Around the Kisner Homestead – Page 18

Time to Make Pizza

Many of you know that I can’t eat eggs or dairy products. However, I can still eat meat…so I’m a vegan that can eat meat! Go figure! Commercial pizza is out of the question because of the cheese restriction. I’ve tried pizza without cheese and it just doesn’t taste right. So, we basically avoid buying it. I’ve tried making my own pizza, but still…no cheese makes it a boring meal.

If you recall, back in August when we were blessed with an overabundance of lovely tomatoes (see https://marykisner.com/time-to-make-pizza-sauce/), we made a big batch of sauce and labeled it pizza sauce knowing it could be used with many other recipes. I was always hoping I would find a good substitute for the cheese.

We were cruising Trader Joe’s last week and found a bag of vegan shredded mozzarella style cheese…a “cashew cheese alternative.” The description on the back of the bag sounded interesting. Time to give pizza another try!

I really do hate to waste my time making pizza crust from scratch if I won’t be able to eat it. Unfortunately, the prepared pizza crusts found at the grocery store (the brand is Boli…or something like that) say they have “milk” in them…which usually means they’ve seasoned it with Parmesan cheese and Italian seasonings. However, we found these Mediterranean Flat Breads that baked like a thin crust pizza shell! They worked great!

Bert likes cooked meat on his pizza so he cooked hamburger with onions. We opened a can of sliced black olives and a can of sliced mushrooms. Bert used regular cheese and I tried the new stuff. One half-pint jar of our pizza sauce was just enough for both pizzas.

Here’s my pizza ready to go in the oven.

After 15 minutes at 365 degrees, my fake cheese looked sort of melted. However, it tasted GREAT!! I consider this a win! Boy am I glad we made all that sauce. Now it would be worth it to make my own crust…or not! The flat bread came out crunchy and was delicious.

Almost forgot to take a picture before I polished it off!

Now I’ll be excited to take good care of next year’s tomatoes, knowing we’ll put the sauce to good use! I can see t his fake cheese being useful in many dishes where cheese is used as a topping or minor ingredient. I’m not sure I’d like a whole dish of macaroni and this cheese. It tasted good but the mouth-feel was a little different. However, this pizza was a great success. Give it a try! Enjoy!

Please comment or send me an email directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Maple Bourbon Apple Crisp

A few weeks ago Bert found this recipe in a magazine he receives, MuzzleBlasts, that is all about Muzzle-loading rifles and events. The magazine even has a recipe and a monthly quilt block article with instructions for the rest of the family. Of course, we like apple crisp, but I guess the maple flavor and bourbon ingredients sounded interesting. We bought apples and then got busy with other projects. The apples were shifted around on the counter for a few weeks while other activities took our time (like cookies)!

I finally decided it was time to make this recipe before the apples spoiled. You can see from the photo below that trying to follow the recipe with all the background pictures was difficult. I retyped the recipe into the format I prefer and that follows the magazine picture.

The recipe was not too hard to follow. Bert didn’t have any bourbon around so he substituted whisky. The hardest part was cutting up the apples!

I put the apples in cold water to keep them from turning brown until I got them all cut up.

This large casserole dish worked well. It was deep enough that if it bubbled up it wouldn’t spill over the top. Of course, we had a taste before I could even get a picture!

Not bad! Next time I would skip the bourbon or whisky, but the maple syrup added lots of flavor. Pretty quick and easy…except for the time to cup up the apples. Give the recipe a try! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Remembering My Dad, Paul Bixby

Today would have been my Dad’s 108th birthday. He passed away in 2012, just a week shy of his 99th birthday. He grew up on a farm in Minnesota, the oldest with 4 younger sisters. He always yearned to see the world. As a child, he thought being a “diplomat” would be the most exciting career. As a lifetime educator, his yearning led him to opportunities to explore the world. He married my Mother in 1935 and headed off to college in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

From there he continued his education in New York at Columbia University. By the time I was born (1946) he was ready to continue his career in Higher Education at Penn State University.

We spent 1955-56 in the Philippines, while Dad taught at the University of the Philippines. He was enjoying the challenges of international travel and education, while Jean, Mark and I experienced normal life appropriate to our age levels. Jean had just graduated from high school and was learning about native Philippine music and dance; Mark was a sophomore in high school and experiencing high school life in another culture; I was in 4th grade and trying to figure out how to fit in in elementary school. Mom was just trying to hold us all together! We each had our challenges!

