I called her "Mommy" when I was very small; "M~o~t~h~e~r", as an irritable and irritating teenager; and simply, "Mom" for most of my life. I was probably two or three years old when I first realized that when others called her, "Mary", they were speaking of my mommy.
She was beautiful, bright, energetic and strong-willed. Always a neatnik, she kept our home and herself "ready for company" at all times. Everyone who knew her remarked that she was up at dawn, had her house in order, my older brother and I taken care of and was completely 'fixed up' with make-up, hair and clothes fresh and spiffy, right down to the starched aprons that were the vogue in her day. All by 9:00 a.m.
She was my father's, "Mary", until their 38 years of a loving marriage was ended by his untimely death at the age of 58, leaving her a widow at the age of 55. By that time, I was married to an equally wonderful man who took over the details involved in the death of a loved one, helping me to help Mom in that terrible time. Because she was frightened to stay alone at night, she sold her home and came to live with us.
Nothing too remarkable in all this, is there? It happens in millions of families and is really a part of life -- to an end we all share. But, there the story changes. I need to tell you what the ensuing years taught me and what I hope to pass on in warning to all who will listen, "Don't let anyone ever make you forget who you are!"
Five years passed during which we grew to a household of Grandma, Dad, Mom and three children. We continued with our business, my mother involved with working with us. There were suitors a-plenty visiting her at our place of business, but she never paid them much attention. Then one day, she took an interest in a cigar-smoking, egotistical, unattractive man with bad teeth. He was well-known for being a money-grubber and having a cruel personality, and she was told this by many friends and relatives. But, to no avail. She was determined to accept his proposal of marriage.
In my fear for her, I made a big mistake. I told her, "Him or us." She moved out of my home and proceeded to make a closer relationship with him and his evil spinster sister. Before the marriage, however, we patched things up between us and I even held the wedding reception for them.....she was still my "mom".
It seemed things were O.K. for the first few years, although it irritated me that she waited on him hand and foot, even making his plate ahead of everyone else when we had family functions. She sold her car, moved into his house which did not even have a kitchen until she had one installed, had his home carpeted and sided, kept him and his house spanky clean and continued to work in our business.
"So what?" you say?
It would matter not, that's true, if she had been able to keep sight of who she was. After the marriage, I never heard him call her simply, "Mary" or some term of endearment. He always mumbled, "M o r r e y". Even worse, most of the time he began calling her, "Statta Baba" or just plain, "Statta". This I found out meant lazy, dumb, old lady! It drove me crazy, and if he did it when I was around, I'd say, "My mother's name is Mary." But, most of the time I let them settle their own battles, for in the early years, she could hold her own.
In 1978 my family moved across the country and she dearly missed us all....especially the grandchildren. They began to take trips once or twice a year to visit, staying with us for one to two months at a time. We accepted his presence in good grace, because of my mother. We gave them one of my son's bedroom, a car for their use, cooked dinners and took them out, and loaded them up with Christmas gifts to take home at their yearly Thanksgiving + Christmas + New Years visit.
Around 1990, I noticed Mom's memory slipping. She became less interested in keeping house, cooking and was less fastidious about her appearance. On their trips he verbally abused her more and more, but she didn't remember it very long. In her really good moments, she'd tell me that she had done things that she had to take care of...would I help her? I didn't really understand what she meant, but I told her I'd help as best I could. Finally in 1995 she gave me her power of attorney. That was her last trip to my home.
Mom failed quickly after that. She had a heart murmur from childhood, caused by a defective valve, that was never treated. She started into attacks of congestive heart failure, needed insulin for diabetes and over 10 kinds of medication. She couldn't even remember that she needed medication, let alone dose herself. It fell to her husband to give her the shots and pills. I pleaded for her to be sent to me so that she could spend her last days with those she loved, and to let me care for her as she cared for me when she was "Mommy".
