Focused at Fifty

John hikin' on the trail. Growing up, Thanksgiving in my home as in many, has always been a family affair. I have years of memories of my Mom and Dad working together to make a large Thanksgiving feast for my brother, sister, and I. Each of us would vie for the sacred wishbone. Most years, Dad would dry it out and then pick which two would break it over a wish. Of course we took turns with him carefully remembering who did it the year before! One year, ever the artist, he spray painted it gold, and still another he soaked it in vinegar which made it rubbery!   Dad was constantly keeping us kids enthralled with amusement!  Good memories! As we got older, some of us kids did not make it to Thanksgiving for one reason or another. Adam was in the Marines, Sheryl had moved into Philly, and I was away at school at Rutgers. Mom and Dad also divorced with Mom moving south to Florida. What can ya do but go with the flow as they say? She met my stepdad Barry a...

Last night, John and I attended the viewing of our good friend Ed's father in Minersville, PA.  Ed has a large family and it was comforting to see all of his 6 brothers and sisters in attendance.  Ed's father, Butch, passed away the weekend prior surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. It was just how my Mom passed away back in 2009, surrounded by our family and it really brought back memories. Ed and I hugged, got choked up, and I offered my condolences. I met Ed's mom, offered my condolences and said, "I'm Marc, I'm friends with Ed and Kim in the Lake I am so sorry for your family's loss." I said the same with his sisters. As I moved down the line, I met one of his brothers and we talked about him being back in the "old neighborhood."   He said it was bittersweet having everyone back at the family home a couple blocks away. I completely understood. When my Mom passed and we had the memorial service in...

Mom's Shrimp Creole Earlier in November, my sister Sheryl came out for the weekend and I decided to make one of my Mom's special dishes, Shrimp Creole, for her and John. This is a very basic recipe, like many of Mom's, which can be spiced up or added to. This was one of her fancy dishes that she made for guests when she entertained back in the 80's. She didn't make it that often for shrimp were considered pricey depending on how big they were. Hence, it was only a recipe for special occasions. I like this recipe as it needs only a handful of ingredients: shrimp, tomato sauce or marinara, onions, peppers, celery, and whatever spices you would like to add. John and I went shopping that weekend for the ingredients at our local supermarket. I had a stalk of celery at home, but it had wilted and become as limp as a bad pickle so celery was the first item I was looking for. I came across stalks of celery and just didn't want to buy an entire stalk for th...

It was John's birthday the beginning of November and I presented him with a cake at the Lake Wynonah Lodge while he was bartending. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" for the self-proclaimed angry bartender – at least he is when the Philadelphia Eagles are losing. I put on these garish candles which were supposed to be sparklers but they just sputtered out. I think they were from 1970 or something. Before you say how wonderful it was that I baked a cake, I will retort, "Are you crazy?" I got the next best thing, a Pepperidge Farms 3-Layer Cake!   The funny thing was that John was with me when I picked up the cake. I couldn't get away from him in the supermarket so I faked a received text from my friend Sue. I told John it stated that she needed a cake for her grandchild's birthday. I couldn't even get out a real name for the kid, just instead referring to it as "one of her grandkids, I dunno which one."  Unknowingly, Sue ...

After a month off, I am finally getting back to this blog, my labor of love. At the end of September, John and I went off on vacation for a week staying in cabins at various states parks of Northwestern PA. We encountered bugling elk, mischievous young deer following us, and an angry beaver which chased us out of his swamp. Luckily, we survived and had a wonderful week getting back to nature. I was back to work for 4 crazy days and then went out on surgery leave for a hernia operation on October 11 th . It was successful. As you can guess I milked my pain for everything it was worth. J   John, my sister Sheryl, and good friend Sue took good care of me. The first week was a struggle as I found every movement involves your abdominal muscles which were now sporting three small incisions. Well I recovered and am now back on track with normal life. I did write a lot during the 3 weeks off, just not material that I am ready to put out yet. I will begin though, with the ...

This is a easy recipe that my Mom gave to me in October of 2008, exactly 5 years ago. What makes it so poignant is that Mom was diagnosed with cancer just two months later and then suffered her car accident in January of 2009, eventually succumbing to her injuries that following April. Pretty sad huh? In addition, Mom's writing on the recipe card is rather shaky. Her writing used to be so flowing, with loops and scrolls. Her writing shows the effects of fibromyalgia which she was suffering from at that point. With this being officially the "last" recipe she had given me as simple as it is, it now has special meaning. I had never made this recipe but with the advent of the chillier Fall weather, I thought it would be a perfect time to try it.  I did make some minor changes to suit my own needs but her original recipe appears below.  Cabbage and Sausage Stew   CABBAGE AND SAUSAGE STEW 1 head of cabbage 1 can "RO*TEL" brand tomatoes and green chil...

 Campin' with John. When I was a kid, the only food that mattered while camping was toasted marshmallows over a campfire. We weren’t a ‘smores family. Marshmallows suited us just fine. My family “camped” at Parvin State Park in southern New Jersey for years over long weekends in the Fall. We stayed at one of the CCC -built rustic wooden cabins. Cabin #13 was our favorite for whatever reason. The cabins surrounded a small lake named Thundergust Lake. We would spend the weekend going on family hikes or trying our hand at fishing in the lake. Year after year the fish at Parvin evaded my brother and me but we were persistent, always trying the next year. Anyway, these days John and I spend a week every Fall camping either in a tent or cabin in some State Park or wilderness area we haven’t been before. Our trip this year was to three Pennsylvania State Parks: Parker Dam , Clear Creek , and Cook Forest . It was an incredible trip with some great hikes accomplis...

