It Was a Very Good Year – 1975 – 1981

On July 13, 2012, my two daughters surprised me with a big box of wrapped gifts, informing me it was exactly 80 days until my 80th birthday and I would be able to unwrap one gift a day.  The gift items would commemorate a year in my life in some way.  This is what I received this week.

1975 – A collage of pictures from an old area amusement park, Fantasy Farms, including vintage tickets.  One sunny afternoon, my mother and I took my five-year-old daughter to the park.  My mother had just made herself a dress of denim with red bandana trim and also made one for my daughter.  I thought it was a cute idea but my daughter was indignant – not only that she went to an amusement park dressed like her grandma, but that all the other girls were wearing shorts and tee-shirts, not a pretty dress.  My oldest daughter made up the collage that includes bits from a home movie I took that day and some photo-booth antics of my daughter.  She also did a classic 1970s design on the back.

1976 – An RC soft drink bottle commemorating the Bicentennial 1776-1976.  This is even more special because it pictures and lists the Presidents who came from Ohio.

1977- A vintage Atlas Strong Shoulder Mason jar and zinc lid with a 1977 Ohio State Fair blue ribbon and entry tag.  This is amazing for me to receive because I remember so well seeing this woman’s food entries at the Ohio State Fair for many years – most of them with blue ribbons.  The jar dates between 1896-1902.  Somehow, the jar, ribbon and entry tag wound up in a Cincinnati antique store where my oldest daughter found it.

1978 – A 1978 Hallmark Date Book with calendar, gift guide and wedding anniversary gift list.  Also, a First Day of Issue for  the 13-cent square dance stamp, dated April 26, 1978.  This is important to me because I had just graduated from square dance class in March of 1978 and continued to square and round dance for over 15 years.

1979 – The 1979 Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate – Choosing the Christmas Tree.   I’ve always loved Christmas and this plate will be a nice addition to my decorations this year.

1980 – 1980 issue of Quilt World Omnibook.  I hadn’t begun quilting yet in 1980 and I love seeing the patterns, stories and pictures from this era.

1981 – 1981 catalog – Gifts from Top Value Stamps.  These were the stamps our neighborhood store handled and it was like a wonderful bonus to collect the stamps each week and finally have enough to exchange for something nice.  I found a couple of items in this catalog that the girls remembered having in our 1981 kitchen.

All of my posts on this wonderful celebration are listed in Family – My 80th Birthday in my index on the right hand side of the page.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Dessert

I developed this recipe using bits and pieces from other dishes.  The topping is Stabilized Whipped Cream from Veronica’s Cornucopia.

There are several steps, but easy ones, and this dessert goes together very quickly.  It is simply delicious – rich, cool, satisfying.

Topping (PREPARE THE NIGHT BEFORE SERVING)

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 24 miniature marshmallows
• ¼ cup granulated sugar

Crust:

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup butter, cut in small cubes
• ½ cup salted peanuts, chopped

Filling:

• 4 serving pkg. Jello instant chocolate pudding
• 1-½ cups milk
• ¾ cup peanut butter

• 1 Dove Pleasure Or Hershey Nugget for grating

To make topping:
The night before serving, in a medium bowl mix the cream cheese with a fork until smooth.  Gradually add the cream, stirring until blended.  Stir in the marshmallows and sugar.

Place bowl in the refrigerator (do not cover the bowl).  Place the beaters in the freezer to chill overnight.

In the morning, place the cream mixture in a mixer bowl and beat with the chilled beaters until marshmallows have dissolved and stiff peaks form.

To make the crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, place flour and butter cubes.

Mix the butter into the flour with your fingertips.  Add the peanuts and mix into the dough.  Place dough in the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch baking dish.

Bake @ 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack.

To make the filling:
Place instant pudding mix in a medium bowl and whisk in the milk for one minute.  Add peanut butter and continue whisking until smooth.

Pour pudding on top of cooled crust.

Spoon topping on top of the chocolate mixture.

