End of Year Nostalgia

I was looking at photos today -- December 31, 2011 -- with the idea of doing a photo montage of the year. But instead I happened on this booklet of my husband's grandfather's log of his wine-making efforts. I thought it might be an interesting way to finish out the year. His grandfather on his father's side (the Neu side) was a doctor who was born and raised in Germany on the southern French border in a small town by the name of Niederlinksmeier (spelling uncertain). Eventually he settled in the United States with his family which included my husband's father, Carl.

The photos below are of Tom's parents and grandparents. I love these pictures as they portray a different Seattle, one in which upper-middle class families lived and recreated on Lake Washington, where Tom grew up, on the Puget Sound and in the Cascade mountains.

Carl Neu

Carl Neu (right) and yachting friends

My husband's maternal grandmother

My husband's maternal grandfather (center) at Janice Lake, B.C. where Tom still fishes.

Grandfather fishing on peaceful Janice Lake.

Carl Neu was a competitive skier and this photo appeared in the Seattle PI.

My husband in his 20s soaking up sun on the side of some barn somewhere.

My husband played junior football (here) and continued to play through high school at Roosevelt.

My husband sporting a beard, as he does today, only then it was reddish brown and today it is pure white.

The kid's go skiing

My husband looking a little like mountain man Jeremiah Johnson.

My husband pole vaulting in high school.

My husband skiing in high school (or around that time)

My husband with high school (and college and even now) friends Mac and Hal.

My husband's father crewing (or just enjoying himself) on L'Apache.

My husband's maternal uncle, who he is said to resemble.

My husband's grandfather football team photo at the University of Washington. Tom's grandfather, brother Cappy and son all attended the UW and belonged to the same fraternity. My husband broke ranks and attended the University of Puget Sound where he also belonged to a fraternity but a different one.

Every Christmas, my husband makes a half-dozen linzertortes to eat and give for the holidays. These  ground-almond  tortes are a family recipe from his German grandmother, Nana Neu. We have often taken them on holiday ski trips as the perfect fortification for ski days. The tortes keep well and can be frozen without any harm to taste. Personally, I prefer my slice still warm from the oven.

Nana Neu's Linzertorte

1 pound butter, melted

1 pound sugar (2 cups)

1 pound flour (3 1/4 to 4 cups)

1 pound almonds (16 ounces), finely ground

1 rind of lemon

1/2 cup candied citron, finely chopped

2 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Beat butter, eggs, and seasonings together.
Alternately add portions of flour then ground almonds until all of the flour and almonds are used and blended into the mixture.
Mix in citron.
Put in 9-inch round cake pan (preferably non-stick) and bake at 350-degrees for 50 minutes.
Cool before removing.

If desired, melt currant jelly and glaze cake to edge of pan.

Tom inherited his mother's recipes when she passed away and I found it so interesting to look through the old newspaper clips of food ads and recipes. I included just a few of the recipes and ads.

Not an food-related ad or recipe but it was clipped from the local newspaper by Tom's mother, Maryanne. The ad is for a show at the  Paramount Theater. Tickets apparently were 25-cents each. Oh, and the Paramount is still a fine theater venue.