Getting ready for you-know-what

                        
After a well spent spring and summer accumulating treasures, my seek and find game will soon be limited to rummage sales, antique shops, auction houses, indoor flea markets, and secondhand stores. But with the holidays just around a couple corners, I will be adding craft shows and church bazaars to my list. Nearly all packed up and soon gone for the season are yard sales, farmers’ markets, roadside flea markets, auctions under the big tents, and sidewalk sales.
So with the predictable change of seasons and the always uncertain weather conditions of The Great State of Ohio, I will now turn my attention to indoor projects. My pile of reading has accumulated, as have the candles I may need more for lighting purposes than for aromatherapy. My collection of acrylic paints have rainbowed into a line of fine examples for anxious brush dipping. And my assortment of glues (over thread and needles) is ready for bringing a work of ingenuity and creativity together. My toolbox is stocked with hardware, sandpaper, steel wool, and tools.
My cellar shelves are filling up with canned goods, lined up in organized fashion; beans, corn, peas. Multiple jars of freshly canned tomato juice sometime jingle together when we take the stairs up or down. The kitchen pantry, the porch deep freeze, and the garage freezer, are gearing up for winter stocking as well. Paper goods and health and beauty aids, especially remedies for colds and flu, are ready for easy dispensing access. The clothesline in the basement has been wiped and new pins for indoor drying have been clipped, all ready for furnace heat to dry heavy loads of towels and jeans.
Before the weather gets too wet, I will have laundered and wind-dried all our cozy up quilts, blankets and throws; hopefully a bit of sun appears in the process. Travel necessities will be inventoried and placed in my vehicle if needed; a long-handled scraper with brush, snacks, blanket, phone charger, and flashlight. A phone book, a new box of tissues, umbrella, and a ready-to-go spare tire are good ideas as well. A bag of kitty litter or sand, for added weight or traction when stuck in white stuff situations, should also be considered.
And most importantly, when the weather turns cold, always run on a fuller tank of gas. I must confess this advice is repeated to me often. So I am repeating it to you. Let’s hope it all turns out for the best, and let’s just get ready for you-know-what!
Send your harvest time dinner favorites to thewritecook@sssnet.com or mail recipes to Daphne S. Ross, 5973 Blachleyville Road, Wooster 44691. Include a self addressed, stamped envelope if you request a personal reply.

Sunflower Seed Cookies
(Sigrid Medalen)
1 cup butter
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
Cream butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla till fluffy. Add rest of ingredients. Roll into small balls and press on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Variation: Use almond flavoring instead of vanilla. Use walnuts instead of coconut.

Harvest Salmon Chowder
(Shari Otness)
1 (7 3/4 ounce) can salmon
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter or bacon fat
1 cup diced potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
2 cups chicken stock (or fish stock)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup diced zucchini
1 (13 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (8 3/4 ounce) can cream style corn
Parsley for garnish
Drain and flake salmon, reserving liquid. Sauté onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in butter until vegetables are translucent. Add potatoes, carrots, chicken broth and seasonings. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add zucchini and cook 5 minutes. Add flaked salmon and reserved liquid, evaporated milk and corn. Heat through. Serve with a sprinkling of parsley.
Banana Cupcakes
(Margit Smith)
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon soda
1/4 cup sour milk
1 cup mashed, sieved bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream shortening and sugar; add eggs and beat. Sift dry ingredients. Add alternately with sour milk, bananas and vanilla. Fill greased cupcake pans 1/2 full. Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Frost when cool.

Lemon Banana Frosting
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons mashed banana
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Mix till smooth.

McCay’s Famous Cookies
(Larine Randrup)
1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups molasses
1 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon soda
6 cups oats
1 package chocolate chips
3 cups flour
Mix as usual for cookies. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake about 10 to 12 minutes at 375 degrees.

Special Spice Nuts & Bolts
(Sharon Burrell)
1 box cheerios
2 pounds mixed nuts
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 box Rice Chex
1 package pretzel sticks
2 teaspoons smoked salt
1 teaspoon summer savory
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 pound butter
Melt butter and add spices; stir till blended. Mix dry ingredients (cereals and nuts). Drizzle butter mixture over all. Place in large roaster and put in oven at 250 degrees for 1 hour; stir occasionally.

Chicken & Barley Casserole (Olivia Olsen)
2 cups water
1 cup barley
2 cans cream chicken soup
1 package dry onion soup
2 pounds chicken pieces
Mix water and barley in 9-by-13 inch pan. Scoop chicken soup out on top of this. Lay chicken parts in soup; sprinkle with dry onion soup. Cover with foil. Bake 2 hours at 350 degrees.

Meatza Pie (Lois DeBoer)
1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Grated sharp cheese
Pepperoni or sausage
Mix ground beef, milk, crumbs and garlic salt and pat into 9-inch pie pan, covering bottom and sides. Mix tomato sauce, oregano, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and pour into meat. Top with remaining ingredients. Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

BBQ Cranberry Chicken (Olivia Olsen)
3 pounds chicken pieces
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce, your favorite
1 1/2 cups cranberry sauce (wild is best)
Mix barbecue sauce and cranberry sauce together. Coat chicken in seasoned flour. Melt 1/4 cup fat (half butter) in baking pan in 425 degree oven, watch close. Place chicken, skin side down, in a single layer in pan. Bake 45 minutes. Pour off fat and turn chicken over. Spoon hot sauces over the chicken and bake at 375 degrees until tender, about 45 minutes. Baste during baking.

Sloppy Joes (Marilyn Jordan)
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
Brown and cook until onion is tender. Drain off fat.
Add:
1 can undiluted tomato soup
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
Cook over low heat approximately 10 minutes. Serve on 6 rolls; top with 1/2 cup shredded cheese.


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