I’m back! So, you say, “You’ve been gone?”
For the past two weeks, I have been sharing columns from the past. My husband has had a severe bout with that dreaded scourge of COVID and along with other mental and health issues, we have had a tough time.
Thankfully he is much better now. I wrote this column early this time (not on Sunday night at 10, as usual,) but it disappeared from my computer to somewhere in the cloud or possibly a real cloud. Even my dear Scott Brunner, computer expert extraordinaire at the newspaper office, could not find it. I think I am going to start writing on a Big Chief tablet or a yellow legal pad as I did in the early days of writing.
I am determined for you to have the wonderful recipe I was sharing and also to tell you about some special friends. First of all, I am so blessed to have friends from all areas of life. I love people — getting to know them, their history, life stories, etc.
In about 1975 I began my journey with theater by auditioning for and getting a role in “Fiddler on the Roof” at Longview Community Theater. I played the role of Golde the mother three times, then got old and played Yente, the Matchmaker. So that I could do the role justice and honor the Jewish traditions, I asked for help from the people at Temple Emanu-El here in Longview. I began to attend services and later was honored to be asked to sing the music for the High Holy Days after studying Hebrew with a brilliant man, then Rabbi Bernard Honan.
Through all these wonderful experiences, I became good friends with many of the Temple members. One of the families with whom I became close friends was the Milsteins, Rusty and Mitzi and their children. Joe and I still attend services at the Temple and each time we gather there is a wonderful potluck supper. The recipe today comes from the last dinner there and was brought by the youngest Milstein child, Amy, who is now a teacher in Plano of a subject we used to call “homemaking.” It is much more than that now but Amy is a good cook. She comes from great cooking heritage. I consider her grandmother, Ada Milstein, to be one of the finest cooks I have ever known. What I would give for a slice of her Apple Strudel. I have her recipe and will try it one day, only when Amy and I can make it together.
This recipe is a good side dish, which I plan to double for part of our Thanksgiving dinner.
Amy’s French Rice Recipe
Ingredients
1 can (10 ounces), French onion soup
1/2 cup butter (I melted it)
1 jar (4 1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained, reserve liquid
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained, reserve liquid
1 cup raw rice
Steps
Combine soup and butter and mix well. Add enough water to liquid from mushrooms and water chestnuts to equal 1 1/3 cups. Combine all ingredients and stir well and pour into a lightly greased 10-inch-by-9-inch-by-6-inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Some of you may remember the delightful fundraiser called Food-a-rama, which the Sisterhood of the Temple held yearly. They wrote a cookbook having many of the recipes. If you can find a copy at an estate or garage sale, you will have a treasure. I will alert you though: The recipes are not three ingredient, five-minute recipes.