Do you remember the first time you experienced real grief when a beloved relative died? Maybe relatives died in your young childhood, but you simply saw a lot of crying and didn’t really feel what happened. 

My first experience was when "Unk" passed away. I was a teenager. It wasn’t a tragic accident. Great-uncle Lloyd, simply "Unk" to us, was 94, lived at home, and hadn’t experienced ill health. His heart simply gave out. Later I decided his longevity was due to him having "just a snoot" of "medicine" before bed each night. Today we’d call this a shot of whiskey. My people come from Kentucky, remember, so a good bourbon runs in our veins. Sometimes literally.

  

Young "Unk" with his cousin Edgar Botkins at the "baptizin’ spot" on the Salt River in north Missouri. 

Unk would even tell us he was heading to the store for his "medicine"–really the liquor store, of course. That’s how Baptists lived back in the day. The churchgoers didn’t criticize him: after all, it was his "medicine"!

That morning of his demise, I headed for his home, which he shared with his daughter, Georgia Ruth. Unk and Georgia Ruth had outlived Unk’s wife, great-aunt Laura, and Georgia Ruth’s two siblings. With Unk gone, only Georgia Ruth was left. The living room was crowded with women comforting her, and arriving with food and hugs. Her kitchen table was laden with casseroles, pies, and, of course, desserts made with Jell-O. The talk was the many stories of Unk, some when he was young, both funny and sad. They also each told how they’d heard the news.

"When I told Marshall," one farm woman said, "he went over to the fence and stood with his back to me. I know he was crying a little." That one shocked me. I never thought of the big, strong farm men I knew as people who would cry. I would see it soon, though; the 1980s farm crisis was about to occur.

You don’t see many gelatin desserts these days, whether it’s for a gathering or not. (People are more likely to ask you to sign an e-Sympathy book, like Legacy.com, which I find strangely unsettling.) In the late 1940s through the 1960s, though, gelatin was not only dessert. Sometimes it was the main course, eaten as part of aspic–a dish that enveloped vegetables and meat within a congealed shape.

 

The best of both worlds in the 1970s: Jell-O made in a Tupperware mold! 

Tupperware even made a mold with a detachable top, and the set had different images–a heart, star, Christmas tree, etc., so you could customize the top of the mold. Jell-O’s discontinued 1950s flavors include Celery, Mixed Vegetable, Italian, and Seasoned Tomato. I’m sure one of these came in handy when you made a dish like Large Chunks of Vegetables Embodied in Gelatin.

Remember when TV commercials always said the phrase, "Jell-O brand gelatin"? I don’t know about you, but all those years I had never even heard of another brand of gelatin and couldn’t figure out why they said that. Maybe some consumers thought, "I think tonight we’ll have Knox brand gelatin" or "let’s try Royal brand gelatin today."

For those people who wonder what gelatin really is, it’s a protein created from collagen that is extracted from boiling bones, connective tissues and intestines of animals. Try convincing someone of that when they’re eating a mouthful of delicious Cherry Jell-O.

I was reminded of the old days of frequent Jell-O consumption when I found a wonderful book entitled Up a Country Lane Cookbook by Evelyn Birkby.

  

Up a Country Lane Cookbook by Evelyn Birkby, considered Iowa’s best-known homemaker. 

More than a cookbook, this highly readable work tells of the quiet and secure country life in Iowa during the 1940s and 1950s. As Birkby says, "The people who resided in southwest Iowa half a century ago built their lives around the land, their families, their neighborhoods, their schools, and their churches. They reflected the independent, hard-working pioneer spirit that motivated their ancestors to come to this country."

All the stories with that life–sad, funny, tragic–are colorfully recounted by Birkby. She has written a weekly newspaper column, "Up a Country Lane," for more than 50 years. Lonely farm housewives longed for tips and advice beyond their monthly meeting of the Neighbors Club or Homemakers Club, so in the early days of radio, Birkby she hosted a radio program by the same name.

Evelyn Birkby, 93, is still writing, and recently released her latest cookbook. Her story of neighbors bringing food and visiting grieving ones brought back the memory of Unk’s gathering. Since I’ve lived in the city, I’ve never heard of anyone practicing this tradition of bringing food to comfort others, but I’m sure it continues in small towns.

In Birkby’s Iowa farm neighborhood, it was Mabel Lewis who had a go-to recipe for condolences. Mabel Lewis was a "slight woman married to a robust man" and raised six children. She always took her "Comfort Jell-O" to the grieving, Birkby says. Trust me, this Jell-O salad would comfort me any day.

Mabel Lewis’ Comfort Jell-O

  

1 8-oz. can crushed pineapple

1 3-oz. package of cherry gelatin

2 cups white grapes, halved

Optional: whipped cream or whipped topping

In a medium saucepan heat one cup of water. When boiling, drain pineapple, pouring juice only from can into water. Retain fruit separately. Reduce heat to medium. Dissolve gelatin in water-juice mixture, stirring frequently until dissolved, approximately 2 minutes. Pour into large bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.

Fill a 2-cup liquid measuring cup with ½ cup cold water and enough ice cubes to make approximately 1 ½ cups total. Pour into gelatin and stir until slightly thickened. Remove any remaining ice cubes. (If mixture is still not thickened, place in refrigerator for 15-30 minutes).

Add grapes and pineapple and pour into mold or pan. Chill in refrigerator until firm, approximately 2 hours. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Notes: Do not use fresh pineapple; the gelatin will not set. This makes a fruit-dense dessert. If you prefer more gelatin, you can make the gelatin portion with a 6-oz. package of gelatin and double the water used (do not add extra pineapple or citrus juice).

Follow me on Twitter @chuckmall, Facebook at: www.facebook.com/CountryCookingintheBigCity and Pinterest (chuckmall)

Jell-O is a registered trademark of Kraft Foods.

Here at Green Eggs and Goats, it seems to always be feast or famine when it comes to eggs.  We never seem to just have a constant supply.  Over the weekend, we found 2 clutches of hidden eggs, so I have those in a bowl on the counter.  While I believe them to all be perfectly fine and they all sunk in water, I would not sell these.  I crack them into a separate cup before mixing them with others just in case one is older than I thought. 

 

 A bowl of Cayuga duck eggs 

(no they aren't dirty, they just lay grey, streaky eggs)  

At the same time, my ducks and hens seem to have decided that they want to pick back up their laying!  The current count on my counter is 33 eggs, and I'm completely out of egg cartons!  While I am ecstatic about the sudden influx of eggs, it can occasionally leave me feeling a little overwhelmed, so that is why I decided to make this list of possible uses for the eggs!

Fall fields behind asparagus in one of our gardens. 

Autumn is my husband Neil’s favorite time of year… he is an October baby.  The leaves changing into their majestic colors of rust, scarlet and turmeric… that lovely crunching sound they make under foot… the smell of the wood stove burning… home made chicken noodle soup slowly cooking and filling the house with all those wonderful scents of the harvest we have reaped from the summer’s bounty. I love the honking that all of a sudden appears above us as the Canada honkers head south to warmer days.  I love the feel of crisp air as it surrounds my face as I take my morning jaunt to the chicken coop… What it boils down to is I just really love my life on our farm. I love the freedom it has given us to be able to raise our own food…to watch our children play pond hockey on the neighbors pond…to hear their laughter ring through the barn as they play cowboys and Indians… to see the night sky lit up… to hear the crickets chirp and the Spring peepers come to life. Although I am all about summer, (I’m an August baby) I love this time of year as well.  

~Family Traditions…  

Neil and I both brought ‘traditions’ from our homes and now we are enjoying creating new ones with our family. When the word Thanksgiving starts ringing around our home, it seems to evoke this happy, warm, fuzzy kinda feeling… ya know?  I am originally from Canada but have made Michigan my home for the last twenty one years with my husband and our six children. I have many happy memories from back home in Ontario and we did many of the same things we do here in America… although there is something different… something more traditional…  it’s one of those things that you can’t describe.  Anyway, we now have several traditions that we do as a family that I thought would be fun to share here with all of you.

*A few years back Neil got the notion that we should make Cabbage Rolls .  Not just a pan for the feast, but several pans to put in the freezer for several feasts. After all we grow cabbages… lots of cabbages, so why not do something fun that will last awhile! So now we make several pans of cabbage rolls to put in the freezer…and a few to give as gifts~ share the bounty!  See below for my recipe!

*Our family loves to play games. Especially word games like Scrabble, Boggle and Up Words. Battleship, Othello, Checkers and Chess are all fun games as well.  Games allow a family to sit around the table and talk to one another.  After all the big dinner clean up is over, some of the men go hunting while others stay and visit. Usually we ladies and children get out the games. If you have several guests, assign teams; you can have several games going on and then a championship game with the final two or four! Write the names of the games on strips of paper, fold and place in a bowl.  Then let someone choose a game name and that is the game that will be played last to determine the champion.  As they say, a family that plays together stays together. 

*My men are hunters.   Now that a few of our sons are old enough they get to go hunting with Neil and the others.  This is really special for our boys and I love to see them roll in with the bounty and then tell us all about the big moment.  These memories are ones that will go on for years.

*Family picture… Why not use this special day to take the families photo.  This can become a really special tradition as each year you can all compare how everyone has grown.  Take each families photo and then a group shot. Select a location outside if the weather allows and set up a straw bale against a picket or split rail fence, an arbor or against a stone barn hill.  Put corn stalks on the post, tie with raffia and place a sunflower head in, add pumpkins and gourds along the bottom and presto you have a really nice back drop for the photo.  If you want a more rustic look, take a walk in the woods and find a beautiful Birch tree to stand by; if you want a farm look, pose in front of a piece of old machinery or wooden wagon.  The idea’s are endless, just make sure everyone is smiling! 

Set up a special shot on a front to take that family photo. 

 ~What does your family love to do together? Think of something that you can all do where communication will be happening; where you can laugh and have fun together.  Shut the T.V. off and talk!

~Decorating that special holiday table…  

I am all about entertaining and setting a table that will be “oohhed” over.  I have spring and summer dishes as well as fall and winter.  I like to have things in multiples of three, that way I can easily coordinate if I have to have other tables set up… especially when entertaining outdoors.  Here are a few tips that make that already special table a bit more lovely...

*The first thing to adorn your table is of course the table cloth.  Well of course you are all saying, but I am not talking the ‘traditional’ table cloth, lets do something spectacular and bring the feeling of an old fashioned Thanksgiving Day home… Top your table with a quilt! Obviously if your have several lengths of tables you will need enough for the whole stretch… don’t be afraid if you have more than one kind, it’s the feel you are trying to achieve, and after all the décor and food are on top of it, no one will notice.  Try to make them all generally the same color theme if possible and of course fall’ish in color.

*To create your center piece you will need a large pumpkin in which the top and seeds have been removed.  Next, take a square of floral foam and place inside.  In the center of the foam place 2-4 stems of cat tail; 2-3 stems of Pampas grass; 2-3 stems of Burning Bush or similar branch. Then building around those add stems of Hydrangea, straw flower, Gomphrena, stems of wheat, fern, and any other ‘wild’ flowers and grasses you have growing right around you.  Be as creative as you’d like and use things that are naturally around you.  You’ll be amazed when you start looking around your gardens and if you live in the country, the ditches!  A rule of thumb is that the flowers/stems should be two times as tall as the base, in this case the pumpkin, in the center.  Build around the center stems to create a full look.  

*Another beautiful and much simpler way to use a pumpkin for a centerpiece is to simply place a potted Mum in the center of it. You can use smaller pie pumpkins with mini potted mums down along the sides. 

Simply set a potted mum inside a pumpkin for a lovely centerpiece. 

~ Another base to consider is a cabbage right out of your own garden.  This photograph is of a centerpiece that was created from one of our farms cabbages for a Farm to Table Dinner event that was held at our Farmers Market in Downtown Farmington. 

It doesn’t have to be just coleslaw! 

~Other items to consider using for the centerpiece are: Bird Houses, vases, terra cotta or clay pots- to decide on a container think about what your theme and colors are!

*Place Bittersweet down the center of the table; Place your newly created center piece on top of bitter sweet in center; place leaves, dried sunflower heads, acorns, pine cones and decorative mini gourds on top along the length of the table alternating items.

*Place pint size blue mason jars with pumpkin pie, cinnamon or other ‘fall’ scented tea light candles in the bottom of the jar. Place them about every 18” down the center, placing them between items. Light about ½ hour before guest are to arrive. 

*I have several sets of dishes and I enjoy alternating colors and patterns of plates.  It adds a charming look to a fall table.

*Place Cards are an elegant and special addition to any table.  It shows your guests that you took time and thought about them and where their place at your special table would be.  Use stickers and die cuts to create special tags. Here is an example of a really easy and inexpensive place card. Have a mini gourd at each place setting and lean the card up against it. 

Easy to make, but spectacular to see! 

*Linen napkins are a must for special days like Thanksgiving… Instead of just placing them neatly under the flatware, try rolling and tying with  jute or raffia. Then place them across the plate, add a live mum blossom in each to make it even lovelier!

*Have an Appetizer and Desert table set up to match your main table. Again use a quilt for the table cloth; add different levels to the table by covering boxes or plastic containers with matching linen napkins, doilies or other small linens. Then place your plates and bowls on top.  Stand back and admire.

…. There are so many ideas that I would never have time to touch on here, but like I always say: use your imagination and what you have around you in nature! You will be amazed at the simply beauty and the pleasure it brings when you participate with nature and bring it into your home!

Cooking is nothing strange in our home and as you get to know me here at Dragonflies you will read a lot about food and cooking… right from the planting and raising down to the harvesting and butchering of it.  Food is a part of all of our lives and I believe we should enjoy it to the fullest! Neil is an excellent cook… he isn’t afraid to try a new recipe and experiment with changing it up to be his own. Our daughter and son’s are in the mix of it all as well… right down to our five year old Evan~ he is thrilled because he can flip his own pancake! We are a family that love’s to cook. The boys will come in and the sounds of, “oooohhhhh, what’s that?” is such a happy sound to this busy mom’s ears.  I thought it would be special to include some of our families favorite fix'ns that we make to go along with our home raised and butchered turkey… enjoy friends! 

Here is our son Kyle watering this Thanksgiving’s turkeys! 

*All recipes are taken from my cookbook, “For Lovingly Seasoned Eats and Treats”. For Lots more yummy recipes you can order my cookbook at my farms web site:  www.thegardengatefarm.com  

My Families Cabbage Rolls  

(This recipe is not in my cook book, but you can find my Cabbage Roll Casserole recipe.  That’s what I make when I feel lazy!

