Well, hello there. Guess what? Michigan is basically closed due to COVID-19. I’m not complaining, I’m just stating facts.
More facts: The kids have no school for 3 weeks, and Tom will be working from home. Also not complaining about that. But this is going to have an impact on the blog.
The first impact is that I had decided to make some crazy, blue-cheese lime gelatin concoction for St. Patrick’s Day and to celebrate 15,000 on the Facebook page (we are currently 30 likes away from 15,000). That is going to be put on hold. I’m not sure what the next couple of weeks are going to bring, and since I have a limited food stock here and would prefer not to have to go out, I’m going to put the blue cheese thing on hold. It doesn’t mean I’m never going to do it, because we have a date, that blue-cheese thing, and I. But I am going to put it off. Now does not seem like the time to be making food that will most likely just get chucked in the trash. It would make me feel like I’m not making good use of the resources I have. And there is plenty of time to test it at a later date.
Instead, I’m going to be making interesting recipes and cocktails that use pantry goods and posting about that instead. Stuff that my kids will actually eat. And to start us off, I found this recipe for a fake Orange Julius in Cookin’ with Powdered Milk, by Peggy Layton:
I think I’m going to be mixing up some of these in the near future.
In other news, so far there are no plans to delay the annual Lamb Cake Contest. But stay tuned, because things have a tendency to change in this crazy situation.
Also, please be aware that I do not have any idea how this will impact the new swag shop. So if you have ordered from there or you plan on ordering, please be patient in case there are delays.
Barbie, my dog-niece, modeling the dog bandana. And asking for your patience.
In addition, I literally have an enormous recipe library at my fingertips here. So if you need to find a recipe, or something to do with canned corn, or how to make instant potatoes taste better, feel free to email me at ruth@midcenturymenu.com. My cooking library is at your disposal and I am happy to make this hard time a little easier for you.
And if you choose to use your sheltering in place time to spike your fake Orange Julius with vodka, I won’t tell anyone. Because it isn’t like I’m going to be seeing anyone.
At first glance, I thought the dog was laying on a pepperoni pizza blanket.
Humor will be needed theses next few weeks, I’m sure.
My best to you and your family. We have no confirmed viruses here yet. The grocery stores are crazy. But I’ve always been a squirrel storing nuts for the winter. I will still go out about my daily business, I am way old and have lived thru end-of-the-world predictions before. Have tons of stuff here, I can get creative!
Those cookbooks are just about the cutest things. The titles in the banners, the illustration, the fact that it’s written as “Cookin’,”–I love it!
I live in an area that’s fairly low-risk right now, but my SO and I work in a school, and spring break is upon us. We’re just gonna huddle in our house with our stockpile of groceries and video games and do a whole lotta nothing for a week.
Now is the time to count our blessings along with the very real concerns. Thank you for doing just that
We made a similar Orange Julius recipe in 7th grade Home Ec class back in 1980! I’m pretty sure we used milk instead of the powdered milk. Yum!
My mom used to make me Orange…Juliuses.
You are just the kindest! I hope your family fares well. <3
I work in the event side of hospitality so I anticipate joining husband and kiddo at home starting this week. (The eventing industry is in an understandable sudden halt right now, and it's scary for us, but hopefully temporary)
I'm happy to offer cooking and baking help where I can, too. I have to live dairy free due to a casein allergy, and I live in a semi rural area with limited access to ingredients, so I have experience having to be creative with substitutes. I can be emailed at ardithmjohnston6 at gmail dot com and I'm in the FB group. (If that's ok to offer!)