In search of recipes …

Brad, one of my fellow choristers at Trinity (and a former neighbor) pitched the idea of a choir cookbook to help raise money for our upcoming tour of England in August 2007. Casey has been asking for recipes, so I have been gathering recipes from my sources – the family German potato salad, some of Grandma’s recipes, recipes from other relatives, some recipes Mother has shared with me, et al. I’m still collecting recipes – and even have some contributions from posters to the Anglican/Episcopal discussion board on BeliefNet.

On Sunday night, I asked Mother for a few recipes – including the recipe for the Texas Eggs she made every Epiphany for the choir brunch she hosted at our house. (This was her way of thanking the St. Mark's choristers for their hard work over Advent and Christmas.) Mother seemed a bit surprised, since this recipe includes a can of cream of mushroom soup.

I told her to send it anyway. The eggs were good (we never had any leftovers) and there’s a good story attached to them, as well. I asked Mother for several other recipes that I remember throughout the years.

But not the Bloody Mary punchbowl that was part of the Epiphany brunch. There was no recipe for that – Mother just poured vodka, tomato juice & added her spices. Everyone liked it, including the rector – there was never any left over.

And the rector presided over the punch bowl! That was an inside joke at St. Marks for years.

Yes, the Trinity Choir is definitely going to England in August! Casey has been working with a tour company that specializes in these trips. We’ll spend a week at Ely Cathedral, singing Evensong and a Sunday morning Eucharist. We are also slated to sing Evensong or Eucharist at York Minster, Lincoln Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral. We’ll be spending a couple of days in London, as well – and we’ll be there during the Proms at Royal Albert Hall!

Mother will definitely be joining us on the trip. Deep down I knew she was going to come along by hook or crook, but I didn’t breathe easy until she informed me she had sent in her deposit check. Mother was concerned about her ears and the long flight. Her doctor told her about a treatment that can help Mother handle the pressurized cabin on the flight, and Mother’s cousin gave her some hints on how to handle the long trans-Atlantic flight.

Mary Matthews, the widow of Trinity’s former organist/choirmaster Dr. Thomas Matthews (the much-beloved OCM, not Mr. Please Do Not Consider Me To Be Your Friend) informed me that her daughter, Sarah, will also be joining us. Mary’s positively thrilled – and so am I. Sarah’s a lot of fun to be with – and she’s a good singer, too (to put it mildly). We’ll have a good group on tour!

Last night I had a good conversation with my sister. Matthew, her son (and my godson) is being a typical six year old boy – hard to get him to bed on school night! Already he knows every trick in the book to delay bedtime. John (Ruth’s husband) then has to deal with getting a sleepy, cranky kid to school the next morning, since Ruth has to leave early for work. Fortunately, Matthew is really enjoying school.

Back to the cookbook – I welcome your recipes! Now, if anyone has any cucumber sandwich recipes out there, they would be most appropriate for a cookbook put out by an Episcopal church choir!