1 large head cabbage- about 6-8 pounds
1 ½  pound ground beef, raw
2 cups raw white rice
1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
3 quarts tomato juice
Salt & Pepper
2 bay leaves
½ tsp. salt

1. Fill a large pot ¾ ways full with water, add ½ tsp. salt. 
2. Take cabbage and carefully cut out the stem and cut into the cabbage to make it so the leaves will remove easily, but as not to fall apart.
3. Place cabbage in pot with stem end up facing you; turn heat on high and bring to a boil; once boiling turn down to medium.  Cover and cook for about ½ hour to 45 minutes- till cabbage is cooked but not mushy.
4. While cabbage is cooking, combine all meat, rice, onion and 1 quart of tomato juice; mix until evenly distributed. Place aside until cabbage is ready.
5. Remove cabbage from pot and place in sink of cold water.  Taking one leave at a time, cut out the center rib about 1/3 way up if necessary, being careful not to rip leaf.  Place ¼ cup of meat and rice mixture into center of leaf.  Carefully roll up once and then fold each side in and then roll up one last time.  Place in a roaster edge side down. 
6. Once the first layer of rolls in down, sprinkle with salt & pepper an pour enough tomato juice over to cover; repeat until next layer is done and repeat.  Make sure the rolls are covered with tomato juice.  Tuck in the two bay leaves.
7. Cover and bake for 2 hours at 325 degrees.

Real Pumpkin Pie, pg. 304    

 

1- 9” deep dish unbaked pie crust
1 cup pumpkin
1 egg yolk
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 ½ Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ cup milk
1 egg white, stiffly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2. In a blender, combine all ingredients, except egg white, and blend until smooth and creamy.

3. Pour into pie crust; add stiffly beaten egg white, folding in very carefully with spatula into pie. Small lumps are fine. 

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes; lower to 350 degrees and bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

Test for doneness with a toothpick to check center for dryness.

I use actual pumpkin that I can, so if you like a stronger flavor, this is a great recipe! 

Cranberry Mousse, pg. 64  

1- 6 oz. pkg. strawberry flavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1- 16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
1- 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained, juice separated and reserved
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon peel
2 cups sour cream
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional) - but so good with!

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.  Add pineapple juice to gelatin.  Stir in cranberries, lemon juice and lemon peel.  Chill until thickened but not totally set- about 1-2 hours. Fold in sour cream, pineapple and nuts.  Chill until set.

Serves about 15 to 20 people.

Vegetable Dressing, pg. 197  

1# loaf, day old bread
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup diced, cooked potatoes
1 cup diced, cooked carrots
1 cup dice, uncooked celery
½ cup fresh parsley
¼ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cup milk

Break bread into cubes and mix with butter.  Add mild to eggs. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into a well greased 2 quart baking dish or stuff in bird, any excess putting around the base of bird.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 ½ hours if in baking dish or until bird is fully cooked.  If in bowl, stir several times while baking.

I hope this has inspired you to dream of new traditions for your family, decorating that special table and of course jotting down the menu… If you are like me your mind is whirling with ideas and inspiration…

If you were inspired, please let me know and send me some of your favorite traditions…

Happy Day,
Jean

To see more about my life and farm go to:

Our farms website: www.thegardengatefarm.com 

Our farms Winter Farmers Market website:  www.theoldwinerymarket.com
or one of my blog spots:
www.fordragonfliesandme.blogspot.com
www.wreninthewillow.blogspot.com
www.farmgirlwisdom.blogspot.com 

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken stock

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 can white Cannellini beans

1 cup dried cheese tortellini

1 tbsp. dried basil

1 tbsp. dried parsley

2 medium zucchini cut into bite size pieces

1 cup diced carrots

2 stalk celery- cut into bite size pieces

1 medium diced onion

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/4 Parmesan cheese-the type in the can.

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup green beans

Preparation: 

In a large soup pot, over medium heat, sauté the garlic, onions, celery, carrots, basil and parsley in the olive oil.  Stir occasionally until the onions are translucent.

Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, salt, black pepper, zucchini and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

Next add the beans, tortellini, green beans, Parmesan cheese and simmer for 20 more minutes on low.

Ladle into bowls while piping hot and serve with crusty French bread. 

 
  

One of the many benefits of raising chickens is knowing the eggs you collect are not only fresh, but are handled carefully and kept clean, so the risk of Salmonella and E Coli are lessened compared to cooking with store bought eggs.  I try to incorporate our fresh eggs into our weekly menu as often as possible and also into our holiday menus.

 Eggnog is a holiday tradition at our house. Our fresh eggs, along with some scraped vanilla bean and freshly ground nutmeg, make my eggnog truly a guilty pleasure guaranteed to deliver plenty of holiday cheer.

Adapted from a combination of Martha Stewart's Classic Eggnog recipe and Emeril's Eggnog recipe, I think you will agree that my eggnog is worthy to be served all through the holiday season to special friends and family.

My recipe does contain alcohol, but please feel free to just omit the liquor if you want to make a family-friendly version.

 

Holiday Eggnog
(makes approximately 3 quarts)

~Ingredients~8 fresh eggs, plus 4 additional eggs separated
1-3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream, plus 1/2 cup
6 cups whole milk
Vanilla bean
1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup bourbon
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup brandy

~Method~Whisk the 8 eggs plus 4 additional yolks with the sugar in a medium bowl until pale yellow and thick. Heat the 2 cups heavy cream, milk and scraped vanilla bean in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking until hot. Add about a cup of the milk mixture into the whisked egg and whisk to blend, then pour the egg/milk mixture into the hot milk in the saucepan and continue to cook, whisking, for about 3-5 minutes, or until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl and allow to cool.

Add the vanilla bean paste, nutmeg and liquors to the eggnog and stir well. In a small bowl, beat the 4 egg whites until soft peaks form and then gently fold into the eggnog. In a clean chilled bowl, beat the remaining 1/2 cup heavy cream to soft peaks and fold it into the eggnog. Refrigerate until chilled, then garnish with additional fresh grated nutmeg and serve. 

 

Happy Holidays!

  

Flavoring. Nothing conjures up more fear for me as a parent than this word. The FDA says "Natural Flavoring" is the "essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant mate-" blahdy blah blah blah. Just more technical jargin for crap they allow that will kill you.

No thanks. Reading a friend's Facebook status she said, "The essence of fall; watching my kids play in leaves, grey dreary days and pumpkin everything!" I couldn't agree more. So how does one infuse this ubiquitous flavor without using some sort of enxymolysis of edible yeast? I decided to put on my thinking cap.

  

Pumpkin pie, the comfort food of autumn: roasty, nutty, spicy, caramelly, make your knees knock together and faint when you smell it-y. So, lame admission, I didn't have any pie pumpkins or squash on hand so I had to use canned for this. I will detail both ways (as the former is by far superior).

As I dropped the pale orange blob into a mixing bowl it became quickly apparent that this is NOT was I was looking for. Raw pumpkin is tart and not incredibly palatable. It is in the roasting that draws out it's home-in-every-bite flavor. I turned on a pan and added the spices and such. Once it had all incorporated I added the pumpkin and stirred it until bubbling. Soon the color began to darken and that classic aroma began to fill our kitchen. Bingo. Just out of curiosity I passed it through a couple of strainers to make sure it was fine enough. I wanted something that would add an intense flavor to drinks or stews without the stringy texture that some pumpkins and squash have. Upon cooling it was ready to use for a number of dishes.

We'll start with the master recipes:

Natural Pumpkin Flavoring** 

1 can pumpkin

1/2 cup packed brown sugar* (light or dark, honestly who really cares?)

2 cinnamon sticks

1 whole vanilla bean (slit) or 1 tsp vanilla extract

3 whole cloves

1 cup water

1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional) this will give the final product a more Christmassy feel (just no Christmas music till after Thanksgiving!) 

*If using for primarily savory dishes, reduce the sugar by half 

**If you want a more roasted flavor, add the pumpkin to the spice mixture and transfer to oven safe pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a slightly golden crust appears. Remove the crust before using.

Add water, sugar and spices (add vanilla bean if using, omit extract if not). Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until all of the sugar is dissolved and mixture is reduced to half and quite dark.

   

Add the pumpkin (and extract if using) and bring back to a boil (do not allow to burn on bottom or sides). Mixture will begin to darken.

   

Continue to stir until mixture is quite thick.

   

Take off heat and strain to remove the steeped spices. Allow to cool and use.

  

Granny's Homemade Pumpkin Flavoring Variation 

1 pie pumpkin or non-spaghetti type squash (Mother Hubbard squash is a family fave but they are large and will require more butter and salt, or just halve the squash quantity) 

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp salt 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve pumpkin or squash and remove seeds. Drop in 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 tsp salt into each half. [Salt draws out moisture and the butter will help caramelize the liquid which will impart a much deeper flavor]. Roast on a pan for about an hour. Remove and using a fork, gently slide it into the flesh. A properly cooked pumpkin will be smooth and soft. Pumpkins and squash vary greatly so you may need to put it back in for up to a half hour longer.

Once soft, remove from oven and let cool. Pull off any dark or crusty parts and remove the soft flesh with an ice cream scoop. Process in a food processor until smooth. Pass through a fine strainer to ensure a creamy consistency.

Follow Natural Pumpkin Flavoring recipe above using about 2 cups of puree.

 

Now that you have the master recipe, you can add it to a number of different dishes!

Pumpkin-Spiced Coffee 

Our favorite recipe was also the reason I tried this at home. We were tired of the overly syrupy Starbucks pumpkin lattes of the season. Here you get a nice hint of pumpkin with all the homemade goodness.

Add 1 tsp Pumpkin Flavoring to each cup of coffee. Serve with cream and sugar to ensure no bitterness from the pumpkin. 

Pumpkin-Spiced Whipped Cream 

Whip 1 cup of cream until stiff peaks form. Briefly whip in 1 tbsp sugar. Fold in 1/4 cup Pumpkin Flavoring (make sure it's cold).

Place large dollop of Pumpkin-Spiced Whipped Cream at the bottom of a clear glass and top with hot coffee.

   

   

Sprinkle with light dusting of cinnamon sugar (find a cozy place to read and listen to the rain). 

Spiced Pumpkin Butter 

Allow 1 stick of butter to come to room temp and whip until light and airy. Whip in 2 tbsp packed brown sugar. Whip in 1/4 cup Natural Pumpkin Flavoring. Chill and serve on English muffins, pancakes or scones.

Autumn Oats 

Add 1/2 cup to every 4 servings of oatmeal (at the end of cooking). Top with Spiced-Whip Cream or Cinnamon Sugar.

Pumpkin Egg Nog 

Add 1/2 cup Natural Pumpkin Flavoring to 1/2 gallon of (preferable home made) egg nog.

Pumpkin-Apple Bisque 

Add 2 cups apple juice to puree and bring to a boil. Add 1/4 heavy cream and 1 tsp salt. Bring back up to boil and allow to thicken slightly. Dust with cinnamon and serve with hot buttered bread and something salty (like some home made sausages on the side). 

Pumpkin Stew 

Add 1 cup puree to broth or braising liquid just before serving.

There you go! Pumpkin Everything!

 

Sometimes, we are so cramped for time and often, if you are like me, you do not want a huge clean-up after dinner.  Cooler days are here and I don't mind turning on the oven.  Another easy, family favorite is my Mexican stacked lasagna.  My kids think it is delicious and I am happy to provide them with a meal that has protein, starch, vegetables and dairy.

Mexican Stacked Lasagna       Serves 4 

Ingredients: 

1 pound of ground hamburger, diced chicken or meat substitute

1 medium onion-diced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 packet of Taco Seasoning Mix or make your own here.

1 4oz can diced green chilies

1 12oz jar/can of enchilada sauce

3 tbsp diced black olives

12 oz Mexican shredded cheese

Tortillas-my kids prefer flour 

Toppings: 

sliced jalapenos

diced lettuce

salsa

sour cream

hot sauce

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet brown the meat and the onions. Add the taco seasoning mix and prepare as directed and set aside.

In a baking dish, I use a glass pie plate, add a couple of tablespoons of enchilada sauce to coat the bottom of the dish.  Add a tortilla.  Spread a tablespoon of green chilies on the tortilla. Next, layer on a 1/2 cup of meat. Top with a sprinkle of black olives.  On top, sprinkle a handful of cheese and drizzle the top with a few tablespoons of enchilada sauce.  Then add a tortilla and repeat the process again until you have used 5 tortillas.  Top the final tortilla with the remaining enchilada sauce and finish it off with cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes until the edges are bubbly.

Serve hot and top with lettuce, salsa and sour cream.  I love hot sauce and jalapenos too, the hotter the better! 

Craving more fun?  Head on over to Tilly’s Nest for more recipes, blog hops and lots of chicken talk! 

One thing I love about British food is that it’s not scary. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good walk on the culinary wild side (fufu and fish heads in Ghana, roasted grubs in Thailand, bull testicles in Spain, and sheep brain right here in the Lone Star State) but sometimes, there is such a thing as a pleasant non-surprise. Brits have mastered the meat and potato combo, along with gems like fish and chips, mushy peas, all things pickled, puddings (or “desserts” as we Yanks say) and other yummy treats (short bread? yes, please).

As our time in England drew to a close, Hubs and I took a couple of day trips into Wales. If you’ve never been, Wales is a beautiful country with lots of sheep and unusual linguistic choices. Exhibit A:

 

Right. So. On our jaunt to Hay-on-Wye, “the town of books,” we were delighted by a pop-up farmers’ market but I was absolutely blown away by a food entirely novel to me: flap jacks. Now, as a card carrying American, I grew up with flap jacks as pancakes. Pretty run of the mill stuff. But let me tell you about flap jacks on the other side of the pond: they are so much more delicious, because they are even more full of fat, sugar, and carbs. They’re a little oat bar and if you’re lucky, you can find them topped with chocolate fudge. Wanna fly off to flap jack heaven? Here’s how:

   

Flap Jacks 

Ingredients: 

  * 6 tbsp. syrup

* 2 sticks butter

* 12 oz. oats

Directions:  

• Preheat oven to 350
• Butter a 9″x 13″ pan and line the base with baking parchment.
• Place the syrup and butter into a large saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted into the syrup and stir well.
• Put the oats into a baking bowl, add a pinch of salt then pour over the butter and syrup mixture and stir to coat the oats.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven while the flapjack is still slightly soft, they will harden once cool.
• Cut the flapjack into bars and let cool completely before serving.

After stuffing myself full of flap jacks, our second day in Wales was spent getting slightly lost on Sugar Loaf Mountain. Check out the kind of creepy Medieval looking forest we found:

 

But I digress…on our way back from Hay, we made a pit stop in Hereford (England side of the border) at the Oak Church butchery, farm shop, and garden centre (“r” before “e” because that’s how they do it). At the sight of fresh vegetables, every cut of meat you could imagine –and probably didn’t know existed–  and a cheese case that made me weak in the knees, I knew we were in just the right place.Though I stuck with a grilled portobello mushroom, Hubs bought a few gorgeous steaks and I gotta say, it was nice to see the animals right there in the field enjoying the open air and  cloudy, damp sky.

 

It was one of our last nights in the UK and we wanted to make a special, slow dinner for Mum and her beau. We decided to start with local cheeses (Herefordshire goat cheese and a firmer cheese called Little Hereford), crackers and a scrumptious assortment of olives stuffed with garlic, and pickled onions stuffed with blue cheese.

Dinner was steak/portobello, with roasted vegetables, and garlic mashed potatoes. We finished up European style with a green salad and, finally, a homemade rhubarb crumble.

Our meal, starting with wine and nibbles, started around 5 o’clock in the afternoon and eased into the latest hours of the night. There was no rush, no better place to be. For  several creeping hours we ignored our phones and instead enjoyed sharing the kitchen, simple food, real face-to-face conversation, and maybe a few too many bottles of wine.

