Robins and Soup

I know I can eat some strange things, but contrary to the post title the robins and the soup are not connected.

Robins - I saw the first robins of the spring today. Even though it snowed all day yesterday (a wet sloppy snow) the birds appeared today.

Soup - I have been really busy with work over the past few months and I knew that I would be home late today, so I prepared a soup in the crockpot this morning. I have never used it for a soup before and it worked pretty good. I didn't find the recipe all that wonderful but it was filling. Some extra spices and tweeking and it could taste far better

Hamburger Lentil Soup

1 lb ground beef
1 chopped onion
6 carrots, sliced
3 potatoes diced
1 clove minced garlic
4 c tomato juice
2 c dry lentils
4 c water
1 T brown sugar
1 tsp tyme
1 tsp sage
1 T salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Brown ground beef and onions.
Combine all ingredients in crock pot
Cook on low for 8-10 hours

New Years Eve, the Year, and Another Cracker Recipe

I can't believe we are already at the end of 2011! 

We had a quiet Christmas - just the four of us and my parents.  Husband has been ill for most of the holidays and is just beginning to be up on his feet and moving around again.  The kids have both been working at their jobs over the holidays and really haven't been home much.  Son works at McDonalds which is funny since he hasn't eaten at a McDonalds for about 6 years... and still doesn't.  Daughter is working at a gift store and worked 11 days straight before Christmas and then right back again on Boxing Day.

2011 seems to have been a year where no matter what we did we couldn't seem to get ahead.  With the terrible winter and summer we didn't manage to get the barn finished, many crops in the garden didn't produce and it was just a downer in general for our moods.  Financially the year was also a strain due to the renovations on the rental house (after being left in very rough shape by the last tenants). And now it has been sitting empty for the past 6 months for the renos and listing.  Hopefully it will sell quickly in the new year - it is in a good neighbourhood and is looking nice now, so I'm optimistic.

Over the past few days I have been working on getting some year end paperwork completed, and Husband has been working on a new budget for 2012.

Tonight will be a quiet one as well, as both kids are working (Son on a midnight shift and Daughter babysitting for the neighbour).  I have been baking crackers for this evening snacks.  I've tried a new recipe from 50's Gal blog, but something was missing from the ingredients she listed so I adapted it somewhat...

Cheese Crackers
1/2 c butter
2 cups cheddar cheese (I used medium but sharp would be better)
1 1/2 c Flour
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t paprika
1/3 c milk

Put dry ingredients into a bowl and cut in the butter. 
Add milk and combine and form dough into a ball
Roll out dough on a floured surface until 1/8" thick and cut out
Place crackers onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
Bake at 325F for 15 minutes
Remove and place on rack until cooled

I wish you all a very wonderful New Years Eve - be safe and if you are going out make sure you have a designated driver who is not drinking.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST FOR 2012

Crackers

Lately I have been focusing on baking crackers.  In an effort to save some money (though purchased crackers are not expensive) and, more importantly, continue to eat healthy I decided to try out some cracker recipes.  They are so easy to bake with ingredients everyone has on hand, I don't know why people even bother to buy them.

These were made with rye flour and should be like a swedish crisp bread, but the recipe  needs some tweeking as it was too sweet tasting for my family and didn't get very crisp.  They were definiately not to our taste, but the chickens enjoyed them very much (nothing is going to waste here!)

Herb Crackers mmmm buttery and yummy. The recipe was found here when I did a google search for recipes.

Ingredients
1 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of margarine or butter
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme

Directions
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, basil, and thyme. Mix in the butter or margarine until the mixture is crumbly. Add the milk and stir until it forms a solid ball.
Knead dough on a lighlty floured surface.
Roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness and cut into cracker sized pieces. Makes about 24 crackers.
Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, after 10 minutes turn them over and bake for another 5 minutes.

The best crackers EVER!!!!  This recipe comes from Mrs Lyle and was posted the Mother Earth News website with their cracker recipes.