I was frantic. I got in touch with the Association for the Aged and had social workers, nurses and bathers sent into the house. He sent them packing...telling me they stole his ballpoint pens. I took two trips back to check on her and found her alone, sweating in a hot apartment in the middle of August 1996 at 8:00 at night. He was visiting his sister, helping her treat her sick DOG!
Again, in a moment of lucidity, she told me she had things she had to undo. We all went to the bank and added my name to their bank account. The next day, the bank called me to say that he had taken my mother in there and had her sign to remove my name from the account and remove me as her power of attorney. I went to the apartment to ask her what had happened and she couldn't remember doing it. While he was out for a walk, though, she did tell me about an insurance policy that I needed to change back into my name. He had had her sign these old policies, originally in mhy name, over to him when they wer first married. Of course, he had her as beneficiary on nothing. This gave me an idea of what must be going on and I'm sure by now you know, also.
In April of 1997 I received a call from the hospital that my mother was in deep congestive heart failure and that I should come quickly if I wanted to see her. The call came at 8:00 a.m. and I was on a plane at 11:00 a.m. My husband left by car to go east that afternoon, and my daughter left by plane at 11:00 p.m. that night.
When I arrived, Mom was on all kinds of life support, but hanging on. I went right up to her and said, "Mom, it's Joanne. I'm here and you'll be O.K." I spoke to her all through that long night, holding her hand and reassuring her that I was there for her.
The next day, the doctor called me out into the hall and told me that they were going to remove the ventilator and what should they do if her heart stopped? Even as he spoke, I could hear the nurses exclaiming, "There you are, Mary! Doing GOOD!"
Her doctor looked at me and said, "You're looking at a miracle, you know."
Later that day, a call came into ICU from her husband. The nurse said he wanted her to tell Mom that he wouldn't be in. He had to baby-sit his sister's dog. The nurse told me, "I feel so bad for her; thank God you came.
The story is too long and painful about what went on for the rest of that trip. In short, I couldn't get permission to take her back with me and I couldn't get her to agree to a nursing home. I set her up with visiiting nurses and social aides as best I could, and then we had to go back to our family and lives. I could only keep in touch by phone, to the tune of astronomical phone bills. Evil Husband never once called me to let her talk.
In August that same year, I flew back to see her. She was worse than ever. The bathers hadn't been coming, the house was dirty, he was very abusive and she even had a bruise on her lip that no one seemed able to account for. I had everything taken care of--renewed nurses, Social Aid, Meals-on-Wheels and told him that everyone concerned was aware that if any of the services were discontinued, I was to be informed immediately. I would then return and take the matter to court on a competency suit.
We also went to the bank to have the accounts adjusted. I found over $10,000.00 still in a checking account, gathering no interest. He hadn't transferred anything to savings for two years. In the course of signing for the new co-account, I discovered that in April of 1997, while my mother was fighting for her life in the hospital, he and his sister were running around moving all of the funds into his name alone, and changing his will, removing my mother as his beneficiary. Instead of putting it back the way it was, we split the account into one for him and one for my mother. I took over all bill-paying responsibilites for them and would handle the affairs from my home. In short, I set them up in their own apartment in a type of Assisted Living arrangement. My mother made a will in favor of my brother and I and he made one for his son.
On the morning that I left, my mother signed one more insurance policy back to me as beneficiary. As we tearfully kissed goodbye, she said, "I hope I finally have it right again." I'll never forget seeing her standing with her walker, looking out her back door as I drove off in the still misty-darkness of that early morning in September.
End of horror story, right? Wrong.
The morning after I arrived home, about September 4, I got a call from the hospital again. My mother had suffered another siege of congestive heart failure, this time with a heart attack resulting in damage. She was fighting it off at the time.
I immediately called Evil Husband to ask what had happened. Instead of answering that question he said, "I'm not happy with what we did when you were here. I have an attorney and I don't want to talk to you any more. If you want to know about your mother, call the hospital." Which I did.
