Need a Dessert Recipe? Try Cherry Crap!

This story submission absolutely cracked me up! And hopefully will start a trend of people sending us recipes along with their stories.

This is from Trudy, the reporter at KAWC radio who recorded our interview. We'll have another great story from Trudy later this week, just in time for Thanksgiving, so stay tuned! :)

Cherry Crap

By Trudy Schuett

Through all the 1950s and most of the 1960s, my mother went to her Pinochle Club twice a month. Each lady took a turn hosting, and the dessert during a break in card playing was an important element of the evening. Everybody would exclaim how lovely that night's dessert was, and later on in the car, my mother and my aunt would say what they really thought. (One of the reasons they called it "Cat Club," no doubt.)

One lady frequently served a pumpkin pie with gravy, of all things; something I've never figured out or ever heard of anybody else doing.

A lot of the recipes in that era were based on convenience foods and Jello, and it wasn't too often Ma came home with a recipe. She was great at pies and cakes made from scratch, but every once in a while there would be one of the "Cat Club" desserts showing up at our house.

The following recipe for Cherry Crap is one of those, and nobody remembered how it got its name. I can only imagine the scene the first time Ma presented this, circa 1955:

Ma: (setting a glass cake pan on the dining room table) I got this recipe from Leona at Cat Club.

Dad: (viewing the dish with suspicion) What is it?

Ma: It's a Quick Cherry Pie!

Dad: Looks more like Cherry Crap to me.

Anyway, no matter what Dad thought of the looks, we all liked it, and I still make it today. Here's the recipe:

11 graham crackers, crushed, or pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs for two crusts (found in the baking aisle of the store)

1/3 cup sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine

1 can cherry pie filling

Cool-Whip or spray whipped creme

Melt butter in microwave in microwave-safe mixing bowl. Add crumbs and sugar; mix well. 

Layer half the crumb mixture in the bottom of a 9x9 square cake pan, spread pie filling over crumbs. Top with the rest of the crumbs. Refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight.

Serve with your choice of topping.

Note: Back when we lived in Detroit I tried making this once with fresh cherries from our tree, and real whipped creme but it just wasn't the same. You really want that chemical-y goodness for this one!

Thanks, Trudy!

NEWS!!

Click to go to KAWC Radio program

NEWS!! 


Tune in to KAWC Radio Friday, November 18, 9AM or 3PM (mountain time) for "Arizona Editions," to hear an interview with Heidi and Eileen, Senior Share Project creators. 


As always, Thanks for stopping by!!


WHOOPS! Sorry folks! Due to a last-minute schedule change at the station, our story was moved. Look for us on Monday or Tuesday's Morning Edition or All Things Considered. I will post any scheduled air times as I am updated. Thanks!

Welcome New Readers!

Senior Share Project has been seeing some momentum, recently, and we'd like to thank you all for stopping by. We've recently been lucky enough to have received TWO online reviews!

The first review is over at Blog Search Engine. No matter what your interests, you will be sure to find something to read here, and without the hassle of weeding through a general search on Google or Yahoo. Blog Search Engine is a listing site with ratings and reviews on all kinds of blogs. Please click on the picture below to go to our review, and once there, click on the stars to rate it, "like" it on Facebook or Tweet it to your followers - that will help us get ratings and even more exposure:

Our second review is over at BloggyAward.com! BloggyAward.com is a site that visits hundreds of blogs a year, and rates them based on the following criteria: Visual Aesthetics, User Friendliness, Reading Enjoyment and Useful Info. Based on ratings and what you like to read, BloggyAward.com is a great site to sift through, and find more blogs to visit. 

It's also great feedback for us, because with an outside opinion, we are able to make some changes to our blog, like implementing a label navigation bar (coming soon!)

Senior Share Project received a score of 9 out of 10!! Thank You, BloggyAward.com!

Click this picture to go to our review:

We are so thankful to have this coverage and recognition. But, the most important ingredient of Senior Share Project is YOU, our readers. We don't exist without your stories. 

Maybe the first time you visited our site, you had a little story in the back of your mind that you were reminded of when reading what others have written. 

• Did your parent or grandparent emigrate to the United States from a foreign country, like Carla Carozza's dad, Vince? 
• Do you laugh everytime you think of your favorite aunt, or when you remember a lesson your mom taught you, like Jeanette Kahwaji's Aunt, Winnie the Witch or Joe Finnerty's grape jelly fiasco? 
• How about growing up in the country like Lorene Hoover from Iowa, Holly Klapper from Northern Michigan, or Gordon Fredrickson from Minnesota?
• Did you sneak a radio into school so you could listen to the World Series, like Marty Roselius?

You know there's a story inside you. We want to hear it. Send it to us today! We'd love to hear from our international readers, too!

seniorshareproject@gmail.com

Thank you! Heidi and Eileen

P.S. Coming soon to SSP: Video interviews! Check back, or better yet, subscribe! 

Poppies

I remember when I was a kid, and we would drive into town, there would be volunteers from the Lion's Club at the main intersection. When you'd stop at the stop sign and donated some change, the Lions volunteer would give you a hard candy or a poppy to hang on your rearview mirror. My mom would somehow work it into her outfit or if we were on our way to church, and my dad was wearing a suit, he'd place it in his buttonhole.

Today on my way into the grocery store where I work, I noticed there was a table set up for the purposes of collecting donations for Veterans. I thanked the gentleman manning the station and dropped some bills into the collection jar for Veteran's Day.  The donations go to help the homeless and disabled Vets.  And, if you ask me, it's a shame that we even need to have such a donation. The country which they served should be better prepared to take care of our Veterans. But after what these fellow Americans have done to help provide me with a safe, strong country in which to live, I'm happy to help.

And proud to wear my Poppy.

Thank you, Veterans.

Calling all Veterans

Hey! Do you know anyone who has served our military? Please have them swing by and drop us a line, or tell us about them yourselves! We'd love to have a story or two (or more!) to celebrate Veteran's Day. Photos welcome, too.

Thank you for your service!

Remember, it doesn't have to be a long story, just a snapshot. Some good questions to ask when getting ready to write a memory are:

When did this happen?

Where did it take place?

How old were we?

Why did this memory stick with me? (was it funny, moving, unbelievable, etc.)

Don't worry about grammar or punctuation. That's what editors are for :) 

We'd love to hear from you!

Super Cool News!

Hi everyone! We've had some great news! Senior Share Project (aka Heidi and Eileen) will be interviewed by KAWC Radio in Yuma, Arizona!! This is excellent news for us, as we are in the "needing-all-the-exposure-we-can-get" phase of this blog.

When I read the email requesting the interview, I was pretty excited, but then, while Eileen and I were on the phone talking about it, and she looked up the station and told me it was Yuma's public radio station−the NPR affiliate station for the Yuma/Colorado River area−I did the Snoopy dance. I'm a huge Public Radio junkie. Eileen, not so much. We are about as opposite as you can get when it comes to news source preferences.

I told Eileen that for her, it would be like if the Fox News affiliate asked us for an interview. Who knows, today Arizona Edition on KAWC, tomorrow Bill O'Reilly? Hey, you never know.

So, I will let you know as soon as we find out our air date. Until then, check out KAWC's website, continue to tell your friends and family about Senior Share Project, and please share your stories with us!!

Thanks,
Heidi