Vegetable Garden days are done for another year. Time to pack it in till next April. Gardens are winterized and time to plan for next year. Crazy weather. June started out very rainy. July hot. August hot and rainy. And September hot again. These folks have I guess what you could call gardens still. Sorry but I’m not helping with these.
Now the gardens here are ready for next year.
Now I have a watermelon patch that has three watermelons left. I had two different varieties of seedless.Look closely or enlarge the picture.
It’s Apple Time at the MC House. Well it’s time to put away the Lemons.
After 5 or was it six changes, it’s time to post those apples. And we do have a few apples. Never got around to counting them all, but if you find nothing to do be our guest. Enjoy this labor of love.
So, if you’re not really a country fan, no worries, I am here to convince you why you should be a country fan. Or at least give it a try! The great thing about genres is that in the end, they have the ability to change every day and expand the way they are perceived. Think of it as a blend of sounds that come together to create the perfect song. And yes believe it or not, not every country song is about beer and tractors driving around the dirt road.
Local tradition. The cookie table. The past two weekends, my wife and I attended two weddings. And no matter where you live, there’s tradition. And here in the Youngstown, Ohio area it’s the cookie table.
From wedding soup to pizza shops, the Youngstown area is home to many widely-loved recipes and traditions. But, one of our most cherished traditions undoubtedly is the Youngstown Wedding Cookie Table.
If you’re not from the Youngstown area, then the concept of a “cookie table” might be kind of foreign to you. In short: It’s our local tradition to serve hundreds (usually more like thousands!) of cookies in an elaborate display at a wedding reception. Many times the wedding cake takes a back seat to the cookie table, with some couples foregoing a traditional wedding cake altogether. In Youngstown, the first thing people ask about a wedding is, “How were the cookies?”
The immigrants that came to the Youngstown area in the early 20th century brought with them many wonderful ethnic traditions centered around food and baking. Money was tight–especially during the Great Depression–and the cost of a wedding cake was often prohibitive. Family and friends would step in and provide an amazing display of homemade cookies to serve at the reception. This time-honored tradition continues today, and it is seen as a way to show love for the newlywed couple.
From wedding soup to pizza shops, the Youngstown area is home to many widely-loved recipes and traditions. But, one of our most cherished traditions undoubtedly is the Youngstown Wedding Cookie Table.
If you’re not from the Youngstown area, then the concept of a “cookie table” might be kind of foreign to you. In short: It’s our local tradition to serve hundreds (usually more like thousands!) of cookies in an elaborate display at a wedding reception. Many times the wedding cake takes a back seat to the cookie table, with some couples foregoing a traditional wedding cake altogether. In Youngstown, the first thing people ask about a wedding is, “How were the cookies?”
Humble Beginnings
The immigrants that came to the Youngstown area in the early 20th century brought with them many wonderful ethnic traditions centered around food and baking. Money was tight–especially during the Great Depression–and the cost of a wedding cake was often prohibitive. Family and friends would step in and provide an amazing display of homemade cookies to serve at the reception. This time-honored tradition continues today, and it is seen as a way to show love for the newlywed couple.
The “Ingredients” For a Great Cookie Table
Cookie tables may look a little different from wedding to wedding, but there are definitely some cookie varieties that you’ll find on every great cookie table. Let’s break it down:
The Classics: At the base of all memorable cookie tables lie varieties like Clothespin Cookies, Kiffles, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Pecan Tarts, Snowballs, Chocolate Crinkles and Thumbprints
Straight from Nonna’s Kitchen: Homemade Pizzelles, Biscotti, Ricotta Cookies, Italian Wedding Cookies and Wands (which look like a large bow tie)
The Natives: It’s not a true OH-IO cookie table without a hefty helping of Buckeyes. And don’t forget the Kolachi!
Slow-Cooker Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings. I know, it’s been a while since we’ve had a recipe. And of all places it comes from one of my fav grocery stores. Kroger. This is not a quick one. So go out in the garden, do some painting, or pull some weeds.
The heat of Sriracha is paired with the sweetness of honey… making these chicken wings a guaranteed WOW!
Set oven to Broil. Line a large rimmed sheet pan with foil; place a large rectangular wire rack on top; spray both with cooking spray.
Place chicken pieces in a single layer on rack; sprinkle 1 tsp. salt and pepper over chicken. Broil 3” from heat 10-12 minutes or until browned, turning halfway through broiling time.
Spray 3 ½-4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Place chicken in slow cooker. In small bowl mix hot sauce, ¼ cup honey, and garlic until well blended. Pour over chicken, stir to coat.
Cover; cook on Low heat setting 3 hours. Remove with tongs or slotted spoon; discard cooking liquid. In small bowl, mix sour cream, lime juice, zest and remaining honey and salt until well blended.
Serve chicken wings with lime sour cream and additional hot sauce, if desired.
