Thirty Seconds Over Swan Lake by Gary Morton

I always had a recurring dream about Swan Lake in the Catskill Mountains. Swan Lake, in case you didn't know, is surrounded by a cluster of kosher hotels. I dreamed that the lake was filled with borscht and that I was an airplane bombing it with boiled potatoes.

My mother made the worst vegetables, and I subsequently have hated vegetables all my life. She would let the peas and carrots boil for 3 hours. I was an adult before I knew there was such a thing as a hard carrot.

Lucy loves cheese blintzes, which I introduced to her. I am in constant search for a blintz connection. All of our friends who cook them send them over for us. One day we had about 35 blintzes in the freezer. Lucy reheats them and then sits down with a lot of sour cream and enjoys! Her favorite dishes are blintzes and, being a loyal New Englander, pot roast. Culinarily, she has the best of two worlds.

Goulash

INGREDIENTS

2 bunches green onions, chopped
2 large green peppers, chopped
1/2 clove garlic, chopped (or put through a garlic press)
2 to 3 tablespoons margarine
2 pounds lean ground round steak or other lean beef
1 large can (3-1/2 cups) solid pack tomatoes, with juice
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound small egg noodles, cooked and drained

Sauté chopped green onions, green peppers, and garlic in margarine. Add ground beef. Combine with vegetables and brown meat.

Add can of solid pack tomatoes (with juice).Season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to boil; then reduce heat to simmer. Allow to cook until all flavors are well combined - about 1 hour.

Last 1/2 hour of cooking, add the cooked egg noodles.

Serves 4 to 6