The Runza

Growing up on the plains of Nebraska, we experienced a special treat called the "runza." These were little meat pastries, I think Czech in origin. We purchased them from "Runza Huts" which were everywhere in Nebraska. The filling was hamburger, onion, cabbage, cheese, and spices and they were tasty and unique. I've never found them in any other place I've lived.

Recently I discovered a recipe for a "runza casserole" and I decided to make it in the hope that it would rekindle the tastes and memories of my childhood. Although not a perfect match for the wonderful special "runza" quality I remember, this recipe is still quite good and definitely different from the run-of-the-mill supper fare.

Here's the recipe:

2 (8 ct.) package of crescent refrigerator rolls

1 and 1/4 pounds hamburger

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium head of cabbage, chopped

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

5 to 6 tablespoons of butter or margarine

salt and pepper

Unroll both packages of crescent rolls and arrange each into rectangles. Press perforations together to seal edges so that you have two solid rectangles. Put one rectangle in a rectangle baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes until firm.

Brown and drain hamburger. Spread hamburger over the cooked rectangle. In large frying pan, melt butter or margarine, Cook onion then add cabbage. Cover pan and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper to taste. Top hamburger mixture with cabbage mixture. Sprinkle cheese over mixture, reserving about 1/4 cup for topping. Place second crescent rectangle on top, making sure edges are secure. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy! Do you have any recipes that remind you of your childhood?

Illinois's Two Seasons

When we first arrived in Illinois, our real estate agent Randy Freeman informed us that the state had two seasons--winter and construction. This humorous observation on his part became unbearably evident to us last week when we were returning to Illinois from Louisiana where we had gone to help our daughter move up here.

The entire trip had been fairly uneventful--not too many traffic delays for accidents or construction so we were all feeling rather cheerful on the last day of our journey when we rounded Saint Louis and started the trek north up through Illinois on Interstate 55 towards Chicago. I knew from previous trips that this final leg of the route should take around four hours. It was about 1:00 p.m. so I felt comfortable that we would arrive home around supper time.

Unfortunately, I didn't count on that Illinois construction! Virtually every mile of northbound Interstate 55 was undergoing some sort of construction. Milt led the way in the U-Haul 14-foot truck and my daughter and I followed him in her Ford Focus. We followed at a snail's pace, because the typically four hour trip took us NINE hours! Yes, Randy, Illinois evidently does have just two seasons--winter and construction and we experienced construction season in all its glory!

Have you ever spent nine hours stuck at a standstill in back to back traffic on an Interstate highway?

(photo from www.wrex.com)

Good Eats! Not So Much!

Road trips offer the enticement of eating at different, sometimes unusual places. On our recent trip to Louisiana and back, Milt and I stopped and ate at several roadside dives along the way. Some establishments were good, some were tolerable and some were downright disgusting. Let me relate the details of one of the latter.

On our journey through Memphis, we stopped one night at a Holiday Inn on Interstate 55 in West Memphis. It was clean, neat and looked safe. Our room was fine. We expected their restaurant to be, at least, acceptable. Boy, were we wrong!

Not a Good Sign

We entered the restaurant around 5:00 p.m. and it was totally empty (not a good sign). When we said we wanted to dine, the hostess acted as if we were crazy (obviously, she had been in the kitchen). However, we were seated (all alone in the place) and we began to peruse the menu. I selected shrimp which supposedly came with corn muffins and french fries. I forget what Milt ordered, but in retrospect, I think he fared better than I did.

The corn muffins never arrived. When my meal was finally delivered, there were no french fries--only a barely cooked baked potato and a bowl (not a small cup) of sour cream (or rather sour soup). The shrimp (if you can even call them that) were actually minced fish (possibly some shrimp) formed into little round patties with a fake shrimp tail stuck into one end. They obviously had been pulled from a box.

We Ate Anyway

Milt and I were so hungry from not eating all day, that we ate the dinner without complaint and returned to our room. However, we vowed never again to eat at a Holiday Inn restaurant. I don't know if any of you have ever had a similar experience such as this. I've always found Holiday Inns to be clean and neat, but I've never eaten in their restaurants--and I'm glad that I didn't.

This was just one of our many experiences on our recent travels. More to come. If you'd like to read about all our problems with U-Haul and Salvation Army, check out my other blog, Communication Exchange.

Virtual Book Tour

Also, if any of you would still like to host a day on my virtual book tour, the last week in August, just let me know. I have five bloggers signed up for the seven days and two days remain--August 28 and 29. You don't need to be a book blogger to host, just a willing blogger.

(photo from www.kayak.com)

U-Haul, U-Haul! Oh, The Places I Go!

Oh, my dear readers! I have just returned from a grueling week long trip moving cross-country in a U-Haul truck. The tales I have to tell! And I promise I will tell them. But I first need to read my 304 emails and do my laundry. But I am back and I will be reading and posting your comments and dropping on Entrecard again, so thank you all for being patient and waiting for me. You are the best!

