Family Recipe Friday - Polish Cold Beet Soup Borscht

Summer is HERE, and with a vengeance! 

Down here in the South, we are being treated to weather that feels like August already.

Hot and humid, with temperatures in the 90's

and the A/C cranked up high!

What on earth did our ancestors do?

The Poles and East Europeans made Borscht,

a beet soup. 

Beets are Sooooo good for you! 

And this recipe doesn't require cooking, unless you want

to count the hard-boiled eggs!

This recipe is from "ma"-

Hank's mother, Anastazia (Nancy) Kocinski Vissotzky. 

I think I'll plan on Cold Beet soup for dinner tomorrow,

with a big chunk of artisan bread,

and enjoy a  mint julep on the porch. 

It IS summer down here in the South, ya'll!!!!
(Haha - I just realized I posted this for Geneablogger's Family Recipe Friday..
trouble with that is, today is THURSDAY!
It is Friday somewhere on this Earth already!!! 
Did you ever have "one of THOSE weeks"?)

Way Out West Wild Mustang Grape Juice - Family Recipe Fridays

Summer's coming! 

With summer, comes berries, wild berries!

And grapes!  Wild grapes!

Sorry to not have posted anything for sometime, but life kidnapped me.

We took a trip to Texas, where we were met by my favorite college freshman (son!)!

We stayed on a family ranch, where I took a gazillion pictures.

All sorts of wildflowers provided a feast for our eyes!

Staying on the place brought back memories

of driving on country roads in the summer time,

searching for sand plums so Mom could make plum jelly.

YUM!

By the time there are sand plums, the grapes are usually in season too.

or close anyway!

I found this recipe that Henry Vissotzky had written on some memo paper

from his desk at Tarleton State University.

Maybe this will be the summer for me to try to make

Wild Mustang Grape Juice!

English Muffins

Oh do you know the muffin man,

the muffin man, the muffin man?

Who didn't sing this nursery song while growing up? 

I'm not sure who Mary H. was - one of June Parker Vissotzky's

many good friends. I have an idea who it was...but

can't ever know for sure since all that was written

was Mary H's cookbook.

I made English Muffins once. 

once being the keyword.

They made great dog frisbee treats, and flung really well off the deck!.

Let's just leave it at that, shall we?

My Dad always enjoyed a good English Muffin.

They were a real treat for breakfast on the weekends.

He also really enjoyed breakfast. 

I would have liked to make English Muffins for him.

Good English Muffins. 

Not the dog frisbee kind.

Maybe I should try again

using June's recipe from Mary H's cookbook!

I hear the muffin man calling me.....

Family Recipe Friday: Easy Cheesy Pizza Sandwiches

AT LAST!!!  It's Friday!!!

AND April Fool's Day!

And I can't think of one thing to do for a prank.

It has just been one of THOSE kind of weeks! 

So instead of a prank - here's an easy cheesy dinner that everyone should like! 

When I make this, I usually use colby jack cheese

instead of processed cheese...

nothing personal, I just don't usually buy that stuff.

Probably because of the word "processed" in front of it.

I have been known to devour it when served as a hot dip with chips however.

I do break my standards every once in a while. :)

So here you go. 

Processed cheese or otherwise...

Pizza sandwiches can fit the bill for an easy cheesy lunch or dinner!

And I bet that is why it was in June's recipe box!!! 

She liked to fix fancy sandwiches for her folks!

Happy Friday and April Fool's Day everyone! 

Vintage Advertisement for Reed's Rembrandt Line - Paper with Pizazz!

This charming advertisement was on the back of one of the recipes. 

I just could not resist including it in my recipe geneaolgy blog!  

I wonder if my mother-in-law found it as charming as I do? 

She was an artist, so I like to think that she smiled at it when she saw it. 

Cute little picnikers! 

Cream of Tomato Soup

Tomatoes and basil=TO DIE FOR!

Unless you happen to be married to the world's foremost hater of tomatoes.

In which case he will simply have to eat leftovers...umm, I mean planned-overs!

Tis yet another of the Vissotzky recipes that calls for a pressure cooker.

I must be missing something, because I have never used one. 

All the stories I have heard of pressure cookers include

explosive endings with sticky liquids splattered all over everything! 

It would be just my luck...

Instead, I think I will try this in a slow cooker set on low

while I scramble to catch up on things that need to be done during the weekend.

I love Cream of Tomato soup...

it's a Sunday kind of thing,

along with a nice crunchy green salad and a loaf of sourdough bread. 

Ok, mebbe I'll be nice

and share the sourdough bread with the resident tomato hater. 

Tamale Cheese Pie

I have no idea what magazine or newspaper or author to contribute this to! 

Sorry about that...but it sounds delicious and it was in June Vissotzky's recipe box!  

This is on my list to make after my diet is done. 

If you wanted to cut down on the fat content, you can use very lean ground beef, or bison. 

You'll never taste the difference!  HONEST!

 I imagine you could also use chicken and it would also be yummy. 

I plan to add some cilantro and a can or two of green chiles,

but that's just because hubby and I are used to spicier foods.  

Tamale-Cheese Pie and a green salad...there's dinner for you!  

Apple Blossom Cake

The Apple Blossom Cake is still calling me! 

I think this is Bernice Faires Parker's recipe. 

It looks like her handwritingg. 

This is a good, easy cake to have on hand when a neighbor stops by, if it even lasts that long! 

No neighbors or friends?  Then you REALLY need to make this cake!  

 Include a couple of slices in your lunch and offer to share....

VOILA!   Instant friends!  

Chunks of apple with nuts and spices...how on earth could you possibly go wrong?