Delicious Homemade Crackers

makes about 50-60 crackers

2 c. all purpose flour (I prefer unbleached)
3/4 c. whole wheat
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp (or more) cracked black or freshly ground black pepper (opt.)
1 c. seeds (flax, sesame, poppy, sunflower combo is fantastic)
1/2 c. butter (unsalted is best, imo)
3/4 c. milk (more or less)
1/2 c. to 2 c. finely shredded cheese (opt.), parmesean is delish
salt

Mix dry ingredients except seeds, cut in butter. Mix in seeds and cheese (if using). Add milk, squeezing with hands, to form into ball.
(Add flour if too wet, more milk if too dry.) Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled. Divide into thirds and roll out with rolling pin on floured
surface of wax paper to about 1/16 of an inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and roll to press onto dough. Prick with fork all over
to reduce uneven bubbling during cooking. Use pizza cutter to cut into shapes (diagonals are good) or tear into rough-edged pieces the sizes you
desire. Bake in pre-heated oven, 325 degrees on lightly greased baking sheets/pans or, preferably, parchment paper.
Turn crackers over after 10-15 minutes and bake another 5-10 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool.

I Like to Call it Suelze

I don't know if I'm fooling anyone, but the German word Suelze just sounds so much better than headcheese!

Anyway, when we had the pigs butchered we got everything back including the head, heart, feet, fat, etc, etc, etc. so I decided to use it all!  (I was also donated extra parts from the other people that shared in our pig venture, because they don't have the stomach to deal with it)

I was at home today so I dug out some parts from the freezer and began cooking.  I looked through my vintage cookbooks and online to find recipes for headcheese, but found they varied so much in regard to spices and preparation methods, so I just headed out on my own (Oh! no pun intended)

If you are the queasy sort, you may not want to continue reading....

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1) Boil  1/2 pig's head, feet, tongue and heart in the largest pot I could find in slightly salted water for about 3 hours

If it looks like an ear, it's because it is.

2) After boiling, remove head, feet, tongue and heart from water and place in a separate bowl.  I then put the bowl in the cold garage to cool down.

3) After cooling comes the time to pick through the items for the good meat and put it in the food processor and I chopped it rather coarsely.  I think most people would it a very gross experience, but I actually found it rather interesting (luckily I don't gross out easily).  Most of the meat is in the head and the heart and tongue just needed a little trimming.  The feet have virtually no meat, but rather bring the gelatin to the dish.

4) Place the meat into a smaller pot and ladled some of the first cooking liquid into the meat (about 4 cups - I'm not sure as I didn't measure).  To the mixture I added one chopped onion and approx 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.  I then added one of the pigs feet back in. 

5) Add spices - I used salt, pepper, a lot of sage and about 1/2 t of chili powder.  Boil until the onion is cooked.

The meat mixture being brought to a boil 

 

5)  Remove from heat and remove the pig foot then pour into a loaf pan.  Put in fridge to cool and set.

Mixture in the loaf pan

I unmolded from the pan and it was not a firm as I expected - more like a pate.

The Suelze turned out very good, but it is very rich so you can't eat a lot of it.  It is very tasty eaten with some crackers.

Soup recipe and Immersion Blender

Winter is fast approaching and we had snow over the weekend again.... but this time it stayed :(

With the colder weather I feel like making soup to take the chill away.  I rarely make soup in the warmer months, but it is soooo good at this time of year.

I tried a new recipe to use up the last of the red tomatoes from the garden.  This recipe is from the Nourishing Traditions The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon.  If you haven't seen this book/cookbook you really must as it is chock full of recipes and information on cultural diets, nutrition, and ingredients. It is super interesting!

Tomato-Dill Soup
Serves 6

2 medium onions, peels and coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
3 T butter
8 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 cups of chicken stock
1/2 t dried green peppercorns, crushed sea salt or fish sauce
1/4 c snipped fresh dill
piima cream or creme fraiche

Saute onion and celery gently in butter until tender.  Add tomatoes and stock, bring to a boil and skim.  Add crushed peppercorns.  Simmer about 15 minutes.
Puree soup wint a handheld blender.  Thin soup with a little water if necessary, and season to taste.  Stir in the dill.  Simmer gently about 5 minutes, ladle into heated bowls and serve with cultured cream.






I didn't have an immersion blender as the one I had received from my mother-in-law (a 1980's vintage model) began smoking the last time I used and I promptly put it in the trash.  I didn't use it much anyway as it didn't have enough power to make it worth the effort.

