until well mixed and smooth.  Chill before serving so the flavors can meld.

Beautiful pumpkins.

SUBSTITUTION FOR PUMPKIN PIE SPICE

 For 1 teaspoon  of pumpkin pie spice mix together:


1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

TOWN TALK COOKIES FROM BRAAK'S BAKERY???????

No one who grew up in Grand Haven will forget the wonderful Town Talk cookies made by Braak's Bakery.  The bakery is closed now.  Does anyone have any of the cookie recipes for their wonderful cookies?  Would you share with us??  I loved the Figure 8 cookies.  Hope to hear from someone with the good news that they have recipes and will share!!!

A PADDLE BOARD VIEW OF THE LAKE MICHIGAN ICEBERGS

I have never tried to put a link up as a posting so I hope this works.  This link is of a person on a paddle board out in Lake Michigan touring the icebergs on the Lake near Holland, Michigan.  I was very impressed with the beauty and hope you will be too.

http://www.wzzm13.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=753251998001#/Viewer%20Video%3A%20Stand%20Up%20Paddling%20in%20Holland%20around%20icebergs/753251998001

MOM'S "BOILED" SHRIMP--SIMPLY THE BEST!! AND VERY SIMPLE SHRIMP COCKTAIL SAUCE.

This is the best way I have ever found to cook shrimp.  It is not a spice mix that adds additional flavors to the shrimp.  You make a broth of celery, onion, caraway seeds and bay leaves.  Then when the broth is nice and strong, you add the shrimp.  The broth serves to intensify the shrimp flavor.  You can use beer instead of water, but I don't think it adds anything to the broth that isn't there in the original recipe. Enjoy the beer yourself while the shrimp are cooking. 

Incredibly delicious.  Enjoy!!!!

I think Mom brought this recipe home from one of her gas company cooking school classes in 1929. When Mom was young, her Mom really didn’t like her in the kitchen so Mom didn't learn many cooking skills before she and Dad were married. My Dad was from the Netherlands. He loved good food plus he loved anything that came from the sea. Mom's family didn't even cook fish so Mom had a double problem, she couldn't cook and she knew nothing about seafood. Mom solved both her problems by taking cooking classes at the gas company. At that time, the gas company was not just a utility company. It was also a full service appliance store which sold and serviced appliances, offered cooking classes, printed recipe cards and seasonal recipe booklets, and had a customer service information department to answer all kinds of cooking questions. The classes not only taught my Mom to cook, they introduced her to ingredients she had never seen before like Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. The classes left a really big impression on Mom and they were one of the reasons she encouraged me to study food science in the 1960's. Mom never forgot that the home economists that taught the classes could make a big mess cooking, but someone else always came along and cleaned up. Mom liked that idea.

When they are this big and beautiful it is hard to share them!

MOM'S BOILED SHRIMP
My family has used this recipe for at least 80 years.  We have never found a better way to cook shrimp.


1 T salt, I do not use any salt and I don't miss it
3 bay leaves
Bunch of celery leaves
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
2 t caraway seeds
Water to cover the shrimp to be cooked plus a little extra
Raw shell-on shrimp

Ingredients:  Shrimp, celery, onions, bay leaves, caraway seeds and salt if desired.

In a large saucepan, bring salt (if using), bay leaves, celery leaves, onion, caraway seeds and water to a boil. Cover and simmer for at least15 minutes. Drop in shrimp; bring back to just before it boils. Quickly reduce the heat so shrimp just simmer. Gently simmer for about 5 minutes or less depending on the size of the shrimp.  Mom always bought big shrimp but they are getting hard to find.  Do not boil shrimp and do not overcook. Simmer just until shrimp are pink and tender. Drain. Shell and eat warm or cold.

Put celery, onions, bay leaves and caraway seeds in a large pot.  Add salt if desired.

Cover and bring to a boil.  Simmer until you have a nice strong broth.

Add shrimp and bring the mixture to just short of a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until shrimp on done.

Drain.

VERY SIMPLE COCKTAIL SAUCE
Just as the broth enhances the shrimp flavor, so does this simple cocktail sauce.

Ingredients:  Chili sauce and prepared horseradish.

Put cocktail sauce in a bowl.

Add some horseradish to taste.  Stir and let set for flavors to meld.

Serve shrimp with cocktail sauce and enjoy!!!

I wish I had a dish of shrimp right now.  I would eat them all by myself.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!

KIELBASA/POLISH SAUSAGE--HOW TO COOK FRESH AND SMOKED PLUS MATTHEW'S SECRET SAUCE

Broiled smoked Kielbasa with cheesy potatoes, green beans and sauerkraut.  Enjoy!!

