Entries from my journal...

 

I was thumbing through my journal this morning and it occurred to me that maybe it would be a good idea to post some of my thoughts here at the kitchen table. I use my journal for writing down all sorts of things -- travel diaries, thoughts that occur to me, studying particular passages of Scripture, and assignments for Bible studies I’m doing. Here are a few random entries...

June 18, 2004 --”The year is speeding by, and already it is June. I delight in having my quiet time on the screened porch, surrounded by greenery, fresh breezes, and birdsong.
“I’ve been reading through the Gospels, and today was in Mark 1. In the account of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, it says that when she was healed, she ‘rose and ministered unto’ Peter and his friends. I imagine she served them a meal. How often we suppose ‘Christian service’ to be some grand and glorious work, when most often it is doing the everyday things as unto Him.” I liked this quote:

“A great many persons are always sighing for opportunities to minister to Christ, imagining some fine and splendid service which they would like to render. Meantime they let slip past their hands the very things in which Christ wants them to serve Him. True ministry to Christ is doing first of all and well one’s daily duties.”
-- J.R. Miller, Come Ye Apart

January 9, 2005 -- “Just wanted to quickly record here a beautiful sight we saw on the way to church yesterday morning. Every ice-coated stem of weed or grass sparkled like crystal icicles. And the smooth surfaces of new snow looked exactly as if they had been sprinkled with white glitter. Oh, the amazing beauty of God’s creation, and the ‘treasures of the snow’!”

May 12, 2005 -- “Out for a daily walk, I spotted it on the roadside: a gorgeous violet, with leaves as glossy and healthy and blossoms as deeply purple as any well-tended houseplant. Yet what were its surroundings? Dry, inhospitable gravel. It stood out against a background of stony gravel and sparse weeds, yet it bloomed so extravagantly. Just another illustration of how we’re to bloom where God plants us, how we are to rise above our circumstances, and how we’re to stand out from the world around us.”

February 8, 2006 -- “I’ve been impressed [through the study God’s Wisdom for a Woman’s Life] with the crucial importance of living out my faith before my children. Even though they are grown and gone, with families of their own, and my structured times of teaching them are long over, yet they are observing me and my actions and reactions to the issues of life. I don’t want them to see someone who is shallow or is merely ‘playing church’. I want them to see an example of victorious Christian living and true faith. I liked this quote I found concerning Eunice: ‘Timothy received the gift of life twice from his mother. She gave him birth and then showed him what a life of faith could be.’
“May I be consistently showing my children what a life of faith looks like in daily practice! To do this, I need to stay close to the Lord and live in obedience to His Word.”

Champions of breakfast...

Photo by Taste of Home

As I was preparing tonight’s supper -- an egg and cheese bake and a hash brown casserole, to be served with a broccoli/cauliflower blend -- I was reminded of how much I enjoy breakfast. Not that I have a big breakfast on a regular basis, but it’s definitely our favorite meal to eat out; I enjoy entertaining with a brunch; and we often enjoy, as tonight, breakfast foods at supper time. I thought it would be fun to post some of my favorite breakfast and brunch type recipes for others to try. I hope others enjoy these as much as we do!

First up, some favorite coffeecakes:

PUMPKIN STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE
Cake:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sour cream
Pumpkin Layer:
1 (15 to 16-oz.) can pumpkin
1 slightly beaten egg
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Streusel:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans
Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla in mixer bowl. Add eggs, beating well. Sift together flour, baking powder, and soda and add them to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream. In a smaller bowl, combine the pumpkin, egg, sugar and pie spice. In another small bowl, combine all the streusel ingredients until crumbly.

Spoon half of the cake batter into a well-greased 13 x 9” pan. Spread the batter evenly, being sure to get into the corners of the pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel over the batter. Now spread all of the
pumpkin layer over the streusel. Next, spread the remaining cake batter evenly over the pumpkin layer. sprinkle the remaining streusel over the top. Bake at 325º until a toothpick comes out clean.
Makes one 13 x 9” coffee cake.

BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE
Coffee cake batter:
2 1/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Cheese filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 Tblsp. sugar
1 Tblsp. grated lemon peel (or substitute 1/2 tsp. pure lemon extract)
Streusel topping:
1 cup reserved crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

To make batter, combine flour, sugar and salt in large bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of this crumb mixture and set aside. Add baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla to dry mixture
remaining in bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl often. Pour evenly into greased 13x9” baking pan. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over batter. For cheese filling, blend all ingredients together until smooth; spoon evenly over blueberries. For topping, combine reserved crumbs with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts if using them.  Sprinkle over cheese layer.

Bake at 350º for 45 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly before cutting. Makes 1 13x9” coffeecake -- about 20 to 24 servings.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COFFEECAKE

Topping:
1/2 c .flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. softened margarine
1/2 c. chocolate chips
Cocoa Layer:
3 T. cocoa
1/2 c. sugar
Batter:
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. softened margarine
2 c. flour
1 c. sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
For topping, combine flour, sugar and margarine in small bowl until crumbly. Add chocolate chips and set aside.
For cocoa layer, combine ingredients in small bowl; set aside.
For batter, combine sugar and margarine in large bowl; beat until blended. Increase to high; beat until light and fluffy. Reduce heat to low, add remaining ingredients, and beat 3 minutes.
Heat oven to 350º. Grease a 13x9” pan or a 9” tube pan. Spread half of batter in pan; sprinkle with half the cocoa layer. Repeat layers. Sprinkle topping layer over all. Bake 50-55 minutes. For tube cake, cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to rack. 13x9” cake will be cut in squares and served from the pan.

This is a delicious coffeecake. The recipe seems long and complicated, but it’s really quite easy to make.

Next, here are some of our favorite muffins:

RASPBERRY ALMOND MUFFINS

2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup raspberry jam
36 whole almonds or 1/4 cup chopped almonds
Sugar for tops

Heat oven to 400º. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Grease 12 muffin cups and fill each half full of batter.  Place 1 teaspoon raspberry jam in center of each batter-filled cup; top with remaining batter to cover jam. Top each muffin with 3 whole almonds or 1 teaspoon chopped almonds. Sprinkle tops with sugar.
Bake at 400º for 15 to 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before removing muffins from cups; serve immediately. Yield: 12 muffins.

I copied this muffin recipe off a radio cooking show years ago, and it's been a favorite with my family. When all of our children were home I baked muffins at least once a week. These yummy muffins taste fancier than you'd think from their quick preparation.

CRANBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS

1/3 cup chopped dried cranberries
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons boiling water
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
Sugar for tops, (optional)

In a small bowl, stir together the cranberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, and boiling water. Let stand while proceeding with recipe.
Heat oven to 400º. Sift together flour, cornmeal, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat eggs lightly. Add milk and oil; beat until smooth. Stir in the orange peel and the
cranberry mixture. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients until just combined. Divide batter evenly among 12 greased muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. Sprinkle tops with sugar, if desired. Bake at 400º for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool several minutes before removing from cups. Yield: 12 muffins.

I don't remember where this recipe came from, but it's been in my handwritten cookbook for years. When my mother-in-law worked nights, she often stopped by our house for breakfast. This was a favorite baked treat to serve her with coffee.


DOUGHNUT MUFFINS
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cardamom, optional
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
Melted butter and cinnamon-sugar for top

Sift together the first 7 ingredients; set aside. In a bowl, combine the oil, egg, and milk; stir in dry ingredients just until combined.  Batter will be lumpy. Place batter in 12 greased muffin cups, filling
the cups only half full. Bake in preheated 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. While muffins are still hot, remove from tins and dip the tops in melted butter, then in cinnamon-sugar. Place on a wire rack to cool, or serve immediately. 1/4 cup margarine will be more than enough for dipping the muffins.  Yield: 12 muffins

These are some of our very favorite muffins in our family. They are quick and easy to make.

** If you don't have cinnamon-sugar on hand, you can do this: Mix 3/4 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Use what you need for this recipe; store the remainder in a jar or tin for future use. **


ALMOND JOY MUFFINS

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream OR plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Almonds (either chopped, sliced, or whole) and sugar for tops of muffins

Preheat oven to 375º. Grease 12 muffin cups. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, combine margarine, eggs, sour cream (OR yogurt), and extract. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients until just combined well. The batter will be lumpy. Stir in the coconut and chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the greased muffin cups. Top each with a sprinkle of chopped or sliced almonds (or 3 whole almonds) and a little sugar. Bake in preheated 375º oven for 18 minutes or until muffins test done. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Almond Joy Muffins are a great favorite in our family. They make a wonderful addition to any special-occasion or holiday breakfast or brunch. I found the recipe in an old newspaper years ago and have tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes.

