Party Mix (aka Chex Mix)
Making Chex mix at the holidays is a tradition at our home, as I suspect it is in many homes. I like a bit more Worcestershire sauce in my Chex mix than most recipes call for, so here’s the recipe that I use.
2¼ cups rice chex
2¼ cups corn chex
2¼ cups wheat chex
1 cup pretzel sticks
1 cup mixed nuts
½ cup butter or margarine
4 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1½ tsp seasoned salt
¾ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
Melt the butter in a 2 cup glass measuring cup in the microwave, add the Worcestershire sauce and mix thoroughly, then add the seasoned salt, garlic and onion powders and mix again. Pour over the chex, pretzels, & nuts and stir to coat as evenly as possible. Bake in a 275° oven for 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Pour out onto paper towels backed with newspapers to cool.
Saturday December 29, 2012 · Permalink
Aunt Ruth's Graham Cracker Pie
My great aunt Ruth made the most wonderful pie she called Graham Cracker Pie. She used to sell this and other pies to local restaurants in West Virginia and guarded her recipes pretty closely. Thankfully, she taught my grandmother (her sister) how to make the pie, then my grandmother secretly taught my sister, who then secretly taught me (since I was the pie fiend).
I typically make some Graham Cracker pies around the holidays. So in addition to making the pies, I thought I should document the recipe so anyone can try a Graham Cracker pie. Since Aunt Ruth passed away last year, I figured its finally safe to admit I know how to make this pie.
Crust
- 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tsp. cinnamon
- 3 tsp. cornstarch
- 3 tsp. sugar
- 1 cup melted butter
Combine the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the butter and mix so everything is coated. Reserve about 1 Tbsp of mixture for the toping and press the rest into two 9” pie plates to form the crusts.
Filling
- 1 qt. whole milk
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 6 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Place the milk in the top of a double boiler and set the heat to medium high and let the milk set until it starts forming a skin on top as it heats. While the milk is heating mix the sugar and cornstarch and separate the egg yolks and whites. Set aside the egg whites for the meringue. Beat the egg yolks. Once the milk has started to form a skin, start mixing in the sugar/cornstarch mixture very slowly and continue mixing until mixture starts to thicken like a pudding. Dip out about a 1/2 cup of the mixture and add it slowly to the egg yolks and mix to heat up the yolks. Add another 1/2 cup mixture to the egg yolks and mix, then pour the egg yolk mixture slowly back into the double boiler while continuing to stir. Keep cooking until the mixture is very thick. Add the vanilla extract at this time, stir in and divide between the pie crusts.
Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 4 Tbsp. sugar
Start beating the eggs whites and slowly add the sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Spread the meringue over the pies and sprinkle on the reserved pie crust material to decorate.
Brown the meringue slightly in a 375 degree oven for around 6 to 7 minutes.
Cool and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.
Monday December 11, 2006 · Permalink
Group IQ Axiom
In a group of pre-teen boys, the group IQ is the lowest IQ of the group divided by the number of members of the group.
Corrollary: Every hour that the group is up after their normal bedtimes adds an extra member to the calculation.
Saturday February 26, 2005 · Permalink
You know you're a geek parent...
...when you decide to write a Perl script to query the library’s web-based catalog to check and see if the new movie your kids want to see is currently checked in and have it page you when it shows up instead of just going and getting a video club membership.
The best part is when you get home and the kids give you a hug for writing such a cool script and getting the movie.
Wednesday December 8, 2004 · Permalink
4383 Days and Counting
Happy Anniversary dear. Doesn’t feel like a day over 4000.
Sunday October 10, 2004 · Permalink
More Tricks of the Trade!
Matthew Baldwin author of the Morning News article Tricks of the Trade article mentioned below had more tricks than what he could print in the article and has been receiving more. He’s decided to start a Tricks of the Trade Weblog to publish more tricks and possibly compile them for a book. Wonderful!
Saturday September 11, 2004 · Permalink
Tricks of the Trade
The Morning News has a fun list of Tricks of the Trade from different occupations. I hope they continue to collect more of them.
