What's for dinner, Mom?"

Every now and then it happens. Once in a very great while my answer to that question gets a positive response. Take tonight for example - Hunter asked the age old question and upon hearing that "Kitchen Sink Lumpia" was what he could expect tonight, danced a little jig as he went back upstairs to his video game. Do I need to tell you that it made me just a little bit lighter hearted to see that jig instead of a slight stomp as he left me to return to his previous activity?

What was it about "Kitchen Sink Lumpia" that made us both look forward to dinner? Well, Hunter just likes it, but for me it goes just a little bit deeper and strikes a chord with the genealogist in me.........

Last spring, I traveled up to Charleston South Carolina to be with my father after his open heart surgery. I received two gifts during that emotional whirlwind trip to the land of my forefather's.....my father's successful surgery and recovery and a cookbook written by my cousin the late Vicki Horne Phillips.

I never really knew my first cousin; she was a child when my parents were married in England and then spent a short time South Carolina before moving on. Due to our Air Force life, Cousin Vicky was already a teenager by the time I met her years later. The first real memory I have of her was during a 1975 trip from Ohio to Florida when we stayed with her and her husband for a few days. That memory includes her cutting my hair for me...and really good food.

Anyway, when I arrived at the hospital to see my father, he pointed to a table in the corner of his room and said "that cookbook is for you". Concerned more about him at that moment then about a cookbook, I grabbed it up (and the one he'd gotten for my sister Amy as well) to look at later. It would end up being several weeks before I sat down and actually used that cookbook to plan my 14 day menu for the family.

I'm a big fan of Mexican food; since the economic crunch began to hit our household, I'd been experimenting with cooking my own instead of our weekly trip into El Potro....so the first recipe of my cousin's to hit our family table was "Mexican Casserole"...the family loved it. The sting of staying in for dinner was lessened just a bit, but an additional benefit was that I could add another meal to the short list of dinners that got a smile out of Hunter.

Anyone with a 12 year old in the house has probably been through what I'm going through (for the third time!).....the whines in response to the answer of the question of "what's for dinner, Mom?" will be familiar to many mothers....and if you're familiar with that phase in the rearing of children, then you know the joy of finding recipes that they actually like and want more of..... it helps one to avoid the not so friendly response of "you'll eat it and you'll enjoy it" with its implied "or else".

The second recipe I tried was "Kitchen Sink Lumpia" - on our menu for this evening....after days of mudding, sanding, caulking and painting, I was very happy not only to be able to reach in the freezer for this already prepared meal, but to be able to know that Hunter and David would be happy as well.....and I sent up a whisper of thanks to my cousin, the Kountry Cook....

So, this post is dedicated to my late Cousin Vicki....I may not have known you well, but you are a presence in my household...my children know you by the legacy you left...Your love of cooking lives on in my home.....and you are remembered each time one of my family asks me "is it Cousin Vicki's recipe?" Thanks Cuz, for putting those smiles on the faces of my loved ones!

Kitchen Sink Lumpia by Vicki Horne Phillips
"Welcome to our family dinner table - recipes from kountry cook's kountry kitchen"
page 13

5 lbs hamburger, lean .................................................. 2 tsp. steak sauce
2 lbs Jimmy Dean Sausage............................................1 bottle oyster sauce
1 c. chopped red onion....................................................1/2 cup Hoisin sauce
1 chopped yellow onion..................................................1 tsp. liquid smoke
3 cans Chinese veggies...................................................1 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 can Chinese bean sprouts...........................................2 garlic cloves smashed
1 can bamboo shoots, chop............................................2 tsp seasoned salt
1 small purple cabbage...................................................1 tsp. ginger
1 small green cabbage.....................................................2 tsp pepper
4 tsp soy sauce.................................................................1/4 c. brown sugar
4 tsp Worcester Sauce....................................................2 Tbsp mustard
100 Egg roll wrappers (4 packages)


Brown meats and onions, drain. Return to a large, deep pot. Dump in everything except the egg roll skins. Simmer 1 hour to blend flavors, covered. Drain mixture and cool. Fill wrappers and roll egg roll style, sealing with a mixture of egg and water mixed. Put separated egg rolls on cookie sheets and freeze. Keep layers separated by waxed paper. When frozen, divide up and put as many as you want in zip lock freezer bags until ready to us.

All of us spent an afternoon chopping and cooking this up....the mixture was so good that it was hard to keep everyone from dipping in for a spoonful while it was all cooling....once rolled up and fried, the meal was heavenly.............hope you enjoy it as much as we do.....