Do you have a cool spot? A special place you have. A place you call your own. Well mine is under a tree on our property. A Pin Oak. About 60 feet high. A tree I would love to get rid of. But according to my wife, that’s not happening. But for now it’s my cool spot.
For some reason sitting under that tree soothes the beast in me. Plus a great place to sit when I WANT TO GET AWAY FROM THE HEAT. With the past week of 90’s weather, it’s a great place to be.
So if you have a cool spot,place, or room, tell us about it.
Jumping from Spring to Summer with MC AND HIS BETTER HALF. It’s been a while but now we catch up on the decorations. so just sit back and enjoy the lemon theme. Sorry this took so long.
How much exercise do you get, don’t count the 12 oz. curls. I for one believe in a exercise plan. I became more serious after my open heart surgery. I walk five days a week. Also I have a weight lifting program I follow three days a week.
I don’t jog and I don’t jump rope. So how about you?
The MC home goes Patriotic. If your new here, the MC home gets decorated on a regular basis. Nothing drastic or expensive. Simple and hopefully pleasing to the eyes. As always, my wife does the decorating and I take the pictures. You’ll see more Pewter was used. gone are the brass candles.
Spring has sprung part 2. Summer is coming fast. Flowers will be blooming and purple is the color. Join me in looking at my garden, home flowers and the kitchen in transition. Holidays here we come.
Let’s hear it for the family. Songs about any or all family members. Or songs about people coming together as a family. Family can be in the artist or bands name.
Spring has sprung. And it’s time to get to work. So much to do. But being retired and the love of my life also retired I THINK WE GOT THIS. So just sit back and just take in the pictures. Oh did I tell you I BROUGHT COOKIES?
We started about three weeks ago. Clearing the weeds and letting mother nature take it’s course. Over the past three weeks, weeded several times. Tell us what you think.
Do you know where everything is? If your wife, husband, or live in asked you to find or get something, could you? In your house or apartment that is. I know I cant. But how about you?
If you could do your life over, what would you want to be when you grow up? Would you want to follow a different career path? If a stay at home mom or dad, did you ever regret it? So let us know.
Salena Zito joined the Washington Examiner in 2016 as a Pittsburgh-based columnist and reporter and is also a columnist at the New York Post. She is the author of The Great Revolt. She previously wrote for the Atlantic and spent the last 11 years at the Pittsburgh Tribune Review as both a reporter and a columnist covering national politics. Before that, she worked for the Pittsburgh Steelers and held staff positions for both Democratic and Republican elected officials in Pennsylvania. She has interviewed every president and vice president in the 21st century. In the 2016 election cycle, she interviewed 22 presidential candidates, both Democrats and Republicans.
This motor court is still in session.
There is a little burst of wonder that road travelers experience when they climb Tulls Hill, heading west out of Bedford, where the Lincoln Highway Motor Court welcomes them at the crest on their left. It’s a burst of wonder up for sale.
The motor court is a concept that is both familiar and foreign to the modern eye: part motel, part cabin, delightfully welcoming as 12 detached cabins all form a semicircle around the central office, nestled cozily among scores of pine trees waiting for their next occupants.
Long before the orange-roofed Howard Johnsons dotted America’s highways or Holiday Inns opened at interchanges of our newly constructed interstates, the middle-class family had nowhere to stay on vacation other than tourist camps.
(Shannon Venditty / for the Washington Examiner)
Owners Debbie and Bob Altizer explained that tourist camps didn’t have much to offer this new generation of travelers other than a parking space and outhouses until some enterprising farmers turned portions of their fields into tiny coves of cabins and a main house.
“And thus, the motor court was born,” they said in unison.
“We estimate that our motor court was built in 1940, based on the number of people who have come back to see the place they stayed on their honeymoon just before being shipped off during the beginning of World War II,” explained Debbie.
Each cabin is lovingly preserved from the era, beginning on the outside of each cabin, where two red-and-white metal chairs are waiting for the occupants to step outside and sit a spell while lazily enjoying watching the cars zoom past on U.S. 30, America’s first coast-to-coast two-lane highway.
Sometimes we wake up and have no idea that we’ve dreamed, while other times, we can closely recall our dreams because they were so intense. These are known as vivid dreams.
Recently I had what I call my dream was dreaming. I was on a business trip and it looked as if something bad was going to happen. Just then I sat up and saw I was dreaming. What happened next? My wife rolled me over on my side and then I actually woke up.
After 5 or was it six changes, it’s time to post those apples. And we do have a few apples. Never got around to counting them all, but if you find nothing to do be our guest. Enjoy this labor of love.
My garden
And my world famous ghetto garden.
Our Day Lilies will be spectacular this year.
Last but not least, the decorations.
We started about three weeks ago. Clearing the weeds and letting mother nature take it’s course. Over the past three weeks, weeded several times. Tell us what you think.