Mom was taken off the respirator the following day, and before she had even oriented to her whereabouts, her husband sent his attorney and two witnesses in to have her sign away everything that she ever had or did. The money went out of her account, supposedly into their names only again. They even had her sign a will, leaving her estate to my brother, because "he would take car of ME, but I wouldn't do for HIM!" That mattered little to me, because if anything were to be left after her care, (she had so very little) I always knew it was half and half.
When I called her later that day, she was crying, asking for an attorney, and saying she thought she'd done something wrong, but couldn't remember what. "Please come and get me and take me with you." Those were her exact words.
Then the nurse on duty came on the phone and said that as a professional in charge of my mother's care, she was very upset and angry herself. She had even told the attorney, "What are you doing in here? This woman isn't able to sign any papers, physically or mentally!" He just said he dealt with matters like that all of the time and HE knew what he could and couldn't do.
Now her husband had everything in his name, what else could he want? Well, he wanted her to go back to that apartment with him in charge of her medicine again! Just that day I had found out from a relative that on the day she had the heart attack, they had dropped by to see Mom. They found her gasping for breath on her bed and her husband told they they would have to leave, because he was going out for dinner with his sister. He left my mother at home alone, without ever notifying her doctor that she was very ill. She had the heart attack later that night.
There was NO way she was going back into that apartment with him!
I called Protective Services for the Aged and had them put a stop on her release until things could be straightened out. I got an attorney, ready to go to court if I had to. I berated my brother so that he would finally get involved. For may years he had only visited my mother for about ten minutes on a Sunday morning--his way of dealing with his dislike of her husband was to just stay away. Finally, her doctor must have seen the light that she just was not safe there, and told her husband that he wouldn't release her to her former environment. She finally was admitted to a nursing home, within walking distance from their apartment.
From September 1997 until February 1998, Mom lived clean, warm, well-fed and correctly medicated, able to move around in her wheelchair or with her walker. The personnel always remarked how cheerful and friendly she was....but a long silence ensued when they were asked about her husband's visits. I called at least once a week, they had to bring a phone to her or she would go to the desk....he refused to pay for a phone. She received letters, cards and gifts from me, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He even went into her room and tried to take some of the things that she was sent, on the premise that, "They Steal Here".
And then, beyond belief, about a month before she passed away my brother went in on his weekly visit and found her crying. She kept saying, "I don't have any money and can't pay and they're going to put me in jail." He discovered that because of stocks and bonds that nobody knew the Evil Husband had, her nursing home stay couldn't be paid entirely by Medicare. He hadn't paid a nickel of what was owed up to that day. He and his son had been in to try to get her out, supposedly threatening her about jail, if she didn't sign herself out. Of course, no doctor would allow them to take her out. She was now in need of round-the-clock care.
In the early evening of February 11, 1998, here in LV, I received a phone call from my cousin. She had just received a call from the Evil Husband, telling her that my mother was back in the hospital. I immediately called the emergency room and they told me she had been transported with very low blood sugar and extreme congestive heart failure. They had the blood sugar normalized, but the nurse, who knew both of us from our other excursions to the hospital, said, "I've never seen Mary look so bad, and there is nobody from the family here." When I asked her if I should come right away, she told me that she didn't think I would ever make it in time, to try to get my brother there, and to keep in touch by phone throughout the night.
I found out through my sister-in-law that my brother, who was a musician, had a job that night and she didn't want to call and upset him. She said that she would have him go up to the hospital as soon as he got home--about midnight. I called the hospital with that news and heard that Mom had been moved to ICU and suffered a heart attack, according to the tests that they'd taken.
The nurse was frantic, saying that Mom's husband had no way to get there and there were decisions that he had to make. I said that as soon as I heard from my brother, I'd have him pick up the Evil Husband and take him with him.
The doctor took the phone from the nurse and said, "Don't you understand how desperate this situation is? Call her husband and tell him to get here! Mary has had a massive heart attack!"
I said, "I DO know the situation and my heart is breaking, but he refuses to speak to me. Do YOU understand that he will just hang up, and I don't need to subject myself to that, when MY mother is dying!"
The doctor said that he had a good idea of what it was all about, especially when the Evil Husband started yelling in his ear about how much money that 'damned nursing home' had cost him and they still hadn't done anything for her--and what kind of a doctor was HE and how much was HE going to charge?
I said that there was nothing I could do about that evil old man, but asked for the nurse again. I asked her to put the phone to my mother's ear, which she did. I told Mom that it was Joanne, that I loved her and not to worry about anything. Nothing she had ever done was wrong and that I would always be there for her. I then told the nurse to keep me posted, and sat down to wait and pray.
Twenty minutes later, the phone rang and it was the head nurse from ICU. She said, "I'm sorry, but it's all over. Your mother expired at 12:55 a.m. Your brother was just getting off the elevator, he didn't make it in time. He came alone. Her husband refused to come.
Sadly, it was over. The bright, loving, feisty, beautiful woman I knew as Mom was gone. The Evil Husband had taken advantage of her condition to strip her of all of her worldly goods, the inheritance she had designated for her family, and her pride and dignity, all because she once forgot who she was. But, he will have to deal with his own fate, somewhere--some day.
My heart aches with the loss of her. I am angry that she lived so ignobly for the final years of her life. I despair that I could do nothing to keep her from dying alone. Yet, I take some comfort in knowing that my voice, with its words of love was there for her in her final moments. Above all I pray that she is, at last, resting with the Good Husband who knew, loved, and appreciated the woman who was "Mary" all the days of their married life.
There is, in the end, one thing that Evil Husband and all of his clever attorneys can never take from us, or change, no matter what they do. Somewhere she is again aware that......
MY MOTHER'S NAME IS MARY
by
Loving Daughter, JOANNE
There we were, all dressed up in flowery dresses with new spring coats, hats and purses to match, shiny Mary Janes clicking noisily down the walk in the Easter Parade to St. Barth’s. All the boys looked stiff and uncomfortable in their little suits, white shirts and ties, but they, too, strolled beside their parents on the way to Mass, one beautiful Easter Sunday morning in the forties.
1948
COUSINS CONNIE AND PAT
We’d been up several hours, eager to find the colored eggs and treasure-laden baskets that the Easter Bunny had left us, along with the new outfits. We’d enjoyed the traditional Easter breakfast of fruit cocktail with bananas, frittata, toasted Easter Bread and Café’ Latte; fitting fare to break the abstinence of the past 40 days of Lent. Now we were going to church to celebrate the religious glory of the meaning of Easter.
Meanwhile at home, sauce was simmering for the homemade cheese ravioli that was always served at Easter dinner. There would be chicken and braccioli cooking away in the sauce until oh! -- so tender!
The usual mountain of tossed salad appeared with the ravioli, and then we would have a course of baked ham, sweet potatoes glazed in the ham juice and pineapple slices that were brushed with brown sugar and broiled.
Dessert was usually some type of layered Jello-O fantasy, depending on what was all the rage that year, and the ever present nut roll. Of course, there was never any lack of candy, including what came in the baskets and the luscious fruit and nut or marshmallow nut eggs from the confectioners. The latter two were so rich, that slices were cut from the huge eggs and quartered. A little went a long, long way!
We usually had our Easter Dinner about 1:00 p.m. and then we’d go visiting to the homes of our relatives, to be back in the evening in time for them to come and visit us! Most of the time, folks were a bit hungry again by then, so we’d be munching ham sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs from the hunt, some pickles and pickled peppers and there would be plenty of sweet Easter Bread to toast and butter, along with nut roll and Jello-O. Thus passed another holiday to be remembered by the scent of spring flowers, and the tantalizing aromas and flavors of something good.