OATMEAL JAM MUFFINS

1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup real margarine, melted
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup raspberry jam

Heat oven to 350º. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups. Combine oats and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Let stand 2 minutes; stir in egg, brown sugar and margarine. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; add to oat mixture and stir just until combined. Divide batter among cups. Top each with l teaspoon jam. Bake until done, about 18 minutes. Turn out, cool slightly (the jam gets very hot) and serve. Yield: 1 dozen muffins

Years ago, when I cooked at an inn, I often baked a variation of this recipe. I think this version is even better. If you like, another type of jam may be substituted for raspberry.

Next, here are some cereal recipes we enjoy:

AMISH BAKED OATMEAL

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Warm milk
Fresh fruit and/or brown sugar, optional

Combine the first eight ingredients; mix well. Spread evenly in a greased 13x9x2” baking pan. Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately spoon into cereal bowls; add warm milk. Top with fruit and/or brown sugar if desired.

Yield: 6 servings.

This is such a nice change from regular oatmeal! It’s very different, but delicious.

HOT APPLE OATMEAL

4 cups milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups chopped, unpeeled apples
1 cup raisins, optional
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

In a large saucepan, combine the milk, brown sugar, butter, salt and
cinnamon. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, combine all of the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. When the milk mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat. Pour the hot milk mixture over the oatmeal mix in the bowl. Stir well. Pour the mixture into a buttered 2-quart casserole. Cover the casserole and bake for 45 minutes at 350º, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Serve with
additional milk or cream.

I found this recipe many years ago in my favorite cooking newsletter, Cook & Tell. We have served this oatmeal to many guests over the years and everyone loves it. I will sometimes omit the raisins and/or walnuts if I know our guests have picky children, but the nuts and raisins are a delicious addition to the recipe otherwise.

MARVELOUS MAPLE GRANOLA

2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Snipped dried apricots, raisins, or other dried fruit (optional)

Combine oats, wheat germ, almonds and sunflower seeds in a 2-quart glass casserole. Combine maple syrup and oil; pour over oat mixture. Stir to coat thoroughly. Microwave, uncovered, 5 minutes at High, stirring twice during cooking. Cool, stirring occasionally. When cooled, transfer to a storage container; store covered. When serving granola, top with dried fruit if desired. Yield: About 4 cups.

My family loves granola.. .preferably homemade! This is a delicious way to satisfy that granola craving when time is short.

Now, here are some wonderful breakfast and brunch dishes made with eggs:

BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOAST

12 slices day-old white bread, crusts removed, cut in 1-inch cubes
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, cut in 1/2‰ cubes
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
12 eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
SAUCE:
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 Tablespoon butter

Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 13X9X2" baking dish. Top with all of the cream cheese cubes. Top with blueberries and remaining bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and syrup; mix well. Pour over bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes; then uncover and bake 25 - 30 minutes more or until golden brown and the center is set.
For sauce:
In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; add water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in blueberries; reduce heat. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until berries have burst. Stir in butter until melted. To serve, cut the French toast into squares; serve with blueberry sauce ladled over each portion.  Yield: 6 to 8 servings

This is a wonderful breakfast or brunch dish for company! I've never tried cutting the recipe in half, but you could probably do so and bake it in a 9” square dish.


EGG BRUNCH BAKE
2 cups seasoned croutons
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
Pepper to taste
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Place the croutons and cheese in a lightly greased 9” square pan. combine milk, salt, mustard, onion powder and pepper. Pour this over the croutons and cheese in the pan. Sprinkle bacon on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, bake at 350°, uncovered, for l hour. Recipe may be doubled for a 13X9” pan.  Yield: 4 servings

This is my standby breakfast recipe when we have overnight guests. I also served it at 2 pre-wedding brunches to the wedding party. So easy, but delicious!

BAKED SAUSAGE AND EGGS
1 pkg. brown-and-serve sausage links
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 Tblsp. flour
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half cream (or milk)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Cook sausages according to package directions. Drain off any fat and set the sausages aside.