After several months of debating whether I should purchase a new one, I finally broke down and came home with a Kitchen Aid model.  In the store I really looked over the various models which ranged from $10 to $80.  Of course the Kitchen Aid was the most expensive, but upon closer inspection I could see why.  The blade was twice as long as the other models (giving more cutting/blending surface), the motor power was adjustable, and in general it just seemed much sturdier.  I would rather spend the money on something that will work properly and will not have a planned obsolenscence.  So far I have been extremely happy with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and I hope the blender will give me the same good results.

So far I have used it for blending the soup in the above recipe, smoothies, hummus, and chopping/blending kale and cream a dish for last night's dinner.  (If you like kale this dish is awesome... I will post it another time after I have translated it from German)

Leeks; the Forgotten Vegetable

Our leeks did very well this year.  Obviously a vegetable that likes lots of water.
 

I have never seen such large leeks grown here before



 Tonight's side dish is Braised Leeks from the "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook by Sally Fallon

Braised Leeks

6 medium leeks

2 cups beef stock

1 cup grated Gruyere cheee (which I don't have so I will use some Parmesan)

Trim ends of leeks and split lengthwise.  Rinse well and set ina pyrex pan.  Bring beef stock to a boil and pour over leeks.  Bake at 350 for about 1/2 hour or until the stock has reduced and leeks are tender.  Sprinkle on cheese and melt under broiler for a few minutes.  Serve immediately

In the Kitchen

This morning has started as a very dreary day.  As I look out the window the rain is pouring outside, but luckily when I went to feed and water the animals it had slowed.  The past few weeks have been very wet and the highway north of us has been closed for 2 weeks due to numerous slides and washouts over a very long stretch of the road.  They just reopened for a small portion of traffic and today it is expected to get another 100mm or so rain (heavy rain fall warning).

So a wet dreary day means I can do lots of work in the kitchen....

Yesterday I purchased some beef bones, so I roasted them in the oven and began cooking them last night.  I have them simmering on the back of the stove again together with some onions, celery leaves, bay leaves and peppercorns this morning.  It should make for a nice starter for tonight's dinner.  I added a splash of vinegar as that is suppose to help draw out minerals from the bones.

I'm not sure what else I'll add to the soup - maybe some barley together with carrots, celery and potatoes.  Perhaps some lovage from the garden for extra flavour (I'll go out and brave the rain)



I know I will have to bake some bread today and most likely I'll also start up some more yogurt. 

I purchased some organic almonds and soaked them overnight in water with some salt.  First thing this morning I drained them and placed them in my food dehydrator.  I have been reading that we should soak our nuts before eating them so as to neutralize the enzyme inhibitors and break down the gluten so digestion is easier.  Husband can not tolerate nuts though he loves them, so perhaps by soaking he will be able to eat a few.  We can only give a try and see (and hopefully he won't end up with a bad stomach ache.)

I have to take Daughter to the shopping centre later, so I was thinking to pick up some chinese cabbage and put some Kimchi to ferment.  I enjoy Kimchi and haven't made it for a while.  I already have the Daikon radish and all the other ingredients so I may as well make it now.  There are so many variations of Kimchi - here method that I use, but in addition of the cabbage I also add Diakon radish and carrots cut into matchstick strips...

Afternoon Update: Below is my completed Kimchi waiting to begin the fermentation process on the counter

Old Cookery - Steamed Pudding

As I have mentioned previously in posts, I love collecting old cookbooks, reading old recipes and trying them out too.  Oh, and eating them doesn't hurt either (as to which my waist can attest and that's not a good thing)

Last week I decided that I really wanted to try baking an old English type steamed pudding.  I have never eaten one before and really didn't know much about them or the cooking method.  So I searched out some old recipes then read about the methodology online.

What I found was there are two types of steaming methods:
1) to place and seal the ingredients in a bowl and then place in a pot of water with lid and boil
2) to place and seal the ingredients in a bowl and then place in a pot with boiling water and bake in the oven

I also discovered that even though the recipe is called 'pudding' it is not like pudding as I know it (a custard like consistency), but rather a very moist cake.  There are many types of pudding moulds and even pudding moulds with lids.  The ingredients must remain sealed so as to prevent any outside moisture from getting in.

