Bill’s Blog

Bill & Nadia’s Hot Date: “Run Your Bass Off”

July 16, 2008 · 1 Comment

Bill & Nadia Warm Up, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Sunday Nadia and I ran the 28th annual “Run Your Bass Off” 10 kilometer road race in Crystal Falls, Michigan. The race is part of the Bass Festival held at Runkle Lake. We were unsure of going when we got up Sunday morning as it was 50 degrees F and drizzling. We powered through however and got the kids up and packed and drove the 15 miles to the other side of Iron County. We dropped the boys off with our good friend’s the Bonetti family and dropped Ocean of at my aunt Ione’s home in Crystal Falls. It was great! We felt like we were on a date with no kids. As you can see, I was a bit more excited about running in the cool weather than Nadia.

Most of the 279 present were running the shorter “Half Bass” or 5 kilometer run/walk. Crystal Falls should be renamed Crystal Hills as there were killer hills throughout the race. There were some nice scenic spots as we ran by the Paint River. Nadia and I ran together as it was a rare opportunity for us to do something together sans offspring. Nadia started off slow but then got her second wind and we passed some runners. There was a large hill however at the 4 mile mark that took the wind out of her sails and she slowed a bit. In the last 2 miles she recovered and we finished strong together at 1 hour and 2 minutes. We didn’t win but that wasn’t the point. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly and got out and did some exercise.

Categories: Family Journal · Sports · Summer Holidays in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
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My favorite meal: Pizza Rolls

July 16, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Every time I come home to Caspian for a visit my mother makes my favorite meal. She calls them pizza rolls, and they are an Italian dough and meat cinnamon roll shape covered in a red sauce. It is a simple recipe and the only work is in preparing and shaping the dough.

To the right is how the dough is laid out and the meat placed. It is then carefully rolled and cut into small slices.

My mother got the recipe from her mother who got it from Mrs. Stiffe, a neighbor in their Italian neighborhood of Caspian. I’ve eaten these since I was a kid and always eat too many of them.

Below my Dad and Mom enjoy the pizza rolls in the foreground. My brother and his family came from Iron Mountain to enjoy the rolls and spend some time with us. We went up to the baseball field and played with the kids after the meal.

Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of flour
  • 6 eggs (2 eggs per 1 cup of flour
  • 1/2 tablespoon of salt
  • 1 large cup of tomato sauce
  • 1 large cup of pizza sauce
  • 1 can water per each can

Meat: 1 – 1 & 1/2 pounds of hamburger (add 1/4 – 1/2 ground pork), salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion (mix well together)

Instructions: Mix flour & salt – add eggs (dough will be soft and sticky) add a little milk if too dry. Put oil on hands and over dough. Divide in half – roll on floured bread 1/4 ” thick. Spread on meat – roll like a jelly roll-cut 1″ slices – place 1″ apart in cake pan. Mix sauces and water – pour over slices – cover – bake 350° F for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Andy’s tip – mix the meat the night before to make it easier and it gives the pork a chance to give more flavor to the beef.

Categories: Family Journal · Summer Holidays in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
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