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Month: March 2025

Lynda’s Tuna Salad

Sometimes a good tuna salad is just what your palate is yearning for!  It’s great to have on hand for lunches and the possibilities are endless for ways to enjoy it.  My favorite is to quarter a large tomato and place a scoop right in the middle of the tomato.

This recipe comes from The White House Family Cookbook, written by the former White House executive chef, Henry Haller.  Chef Haller served five presidents from Lyndon Baines Johnson to Ronald Reagan.  This recipe was a favorite of LBJ’s daughter, Lynda.  Chef Haller says of Lynda in his cookbook, “A typical luncheon for this busy  woman would start with soup, end with peppermint ice cream, and include her tuna salad served with melba rounds.”

If you’d like more recipes served at the White House through this era, you can order the cookbook here.   

Enter family20 for a 20% discount.

Enjoy!

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Lynda and Luci’s Brownies

Sometimes the occasion – or lack thereof – just calls for a yummy brownie!

I took this to a dinner party and the comments were – “this is yummy and not too sweet”!

Lynda and Luci Johnson (daughters of Lyndon Baines and Lady Bird Johnson) both loved these brownies . As  wives of active military, they packed them up in a tin and mailed to their husbands.

Luci shared that this treat was a success with true loves and little ones alike.

Very easy to prepare – you might want to share with your true love as well!

You can find this recipe in the White House Historical Society’s Cookbook by Whitehouse Executive Chef Henry Haller and for more great recipes, you can order here:

Enter Family20 to receive a 20% discount for a limited time.

https://shop.whitehousehistory.org/collections/bookstore-books-and-journals/products/the-white-house-family-cookbook

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Lynda and Luci's Brownies

Easy and fit for a President's daughter!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 1 stick butter ½ cup
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 squares unsweetened chocolate
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup pecans chopped
  • ¾ cup flour

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease an 8 x 8 inch square pan.
  • Melt butter in a small saucepan, pour into a mixing bowl, and stir in sugar.
  • Melt sugar over low heat in the small saucepan, add to butter-sugar mixture, and blend well.
  • Add eggs and nuts, stirring until well blended.
  • Gradually add flour, blending thoroughly. Stir in vanilla.
  • Pour into a prepared pan, and bake for 30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove pan and cool on wire rack before cutting into squares.
Keyword brownies, chocolate, pecans

Oodles of Noodles

Every Monday in the small Lee County community of Serbin, Texas, four ladies of Wendish descent gather to prepare 200 pounds of noodles that will be sold locally and all over the United States as a fundraiser for their beloved Texas Wendish Heritage Museum.

You may say, “Who are the Wends?”

The Wends (also known as Sorbs / Lusatians) are of Slavic ethnicity and lived in the River Spree area of Germany.  During the 10th century they occupied a large part of central Europe, and developed a common language. Conquest and assimilation with other cultures left only a few true Wends by the 19th century.  

Theirs is a story that began like many who immigrated to Texas – Three months on a ship  from Germany to settle on the Texas prairie.  But, there’s a twist – before embarking on this journey in 1854, these 600 Slavic “old Lutherans” as they were called, formed a congregation and called Pastor John Kilian to be their spiritual leader.  It is widely considered to be the only time in United States history that a whole congregation immigrated together.  

I know this story well – as it’s my family’s heritage.  My great-great grandfather, Johann Dube was one of the elders of the congregation who was sent to the Texas General Land Office in Austin after arrival in Galveston on the Ben Nevis ship  to purchase a parcel of land for the new settlers. Purchasing the Delaplain League, these 4254 acres were subsequently portioned out to the Wendish families according to their ability to purchase.  Ninety-five acres were carved out for St. Paul Lutheran Church (now one of the painted churches), a school and cemetery. 

The church and school are still the center of this community of Wends who have held onto their land through the generations.  And located within a stone’s throw is the Wendish Museum, full of artifacts, costumes, and history – the only one in the United States dedicated to this hardy group of Slavs.  

About the Museum  

The Texas Wendish Heritage Museum is located a few miles from Giddings, Texas. It consists of a  complex of buildings which includes the old St Paul school buildings, two original log cabins, and  an exhibit of carpenters and farming tools.  Wendish Genealogy can be researched in the Lillie Moerbe Caldwell Memorial Library.  At the center of this covered complex is a modern building with a display interpreting the history of the Wends.  