MATTHEW'S SECRET SAUCE--ENJOY!!!!!!

It looks like next weekend the Chicago Bears will be playing the Green Bay Packers.  Since Chicago has more Polish people than any other city except Warsaw, Kielbasa is a great food to serve at a football watching party.

Fresh Kielbasa, enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The word Kielbasa means sausage in Polish.  In this country, Kielbasa is a name for a smoked garlic sausage.  On the West Side of Grand Rapids and in other areas of Western Michigan, Kielbasa is available both fresh and smoked.

Fresh Kielbasa has not been cooked or smoked.  It is raw meat.

Smoked Kielbasa is the ring on the left.  It has been cooked and can be eaten just like it is.  To the right is the fresh Kielbasa. 

To be sure I knew the correct way of cooking Kielbasa we headed to 20th Century Market on Bridge St. in Grand Rapids.  They have been making authentic Polish, German and other sausages since 1907.  The clerk told us that fresh Kielbasa has to be simmered at least 45 minutes to make it tender.  Then, she said, some people put it under the broiler to brown it.  I think my Mom and Grandma's way to cook Kielbasa is easier but still retains the basic Polish method for cooking the sausage.

My Grandma shopped here in the early 20th Century.

Display case showing some of the sausages that 20th Century market makes.

TO COOK FRESH KIELBASA

Take the fresh Kielbasa and

put it into a large frying pan.

Cover the sausage with cold water.

Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat.

Simmer until all the water is gone.  I like to turn it over with tongs at least once while it is simmering. Takes between 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of your pan. 

When the water is gone, leave the sausage in the pan and let it brown on one side.

Turn it over with tongs and brown the other side.

Ready to eat.

Beautiful.

We served it with sauerkraut and German potato salad.  Some green beans would add nice color to the plate. 

So delicious!!  Enjoy!!!

COOKING SMOKED KIELBASA

Smoked Kielbasa can be sliced cold and served with cheese and crackers.

It can be grilled.  Grilled outside, it is wonderful but our grill has about 10-inches of snow on it.

Smoked Kielbasa just has to be heated.  It can be steamed.

Broiling is good.  This is how I do it in the winter.

We like it with the casing a little burned.

Broiled smoked Kielbasa ready to serve.  

20th Century Market's sausages use coarse ground meat which I think is the best.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!!!

MATTHEW'S SECRET SAUCE

Matthew came up with this sauce when he was a young teenager.  It shows that the whole is better than the parts.

Ingredients:  Ketchup, yellow mustard and prepared horseradish.

This sauce can be made with the amounts you like.  If you like mustard, add lots of mustard.

Like it hot?  Use more horseradish.

Want it heavy on a ketchup flavor?  Add lots of ketchup.

Stir and let the flavors meld.  The sauce tastes fantastic and much better than just using a smear of ketchup, a dab of mustard and a little horseradish. 

Serve with any kind of sausage and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!



LAKE MICHIGAN SNOW MACHINE.

The Lake Michigan Snow Machine is running at full power.  I found this poem in my files and have to share it with you.  I do not know who wrote it.  I wish I had written but I can't take credit for it. 

A MICHIGAN WINTER POEM
It’s winter here in Michigan
And the gentle breezes blow,
Seventy miles an hour,
At twenty five below.

Oh, how I love ole Michigan
When the snow’s up to your butt.
You take a breath of winter
And your nose freezes shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I’ll hang around.
I could never leave my Michigan
Cause I’m frozen to the ground!

SOMETIMES IT IS STRANGE THINGS THAT GIVE US COMFORT.

KATRINKA AND IZZY. 

Tom had taken Katrinka and Izzy out to the car to wait for me.  They were getting the car warm for our trip.  I was grabbing my purse, looking for my mittens, when I passed Katrinka's orthopedic bed and got a good whiff of  dog aroma.  I am sure the majority of people would have grabbed a vacuum and a can of air freshener.  I just stood there and took a deep breath.  I love the smell of dog, especially the smell of their feet.  I love the smell of Katrinka because it means she is still with us.  She is almost 13 years old.  She has all the hip issues that German Shepherds have plus she has a German Shepherd form of ALS.  She isn't graceful anymore but neither am I with my knee problems.  She still enjoys life and loves to go anywhere we go.  She is a 5 year cancer survivor and despite her hip problems can still chase a stranger dog up the hill away from "her" property.    I stood by her bed and thought, the smell of a loved dog comforts me. 

Do you have things that comfort you that others might find strange?