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We are well into the month of November, and it seems that the countdown to the holiday season is here. I’ve been to Victoria lately and a couple of small, nearby towns and already the Christmas décor is either already on display or it’s being put on display. This is way too early for me, as my shopping involved the need of items to finish out Halloween! Luckily, I was able to find what I wanted/needed and there wasn’t a problem.
Now, for our next holiday…Friday, November 11, is Veteran’s Day. This is the day we honor the veterans of all the wars. It is a day not only honoring those who lost their lives, but also honoring the living veterans. When I went online to find out information about Veteran’s Day, there were over 52,000,000 sites to choose from and I just chose a couple of them.
Veteran’s Day had its beginnings at the end of World War I, which was known as the war to end all wars. It officially ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the German officials signed the Armistice, which was a temporary suspension of hostilities by the agreement of Germany and the Allies.
In actual fact, the war officially ended on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. It has been known as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world.
According to Wikipedia the commemoration of Armistice Day was recognized in the United States by a proclamation from President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, with the words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”
An Act approved May 13, 1938, made November 11th of each year a legal holiday. This was a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be celebrated and known as “Armistice Day”. It was primarily set aside to honor veterans of World War I, however, in 1954, after World War II, and after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting in its place the word “Veterans”, in its place.
Veteran’s Day almost fell prey to a change of date, being moved to the fourth Monday of October by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968. This is the law that moved Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day and Columbus Day. Due to protests by veteran’s groups, it was moved back to November 11th in 1978. It is a federal and state holiday in most states.
Don’t forget to fly your flag proudly on November 11th!
It’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving! As you know, we only have two more weeks before it is upon us, and I know you don’t really want to hear this, but it’s barely six weeks until Christmas.
Since dessert is always an important part of any Thanksgiving celebration, we are going to start early with recipes for desserts! These recipes all use pumpkin and may give you a little different take on what to have instead of (or as well as) pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin Bars
4 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin (1 can, 10-oz size)
Mix above together and set aside.
In separate bowl, combine the following:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon EACH cloves, nutmeg and ginger
Sift together and add to first mixture, mixing well. Pour into 9×12 pan and bake at 350ºF until done. These bars are delicious just as they are, but for a real treat, frost them with a cream cheese frosting when cool.
Praline Pumpkin Cake
1 package yellow cake mix (without added pudding)
½ cup oil
¾ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin
¼ cup water
3 eggs
Praline Mixture (recipe follows)
Frosting
Chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine cake mix, oil, sugar, spices, pumpkin and water. Beat well to blend. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Pour half of mixture into greased and floured Bundt pan. Top with following Praline Mixture, then fill pan with remaining batter. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until cake tests done with toothpick. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes; remove to plate to finish cooling. When cool, frost and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Praline Mixture
½ cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup brown sugar
½ cup softened butter or margarine
1/3 cup flour
Blend ingredients together until crumbly and use as directed.

This past week was an awesome one, not only did I get to see the Grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the Devine, Castroville area, on the way to Devine I had a phone call from my grandson who is in the process of moving from Hawaii to Florida, which is his next station. He and his family came in on Friday evening and we had a wonderful time together. The kids wanted to go fishing, so we went to my sister’s stock tank and drowned a few worms. Two of the little ones caught very small catfish and were as happy as they could be. The main thing was, they got to go fishing! Yes, I did spend a lot of time untangling the little boy’s line, he could get it tangled easier than anyone would have thought possible. I asked him how he did that, and he just looked at me with a big smile, of course, he always gave me a hug when I fixed it for him, fixing it was worth the hug!
This coming week is going to be a busy one with a couple of meetings and being hostess for my Pokeno group. I am going to make old-fashioned gingerbread from my grandmother’s recipe. It is always a treat, especially to people who remember it from their younger days and just don’t have the time to make it anymore.
Have you ever given a thought to the numerous times we use mustard? Hamburgers and hot dogs immediately come to mind for most people. It is a condiment that many people do not care for because of the pungent, spicy taste, however, many recipes are made just a little bit better for the addition of a couple of teaspoons or tablespoons of this bright yellow condiment. Most recipes specify whether to use dry mustard or prepared mustard, others don’t, in that case, they usually mean to use the prepared. More and more recipes are beginning to ask for a specific type of prepared mustard, i.e., Dijon, spicy brown, etc.