Nurse
Patients will occasionally pretend to be unconscious. A surefire way to find them out is to pick up their hand, hold it above their face, and let go. If they smack themselves, they’re most likely unconscious; if not, they’re faking.
(via Kottke)
Wednesday August 25, 2004 · Permalink
Beer from your Coffeemaker
A friend pointed me to an article from All About Beer showing how to demonstrate beer making with a coffe pot
Now how many coffee makers will I need to make a case of beer?
Thanks TeamLarry.
Monday July 26, 2004 · Permalink
Behind the Scenes Tour of Cincinnati Union Terminal
Last weekend the wife and I attended a Cincinnati Heritage Program tour behind the scenes at Cincinnati Union Terminal. It was a very interesting tour and included stops in behind the screen and in the projection booth for the Omnimax theatre, down to the trainyard (where Amtrak still stops once a day), underground to the old baggage handling basements/tunnels, through the physical plant (where they freeze water during summer nights to provide air conditioning during the day). We then got to visit in the preservation area of the Cincinnati Historical Society Library to see how they help preserve the maps, books, newspapers and other ephemera in their collection.
The highlight of the tour came after a short break when we then moved to the front of the building and ascended four flights of stairs that led to an entrance in between the outer and inner windows. We then walked out on an opaque glass floor between the windows (where our shadows could be seen moving in mid-air from inside the terminal) and up into the clock face on the front of the terminal. Just looking at the picture doesn’t do the size justice; the clock face is around 20 feet in diameter. You end up climbing a small set of stairs and move out in behind the clock face to see the inner clock works.
After visiting the clock, we then moved into the “high steel” above the rotunda. A series of ladders, stairways and walkways lead us 115 feet above the rotunda floor over top the inner shell and beneath the massive ceiling. Winches attached to the steelwork currently hold up the largest indoor flag in Ohio (I think the size was about 30×80). A massive old winch in the same area was used in the 30’s and 40’s for advertising automobiles by hanging them from cables through the ceiling. The tour then ended after descending from the steel and back down six flights of stairs to the rotunda floor and back into the public spaces.
I believe this has been just the second behind the scenes tour of Union Terminal that Cincinnati Heritage Programs has offered. Our guide said they’ll only do the tour in the wintertime since the area over the rotunda shell gets so hot. On a cold and snowy day in February it was probably 80+ degrees when we got to the top of the steel. It supposedly gets up to 130 degrees in the heat of the summer. If you’re interested in the tour, you’ll have to keep an eye on the Cincinnati Heritage Programs Tour webpage to see when the next one is scheduled.
The Cincinnati Heritage Programs Tour was a well organized and presented tour. We’re looking forward to going back to Cincinnati in the fall and joining the Cincinnati Subway Talk and Walk to explore some of the abandoned subway tunnels and learn about the system that has been abandoned since 1928.
Friday February 13, 2004 · Permalink
Earning the Snow Ski Belt Loop and Pin
Last weekend we made our annual trip to Seven Springs to enjoy some skiing. This year, in addition to the normal ski lessions, son #1 was going to work on the requirments for his skiing belt loop and pin. We mentioned this to Randy who runs the Jr Ski School at Seven Springs when asking what we could do to have #1 talk to a Ski Patrol. Since #1 was going to be in lessons the next day, Randy called the Ski Patrol and arranged for someone to meet #1 before lessons started on Friday.
#1 got a great suprise when Friday came. As part of talking to a Ski Patrol member, he got to take a snowmobile ride to the top of the resort to hang out at the Ski Patrol building at the top of the 6-pack lift. He had a great time talking to Chris and another Ski Patrol member and seeing what they do when not out helping skiers or skiing.
If you find yourself at Seven Springs during the week with your Cub Scout, the Jr Ski School can help your scout to get his belt loop and pin. Be sure to let them know your son is working on his requirements and they will help make sure everything is covered.
Sunday February 1, 2004 · Permalink