Instructions: Fry ground beef, onions, celery, and mushrooms in hot shortening until brown. Add ketchup, tomato, water, and seasonings. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add tapioca and cook until slightly thick. Split soft rolls and brown in frying pan. To serve, surround bowl of burger mixture with pan-toasted rolls.

NOTES : Being brought up during world War II as an only child, I was alone much of the time. Mother worked and Father was off to war. I was left in the care of a somewhat eccentric but loving godmother. She was very active in the theater and always theatrical with her Mayfair accent. It was not unusual for her to greet us at the door with a "Hellooo, dahling," dressed in a leopard-skin outfit to do her housework, complete with brilliant blue eye shadow that flashed like a neon advertising sign. While I thought she was the grandest godmother of all, my parents seemed reluctant to leave me with "that woman," as they referred to her.

In later years, she enjoyed having me stop by to see her and have a drink with her. I remember one time that she asked me to have a martini at ten in the morning! I did not know how to respond, but the first words that came to me were: "If you have one, I will." To that she responded, "Well, I just happen to have one here behind the radio." One of my favorite meals at her house was Barbecued Burgers. This was one of her favorite informal party meals also. When I asked her the origin of the recipe, she told me it was on a local radio station one day. That must have been about the middle 1940s. I vaguely remember the womens talk show; my mother listened to it, too. It was "Louise Wilson" on WHAM, Rochester, New York. Here is that memorable recipe.

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