 Very exciting stuff, chopping green onions!    After I received a comment from someone on the 'basic nature' of the recipes I was posting, I felt I needed to reiterate the purpose of my project. I will have recipes for meatloaf, baked chicken, zucchini bread, cookies, and veggie dip among others. These are home-style family recipes which many of you already have. I just have never made them and want to be able to say in a years' time that I have accomplished that. You can doctor them up as you wish and some of them I have and will note it when I do. This blog project is not about making gourmet foods (although I reserve the right to venture down that path in the future.) These are not cooking channel glossy magazine recipes. It is not about me cooking or rather stumbling through some famous chef's cookbook. This project is about cooking through my own families' recipes. Most are my Mom's, but some are my Nana's, sister's, cousin's, a...

My sis Sheryl and I ventured out to North Jersey (as we call it out here) over the weekend to spend time with our dear cousins, sisters Anne and Jennifer. We reconnected a couple years ago after a long absence. It is a funny thing when you get older, you realize that those cousins you hung with in your childhood years are almost the only family left and hopefully ... and if you are lucky, you reconnect with them or stay connected with them. If getting older has taught me anything, this is not always the case with friends and families. I live in a very special world where I am very lucky that my family loves each other and loves getting together. I know of plenty of dear friends which this does not happen. It is sad but something that I have come to accept. I cannot impress the close relationships of my family on others. Some families, unfortunately, will just not be that close. As an adult, I have come to accept that I cannot influence my friends in that regard. I ...

This is my Nana's recipe for sweet noodle kugel. I posted about this once before but never posted the recipe. Kugel is a holiday mainstay in Jewish culture and cooking. I remember having this on Rosh Hoshana, Hannukah, and Passover. It is fitting that I am putting this recipe up during the holiest of holidays periods, the 10 High Holy days between Passover and Yom Kippur. Kugel can be made in variety of ways:  apple sauce kugel, potato kugel, noodle kugel, matzoh kugel, savory spinach kugel, carrot kugel, and of course, my Nana's recipe below for the sweet noodle kugel with raisins. I love this recipe as I have eaten it as a side dish, dessert, or even a quick breakfast on the run.  My sister Sheryl makes a great spinach kug. I remember my brother Adam and I loving this recipe below when Nana and Mom made it in the 70's. We would fight for the pieces which had the most crunchy noodles on top. I made the recipe this evening. You could smell the apples, nutmeg...

Nana, Mom, and Sheryl As a child, I hated all types of fish except those that were battered, breaded, deep fried and covered in ketchup. Give me fish sticks till the end of the earth! I also loved those Gorton's beer battered cod fillets. They were so good with ketchup, LOTS of ketchup. As far as I was concerned, that is how they came out of the ocean, already slathered in ketchup.   We used to go to a restaurant in Mullica Hill, NJ, by the name of the Hilltop Restaurant. It was a small diner/café type place. Mom would drag us around town antiquing till she was ready to drop. We hated it but were rewarded with lunch and I had my FAVORITE meal, fried clam strips with lots of ketchup.   Growing up, I was never a fan of just baked or broiled fish. That is until my Mom made this recipe. I ate it cautiously at first. The 2 nd mouthful was even better. It wasn't until years later that I found that this was actually one of my Nana's recipes and the family history-bu...

Cooking and family. Anyone who knows me knows that I put family up as one of my greatest priorities. My brother Adam and sister Sheryl feel the same way. So it is of no wonder that some of our best family memories revolve around the dinner table. Mom and Dad insisted on nightly meals. Mom did most of the cooking as Dad was off teaching art at (then) Glassboro State College until dinnertime. (Dad, on the other hand, mastered the BBQ grill and brunch!) Our dinners were "all hands on deck." Everyone would help out setting the table, getting drinks, putting out the condiments, and generally participate in the making of the meals.  One of many holiday dinners at Wenonah (Brother Adam was taking the pic) During dinner, the conversation was loud and lively, with each of us recounting what happened that day.  We were not a big "grace" family. I only remember saying "grace" a handfull of times, usually when the grandparents were visiting. Mom and D...

The other day I was cruising home on the highway in my hot rod aka the Camry, when I came up against another 2006 pearl grey Toyota Camry, JUST LIKE MINE!  I was eager to see who was driving MY car down the highway so I sped up to get a look. Driving the exact same car was a man who looked like Jed Clampett from The Beverly Hillbillies . I was immediately annoyed. He shouldn't be driving my car. Someone who looks like ME should be driving my car. I had an urge to run him off the road or have his car repossessed. But I didn't. I hit the gas and he ate my dust.   I began thinking about why I got so annoyed with him driving the same car. Is it because we associate the type of car we drive with our identity? It must be. I certainly didn't want to be identified or have my car identified with him. Moreover, I also get annoyed when I find that others share my name.   If you do a Google search on your name, (I know many of you have but won't admit it...

Old Main, Penn State This past Sunday I traveled up to the Penn State Main Campus in State College, PA.  John had some business up there and I tagged along to keep him company on the 3 hour drive up and back. While he was doing his stuff, I spent the morning and early afternoon wandering the campus reliving college memories from my own alma mater, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.   Old college campuses are very similar in that they all seem to have that large stately main building on campus where it all began. There is a cupola on top and two wings of classrooms. Old Main at Penn State brought back memories of the Old Queens building on the Rutgers College campus in New Brunswick.  Friends and I would hang out in front of or behind it on the Voorhees Mall studying for our classes or just relaxing in the sun. Today at Old Main, students were doing the very same thing. Some guys were playing Frisbee, a couple here and there being romant...