Category: Commentary

OK, folks, we’re back to the “same-old, same old”, there isn’t a measurable amount of rain, just a couple of quick showers today. I was working at our church picnic and realized some folks were coming in with their shirts wet….yep, it rained a little. When I came to Devine a couple of weeks ago, all you could see was dry land and still more dry land, the only green things around were several cotton fields that are irrigated, and not too many of those. The prickly pear cactus have red tunas (pear apples?), on them, but the cactus themselves are as flat as they can be and obviously need water.
The picnic was great, I worked in the “country store”, which is really more of a jumble sale than anything else, we had all sorts of stuff, as well as our 100 bags of the noodles we made a couple of weeks ago, they all sold before 1:00 p.m. The food was good, I just still have a problem with picnic stew, sausage, sauerkraut, seasoned green beans and potatoes, rather than BBQ, pinto beans and potato salad! (Please italicize: Prunus persica and also P. Persica. My computer won’t let me do that!)/
Have you been noticing nectarines in the produce section of the grocery store? What do they look like to you? Do you know what they are? Since I had been noticing them in the store and purchased them a couple of times, I decided to find out what they really were. Someone had told me they were a peach/plum combination, but I never knew for sure. They taste pretty much like a peach as far as I am concerned! The following is what I was able to find on the Internet. After checking out several sites that all gave me pretty much the same information, I sort of combined several articles to get this article.
Basically, according to what I was able to find, a nectarine is a peach without fuzz! They are not a combination of a peach and a plum as some folks think. Nectarines have juicy, peach colored flesh and the seed is very similar to that of a peach but without the “fuzzy” complexion. You can tell peaches and nectarines are similar because peaches are of the genus Prunus persica and nectarines are P. persica. They most probably originated in China over 2,000 years ago and were cultivated in ancient Persia, Greece and Rome. The word “nectarine” means sweet, as nectar, and this is probably the obvious origin of the name.
Nectarines can be eaten out of hand just as you would a peach, they can be cut up and used in fruit salad, cooked, dried or however you want to serve them. According to one of the sources, they are delicious in ice cream and sorbet, as well as cakes and pies. There are about ten varieties that are widely grown for market. If you purchase nectarines, look for fruit that is firm but not hard, with a bright deep coloring. Avoid fruit with wrinkled skin or spots that could show evidence of decay. Hard nectarines will ripen at room temperature, to speed the process, place them in a bag with an unripe banana.
To peel them, cut an X in the bottom end and dip the fruit in boiling water, just as you would a peach or a tomato. Their smooth skin is edible, but most folks would probably prefer to peel them.
I know the following desserts have absolutely nothing to do with nectarines, but since I don’t have any nectarine recipes in my files, I decided to give you something else instead and just hope you will enjoy all of them.
This recipe was in my files and since someone just asked about diabetic recipes and said she was craving sweets, hopefully it will help her a little bit.
Diabetics Delight
1 box yellow cake mix (now that sugar-free cake mixes are available, you might consider trying one in this recipe)
12 oz. diet soda (Sprite Zero® or your choice)
1 can crushed pineapple (16-oz size) (divided use)
1 large tub Cool Whip®, sugar free
1 large box of sugar-free vanilla instant pudding
Empty cake mix into large bowl, add diet soda and mix well. Then add ½ can of crushed pineapple and stir well. Pour into 9×12 pan that you have lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake as directed on package. While the cake is baking, mix the Cool Whip®, the remaining crushed pineapple and the pudding together and stir well. Chill thoroughly. When the cake has finished baking and has cooled, spread the Cool Whip® mixture over the top. Cut into squares to serve. Makes 12 to 15 servings.