Grate the chocolate candy over the top of the dessert.

Cover and chill for at least two hours.

Servings:  6

I made an extra batch of the stabilized whipped cream to see how long it would hold up after being made.  Refrigerated, it will remain stable for 5 days.  It is also possible to freeze and thaw the cream with good results. It’s nice to make in advance and have on hand for when you are pressed for time.   Of course, you could also substitute regular whipped cream or a frozen whipped topping (thawed) in this dish.

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It Was a Very Good Year – 1968-1974

On July 13, 2012, my two daughters surprised me with a big box of wrapped gifts, informing me it was exactly 80 days until my 80th birthday and I would be able to unwrap one gift a day.  The gift items would commemorate a year in my life in some way.  This is what I received this week.

1968 – A double CD set of favorite songs from 1960s.

1969 – My oldest daughter put together a booklet of clippings from her 1969 scrapbook.  There was quite a bit about Neil Armstrong and the moon landing.

1970 - This is something of a tongue-in-cheek gift – a David Cassidy/Partridge Family trading card.  Although I was never much of a fan, my daughter who was born in 1970 is and was delighted to find this gift for me.  The lyrics to the song are on the back of the card.

1971 – A Gordon Lightfoot songbook.  This is perfect for me since Gordon Lightfoot is my all-time favorite singer.

1972 – A 1972 edition of Sport Story with Pete Rose on the cover.  No one lived in Cincinnati in this era who didn’t know Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose.

1973 – The book Secretariat.  Secretariat was the Triple Crown Winner in 1973.

1974 – My youngest daughter knitted a pair of mittens in the classic colors of the 1970s from a vintage pattern.

All of my posts on this wonderful celebration are listed in Family – My 80th Birthday in my index on the right hand side of the page.

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Honey Bee Table Topper–Mini-Quilt

My daughter gave me an embroidered piece she had made several years ago and I wanted to make a table topper quilt out of it.  I didn’t want anything too colorful or elaborate to draw attention away from the beautiful embroidery and decided on strips of Civil War reproduction fabric with the deep, rustic colors that are in the panel.

I quilted the topper with machine embroidery along the edges of the strips.  The backing is one of many I have stored away made of scraps.  As beginner/ender projects or just as some mindless sewing to do when I want to relax, I make up backings from scraps and orphan blocks.

I’m glad to have another honey bee item to add to my collection.

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Peach Cream Tart

I first made this tart in 1987 from a cookbook called Savannah Collection that I had bought on a recent trip to Georgia.  In my binder, I have it rated “excellent”.

PEACH CREAM TART
Butter Crust:

• 1-¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ cup cold butter, cut in small cubes
• 2 Tbsp. sour cream

Peach Filling:

• 6 medium size ripe peaches
• 3 large egg yolks
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1/8 tsp. almond extract
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 410 degrees F
You will need a 9-inch tart pan (9 inches across the bottom, 10 inches across the top) with removable sides, ungreased.

To make the crust:

In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt.  Add butter cubes and with your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until it is evenly distributed.

Add the sour cream and work it into the dough with your fingertips until blended.

Roll out crust on a lightly floured board.

Place in pan and press into place.

Blind-bake the crust by placing parchment paper or foil on top of the crust and filling with a pound of dry beans.  I put the beans in a jar and use the same ones over and over for blind-baking.  Don’t cook the beans as a vegetable after baking this way.

Bake @ 410 degrees F for 10 minutes, remove parchment paper and beans, and continue baking for another 5 minutes.  Remove to a rack while preparing filling.  Crust should be set but not brown.

REDUCE OVEN HEAT TO 350 DEGREES F

To make the filling:

Peel peaches.  To remove peel easily, drop the peaches into very hot water and allow to stand for 1-2 minutes.  Remove and allow to drain and cool.  The peel will slip off easily.  Remove pits and cut in ½ inch thick slices.  Arrange slices in circle on top of crust,  and then make a second layer of peaches.

Combine egg yolks, sour cream, almond extract, sugar and flour and whisk until smooth.  Pour yolk mixture over peaches.

