After completing several items of sewing I had a chance to sit down in my lounge chair and continue reading the latest novel I brought home from the library. I was ready to go to the Music on the Porch at the Holt house but had time to debate if I really should venture out. I opened the door and the sky looked rather threating and it was a bit of eerie feeling. A few big drops of rain were starting to fall. Hot and humid all afternoon. As I shut the door the thunder started and it was then I decided perhaps it would be better to stay home just in case it was hail and wind along with the rain. Shortly Paul also stopped in and said he had driven just ahead of the storm all the way in from the farm and was debating if they would be having a ball game. About that time both phones rang and we each listened to hear of the tornado warning in our area. It wasn’t long before it was pouring rain. I knew then I was glad to be home.
I have been witness to at least four tornadoes over the years which if I had my way it wouldn’t be any. The first was as a teenager. My father and I were out in the field getting the oats ready for threshing and he pointed to the north and we watched the wind hit Lake Sarah and draw up a funnel of water. The second was also when I was in high school and it took the top of our barn, the windmill and lots of trees around the yard. We tried to go to the basement but the pressure was so great we couldn’t get the door open to go down. After each lightning strike, we saw the damage from one place to another. The Red Cross spent several days helping us clean up and years later there were still broken trees to remove. The third was the Chandler-Lake Wilson tornado. No electricity but little damage at our place two miles east of Lake Wilson. We did find debris in the fields that fall during harvest. Robert knew where to borrow a generator so we were able to help with food in Lake Wilson. Jon didn’t want to go help at first until he found his friends and classmates there and he then went every day for quite a while. The fourth was coming home from a baseball game at Northwestern, Orange City, Iowa. It was Davis’ last game in college, again a hot humid day but cloudless. We headed home in the evening and when we got to Highway 9 we saw the black clouds in the northwest. Robert decided perhaps we should get off the road and pulled into a farmyard driveway. As we watched the barn rolled over, a bale or something similar rolled over the car. Lots of praying, Robert quietly and me shouting. Soon it was over and the lights came on in the house and the farmer came out and we waved and said goodbye. Just a half-mile down the road was a gravel pit full of water that we could have possibly been in if we hadn’t stopped. As we continued on the highway towards Worthington the rain had stopped, the stars were shining and the moon was visible. We journeyed down there the next day and saw the tree just beside where we had sat was taken down to level with the car roof and the cement block garage beside us was totally destroyed. That’s enough about tornadoes.
Most of the gardens are doing well this year. Jon made a BLT with tomatoes from his garden and surely enjoyed the fresh taste. My plants look good and have a lot of fruit on them but quite a ways from ripening.
Louis (“LOO-ee”) dressing is a mixture of mayonnaise, chili sauce, bell pepper, lemon juice, and seasonings. It is often used in crab salads.
Chicken Louis Sandwiches
2 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/4 cup chili sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoons seafood seasoning
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
1 medium stalk celery, sliced (1/2) cup
2 tablespoons diced red pepper
6 burger buns, split
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
In large bowl, mix mayonnaise, chili sauce, lemon juice, and seafood seasoning. Stir in chicken, celery and bell pepper.
Spoon chicken mixture onto bottoms of buns. Top with lettuce and tops of buns. Makes 6 sandwiches.
Rave-Review Potato Salad
10 medium red potatoes, peeled
1/3 cup chopped chives
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons grated onion
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper or cucumber
Cook potatoes until tender. Combine chives, oil, vinegar, onion, salt, and pepper; mix well. Drain potatoes; cool slightly. Cut into cubes, add to oil mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and yogurt; chill. Just before serving, fold the mayonnaise mixture, celery, and green pepper into potato salad. Yield: 12 servings.
Frosted Banana Bars
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in bananas.
Spread into a greased 15 in. x 10 in. x 1-inch baking pan. Bake at 350º for 20-25 minutes. Cool.
Frosting:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
3-3/4 to 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Gradually beat in enough confectioners’ sugar to achieve desired consistency. Frost cooled bars. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 3-4 dozen
