“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost

Monday, July 4, 2016

Summer's Here



Summer's here and it's already July! Where has the time gone? Hope you are all enjoying this wonderful time of year and getting out there and having a ball. With all the bad stuff that we hear about every day, I think we owe it to ourselves to enjoy life as much as we can! So whether it's reading a book in your hammock or kayaking down a river, I hope you are doing it!

It's been busy around here. Trying to catch up on all the gardening the house maintenance and all the rest seems to take longer with each passing year. I'm not saying I'm getting old but it does seem to take more time and effort on some of these projects!

I hope my Canadian friends all had a wonderful holiday, we in turn are celebrating our Independence Day here on the 4th of July.  We don't go out to the fireworks every year and this year we will skip because my husband has an early morning departure on business.  So it will be a quiet night in watching the celebratory events on television.








Below are some photos from last year. We go to a park next to the large Lake Minnetonka.  It's somewhat of an effort to get there. Parking is crazy and the closest you can usually get is about a two mile walk, dragging your lawn chairs. Once there we claim our spot and just hang out.




Here's the lake shot taken about 8:30 PM, it was a bit overcast but a bit of a pinkish sunset is visible. What you are seeing in the background is not the other side of the lake, but an island in the middle of the lake. Lake Minnetonka is really quite large.

The rest of the shots are of the fireworks display. They are always fabulous and last about 30 to 40 minutes.




















 This last shot is the big finale! It's always impressive.




So that's the end of the fireworks. Hope you enjoyed them!






The first and the last images in this post are 
both vintage and in the public domain.



You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, 
not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House 
in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw 
Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. 
You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. 
~Erma Bombeck



See you all soon! ~ Diane




Thursday, June 9, 2016

Throwback Thursday - 50 years of Cool Whip


Happy Birthday Cool Whip, you're 50 years old this year!

source

Most of you are familiar with "Cool Whip".  It's one of those items that Martha Stewart has probably never eaten.  But back when I was growing up it was a staple in our household, it replaced another 'almost food' item called Dream Whip.  Don't get me started on that foul concoction. I'm not sure if they even make it anymore....

Anyway, we're here today to talk Cool Whip which was brought to a supermarket near you back in 1966.  Do you remember that catchy phrase and commercial jingle in the late 80's, called Cool Whip's the One?
If not let me refresh your memory....






The lyrics as far as I could make out are something like....

"What makes everything so whip smackin',
lip smackin'... a-aah good... mm-mm
Cool Whip's the one, that whipped creamy taste.

Cool Whip's the One,
That makes it whip smackin',
lip smackin'... a-aah good, yeah!
Cool Whip's the one,
That whipped creamy taste,
Cool Whip's the One!"

OK so wasn't that fun! Never mind that the debate still rages as far as whether Cool Whip is a food or not... Health nuts, don't lecture me... it's not as though we eat this stuff everyday. Besides, if you've ever eaten a prepared salad dressing or pretty much any processed food you've eaten the ingredients that are in Cool Whip!

Now back to my story,.... so my Mom loved to make Jell-O Salads and they almost always had a Cool Whip addition to them.  By the way Jello-O is twice as old as Cool Whip!  Sometimes the Cool Whip was incorporated into the salad or it was just a festive dollop on top. I remember how a plain old cherry Jell-O with sliced bananas suspended inside was transformed into a work of art when Cool Whip was slathered on top and sprinkled with chopped walnuts! My mom served it in a clear glass salad bowl and to a ten year old kid it looked like a sparkling jewel!

One reason cooks love Cool Whip is because it holds it's shape for a long time.  Regular whipped cream will start to melt and break down, especially in warm conditions.  That's why Cool Whip was a popular item for all those pot-lucks and church dinners!

So I can't leave you without sharing a simple recipe that has tons of variations all over the internet. Is it a dessert, is it a salad?  Who cares, it is delicious!  Here's my favorite...




Fruit Cocktail Cottage Cheese Salad
1 box Lemon or Lime Jell-O (3 oz.)
1 can crushed pineapple (8 oz.)
1 can fruit cocktail (14 oz.)
1 small container Cool Whip (10 oz.)  UPDATE: I now use Truwhip instead.
1 container small curd cottage cheese (16 oz.)

Drain the fruit cocktail juice into a glass measuring cup and heat in microwave until hot (about 30 seconds) or heat in a small pan on your stove. Remove from heat and stir in the Jell-O and mix until it's dissolved. Set aside to cool to room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the pineapple, cottage cheese and the fruit cocktail. HINT- To help this set faster, I refrigerate the canned fruit ahead of time so that it is cold.

Add your dissolved Jell-O and stir to combine.  Fold in the Cool Whip and transfer to a large serving bowl or container and refrigerate for several hours. It will have a somewhat soft consistency.

More HINTS-- Use any flavor Jell-O you like. If you like less sweet and more like a salad, add 1/2 cup sour cream or 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt in addition to the cottage cheese. If you want it more like a dessert, add marshmallows.  Want nuts, add some. You can do pretty much anything to this salad/dessert and it will turn out yummy!








Want this salad but without the Cool Whip? Here's a recipe for whipped cream, try substituting it for the Cool Whip. Best if eaten the same day, remember the real whipped cream might not hold up as long as Cool Whip.

UPDATE: I no longer use Cool Whip as they have been using High Fructose Corn Syrup and other questionable ingredients in this product. I use a product called Truwhip instead.

Homemade Whipped Cream
1 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Pour the heavy cream into a large metal bowl with crushed ice under the bowl.

Add about a 1/3 cup of sugar and a tiny pinch of salt.
Whip for approximately 5 minutes until it forms soft peaks. Must be  keep refrigerated for best results.

Disclaimer.... These are my personal opinions, I'm not being reimbursed for anything I say or do on my blog!

Hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane! 
So the burning question... Is Cool Whip a Food? 

Thanks for joining me on Throwback Thursday!
~~~ Diane ~~~