If this is the best of British eating, I’ll take it.

A year or so ago, I taught a writing class to folks with Alzheimer’s and dementia. On an exercise writing about travel, one gentleman commented that in England, “they have a hundred religions and only one sauce.” Well, that may have been true once upon a time. A few hundred years ago is when Voltaire first made that comment, though he cited only sixty religions. But still one sauce. Bad, bland food seems to be a pesky detail Brits have a hard time shaking. Even now, upon returning from England and telling friends (who haven’t visited the mighty island) about my trip, they instantly don a face of genuine concern before asking, “How was the food?” then wait with bated breath for me to traumatize them with tales of jellied eel and black pudding. Instead, I tell them about the fabulous vegetable gardens and spread the gospel of pickled onions. Truthfully, I don’t know how horrendous English food might have once been. Maybe pretty bad, considering its global reputation (but let’s take it with a grain of salt, especially when judgement comes from our own country that now values quantity over quality). Hubs assures me that English cuisine has greatly improved over the recent years and I have to say, I’ve not had a bad meal yet.

But regardless of food, one thing I’m certain they do right is booze. And how. But I’m not just talking about beer. With his abundance of fruit from the garden, my father-in-law puts it to good use by making his own rum and wine. Too many currants? Ferment them into vino! Tired of eating damson? Drown it in rum! His concoctions are good, though I have to say it’ll make your eyes cross. If you’re thinking of making fruit wine at home, check out this handy guide: http://www.fruitwinemaker.com/ 

And if you’re here for something stronger, I’ll pass along the easiest recipe ever. Drink the rum, and use the boozy fruit as a topping for ice cream.

Rumtopf 

Ingredients: 

1 lb. fruit (berries, peaches, plums, etc.)

1 heaping cup sugar

rum

Directions: 

• Wash fruit and cut in half.
• Put fruit and sugar in rumtopf. Add enough rum to completely cover the fruit. Mix.
• Close rumtopf and store in a cool, dry place. You can add more fruit/sugar/rum as you like.
• Wait about 6 weeks and voila! Fruit flavored rum, and rum flavored fruit!

   

... This cake!  

I wanted to share the recipe for this cake I put together for our Easter dessert. It was a big hit! Since fresh strawberry season will be upon us before long, this cake will most likely be made again, in this household!  

The cake recipe:  

4 egg whites (I used 3 whole eggs) 
2 cups flour 
1 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp baking soda 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 cup butter, softened 
1 3/4 cups sugar (I used sucanat) 
1 tsp vanilla 
1 1/3 cups buttermilk 

Beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla till creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and buttermilk last, alternating each, and mixing after each addition. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven. The recipe called for 20-25 minutes for two 9 inch greased and floured pans, but it took longer than that for me. Mine was more like 35 minutes, so you may have to adjust for your oven. When they’re finished, let them cool for about 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack or plates to cool completely. If you use the same ingredients I did, your cake will not be white in color, but a light brown shade. Tastes absolutely wonderful, but if you want it to be white, follow the original recipe.  

The filling between layers:  

1 pack (8 ounce) cream cheese 
1 stick butter 
Real Maple Syrup 
Powdered sugar 
A hand full of finely chopped strawberries 

Beat the cream cheese and butter together. Add maple syrup to taste. Mix in just enough powdered sugar for a nice spreading consistency. Add chopped strawberries last. Use this as the icing between the layers. I had plenty of this leftover, so these amounts could be cut in half.  

The frosting:  

1 container heavy cream 
Sugar to taste  

Beat the heavy cream with mixer till stiff peaks form. Add sugar to your preference for sweetness. Frost entire cake. 

The garnish (and best part):  

Fresh, sliced strawberries.  

Add fresh, sliced strawberries to top and sides of cake. Now sit back and watch it disappear! 

 

Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste.   Benjamin Franklin 

Broadway, VA                        February 21              39 degrees                 8:14 pm

 Planted the peas Saturday – finally!  We’re trying another raised bed; hopefully enriched, fertilized soil will produce better than hard clay. I am hankering for fresh vegetables, but the farmers market signs are still covered for the winter, and my spinach plants are still only about a half inch high.

I made salsa the other day.  Found the old recipe on the back of a yellowing piece of scrap paper tucked in a mystery book that I hadn’t the interest to finish. Of course the salsa tastes 100 times better in the summer when you can use garden-fresh vegetables, but you can still make a passable version with the store bought stuff.

 

Summer Salsa (in the Winter) 

8 tomatoes, peeled and diced

½ large onion, chopped

½ green pepper, chopped

3 jalapeño peppers, chopped

2 tsp. garlic powder (I use fresh garlic)

2 tsp. salt

2 TBS fresh parsley

¼ c. vinegar

¼ tsp. cumin

Place chopped vegetables and spices in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are medium-soft. Pour salsa into jars and seal.  ENJOY!

The holiday season is upon us. A time to reflect on the year past, to give thanks for our blessings and most of all to celebrate cherished family traditions.

We all have special memories of being in the kitchen with our family and we have treasured recipes that remind us of those who we dearly love. And aren’t cookbooks that celebrate family memories the best kind of cookbook? Recipes made by loving hands? That’s what I have to share with you today; a very special cookbook.

As many of you know, Mountain Man and I consider Ozark County, Missouri, our adopted home. I subscribe to the paper and try to keep up with the happenings in the community so when I saw The Ozark County Genealogical and Historical Society had published a cookbook as a fundraiser, I purchased a copy. And when I received my cookbook, I discovered this was no ordinary cookbook but instead a testament to love of family. I asked the editor for permission to share some of it with you and he kindly allowed me. I know you’ll love it also.

The book is called “Apron Strings: Recipes and Recollections.”

 

To quote from the introduction, “We asked folks to share not only a recipe but also a memory relating to cooking, special meals or food preparation…and as one of our contributors noted, the secret ingredient of love was the most prized seasoning used by Ozarks mothers and grandmothers as they cooked nutritious, satisfying food for their families, using just what they could grow or raise or trade eggs or cream for at the local general store…”

Each page contains a family recipe, photos and a cherished memory of a loved one.

Here’s just one example:

 

And another.

 

 

Page after page of beautiful memories, photographs and recipes always made with love. I have to tell you I was tearing up as I read this cookbook.

The best news is I have one cookbook to give away. If you’d like to be entered into the drawing, please leave a comment below sharing one of your memories of cooking with your family. The winner will be announced on November 21st.

As we move into the holiday season, let’s remember it’s the people in our lives, the memories we create for our children and our grandchildren and the traditions we pass on with love that are truly important.

“Apron Strings: Recipes and Recollections” can also be purchased for $15.00 + 3.00 shipping. Copies can be purchased from OCGHS, PO Box 4, Gainesville, MO 65655. What a great gift this cookbook would make and all proceeds benefit the Ozark Genealogical and Historical Society.

Most people who do some cooking or have any cookbooks at all have a favorite. Often the favorite is not a book at all, but an index card box full of handwritten recipes from relatives and friends. Some people have reliable standbys like The Joy of Cooking. The books here are my favorite cookbooks from the standpoint of the ones I cherish the most. The first three on the list I’ve had for years; the other two were used-bookstore finds I wasn’t looking for and turned out to be old standbys for either looking at, re-reading, or cooking.

Watkins Cookbook (1938, J.R. Watkins Co.) This plain-looking cookbook was likely a free premium my grandfather got when he was selling Watkins products. I remember it being the only cookbook in my grandmother’s, and then my mother’s, house. It contains the first recipe I ever made, Sand Tarts, as well as what seems like hundreds of other recipes. Since for me it has family memories, it’s relaxing to just leaf through the pages. Of course, many of the recipes contain a Watkins product. It’s also a great resource for old long-forgotten recipes, like Rockledge Popovers and Macedoine Salad. There are many recipes I now find amusing, things I would never make – Larded Beef, Boiled Tongue, Salmon in Gelatin, and Soup from Leftover Cereal. There is a section on “Food for Invalids” that will cure you just from laughing. I’ve never seen a recipe actually use the word gruel in a title until I saw Corn Meal Gruel, Egg Gruel and a bold recipe bravely called just Gruel (cornmeal, water and salt). Not surprisingly, many of the recipes for the infirm involve broth, and many have eggs. I think I would become an invalid if I had Egg Lemonade, Nutritious Coffee (coffee, milk, gelatin) or Fermanlactol Milk (a fermented lactose tablet mixed in a quart of milk, which is then allowed to stand at room temperature for at least 12 hours).

Chinese Village Cookbook (1975, Yerba Buena Press) by Rhoda Yee is a casual peek in the life of a San Francisco cook who relates stories about her childhood in China, and the legends and traditions there. There are many delightful black and white photos. The recipes are actually fine for Chinese cooking, though more for standard fare than the fancy palate. Somehow this book is interesting every time you pick it up: there’s the photo of the whole roasted pig in front of the wedding party, there’s the photo and story about visiting a tea house, there’s the part about a Chinese chicken. Cookbooks that bring you back time after time to read them or look at them have a personal touch, and this one is Rhoda Yee all the way through. If the Food Channel had started in the 1970s, she would have been their first star.

Plain Jane’s Thrill of Very Fattening Foods Cookbook by Linda Sunshine (1984, St. Martin’s Press). I wasn’t even looking for a cookbook at the bookstore in 1984 when I picked up this thin, fattening (as promised) cookbook. The crazy colors and cover type grabbed me, and once inside, there was no pulling me away. There are real recipes – most of them desserts, of course – and she’s not lying. These are high-fat, high-sugar, and high-salt recipes. It’s the only cookbook I’ve seen that makes me laugh out loud. There are instructions for maximizing the licking of the bowl, a diagram of Plain Jane’s kitchen (with room, of course, for various candies, Twinkies and Velveeta), and wacky letters to Plain Jane. This is not the “Plain Jane” related to the CW reality show, by the way. Who knows whatever happened to the original “Plain Jane”? Linda Sunshine had a blog briefly in 2006 but I suspect is now a housewife in Levittown, New Jersey, still busy making Jell-O trifles.

Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland (1994, Knopf) by Beth Dooley and Lucia Watson. This cookbook was not a bestseller, but should have been. It’s a true gem with brilliant writing and great recipes. The northern heartland is specifically defined as eastern North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and the upper peninsula of Michigan. It’s a generous land filled with game, fish, native wild rice, farmstead cheese and vegetable bounty. The early 1900s brought Norwegians, Finns, Germans, Hungarians, Croats, Russians, Poles and many other ethnic groups to the area, creating a rich cuisine with tremendous variety. As said earlier, any cookbook calling you to reread it has stories, and this one tells about the many ethnic traditions around food and about the preparation of the natural food of the area as the immigrants adapted to it. My copy has many sticky tabs on it noting recipes to return to, and new ones to try.

Cooking from the Quilt Country by Marcia Adams (1980, Clarkson Potter) is worth it as a coffee table book for beautiful pictures of Amish and Mennonite life. The bonus is that it’s a cookbook filled with their hearty recipes and detailed stories about their daily lives, beliefs and traditions. I visited an Amish community in northern Missouri many times over the years when I lived in that part of the country, but learned much from this book. It has an inside look on a lifestyle only a few people truly know. It has all the qualities of a great cookbook--incredible photos, highly-interesting text and (for me) creative recipes making ideal use of food in a way you might not have thought of, such as Tomato Gravy (delicious over cornmeal mush or cornbread) and Gooseberry Relish. This also has some classic and hard-to-find recipes, such as Bob Andy Pie (similar to Chess Pie) and an easy recipe for Apple Butter.

This list might sound somewhat esoteric, but remember that my favorite of all is the Watkins Cookbook – a promotional cookbook to promote a product. A friend of mine says hers is a simple Betty Crocker cookie paperback, and another friend’s favorite is the Mount Carmel Cookbook, printed in 1993 by the members of St. Boniface and St. Therese parishes in Richmond and Scipio, Kansas. Your own favorite doesn’t have to be a great cookbook. It only has to be great to you! What’s yours, and why is it your favorite?

It may be the middle of summer in America's heartland, but it's not too soon to think about January, according to independent cookbook publisher Gooseberry Patch.

"Why? Because our 2012 calendars are already flying off the shelves!" says Vickie Hutchins, Gooseberry Patch co-founder.

Gooseberry Patch's bestselling calendar collection is now available for purchase by the general public. The 2012 collection includes the highly anticipated wall calendar, appointment calendar and pocket calendar. Two alternate wall calendar formats round out the collection, which is affordably priced from $5.95 to $14.95.

The full-color calendars are filled with hand-painted, signature Gooseberry Patch artwork and lots of homestyle recipes, tips and inspiring quotes, along with plenty of space to jot down special occasions and appointments. The collection is offered for sale at more than 4,000 specialty retailers in the United States and Canada, as well as online retailers, including www.gooseberrypatch.com and Amazon.com.

"No matter how busy life can get, we have a calendar to help folks keep track of it all in Gooseberry Patch style," says Jo Ann Martin, Gooseberry Patch co-founder."If you were one of the many folks who didn't get yours last year, you won't want to wait too long...they're well on their way to selling out again!"

View the entire 2012 Gooseberry Patch calendar collection online at http://bit.ly/GBPcalendarcollection.

Look inside! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrJx8ReCdcU&feature=player_detailpage.

This press release is presented without editing for your information. GRIT does not recommend, approve or endorse the products and/or services offered. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase. 

Last weekend our good friends Joe and Sara came over, and instead of serving dinner, we made a meal out of appetizers.

We ate grilled Italian sausage sliced in chunks and tossed with roasted green peppers, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and a splash of sherry vinegar; bruschetta made with organic grape tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, and balsamic vinegar; and tuna with olive oil, sherry vinegar, garlic, basil, capers, and two minced anchovies, all served with a crusty French bread.

And since I can’t seem to stop myself when it comes to cooking, we also enjoyed hummus with warm pita triangles and baked mini red and orange peppers stuffed with herbed goat cheese. Generous servings of wine and beer rounded out the menu, which we savored on the screen porch, thanks to an unseasonably warm April evening.

Sunday morning, the leftover sausage, stuffed peppers, and bruschetta made their way into a fantastic frittata. I sautéed a few baby portabella mushrooms that needed to be used and half an onion that was in the fridge; chopped the sausage and stuffed peppers and added them along with the tomato bruschetta to the mix; topped the frittata with grated Swiss and yum! Great appetizers became a great breakfast. And leftovers landed in our stomachs instead of—as they too often do—in the trash.   

    

How to make a deliciously frugal frittata 

Choose whatever ingredients you like, fresh, not so fresh (it's a great way to use up wilting vegetables) or left over. I’ve used leftover roasted potatoes, roasted peppers of all kinds (poblanos are a favorite), onions, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, ham, sausage, green beans, bacon—you’re only limited by your tastes and imagination.

Sautee ingredients in olive oil or butter from pastured cows (that’s my latest food obsession, thanks to Nina Planck’s Good Food) to your preferred degree of tenderness in an oven-proof skillet.

Add herbs of your choice.

Add lightly beaten eggs (I usually use six or more, depending on size of skillet and number of people eating) with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir just enough to distribute eggs among ingredients; cook over medium-low heat until eggs start to set.