When our children were young,
in the sixties and early seventies, we still did the new outfits for them and had much fun awaiting the Easter Bunny and hunting eggs. Our breakfast held as true to tradition as always and even today the grandchildren get new duds, while the bill of fare doesn’t vary to any great extent. Sometimes we have turkey for dinner, since we get the yen for it by then, so far from Thanksgiving, but we have never done without cheese ravioli in my memory. I make Easter Bread and nut roll--if there isn’t any in the freezer from Christmas, and most of the time I make the ravioli, too, although you can now buy them frozen, and of quite good quality.
Spring and Easter always bring about opportunities for new memories, and why not? Spring is the beginning of everything young and fresh and smelling sweetly of new life. It is time to remember the past and relive the traditional, while we savor the aromas of the present world around us.
(See EASTER MENUS & RECIPES)
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EASTER SUNDAY BREAKFAST
MENU
FRUIT COCKTAIL WITH SLICED BANANAS
TOASTED EASTER BREAD
FRITTATA
KIELBASA
COFFEE -- CAFÉ LATTE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EASTER BREAKFAST
RECIPES
Frittata
Preheat Oven to 325
9x11x2 Glass Baking Dish
(Butter heavily on bottom & sides)
1 lb Loose Italian Sausage, brown and drain well
8 oz Pepperoni, sliced thin
8 Eggs - ½ C Milk - 1 tsp Salt - ½ tsp Baking Powder
Arrange Pepperoni slices to layer bottom of baking dish.
Blend Eggs, Milk, Salt and Baking Powder in blender for 1 minute.
Pour over Pepperoni in dish.
Sprinkle cooked Sausage over the Eggs, pressing under the batter slightly with a spoon.
Bake until Butter Knife inserted in center comes out clean and top of Frittata starts to brown--20 to 30 minutes.
Cut in 2 inch squares and serve straight from the baking dish.
Easter Bread
Large Bowl for mixing and raising
Large Cookie Sheets for Baking
4 Packs Rapid Rise Yeast, dissolved in 1 C very warm Water
After yeast is dissolved add 4 T Sugar, dissolve & set aside
12 Large Eggs Beat in Mixer 5 minutes on High speed. Beat in 30 drops of Yellow Food Coloring (a bit more if you like a deep yellow color.)
While Eggs are beating:
Heat 1 13 oz Can Evaporated Milk Heated to very HOT
Remove from heat and add 1 STICK BUTTER, allow to melt
Cool the milk mixture to warm and add to the yeast mixture - set aside
Slowly add 3 C SUGAR to the beating Eggs, beating constantly and scraping bowl until the mixture is creamy and light.
Beat in 4 oz. Pure Vanilla.
Alternately add approximately 14 C All Purpose Flour and the Yeast/Milk Mixture beating well each time. Start and end with the FLOUR. To the first Cup of Flour and 1 T SALT.
When the batter is too heavy for the mixer, use a wooden spoon.
After all flour and liquid is used, flour a board well and turn out the dough, working in enough more flour, as needed, to make a VERY stiff dough.
When dough is stiff enough, KNEAD 5 to 10 minutes, or until dough is elastic and shiny.
Oil a BIG BOWL on sides and bottom in which to raise the dough. Put ball of dough into pan, punch down a bit and turn over, oil side up. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double. This takes 4 to 6 hours with rapid rise yeast, and up to 12 hours for regular yeast, because of all the sugar and vanilla. DON’T PANIC! Easter Bread is a creation of “patience”.
When dough is risen the first time, punch down, cover and let rise again until double. (Takes about half the time of the first rise.)
When dough is doubled, cut it into 8 pieces. Form round smooth balls about the size of a grapefruit. Place on lightly oiled cookie sheet 2 or 3 to a sheet---or---
Shape 3 rolled lengths of dough into a braid, and place an egg into the dough for a ‘head’. Place 2 or 3 dolls on each sheet. (Draw a ‘face’ on the baby doll after the bread is baked and cooled.---OR--- make any combination of loaves and dolls in any size you desire.
Cover loaves with clean towels and let rise in warm place until double. (2 to 4 hours) Again, Don’t Panic. Loaves need to be airy and light or they won’t bake through. Time and Patience are your best friends when you are baking Easter Bread.
