I'm thirsty!...

How many times have we said that? How many times have we heard that? Sure, there's water, soda, coffee, tea, bottled juices and drinks, but sometimes we want something a little different, something that makes the taste buds dance.

For those times we want something different, I offer you the following recipes. Today's offerings are for small gatherings, and one gift-giving idea.

WATERMELON PUNCH

Years ago, I was a bride’s maid at a friend’s wedding. A friend of the couple held the reception dinner; this punch was served with the hors d’oeuvres. I’ve added ginger ale to the recipe; it’s good either way.

1 watermelon

1 T honey

6 oz. can orange juice, undiluted

2 liter bottle ginger ale

Put watermelon (excluding rind and seeds) in a blender—and blend. Pour juice through a strainer into a large bowl. Add orange juice and honey, stir, and add ice. Add ginger ale just before serving.

PINK LADY PUNCH

Not sure where this one came from, though I'm thinking maybe from one of my mother's cookbooks that she bought to raise funds for some group or other...

4 C cranberry juice

1 1/2 C sugar

4 C pineapple juice

2 qts. chilled ginger ale

Add sugar to cranberry juice. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add pineapple juice. Chill. Pour into punch bowl & add ginger ale.

LIZARD LOUNGE TEA

My oldest son spent several summers traveling the country, both singly and with friends. Several times, he wound up at the Rainbow Gathering, where he hooked up with a larger group of friends. Most of them had grown up in hot areas of the country, so they nicknamed themselves lizards; their area of the camp site was the lizard lounge. They would cook up their version of iced tea, which they would barter for other commodities. They were frequently asked what their secret ingredient was.

This is a scaled down version. I found that cranberry or cranberry-apple herb tea works very nicely with this, but any herbal tea can be used.

½ gallon apple cider

4-5 herbal tea bags

Place cider in a large pan or teakettle and bring to a boil. Place herbal tea bags into a large container and pour the boiled cider over the tea bags. Let steep for 15-30 minutes and cool. Very good.

The next one is perfect for gift-giving.

SPICE TEAI used to make this every year for Christmas presents; it was quite popular. Unfortunately, life got a little hectic...As simple as this is, though, I may be reigniting this as a present!

8 oz loose tea

3 orange rinds/peels

1 1/2-2 sticks cinnamon

2 T chopped cloves

Cut orange peels into small pieces. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring occaion-ally. Let cool, add to loose tea, along with broken cinnamon sticks & cloves. Store in tight containers.

I'll post some single-serving drinks in a later post. In the meantime, enjoy!

Sandwiches: Banana-Ham; Ham & Cheese

For a number of years, my dad had a job that required a lot of travel. This was after my folks had split up, so the idea of being paid to travel the world on their dime seemed very appealing.

After one business trip, Dad sent me a short note; in it, he wrote, "In Canada I had two sandwiches which were new and delicious." The first one ended with, "GOOD!" Both sandwiches are definitely that.

BANANA-HAM SANDWICH

French bread, cut along long axis, without crust

1 cold banana

thinly sliced ham

Roll bread & thinly sliced ham around cold banana; deep fry about 15 seconds in very hot fat. Hot on outside & cold on the inside.

HAM & CHEESE SANDWICH

Ham & cheese on French bread but the bread is dropped in egg & fried (a la French Toast).

Again with the Baked Ziti!

I realize I've already posted this once, but figured that it's good and easy enough to warrant a second helping, especially since I've recently posted the Peanut Butter Pie.

Let's face it: we've all had days when we want something hot and yummy, but with a minimum amount of effort. What to fix on these days? Baked Ziti fits the bill. And if you're like me, chances are you have all the makings in your cupboard and fridge.

Here's what it takes:

16 ounce box of ziti
26 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce
1 jar-full of water
2 C shredded cheese

Okay, I can hear you asking, "What brand of spaghetti sauce? What type of sauce? And the cheese...Cheddar? Mozzarella? Can it be the stuff already shredded and in a bag or does it have to be a block of cheese that I grate and measure?" Here's the good part: Use what you have, which, chances are, are what you like. It doesn't matter what brand of spaghetti sauce or kind of cheese.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Take a 9 X 13 inch baking pan. Dump the dried ziti into the pan. (No, no, do NOT cook the ziti first. Dump the ziti uncooked straight from the box.) Pour the spaghetti sauce into the pan and add one jar-full of water into the pan. Stir to mix. Add most of the shredded cheese, reserving 1/4-1/2 cup of cheese. Stir again to mix. Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and bake for another 5 minutes for a total time of 35 minutes.

Serve with a salad and possibly garlic bread and possibly a peanut butter pie for dessert

See? Simple, hot, good and with at minimum amount of energy. What could be better for an after-work dinner?