I still have a number of jars of mincemeat left over from what I canned last year so I searched for a steamed pudding using that ingredient.  I figured there must be something....
and of course I found it on the 18th C Cuisine blog:

Baked Mincemeat Pudding

2 cups mincemeat [I used homemade, brandied mincemeat]
4 eggs
1/2 cup [1 stick] butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Optional: chopped nuts, about 1/2 cup [I did not use]

Cream butter and sugar; beat in one egg at a time. Sift dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture. Fold in mincemeat and nuts, if using. Butter and sugar a baking dish [charlotte mold works well] and pour batter in. Cover with a piece of greased paper to fit top of dish. Set dish into another larger dish and surround with boiling water [bain marie], place in moderate oven [350ºF] and bake for at least one hour.

Continue to check for doneness by inserting a broom straw in the middle--if it comes out clean, the pudding is done. Remove from water bath and allow to cool before running a knife around the edge and slipping from the pan onto a serving platter.


Can douse with more brandy and flambé or serve with dessert sauce [Sabayon: 1 egg yolk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup Marsala. Whip over a boiling water bath (Bain Marie) until thick. Serve over pudding slices.] Pudding texture and taste improves with age.

So, here is a photo of my completed pudding which took 3 hours in the oven to set.  It may not look like much but is tasted very good - rich and dense but not too sweet.  My family loved it.  As a bonus it was actually very easy to make - I was rather intimated to try it as I have not tried steaming anything before.  The ingredients came together quickly, I sealed the glass bowl tightly with tin foil, put in a second pan with water and let it bake.  Simple!

This week I'll be making Rhubarb Steamed Pudding.

You Don't See This Very Often...

Over the past two years or so I have been collecting vintage cookbooks. What I like are pre-1960's books because I like to see the thrift and old cooking methods that were once employed by homemakers of the past.

I recently visited the local Value Village and came across an older book published in 1968 - "The American Every Day Cook Book in Color". I originally picked it up because it looked old, but bought it only because it was authored by Marguerite Patten.

If you are unfamiliar with Marguerite Patten she is a British home economist who has authored around 170 books.  Durring the Second World War she assisted the British government's Ministry of Food in educating the public in rationing and invented nourishing recipes from the foods available at the time.

So, of course I needed to have this book in my collection even though it was published in the 1960's.  Upon looking at the recipes there were many things that struck me as being from before the '60s such as this recipe for Mulligatawny soup (and you don't see this very often)...

I don't know about you, but I have never seen a recipe requiring you to simmer a small lamb's head in any modern cookbooks.  In fact, I'm not sure if my butcher even stocks small lamb's heads... maybe I'll ask next time I visit the shop.

Anyway, the book surprised me with the thrift and use of ingredients(?) that nowadays we no longer use or would even think of using.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Husband was 'down south' on the weekend and brought home a present for me...




... a big box of rhubarb. Now, husband's favorite is Strawberry Rhubarb pie, so it makes me kind I'd wonder who the gift was really for.
















Filling for pie (enough for 2 large pies)
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon (or there abouts because I don't measure)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (as above)
8 c rhubarb cut into pieces
4 c slices strawberries
mix all together and fill pie shells and then top

Pie crust  (enough for 2 large pies and tops)
6 c flour
2 tsp salt
2 T sugar
Mix in a bowl

1.5 c water
1.5 c lard
Boil in a pan until lard is melted and stir vigorously into the flour mixture

Divide into balls and roll out.

Can't wait until I can bake these pies with our own strawberries and rhubarb!  Everything tastes so much better from the garden!

Strawberry Shortcake

I purchased some strawberries while I was grocery shopping on Monday.  I was inspired by 1940's Experiment's Mock Cream recipe 2 which looked sooo good.

I baked the biscuits using a recipe from the latest Hobby Farm Home magazine and they turned out perfect!  Light and baked up nice and high, but best of all the dough was done in no time.  I used whipping cream instead of the mock cream.    Yum!

This is diet isn't it?

Classic Shortcake Biscuits

2c flour
1 T sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c butter
1 egg, beaten
2/3 c milk or cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Sift together dry ingredients.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Combine egg and milk; add all at once to flour mixture.  Stir just to moisten.  Lightly flour your hands and form dough into six biscuits.  Bake on ungreased baking sheet for 10 minutes until golden on top and firm to the touch.