Add grated cheese of your choice on top and put under broiler for a few minutes, until cheese is melted and lightly golden.

Remove pan from oven and let frittata rest for five minutes. Slice and serve!

It’s a raw day in early March, temperatures hovering around freezing, tiny ice crystals bouncing around in the wind. What seemed like the last of the snow melted under yesterday’s sun and unseasonably warm 60 degrees. Today, we’re back to winter. The sky is flat gray, the bare forest and blanket of oak leaves a monochromatic brown. The squirrels blend into the landscape.

And here I am, thinking about gardening. Which here in Chicago, really won’t be feasible for at least another month. Or two—who am I kidding? But spring is in the air—it was 60 degrees! I sat on the porch in sunny bliss!—and the gardening magazines at the library were just begging to be checked out, urging me to at least think about planting…something.

Things haven’t changed. I still live in a wooded area, with precious little sunshine and deer who mow down every edible plant. Except I’ve discovered two important things: I do have a precious little spot of sunshine, on the south side of the house, and deer don’t like herbs. Last year I grew some rosemary, thyme, oregano, and sage in pots, and the deer steadfastly ignored them. This year, I want to build a raised bed and expand.

Oh, how I want to have a farm! But the real estate market being what it is, my job being too wonderful to walk away from right now, and my son still in college means I need to work with what I’ve got. And what I’ve got is not a farm, but it’s still pretty wonderful. So, we’ll see where this little bit of gardening goes, we’ll see how my garden grows.

In the meantime, we've been enjoying last summer's herbs all winter, using rosemary in mushroom risotto, thyme in the corned beef that's simmering on the stove right now, and sage in one of my most comforting cold-weather recipes, Lulu's Meatloaf (in case you're wondering who Lulu is, that's me—childhood nickname my parents gave me). I created this recipe by borrowing ideas from several others:

Lulu's Meatloaf 

Ingredients
1 ½ to 2 pounds ground chuck
½ cup or so minced onion
2 eggs
½ cup milk (add a little more if needed)
1 cup cracker crumbs (I use Triscuits when I’ve got them; I like the heartiness of the whole wheat)
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh (or frozen!) sage, minced, or 1 teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I LOVE Worcestershire sauce; it's great to splash on cooked meatloaf)
Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste (if I’m using a really salty cracker, I don’t add extra salt)
½ cup or so chicken broth (if store-bought, I prefer Swanson's Natural Goodness)

• In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and milk; stir in cracker crumbs, onion, parsley, sage, and Worcestershire sauce
• Add beef, mix well with hands
• Shape into a loaf in the center of a shallow baking pan
• When ready to cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Add ½ cup or so chicken broth to bottom of pan
• Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, until internal temperature is 160 degrees, basting every 10-15 minute

 Note: You can make the raw loaf ahead of time and refrigerate overnight, if preferred.

Wholegrain cornbread can be the ultimate comfort food and with all that wholegrain goodness, wholegrain cornbread makes a healthy alternative to cornbread made with highly processed flours and meals. I love cornbread and last Sunday, while watching my Partner In Culinary Crime (PICC) paint the insides of a bank of kitchen cabinets, I threw together a batch of my Osage County Red bean-free chili. Nothing goes better with chili than cornbread, but in the spirit of Weston Price and Nina Planck, I wanted to make wholegrain cornbread with minimal sugar and a healthful oil that was more or less unadulterated.

 

I happened to have a tube of some industrial de-germed and vitamin fortified yellow cornmeal in the pantry and used its recipe as a starting point. I substituted organic peanut oil for the “vegetable oil,” home-ground (fine) and home-raised Floriana cornmeal that my friend, and Mother Earth News editor in chief, Cheryl Long gave me last fall (literally whole grain … no sifting, nothing) for the name-brand stuff, and whole wheat flour for the bleached all purpose fortified white flour. I had to monkey with the ratios to get the batter where I wanted it, but wow, did this wholegrain cornbread turn out great.

I didn’t get rid of the sugar all together, opting to take Nina Planck’s approach of cutting it in half as the first step. And unadulterated whole milk could have been substituted for the  unadulterated half & half I found in the fridge (we only had whole goats milk and my PICC guards that like gold bullion at Ft. Knox). In the future, I plan to try this cornbread with honey instead of sugar and some different unadulterated fats, including our home-rendered lard. You could also bake it in a glass or glazed dish, but I am very fond of cast iron. If you use cast iron, pop the wholegrain cornbread out of the pan to cool – that way you will avoid any iron flavor in the bread and any condensation from forming between the cornbread and the pan.

Hank’s Wholegrain Cornbread

2 eggs, beaten

1 ¼ cups half & half

½ cup peanut oil, divided

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup fine wholegrain ground corn

2 T sugar

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

Place ¼ cup peanut oil in 10” cast iron skillet and place in the oven. Preheat oven and skillet to 400 F.

Whisk together the eggs, half & half, and ¼ cup peanut oil. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Combine the two mixtures and stir just until wet.

Pour batter into heated skillet and bake for 20 minutes. 

Photos and recipe formatting Courtesy Karen Keb.

 

 

I am forever trying to make dishes that combine one fruit and one vegetable. Ideally these dishes would serve as dinner side dishes and not be sweet. It’s not an easy task other than the usual path, such as sweet potatoes with whatever fruit (which is too sweet), or a salad tossed with mandarin oranges. Of course, I did present Fried Apples ‘n’ Onions and that was a big challenge. I can’t tell you how many bananas I’ve wasted on these fruit/vegetable marriage attempts only to arrive at one obvious conclusion: anything made with bananas tastes only like bananas!

Other conclusions I’ve drawn:

God really meant citrus fruit to be eaten raw, no exceptions.

Unripe fruit still tastes like unripe fruit when you cook it.

Vegetables have been taunting me with fruity names like “cherry tomatoes,” “grape tomatoes” and “banana peppers.”

  

So let’s try a more compatible pair. Potatoes are the way to start a perfect palette because they don’t have a sharp flavor, and citrus fruit, especially lemon, is so often paired with other foods that our palates are used to them in other dishes. There are a variety of ways to combine these two. But all the recipes I’ve seen have soft/bland potatoes and the lemon almost can’t be found. Here’s the solution:

 

LEMON POTATOES

6 med. Potatoes, preferably Yukon Golds
2 lemons, preferably Meyer lemons, sliced ½ inch thin
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon oregano
Coarse salt and pepper to taste

Cut potatoes into ¾-inch rounds, then cut rounds in half. Add to boiling, salted water and simmer approximately 10 minutes. Potatoes should be somewhat cooked but not soft. Drain pot and shake excess water from potatoes. Set aside.

In a heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add one layer of potatoes, cook until golden, then turn over and cook other side till golden. Set cooked potatoes on paper towels on a plate. Add 2 more tablespoons oil and repeat, then repeat a third time until all potatoes are cooked. With the same pan, add sliced lemons and slightly brown, approximately 2 minutes on each side. Place potatoes in a serving dish, top with cooked lemons. Drizzle 1 tablespoon lemon juice over all, add oregano, and add salt and pepper to taste. Serves 2-4.

If I have any luck with “cherry tomatoes with cherries,” “plummed beets,” or “banana-peppered bananas,” you’ll be the first to know.

Sitting at an art fair with my husband in early November, keeping him company while he offered his raku ceramics for sale, was a decidedly un-country way to spend time, I thought.

We spent three days in a convention center at the Cleveland airport, under unflattering artificial light, watching herds of overweight Americans head toward the food show held adjacent to the fair.

The air rumbled with muffled rock music, undecipherable enthusiastic introductions, and roars of applause as celebrity chefs took the stage at the show next door. The doughy attendees looked like they spent a lot of time sitting on the couch ogling Giada (cue the roar!) rather than cooking fine food themselves.

I took a little time and wandered around the part of the show that I could enter for free (nowhere near the celebrities, of course), and, although it was heartening to see a crowd around the booth for organic goat cheese, I found the bulk of the experience beautifully summed up in a giant cake on display:

 

Yes, that was a cake. Really.

Ultimately, though, three days in a windowless environment proved to be an unexpected source of inspiration. The window on humanity—and myself—was eye-opening. If Cleveland is any representation of the country at large, we are quite the unhealthy bunch. Watching the crowds the first day made us shun the convention center fare for sale—hot dogs, nachos, and the like—and sent us searching for a grocery store to stock up on cheese, grapes, carrots, herring, and other healthy foods for the remainder of the show.

 

And since we’ve been home, vegetables have been making a much more regular appearance in my lunch and on the table.

Last night I put on my own cooking show—my husband and three friends sat at the dining room table and watched me cook a dinner that, while not drawing the roar of a crowd, did get appreciative murmurs. While far from low-fat, the flavors were close to heaven. OK, that’s a total exaggeration, but everything, although not homegrown (except the rosemary for the potatoes, harvested from tiny potted garden) was homemade, reasonably healthy, and really good.

On the menu:

• Delightfully (not too) Decadent Potato Gratin (find the recipe in the latest issue of Stop and Smell the Butter!)
• shredded cabbage and caraway seeds sautéed in a little butter, applesauce, and a splash of chicken broth (the cabbage was short of silky, which I was aiming for, but close; needed to cook it longer)
• salad greens in vinaigrette with blue cheese and chunks of hard Italian salami (my husband made the salad—delicious!)
• the star of the show, Shrimp Cakes (I just ate a leftover one this morning, and man, it was good.)

One thing I learned sitting at the art fair: Artists have a way of creating community wherever they go. They help each other, look out for one another, commiserate, and above all, they share—ideas, knowledge, experience, expertise. So while the setting was decidedly un-country, the camaraderie was about as countrified as it gets.

In that spirit, I’m sharing my recipe for Shrimp Cakes—which really needs a better name. Scrumptious Shrimp Cakes? You decide:

Scrumptious Shrimp Cakes

Adapted from a crab cake recipe in Karri Ann Allrich’s Cooking By Moonlight 

Ingredients 

2 lbs shrimp, shelled, deveined, and roughly chopped

2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs (Italian seasonings preferred)

Salt (I prefer freshly ground sea salt) and freshly ground pepper

A dash to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)

4 eggs (could get away with 3, I think)

2/3 cup mayonnaise

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 to 1/3 cup finely chopped onions (preferably scallions)

3 tablespoons to ¼ cup oil (I used a mix of vegetable oil and olive oil), depending on size if pan—use just enough to fry bottoms of cakes, not so much that it cakes are swimming in it

• Combine shrimp and breadcrumbs in a mixing bowl, tossing to coat shrimp pieces. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.

• In separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, and onion. Add to shrimp and breadcrumbs, stirring until mixture is evenly moistened.

• Lay out wax paper. Scoop up ball of shrimp mixture and flatten into cake about 3 to 4  inches in diameter and ½ inch thick. Place on wax paper. Mixture should make about 18 shrimp cakes, depending on size
• Heat oil over moderate heat in heavy-bottomed skillet. Fry cakes until they are golden brown and shrimp pieces are pink, about 4-5 minutes each side. Drain briefly on paper towel and keep warm in oven until all are ready to serve.

I served the cakes with a roasted red pepper mayonnaise that I made by mixing mayo with roasted red peppers and a little Worcestershire sauce in a food processor. I think they’d be really good with a lime mayonnaise with cilantro. I’ll try that next time.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the first post in our new Recipe Box blog! We receive so many requests for recipes that we’re unable to print everything in the magazine. We often run out of space, which means we can’t print responses to every request that we’ve printed. All of which results in a frown on our faces.

In an effort to battle time and space, we’ve decided to publish a request here, probably once or twice a week, and ask our readers to help us provide a more timely response to people searching for recipes.

So here goes!

Ellen Davidson, King William, Virginia, remembers the chicken salad that was a hit at the Starving Artist Café in Abingdon, Virginia. According to the café menu, the salad was “a chunky blend of diced chicken, celery, English walnuts and seedless grapes tossed with our own famous dressing.” No details on the dressing. The café has since closed, and Ellen would love to have the recipe. Can anyone help?

If you’re new to the Recipe Box universe, here’s the scoop.

Please post your response in the comments below, e-mail it to me at RecipeBox@Grit.com, or mail it to my attention at GRIT, 1503 S.W. 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609-1265.

If you’re looking for a long-lost recipe, send your request via e-mail or mail it to my attention.

PLEASE, for both requests and responses, include your full name, address and daytime phone (though if you respond in the comments, we’ll e-mail you for this information). We’ll only publish your name, city and state. (And, if you’re sending responses to more than one request, please write or type each recipe on its own page.)

Mailed recipes cannot be returned, as they are eventually sent to the person who made the original request. Recipe requests and responses will be printed at our discretion and as space allows. Addresses are not printed to allow GRIT the opportunity to publish recipes before sending them on to the requesting party.

Thanks for helping out Ellen with her request and thank you for helping make Recipe Box a success!

PHOTO CREDIT: iStockphoto.com/Sharon Day

Until recently, the best red meat supper I ever fixed involved fresh elk loin and a bottle of red wine that I really couldn’t afford. That all changed yesterday when my valentine and I decided to stay at the farm and cook something special for dinner instead of succumbing to the artificial commercialism associated with the day. That and I had been at the National Farm Machinery Show for much of the week and we both wanted to keep tabs on the Olympics. The boneless grassfed lamb loin calling my name from the freezer had something to do with it too.

Normally, when I have a lamb processed, I get a couple of roasts, plenty of chops, some stew meat, ground lamb and sausage. This time, I decided to have one of the loins left intact – well almost intact – I had the butcher dissect out the tenderloin and trim the works from the bone. I was brooding a little because I love lamb chops grilled with rosemary and this whole lamb loin business cut the lamb chop numbers in half. I needn’t have worried because my new most favorite homemade supper consists of grilled grassfed lamb loin. The preparation was simple but the outcome was superb. And in this particular grilled lamb loin supper, the roasted lemon potatoes and spinach salad with homemade blue cheese dressing (sans mayo) that my valentine prepared really made the meal memorable. I had a heart-shaped flourless chocolate cake on hand too – just in case.

So here you go – for a red meat meal that’s sure to please:

1. Take a whole boneless lamb loin, trim any remaining membrane and pat it dry with a paper towel. My grassfed lamb loin was about 20 inches long – not a gram of fat to be seen.
2. With the lamb loin extended on a cutting board, layer a couple pinches of salt, sufficient Northwoods Fire Seasoning to make it red, sufficient rosemary to make it green, a drizzle of olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar on half of the loin (mentally split it lengthwise).
3. Fold the loin in two lengthwise and tie tightly with enough cotton thread to form a tight bundle. I used six loops of thread and six knots.
4. Let the trussed up lamb loin marinate in the spilled oil and balsamic for about 15 minutes while you heat the grill, or in this case heat the cast-iron stove top grill – heat to smoking hot with the ribbed side up.
5. When the grill is hot, sear the lamb loin on all sides and then insert a meat thermometer.
6. Adjust the heat to medium and cook – turning gently until the thermometer hits about 120 degrees.
7. Remove from heat and let rest for about 8 minutes, or until the lemon potatoes and spinach salad are ready.

All I can say is that this quick and simple recipe for grassfed lamb loin resulted in some of the juiciest, most tender and flavorful loin I have ever experienced. For serving, I just cut the roll into inch-thick slices – you could cut them with a dinner fork.  