This is the information I have in my files from a previous column, so it is what I used.
Mustard is a plant of the genus Brassica, a genus in which several other food plants are also found, including turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards and broccoli.
The principal source of commercial mustard is B. nigra. It is an annual that is two to three feet high, has stiff stems, bright yellow flowers and smooth narrow pods. Dry mustard is a yellow powder and is made from the ground seeds. The seeds of white mustard and the Indian or Chinese mustard are also used. These are B hirta and B. juncea respectively. Neither is indigenous to the United States. Chinese mustard and Japanese (B. japonica) mustard plants are eaten as a salad plant, using the first large lower leaves.
For many years ground mustard seed has been used as a condiment. It can be used alone or combined with other ingredients, as in prepared mustard. In ancient times, it was used a medicine by Hippocrates. It is used as an emetic and in times past, as a mustard plaster on your chest for a bad cold and cough.
Would deviled eggs taste as good without a dollop of prepared mustard? In fact, some recipes for deviled eggs call for a small amount of dry mustard rather than the prepared mustard. Many recipes for potato salad or pasta salad also call for mustard to be added. A hot dog or hamburger, to many, without mustard is not really fit to eat.
Mustard seeds are used frequently in pickle or slaw recipes, as well as in some salad dressings. Homemade mayonnaise has dry mustard as an ingredient. If you check in your cookbooks, you will be really surprised at the number of recipes that call for one or the other.
Dry mustard can be really pungent and spicy if you use the least bit too much in a recipe. As with any spice or condiment, use it sparingly until you get the taste you want. (This is why recipes sometimes say add…”to your taste”). It is much easier to add more than it is to try to remove some when you have added too much.
Any of these recipes or any others calling mayonnaise really taste great with the following homemade mayonnaise. It is not difficult to make using your blender. My mother used to have a glass jar with a perforated plunger that you dashed up and down, (just as you would a butter churn to make butter), to make mayonnaise. It was a little more complicated and time consuming than this recipe is.
Mayonnaise
1 egg
1 teaspoon dry or ¾ teaspoon prepared mustard
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar
1 cup cooking oil, (divided use)
Break egg into blender container, add mustard, salt, paprika, lemon juice or vinegar and ¼ cup oil. Place cover on container, turn on blender to low speed, remove center cup from lid and in a very slow stream, pour in the remaining oil while it is still on low speed. Continue blending until thick. It makes one cup and is ready to use. Do not double the recipe. If you need more than one cup, make the recipe a second time.
Deviled Eggs
8 to 12 eggs
1 small rib celery, diced very finely
2 to 3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish (or the sweet/dill relish that is now available)
1 tablespoon prepared mustard (about)
Mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Hard cook eggs, remove from heat and drain well. Shake around in pan to crack them, cover with cool water and allow to set for a few minutes. Drain the eggs, peel, and cut in half lengthwise, placing the yolks in a bowl. Thoroughly mash the egg yolks, stir in celery and pickle relish, and then add the mustard and enough mayonnaise, mixing to desired consistency. Use a spoon and place mixture into egg halves. Sprinkle with paprika or chili powdered if desired. If you want this to look a little fancier, place yolk mixture into a cake decorating bag, using a large star tip and fill the halves using that.
Spam Salad
1 can Spam
½ cup finely chopped celery
½ cup pickle relish or chopped dill pickles
1 to 2 tablespoons diced pimentos
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
Mayonnaise or salad dressing
Use a coarse grater and shred the Spam, or coarsely chop in a food processor. (Be careful with a food processor, as it will make the Spam into a paste, if you process it too long)! Put Spam into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, using enough mayonnaise or salad dressing to make the mixture into a spreading consistency. This makes great sandwiches or tastes equally good with crackers.
Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Gingerbread
½ cup shortening
2 eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
2½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon nutmeg or cloves
1 cup boiling water
1 cup molasses
Sift together: flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices; set aside. Cream together shortening, sugar and eggs until fluffy; and add sifted ingredients with the molasses. Add boiling water last and stir in gently, just until mixed. Pour into 9×13 pan and bake for 45 minutes or until done. If you like, sprinkle the top of the dough with a tablespoon or two of sugar before baking, or when cake is done, sprinkle with powdered sugar.