A Favourite Soup Recipe

Oriental Mushroom Soup

5 cups chicken broth
4 t finely chopped ginger root
1/2 lb various sliced mushrooms (about 2 cups)
2 T soy sauce
1 t sesame oil
8ox firm tofu cut into small cubes
1 green onion thinly sliced

In a saucepan combine broth, ginger root and mushrooms and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil.

Place tofu and green onion in individual soup bowls. Add soup and serve

From: Cook Great Food by the Dietitions of Canada

My family loves this soup and it is quick and easy to make. It is the only thing Husband will actually eat tofu in (and likes it!)

Homemade Tortillas

Living in northern BC we are not really that '"in to" Mexican food. Though we do like it, there is only one Mexican restaurant (read Taco Shop) in town. We can purchase tortillas in the grocery store which I occasionally do to make wraps or quesadillas.


The other day I was thinking of making chicken quesadillas for dinner and had the light bulb moment of "how hard can it be to make tortillas?" So I found a whole wheat recipe ('cause we're whole wheat kind of people) at Allrecipes. They were very easy to make, even though perhaps the roundness of the tortilla was lacking - I never could roll out anything round! I found that the balls of dough that were moister were easier to roll out. I will definately make these again as they really were easy.


Stop the presses!!! I just remember we have another taco shop in the mall - it is a chain restaurant (if you can call it that) so I'm not sure that counts.


Below is the photo documentation of my tortilla making process...

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

As most people with gardens, I have an abundance of zucchini that I need to use up.

We like zucchini bread and I wanted to make a chocolate version, but I couldn't find any healthy type recipes so I kind of made up my own. It is really good and not too sweet. This recipe make 4 loaves which I need for my family as they eat it like crazy. So without further ado, here is the recipe....

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3 c sugar
5 duck eggs (I realize most people don't use duck eggs so use 6 chicken eggs)
1/3 c oil
1/3 c apple sauce
4 T water
2 T vanilla
5 c shredded zucchini
3 c flour
2 c whole wheat flour
1 c unsweetened cocoa
2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
2 t ground cinnamon
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Grease four 4x8 loaf pans

In a medium bowl beat together sugar, eggs, oil, apple sauce, water and vanilla until well blended. Stir in zucchini.

Add dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide batter between the four pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick near the centre comes out clean.

Cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove from pans. (If you don't let them cool first the bottom of the loaf will rip off when removing)

Vintage Blog and Historical Cookbooks

I have decided to discontinue my vintage blog as I just don't have time to work on it along with everything else I do. I do want to save this one particular post so I have copied it over onto this blog.

---------------

For my birthday in May my sister at Reduce, Reuse and Rummage bought me the wonderful book "Eat My Words: Reading Women's Lives Through the Cookbooks they Wrote" It's a wonderful book which reaches far beyond recipes (or receipts as they were called long ago) and into the social lives of women, the struggle for equality in regard learning how to read and write, and the struggle of women to become published authors.

This brings me to a topic I have been wanting to write about since January when I purchased a vintage metal recipe box as a gift for my sister. When the box arrived it came with some freebees and you can't imagine how excited I was! In it were several cookbooks with handwritten recipes, newspaper and magazine recipes, newspaper articles and most things were also dated! I have been pouring over the books and have come to learn a lot about the previous owner.

The brown spiral notebook begins in 1940 when I presume Mrs. Sheldon was a young bride. I know her name is Mrs. Sheldon because the red "Sugar An' Spice And All Things Nice" children's cookbook was copyrighted 1950 and contains the name Melissa Linda Sheldon (I assume this was her daughter as the dates fit) and most articles in the books are from Cleveland. The strange thing that I found in the red children's cookbook was a stash of alcoholic drink recipes.

I'm not sure if you can see the daughter's signature in this photo

More photos of the brown notebook with newspaper clippings and handwritten recipes and Mrs. Sheldon's notes about the recipes and changes she made. Again the first dates on the recipes are 1940, but the stamps on the lower corner are from 1935 and 1936 - I wonder if she just had them lying around and then added them to the book. This notebook appears to end after WWII as on the back cover there is a newspaper clipping about two brothers stationed in the South Pacific.


Close up of stamps

The blue binder is predominately composed of recipes clipped from newspapers and magazines and covers the 1950's and into the mid 1960's.

I love her notes! Obviously the books came from an estate sale and I am sorry that Mrs. Sheldon's family let them go and didn't see the books for the insight/history that they provide about this woman's life.