Recently, for a get-together here in Yoakum, I served my version of a cake that was served at our bunco in Devine a sometime ago. It was a beautiful and colorful cake of three layers, each one with a different flavor of gelatin in the batter and was really delicious. The original recipe called for three boxes of white cake mix, but since I wanted a smaller cake, I used only two boxes, and rather than white cake mix, I used yellow because I felt the color would be more intense, and, since there are several diabetics in my group, I wanted to make it as sugar free as possible so they could enjoy it also
The rest of the story is that this week, when we went to the venue where we have our meeting, the clerk asked me who had made the dessert a couple of weeks before, since I had shared with the staff. After admitting I had made the dessert, she told me it was absolutely wonderful, which of course made me feel pretty good! When I told her it was almost totally sugar free, she didn’t want to believe me at all and kept telling me “He is not going to believe this at all”, meaning the owner of the venue. So, here is the recipe for y’all to try.
Joyce’s Fruity Jell-o® Cake
(Read all instructions before beginning to make cakes)
2 boxes Pillsbury®, sugar free yellow cake mix (16-oz boxes) (I think 15.25 is now standard and that is fine.
Ingredients as required for making both cakes
1 small box, sugar free lime-flavored gelatin
1 small box, sugar free lemon-flavored gelatin
1 small box, sugar free orange flavored gelatin
food coloring (if desired)
flavoring (if desired)
1 carton (8-oz) sugar free whipped topping, thawed
1 small box, sugar free instant vanilla pudding
¾ cup shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
If you have three 9×13 pans, prepare them by greasing and flouring each one. If not, you will have to bake each layer separately. (Leave the unused dough in the bowls in the fridge as the previous one bakes).
Prepare cakes according to package directions, one at a time. Mix dough together in the mixer bowl and then divide into three equal portions, placing two in medium sized bowls and the last one back in your mixing bowl. Add a box of gelatin to each portion and stir well to mix it in. If you want a more intense yellow or green, add a little food coloring, also, if you have orange and lemon extract, it is fine to stir it in also. Pour one batch of batter into the prepared pan and bake according to directions on the box. Since it is a smaller portion of dough, it will bake in about 20 to 25 minutes, rather than the 30 to 35 listed on the box. Remove cake from pan and allow each layer to cool completely.
Filling/frosting:
Mix together the whipped topping and the vanilla pudding, and stir in the coconut.
Use a cookie sheet (covered with foil if desired), and place one cooled layer on it, top with 1/3 of the frosting mix, add another cake layer, top with 1/3 of the frosting, add the third layer and top with the remaining frosting. It does not matter in which order you layer the cakes. Trim off the edges so you can see the beautiful layers and it is ready to serve. Store in the fridge. It will keep for several days in the fridge and the addition of the pudding to the whipped topping seems to stabilize it and keep it from disappearing.

This past week was a busy one…aren’t they usually? Monday evening, I was invited to a bunco club my sister belongs to, as they needed a substitute. It was a lot of fun as I knew almost everyone there, however, even though I didn’t win, the lady had gifts for all of us and I got a really awesome wallet! I need a new one but haven’t been able to find the type I wanted, so this is great for me. Tuesday was my afternoon for duty in the hospital gift shop. It wasn’t very busy, but I did have a few sales, (at least half of them were things I bought), but sales are sales. Wednesday morning, I headed to Devine and had an awesome time with my little great-grandsons and their new baby sister who now live in that area. We visited, had lunch and read Pete the Cat books. They loved it and I enjoyed myself immensely. That afternoon, I went to the next town, where my daughter was with two of her granddaughters and had some more fun interacting with them, and that evening, we went to bunco. Yep, got lucky, all three of us family members won prizes. Thursday my daughter and I went back to visit a little more with the two great-granddaughters and then on to lunch with my son in Hondo. I came home on Friday, and sort of relaxed that afternoon and evening; and then on Saturday, helped make noodles at church that will be sold at our picnic that is coming up soon. There were about 18 to 20 of us working at various stations, as there are several steps, and we used a case of eggs as well as another ten or twelve dozen, and about 90 to 100 pounds of flour. Now, it’s Saturday evening and quiet time for me. The ‘busy’ week was wonderful, and I enjoyed every minute of it, especially the time I got to spend with the great-grandchildren.