In ungreased 1 1/2-quart casserole dish, toss together the cheddar cheese and flour. Evenly sprinkle with the Monterey Jack cheese. In medium bowl, beat together the eggs, cream and Worcestershire until well blended. Pour over cheese. Arrange sausages in spoke fashion on top. Cover dish and refrigerate up to 24 hours. About 1 1/4 hours before serving, uncover dish and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°. Bake casserole for 35 to 40 minutes or until mixture is puffed and egg mixture appears set. Cut in wedges to serve.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

This is the egg dish I would always make for any special breakfast until I found that Egg Brunch recipe, which is much simpler.

And here’s a delicious hash brown casserole that goes well with many of the egg dishes:

HASH BROWN CASSEROLE

2 cans cream of potato (or cream of chicken) soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 pkg. (2 lb.) frozen hash brown potatoes (shredded type is best)
1 to 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In large bowl, combine the soup, sour cream and garlic salt. Add potatoes and cheddar cheese; mix well. Pour into a greased 13x9x2” baking dish. Top with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350º for 55-60 minutes or until potatoes are tender and casserole is hot and bubbly.

Yield: 6-8 servings

This yummy brunch or breakfast dish tastes very similar to the hash brown casserole served in Cracker Barrel restaurants. I usually use the lesser amount of cheddar to make the dish lower in fat, and also use light sour cream and reduced-fat soup.

And here’s a delicious homemade sausage:

HOMEMADE SAUSAGE PATTIES

1/4 cup water
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. rubbed sage
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
2 lb. ground pork

In a bowl, stir together water and seasonings. Add pork and mix well. Shape meat mixture into eight 4” patties (or a larger amount of smaller ones). In a skillet over medium heat, cook patties for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in the center.

This is such a yummy recipe for homemade sausage! I often cut the amounts in half to make a smaller batch. This sausage is very lean and not at all greasy.


And finally, this drink recipe is just wonderful for a special breakfast or brunch:
MORNING ORANGE DRINK

1 can (6 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate
1 cup cold water
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
10 ice cubes

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a blender; process at high speed. Add ice cubes, a few at a time, blending until smooth. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

This yummy drink has an “Orange Julius” type flavor. It always goes over well. I enjoy serving this as part of a brunch menu.

Kitchen-Table Wisdom...

 

Recently, in a Bible study I’ve been doing called God’s Wisdom for a Woman’s Life, I was challenged to write down my child-raising principles. Even though I had a lot of principles I used when my children were growing up, I never had even attempted to write them down. The idea of doing so now -- even though my children are all grown and gone -- was so that I would be able to share my principles and thoughts with other young moms, as we older women are commanded to do in Titus 2. So I did make a stab at writing down my principles. Since this is theoretically the kind of information I might share across my kitchen table, I thought it might be good to record it here on my blog as well. I have no idea if anyone else is even reading this, but I hope it might be helpful to someone, somehow. These principles, by the way, are in no particular order, though I do believe the first one to be the most important. From then on, I just wrote them down as they came to mind. Some of these things I started out doing; others I learned along the way. Some of them have been refined a bit as I’ve learned from other older or wiser women.

