Saturday, February 6, 2016

Back Again, Mom and a Recipe


It has been too long, has it not? I think so, and now I find myself in the midst of the month of February celebrated with hearts, candy, flowers and love. Where has the time gone? I feel it has just slipped through my fingers, like so much of my life. There has been 10 deaths in my family in the past 5 years, that is not counting those friends who have had losses too. Sooner or later it all comes to us and we have to face it. I'm starting to know a lot of widows and widowers, but love stays doesn't it, and life goes on. 

I did not want to come back here with a depressing subject, but life is not all about roses. My mother passed away the end of October. By the way, her name was Rose. She was 84, would have been 85 this past December 10th. She lived a good life for the most part and was able to live in her home up until in July when she fell at home and broke her hip. As with so many of the elderly she went down hill from there. It is a blessing to know that she is no longer suffering, and I hope in a better place. And with that I will let this story lay to rest as I hope she is at rest now too.
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So, I imagine those of you who have been faithful to me are wondering what I have been up to, what I have been doing. I have been busy. I still babysit for my grandson 2 days a week. Just plain and simple, he is a joy. I can always depend on him to make me laugh and to brighten my days. I have also done some knitting and plan to share with you soon the most recent projects.


Another thing I have been up to recently was doing a bit of cooking. I got the bug up my butt to teach myself to make egg rolls. I have a sister-in-law, Pawnee, we call her Penny, she is from Thailand. She makes excellent egg rolls. Years ago she made some for us and they were delicious. I know they are time- consuming, I know they can be expensive to make especially if you don't have the ingredients on hand. I found dozens of recipes on Pinterest. I went to Meijer in Sandusky (I love that store) and loaded up on what I needed. If you are ambitious, the recipe follows all the pics.







Chinese Egg Rolls

1/2 lb. ground pork or chicken, beef, or omit meat and use veggie filling
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. fresh ginger, or 2-3 tsp. ground
4 green onions, sliced thin
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water
1/4 c. soy sauce
16 oz. bag shredded coleslaw mix, I used Dole
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
veg oil for deep frying
1 tsp. sesame oil
12 egg roll wraps


Brown the meat with ginger and garlic in pan, drain grease.
Mix salt, sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Add meat and mix well.
In large bowl combine cabbage mix and green onions.
Pour hot meat over vegetables and stir well. Let cool slightly.
Lay wrap in front of you so it looks like a diamond.
Place about 3 tablespoons filling in center of egg roll.
Pull bottom point up over filling and roll once.
Fold in right and left points.
Brush beaten egg on top point.
Finish rolling.
Continue with remaining filling.
Heat 2-3 inches of oil in frying pan to about 350 degrees.
Fry egg rolls for 3 minutes on each side.
Drain on paper towels.

 Just a few hints, you can use a head of cabbage, but the bagged coleslaw makes it a less messy job and a nice short cut. I used the minced garlic in a jar. I measured out what I needed and left it drain on a paper towel to get rid of the extra liquid. I forgot the fresh ginger and used 3-4 tsp. of ground ginger that I had on hand. The first batch I did I forgot to do the very first roll of the wrap (that is what happens when you don't read instructions very well), but they turned out okay. I also tried deep frying them in more oil, but once I tried to flip them they kept flipping back to the side that was done. The following week (second double batch), I tried 1-2 inches of oil in a large frying pan and that problem was solved. I made egg rolls 2 weekends in a row. I loved doing them. I didn't count how many I had the first week, but I had enough filling for 51 the second weekend. After they cooled, I divided them up into quart freezer bags and into the freezer they went. Of course I am sharing with family. The only down side to all of this was the mess it made on my stove top. Next time I am going to try baking them and see what happens. My brother Mike and his wife said they were better than the ones at the Chinese restaurant :) If you make them you will not be sorry, they are great!
By all means check out Pinterest, they have tons of different egg roll recipes, and you could even tweak them to suit yourself.


Do you know what this is? It was one of the things my mother brought from Germany when she came to Ohio back in the early 50"s.


I highly doubt that anyone uses these any more, but back in the early days you needed one cause socks needed mending.


It is a darning egg, not your usual shape. Do you have one from your mom or grandma?
I found it among mom's sewing things. It is a treasure.


She said she kept these little tights she made me. I searched for them, but it was my brother Ralph who found them.


This is the back view of them. She didn't have a pattern, just a great love of knitting and a little girl who needed to be kept warm in the cold winter days in Germany.


Here I am in Germany wearing the tights that my Mutti made me.


I wanted to keep them safely tucked away and went on Amazon and bought this Herbal Moth Repellent that I can add to the storage bag I put the tights in. It does not have the odor of  moth balls and actually has a pleasant smell. The little tights are safely tucked away now in a dresser drawer.

It feels good to be back here again. I have missed all of you so very much. I don't think anyone who spends time on here can not get attached to those people who spread their kindness and loyalty to others. I have seen it written so very many times that blogger friends are the best, and I have to agree 100%. No where else can one find people who share in all the happiness and give support in sad times. It means so much to be able to escape to the keyboard and visit people who have only known you a short time, yet it feels like old friends are so close. Thank you for visiting me, thank you for being a friend. God Bless you all.
I am truly blessed.
♥♥♥


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~WRITE IT ON YOUR HEART................
THAT THE ONES YOU LOVE ARE LIFE'S MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS~