When I think that school has started and the Labor Day weekend is over, even when we are having these hot days, I realize that summer’s end is very near. I would really like some cooler days and wouldn’t a cool rainy day be nice. You can tell that the days are getting shorter and before we know it we will turn the corner into fall.

While summer time is hanging on I try to do as much cooking on the grill as possible. If I was asked, “What is the most favorite food on the grill?” I’d have to answer, “Hamburgers.” I don’t know when they first were made or where they originally began, but hamburgers seem to me so all-American, especially when they’re cooked outdoors on a grill. You can always find a good hamburger just about anywhere. I’ve had them at fair stands, sandwich shops, ball parks and every kind of cafe. They’re served many different ways. Sometimes you’ll find them barbecued, fried, steam, or water cooked, or char-broiled. It’s always fun to dress any hamburger up a bit, with mayonnaise, cheese, pickles, tomatoes, onion, or lettuce, are favorites of mine. If they are served with lettuce and tomatoes and French fries that is California style. But no matter how they are served they’re always welcomed at any meal and get an “A” on easiness.

So many of you have asked me how our daughter, Vicki and her husband are getting along with their move to Germany. Their furniture has come so they are really getting settled. They especially like living in the country and the little town of Erzenhauser is a couple of miles away. She said where ever they go there always seem to be a celebration. The Germans like to party. This last weekend they went to Heidelberg that is about 30 miles away. Their dogs are a little teddy bear dog, called Josie and Steve’s dog, Digger, an Australian Terrier. No one has ever seen a dog like him, so he attracts a lot of attention. Vicki, says she is slowly getting some German phrases down, which helps a lot. Also most teenagers there study English in school and do quite well with it. Thank Goodness for the computer and skype, which means we can see and talk to each other. Vicki has decided not to work because she doesn’t want to be tied down. They live 6 miles from the Landstuhl Military Hospital at Ramstein, Germany and she is going to do volunteer work there.

End of Summer Hamburgers

6 (18×12 inches) pieces

of heavy-duty foil

1 1/2 pounds of ground

beef

1 package of brown

gravy mix

salt & pepper

10 ounce package of

frozen mixed vegetables,

partially thawed

1 pound package of

frozen tater-tots

Divide ground beef into

6 parts; flatten to 1/2

inch patties. On each

piece of foil place the

following:

Hamburger patty, sprinkled with about 2 teaspoons dry gravy mix and salt and pepper; about 1/3 cup mixed vegetables; and 7-8 tater-tots. Wrap each foil dinner, folding edges over twice and sealing. Place on rack over hot coals.

Grill about 30 minutes or until done.

“Conceit is a strange disease, it makes everybody sick except the one who’s got it!”