Preheat Oven to 325. Bake on middle rack, one or two trays at a time, depending on size of your oven. Do not bake on double racks, however. Bread takes about 20 minutes to bake--check in 15. Medium brown color and a hollow sound when tapped, indicates bread is done. Remove from sheet and cool on rack.
You can decorate the loaves with confectioner’s icing, or if you wish a shiny brown loaf, beat an egg together with a tablespoon of milk and brush on loaves before baking.
(I made enough dough to make 4 baby dolls and 8 small loaves of bread to give as gifts and for Easter Breakfast here. I started at 4 P.M. on Tuesday and helped myself to some 'patience' by letting it rise through the night. I finished the baking at 1:00 P.M. on Wednesday afternoon...and slept most of today. 8-)
Happy Easter, EVERYONE and enjoy your day of Memories!
Sixty-Five Long Years Ago
I Was A Little Princess
And This Was My "Six-Party"
PARTY FOR A PRINCESS
Somehow, my mother always made me feel I was the most important little girl in her world. She never went out of her way to spoil me, yet she never missed doing the loving “extras”. I can only hope that I have left the same feeling in my family that she left with me as I remember those early years.
Like any youngster, the prime day of the year for me was my birthday, which fell on April 2. No fool was I, but darn close!! Mom played right along with my feeling of being special and executed a big party for me every birthday for thirteen years. I’m sure there were family celebrations after that, but she produced the traditional ‘invitations/decorations’ type until I was in the seventh grade.
It came to pass that about two months before my sixth birthday, I went into the princess stage of my young life. I would dress up in one of Mom’s old dresses, put a small pie tin on my head for a crown and proceed to reign over all the dolls at my command. One morning in the middle of March, I woke up with the idea that I should have a gown for my upcoming ‘six-party’. I spent the day working over Mom and my aunt, Helen, trying to make them see that this was a great idea for a princess.
Finally Aunt Helen went up to her closet and took down a blue taffeta gown that she had worn in a wedding several years before. “I guess we could cut this down, don’t you think?” she asked my mother.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I yelled, hopping madly around the both of them.
Mom laughed and threw her hands up in the air. Out came the sewing machine, scissors and pins, and soon the two of them had me standing on a table, all pinned up and wide-eyed, listening to them plan my Princess Party.
I’ll never forget it.
They sent out invitations with a silver crown decoration, which read:
“Your Attendance Is Requested At A Party
For Princess Joanne
On The Occasion of Her Sixth Birthday
To Be Held on April 2, 1942
At
The Royal Castle on 1010 Main Street
A fever of activity (theirs) and expectation (mine) took over for the next two weeks. I was beside myself with anticipation!
On the big day, silver and blue streamers wove their way among what seemed like hundreds of balloons that decorated the rooms of the castle. I greeted my subjects in my lovely blue taffeta gown and ‘silver’ tiara (left over from New Years Eve), from my throne in the living room. It’s amazing what an armchair on an orange crate, all draped with a red quilt, can do for the regal bearing of a six-year-old!
We played London Bridge, Catch the Prince, and Pin the Crown on the Princess--by this time I had descended from the throne to join the masses--until we were all hungry and thirsty. Aunt Helen magically appeared in front of the sliding doors to the dining room and blew three long toots on a toy horn she held in her hand.
“The Royal Banquet is served!” she announced.
Those were the days when a parent or two brought their child to the party and stayed for the fun, therefore many were the “ooohs and ahhhs” when we were ushered into the Royal Banquet Room for refreshments.
That banquet table, Oh My! It wasn’t a bit ‘Italian’! Tiny triangle sandwiches on sliced “American” bread with special sandwich spread fillings; little circles of banana nut bread sandwiched a luscious cream cheese and pineapple spread; bowls of potato chips and pretzels; Royalty Gelatin Salad; and a sparkling bowl of Princess Party Punch surrounded a huge sheet cake that proclaimed
HAPPY SIXTH BIRTHDAY TO PRINCESS JOANNE!