For the record, this lamb loin was the gift of a young Katahdin ram that a friend finished on grass with a little bit of hay in December. The ram came my way through bartering – he turned out to be one of the tastiest trades I ever made.

Photo: iStockphoto.com/Jack Puccio

Welcome to “An Evening at the Improv.” The stage is my kitchen, and our guest tonight is stuffed chicken rolls. I hope it doesn’t get heckled and booed off stage before the performance is over.

The girls aren’t what I’d consider the pickiest of eaters (I’ve heard horror stories of worse, anyway), but they definitely each have their quirks. Shelby’s palate is texture driven; if it feels funny in her mouth she won’t eat it. “Funny feeling” foods include, but are not limited to, things like cottage cheese, apple sauce, Jello, tomatoes, and all fruits with the exception of apples and bananas. Strange, but vegetables top her list as favored foods. Shannon is the opposite; she likes fruits of all sorts, but usually struggles with vegetables except for the Big Three: green beans, carrots, and broccoli. To find something they both like can be a challenge. Keith’s roast beef, spaghetti, and homemade chicken noodle soup, they both like. My meatloaf, baked macaroni and cheese, and baked chicken are favorites, too. But I get tired of having the same things for dinner all the time. This winter, I’ve decided I’m going to cook at least one new dish each week.

No, I’m not going to blog about each recipe in some cheap, poorly written imitation of the “Julie/Julia Project.” I am nowhere as ambitious as Julie Powell when she blogged about her experiences cooking the 524 recipes in one year from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And with all due respect to the late Ms. Child, I don’t believe I have the gumption to master the art of anything French except possibly those French Toast Sticks that come in the freezer section of the grocery store. I don’t want to go out and hunt down ingredients at specialty shops to cook. And if the recipe doesn’t have “Quick and Easy” in its title, it will by the time I’m finished. I have never in my life – whether by design or accident – followed a recipe exactly as it’s written.

Every once in a while I find a recipe that fits all my criteria as being an exceptionally good one: it’s quick; it’s simple; no special shopping trips required, and the girls will eat it. “Chicken Roll-Ups” was one I randomly pulled from a stack of magazines I’ve been meaning to get to since last summer; Stuffed Chicken Rolls sounds better to me, so that’s what I’m calling them.

Stuffed Chicken Rolls

I should probably list the actual ingredients and measurements the recipe calls for, because a lot of what I used only falls in the ballpark, and I did not measure anything.

¼ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup plain bread crumbs
2 eggs
4 ounces smoked mozzarella, cut into 6 pieces about 2 inches long
6 boneless, skinless, thin-sliced chicken breasts (about 4 ounces each), pounded out to ¼ inch thickness
¾ (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon dried parsley
¾ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup dry white wine
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

What no vegetables? There’s gotta be vegetables; even Shannon the affirmed vegetable hater expects vegetables. Ok, I’ll chop up some broccoli and roll it, along with the cheese, up into the chicken. Chicken breasts where the only ingredient I didn’t have on hand, but I was going to the grocery anyway and chicken was already on my list. They weren’t thin-sliced, I have no idea if they were 4 ounces each, and neither did I care. Nor was I concerned about them being way more than a ¼ inch think. Because I had a meat mallet!

In my woefully sparsely equipped kitchen without a mixer, a blender, food processor, or any of those other “must-haves” most people own, I somehow acquired a meat mallet. I can’t imagine how I came to own this shiny metal hammer with its dimpled head; I would never have purchased it myself. It’s highly unlikely it was a gift – not like the toaster my brother brought us during one visit, because he got tired of making his morning toast in the oven. Ah, but that was nearly 15 years ago, and I’ve been carrying this meat mallet around through our different moves for probably just as long as we’ve owned the toaster. The only thing I ever remember it being used for was letting Shannon pound her Play Doh into flat, dimpled pancakes with it. Pounding these chicken breasts into dimpled chicken pancakes, I decided I didn’t know what fun I was missing all these years. After the pounding of the breasts (that sounds rather caveman like, doesn’t it? Except I didn’t bellow while I was doing it.), I moved on to the next step in the recipe.

“Heat oven to 350. Coat a 13-by-9-by-2 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.” For those of you who don’t have numbers on your oven dial because you’ve scrubbed them off in a fit of cleanliness when moving into your house, 350 degrees is about half-mast on the dial. Don’t ask how I know this; I just do. Half-mast though, I figure is appropriate – a symbolic gesture of mourning considering some of the stuff that comes out of my oven.

“Place flour and unseasoned bread crumbs in separate shallow plates. Beat eggs in a medium-sized bowl.” No plain bread crumbs; mine had Italian seasoning – no difference as far as I’m concerned.

“Place a piece of mozzarella on one short end of each chicken breast and roll up tightly. Tuck loose ends in.” Shoot, when I glanced at the recipe ingredients before going to the store, I could have sworn it said “Swiss cheese”. We already had Swiss, and it was already pre-sliced, shaving about a minute off the prep-time. I decided this might qualify the recipe into the “Quick and Easy” category.

“Coat each chicken roll with flour, dip in the egg and roll in the bread crumbs. Place seam-side down in prepared dish.” Messy fingers; of course the phone rang. Sometime between “Hello” and getting goo on the phone receiver and in my hair, I realized I’d forgotten to add the chopped broccoli before I rolled the chicken. I made a mental note to just toss it with the pasta later on.

“Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in parsley, thyme and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Pour mixture over the chicken rolls.” To me, this seemed like a totally wasted effort. The bread crumbs were already seasoned; I sprinkled a little paprika on the chicken to make it look pretty. One and a half sticks of butter?! I could feel my arteries clogging at the thought. A few blobs of butter on top of the pretty paprika-ed chicken rolls saved my family’s arteries, and also saved me from having to wash another pan.

“Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.” I covered the dish with foil so it didn’t become dry; given my rough guess on what temperature my oven was actually set, I didn’t want the chicken to have the texture of compressed saw-dust. Shelby would never eat it then; saw dust, I’d guess, is on her list of “funny-feeling” foods.

“Pour wine over the chicken and bake for an additional 25 minutes.” What wine? Darn it, somehow I missed this one on the ingredient list too. Rummaging through the cupboard and fridge, I came up with a few white wine-like colored substitutes: vodka, white balsamic vinegar, and draft hard apple cider. I opted for the cider, pouring approximately 1/3 of the bottle over the chicken, and slugging back the rest.

“Meanwhile, prepare angel hair pasta following package directions. Drain and place in large serving bowl.” Meanwhile, while continuing the phone conversation, getting the goo off my fingers, the phone, and every other thing I’ve touched since the dipping step, helping Shannon with homework, letting the dog out, and opening another bottle of hard apple cider, I prepared the vermicelli (I didn’t have angel hair pasta) with relative ease without even once glancing at the package directions. (Eye-roll.)

“Remove chicken from baking dish and place on serving platter. Season with remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Pour butter-and-wine mixture from baking dish over pasta and toss with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.” No salt; I rarely cook with it. Amend to read butter and hard apple cider mixture. This was also when I would have added the broccoli ... had I not forgotten it again. Good stuff that hard apple cider.

Despite the way this looks in the photo (blame it on poor lighting, a cheap camera, a lack of photography skills…and maybe a little bit too much hard cider), it was actually delicious. The girls even asked for seconds. The great thing about this recipe is its versatility. I can imagine the chicken filled with mozzarella, baby spinach and mushrooms; chopped fresh tomatoes would be tossed in the pasta. How about using cheddar and Monterey Jack inside the chicken, and serving it with fresh salsa. Ooooo, fontina and sun-dried tomatoes! Havarti and red peppers! Fresh sweet peas, and baby carrots! Provolone or asiago!

The possibilities are endless. And any of variation, of course, would go well with draft apple cider.

I really don’t know what happened to Bat and me in our childhoods, we both didn’t like pumpkin pie until we were in our early forties. Can you believe it – never liked pumpkin anything? We didn’t start eating greens until our thirties and just recently started really liking sweet potatoes. I don’t know if we had this weird thing going on, that if it was red, orange or green, we wouldn’t eat it, or what.

So, over the years, I grew pumpkins, but they were only to carve and make the girls’ Halloween pumpkins. We’ve given them away, and a few times we did fundraisers for church and sold them. But now that we’ve decided we like pumpkin pie, I had a problem.

How do you get that flesh out?

A lot of you, I know, probably already now how to do this, and are kind of giggling to yourself, but I was in the dark. I couldn’t ask Mom, she had always used canned pumpkin. So, I sat down and looked it up online. Thank goodness for the Internet, or I’m really sure I wouldn’t have made it. I read many posts and watched a very interesting video. By the time I got done I thought, jeez, I should have done this long ago.

So here it goes, it’s about the easiest thing ever.

Wash the outside of your pumpkin well and then cut it into wedges. I cut mine into fourths. Lay pumpkin wedges in a roaster pan and fill with about 1 inch of water.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes then turn over and bake 25 minutes more.

Take out of oven and let cool. Then take out the seeds, and peel off the skin.

I found something to do with my Magic Bullet that I had just had to have three years ago. Chop up the pumpkin and blend it until smooth (you could use a food processor).

Then I was done, two pumpkins made about 8 cups of pumpkin puree. Enough for …

Pumpkin Cake Roll

Ingredients:
Powdered sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

Filling:
1 package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoon butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degree. Grease 15-by-10-inch jelly roll pan, line with wax paper and then grease and flour the paper. Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into pan and sprinkle with nuts. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel and carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together and cool on wire rack.

Beat filling ingredients until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Re-roll cake and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at for at least one hour.

For the third year in a row, I coordinated the United Way campaign here at Ogden Publications. Each year, I try to think of new and exciting events to raise money for the United Way in our area. This year, my committee and I came up with an apple recipe contest. At a dollar a vote, our employees enthusiastically tasted each entry and voted on which one was the best. It was a hard decision because all the entries were quite pleasing to the palate. They were also pleasing to the eye, but you’ll have to take my word for it. I didn’t think to take pictures until it was too late.

We had 10 entries. They were: Ozark Apple Pudding, Humble Apple Bread, Sweet and Sour Ravioli (yes, it did have an apple product in it), Apple Crisp, Spectacular Apple Bread, Apple Crunch, Easy Apple Cake, Apple Cobbler Cake, Easy Apple Coffee Cake and Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Cookie Bars.

One of our marketing managers won for her Apple Crisp recipe. It had a unique flavor that everyone loved. Several people wanted the recipe for it and others that were in the contest, so I compiled all the recipes and made copies for anyone who wanted them.

These apple dishes were so delicious, I thought I would share some of them with you.

Apple Crisp

This one won the contest.

FILLING:

• 5 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

TOPPING:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1½ cups light brown sugar
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1¼ cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
• Dash or two of allspice
• ¾  teaspoon salt

To make filling: Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a casserole baking dish, toss apples with brown sugar and cinnamon. Add cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla to the fruit and stir well.

To make topping: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix ingredients together until large crumbs form.

Sprinkle topping evenly over filling and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325˚F. and continue baking for about 30 minutes longer, until fruit filling is bubbling and topping is nicely browned. Let set for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.

Apple Cobbler Cake

This one was taken from the pages of CAPPER’s.

• 6 cups sliced apples
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 box cake mix, yellow or white, divided
• ½ cup chopped nuts
• 1 stick butter or margarine, melted

In a bowl, combine apples, sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle with ¼ cup dry cake mix and toss until apples are evenly coated. Spoon mixture into a buttered pan and cover with foil, securing edges firmly. Bake at 350°F. for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven.

Combine remaining cake mix with nuts and drizzle with melted butter; mix until large crumbs are formed. Sprinkle over partially cooked apples in pan. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until topping is puffed and golden. Cool slightly. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream.

Apple Crunch

This was mine, taken from our church’s 100^th anniversary cookbook.

• 5 cups flour  
• 4 cups sugar
• 3 to 4 unpeeled apples, sliced                 
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups oatmeal                                     
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon               
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg                              
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups butter, melted

In a bowl, combine 1 cup flour with sugar. Arrange apples in buttered 9x12-inch pan and cover with flour mixture. Add a little water. Mix together remaining flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; pour over apples. Drizzle melted butter over flour mixture. Pack down topping. Bake at 350˚F. for 45 minutes or until apples are tender. If desired, melt a bag of caramels over a low heat and drizzle over the top of apple dessert. Serves 20 to 25.  

Sweet and Sour Ravioli

Our most unusual entry.

• 1 box dehydrated mincemeat
• 1 box phyllo pastry
• 1 egg white
• ¾ cup apple cider or juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ cup corn syrup
• Melted butter or nonstick spray

Leave phyllo in refrigerator until ready to use.

Prepare mincemeat as per directions; cool. Prepare one sleeve of phyllo as per directions. Take half the layers and carefully place them one layer at a time on waxed paper. Brush with melted butter between layers. Immediately cover with a damp towel. Repeat steps with the remaining sleeve of phyllo.

Spread mincemeat on top of one layer of phyllo, leaving about a quarter of an inch space at edges. Brush egg white on top sheet of other half of phyllo. Carefully invert brushed layer on top of mincemeat, keeping edges aligned. Using fingers, mash down where cuts are to be made in the phyllo (this also pushes the mincemeat into the middle of each square). Carefully cut into pieces with a ravioli cutter or knife, pinching edges to seal. Using a fork, place each piece onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 375˚F. for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

To make glaze: In a saucepan, heat honey and corn syrup over a low heat until thin. Add apple cider and lemon juice, stir until blended. Bring to a boil until mixture thickens (about 30 minutes), stirring constantly. Glaze should be thick enough to pour easily. Once ravioli is removed from oven, drizzle glaze over each piece; cool.

I got a lot of positive comments after the contest (anything that involves food usually goes over well here). I’ll have to think of another food contest for next year’s United Way campaign.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we did! If you’d like the other recipes from the contest, you can email me at bkipp@odgenpubs.com.

 

Several years ago, my role as GRIT food editor took me to Baltimore. I was covering the National Chicken Cooking Contest, and that’s another story.

Part of the agenda for media representatives, though, was a trip to the headquarters of McCormick & Co. We heard staff members talk about spices, how they’re gathered, how the company decides which spices to purchase in raw form and sell to us consumers, and about the company in general. It was an informative trip, and one I enjoyed immensely. It didn’t hurt that we each received a great gift bag with bottles of spices, some of which still reside in my cupboard.

I was reminded of the trip today when a press release from McCormick hit my e-mail inbox – an intriguing press release, in my opinion.

McCormick offers an annual forecast to identify emerging flavors, taking a closer look at traditional favorites around the holidays and coming up with new takes on those dishes. According to the press release: “With an extensive network of researchers, trend experts, chefs, home economists, food technologists, and sensory analysts, McCormick & Company, Inc. keeps its finger on the pulse of flavor.”

Founded in 1889 in Baltimore (headquarters are now in Sparks, Maryland, a northern suburb), the company definitely knows its spices. I would guess you can find a McCormick representative or grower in just about every corner of the world.

So, this year, the Flavor Forecast: Holiday Edition lists five pairings for the season. Keep an open mind – these just may be what you’re looking for to spice up (pun intended) that holiday feast you’re already planning.