MY CHILD-RAISING PRINCIPLES

1. Point children to God from the very beginning and help them understand their need of a Savior.
2. Start them on the habit of personal devotions as early as possible.
3. Make attending church services a regular part of your week -- something your family joyfully chooses to do, not something you’re obligated to do.
4. Teach your children to do their best in all things. I relied on this bit of wisdom: “It’s not a sin to fail -- but it is a sin to do less than your best.”
5. Make sure the type of education you choose for your children lines up with your family’s Christian standards.
6. Have a “no-whining” policy with your children.
7. Have a plan in place to defuse arguments over who’s first, who sits where in the car, who got the biggest piece of dessert, etc.
8. Teach your children that delayed obedience is actually disobedience.
9. Emphasize the need to obey right away as important to their safety. (I once observed some children, for example, playing among parked cars on a busy street after church. The parents were trying to get control but the children were ignoring them. Delayed disobedience in this case could have led to injury or even death.)
10. Teach children early to begin memorizing Scripture.
11. Take every opportunity to teach children about the Christian life.
12. Make sure that you, yourself, are living the Christian life. Actions will always speak louder than words.
13. Help children to understand the important of right choices.
14. Require your children to try a tiny amount of whatever good foods are being served. If they like it, they can have more.
15. Pick your battles. Some things are just not important enough to make a big deal over.
16. Teach children to do simple chores at a very young age. As they grow, they can gradually take on more responsibilities around the house.
17. Teach kids money management -- saving, giving, responsible spending, etc.
18. Allow children plenty of time to exercise their creativity, and teach them how to clean up after themselves.
19. Factor outdoor play, fresh air and exercise into every day, if at all possible.
20. Help children to realize that they can’t always have things their way -- and that doing things God’s way is far more important to their happiness than having their own way.
21. Help children realize that life isn’t always fair -- but that God is in control of all of life, and He is always fair.
22. Teach your children to look at God, not the circumstances.
23. I didn’t allow boredom. There is always something interesting to do. If anyone complained about being bored (and my own children almost never did), they knew I’d find them a job to do.
24. Do all you can to emphasize books and reading, and to help your children learn to read well. Take them to the library and allow them to pick out books from an early age.
25. Be consistent.
26. Always follow through on what you say you’ll do, whether it’s a disciplinary action or a promise of something fun. Kids quickly pick up on it if you don’t mean what you say.
27. Help children understand that their actions always have consequences.
28. Take time to listen to your kids.
29. Appreciate each of your children as an individual. They are all different!
30. Consider either not having a television or using it mostly to view worthwhile movies of your choice. My kids grew up without one and I think it helped them learn to be creative and entertain themselves. It also helped their attention spans and reading skills.

In the study book I spoke of above -- God’s Wisdom for a Woman’s Life by Elizabeth George -- I found great encouragement in these words, which allude to the fact that training children takes a heart of faith: 

“As God’s mothers [that is, of course, mothers who love God and are seeking to walk with Him], we have to believe that, no matter how dark and discouraging things get or how many mysterious, heartbreaking turns the parenting path takes, our teaching is important .. just because God says it is.”

Christmas Cooking and Baking...

Wow, it has sure been awhile since I posted here. Things have been going crazy ever since Thanksgiving, and it’s long past time for me to check in and report on the Christmas cooking that went on around my house. I hope anyone who happens to be reading this had a nice Christmas!

Cook & Tell is my favorite cooking newsletter and a fantastic source of new and different recipes. As usual, I used my Dec C&T’s a lot through the holiday season. There were many occasions to cook and tell, from tea parties to Christmas dinner, from refreshments after caroling to a New Years’ open house. If anyone is interested in checking out Cook & Tell for themselves, I have a link here on my blog. Back issues are still available, and a year’s subscription is $20. You’ll find the details on the C&T site.

My husband had 2 of his wisdom teeth out in early December, which meant soft foods for awhile -- not for as long as the oral surgeon suggested, but for awhile anyway! . One of my early “comfort food” meals for him as he survived on a soft diet was the Shepherd’s Pie from Dec. 98. Very tasty! Another thing I tried in that time frame was the Avocado Omelet from Dec 01. We loved it!

I tried a couple of new cookie recipes this year in addition to some of our family’s old favorites. One such was the Peppermint Snowballs from Dec 98. I made them round rather than flat and didn’t bother to roll them in confectioners sugar (it seemed unnecessary to me) -- just drizzled the glaze and sprinkled with the crushed candies. Oh, are those good! Have any of you tried the Celestial Seasonings holiday tea called Candy Cane Lane? Wish I had bought more -- that stuff is so addictive. It’s green tea with peppermint and a touch of vanilla -- actually does have a “candy cane” flavor, much more so than regular peppermint tea. Anyway, the Peppermint Snowballs have much the same flavor. I love them and will make them a regular in my Christmas baking.

Another cookie recipe I tried from another source also became an instant favorite. I found them in this year’s Country Woman Christmas magazine. They are a sort of a chocolate crinkle cookie, but when they come out of the oven you top each one with an Andes mint, wait a minute or two and swirl the melted mint into an icing. Wonderful! The icing sets and hardens into a smooth chocolate-mint glaze that holds up just fine in the freezer.