(photo from www.aimsselfstorage.com)

Update Update and Friday Follow

Milt and I will be going out of town for a few days and I'm not certain how regular I will be about blog postings for a while (either here on Subjective Soup or my other blog Communication Exchange). I will try to check on comments when I can, but will probably not be able to compose any new posts for a while.

As this is Friday, I just want to remind you that I participate in the Friday Follow phenomenon, although I'm not quite certain exactly how it works. I have the badge on my right sidebar and I have been trying to visit new blogs that exhibit the FF badge. If you stop to comment and know any more about what I should be doing for Friday Follow, I'd appreciate some advice.

Finally, an update on my update about my virtual book tour. I already have three days scheduled--August 25, 30, and 31. If any of you wish to host a day on my virtual book tour for my cozy mystery Sounds of Murder, the days of August 26, 27, 28, and 29 remain, so just drop me a comment and let me know which date you prefer.

Until later, take it easy and I'll see you when we return.

(graphic from www.slapupsidethehead.com)

Book Tour Update

As you will see by some of the comments to my previous post about my forthcoming virtual book tour, several of my blogger friends are interested in becoming hosts for my tour during the last week of August. This makes me thrilled and excited and I'm really looking forward to working with those of you who have already expressed interest in being hosts.

I just want to clarify a few things about my virtual book tour that might not have been clear in my original post. It is not required that you read my book or write a review of my book in order to be a tour host. Hosting a day on my virtual tour is nothing more than interviewing me about my book for one of your blog posts on a scheduled day. As I indicated, I can provide you with that post already written to your specifications or I can respond to interview questions that you wish to ask me. Either way, I want to make the hosting experience a positive and easy one for those of you who wish to participate.

The other issue is that hosts do not need to be book review bloggers to participate. Any blogger can host a day on my tour. I will adjust the post I send you based on your blog's subject matter.

And don't forget the giveaway. I'll be offering a free copy of my book Sounds of Murder as a prize to a commenter on one of the book tour posts. It might be one of your readers--so you could advertise this giveaway as a promotion for your blog. I will, of course, be promoting the tour and all the blogs that will participate in the tour.

I hope this update clears up any confusion about my virtual book tour and I hope it will encourage some more of my blogger friends to consider hosting one day on the tour. Remember, the dates are August 25-31. Just tell me you are interested in a comment and I will contact you with the specifics.

(graphic from www.breadnmolasses.com)

Come Join My Magical Mystery Tour

Calling all of my blogging buddies (that means you) out there in the blogosphere! I'd like to invite you to participate in a virtual book tour for my cozy mystery Sounds of Murder which I will be hosting the last week of August (August 25-31). If you don't know what a "virtual book tour" is, you can find out just as I did from the amazing Carol Denbow on her nifty blog A Book Inside.

As I'm new to the entire virtual book tour concept, I am testing the waters a bit by announcing my intentions today in this post. Later, I will be contacting individual bloggers to invite them to join, but I first wanted to give all my readers the opportunity to jump aboard if they so desire. If you've never participated in a virtual book tour (and I haven't), it doesn't appear to be too difficult--at least for the bloggers involved. Plus, I intend to make it worth your while. Here's how.

Each day of the virtual book tour, I will visit one blog (hopefully yours) where we (you and I) will discuss my book Sounds of Murder just as we would if we were sitting together in your kitchen. I will write up the "interview" from pre-arranged questions (or you may submit your own) and send you the prepared post in advance. You then post this interview on the appointed day of the book tour for your readers to read. I, of course, will promote the tour here on Subjective Soup and encourage my readers to visit your blog to read the post.

In addition, I am donating a copy of Sounds of Murder to someone who comments during the tour. This someone might be one of your readers. You could promote this giveaway and encourage your readers to visit your site on your scheduled book tour day and comment and, hopefully, win the book! I will take care of keeping track of your commenters and selecting the winner. The entire idea is to make this virtual book tour a positive experience for both of us.

As I've never done a virtual book tour before, I'm more interested in its quality than I am in following any specific rules. Therefore, I'm more than willing to bend over backwards to accommodate any special requests you might have in order to get you on board (such as adapting the virtual book tour post to suit the content of your particular site, working individually with you to help promote YOUR blog as well as my book, or anything that will foster greater collaborative efforts between the two of us).

So, what do you say? Do you want to join my magical mystery tour?

(photo from www.beatletracksband.com)

I Found Nancy Fairbanks

Was she missing? Yes. At least, I had lost track of her. Several years ago, while wandering around Barnes and Noble, I ran across author Nancy Fairbanks and her series of cozy mysteries featuring amateur sleuth Carolyn Blue. Carolyn is a food critic married to a college Chemistry professor. I was immediately drawn to this series as I typically love any food-related mystery and the tie-in with academic life was right up my alley seeing as how I myself was a college teacher too. And of course, there were Fairbanks' titles. I absolutely adore clever titles, especially when they involve plays on words. I immediately bought every copy in the store--Crime Brulee, Truffled Feathers, Death a l'Orange, and Chocolate Quake.