Again, from the release:

“Here are the top flavor pairings according to the McCormick Flavor Forecast 2009: Holiday Edition.

Ginger & Molasses – The duo behind timeless gingerbread is cleverly reinvented from a childhood classic into contemporary goodies for all ages.

Warm Spices & Pumpkin – The aromatic blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice unites with creamy pumpkin to inspire remakes of its namesake pie.

Peppermint & Chocolate – This refreshing yet sweet combination comes together in everything from a festive martini to a chocolate tart.

Vanilla & Red Food Color – The lush, alluring flavor of vanilla and the joyous hue of red transform the show-stopping qualities of red velvet cake into updated indulgences.

Nutmeg & Rum – The unforgettable essence of eggnog comes out of the punch bowl as inspired treats from breakfast to the dessert table.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m heading for the McCormick website to find a few recipes with these combinations. Oh, wait – they included a few recipes with the press release. Hurray!

Enjoy! I know I will!

 

GINGERBREAD WHOOPIE PIES WITH LEMON CRÈME

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Refrigerate: 4 hours

Cook Time: 8 to 10 minutes per batch

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons McCormick® Ground Ginger

1 teaspoon McCormick® Ground Cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Ground Nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened, divided

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 egg

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow cream

4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract

1 cup crushed peppermint candies

1. Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Beat 3/4 cup of the butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into a thick flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

3. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

4. Mix marshmallow cream, remaining 1/4 cup butter, cream cheese and extract in medium bowl until well blended. Place about 1 tablespoon filling on the flat side of 1 cookie. Top with a second cookie, pressing gently to spread the filling. Repeat with remaining cookies. Roll edge of cookies in crushed candy. Store whoopie pies between layers of wax paper in airtight container in refrigerator up to 5 days.

Yields 2 1/2 dozen.

 

CARAMEL PUMPKIN OATMEAL BARS

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

2 cups flour

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon McCormick® Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 cup canned pumpkin

7 ounces (1/2 of 14-ounce package) caramels, unwrapped

2 tablespoons milk

1. Mix flour, oats, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add butter; stir until mixture is well blended and forms coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/2 (about 2 1/4 cups) for the topping. Add pumpkin to remaining mixture in bowl; stir until well blended. Press evenly into greased foil-lined 13x9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

2. Microwave caramels and milk in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 to 3 minutes or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after every minute. Let stand 1 minute. Pour over pumpkin mixture in pan, spreading to within 1/2-inch of edges. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

3. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into 24 bars.

Yields 2 dozen.

 

CHOCOLATE TARTS WITH PEPPERMINT CRÈME

Prep Time: 20 minutes

2 packages (15 shells each) frozen mini phyllo shells

1/3 cup plus 3/4 cup heavy cream, divided

4 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet baking chocolate, cut into chunks

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 tablespoons sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Peppermint Extract

1. Prepare phyllo shells as directed on package for crisp unfilled tarts. Cool completely.

2. Microwave 1/3 cup of the cream and chocolate in microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 minutes or until chocolate ganache starts to thicken. Spoon a heaping teaspoon ganache into each tart shell. Cool completely.

3. Beat cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat remaining 3/4 cup cream, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and extract in medium bowl with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Add 1/2 of the whipped cream to cream cheese mixture; stir until well blended. Gently stir in remaining whipped cream.

4. Spoon about 1 tablespoon Peppermint Crème into each tart. Garnish with chocolate shavings, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yields 30 tarts.

Test Kitchen Tip: Mini phyllo shells are available in the frozen section of most supermarkets.

Flavor Variations: Crème filling may also be prepared with 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Raspberry Extract or Pure Orange Extract.

 

RED VELVET CHEESECAKE

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Refrigerate: 3 hours

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract

2 eggs

2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted

1 tablespoon McCormick® Red Food Color

1 prepared chocolate crumb crust (6 ounces)

1. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed, just until blended.

2. Measure 1 cup batter into medium bowl. Stir in melted chocolate and food color. Pour into crust. Top with remaining (plain) cheesecake batter.

3. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely on wire rack.

4. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

Yields 8 servings.

Test Kitchen Tip: Drizzle cheesecake with chocolate or hot fudge dessert topping just before serving.

 

EGGNOG TRUFFLES

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Refrigerate: 5 hours

1 pound white baking chocolate, divided

4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Ground Nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Imitation Rum Extract

McCormick® Ground Nutmeg (for sprinkling)

1. Melt 8 ounces of the chocolate as directed on package. Beat cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, nutmeg and extract in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended and smooth. Add melted chocolate; beat until well mixed. Cover. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

2. Shape into 24 (about 3/4-inch) balls. Place on wax paper-lined tray. Refrigerate until ready to dip.

3. Coat only 12 truffles at a time. Melt 4 ounces of the remaining chocolate in small microwavable bowl on MEDIUM, 1 1/2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Using a fork, dip 1 truffle at a time into the chocolate. Place on wax paper-lined tray. Sprinkle truffles with nutmeg. Repeat with remaining 4 ounces chocolate and remaining truffles.

4. Refrigerate 1 hour or until chocolate is set. Store truffles in refrigerator up to 1 week.

Yields 2 dozen.

Test Kitchen Tip: When dipping the truffles, do so in 2 batches (as directed above in Step 3) as the coldness of the truffles may cause the melted chocolate to harden.

When cooler weather hits, many of us cook. I have a few favorite recipes, and this time of year is when they once again make an appearance in my kitchen.

Plus there is a stack of cookbooks on my desk, just waiting for me to look at them, try a recipe or two and review them for you (and me). I particularly am looking forward to checking out The Complete Slow Cooker Cookbook, Mrs. Rowes Little Book of Southern Pies, and The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook. Stay tuned for those reviews.

What’s your favorite cookbook this time of year? What’s the best recipe for autumn’s crisp temps? We'd like to hear what's creating that wonderful aroma in your kitchen, what dishes appear on your dinner table and which foods your family loves. Let us know in the comments section below. Who knows? We just might publish a few of them in a future Recipe Box!

Goats are quickly becoming a common sight along roadsides and on small farms all over the United States. Since we raise goats, and raise them for meat, we often are asked why. Beef, chicken, and pork are more widely consumed at the American family dinner table, but goat is actually the world’s most popular meat.

Approximately 75 percent of the world’s population eats goat meat. With America’s rising population of ethnic groups, demand for goat meat has risen sharply. American producers are struggling to keep up with the growing demand for a product that was virtually unheard of 15 years ago. In addition to the ethnic population that regularly consumes goat meat (also known as cabrito or chevon), many Americans are discovering the benefits of eating goat meat.

It has a good flavor and is very healthy. It is low in fat, cholesterol, calories, and saturated fat. In fact, goat meat is over 50% lower in fat than our American beef and is about 40% lower in saturated fat than chicken, even chicken cooked with the skin off!  The following meat comparison (per 3 oz. roasted meat) table is from the USDA Handbook:

            Calories            Fat (g)               Sat. Fat (g)      Protein (g)       Iron (g)

GOAT    122                2.58                     0.79                 23                   3.2          

Beef        245                16.0                      6.8                  23                   2.0

Pork        310                24.0                      8.7                  21                   2.7

Lamb      235                16.0                      7.3                  22                   1.4

Chicken  120                  3.5                       1.1                  21                   1.5

Since goat meat is so low in fat, this makes cooking more of a challenge. Goat meat must be cooked slowly and at low temperatures, or it will dry out and become tough. The best ways to cook goat are roasting (in the oven, in a smoker, or on the grill) or braising (cooking with added liquid such as water, wine, or milk). Marinating will help retain moisture and tenderness as well. Old-fashioned smoking has, in our opinion, produced the best-tasting goat meat of all. What I have had was even better than smoked beef or pork! Of course, most of us do not have the time required to smoke our meats daily, so I am including a few less time-consuming recipes for you to try. Enjoy!

Goat Meat Loaf

2 lb ground goat meat
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 envelope Dry Onion Soup/Dip Mix
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup water or milk

Directions: Mix 1/2 mushroom soup, goat meat, onion soup mix, bread crumbs and egg. Place in 8 inch x 4 inch loaf pan and shape firmly into loaf. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 min or until done. Mix remaining mushroom soup, 1/4 cup water or milk, and 2 tablespoons drippings from loaf in bowl. Heat in microwave 2 min or until heated through. Spoon over slices of meatloaf.

Jamaican Curried Goat

3 lbs goat meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 limes
1 large onion, sliced
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme
2 Tblsp canola oil
1 tsp sugar
5 green onions, chopped
2 tsp curry powder
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Directions: Squeeze limes over goat meat and let stand for 10-15 min. Rinse with cold water. Place meat in sealable container. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme. Rub spices into meat. Cover and let marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours.

Next, in large pot over medium heat, heat the oil and sugar. Stir until sugar is brown. Add goat meat with marinade, green onions, and curry. Stir. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Simmer slowly, stirring occasionally until meat is nearly tender, about 40 min. Add potatoes and 1/4 cup water and stir. Cover and simmer for another 15 min until potatoes are cooked but not soft. Crush potatoes to thicken sauce if desired. To make more sauce you may add a little water and cook for 10 minutes more.

If you’ve ever read one of our past posts here, you may have noticed that our current preoccupation is learning to enjoy life more by re-mastering skills from our rural/agrarian pasts. Recently, however, we decided to one-up ourselves on that. We decided to go further back into our ancestry. Beyond large-scale agriculture, beyond subsistence farming, and all the way back to the hunters and gatherers of centuries past: We went foraging for blueberries.

In our neck of the woods, there are plenty of berry farms. Some of them are even low-spray. We have friends who regularly pick multiple pounds of berries at these farms. And if we were reasonable human beings, we might very well do the same. But driven by an internal convergence of Yankee frugality and a desire for adventure, we drove off to the countryside to see if we could re-discover a plot of conservation land our friend once showed us where blueberries grow wild and abundant. That is, if you can find the place – and if you can beat the birds to them.

So on a whim on Sunday afternoon, we headed up to the hills and after twice deciding we were lost, finally stumbled upon the place. After a cool, wet start to the summer, the blueberries were just starting to ripen. And best of all, we seemed to have noticed this fact before the birds. The only problem is (and if you’ve ever picked wild blueberries you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about) wild blueberries are about ¼ the size of commercial blueberries. Generally speaking, this is fine with me. I find their small size is better for baking, and even (I would argue) offers a more densely-concentrated flavor. However, it does mean that it takes you about four times as long to pick the same volume of berries. You pick and pick and pick and look down to discover you’ve only gathered about half a cup. It can be a bit discouraging. Add a very hungry 9 month-old into that mix, and it all begins to feel a bit Sisyphean.

But we did in the end have a lot of fun and even manage to freeze a few quarts of berries for the winter. Best of all, it was all free from the land (just like our ancestors used to gather), beyond organic (being totally uncultivated and sandwiched in the middle of conservation land), and to boot, a good adventure for the whole family. The desserts we get to eat afterward really only sweeten the deal.

In addition to LeAnna’s fantastic blueberry-banana bread, here’s a new favorite recipe we recently whipped up: blueberry shortcake. It’s the variation on whipped cream that makes this fantastic. Feel free to alter the cake in whatever way you’d like, or even try other berries if you’d prefer, but please, oh please, try the whipped cream.

To make the shortcakes, prepare your favorite vanilla-flavored cake recipe, baking small quantities of it in jumbo muffin tins, yielding mini-cakes approximately 1 ½ inches tall.

The recipe for the World’s Happiest Whipped Cream is as follows:

3/4 cup of well-chilled whipping or heavy cream
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup well chilled sour cream

Whip the cream and sugar until it forms soft peaks. Add the vanilla. Gradually fold in the sour cream until it is mixed well. Chill.

When the cakes are cooled, slice the mini-cakes in half, top with whipped cream and some blueberries, then the second layer of cake, more whipped cream, and more berries. Yum.

Have you ever foraged for food? What have you found? Where do you like to hunt for it?

  

Keeping chickens for eggs and meat has become quite a movement, especially in the last year. For us the reasons are many, to raise our own chickens. As Lacy recently blogged about, the eggs are so much better for you than store bought eggs. We like knowing what goes into the foods we eat. Our chickens are dual purpose birds. They give us beautiful brown eggs and home grown meat for on the table.

If you are just starting out with chickens, you will eventually find yourself asking this question one day when you look in the fridge. “What on earth am I going to do with all those eggs?” I’m going to give you some EGGcellent ideas on what to do with some of them!

 

First, you should never overlook the obvious choice. Tomorrow morning, instead of going for that box of cereal, make your family a wonderful cooked breakfast with eggs. I like to make a big batch of them scrambled. Break your eggs into a container. Add any seasoning that you might want like salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, red pepper, whatever you prefer. Beat them up with a fork and cook in a skillet, (I use no-stick for easy clean up) over medium heat. When the eggs are done, sprinkle with your favorite cheese and let set a few minutes to melt. YUM!

 

Another wonderful way to use up a few eggs is to make a quiche. GRIT has a great recipe for one that I highly recommend!

 

If I want to use up a few dozen eggs at a time, I turn them into little devils! My family loves deviled eggs! They are very easy to make, and you can be so creative with them. First, you have to hard-boil your eggs. I recommend cooking plenty because they will disappear quickly! When they are done, peel and rinse. Now you simply take a sharp knife and cut the hard-boiled eggs in half and pop out the yoke into a bowl. Set the whites aside to refill later. I just use a spoon to smash the yolks, and then the fun part begins. You can add almost anything you can think of to the mix here. I start with mayo and mustard. I just spoon some into the egg yolk and stir. If it seems a little dry, I just add some more. I don’t use exact measurements. Then I start adding the “good stuff.” Add whatever seasoning you like and want to try. There are no rules. You can also add bacon, or chunks of ham, onion, green pepper … you name it. The last batch I made, I used bacon onion seasoning mix, dill, and some horseradish sauce. My husband approved of this mixture when he tested! When you are finished with your own special concoction, just spoon the filling back into the egg whites. Use them on top of a salad, or just serve them on a tray.

 

When I peel my hard-boiled eggs, I always have some that don’t look so pretty when I’m finished. Those eggs get chopped up and put into a separate bowl. They then get turned into another great way to use up eggs, egg salad. Like the deviled egg filling, you can be very creative with egg salad. To my chopped eggs I add once again, mayo and mustard. Then I like to add onion, and whatever other seasoning I’m in the mood for. I like to add ground red pepper for a little kick. Taste test as you go and adjust accordingly. Spread on some bread, add some lettuce, and voila, a yummy sandwich!

If you have a favorite egg recipe that you use all the time, please feel free to share. I’m always on the lookout for ways to use those eggs!

You may have noticed I like recipes (oh, and food, although that goes without saying!) and cookbooks.

One of Grit’s sister publications is Good Things to Eat, a digest-size recipe magazine published quarterly. I just proofed the next issue, for Spring 2009, and I have to say, it is awesome! It reminded me why I so enjoy collecting these little mags. A pile of them take up most of a shelf on my kitchen bookcase, and I refer to at least one on a regular basis. It has the Hash Brown Casserole recipe – although I’m not sure why I need to keep referring to a recipe, considering how many times I’ve made it for work food days!