Of particular interest, a specialty of the Wends are beautifully decorated Easter eggs.  Four different techniques are used to create the intricate designs:  “Scratch” where you scratch the color off of the dyed egg, “acid” which is used to remove the color, “embossed” where colored wax is painted on the egg, and “batik” which is a multi-step process.  They are lovely to behold!

Now back to those noodles!  At Texicureans we talk a lot about traditions being passed down through food.  Noodles are that for my family – they always accompany a holiday meal and the question ultimately arises – “and who is making the noodles this year?!”  

A major fundraiser for the Wendish Heritage Museum is the sale of traditional handmade egg noodles.  The “Noodle Sisters” gather faithfully every Monday morning, using around 500 farm raised eggs to create over 200 pounds of noodles, which will be sold locally, and all over the United States. The “sisters” Judy Boriack, Carolyn Noack, Mildred Perry, and Linda Jones are proud of their craft – it is truly a labor of love for their Wendish heritage.  

Marian Kasper Weiderhold joined me in the kitchen to cook a batch of these wonderful noodles.  A many-year docent of the museum, she  is proud of her Wendish heritage and generously shared her personal history, extensive knowledge of the Wends,  as well as her recipe.  

 Visit www.texaswendish.org to learn more about the Wends of Texas. You may order noodles at https://texaswendish.org/product-category/food 

If you’d like to try your hand at making the noodles – here’s their recipe – pared down, of course!

Or you can order from the Wendish Heritage Museum and simply cook them.  

Wendish Noodles

Comfort side dish from the Wendish Culture
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Wendish (Sorbish)
Servings 20

Ingredients
  

  • 3 eggs
  • 6 tbsp water or Water to fill half-eggshell 3 times
  • 3 cups flour a little extra to roll out
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 quarts chicken broth
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • chopped parsley

Instructions
 

Create Noodles

  • Break the eggs into a large bowl, saving the most intact half-eggshell. Beat eggs and water together.
  • Add 3 cups of flour and the salt to form stiff dough. Roll out dough into a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick on a well-floured cutting board or countertop
  • Allow the dough to dry for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally
  • When dough is dry but still pliable, cut into long sections about 3 inches wide. Take 3-inch sections and cut into thin strips about 1/8-inch wide. Cut strips into preferred lengths for cooking.
  • Place cut noodles on a dish towel and fluff noodles so air can circulate around them. Allow cut noodles to dry thoroughly, at least overnight or longer if necessary. If noodles won’t be cooked right away, store them in a sealed plastic bag in either the pantry or the freezer for up to six months.

Cooking the Noodles

  • When ready to cook noodles, bring chicken broth to a boil in a large pot. Stir in butter, (parsley if desired) and dried noodles. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until tender. Be careful not to overcook. Remove pot from heat, leaving lid on, and let sit another 10 to 15 minutes. Do not drain. Makes one pound of noodles or 20 servings.

Video

Keyword Noodles

 

 

Lone Star Ladies Night

Sometimes you just have to sit back, and reflect on a fun time!  Or in other words:  enjoy the moment!  And that is what the amazing committee that planned Lone Star Ladies Night is doing!

Over 200 ladies dusted off their boots, donned their hats and met friends at Krause’s outdoor venue on March 3rd to celebrate Texas Independence Day.

The evening began with shopping – hats, jewelry, and fun finds  – all to Texas music of the very talented Kristi Grider.  She was joined by a cacophony of  laughter and chatting among friends and new acquaintances.

Also, a slide show ran honoring Strong Texas Women whom ladies purchasing tables wanted to be remembered and recognized – what visionaries they were in their own unique ways!  They left their print on the Texas landscape!

We all found our tables, prayed, said the US and Texas pledges,  and joined together to sing “Texas our Texas” under the direction of amazing musician Andi Holleman and guitar.

Then came the inspiration:   Justice Ken Wise, founder of the podcast, “Wise about Texas” gave us a couple of accounts about feisty historical Texas women.  His humorous delivery was a testimony to the fact that real life is always better than fiction!

We continued to be awed by the story of Major General Jeannie Leavitt, USAF, (ret).  As the first female fighter pilot for the USAF, she has lead the way and set a path for future generations of women.

And that amazing committee?  Here they are!:  AJ Keyser, Anne Miller, Caryn Benson, Emily Cummings, Emily Moore, Kat Balmos, Kelsey Gibson, Laurianne Rodriguez, Anita Hill, Debbie Meek, and Rachel Meier.

A huge thank you to these generous folks who set the stage for a beautiful Texas evening!

Click for a pictorial glimpse into the evening