One night when my company was with me, we had hamburgers. I had a package of the pre-made patties in the freezer and we cooked them, then, the leftovers went into the fridge and the next meal we made something else, as we are prone to do. A couple of days later at lunch, I decided to do something a little different with the patties; they had been seasoned lightly as we have several members of the family who go very easy on the salt, and these patties don’t always taste great reheated, so, I cut them into pieces and following the directions for a pepper steak that is served with noodles instead of rice, used them to make the dish. Everyone said it was good and that I had a winner. If desired, you can use the pre-cooked frozen patties and prepare everything the same way. This is delicious also.
Another way to use the patties is make them into Salisbury Steak. Leave them whole, put a little oil into a skillet and slice a medium sized onion into the oil. Cook until the onion is transparent and then using a package of Pioneer® Brown Gravy mix, follow the directions on the package and make the gravy in the pan with the onions. When it has thickened, add the patties, turning them to coat with the gravy. Heat them over medium heat and when they are heated through, stir in a well-drained can of sliced mushrooms. This is served over either cooked rice or mashed potatoes and is delicious as well as being quick and easy to do.
Following is the recipe for the pepper steak that is served with noodles.
Pepper Steak with Cheesey Noodles
2 to 3 Tbs. cooking oil
6 pre-cooked hamburger patties cut into 6-pieces each
1/2 cup sliced onion
2 medium green bell peppers cut into julienne strips
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 can tomatoes (16-oz) whole tomatoes, broken or mashed up
1 beef bouillon cube
1 Tbs. cornstarch
2 Tbs. water
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
3 cups cooked, wide egg noodles
1 cup shredded cheese (your choice, American, Cheddar or Colby Jack)
Cut each patty into 6 pieces; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet and add peppers, onion and garlic; cook and stir for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the meat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes; add the tomatoes and bouillon cube; simmer, covered for 5 to 10 minutes. Mix together cornstarch, water, soy sauce and sugar; add to meat mixture, stirring constantly until thickened. Cook an additional 5 to 6 minutes. Cook noodles according to package directions; drain well and stir in the cheese until melted. Serve the meat mixture over the hot noodles.
The following cookies are fun to make with children or grandchildren, or, in my case, great-grandchildren, they really enjoy helping roll these. The first time we made them, we used chocolate fudge cake mix and stirred in about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of mini-chocolate chips.
Cookies
1 box cake mix (any flavor you like)
1/2 of an 8-ounce carton whipped topping (thawed)
1 egg
Powdered sugar to roll the cookies in.
(No amount was given, but you can start with a 1 cup or 1½ cups).
Break egg into a bowl and beat with a fork to mix it up. Using a knife or a rubber spatula, divide the carton of whipped topping in half and dump into the bowl with the egg. Add the box of dry cake mix and stir to combine, this will be a very stiff dough; roll into balls the size of (unshelled) walnuts. Then roll the balls in the powdered sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350ºF until done, about 12 to 15 minutes. Since I made these the first time, I’ve learned to line my cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil and when the cookies are done, I just pull the liner off the cookie sheets onto cooling racks. As I mentioned, about 1/2 to 3/4 cups of mini-chocolate chips works well with chocolate cake mix. If you use lemon cake mix, add about 1 teaspoon of lemon extract to the eggs and follow the directions. Chopped nuts can be added if desired, as you’re mixing the dough.

Well, I could use last week’s column for this week, because not much has changed! The weather is still stiflingly hot, the highs for the day are usually 103ºF to 104º and this is at 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon. It’s Saturday, and twice today the sky has clouded over, the wind has picked up and it looked as if we could get some rain…not a drop so far.
My week was quiet, compared to what it has been lately. I only worked the one day in the gift shop and wasn’t too busy, but I did have a pretty good day. My little four-legged friend is visiting for a few days, he always wants either in or out! I am getting plenty of exercise walking back and forth to the doors.
This week, I’ve found out I’m going to be great grandma for the 18th time, and that was just one of the high points of the week. The other on is that I’m going to get to go on a vacation with part of my family and go to NM! I haven’t been in that area in many years and am really looking forward to the trip.