I read and enjoyed all four mysteries and developed a feeling of kinship for Carolyn and her academic husband Jason. Unfortunately, when I later returned to Barnes and Noble, no more Nancy Fairbanks' books were to be found. I shouldn't have given up searching for her other books, but I did. I'm sorry to report that over the intervening years, I forgot about Carolyn and Jason and their culinary and academic adventures. But a few days ago, while perusing the list of mysteries on my favorite book site Paperback Swap, I came upon a new Nancy Fairbanks' novel that I hadn't seen before--Bon Bon Voyage--and I quickly ordered it.

This morning I finished this charming, delicious cozy mystery with great relish. I want to recommend it--and Nancy Fairbanks--to you, my readers. In the book, Carolyn Blue goes on a culinary cruise with her friend Luz and her mother-in-law Vera. The mystery commences with the disappearance of a female passenger and quickly escalates into a mutiny and counter-mutiny of the entire ship. There are delightful, funny, and unique characters galore. I especially enjoyed this particular Fairbanks' book because I have been on a cruise and I could imagine how difficult--yet hysterical--a passenger mutiny of a cruise ship would be.

I will not forget Nancy Fairbanks again. She's written quite a few mysteries and I intend to read them all. Have you?

What's This Phrase?

This week's contest at my gym is kind of fun. It's one of those where you figure out the phrase from just the first letters of words in the phrase. You know, "There are 24 hours in a day" becomes "There are 24 H. in a D." Here they are:

1. 26 L. of the A.
2. 88 P. K.
3. 18 H. on a G. C.
4. 4 Q. in a G.
5. 13 S. on the A. F.
6. 7 W. of the W.
7. 24 H. in a D.
8. 9 D. in a S. S. N.


Have at it! And no fair cheating by looking them up on the Internet!

I'd also like to add that I'm joining the very popular Friday Follow (check out the widget on my sidebar). Not sure I've done all the steps correctly as I typically have trouble following anything with more than three. If I'm not following the correct Friday way, please someone let me know!

(graphic from www.goucher.edu)

Uncompensated Product Review: Sabra Hummus

I love Mediterranean food--such things as tabouleh, falafel, baba ganoush, and shish kabobs. A real favorite of mine is hummus. Restaurant hummus at most Mediterranean places is usually fantastic no matter how lowly the restaurant. Unfortunately, when I've tried to make my own hummus (grinding chick peas is how you start) it usually tastes like ground cardboard.

Now along comes Sabra hummus. I saw their commercial for this favorite Mediterranean treat of mine on television recently. I had never seen a commercial hummus advertised on television before so I decided I'd better try it. Sabra makes their hummus (it's sort of like a dip or a spread) in various flavors. I opted for the lovely spinach and artichoke version.

Here's what I think. Sabra Hummus is definitely better than any hummus I can make. It is not as good as hummus I've had in most middle eastern restaurants. I'm guessing that's because restaurant hummus is free of preservatives and is made fresh daily, whereas Sabra's version is not. Either way, it's hummus! So, if you crave that special delicacy you could do worse than sampling Sabra's.

If you try it, let me know what you think. And just to let you know, this review of Sabra Hummus is my own personal opinion for which I received absolutely no compensation (although, Sabra, I'd love to be your spokesperson, if you're listening.) One more thing--I noticed that Sabra's website is conducting a contest for a trip to Turkey--if you're interested.

Little Blog on the Prairie

Here's a shout-out this morning to Harriet's new blog called The Prairie Blogger. It's a blog devoted to bloggers who live in, and issues related to, the state of Illinois. I'm sure there must be quite a few of you bloggers out there who qualify to join The Prairie Blogger because Illinois has a fairly large population, what with Chicago and all.

If you do live in Illinois (or know someone who does), hop over to The Prairie Blogger and join the rest of us bloggers who live out here in the middle of the country. It's just one thing more thing (besides blogging) that we have in common.

I'm hoping that my membership in The Prairie Blogger (you can see my membership shield in the right-hand column of my blog) will help me meet other like-minded souls and maybe we can get together for coffee sometime and talk about blogging. What do you say?

Many thanks to Harriet for starting The Prairie Blogger.

Happy Fourth to Top Droppers and All!

An especially happy Fourth of July greeting to my top ten Entrecard droppers during the month of June. These wonderful blogging friends visited Subjective Soup every single day last month. Please check out their blogs when you are out and about on this glorious Independence Day weekend.

Sparkle 31 I am Harriet 31 The Third Uncle 31 Art Shout! 30 Slightly Sarcastic 30 Web Design Web 30 Rate T-shirts 30 Urban Art Blog 30 The Ad Master 30 the crazy suburban mom 30

(photo from www.satnews.com)

Mom Is a Model

I open our local newspaper, the Aurora Beacon, this morning and who do I see staring out at me, but my Mom! There she is--her sweet smile and sparkling white curly locks--serving as the spokesmodel for her assisted living facility, Independence Village. In the advertisement, she is interviewed about why she chose to live at IV and she explains how her children wanted her to live closer to them after her husband died so she moved to Illinois from Nebraska. I thought you might enjoy seeing this ad and my Mom's beautiful face.