Note: My younger two and I have called this recipe Talking Pasta for a few years. I can almost hear you thinking Huh? Talking pasta? Years ago, one of the name brands of spaghetti/pasta sauce had one line of sauce that was marketed for baked ziti. Their commercials showed cartoon ziti that talked about how good the sauce was in baked ziti; hence, Talking Pasta. Call it that, or Baked Ziti; either way, it's yummy, quick, and easy! Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Pie

I drove cab for a number of years. I figured if my ex- could make money driving cab (and he did), I'd give it a try. Ended up meeting my second husband that way; by the time he quit driving, he'd been a cab driver for "only 37 years," garnering the nickname Rookie by one of the dispatchers.

One Friday just before Thanksgiving, I got a call to pick up a fare at a nearby grocery store. After we'd loaded his groceries and found out where he was going, we headed off. During the drive, we talked; I discovered he was a single parent (divorced, sole-custody of a son and daughter, both late middle-school age), where he worked, etc.

As we pulled up in front of his place, he asked me to honk the horn; immediately, his two kids came out to help. The first words from his daughter were to ask if he'd gotten the ingredients for the peanut butter pie. He had, then explained that their church was having a pre-Thanksgiving get-together for church members and everyone was to bring an item. This was their offering.

"What's in the pie?" I asked. He gave me a funny look and answered, "Well, there's peanut butter..."

By this time, the groceries were unloaded, the trunk closed, and the kids were heading inside; I got paid and left.

The following week, I managed to pick the same man up. This time, during the small talk on the way home, I discovered the ingredients for the pie, but not the amounts. It wasn't until the third trip - three weeks in a row! - that I was able to get the recipe from him.

It seems that there are several restaurants that have peanut butter pie. I've tasted a few, but this simple recipe is, by far, the best.

I've tweaked the recipe a little: the original calls for 1/3 cup of confectioner's sugar and 1/3 cup of peanut butter; I've upped both to half-a-cup.

PEANUT BUTTER PIE

8-ounce tub of Cool Whip (see note)

8-ounce block of cream cheese (see note)

1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth is preferable)

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

Pie crust (see note)

Put Cool Whip, cream cheese, peanut butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. With beaters, beat on high. Pour into pie crust, smooth out, and freeze for 1 hour.

Note: Cool whip (or store equivalent) can be fat-free. Cream cheese can be regular cream cheese or the 1/3 less fat kind, but do not use fat free, as the pie won't set up right. I usually use a store-bought graham cracker crust for the pie, which is what the man used to make this. However, you can also use an Oreo cookie crust.

Video to come...later

Last week, I started filming how-to videos for the blog and ran into a couple of snags. Let's just say that I was so not happy with how the videos turned out. So...I'm going to start posting the recipes here, one at a time, along with any stories that go with it. Stories? you might ask? Recipes have stories? Well, yes. Very few of us have each section of our lives in a vaccum, completely separate from the rest of our lives: the cookies Grandma made for Christmas, as well as her every day cookies; the too-easy-to-screw-up,-no-bake pie that you screwed up the first three times you made and that your family will never let you forget about; the chicken casserole that Uncle Joe's boss found offensive, telling Aunt Marie that casseroles were simply a way to get rid of left-overs... So, wander off to the next post (Peanut Butter Pie) and read away. Videos will follow, but at a later time. And yes, I'll keep everyone posted as they show up...

Started filming...

I started filming Confessions of a Foodie this evening. The plan is to film several episodes, then post them in separate videos. Each video will correspond with a post here. This evening, I filmed how to make Peanut Butter Pie; in a little while, I'll be filming how to make Meatless Ball Subs. In the next day or two, I'll also film how to make Baked Ziti (a.k.a. Talking Pasta). Keep an eye out, and your appetite ready; I'll post on Facebook when videos and recipes are ready for your culinary pleasure...

Okay, we'll be kicking off the New Year

Okay, here's the thing: I haven't posted here for waaaay too long. I had plans to really get into this. Enough, already!!! Starting in January 2013, here's what you can expect here: Recipes, cooking, and videos! I intend to tape How To videos, along with a little background on whatever I'm cooking. Find out why my younger two sons and I call Baked Ziti Talking Pasta; for dessert, I'll fix Peanut Butter Pie, an easy-to-make decadent recipe that I first heard about while driving cab (believe me when I say that getting the recipe was a lot harder than the pie is to make! You'll get the whole story while I'm showing how to make it.); two wonderful cookie recipes from my Grandma Hallock, who had tons of stories to pass on - including the time she met Buffalo Bill Cody; vegetarian chili and simple (meat) chili; and plenty of other good eatings. The videos will be posted on Youtube, and will be linked to this blog, so that you can read the recipe and see how it's done. While it may not be the Food Network, the good thing is that you can check out the videos and recipes as many times as you'd like, any time you want. Two in the morning? Great! Two in the afternoon? Sure thing! See you soon...