Page 6 Portland Observer, December 7, 1963
LIKING SECTION
Homemade Christmas spirit
by M onine Stebbins
W orking on your Chrixtmax »piril
yet? There’s kind o f a delicate bal
ance between too much pressure at
Christmas and wanting to do nice
things for your fam ily and friends.
I f you’ re having trouble getting into
a holiday mood, you may need to
re-evaluate how much gift giving
you can do.
I know that I lend to add a few
new people to my list and seldom
drop anyone, so some years I end up
with more than I can do easily. This
has been known to give me the
"bah-hum bugs" which are no fun
at all. The other thing I ’ve been
tempted to do is to spend money o r
dering packages sent from fancy
catalogs.
You may not be the only one
feeling the pressure. Talk it over
with family members— maybe you
can come up with a solution that
will help everyone. M y family
started a rotation system years ago.
When you have five sisters it helps
to be sensible. None o f us wanted to
completely neglect the family, but
we couldn’t keep up with remember
ing everyone either. W e tried draw
ing names for a while, but that was
difficult and we never got around to
all the family members. Now we ro
tate, working from the youngest to
the oldest.
You can often save money by do
ing gifts yourself— but you’ re trad
ing time for money and you’re the
only one who can deccd which is
best for you. There are things from
the store that can be put together
easily. I f you're mailing the items,
try to keep the weight down to save
on postage costs. Various flavored
teas and unbreakable Christmas tree
ornaments are easy to send. I per
sonally feel that the battle is nearly
won when I get my out-of-town
packages ready.
I like to make homemade gifts
from the kitchen, too, especially
ones that use Oregon products. The
all-time favorite is chocolate coated
hazelnuts which are quite reason
able since we have a lot of nuts on
hand. They're easy. too. Eight
ounces of milk chocolate melted in a
double boiler will coal about 2 cups
o f roasted hazelnuts. Drop the clus
ters of J or 4 nuts onto waxed paper
and let them cool until set. They
don’t need to be refrigerated or fro
zen; in fact the chocolate will bloom
(get white on the surface) if you do.
They probably do need to be out of
sight, though, because they're a real
temptation.
I also put walnut halves into dried
prunes, which is easy and nutritious.
Since my time to do these home
made treats is usually limited. I've
found that it helps to choose just
one or two items that I make for ev
eryone. I get all the ingredients and
then double the batch or make one
right after the other. Quick breads,
yeast breads or cookies can be done
this way. I f you’re avoiding sweets
you might make cereal nibbles,
cheese spread or even flavored vine
gars. Last summer I made dill green
beans and if 1 can bear to part with
them, I may give some of those as
I Vi cups candied fruit, if desired
Cream shortening and sugar to
gether Add applesauce. Combine
all dry ingredients in a separate bowl
and then add to the applesauce mix
ture.
M ix
together just
until
moistened.
Add
nuts
and/or
candied fruit by stirring with a
spoon, if desired. Put in well-
greased bread pans, filling them Vi
full. Regular loaf pans take I hour
and 20 minutes at 350”. Smaller
pans take a shorter time. Test by in
serting a toothpick in center. I f it
comes out clean, the cake is done.
H O L ID A r C H E E S E S P R E A D
In a large mixer bowl, blend I cup
softened butter or margarine with
about Vi to Vi envelope o f dry
onion soup mix. I f you use the
whole package, the spread will be
salty. You can add more later if you
want a stronger flavor. Add 2
tablespoons milk and 2 cups Ched
dar and 2 cups Monterey Jack
cheese, but any favorite cheese may
be used. Continue to mix with mixer
untill well blended. Then add about
two tablespoons pimento stirred by
hand.
You can form this mixture on lit
tle circles of cardboard, making
them into the shape of a Christmas
tree, then sprinkle with parsley and
decorate with pimento bits. Chill to
make firm . It can also be put in
pretty jars or plastic containers and
given as gifts. Makes about $ cups
cheese spread. Store in refrigerator.
brought to you
every week
by
AMERICAN STATE BANK
MEMBtR FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
The average American man is five feet, eight inches
tall. The average American woman, five feet, four inches
tall.
The blue whale can go up to half a year without eating
- it’s maintained by its blubber.
•
Because their eyes are on the sides of their heads,
most birds have excellent fields of vision.
•
A "Santa Claus School" was opened in 1937 in Al-
bion, N .Y. to train men to play the part of Santa Claus.
Six students enrolled for the one week course.
W e do .io t d o business w ith S o uth A fric a
American State
I . T
k J
D
I
Bank
f t b J »J
AN INDEPENDENT BANK
H e ld Office
2737 N. E Union
Portend. Oregon 97212
gifts.
A jar o f Russian Tea or other
punch fixins* that are dry can be a
nice gift, too. I ’ve even made a big
batch o f buttered rum batter and
put it in nice jars to give as gifts. I f
you have something that needs spe
cial care, like refrigeration, be sure
to mention that when you deliver
the gift. Include the recipe, too.
Get friends and family into the
act. Last year we had great fun
decorating the gingerbread cookies.
We baked them one day and decor
ated them the next so we has a re
laxed time together.
Here are a couple o f recipes that
make big batches and can be given
as special homemade gifts. The ap
plesauce cake can be simple or have
lots of fruits and nuts added. I t ’s
been a family favorite for years. The
cheese spread is great for gift giving
or entertaining.
M O M S A P P l ESA U C E C A K E
Vt cup shortening
2 cups sugar
3 cups applesauce
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons soda
I teaspoon salt
Spices can be varied. I use:
I teaspoon cinnamon
Vi teaspoon cloves
Vi teaspoon allspice
I cup raisins or cut-up dried prunes
I cup nuts, if desired
To G ive to project help .
GROUND
TURKEY
Louis RRh't Brand
CREAM CHEESE
Froshio
BAKING CHIPS
Froshio,
Bool Giocolato
B r U h
... 79*
DRINK
M IX
■----L l.
69
lb.
$ | 19
12-01.
2-lb.
PROJECT H E L P raised oyer $275,000.
A L L ol that went rig h t hack in to the c o m
m u n ity to help people w ho needed Financial
assistance to w eal her a lu el em ergency.
Look For PROJECT H E L P
d o n a tio n envelopes enclosed
w ith y o u r next u tility statem ent.
Y o u r generosity w ill help
those in o u r c o m m u n ity
w h o m ight be left out in the
cold ibis w in te r.
And ilia , should m ake
vou Feel y e n ’ w a rm indeed.
GRANULATED SUGAR
Sno-Ouoon
Choe Flavor
$059
Once again this w in te r we w ant io help
make sure no one goes w ith o u t heat. Last
sear, thousands ol Folks co m b in e d th e ir
e llo rls th ro u g h PROJECT HELP,
the energy lu el assistance hind,
Io help 1600 people keep w a rm
in Oregon alone.
,1
Because donations Iro m
y
Paeilie Power custom ers
and out ow n em ployees
were m atched w ith d o lla rs
Iro m stockholders,
,0 -lb «10
PROJECT HELP
‘3 "
SfSS
J-lb
Fount
2329 PACIFIC
SE 20th b D IVISIO N
Oiogon City 878 M O I A ll A
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Canby 1051 SW 1st
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ryE 74th b OLISAN
HILLSBORO 980 SE OAK
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THE PEOPLE AT PACIFIC POWER