Bake @ 350 degrees F until set and pale golden color – about 1 hour.  Cover with loose foil tent if color gets too dark.  Cool on wire rack.

While still warm, glaze with the following:

• ½ cup peach jam (I used my homemade Missouri Peach Preserves)
• 1 Tblsp. Water

Heat the jam and water in a small saucepan until mixture begins to boil.  Strain to remove any large pieces of fruit.

Brush glaze while still warm on top of warm tart.

Allow tart to cool on rack.  Remove sidewall of pan.

Serve warm, room temperature or chilled.

Serves 8

Here are some more good recipes using peaches:
Fresh Fruit Kuchen
Banana Peach Bars
Fresh Peach Clafouti

Celebration Peach Cobbler

Peach Lasagne

Missouri Peach Preserves

My Fresh Peach Pie

Fresh Peach Crumble Pie

Prize-Winning Blueberry Peach Pie

Fresh Peach Muffins

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It Was a Very Good Year – 1961-1967

On July 13, 2012, my two daughters surprised me with a big box of wrapped gifts, informing me it was exactly 80 days until my 80th birthday and I would be able to unwrap one gift a day.  The gift items would commemorate a year in my life in some way.  This is what I received this week.

1961 – A 1961 edition of a television schedule that was included with our newspaper.  It’s so much fun to read because of the ads for local businesses.  And wasn’t Andy Williams young and handsome?

1962 – A copy of Life magazine featuring one of my favorites from the early days of television – Sid Caesar.

1963 – My youngest daughter knitted this for me from a vintage pattern – everyone had to have a fancy toilet tissue cover in 1963, right?

1964 – A tiny tray with salt and pepper shakers from the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

1965 – A copy of  Strange but True Baseball Stories.  Anything relating to baseball has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember.

1966 – A token from Cincinnati’s Potter’s Shoes celebrating 100 years in business – from 1866 to 1966.  On the reverse side is a memorial to our Suspension Bridge which was also built in 1866.

1967 – A small plate commemorating Salzburg and The Sound of Music.  My oldest daughter included a note reminiscing about how the two of us saw the movie in a neighborhood theater in the fall of 1967.  She writes, “The theater was packed with kids, who cheered loudly when Maria and the Captain did their “Something Good” number, then again when Maria appeared in her wedding gown.  I always think of The Sound of Music in October and imagine the hills of Cincinnati are the hills above Salzburg.”  In 1990, we were able to go to Austria and visit Salzburg.

All of my posts on this wonderful celebration are listed in Family – My 80th Birthday in my index on the right hand side of the page.

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The Amish and the Honey Bees are Visiting my August Kitchen

My favorite vacation destination is Amish Country in Holmes County, Ohio.  It is so picturesque with photo-op scenery around every corner and each bend in the road.  In August, I display a few items that have been purchased and some that have been handmade.  The two cast-iron figures on the window sill were a recent gift and I love the one of the woman quilting.  On my shelf I have a set of 4 figures that I’ve had for many years.  They look so similar to the families we see walking along the road when we visit Amish Country.

My first cast-iron Amish figures were an engagement gift from a friend in 1952 -a set of salt and pepper shakers.  This little guy’s mate was lost many years ago and he’s a little the worse for wear because all four of my children carried him around when they were toddlers.

I have two beautiful framed  pieces made by my oldest daughter …

…and two wall hangings that I made ….

My daughter loves bees and contributed several items when she moved back home.  I made two of her embroidered pieces into wall hangings  …

For me, displaying these beautiful things is a nice segue from summer into fall.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

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Repurposing a Pillow into a Wall Hanging

This wall hanging began life as a pillow in 2007 when it won a blue ribbon at our county fair.  Then, it went into the cedar chest to be given as a gift to the proper person.  Each time, I hung onto it and gave something else from the chest and decided this year, I would like to have it made into a wall hanging that I could use more than I could a pillow.

