A Wonderful Clean

My washing machine has been broken since Saturday. At first it didn't seem like a crisis. My machine is a Bosch front loader - highly efficient, quiet, easy on the water - a busy mother's dream. But what happens when the control panel stubbornly continues to flash E:04? Well, one checks the filter of course, and sure enough I found two screws, two hairpins, a nickel, and a broken chain. Unfortunately, this quick fix that had always worked before failed to solve the problem. Papa, Joey, and I cleaned drainage hoses of jelly-like gunk and still no results. Finally after about 15 gallons of dirty water spilled onto the floor over the course of 3 days, laundry piling up, and about a dozen towels soaked with gray water, I put up the white flag and called the repairman. He was the same man who had come the week before to fix the refrigerator. (When it rains it pours. I think I'm going to bless the dishwasher with holy water.) Long story short, the drainage pump is broken, and of course, it will be 3-5 business days before the new pump will arrive. Great.

Now comes the confession. I hate laundromats. Oh, I know, they work well for many people. But I have had many a bad experience with laundromats, and I didn't relish the thought of having to go. Neither did I relish the thought of having to pay more for a load of laundry than I would pay for almost a week's worth of cleaning here at home. Then again we were all in need of at least clean underwear. And socks. The situation appeared desperate. That is until I remembered...the Wonder Clean.

I don't know how many people recall the panic over Y2K. Suffice to say that my clear-headed husband carried the day in not getting carried away. We made a few bulk purchases of oatmeal, wheat berries, and rice, but on the whole we did't go overboard. We also purchased a Coleman lantern and a grain mill, both of which we still use regularly. The Wonder Clean was my only real "panic purchase." For, with a household of little children, I would need to get clothes clean. And so I became the proud owner of, well, a white elephant. For ten long years the Wonder Clean sat, first in the basement of the little white house, and then on a high shelf in the barn, neglected, forgotten. That is until today.

Although covered with dust the washer did not seem to have suffered from lack of use. After a thorough cleaning I loaded the empty drum with underwear and socks, added about a gallon of hot water, and one teaspoon of laundry detergent. Once the lid was screwed on tightly the fun began as the boys took turns rotating the handle of the washer each competing to see who could get the washer to spin the fastest. Ten minutes later (the instructions say only a maximum of 2 minutes agitation is necessary) we drained the wash water and added more water for rinsing. Round and round went the drum as lessons in the physics of inertia, friction, and heat conduction were discussed. Drain, wring and toss the laundry into the dryer and we were done. Everyone was amazed at how clean the laundry looked and smelled. The Wonder Clean had saved the day!





Will says we should do laundry like this more often. I say let's get that washing machine fixed soon! But in the meantime I will be grateful for life's blessings and count among them my little hand cranked washing machine. It really is a wonder.

Green Tomato Mincemeat

This is for my sister-in-law, Karen, who has demonstrated the patience of a saint while waiting for me to get my act together and post this.

I stumbled across this recipe years ago when I had a plethora of green tomatoes and no idea how to use them. Apparently it is a Yankee favorite since I was given several hand written cards with the same recipe by older ladies who were trying to answer a few questions I had on canning with suet. I did use the suet once, and then the following year decided to try the recipe without the added fat. I could detect no difference in taste or texture of the mince, and so I have continued to make it sans suet. I still follow The Blue Book's recommendation to process by pressure cooker. But I have also frozen the mince in 1 quart containers with good results. One quart of mincemeat yields one pie. I usually simmer the mince for about 20min. before I put it in the pie shell.

Green Tomato Mincemeat

2 qts. cored, chopped green tomatoes
1 tbs. salt
2-1/2 qts. cored, chopped apples (I don't peel them)
3-1/2 c. brown sugar
1-1/2 c. chopped suet
1 lb. raisins
1 med. orange (I chop the entire orange in the food processor)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 c. vinegar

Sprinkle salt over chopped tomatoes; let stand for 1 hr. Rinse and drain.
Cover tomatoes with boiling water; let stand for 5 min. Drain. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15min.