Anyway, back to GTTE. The theme for the new issue is Simple & Delicious, with chapters for Main Dishes Made Easy, Simple Sides, No-Fuss Breads and Desserts in a Dash. I lost track of the number of times I said to myself, “Oh, I have to try that recipe!” When this issue of GTTE arrives in my mailbox, it will quickly become well-worn and dog-eared, I guarantee.

My fascination for recipes goes back a ways, and I’m not sure why I continue to be so obsessed. My collection, as detailed in my Recipe Collector post, is more than a little disorganized, although I do plan on working on it one of these days, I promise. The Good Things to Eat issues, while disorganized on my shelf, are a great way to keep a number of recipes in one place, and with easy access. Not a bad thing for my kitchen!

It was difficult selecting just a few recipes to include here, so I picked two from each category. Enjoy! Oh, and if you’d like to order Good Things to Eat, just call our Customer Care department, toll-free, at 1-800-678-4883, or visit the magazine's website.

 

YUM-YUM CASSEROLE

This recipe appeared in CAPPER’S March 13, 1990.

1 box (6 ounces) long grain or wild rice, cooked
1 pound broccoli, steamed
3 cups cubed, cooked chicken or ham
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup mayonnaise
1 can (10.75 ounces) cream of celery soup
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup crushed croutons, mixed with 2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 

Heat oven to 350°F. Evenly coat 9-by-13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread rice evenly in pan. Layer on broccoli, chicken, cheddar cheese and mushrooms.  

 

Combine mayonnaise, soup, mustard and curry powder; mix well and pour over layers in pan. Sprinkle buttered croutons and Parmesan cheese over top.

 

Bake for 30 minutes, or until casserole is heated through, cheese is melted and croutons are golden brown.

 

EASY TURKEY STROGANOFF

This recipe appeared in CAPPER’S Nov. 16, 1999.

1 pound ground turkey
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 green pepper, finely chopped
1 can (10.75 ounces) cream of mushroom soup
1 small can mushrooms
Cooked rice or noodles
Sour cream 

 

In skillet, brown ground turkey and onion; season with salt and pepper. Add green pepper and soup; simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in mushrooms. Serve over hot rice and top with sour cream.

 

RED CORN

This recipe appeared in CAPPER’S WEEKLY March 23, 1971.

2 cups stewed tomatoes
2 whole cloves
2 tablespoons chopped onion
Pinch of cayenne
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 can (12.5 ounces) whole kernel corn
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup buttered bread crumbs 

 

Cook tomatoes, cloves, onion and cayenne in saucepan for 20 minutes; strain out juice and reserve. Set tomatoes aside.

 

Heat oven to 450°F.

 

In same saucepan, cook reserved juice, butter and flour, stirring over medium heat until sauce is thick and smooth.

 

Place corn in greased baking dish. Spread tomatoes over corn; sprinkle top with cheese. Pour sauce over the top and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake for about 20 minutes.

 

YUMMY POTATOES

This recipe appeared in CAPPER’S WEEKLY Nov. 9, 1982.

8 cups mashed potatoes
1 carton (8 ounces) French onion dip
1 carton (8 ounces) sour cream
2 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese
Salt, pepper and paprika 

 

Heat oven to 350°F. Beat together potatoes, dip, sour cream and cream cheese; season with salt and pepper. Turn into buttered dish; sprinkle paprika on top. Bake for 10 minutes, or until heated through.

 

GOLDEN CORN BREAD

This recipe appeared in CAPPER’S Sept. 1, 1992.

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup melted corn oil margarine
1 cup milk 

 

Heat oven to 400°F.

 

Sift flour, salt, baking powder and sugar into medium bowl; stir in cornmeal. In small bowl, beat eggs, margarine and milk together; add to dry ingredients and mix well.

 

Pour into hot, greased iron skillet and bake for 20 minutes. Cut while hot.

 

BUTTERY BISCUIT ROLLS

This recipe appeared in CAPPER’S Nov. 9, 2004.

2 sticks butter or margarine
1 cup sour cream
2 cups self-rising flour 

 

Heat oven to 350°F.

 

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add sour cream and flour; mix lightly.

 

Spoon mixture into 24 ungreased muffin tins, filling each to the top. Bake for about 15 minutes. 

 

Editor’s Note: To freeze rolls, remove from oven several minutes early and cool completely; place in freezer bags and freeze. When ready to use, thaw rolls and bake at 350 degrees for a few minutes, until golden-brown.

 

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

This recipe appeared in CAPPER’S WEEKLY March 29, 1960.

1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs, separated
8-inch pie shell, baked
2 tablespoons powdered sugar 

 

In saucepan over low heat, combine lemon juice, extract, sugar, cornstarch, boiling water and egg yolks. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture forms a custard. Pour filling into pie shell; set aside.

 

Beat egg whites until they hold a stiff peak; beat in powdered sugar. Spread meringue over filling in pie shell and place in hot oven (400°F) until nicely browned.

 

BERRY BROWN COBBLER

This recipe appeared in CAPPER’S July 23, 2002.

3 cups mixed fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and/or sliced strawberries
4 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt 

 

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle berries in an even layer in prepared dish; set aside.

 

In small saucepan over very low heat, melt 2 ounces chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth.

 

In medium bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in melted chocolate mixture. Blend in flour, salt and remaining chocolate; mix well. Pour batter evenly over berries in dish.

 

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until center is set and wooden pick inserted in outside edge comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Photos: covers courtesy Good Things to Eat; mashed potatoes, iStockphoto.com/creacart; corn bread, Grit photo library; dinner rolls, iStockphoto.com/gmnicholas; lemon pie, Grit photo library; blueberries, iStockphoto.com/Jamesmcq24

Two shelves of my kitchen bookcase are crammed with cookbooks; more recipes reside on part of a third shelf, although those are mainly folded photocopies thrown on top of each other.

I’m a self-confessed recipe collector, even though my cooking skills are rather rudimentary, and I’m often reluctant to take the time to cook. But I just keep adding recipes to the collection.

Under my computer table reside two boxes, filled almost to the brim (I have to leave room for future additions, don’t I!) with photocopies, labels, cardboard squares from a variety of boxes, clippings from magazines, recipe cards – every type of medium for recipes that one can imagine. Also under the table are three sacks with three-ring binders, a three-hole punch, sleeve pages to go in the binders, even colorized category pages. All intended for my major project of organizing my recipes.

Yes, you read that right. I intend to organize all those slips of paper piling up on my book shelves and in those boxes under my computer table. Who knows, I might even finish the project before I retire!

Now that you know one of my deep, dark secrets (she says laughing), I’d like to ask for your help. Nope, not for my collection – it’s past the help stage, believe me! No, for some of our Recipe Box readers who have made requests that haven’t received very many responses. It could also be that the responses we did receive just didn’t seem to match up very well with the request. Anyway, I hope you can help these folks. Just e-mail me at RecipeBox@Grit.com.

And if you have any requests, please let me know too! That file’s getting a little thin these days. Please include your name, full mailing address and phone number; we publish only your name, town and state. The full address is so we can send the packet of recipes your way, and the phone number is only used if we have questions.

Oh, and when sending a response, please include the same information. For the responses, we also only publish names, towns and states.

To remind everyone, when a request arrives, it is published in Recipe Box. (Check out Recipe Box Secrets, an earlier post on this very topic.) After a couple of months, we publish one or two of the recipes sent to our offices in response to the request (we also publish recipes here on the website). Eventually, all of the responses are sent to the person who made the request. We do it this way so we have recipes to publish, and we appreciate every recipe request and response sent our way.

On to the requests:

? John Rogers, Montgomery, Alabama, hopes to find a recipe for Chocolate Potato Cake, a modified pound cake with 1 cup of mashed potatoes.

? Lavon Davis, Casa Grande, Arizona, sends an e-mail requesting an old GRIT recipe for a light fruitcake using apricot brandy. It was baked as cupcakes topped with half a candied cherry and green mint “leaf” candy arranged to look like hollyberries.

? Sue Renkert, Fairbanks, Alaska, writes about a wonderful pie she’s never forgotten. “It was a two-layer blackberry pie,” she says. “The top layer was blackberries, likely cooked with sugar and cornstarch. The bottom layer was probably whipped cream mixed with sour cream, although it may have had cream cheese in it. I have never found a comparable recipe and would love to rediscover it.”

? Cheryle Bigelow, Spanaway, Washington, and Lenora Harlin, Albuquerque, New Mexico, both send in requests for vinegar dumplings. We had a request and LOTS of responses for a vinegar pie recipe, which was published in my Foodie Thoughts post. Any suggestions on adapting the recipe for dumplings?

? Drulene Meyer, Ocheyedan, Iowa, is looking for an apple pie recipe that calls for evaporated milk.

? Lois Klein, Huron, Ohio, hopes to find a recipe for Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings made with red hot cinnamon candies.

? Christine Bacher, Claremont, New Hampshire, writes to request a recipe for a pineapple topping for ice cream.

? Ronald Ricketts, Plainfield, Indiana, recently read that roasted green peas are a healthy snack food. He’s asking for directions on how to roast green peas.

? Beth Rettke, Park Rapids, Minnesota, writes to request a recipe for a pumpkin pie that includes miniature marshmallows.

? Nieki Neill, Andrews, Texas, hopes people will send great recipes using goat milk.

? Diane Staton, Milan, Tennessee, is looking for recipes for tutti-fruitti ice cream, crackers and cracker candy, and bonbons.

E-mail me at RecipeBox@Grit.com or send a letter to my attention at GRIT, 1503 S.W. 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609.

It is that same old question we ask ourselves everyday! The real question is probably better put, “What can I make for supper tonight that I haven’t made before?” Sometimes I find myself stuck in a rut of making the same meals over and over again. This has a lot to do with what we have in our freezer. Our main food supplies consist of frozen chicken, hamburger, and venison steaks. The challenge comes with trying to find different ways to prepare these three main foods. I put together a combination the other night that turned out particularly yummy. I thought I would share it.

Steak is always a great choice for supper and very popular at our house, so I pulled some venison steaks from the freezer in the morning to thaw. After they were thawed, I seasoned them with coarse black pepper and steak seasoning. I chopped up some onions and garlic cloves, and opened a can of mushrooms.

The prep time for this only takes about 30 to 45 minutes. At suppertime, I browned my steak on both sides. My steak doesn’t take long to fry up because we usually slice it on the thinner side. Your cook time will depend on how thick your steak is, and how well you like it done. I then added my chopped onion, garlic, mushrooms, and some parsley and stir-fried them in with the steak for a few minutes. While the steak was frying, I took one of our packages of frozen sugar peas from our garden that I had thawed earlier, and stir-fried them with some seasoning. At the same time, I cooked 2 cups of minute rice. When the rice and peas were both done, I combined them.

To serve, I put a bed of the rice and peas on the plate first. Then, I added some steak pieces. On top of the steak I melted some shredded cheese (use whatever kind you like best), and topped with the mushroom, onion, and garlic. Absolutely yummy, and your family will love you for it!

If any of you have any new supper ideas, I would love to hear them!

I am a huge fan of beanless chili and until now, my favorite has been a variation on Texas Red chili that I found in the Society for Range Management’s Trail Boss's Cowboy Cookbook. I am also particular about the quantity and quality of tomatoes in my chili. In my own recipes, I just leave them out. My mother made a bean-infested, stewed tomato glopped chili that pretty much turned me off the entire genre until I discovered Texas Red. My dad and sisters loved it though, so it couldn’t have been as bad as I thought it was.

Kate has many different chili recipes in her repertoire … most have a few beans and some finely diced tomatoes … I like them all. On New Year’s Eve, 2008, Kate surprised me with the best chili I have ever had … ever, anywhere. It is so good that I ate three bowls of it on New Year’s Eve, and I ate three more bowls of it last Saturday when she whipped it up again.

Kate calls her chili Kansas Red in honor of our present and likely permanent location. This chili is full of different, delicious flavors; it is on the hot side of mild, but not so hot as to make you sweat or cry. And since she tops her Kansas Red chili off with a dollop of sour cream, you can increase or decrease that to modulate the perceived heat. All I can say is that Kate’s Kansas Red chili is my all time favorite … I suspect it would also work well with venison, elk and quite possibly goat meat.

It took a little wrangling on my part to get Kate to share her Kansas Red chili recipe, but she relented. Here it is … I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Kate’s Kansas Red Chili

4-5 pounds beef top round or sirloin (easier if you can buy it thinly cut; if not you can put it in the freezer briefly in order to make it easier to dice)
1 large can diced tomatoes
2-3 serrano peppers, chopped, seeds removed
2-3 large jalapeno peppers, chopped, seeds removed
2 red chili peppers crumbled (or 2-3 T.  chili pepper flakes)
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped roughly
1/2 C. brewed coffee
2 T. green Tabasco
5-6 T. chili powder
1 large bunch fresh cilantro
1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
olive oil
sour cream

Dice the beef into very small pieces ( ½ “ square at most)

Brown the beef well (do not crowd pan) in a cast iron frying pan in several batches and move to the chili pot.  In other words, be sure to get lots of “brown bits” in the pan. Deglaze the pan with 1 C. water and pour in the chili pot.  To the chili pot, add the can of tomatoes and brewed coffee to the beef.

In the frying pan, wilt and lightly brown the onions in 2 T. olive oil.  Add all the chopped peppers and garlic and cook lightly. Add it all to the chili. Deglaze the frying pan once more with ½ C. water and add to the pot. Be sure there is enough liquid in the pot to cover the beef, if not add a bit of water. Add remaining spices, Tobasco and salt and pepper to taste.

Cover tightly, place in the oven at 250 degrees for 2-3 hours.  Bring to stovetop and skim off any oil or fat. 

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, some shavings of cheddar cheese and fresh chopped cilantro.

Invented December 31, 2008

Photo: iStock, Shawn Gearhart

I love to cook and bake this time of year. There’s just something about cold winter days that makes the kitchen so inviting. I have cherished memories of my mother cooking special meals for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as everyday meals for the family.

Mom also loved to bake. She baked cookies, brownies and cakes. Usually the cake was for a family member’s birthday, but sometimes it was just for fun. The cookie jar always seemed to be full. Anytime my nieces and nephews came over, one of the first things they did was head for the cookie jar (my brother-in-law did, too). Mom loved sending cookies and brownies to me when I was in college and Alaska. She also sent cookies and brownies to my nieces and nephews when they were in college. Years ago, when I worked at a bookstore, Mom used to bring in goodies for the staff on Fridays (that was the day she got her hair done and the beauty salon was next door to the bookstore).

Mom is elderly now and can no longer stand long enough to cook or bake. In fact, she doesn’t even go into the kitchen anymore. Since I live with her, I prepare the meals and I use some of the same pans, dishes and utensils she used when I was growing up. Each item brings back pleasant memories.

I began doing all the cooking when my Dad was still alive. Even though sometimes the last thing I wanted to do was be on my feet in the kitchen, it brought me pleasure to make a meal for my parents. I came to understand why my mom put so much love into the meals she prepared. She was doing it for her family. I consider it an honor to prepare meals for the woman who made countless meals for me and the rest of the family.