Here is a picture of my Dad in 1968 when Bert and I got married (or should I say, celebrated our wedding…ha ha…that had happened in 1967, when we eloped but didn’t tell anyone!). That’s another story!

Here is Dad around 2000. He was definitely in “elder statesman” mode and enjoyed living in Foxdale after Mom died. He served on many committees and was acclaimed as a great listener. He stayed actively involved in the development of Foxdale as a mature, continuing care facility.

And finally, as a father of three, grandfather of nine, great grandfather of 17 and great-great grandfather of 4, everyone loved to come visit him, to pick his brain for great stories or share their own life adventures.

After he passed, I was reminded that he wasn’t just my Dad…many people saw him as a “father figure” or as a kindly, interested “grandfather figure.” Each year, this close to Christmas, he’s never far from my thoughts.

If you have a treasured memory you’d like to share, leave a comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net. Thanks.

Bert’s Yearly Cookie Marathon

For as long as I’ve known Bert (58 years to be exact!) even before we were married, he has made chocolate chip cookies. He started baking with his Mother using the recipe for Toll House Cookies on the back of the chocolate chips bag. He would usually end the baking with one very large cookie the size of a pizza pan! Over the years, the number of ingredients has expanded along with the actual volume of cookies. At the beginning the cookies were just for family. Now, he mails 10-12 boxes around the country to family and friends that have moved away. Of course, some local friends and family benefit from his obsession with chocolate chip cookies too. I get to benefit with how wonderful the kitchen smells while he’s baking! (With my allergies to eggs and dairy I haven’t tasted them for several years!)

When he first started baking, he mixed everything by hand with a very large wooden spoon. Here it is next to a regular wooden spoon and silverware.

Several years ago, he invested in a large commercial mixer that makes the job much easier.

He mixes up all the dough in one day and stores it in the garage in giant stock pots and bowls.

His recipe is impressive and the ingredient list is no longer being tweaked. This year he was unable to get Soft-as-Silk cake flour, so he got a different brand. He noticed the difference!

Here is the recipe. I think he made 10 batches in one day! Crazy, I know!

I just found his tally from 2014 that figured out the total ingredients in pounds. He said this year he made about 170 pounds of dough, which will make about 120-130 dozen large cookies!

And so the marathon begins:

So, the question is…do I bother making cookies at Christmas? Absolutely not! I may, however, make a batch of oatmeal bread in the big mixer when it’s sitting right here in my kitchen!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Remembering My Big Sister – Jeansylvia

Today would have been my big sister’s birthday…84 years old. She passed away in 2017, but every December 1st since then I’ve made it a point to recall a few of my treasured memories of her. I’d like to share just a few with you. Some time in the last 20 years, she combined her first and middle name to make one…Jeansylvia. To me, however, she will always be Jean.

I have only a few pictures of my sister before I was born. Here is a picture of my family before I was born and they lived in New Jersey.

I was born in New Jersey, and 6 months later we moved to State College. Jean must have been 9 years old in the first picture. Mark would have been 6 years old. I’m sure I was a novelty at the beginning.

About 1957, when we returned from my Dad’s year-long sabbatical in the Philippines, Jean would have been about 20 years old and in college. For this picture we modeled our special outfits representing traditional clothes from the Philippines:

In 1959, Jean competed for the first step in the Miss Pennsylvania Pageant. She won Miss Centre County, but did not go further. This picture below was in the paper. A few years ago, Bert and I attended an 80th birthday celebration of the young man driving the car. (We had no idea who he was in 1959!) This picture was part of his memory board at the party. What a surprise to see my sister on his memory board! I hadn’t seen this picture for many years, so it was a real treat.

More recently we would drive up to Mansfield to have lunch with Jean, Mark and Lita. This is one of my favorite pictures of her:

When she passed away, I had to quickly come up with an obituary while I was in a hotel room. Luckily, her daughter was with me and could fill in all the details of next of kin, etc. However, I wanted to add a sentence or two about her personality. This is what I came up with:

“With a quick wit and engaging smile, she charmed all she met. She was an avid reader, prolific journal writer and nature lover. If you want to honor her memory, love a neighbor, help a friend and pass it on.”

So, CHEERS to you, my big sister! We all miss your smile and sense of humor!

I hope all of you take a minute on a loved one’s birthday to cherish a favorite memory too.

If you’d like to comment or share a memory of Jeansylvia, you can comment here or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Experimental Pancakes for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Friends and Family! Yes, we had turkey and gravy. Yes, we had potatoes. Yes, we had corn. We did not bother with pumpkin pie because I can’t eat it. We did not have any extra people around so we kept it simple.

