Sue Spitulnik

Author

Sue Spitulnik

I am a retired grandmother that grew up in western New York State, left for 25 years, and am now back in the area. I happily live with my husband and two cats. I am pro-military, writing, food, family, and quilting. I am con-exercise, insulting commercials, and lack of common sense. I have met some great friends through this website.

Scrapple? What’s That?

Scrapple is arguably the first pork food invented in America. For those who are not familiar with scrapple, which is also known by the Pennsylvania Dutch name “pon haus“, it is traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal, wheat flour and spices. (The spices may include, but are not limited to: sage, thyme, savory and black pepper.) The mush is then formed into a semi-solid loaf, sliced and pan-fried

The immediate ancestor of scrapple was the Low German dish called panhas, which was adapted to make use of locally available ingredients and, in parts of Pennsylvania, it is still called Pannhaas, panhoss, ponhoss or pannhas.

I’m not personally acquainted with Scrapple so I included the above from the National Day of calendar. When I mentioned it to my husband, he said, “I had it once in a restaurant near York, Pennsylvania, and hope I never have to eat it again.” So much for the idea of making my own. I then looked up the contents of Spam; they are very similar except potato starch is used to hold things together instead of cornmeal. Maybe I will give one of the many recipes I found for scrapple a try and not call it that! It seems like it would be a good side dish for that weekend breakfast when no one wants to get dressed and there’s been too much bacon consumed recently. Seems anything covered with maple syrup as they suggest would be good!

Let me know how yours turns out!

11/09/2016 8

Teach Your Child

National Parents as Teachers Day caught my attention because I didn’t know if they meant to recognize those parents who teach in the public/private school system so have lots of “children”, or if it was a plug for every parent to work with their own child, like no one else can. I found it to be the later. I’m glad about that because I believe a parent should ultimately be responsible for guiding, helping, and praising their own child so they can do a better job while in the school system.

When I went to school we had a class for the girls called home economics in which we learned the basics of cooking, sewing, and ironing. The old attitude that those chores were ladies work was still strong. Funny thing is, most of the young people I know now, under the age of 35ish, the guy does the cooking, and hardly anyone sews. We have become a throw away society. I think that’s sad. It’s also a big waste!

Back to the subject. It is proven, the more time a parent spends nurturing a little one, the better they do in school, barring learning disabilities. The more books that are read to them at home, the easier time they have learning to read in school. It’s a healthy cycle, and the bond between parent and child is strengthened.

I’d like to take it another step. I don’t think teens learn in school what they need to get along in this world. Simple things like balancing a check book, how to comparison shop, how to save money and not rely on credit, how to fill out a simple tax return with no special deductions, and even how to budget their time. My suggestion to you parents is the next time you do one of these chores, to include your teenager so they will at least have been shown how. Note: I get they probably won’t be interested….bribe them if necessary! Teach them any chance you get. I applaud you for trying-in advance!

11/08/2016 2

A Healthy Snack

I invite my adult nephew to join us occasionally when my kids come for dinner. With the grandchildren involved it makes for a full table and there is a lot of talking all at the same time. Jim doesn’t come empty handed. He often brings a bag of bittersweet chocolate covered almonds. I put a bowl of them on the table when we clear the dinner plates and most of them are gone by the time the house gets quiet.

Have you ever seen that cartoon; vegetables are plants, cocoa is a plant, chocolate is made from cocoa, so chocolate is a vegetable and I can eat all I want. I don’t have that totally correct, but you get the idea. The fun part is scientists have proven that bittersweet chocolate does have healthy benefits. Almonds are also good for people so are a healthy snack. Add the two together and you have the ultimate healthy snack. So is there a drawback? Yes! It should be a snack, not a meal!

I know lots of ladies that their go to when they are sad or depressed is chocolate. I don’t fit in that category and can have chocolate around the house for weeks and not find it a temptation. I also like almonds and other nuts. Those I have been known to make a meal out of. So, I’m thinking you can figure out how long bittersweet chocolate almonds last when they are visible in a bowl. Sometimes I put them in a metal tin so I can’t see them and they stick around longer.

I think you should put them on your shopping list! Enjoy!