It was pretty easy to disassemble the pillow, make the back into top and bottom borders, and add a backing.  I omitted binding and simply sewed the wall hanging and backing right sides together, then turned and top-stitched.   I used drapery hooks rather than adding a sleeve.

This pattern was adapted from a decorative painting design by my favorite artist, Helan Barrick.  I simplified it quite a bit to make it into a fused applique panel and added the pieced blocks in typical Amish colors.  The little quilt the girls are working on is also pieced.

I’m enjoying seeing this repurposed item in my kitchen after all these years.

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It Was a Very Good Year – 1954-1960

On July 13, 2012, my two daughters surprised me with a big box of wrapped gifts, informing me it was exactly 80 days until my 80th birthday and I would be able to unwrap one gift a day.  The gift items would commemorate a year in my life in some way.  This is what I received this week.

1954 – My oldest daughter embroidered dish towels from 1954 patterns.  The Dutch Boy is from The Workbasket – April, 1954 (the same month and year she was born) and the girl with the umbrella is from a 1954 coloring book.

1955 – A 1-½ inch diameter tin labeled School Buildings 1955 and containing an actual film strip showing the latest improvements in school buildings in that year.

1956 – A TV Guide for February 4-10, 1956.  A note is attached, “You were probably watching some of these shows waiting for your first son to arrive.”  My oldest son was born on March 8, 1956, so I was spending a lot of time watching Gary Moore, Perry Como, Annie Oakley (a favorite of my toddler daughter), and Cincinnati’s local star, Ruth Lyons.

1957 – A Betty Furness Westinghouse Roast Meat Thermometer and Skewer.  Betty Furness was best known in the early days of television for opening Westinghouse refrigerators and talking about all of their wonderful features.

1958 – A 1958 copy of Woman’s Day Cook Book of Favorite Recipes.  I have a large cookbook collection but have never seen this one.  I was interested to find a lot of canning and bake-from-scratch recipes.

1959 – A metal tin that had held a typewriter ribbon.  It has an interesting graphic on the top of the tin and Feb 59 on the back.  After all of the years I spent typing, I love anything dealing with typewriters, especially the vintage items.

1960 - A picture of President and First Lady Kennedy leaving the hospital with John Kennedy, Jr.  The note attached to this picture says, “1960 – The year two important John-Johns were born“.  This refers to my youngest son, John, who was born March 11, 1960.  When he was a toddler, we did refer to him as John-John now and then.

As I was leaving the hospital with my baby John, I looked nothing like Jackie in her perfect suit, hat, gloves and pumps.

All of my posts on this wonderful celebration are listed in Family – My 80th Birthday in my index on the right hand side of the page.

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Salted Caramel Grahams

I had made a similar cookie with a chocolate coating and my daughter wondered how they would be without the chocolate.  I also changed from slivered almonds to roughly chopped whole toasted almonds and added a sprinkling of sea salt.  We found out they are absolutely delicious – buttery, crisp, lots of nuts and the sea salt adds an extra bit of punch.  My family loved them.  Also, fast and easy to put together.

SALTED CARAMEL GRAHAMS

• 12 long graham crackers
• 1-1/2 cups chopped toasted almonds
• 1 cup butter (the real thing)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp. sea salt

Line 11 x 16 inch jelly roll pan (with lips) with parchment paper.  Lay graham crackers in pan to fit snugly.

Sprinkle with almonds and set aside.

Put butter and brown sugar in a saucepan, and bring to a full rolling boil while stirring constantly (about 4 minutes).

Pour the hot caramel carefully over the almond/graham cracker base, spreading to cover all of the crackers and nuts.  You can use a spoon to dip up small amounts and patch any uncovered spots.  Sprinkle with sea salt.

Place in a 350° F oven for 8-10 minutes, or until bubbly all over.  Place on a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Using a knife, pry up pieces of the cookie and break into serving-size pieces.

Good either chilled or at room temperature – caramel is softer at room temperature.  This recipe makes a lot of very rich pieces.

They’re hard to resist.

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