It was a lazy day in general so I enlisted Bert’s help in trying a new recipe. It was a recipe suggested by my nutritionist as a way to work more protein into breakfast for a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free pancakes that incorporated my plant-based protein powder.

Bert’s expertise in making great pancakes from scratch (or even from a pancake mix) is well known in the family. He seems to know just how to adjust the ingredients and the heat under the skillet to make lovely, fluffy pancakes (even on the cook stove at camp!). Since regular pancakes have eggs and milk in them, they have been off my list of acceptable breakfast foods for a long time (so sad).

The following recipe shows the original recipe and the additional ingredients Bert added to make an acceptable pancake. On the right is for a double batch, which is what we made. I really don’t have to be gluten-free, but we thought we’d give it a try.

These were the basic ingredients:

When mixed up it looked like corn bread batter:

When first placed on the griddle, they looked like it might work…

…however, trying to flip them was impossible! The first two pancakes went into the garbage.

So, Bert added flour, oil and some water (exact measurements were not possible at this point.) Remember…this was an experiment!

The next pancake worked much better.

We had to taste this one just to see if it was worth it. It was delicious!

After we nibbled on the first two pancakes, we were left with this lovely stack of thin pancakes.

When they were cool, I carefully placed them on foil and slipped them into the freezer. I’ll package them up so I can have them for breakfast. Next time, we’ll just know to add those extra ingredients at the beginning…but they won’t be gluten-free!

My experimental pancakes ended up being delicious. I’m thankful for Bert’s expertise! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day too!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Remembering Our First Date

It seems so long ago, 58 years, yet I’m reminded of our first date every year by the headlines back then…

(Original Caption) New York, New York: Headlines announcing Kennedy’s assassination from three New York newspapers, the Times, the Daily News, and the Herald Tribune. November 23, 1963.

I was eagerly anticipating our first date. We were supposed to go to a fall dance at the High School. We hardly knew each other…had just met in English class our Senior Year, even though we had been in the same schools since 7th grade. Our paths had not crossed in any class before.

We were in our afternoon classes when the PA announcements came on that President Kennedy had been shot. We all listened in stunned silence. Over the next few hours, we were bombarded with all the speculations from the news media, our teachers and our classmates. The details would unfold over the days and weeks to follow.

Many of the pictures in the news are still familiar to me today:

President John Kennedy rides in a motorcade from the Dallas airport into the city with his wife Jacqueline and Texas Governor John Connally.

Lyndon B. Johnson, during his inauguration immediately after John F. Kennedy’s assassination, with Jackie Kennedy by his side.

Members of the Kennedy family at the funeral of assassinated president John F. Kennedy at Washington DC. From left: Senator Edward Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, (aged 6), Jackie Kennedy (1929 – 1994), Attorney General Robert Kennedy and John Kennedy (1960 – 1999) (aged 3). (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

By the time I got home from school, the world had changed. I think we were all in shock. All I could think about was what a relief it would be to go to a dance to feel somewhat normal again…if only for a few hours.

Of course, we had not gotten the memo that the dance was cancelled! So, I got dressed up, Bert came over to pick me up and we went to the school. Oh no! The sign on the door gave us a reality check! We headed back home to just go for a walk around my neighborhood and talk. We hardly knew each other so it was an awkward time.

It was also a memorable beginning to our relationship that I will be reminded of every year. I guess it stuck, because 58 years later we’re still hanging in there!

Do you have memories of that day back in 1963? I’d love to hear about them! My email address is marykisner@comcast.net.

Last Garden Update November 12, 2021

Sad as it is, our gardens in November look very similar to how they looked in the early spring (see https://marykisner.com/homestead-tour/). Of course, we had snow on the ground then, but who knows…it could snow this weekend!

Bert has almost everything tidied up except the partial row of carrots that we will probably dig up next week. Here’s how things look now:

The Dogwood trees are done and I imagine the first snow will bring down the leaves.

The whole row of dogwood trees look pretty sad…but notice how green the grass still is! Bert will mow one more time before putting the mowers away.

The Lemongrass is no longer green thanks to the frosts…we’re not sure whether to just cut it off or leave it until spring.

For some reason the chamomile stays green most of the winter. I did cut it back a few weeks ago, but it is still growing!

I cut the Lemon Balm back a few weeks ago, almost down to ground level, but it is determined to stay green a little longer.

The bright green carrots on the left will be dug up this next week. The Lavender will probably not come back next year, but we’re going to leave it alone and see what happens in the spring.