This morning, a group of us that attend the country church, got together and cleaned the pavilion as we will be having breakfast there tomorrow morning after church. We do this on a monthly basis, but this month is special as it is in honor of the saint the church is named after; “St. Ann”, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Prior to the pandemic, we usually had Mass in the afternoon and then served chili dogs or some such thing. Now, we will be doing breakfast, and serving various and sundry casseroles, kolaches, fruit, cake, and other brunch foods. I made a ‘Southern Pecan Praline Cake’ for our meeting last week, and it went over well enough that the president of our group requested that I bring it! Luckily, it’s a pretty simple cake to make. Also, I’ll be making a casserole using shredded hash browns as a base with a really delicious sausage sauce over it, as well as some mini-cinnamon rolls. If it turns out as usual, we’ll have enough food for a small army, hope lots of folks decide to come to early Mass!
According to World Book Encyclopedia, the tiniest snowflake or particle of frost imaginable weighs less than a tiny bird’s feather.
The weight of a glacier is in the billions of pounds.
Glaciers, snowflakes, frost and hail stones are all ice and are formed the same way when the temperature of water and moisture in the air falls below 32ºF, or 0ºC.
Salt, sugar, and alcohol added to water lower the temperature needed to freeze it. This is why alcohol is used in anti-freeze to keep car radiators from freezing.
When frozen, the volume of the water increases by 1/11. This is why ice floats in water and also why jars of liquid in the freezer or water pipes burst when frozen.
Five to ten million dollars of ice is sold in the United States annually.
Most of this ice is made in ice plants where pure water is frozen in vats in blocks weighing 300 to 500 pounds.
In some areas of Canada and the northern parts of the United States, ‘natural ice’ is cut from rivers and lakes and stored in ice houses which are made especially for this purpose.
In or around 1800, ice was first shipped from New York City to Charleston, S.C., and during this time clipper ships carried it to many parts of the world including the West Indies.
The first commercially successful ice making machine was used in Florida in 1851.
An ‘artificial ice’ plant was first set up in New Orleans in 1868, and during this same year, refrigerated railroad cars were built; which meant that more areas of the country could have fresh produce and fresh meat.
I’ve given you various ice cream recipes over time, so I’m not including them today, (other than the one for Big Red Ice Cream) but wanted to remind you how wonderful an old-fashioned Root Beer Float would taste on these hot days, also, we’ve also used Big Red to make the same type of float…have fun, stay cool.
Root Beer Float
1½ cups vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
1½ cups cold root beer
Put two scoops of ice cream in a tall fountain glass and pour in enough cold root beer to cover. Add two more scoops and top again with root beer. Serve with a spoon and straw.
Do you remember the days of going to A&W drive in on Nogalitos St. in San Antonio, and having root beer floats served in frosted mugs? How about the Black Cow on Broadway near Pearl Brewery? Their root beer float was called “Black Cow”, and was also served in a frosted mug. Weren’t those days fun? You can make a Big Read Float this same way, using red soda in place of the root beer! It is delicious.
In case you want to try something different, here is a recipe for Big Red Ice Cream.
Big Red Ice Cream
4 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can (large) evaporated milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 small box (cook type) vanilla pudding mix
1 bottle (2-liter) Big Red soda
¼ teaspoon salt
Mix together eggs, condensed milk and evaporated milk. Stir in sugar and pudding mix and mix well. Add Big Red soda and stir just until mixed. Pour into freezer container and churn until frozen.
This is a fun and slightly different cake to make, my friends and family have always enjoyed it.
Earthquake Cake (aka-German Chocolate Up-side Down Cake)
(Read all instructions before beginning).
1 box German Chocolate cake mix, (along with ingredients to make according to directions)
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
4 cups powdered sugar
1 block cream cheese (8-oz)
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Lightly grease the bottom only of a 9×13 baking pan. Sprinkle pecans and coconut over pan. Mix German chocolate cake according to package directions and pour over coconut and pecans. With mixer, mix together powdered sugar, cream cheese and butter and vanilla. Drop by spoonsful over cake mix. Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes.