I hope you are all celebrating the birth of our great nation with family and friends. We’re enjoying the day with our son and his family, along with a host of extended family, including four of Robert and Laurel’s cousins, aunts, uncles and maternal grandparents.
Shelly has organized a patriotic scavenger hunt. Additional activities include a George Washingt0n ID game. The children will be shown a picture of George and then search through a big plastic bin filled with buttons and coins, including many quarters. They will be challenged to find as many as possible and then each child will be allowed to keep 4.
I’m bringing a great Asian salad, aka “Oddball Salad”, a recipe from my son-in-law’s mother, Carol. Many years ago, she brought this salad to a family gathering and was preparing a container of leftovers for her father. When she asked what he would like to take home he said, ” Anything but that oddball salad.” He was the only one who didn’t like it so it is served regularly for family get-togethers. And it has been officially renamed Oddball Salad. The recipe is below.
I also made cupcakes. I have always done these for 4th of July, with the red, white and blue star cupcake papers and the little flags. An even 2 dozen cupcakes were baked and left to cool on the kitchen counter. When I came back to frost them, Hannah, our 95 lb. German Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix was slinking into the utility room with a cupcake in her mouth. There were 12 left on the counter. I was livid and fussed at her. But her eyes argued that this was clearly a case of entrapment. Mea culpa! Bob really wanted one so I’ll be taking a measly 11 cupcakes. Good thing I had planned to take the salad as well.
I hope you all have a wonderful day. God bless America!
- Ingredients:
1 large napa cabbage
5 green onions
2 pouches of ramen noodles (remove flavor packets and discard)
1/4 to 1/2 cup of sliced or slivered almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2-4 Tablespoons butter - Preparations:
1) Sautee Ramen noodles in the butter for a few minutes. When they start to brown, add the sesame seeds and almonds. Once all bits are sauteed, set aside (or put in fridge to chill).
2) Vigorously mix together sugar, soy sauce, oil and vinegar. Set aside
3) Chop napa cabbage finely (it’s best to lay it on its side and slice as thin as you can at a 90 degree angle from the cabbage). Chop green onions very thin and mix the two together.
4) Add noodle mix and sauce – toss.
5) Serve immediately.
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