TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL. . .

It has been approximately 14 months since I first submitted my book to the University of Akron Press.  In that time I have had email correspondence with them telling me that they are likely to publish it in the fall of 2013.  This is pretty exciting in that it will be a book that is available for people to purchase for Christmas!  

So many people from the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys  have moved away due to the mills closing and the economy in general, I am hoping that my book, Melting Pot Memories:  A Memoir with Recipes will serve as a link between "Youngstown Present" and "Youngstown Past."  I find that many young people, when asked their ethnicity have either no idea or do not want to acknowledge Italian, Hungarian etc.  That is such a loss for them.  

I find that as I get older, I want to know more about those people who came before me. A lot of this can be blamed on my majoring in history is college but, otherwise, I think it is a natural occurrence for us human beings.   As we age, for me at least, it becomes important to know about my early family members.

Our area is so rich in cultural diversity that it is important to keep the younger generations aware of their heritage.  Groups like Polish Youngstown and the Ethnic Heritage Society are doing a good job but we as individuals need to do more.  Talk to you children and grandchildren about the "good old days," even if they were not that good for our parents and grandparents.

COME FOR THE COOKIES!

Do you remember attending weddings as a child where the cookie tables seem to go on for miles and miles?  I certainly do!  As a kid, me and my little buddies would take off our shoes sometime during the reception and slide in our socks across the highly polished dance floor.  The adults around us just smiled indulgently as they visited with one another.  Who has a better time at a wedding reception than a small kid?

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society, 325 W. Federal Street in Youngstown, is sponsoring an event titled Cookie Table and Cocktails this Saturday night, February 16th from 7 till 11 pm.  It promises to be the biggest and best cookie table that Youngstown has ever seen.  So far they are at 6,000 cookies and counting!  Tickets are $40 at the door but will provide not only cookies but appetizers, a live band for dancing, an exhibit of antique wedding costumes, bidding on artwork and a Chinese auction.

They are having a cookie baking contest for amateurs as well as professional bakers for "best cookie."  I, of course, am competing with some of the most amazing bakers in the Mahoning Valley.  I cannot decide if I want to make an old-time cookie like Hungarian apricot squares or if I should do a newer confection, a chocolate-peppermint sandwich cookie.  Whatever I decide upon, I am sure I am up against stiff competition!

The cookie table phenomenon is certainly a local, if not regional, custom.  Northeastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania lay claim to its origins but cookie tables at weddings have been found in New York, West Virginia and New Jersey too.  It is only fitting that Y-town hold a celebration in its honor!

So, I hope to see you there Saturday night.  It is for a good cause, all proceeds benefit the Historical Society, and just think of all those cookies!

THIS IS WHEN WINTER JUST GETS LONG!

This is the time of year that winter decides to come on with a vengeance, gray skies, icy temperatures and, although it is staying lighter longer, overall it is just abysmal.  So, I decided to post a quick soup recipe, one that I dreamed up myself, that will turn any gray day upside down with flavor and hope for sunny, warm days. It takes only minutes and tastes like you've had it on the stove all day. 

WEDDING SOUP,(AND NO ONE HAS TO GET MARRIED!):

Serves 4:

2 cans low sodium chicken broth
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
2 carrots, diced large
1 onion, rough chopped
1 celery rib, thickly sliced
4 oz of bagged spinach

4 oz of mini meatballs*

In a medium sized pot place the chicken broth and cubed chicken. Bring up to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.  Add vegetables and cook until vegetables are fork tender. Add meatballs and cook another 5 minutes.  Add spinach to the pot and cover with a lid.  Cook until spinach is wilted.  Serve immediately with some imported Parmesan or Romano cheese.

(*I get mine at either Jimmy's Italian Imports on Belmont or Badurik's Butcher Block in Mineral Ridge.)

COOKBOOK MANIA

I have a confession to make, I am an avid collector of cookbooks.  I must possess about 200 of them and yet I am always on the lookout for another one.  I want to strongly recommend to anyone interested in Midwest cooking to look for Judith m. Fertig's Prairie Home Cooking.  It features over 400 recipes, ". . .that celebrate the bountiful harvests, creative cooks and comforting foods of the American Heartland." She also includes a paragraph before each recipe that places it in a particular region with a particular immigrant group. She also has included some Native American dishes.  I have read it, like I do most of my cookbooks, like a novel.  It is just that good a read.

POLISH YOUNGSTOWN

If you have not become involved with Polish Youngstown you are missing out on some wonderful food experiences.  I have attended two of their classes, one for making kolachi and one for making jelly filled donuts.  Each was wonderful.  For the month of January they are offering a warming soup class.  Please see below and attend if you can.  You won't be disappointed!

Only a mother's love is warmer than a bowl of hot soup on a cold winter's day. Polska Kuchnia will be teaching three classic Polish soups on January 20. There's Bigoś, Poland's national dish and there will be two versions of barszcz: beet and the regional white barszcz served at Easter. Class begins at 11:00, the fee is $25.00 per person and preregistration is required. You can call Tad at 330-427-2752 to learn more and to sign up.

DOWNTON ABBEY a la Youngstown



The Arms Family Museum, Wick Avenue, Youngstown, OH

The country is all abuzz about the premier of Downton Abbey this Sunday.  

I remember when there were a few great homes still left on 5th Avenue in Youngstown, all of which had domestic servants.  My Aunt Katie told me that, in the 1930's she had helped train newly arrived young women to go into domestic service in some of these great homes.  I believe she said it was the International Institute at which Katie taught them sewing and mending.  She also taught them how to manage a "mangle," which is a large circular iron.  It was used to press sheets and table linens.  Williams-Sonoma still carry mangles in their catalogues!

These young women would then go into "service" as housekeepers, often first starting  as scullery maids, like Daisy in Downton.  Katie also helped them with their English.  She was a first-generation American and so had been brought up in the American elementary school system.  Although Croatian was spoken at home, Aunt Katie and her sister Liz taught my grandparents to speak better English.

Drive down Fifth Avenue sometime and look at the homes.  There are still some wonderful examples of the Millionaire's Row homes.  The Arms Family Museum, pictured above, is a great place to start to get a flavor of what life was like in these homes.

AT LONG LAST!

Happy New Year to all!  It has been over a year since my last post and I have finished THE BOOK!  Yes, my memoir with recipes has been completed and now I can share with you all the ups and downs of getting published!

Since my last post I have been named a community correspondent for the Warren Tribune Chronicle in Warren, Ohio.  This has given me many wonderful opportunities to investigate and report on all the wonderful things going on in our community.

So, please stay tuned as I continue to share recipes and experiences from my childhood in an immigrant neighborhood.  I will also have little stories about all the wonderful cooks and bakers I came to know and love.

Till then,