11/07/2016 0

Housewife Equals Stay-at-home-Mom

If you are one of the lucky moms that gets to stay home with your kids…..Please….never say you are just a housewife. You may often feel like the maid, but years from now your children will brag about the fact you were home when they got on the school bus and when they got off. And today in school, their class mates will be jealous that their friend’s mom is home and theirs is not.

I understand the economics of the 21st century. It takes two incomes to even think of making ends meet. And, this category is based on a two parent household; which is less and less common. Another thought, sometimes the second income isn’t enough to make it worthwhile for one parent to work, so they stay home with the little ones. You need to do what is best for your house, then hold your head up high and own it.

In my day as a child, very few mom’s worked. One income used to be enough to get by on, and daycare wasn’t heard of in my little home town. If there was a latch-key kid, the neighbors looked out for them, no money changed hands. Remember, I am talking little hick town, not city. I didn’t grow up in a city.

When I got home from school my mother and her best friend were often doing some elaborate craft project; leather tooling, copper tooling, caning chairs, making Christmas wreaths with real pine boughs. These things took training and practice. I think scrapbooking is an art, but it doesn’t take much training. I digress. Today, if Mom is home she is expected to be chauffeur, chef, friend and maid. Life was easier in my day, each kid didn’t belong to six groups, and didn’t have an expensive cell-phone in their pocket.

I think I like the old days better, but I’m old. So there you go. My first thought stands, if you are a stay-at-home mom, you are so much more than a housewife. I applaud you.

Please scroll down to leave your comments.

11/02/2016 0

Thank an Author

This day was originally designated to thank the many authors that you lean on for entertainment, a bit of learning and for filling many hours with new friends and characters you can’t forget.

I have a new reason to thank an Author. In my quest to become a published author myself, I have joined a local writing group whose members are already published. Each month they have a speaker that teaches a fundamental of the writing process. One such talk was about “building the world” or location of the story and the characters will come automatically. I tried it, it works! Another talk was about build your hero and heroine so you know how they will act in a situation. How do you do that? Say you name your hero Jim Bob because the story is set years ago in the Tennessee hills. If you plan ahead on paper his looks, personality, religion, birth position, education, whether he likes animals, etc., as you write about the situations Jim Bob finds himself in, you will know how he would act. It really is that easy. I learn something useful at every meeting.

On a personal level, one of the authors has helped me learn some key ways to shorten my sentences while at the same time making them more active. It was a “trick” I knew nothing about, yet is so simple once someone shows you how to do it. I am indebted to B.L. She has quickly become a friend and mentor.

The fact authors want to help other authors be successful by helping them learn how to write better has made me thankful in a whole new way. I am now reading their books with a new appreciation. It is a big rush to be able to tell my family and friends, “The lady that wrote this book is a friend of mine.”

The next time you read a book by your favorite author take a minute to think about who helped him/her become a better writer and maybe even send them a thank you note for a story that touches your soul.

11/01/2016 0

Halloween

I grew up in a one-block town. Literally! There was one block, and a few houses that extended off each street. As a youngster in the early ’60’s when planning a costume for Halloween you had to pick one of three goals: not be recognizable; be the most unusual; or the most outlandish. There were many houses in town that the lady had to figure out who you were before you got your candy. Sometimes it could be a slow process. It was fun if you could stump them. No one wore just a mask! My favorite house gave out homemade caramel popcorn balls (Nice big ones.) Another house wanted us to come inside for cider and doughnuts. We went there last.

Back then the full size candy bars of today only cost five cents. We got a lot of them; they didn’t have to be checked before we ate them and parents didn’t go with their kids. My father had an antique business in the ’70’s and ’80’s in that same little town. He gave out huge candy bars. The Hershey bars that were 4 inches by 8 inches! He called them his security system. He never locked the doors of the big house turned shop. Occasionally he would hear of some shenanigans in town and chuckle that his house was never touched because the “Kids” would protect it from others.

My mother had a friend that lived out in the country, so she would come to our house to see the trick-or-treaters. She purposely parked her car where the windows would get soaped saying it needed to be washed at least once a year. Then it got waxed. She parked it out back in our barn after that.

We would often have about 100 trick-or-treaters and it was a fun evening we planned and looked forward to for weeks. There was a Halloween parade in school, and carved pumpkins on most steps. Now I live in suburbia and my street has no sidewalks or streetlights. The most visitors we have ever had for Halloween is nine. It’s a good thing I have good memories.

10/31/2016 1