I just had an interesting experience involving a recipe. Let me tell you the story.

Back in the year 2000 for my birthday my mother gave me the Annual Recipes Cook Book from the magazine Taste of Home. For several years she continued to send me the latest volume. That started my collection and I like these books well enough to try to get the back issues as well as the new ones as they were published. If you are not aware, this magazine collects recipes from cooks all over the U.S. Recipes come from all kinds of people. These recipes are being used regularly by the home cooks who send them in. Then they are tested at the magazine test kitchens and are quite reliable.

I have been so close to a complete set for at least three years now. The one I still did not have was the 1996 issue. It seems to be a scarce commodity. I have looked for it at antique stores, used book shops, online booksellers and on eBay. Those places who had a copy were asking what seemed to me a bit too much, so I kept looking. Then the other day I found one on eBay and decided this was it. I placed my bid and after a couple of times being out bid, I made the winning bid. It wasn't cheap. The second most expensive used cook book I have.

Now this afternoon I am paging through my final piece of the puzzle and a particular recipe captured my interest. Pork Chow Mein. I start reading the recipe and it is one I definitely want to try. It uses ingredients I like and most often have on hand. It also sounds pretty simple. I usually don't pay much attention to the name of the contributor, but I did this time. Helen Carpenter of Marble Falls, Texas. Well you can be sure the name Carpenter was of interest to me, so too the name Helen. My Aunt is one Helen Carpenter. And Marble Falls, Texas sounded familiar. Could it be? No, it couldn't be, could it?

Well after checking with my Auntie Helen it was not her contribution. Believe it or not there were two Helen Carpenters in Marble Falls, Texas during that time period. Oh, well, I tried it for dinner this evening anyway. It is very tasty and I will be adding this one to my list of regulars.

Cut pork into 4-in. x 1/2-in. x 1/4-in. strips; place in a bowl. Add garlic and 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Cover and refrigerate 2-4 hours. Meanwhile, combine broth, cornstarch, ginger and remaining soy sauce; mix well and set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok on high; stir-fry pork until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. Add carrots and celery; stir-fry 3-4 minutes. Add onion, cabbage and spinach; stir-fry 2-3 minutes. Stir broth mixture and add to skillet along with pork. Cook and stir until broth thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately over rice if desired. Yield: 6 servings.