The back of the binder held several newspaper articles about people.

This clipping is from an entire page of The Cleveland Press dated Wednesday, June 24, 1964
Entitled "40 Years Ago in Lorain Tornado Struck Like Giant Claw of Death"

Mrs Sheldon has written in green ink "I remember this storm"


So, what I have learned about Mrs. Sheldon (from my detective work)? That she was a young bride in around 1940 and had at least one daughter. She grew up and lived in or around the Cleveland, Ohio area and was most like born around 1920. I don't think she had much of an education, perhaps just some high school based on the simple spelling mistakes that I find throughout the books. I believe she was of Danish origin as there are several Danish recipes in the books and one note "Recipes from a danish church out west". She must have had friends who lived in or she visited Michigan and Toronto as some recipes say "Sandusky, Michigan" and there are two sheets of letterhead from the Royal York hotel in Toronto with recipes on them (but the handwriting is different than Mrs. Sheldon's)

I can say that I feel blessed to have received these books. I feel that I am now the keeper of Mrs. Sheldon's life in a way. It would have been such a shame should these books have been thrown away or destroyed.

It has made me come to realize that I also need to clean up the mess I have of my own recipes. For years I have just thrown things into a binder (not even clipped in!). I am now slowly taking everything and either writing or pasting the recipes into a proper book. Hopefully my children will keep the book and pass it on.

Cake

I have been baking cake for the family every Sunday for the past couple of weeks. It is nice for Sunday's dessert and provides a treat for the upcoming week's lunches.

I hate using plastic containers or wrapping the cake in plastic wrap, so I checked out Ebay and won a lovely vintage aluminum cake saver. The top has an acorn handle and around the side it is embossed with oak leaves and acorns. I can't wait to use it for today's cake!

Today's recipe was found on Uncle Phaedrus, Finder of Lost Recipes and is a white cake with pineapple filling.

WHITE CAKE
Ingredients :
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. Crisco or oil
4 egg whites
2 1/4 c. plain flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring

Preparation : Cream sugar and Crisco together, add egg whites one at a time. Sift in 2 1/4 cups plain flour, add salt, baking powder and milk; mix well. Add the vanilla flavoring. Bake at 325 degrees until done (approx 30 minutes). Makes three layers (I made two 9" cake layers).


PINEAPPLE FILLING:
2 c. crushed pineapple
3 tbsp. plain flour
1/2 stick butter
1 c. sugar
Preparation : Cook in double boiler until thick enough to spread between the layers.

WHITE ICING:
2 egg whites
1/3 c. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
Preparation : Put egg whites, sugar, water and cream of tartar and mix thoroughly in double boiler. Place over reapidly boiling water and beat constantly with rotary egg beater until mixture will hold a peak (about 7 minutes). Remove from fire, add vanilla, and beat until cool and thick enough to spread.

I had some difficulty with the icing as the original recipe was very imbiguous - they must have assumed the reader would know how to prepare it. I was about to throw it out as I couldn't get it to thicken. I began looking through another cookbook and realized it had the same ingredients as Seven Minute Frosting. So I put it back in the double boiler and followed the instructions for this frosting and it worked! The icing instructions above are for the Seven Minute Frosting.

The Finished Product

This is a very yummy cake! The icing was very sweet, but the cake itself had a very nice flavour.

Bread

For the life of me, I cannot bake a reasonable loaf of white bread. I've been trying for about 16 years and just can't get it. Oh sure, my loaves look great on the outside, but once cut the interior is a damp heavy mess. It doesn't matter what recipe I try, they always fail.

Husband's mother baked great bread so last weekend he decided to give it try. He emailed his sister for the recipe and went to work. Of course HIS bread turned out wonderful - light, fluffy and very tasty. Guess what he will be doing every weekend from now on!

The bread was so wonderful that I didn't even want to give the heels to the chicken, so I saved them up for bread pudding. I used a wartime recipe from The 40's Experiment and it really is the best bread pudding recipe I have ever made.

Here is husband putting this weekend's bread into the oven....














Here is my mother-in-law's bread recipe which I think may have come from a Purity cookbook:

White Bread:
Yield: 4 Loaves (use 8 1\2" x 4 1\2"bread pans.)