The rest of the garden will have a good rest until spring.

And my dear Echinacea will drop all those seed soon. Hopefully we’ll have a nice full patch of flowers next year.

The Butternut trees dropped their leaves quite quickly after the first frost.

And of course, Bert has removed the rain barrels for the winter and connected the spouting back up on the shop. If you want to see how he hooks them up, see https://marykisner.com/setting-up-the-rain-barrels/.

So, the next posting about the garden will be next spring. Maybe I’ll have to share snow pictures for all you folks in California, Texas and Florida…just to remind you what you’re missing! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Internet Down, Change of Plans

Yesterday we headed out before 8 a.m. for our yearly appointments with the eye doctor. While I was waiting for Bert to finish his appointment, I mentally made a list of the things I needed to do when we got home…most had to do with things I needed to finish online. I needed to finish downloading a book to read; I wanted to print out a recipe I had found the day before about using essential oils to make a serum to use to strengthen my nails; and I had email to send out. Top of the list was to send a text to our daughter about a possible visit after Thanksgiving.

When we got home…a little bleary-eyed from having our eyes dilated…lo and behold we discovered our internet service was down and the TV was not available. Then we found our AT&T cell service was also not working! Rats!

For the first hour or two, we were struggling to figure out if it was problem with our computers, the router, or our wiring, etc. We determined it was not our equipment. (Later, we heard that a huge off-road dump truck at a nearby quarry had forgotten to lower his truck bed and had tangled with poles and wires serving both the internet service and AT&T!) Service was out for the whole day!

So, now plans needed to change! First, I needed to get in touch with our daughter…but text, email and cell phone calls were out. Luckily, we still have our land line so I could call her. After that, we settled in with “real books” and enjoyed some quiet time.

I usually reach for the TV music channel for background music while we read so I found music on my phone and with bluetooth was able to connect with the small Bose speaker in the living room. Perfect!

Next, I melted down some soap to make more individual soaps for gifts.

Finally, I made a small batch of applesauce from some apples given to us by a neighbor. Yum!

A nice quiet day! I must say it was pretty quiet without any spam phone calls and nuisance emails and texts. Of course, when the power was restored we played catch up…the phone started ringing with junk calls and I had over 50 junk emails! Actually, this was a good reminder to print out recipes and download books when I can…just in case!

I hope you have some real books to read on your shelf and other projects available in case this happens to you! Outdoor activities away from technology will always be available too. I hope you had an uneventful week!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Hydrate With Sweet Drops in Your Water

Water, water everywhere! One pass through the “water” or “soda” aisle in the grocery store can be enlightening. We can buy plain water...bottled from local tap water or spring water from someplace else; carbonated water…with added fizz; flavored water…with added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners from sucralose to aspartame, to natural sweeteners from fruit to stevia; and water that’s been incorporated into soda drinks, with sweeteners and caffeine. So many choices and so expensive!

Apparently, many of us are still dehydrated! Hard to believe, I know! I guess our bodies know when we aren’t getting enough water. Sugar water with fizz makes us think we are drinking enough, but our bodies still have to filter out the sugar and other chemicals to make use of the water. So, the advice out there is to drink more plain water!

I’m still working on drinking more water (see https://marykisner.com/from-the-bookshelf-infused-water/). While the water infused with fruit and herbs was interesting and tasty, it was just not easy to work into my day. I prefer bottled water or water in a thermos when I’m driving, or ice water in a restaurant, and I found I was still reaching for diet soda at home. I’m now going to try harder to drink more water and get the diet soda out of my life!

I remembered I had these Sweet Drops in my cupboard and pulled them out.

It says on the bottle: “each tiny 2 oz. bottle will flavor over 200 8 oz. glasses of water!” (Each bottle costs about $6.00). The Drops are made with Stevia, a natural sweetener. Some folks say they don’t like the after-taste of Stevia, but I think they are using too much. Five drops are enough to counteract the chlorine taste in the water and ice cubes and generally make the water “taste” better. The goal is not to make a sweet soda-like drink out of these drops, but to make the water itself more appealing. Some of the flavors come in drops like this:

I think the drops must be “bigger” since this has only 32 servings!

You can find these drops on Amazon and possibly your Health Food Store. Another idea is to add a splash of ReaLemon concentrate to a glass of ice water. It feels like I’ve added a slice of lemon…just like in a restaurant.

So, find your favorite glass, mug or thermos…add cold water and maybe ice…and a few Sweet Drops and hydrate! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.