These patticakes are a family recipe on my mother’s side. She was just telling me today that she has fond memories of helping her father make them in a large enamel tub, mixing all the ingredients. My aunt (Sissy) is usually the one who prepares them these days, but we have the recipe from her so we can make our own if need be. They’re super easy to make and use common ingredients so you can even have some for Thanksgiving tomorrow. They even cook in a toaster oven, Megan.

1 loaf of stale bread, torn into small pieces
4-6 stalks of celery, chopped very fine
1 medium onion, chopped very fine
1/2 cup (one stick) of butter or margarine, melted
sage, salt, pepper and celery seed to taste
1 small can of condensed milk (not the sweet kind but the evaporated kind)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over it as you mix with your hands and form patticakes.
Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Continue baking for another 5 minutes at 450 degrees.

Note that if you are taking these to another house for dinner, you can wait to bake them those last 5 minutes once you get there so they’re fresh and hot.

Again, you all continue to amaze me and I’m humbled that you would take the time to write such great things for this project. This month’s challenge was to describe something physically about ourselves that pleases us. It could be a body part or an overall physical feature. The project also had a second part of providing a recent photo of yourself that pleases you. Below is a list of the participants:

Kitty’s Living Like you Love It
Her topic is her body’s power to adapt. She has done great things to create a positive image of herself and my favorite line of her entry is, “Hello – I made people!!!”. And while it wasn’t her topic, I feel it necessary to note that God graced her with a great rack. So there.

Gina’s What Makes ME Hot Stuff
I was afraid Gina was going to chicken out on me for this project but she came through with flying colors! As a fellow brown-eyed girl, I can totally respect her choice of highlighting her eyes. And the grin in her photo is awesome!

Martelle’s Hot Stuff
I stumbled upon Martelle through LiveJournal and the SCA, but I’m not sure I could have picked her out of a police line up or crowded feast hall. Her entry gave me all kinds of insight into her childhood, the things she takes joy in, and most importantly a photo so I can introduce myself the next time we’re in the same place! Looking forward to meeting you soon!

Kim’s Living Out Loud II: Body Check
As folks have talked to me about this challenge I’ve mentally noted to myself my favorite thing about them physically. I’ve always loved Kim’s skin and her choice to adorn it in such beautiful detail makes me a bit jealous. I’m just not sure I have the guts for it myself. I also admit to growing my hair out lately with the hope that I’ll get more hair brushings.

Megan’s My Body. Not Wonderland.
I read Megan’s entry about her strong legs and nodded to myself in agreement. I got to her photos and started crying. She is beautiful in so many ways.

Karal’s Forever on the Hips
I’ve been commiserating with her as she struggles with medical mysteries that make her belly her enemy these days. But sometimes the smallest of things can mean so much and remind us how strong we are.

Rich’s Momentos written across my skin
I won’t embarrass us all by listing all my favorite parts of his, but I do admit that his hands are up there in the top five. Chicks do indeed dig scars – this one does at least.

My own contribution is All of me, why not take all of me. So many things about my body I can’t control, but I’m pretty sure I’ll always be a million feet tall. The air really is nice up here.

This project continues to bring me much joy and I personally want to thank all of you for participating. It means the world to me! I’m already looking forward for the project due April 1 (great, April Fools Day).

For this project, I have chosen Megan as our prize winner. She has been waging a battle over her body for quite a while now and bared her soul online for us all. I’ve been wracking my brain for an appropriate prize and have decided that a good massage would pamper all those muscles that serve her so well. Megan will be receiving a gift certificate for a 30 minute massage at her local salon.

I encourage you all to read the entries above and comment. And if you have a suggestion or this month’s project, I’m all ears!

It’s sorta the sweet potato equivalent of a jello mold, but it’s tasty. This recipe came from Willa Woodard (Granny Brown’s sister-in-law) but I have many memories of Mom making it. Eventually, we switched to the sweet potatoes with brown sugar recipe for most family gatherings, but this is still a classic.

2 cups sweet potatoes, boiled until soft, then peeled and mashed
1 cup milk
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 tsp cinnamon
Squeeze butter to taste (or shavings of a refridgerated stick)
miniature marshmallows (enough to cover the top)

Mix all ingredients and spread into a greased pan (9×13?). Squeeze butter over the top or spread butter shavings.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Add marshmallows to top and continue baking until top is browned.

This “salad” is more of a jello mold dish. For those who don’t like nuts, the pecans can easily be omitted. I’m not sure who first made this recipe, but my mother has certainly perfected it.

1 cup boiling water
1 small box of lime jello
3 oz. cream cheese
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped celery (~4 stalks)
1 small can crushed pineapple (8 oz.)

Mix water and jello until smooth. Combine all other ingredients in a separate container. Add jello to that container. Transfer to a shallow serving dish and chill until firm.