When it came time to blow out the candles, I knew that I already had my wish--A Party For A Princess!
Bologna Spread Triangles
(makes about 1 quart of spread)
½ LB. BOLOGNA - 3 STALKS CELERY - 1 C SWEET PICKLE RELISH
1 TSP PAPRIKA - 1 C MAYONNAISE
Run everything but the mayo through a fine food grinder twice -or- process in food processor until fine but not liquid. Cut Whole Bologna into pieces before use.
Put the fine mixture into a mixing bowl and add the mayo. Mix with a wooden spoon until all is a smooth, moist, spreading consistency.
Trim crusts from fresh bread (wheat and white are nice). Spread one slice of bread thickly with mix, top with another slice, and cut corner to corner into four small triangles. Cover and refrigerate up to three hours. You can use 2 slices white or wheat, or one slice of each per sandwich. A variety is pretty.
Peanut and Jelly Fingers
2 C Creamy or Crunchy Peanut Butter at room temperature ( or 1 cup of each)
½ C Grape Jelly -- ½ C Mint Jelly
Mix Grape Jelly into one cup of the Peanut Butter, and the Mint Jelly into the other cup, blending well.
Trim crusts from fresh bread (wheat and white are nice). Spread once slice of bread thickly with mix, top with another slice, and cut into three equal ‘fingers’.
You can use 2 slices white or wheat, or one slice of each per sandwich. A variety is pretty. Cover and refrigerate up to two hours.
Creamy Banana Nut Bread Circles
1 loaf of your own Banana Nut Bread (or 1 Cylinder can of commercial brand)
8 oz Whipped Cream Cheese -- 4 oz. Crushed Pineapple, drain well, reserve juice
2 T Mayonnaise -- 2 T Reserved Juice -- 4 drops Yellow Food Coloring
Cream together the Mayo, Pineapple Juice, and softened Cream Cheese, until well blended and creamy.
Mix in the drained Crushed Pineapple.
Add food coloring 1 drop at a time, until desired color. Mixture must be room temperature to be soft enough to spread easily on banana nut bread.
If using your own nut bread, cut thin slices and then use a whiskey glass or other small cutter to cut round circles.
When using cylindar can of bread, just remove the roll of bread from the can and slice thinly.
Spread one circle thickly with filling, top with another circle. Continue until all is used up. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Royal Gelatin Salad
This can be any gelatin salad or dessert that you prefer. It got its name from using Royal Gelatin. I believe it was a simple CHERRY GELATIN with SLICED BANANAS, PINEAPPLE CHUNKS and cut-up MARSHMALLOWS in it. (No mini marshmallows in those days.)
You need to drain the pineapple very well before adding it to the gelatin, but the juice can be measured to replace half of the cold water in the original box recipe, and ginger ale or lemon soda for the rest of the cold water in original recipe. Kool Whip makes a pretty topping for each serving.
Princess Party Punch
Several Large Envelopes of Cherry or Grape Kool-Aid
2 Quarts of Ginger Ale -- 1 Orange Sliced -- I Lemon Sliced
Ice Cubes -- Punch Bowl
Prepare the Kool-Aid according to instructions---Chill overnight.
Chill the unopened Ginger Ale overnight.
To Serve: Put the Chilled Kool-Aid into a punch bowl. Stir in the Chilled Ginger Ale. Add the Ice Cubes. Float the fruit slices on the top.
BLOW OUT THE CANDLES BIRTHDAY CAKE
Sheet Cake was ordered to allow for decoration. It was chocolate, of course!
ENJOY!!
With just a little bit of ingenuity, this can be turned into a delightful party for a little Prince---or has time changed all the sweet memories to be carried, as well as those destined to carry them? 8-)
It's hard to believe, but there are those older than I am who remember Maggie & Jiggs, originally created by George McManus, from the "Bringing Up Father" comic strip--I think the first ones came out around 1913. They were among the first battling married couples to draw the attention of the nation, and were also among the first rags to riches (by a lottery ticket) to put stars in the eyes of the less lucky citizens of our world.