Scald
2 cups milk

Pour into a large bowl and add
1\4 cup sugar
4 teaspoon salt
1\4 cup shortening
1 cup water

Stir until the shorting melts. Cool to lukewarm.

Meanwhile, dissolve 2 teaspoons sugar in 1 cup lukewarm water
Over this sprinkle 2 packages active dry yeast*

Let stand for 10 minutes. Keep at a temperature of about 80 degrees. Then stir briskley with a fork.
Add softened yeast to the lukewarm milk mixture. Stir
Beat in 5 cups Pre-sifted all-purpose flour
Then add another 4 1/2 to 5 cups pre-sifted all-purpose flour
Work in last of the flour with a rotating motion of the hand. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead for 8 to 10 minutes.
Shape into a smooth ball.
Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. grease top slightly. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk-about 1 1/2 hours.-keep dough in a warm place.
Punch down the risen dough and turn onto a lightly floured board. Cut into four equal pieces and form each into a smooth ball. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Shape each ball of dough into a loaf. Place in greased pans and grease the tops. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk (about 1 1/4 hours).
Bake in preheated oven 425 oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

Last day of 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR! ALL THE BEST FOR A FABULOUS 2010!

Our family has decided to stay home tonight to bring in the new year. The kids each have a friend spending the night. Dinner will be a 'picky' affair with crackers, oysters, meats, cheeses, veggies etc.

For Christmas Son gave me a cocktail shaker. Hmmm... I had to figure out what to make as we normally only drink wine, scotch or beer, and get we fancy with a rum and coke. ( Though I did get really adventurous this summer and made some mojitos.) Vodka makes me really ill so I had to figure out what to do with that shaker!

Then along came Diamond Dame with her page of vintage cocktail recipes! As it turns out most drinks were not made with vodka until the 1950's. So I went to the local liquor store, list in hand, for supplies

So we tried a few already...

Gibson
half measure dry white vermouth
2.5 measures gin
2 cocktail onions
Pour vermouth and gin into a glass with ice, stir and let chill for 30 seconds. Skewer onions on a cocktail stick and place in a cocktail (Martini) glass so onions rest at the bottom. Strain vermouth/gin into the glass.

(This was my favourite; but husband thinks it tastes like soap. I think it is an acquired taste.)


Sidecar
1 measure Cointreau
1 measure brandy/cognac
1 measure lemon juice
Shake with ice and strain into sugar-rimmed cocktail (martini) glass and garnish with a strip of lemon rind.

(Very good - it tastes like a Marguarita without the slush)


Orange Blossom
equal parts gin and fresh squeezed orange juice
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail (Martini) glass

(Okay, but nothing to write home about)


Zombie
Legendary 1930s recipe created at Don the Beachcomber restaurant in Hollywood as a hangover cure and became popular at the 1939 World's Fair in New York.
1 measure white rum
1 measure light rum
1 measure dark rum
1 measure apricot brandy
1 measure pineapple juice
1 measure papaya juice
½ measure 151-proof rum
Dash of grenadine
Shake all ingredients other than the 151-proof rum with ice. Pour drink and ice into a tall glass and top with the high-proof rum.

(All I can say is 'Yuck'... perhaps it would taste better if we used apricot brandy instead of normal brandy and had some papaya juice)

Homemade Salami

Well, I did it.... further to my earlier post about no longer eating commercially processed meats, I have made our own salami. I couldn't believe how simple it was to make, and how superior the flavour is compared to store bought! The kids began gobbling it up before it was even completely cooled.

You really have to try it.

I searched on the internet and found various recipes and methods; and as I usually do, I jumped in and picked out what I thought would work and made up my own.



Homemade Salami

1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (crushed - I did this with my mortar and pestle)
2 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp liquid smoke

Combine all the ingredients and mix them very thoroughly.

Form a cylindrical roll about 2 1/2" thick and wrap in tin foil. Place in the fridge for the flavour to combine for 24 hours.

Heat oven to 325F, poke holes in the tin foil and place on a baking sheet in the oven. Bake at 325F for 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn oven down to very low (mine only goes as low as 170F) and continue baking for another 45 minutes or so until dry.

Remove tin foil and cool on wire rack. Wrap and store in fridge.

I currently have 5 salami rolls baking in the oven right now... Oh it SMELLS so GOOD.!