My sister inherited my mother’s talent for cooking and baking. I consider myself a good cook and a mediocre baker, but my sister is great at both. She’s always trying something new and it seems like everything she makes turns out perfect. Mom always said my sister must have inherited her ability to make flaky pie crust from our paternal grandmother because she didn’t get it from her.

My sister and I used to swap recipes, but since we both have access to the Internet, we don’t do that much anymore. A lot of the recipes in my collection are from my sister. I can’t help but think of her when I make a recipe she gave me.

Being a creative person, I like to try new recipes and sometimes modify them to my liking. I have some tried and true recipes that I use frequently and keep handy for easy access.

One of my favorite recipes to make this time of year is Captain’s Soup. It’s easy, nourishing and makes enough for an army (well, at least a large family). My mom got the recipe from a lady we met while we were vacationing in Colorado. She and her husband rode the train from Durango to Silverton with us. We got acquainted and they invited us to stop by for a meal at their home in Buena Vista. We did stop at their house on the way back to Kansas and the lady made this soup for supper.

Captain’s Soup

1 pound ground beef  

1 can (46 oz.) vegetable juice

1 small can cream of mushroom soup

1 small can cream of celery soup

1 package frozen vegetables

In a skillet, brown ground beef; drain and set aside. Combine soups in a crock pot. Simmer on low heat and stir until well-blended. In a medium pan, cook vegetables until tender; drain. Add beef and vegetables to soup mixture. Heat on High for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve with crackers or bread.

Do you have a favorite kitchen memory? Do you have a recipe that has an interesting story behind it? Please share it with me.

Have you ever taken notice of a quilt and marveled at its intricate detail and contemplated all the time and energy it took to complete such a work of art? Have you ever attempted to piece together such a creation or have you never even given the construction of a quilt a second thought?

Born in the 60s I remember well my mother sewing many outfits for myself and my two sisters; the sewing machine and ironing board had permanent locations and were used often. I created my own sewing projects as the years went by and then packed away the sewing machine and never gave it another thought … until recently. Someone asked to borrow my machine and when they returned it, I left it on the dining room table. Each time I passed by I would glance at the sewing machine and say, “I need to stash that away somewhere.” But I never did.

In the back of my mind … the creative part of the brain was searching for something. I wanted to create something country and homey, something that took some thought and something useful. I started noticing quilts … in magazines, on-line and even though I frequent the craft stores often, I usually breeze by the fabric aisles, but not now! When I decide to do something, I dive in, full force and unstopping! Reading the quilting book I purchased just wasn’t making sense; the only way to learn was “to do” so I bought yards and yards of fabric and started cutting squares.

 Although I did allow for seam allowances, the fabric squares are tiny! I should have made them much bigger, but this is how I learn!

My design is very simple and in reading about quilts I found the history quite fascinating. The development of quilting in the United States has unfolded over several centuries and there are heirloom quilts that are among the most dearly loved American antiques. Quilts are individual expressions using fabric colors, patterns and designs; many times used to tell stories of the past. Quilting bees were all day long social events that included the entire family; an occasion for conversation and catching up on news. Many times the quilts under construction were for an upcoming special event such as an engagement or wedding. Patchwork, appliquéing and the crazy quilt are all techniques used to develop this work of art and there are specific names for designs that have been created and passed down through history; Bear’s Paw, Stepping Stones and Log Cabin to name a few. The richness of the American creative spirit can be witnessed in the reflections of everyday life depicted on quilts from yester year. Next time you have the opportunity to glance at a quilt take time to notice the detail and design; you may be glancing at a unique moment in history.

Keeping true to my New Year’s resolution to eat healthier, I experimented a bit with this Simple Blueberry Muffin recipe and Homemade Cracker recipe. The muffins were “Great!” stated my teenage daughter and the crackers need work.

Simple Blueberry Muffins

1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
½ cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
¼ cup flaxseed
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix flour, sugar, baking power together. Beat egg; add milk and then add egg mixture to dry ingredients. Stir in blueberries. Fill muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes at 425 degrees.

Homemade Crackers

1 cup wheat flour
1/3 cup water
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine flour, garlic, pepper, rosemary & baking soda (add more herbs if desired; adjust to taste). Add water and mix until dough forms. Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness; sprinkle with salt (optional). Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees; remove, cut into squares. Return to oven until brown and crunchy.

Talking food doesn’t take much effort around the GRIT office. Food days and special occasions come fairly frequently in these parts, and, of course, no one protests. We’ve even had cookoffs that encompassed a number of cooks and tasters from every department in the building. Our Great Potato Salad Debate comes to mind.

Guess what? We’re in the process of organizing a mac ‘n’ cheese cookoff to rival the potato salad effort. As you know, we published the winning recipes in GRIT’s January/February issue’s Recipe Box, and we’ll do the same with the mac ‘n’ cheese entries. So be on the lookout.

In one of my previous posts, Recipe Box Secrets, I talked about how we organize Recipe Box. It seems like a good idea to let you in on some of the recipes we receive, too. Enjoy, and let me know what you think of the recipes for vinegar pie and hamburger gravy.

Without further ado, recipes!

 

Winter Pie

Travis Massey, Idabel, Oklahoma, requests a recipe for Vinegar Pie. A popular request among Grit readers, vinegar pie has appeared in Recipe Box before.

Connie Moore, Medway, Ohio, wrote a food column for her hometown newspaper. She talks vinegar pie in a 2004 column and sent a copy to us. “All things have a season,” she wrote. “Vinegar pie is a March pie because the spring rhubarb is not up yet and the winter supply of fruits is gone. … It was an ‘adversity pie,’ there were no freezers, no fridges, no pressure canners or rings and lids to seal autumn’s bounty in Mason jars.”

Shirley Alston, White City, Oregon, added this note: “Rumor has it that Vinegar Pie originated in the Texas Panhandle in imitation of lemon pie, lemons being hard to come by in the old days many miles from nowhere. New Englanders and Southerners counted it a favorite, too, so wherever it came from, it was popular in 19th-century West Texas.” The recipe she sent came from The Wide, Wide World of Texas Cooking by Morton G. Clark.

1889 VINEGAR PIE

 

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon butter

2 eggs, separated

1 8-inch pie shell, baked

1/4 cup sugar, mixed with 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

 

In saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, water, vinegar and butter. Bring to boil, stir constantly until thick and clear. Remove from heat.

Stir small amount of hot mixture into beaten egg yolks, return this to saucepan and cook another 2 minutes.

Cool to room temperature and pour into pie shell. Beat egg whites with sugar/cream of tartar mixture until very stiff. Apply meringue over pie, seal meringue to crust edges. Bake 10 to 12 minutes in 325°F oven until lightly brown.

Note: Old pie tins were 8 inches. A 9-inch pie shell makes a thinner pie.

 

Sharon Threatt, Booneville, Arkansas, sent a cobbler recipe I thought you all might be interested to see.

VINEGAR COBBLER

 

3/4 cup cider vinegar

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Biscuit dough

 

Heat oven to 350°F.

In deep casserole dish, mix vinegar, sugar, water and cinnamon. Cut out biscuits and place on top of liquid mixture. Wet top of each biscuit with liquid. Bake 20 to 30 minutes.

This tastes like apple cobbler without the apples. Some people use pie dough sprinkled with sugar, covered with hot liquid and baked in a 350°F oven until pie dough is done. This was a treat only enjoyed during canning season.

 

School-time Favorite

Joyce Woods, Guthrie, Oklahoma, is looking for a recipe for Gravy Train, a recipe that was served at her local school.

A number of readers remembered the same recipe, as do I, and we received a lot of recipes. Alice Knox, Rochester Mills, Pennsylvania, sent one that might have appeared in an old social cookbook.

 

SCRAMBLED STEAK (HAMBURGER) OVER MASHED POTATOES

 

According to the amount of people you want to serve.

Brown hamburger and chopped onion in skillet; salt and pepper to taste. When the meat is brown and the onion soft, add enough water to continue cooking until boiling a few minutes. Thicken as if you were making gravy with either cornstarch or flour. Serve over prepared mashed potatoes. Very good.

 

Terry Ball, Neehan, Wisconsin, sends another recipe for Gravy Train. She writes, “We ate this too, probably at least once a week. Plus, we raised four children on it as well. A great way to stretch a pound or two of hamburger. The six of us ate a good supper that filled everybody up on 1 1/2 pounds of hamburger. With three boys, there were no leftovers.”

 

1 to 2 pounds hamburger

1/2 cup chopped onion

 

In hot skillet (you have to have a black iron skillet, no substitutes, Terry adds with a smile), brown hamburger with onion. Some crumbly pieces in the bottom are a good thing. If you used hamburger that wasn’t too fatty, don’t drain the meat. If you have some real fatty meat, then you will need to drain some, but not all, of the grease.

The next step is the tricky part. Are you going to eat this over mashed potatoes or bread? (We do either/or.) If cooking potatoes, you will use the drained water for the gravy. If eating it on bread or toast, I use milk instead. If there isn’t enough potato water to make enough gravy, add some milk, water or beef broth. Stir a couple rounded tablespoons flour into the hot hamburger, and let it cook for a minute. Then pour in the water or milk and cook until thick. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

Betty Maclam, Mikado, Michigan, sends another version.

GROUND BEEF GRAVY

 

1 pound ground beef

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) beef broth, divided

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

1 small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Hot mashed potatoes or pasta

 

Cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain. Add 1 1/2 cups beef broth, onion, parsley flakes, basil, garlic powder, season salt and pepper.

Simmer, uncovered, 5 to 10 minutes, or until onion is tender. In small bowl, mix remaining broth and cornstarch until smooth. Stir into beef mixture. Bring to boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until thickened.

Serve over hot mashed potatoes or pasta.

To prevent lumps when thickening with cornstarch, don’t mix cornstarch with a hot liquid. Combine it with a cold or room temperature liquid and add gradually to hot mixture.

 

Images: Macaroni and cheese, iStockphoto.com/rojoimages; Pie crust, Grit photo library; Hamburger and onions, iStockphoto.com/jpa1999

With the echo of the New Year still ringing in our ears we firmly vow to keep our resolutions. We raise our glasses, now filled with water and green tea, to a healthy New Year! Champagne sounds so much more elegant, but we have a new vision and what perfect timing … as we plan our garden for the new season, we envision ripe red tomatoes, green leafy spinach and our fit and trim waistline all the by-product from the homegrown goodness in our own backyard.

Along with many carefully chosen vegetables to grow, I am planning a special healthy herb garden.  I have a location in mind and the idea is to construct raised beds and hope the sun is not too hot in this location.  In the past I have grown herbs and used them in recipes fresh and have also dried them for future use.  Most air dry very well and add a nice taste of flavor to any dish.  I will be sharing recipes as the season moves along.  What inspired this herb garden-healthy eating notion was the fabulous Rosemary Cookies I made during the holidays.  Along with the usual Christmas cookie baking I wanted to incorporate herbs for healthy snacking.  I have to admit these cookies used the herb Rosemary but they really aren’t that healthy, they are extremely delicious though!  What makes them so good is the combination of light airy dough with the strong taste of rosemary … Superb!

Rosemary Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 cups flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

Combine all ingredients, except rosemary and mix thoroughly.  Now gently mix rosemary into the batter.  Form dough into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten each one.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they bake since you don’t want to overcook them – a pale golden brown is the desired color.

The intent to bake healthy cookies was there and I am getting closer to fulfilling that intent.  Today I baked up these Flaxseed Cookies as my first hope to conquer the “Healthy Eating” resolution.  The recipe makes a nice huge batch that the family can munch on all week long as we withdraw from the continual stream of eating … and more eating, that possessed us during the holiday season.

Flaxseed Cookies 

1 1/3 cups butter
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups lightly packed brown sugar
2 1/3 cups flax seeds
3 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
3 cups oatmeal

Cream butter, sugars and flaxseed. Add beaten eggs and vanilla to mixture. Blend flour, baking soda and oatmeal and combine with other ingredients. Form dough into 1 ½” round logs and chill in the freezer. Cut into slices and place on cookie sheet in 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

I have also decided to try growing some grains this year and I found it very interesting and frustrating searching for the seeds to purchase.  I have received many of the 2009 seed catalogs and have enjoyed reading through every page and description of listed offerings. A few do have some grain seed to purchase.  I am aware of my need to research grain growing for the small gardener.  Ideally, I would like several areas with wheat, oats, quinoa, millet and various other grains.  Farmers throughout the country grow acre upon acre of all the grains we consume in our daily diets.  Is it feasible for a small gardener to grow enough grain to be worth the effort?

My “Healthy Eating” resolution is taking shape and the research continues as I raise my glass wishing a healthy New Year to all!

 

When I started with GRIT back in 1997, one of my first assignments was the Recipe Box department. A venerable feature of the magazine, Recipe Box was designed to answer questions such as “My grandmother used to make a delicious pie/cake/meatloaf/etc., and I don’t have the recipe. Can someone help?”

And we try our best to help. The requests are published in the Help Wanted box usually found at the end of each issue’s Recipe Box article. You’ll notice we only publish a person’s name and city, asking responders to send their recipes to the GRIT office in Topeka. That’s so we can publish the responses. (If the recipes were sent directly to the requestor, we wouldn’t have a Recipe Box.)

We collect all the recipes in a file folder (located to the right of my desk), and right now, I’ve stuffed more than 60 folders into three plastic bins. A lot of recipes, to say the least.

Our process begins with a request from you. For instance, in our January/February 2009 issue, we published this in Help Wanted: “Nera Johnson, Berryton, Kansas, would like a recipe for squash pie. Her mother used to make the pie using a white-and-green-striped, crook-neck squash called Kershaw. It was a lighter color and milder tasting than a pumpkin pie. Nera says her mother found the recipe in a magazine.”

Now, Nera sent in her request in May. The number of requests we receive make it difficult to publish items any sooner. The requests set to be published in the March/April 2009 issue were received in October 2008. We like to publish all the requests we can rather than ignoring some of them. This, of course, can be a double-edged sword.

Depending on how quickly responses appear in my inbox, it may be the end of the year or even an early issue in 2010 before a response to Nera’s request is actually printed in the magazine. When I pull the folder for Squash Pie, I will go through all the responses and select one or two recipes (depending on how close they match Nera’s request and how interesting the recipe sounds).

With 60-plus folders to deal with, including one for Nera’s request, it’s a time-consuming process. One thing to note, I do try to publish the requests, as well as the responses, in the order they were received. It’s a challenge, and sometimes the responses are published out of order, as I try to match up similar recipes or place them in some sort of a loose theme.

When we finally publish a response in Recipe Box, we hold the responses for a few more months, just in case any late responders send wayward recipes. Eventually, I send every response to the person who made the original request. So, Nera, you can look forward to a large envelope heading for your mailbox sometime in the future!

Wow, it takes longer than I’d realized. No wonder I have so many folders in those plastic bins!

We can’t really publish a recipe for every request. So, sometimes, a request goes unanswered or the responses don’t match the request. And we simply don’t have the space to publish all the recipes. But if we receive any responses, those are sent to the person who made the request, whether we publish them or not.

So please don’t stop sending in requests for recipes or responses to a particular request. We’re depending on you to fill the pages of Recipe Box.

If you answer a request, your recipe eventually will get to the person who made the request. It just takes a while. Thanks for making Recipe Box such a great feature of GRIT!