THE YOYO EXPERIENCE

Several months ago, I came across “yoyo” in a sentence and instantly became baffled as to why the context of “yoyo” didn’t match up to my vision of “yoyo”.

My vision of “yoyo” was a toy made by the Duncan Company. Anything other than a Duncan yoyo was an imitation yoyo. It was either wood, and then plastic in later years, that was two pieces of roundness with a long string wrapped in the middle of the spool.

Easter time was yoyo time. Once springtime came along, out came the yoyo. Hours on end were spent trying to master yoyo tricks. There was “walk the dog”, “around the world” and “rock the baby” to name a few.

Nothing was more frustrating than the string knotting itself and becoming unusable until the knot was removed from the string. The string was rather long and this tedious task of unknotting was not for the faint of heart.

The yoyo was popular in the 60s and again when Mother’s Little Helpers were growing up, it made a resurgence in toy popularity. Of course, that was when school children had something called “recess” and you could bring your yoyo out to the school yard to play and show off your yoyo talents.

Toys are different in the new century. There are games to be played, still using your hands, but on one’s phone.

When “yoyo” appears today, it is an acronym for the phone text message “you’re on your own”.

If you need to use that acronym, it would be something like “what’s for dinner” and the reply is “YOYO”. “You’re on your own”.

Now that I’ve been enlightened to the new meaning of “yoyo”, I find comfort in that a toy from the past is not being served up on a platter for dinner tonight.

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: If you have leftovers in your refrigerator but not enough to feed the entire family the same meal, consider hosting “yoyo night”. Reheat the leftovers, place all on the table and everyone can select their favorite dish for dinner. Not only is this a good way to use leftovers, it gives the cook a night off from dinner preparation!

                                         A RECENT YOYO MEAL

                                             Poached egg on a waffle

PETER PIPER'S PEPPERS

As a young child growing up in an Italian-American home, it was customary to visit one’s grandparents either every Sunday or every other Sunday for a seven course dinner.

This was a time before microwaves and dishwashers or large refrigerators. Dinner was at noon so cooking began at the crack of dawn.

I would hear the stories how blocks of ice were purchased to keep food from spoiling. Eventually Grandma did buy a small refrigerator however she never kept much food in it. Today and tomorrow’s meat; the freezer was for ravioli and ice-cream pops for her grandchildren. Habits were hard to change.

Grandma shopped daily. She lived above the market. It was one flight of stairs down to street level and around the corner to the market for groceries. The apartment building didn’t have an elevator. It was a “walk up”. With string bags in hand, she’d cart back to her apartment only what she could carry in her bags and nothing more.

Everything was fresh. Only the ravioli came from a box in the freezer because it was made fresh, stored and sold to the grocer.

Grandpa liked her cooking. And he liked it spicy. Very spicy. To add this dimension of spice to her meals, she would dry her own peppers. The market sold “hot peppers” and Grandma would string these peppers from the pipes in her apartment until they were shriveled and so dry that they would crumble upon touch.

The heat of the pepper was so intense that she would caution never to touch the hot peppers and use your hands to rub your eye. The burning sensation was immediate and uncomfortable.

When she wasn’t drying hot peppers, she was roasting red bell peppers. As you see, peppers were a staple in her cooking and Grandpa’s diet. He must have had a cast iron stomach to consume all that spicy food. Had he been alive today, the variety of peppers with their associated levels of heat would have most certainly pleased him.

Old Mother Frugal’s stomach is not as strong as Grandpa’s but my memories of the peppers are as strong as ever.

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: Bell peppers freeze well. Once washed, slice in half, remove seeds and placed in plastic bags. No prior cooking required. Red bell peppers, when roasted, make for a delightful sandwich or sandwich topping. Stockpile when on sale and treat yourself to a wonderful veggie sandwich!

                      BROIL PEPPERS ON ALL SIDES UNTIL CHARRED

 

PLACE IN ORDINARY BROWN PAPER BAG

 

STEAM IN CLOSED BAG UNTIL COOL

 

REMOVE CHAR SKIN AND SEEDS FROM PEPPERS

 

WRAP SEEDS AND SKINS IN PAPER

 

ROASTED PEPPERS ARE READY TO EAT

 

RED PEPPER AND SWISS ON PITA

 

A BAKER'S MAN

It began innocently enough as a baby’s nursery rhyme. You may know the one that starts “patty cake, patty cake, baker’s man. Bake me a cake as fast as you can”.

The first of Mother’s Little Helpers heard this one often as an infant and as a toddler. It was right up there with the “Itsy Bitsy Spider”.

As he grew, his fascination with baking grew as well. By the time the teenager years came about, Old Mother Frugal’s kitchen was his baking playground.

Being a growing, hungry boy, his appetite was insatiable at times. It was more cost effective for me to allow him to bake at home than to purchase baked goods at the grocery store.

Off to college he went, where his dorm room was equipped with his own baking playground. From the looks of the kitchen, he used it quite often. No spoon or bowl or stainless steel pot was spared when it came to baking.

It's been twenty years since that first cake came out of Old Mother Frugal's oven. On a visit to see Mother’s Little Helper, he baked homemade donuts for me. These cake donuts were healthier than the fried variety, as he was aware of restrictions in Old Mother Frugal’s diet. But more importantly, they were moist and delicious.

A hobby that once filled the void in a young boy’s empty stomach has now become a joy that he shares to satisfy the palates of others. In retrospect, Old Mother Frugal can only rejoice that there was less fascination with the Itsy Bitsy Spider!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: The cost of donuts has escalated over the years. For a one time investment in a donut pan, it will pay for itself after baking a dozen cake donuts. You have these ingredients in your pantry!

TWELVE DONUTS

§  2 eggs

§  4 TBS melted, unsalted butter

§  1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

§  2/3 cup granulated sugar or less to taste

§  2 cups all purpose flour

§  ½ tsp salt

§  1 ½ tsp baking powder

§  1 cup milk (skim, almond, soy or coconut)

 

Pre-heat oven 350 degrees and spray donut pan with non-stick spray.

Beat eggs for 1 minute. Add butter, vanilla and sugar until smooth.

Mix in flour, salt and baking powder. Add milk and stir until smooth. 

Spoon batter into pans and bake for 12 – 15 minutes until tooth pick comes out clean.

 

Remove from pan and glaze with mixture of 1 ½ cup confectioner’s sugar; 2 tsp vanilla and 4 TBS milk. Enjoy!

 

                                HOMEMADE GLAZED CAKE DONUTS

 

 

DONUTS COMING OUT OF THE OVEN

 

DONUTS COOLING ON RACK

 

READY FOR CONSUMPTION!