recipes | Saying nothing in particular

Hard to believe that we have reached the eleventh month of 2025. Only one more month until … yikes … 2026.

I’m guessing these are grapevines. What do you think?

This month there are apparently only two holidays in Japan: November 3rd which is Culture Day and November 24 which is Labour Thanksgiving Day. I couldn’t find too much on either. According to multiple tour guides, this month the main event in Japan is what we call “leaf-peeping.” But you have to get out early in the morning as it is very popular!

I found this guy very entertaining! However, so far I’m planning to visit my son in March or April. Did I tell you he bought a house? Yup. Paid the equivalent of $3,000 dollars so it is a doozy. Doesn’t have running water and he’s too tall to get in the front door. Lordie, lordie. Children. I try not to worry but …

Meanwhile, yes I did it. Ordered the very expensive Hawaiian vanilla. Now, what am I going to do with it?

A numbered bottle of vanilla. Sheez. I know, I know. There’s a sucker born every minute.

Please leave recipes (the easier the better) in the comments, and, have a great November!

The other day a blogger whose posts are always entertaining, Ally Bean at The Speckled Bean, wrote about glimpsing into a cookbook from the 1980s. Her post reminded me of my mother-in-law’s cookbooks which were published by the Relief Society (Mormon’s ladies charity) and so contained recipes meant to serve large families on the cheap. I couldn’t find those gems. But I did find this one:

It’s hard to tell when it was “published” or by whom. There’s no information on the front or back cover and no title page. However, based on this sage bit of advice, I would say no later than the 1960s.

Good news, Ladies! if your spouse is one of the poorer varieties, don’t despair! A bit of patience is all you need.

These cookbooks may seem quaint by today’s standards, but I’m sure the women who contributed the recipes and helped type up and illustrate the book were proud of their accomplishment. Proud to sell those books and donate the proceeds to charity. However, reading through them I had the eerie feeling that many were the result of trial and error and that many children suffered.

Have any of you ever tasted Ginger Ale Salad? It sounded okay until the stuffed olives. Well, I don’t know about the celery and banana combo but then I’m a notoriously picky eater.

Ever wonder what to do with an old can of tomato soup? Well, make a cake of course. Ingenious? What do you think?

The following recipe was a bit of a surprise. Delores Cook must have been a woman ahead her time. I might even give this one a try.

Sounds like a recipe for liver apple pie, doesn’t it! Just put some ice cream on top and yumm!

Another surprise! Who would have guessed that liver, applesauce, and cinnamon can be tasty together? Sadly, I don’t eat liver but if any of y’all want to give this dish a try, let me know how it goes. I’m dying to hear!