My biggest memory of the couple though was the difference in how they approached their newfound wealth. Maggie was the snooty society climber and Jiggs just wanted to hang with his old friends and eat -- yes, you guessed it -- CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE! 8-)
In the young years of my life in a family of Mediterranean extraction, Dad would sit with me in his big stretch lounge chair on a Sunday morning after church and read me all the comics. His favorite was "Bringing Up Father" or "Maggie and Jiggs" as most folks called it. I remember the strips that showed their 'cook' putting together a big steaming pot of Corned Beef and Cabbage, and I'd always ask, "What IS that, Daddy?" He'd laugh and say, "That's how the Irish people make Spaghetti & Meatballs!" I'd laugh, too, but it didn't make sense to me!
I never did get to know what it was until long after I was married. You see, the only delies in our area were Italian. In fact, it was on our first visit to Las Vegas that Rich and I were introduced to Corned Beef and Pastrami on rye and Kosher dill pickles, or the delicious REUBEN! Just a couple of years before we moved to Las Vegas, corned beef started making its appearance in the meat departments of our stores in the east, and that was when we started to put together our version of the delicacy made by the cook in "Maggie and Jiggs". I've got a pot going in the kitchen for tonight, right now--and I want to share the recipe with you.
There are a lot of ways to put together Corned Beef and Cabbage. Some folks shred the cabbage and cut the veggies in smaller pieces. For years, we always made a boiled beef dinner, which featured chuck roast, whole potatoes, carrots, wedges of onions, celery chunks and wedges of cabbage. We'd serve the beef broth with short and wide noodles that we made ourself as a soup and the rest as a plate dinner.
That was my mom's creation and we still love it today. Of course, that was the basis for my variation on Jiggs's favorite dish. Enjoy!
CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE
(serves 4 or 5)
COVER 3 TO 5 LB FLAT CUT CORNED BEEF, SPRINKLED WITH SEASONING
PACKET, WITH WATER, BRING TO BOIL, LOWER HEAT
SIMMER COVERED FOR SEVERAL HOURS, MEANWHILE
PREPARE VEGETABLES, COVER WITH COLD WATER AND SET ASIDE
4 MEDIUM POTATOES, PEELED AND HALVED
3 CARROTS, SCRUBBED AND CUT IN FOURTHS
1 LARGE ONION CUT IN 4 OR 5 PIECES
(2 PARSNIPS, CUT IN THIRDS 2 TURNIPS, QUARTERED
OPTIONAL)
CORE 1 WHITE CABBAGE, CUT IN SIXTHS, DON'T SOAK WITH
OTHER VEGETABLES
REMOVE CORNED BEEF FROM POT AND PLACE IN BAKING PAN
POUR 1 C LIQUID FROM POT OVER BEEF
COVER AND BAKE IN 325 OVEN 2 OR 3 HOURS(DEPENDING ON SIZE)
UNTIL BEEF IS VERY TENDER THEN COVER & SET ASIDE
BRING LIQUID IN POT TO A BOIL, ONE HOUR BEFORE SERVING TIME
DRAIN WATER FROM THE VEGETABLES
ADD ALL VEGETABLES EXCEPT CABBAGE TO BOILING LIQUID
SIMMER IN COVERED POT FOR 30 MINUTES
ADD CABBAGE WEDGES AND COOK 30 MINUTES MORE
SLICE BEEF VERY THINLY AGAINST THE GRAIN
ARRANGE BEEF & VEGETABLES ON A LARGE PLATTER
SERVE WITH CATSUP, HORSERADISH, AND THE BROTH ON THE SIDE
We also serve pickled beets--either out of a can or made with fresh small peeled beets, boiled until tender, and pickled with a few garlic cloves, a couple of clove stars, salt and apple cider vinegar. These can be made several days ahead.