To can: Ladle hot mincemeat into hot jars, leaving 1 in. headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints and quarts 1 hour and 30 min. at 10 lbs. pressure in steam-pressure canner.

To freeze: Cool mincemeat and pack into freezer containers.

Yield: 10 pints or 5 quarts

Cheesy Garden Chowder

This chowder is a definite crowd pleaser. It makes a great lunch or a satisfying supper with homemade bread or popovers. I once made homemade bread bowls and served the chowder in style. It was quite a hit! Add more vegetables, if you like, and change up the types of cheese. I like to use cheddar, but a friend gave me some block American cheese and I used half American, half cheddar. I usually double this recipe so we can have it for lunch the next day.

Cheesy Garden Chowder

1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped pepper
1/4 c. butter (I use 2 tbs.)
1 c. each diced potato, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot
3 c. water
3 bouillon cubes
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. flour
2 c. milk
1 tsp. parsley
3 c. shredded cheese

Saute onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Add vegetables, water, bouillon, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 min. or until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, combine flour and milk, whisking until smooth. Stir into soup. Bring back to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. Add parsley, and stir in cheese until melted. Serve hot.


Will's Fabulous Popovers!

Irish Soda Bread

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, and our morning begins with the traditional Irish soda bread and strong Irish tea. We save the leftover bread for an Irish tea in the afternoon. This whets our appetite for dinner which I will blog about in the next post.

This recipe is from A World of Good Eating by Heloise Frost that once belonged to my Mom, and was the one she made every year for St. Patrick's Day. On its fifth printing in 1951, this little book always delighted me as a child. It wasn't the recipes, however, that held me in rapt attention. Rather it was the delightful illustrations that caught my eye. Plump, rosy-cheeked children and adults dressed in traditional garb jumped off the pages that divided the recipes by geography and culture. Fires burned brightly in hearths, grapes hung tantalizingly, and platters of food steamed. In every countenance was joy and contentment.

As a child I completely missed the connection between food and joy. Then again, perhaps I did not. Perhaps this realization had taken root deep inside my soul, to resurrect later in life as I began to cook for my own family. As I look through the recipes once again of this little culinary treasure, I am taken back in time to the kitchen and dining room in the big white house on Caughdenoy Rd. where most of our family activities took place.

The pages of this book, now yellowed and brittle with age still make me smile. Old recipes beckon like friends and new ones cry out to be tried. But what makes this book so dear, are the notes written in my mother's beautiful handwriting -"too sticky" on the doughnuts, or "double recipe + add 1/4 tsp. nutmeg" on the Swedish meatballs. She, too, had made the connection.

What follows is the recipe for Irish soda bread that I had copied from this cookbook when I ventured out on my own. Upon comparing the two recipes on the card and in the cookbook, I am at a loss for the changes I had made. Perhaps in a moment of dietary conscience, I felt I was making a healthier alternative by reducing the amounts of butter and salt. Whatever the reason, the recipe given below is the one that has become traditional in our home. Craisins replace the traditional fruit, since my children have an aversion to raisins in baked goods.

Irish Soda Bread

4 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. butter
1 c. craisins
1 c. milk
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in butter. Mix eggs and milk. Make a well in the flour mixture; add milk mixture. Lightly mix together with a fork until most of the flour and milk is together.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead dough into a ball. Don't handle the dough too much.

Form into a ball and place in buttered pie plate. Gently flatten dough.

With a sharp knife, cut a deep cross into the top of the dough.

Bake for 50-60 min. or until toothpicks comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Serve plain, or with butter and jam, and lots of good, strong, hot tea.

February Bird Count

Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Black-capped Chickadee
Common Redpoll
White-breasted Nuthatch
Tufted Titmouse
Mourning Dove
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Hawk (unidentified)


Unidentified Hawk


Hairy Woodpecker (Female)