Old favorites I made this year were Sacher Torte cookies, Whipped Shortbread, Eggnog Logs, Chocolate Spritz, and Gingersnaps. I also tried another new one -- a Lime Spritz recipe (actually can be made with any flavor) made with lime jello, from a Taste of Home. Interestingly, I had several requests for this recipe from those who tasted it. It livened up my cookie plates -- I used the tree disc of the cookie press. Wreaths would be nice too.

I also did Christmas cookie baking with the grandkids... and their moms. I’m not yet brave enough to take all three of them all by myself. (And by the end of May there’ll be a fourth.) We all had such fun! We’re thinking we may try it again with Valentine cookies.

Of course, I made Double-Decker P.B. Fudge from Dec 96 (aka Heavenly Delight in our family). Made a batch for nibbling and gifting, then later made a double batchfor gifts. That is one terrific recipe. It never fails!

Special Holiday Fudge (Dec 88) also is one that I always make. Just as good as ever! This one, with its nuts, raisins, almond and orange flavoring, really tastes like Christmas to me.

I tried a new fudge recipe this year called Four-Chip Fudge (semisweet, milk choc., p.butter, and butterscotch). Oh, was that good, and the recipe made a LOT of fudge. I’m sure I’ll make it again, even though it wasn’t quite all that I hoped for, You see, when I saw the recipe in an old Taste of Home, I was hoping it might taste like some fudge a dear elderly lady used to make for our family. She never would share the recipe, even though she was otherwise a most generous soul, but she passed away some time ago. This recipe came close to tasting like her fudge -- but, as my friend Marilyn reminded me, Peggy’s fudge had streaks of peanut butter in it. We’re not sure if that was by design or if she just didn’t stir it in well enough. If anybody reading this recognizes the recipe, speak up! We would love to know how to make that fudge.

I took trays of cookies almost everywhere we were invited. For an open house at our pastor’s home, I also took along a couple of blue cheese logs (from a cheese ball recipe) rolled in toasted pecans. This is a recipe from Ken Haedrich’s book Home for the Holidays. My youngest daughter loved to make this in years gone by for different holiday events. Alas, she and her hubby did not come East this Christmas. But the cheese logs brought back some very nice memories.

Christmas Eve we had our “Christmas” with our local kids and the three grandchildren. Made our usual Christmas Eve Soup which I’ve been making probably close to 25 years. It’s just a simple potato soup (but made with cream) with carrots and celery which you garnish with shredded cheddar and crumbled bacon. This year we served cheese pizza alongside, as all the kids will eat that. My daughter-in-law brought a salad, and that rounded out our main course. My daughter brought a dessert -- a chocolate peanut butter trifle -- and I made a gingerbread trifle. Both recipes were from Quick Cooking. Of course I also put out a plate of cookies and fudge.

For Christmas dinner, we ate with my folks after church. They really don’t cook much these days, but they heated up a purchased chicken pie and some frozen peas and Dad cooked a squash. I brought a plate of ham, some mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. For dessert we had leftover gingerbread trifle and -- what else? -- the inevitable cookies and fudge.

Five other ladies and I have been getting together for a lunchtime “tea party” each month for almost a year now. Fun! We take turns hosting the group, which includes two little children as well. For December, we decided that a progressive tea party was in order, so we could all see one another’s decorations. One of the group had family visiting from Scotland, so her mom was able to join in too. At the last house -- ours -- the spouses joined us for dessert. I made a caramel pecan pie from a Gooseberry Patch Christmas book, a cherry mousse pie from an old Taste of Home, and of course the good old tray of cookies and fudge. I also made a wonderful drink from C&T -- a delicious Mulled Cranberry Orange Juice from Dec 98. That went over very well and smelled and tasted so festive and warming. I’ll be making that again before the winter is over! I also tried something very different -- a recipe called Effortless Eggnog from a recent Taste of Home. It contains no eggs, just French Vanilla instant pudding mix, milk, vanilla and spices. What a great recipe! Everyone loved it. It tastes completely “real”, yet there’s no worry about raw eggs or the fuss of trying to cook the egg mixture.

This past Saturday we had friends over and served lasagna. I have a veggie lasagna recipe I cobbled together from a C&T recipe of years gone by and another recipe I had. This time I made it with Alfredo sauce rather than the spaghetti sauce I usually use. What a hit! Also served a regular meat lasagna, French bread (from Walmart’s bakery --really quite tasty and only $1 ) and a medley of roasted veggies -- mushrooms, zucchini, baby carrots, red & yellow peppers.

Tonight’s supper is Beef Barbecue from Dec 94. It’s sort of an Italian beef, made with a pot roast, dry Italian dressing mix (I make my own) and banana pepper rings. Quite a favorite. I’m serving it on Italian dinner rolls from the supermarket bakery, with coleslaw on the side. (The easiest cole slaw in the world is made like this: get a bag of coleslaw mix from the produce section and put as much of it as you want to use into a bowl. Add mayonnaise -- I like Hellman’s light -- until the mixture looks just a little bit too dry for your taste. Then dribble in some seasoned rice vinegar and mix until the coleslaw is as moist as you like it. That’s it! There’s some salt and sugar in the rice vinegar, and you’ll find that’s all the seasoning you’ll need. This good idea comes from the book Saving Dinner.)

A part of Christmas I always enjoy is sharing homemade goodies with others. As usual, again this year I spent time at my kitchen table packaging up treats to share. I usually try and make a bread or fruitcake in small loaves, to include with cookies, fudge, cookie mixes, etc. This year I made something new (to me) called Gift of the Magi bread. It did look jewel-like, containing bananas, cherries, and mandarin oranges, among other ingredients. I didn’t get to taste it myself, but it looked lovely and festive wrapped in brown paper with red ribbons, and I hope everyone enjoyed it.



You know, it occurs to me now that although this Christmas was different for me, and I didn’t feel as organized or ready as I often do, I may have done more cooking than usual -- and I definitely found more joy in doing so.

Thanksgiving at Gram's

November brings thoughts of Thanksgiving Day, and I have many memories I'd love to share across the kitchen table. If possible, I should do this before my table becomes laden with food for that special day. I'd like to begin by sharing this reminiscence of my childhood Thanksgivings at my grandmother's New England farmhouse.


THANKSGIVING AT GRAM’S

It wasn’t a large group that gathered at the farm for Thanksgiving, although ours was a big family. All of Gram’s six children were married, with families of their own, so it was understandable that not everyone could manage to come at the same time. Usually, about eight or ten adults and teenagers were seated around the dining room table, while five or six younger children ate in the kitchen. It was a very big deal when one was considered old enough to eat in the dining room.

Gram’s dining room was a magical place, even on ordinary days. Creamy-smooth painted wainscoting ran halfway up the walls, where it met a pale wallpaper patterned in clear, bright colors. At the far end of the room were dark built-in cupboards that held plates and serving dishes, and a maple sideboard containing the good silver and the table linens. In one wall were two large sunny windows; in the other, one small window which opened -- amazingly! -- into the pantry. No simple pass-through, this was a real window, with glass in it. As a child, I found that window endlessly fascinating, and I always wanted to see it actually being used.

But the most enchanting thing about the dining room was the corner cupboard that held Gram’s pitcher collection. I could stand in front of that glassed-in cupboard for hours and still not see everything. There were animal-shaped pitchers, like an orange-and-black striped tiger and a lifelike moose head. There were brightly painted Toby jugs and other pitchers made to look like people. There were small, shiny copper pitchers. In fact, her collection included almost every kind of pitcher imaginable. The ones that delighted me most were the miniatures. Some were no bigger than my fingernail, and they were beautifully detailed, painted with tiny flowers, rimmed with gold.

On Thanksgiving Day, the dining room assumed an even greater splendor. The table was extended to its full length and spread with a snowy linen cloth. It was set with Gram’s best dishes -- white with a graceful design of trailing green ivy. The serving dishes were of the same pattern. At each end of the table stood a butter dish and salt and pepper shakers, all of clear glass in a bumpy hobnail design.

And the food! Even before the meal was ready, nibbling was encouraged. The sideboard was covered with a tempting array of pretty little dishes, filled with mixed nuts, chocolates, homemade fudge and divinity, and Grammie Wallace’s famous stuffed dates. For those not inclined to nibble on sweets, cheese and crackers were available. My favorite was sage cheese -- an extra sharp Vermont cheddar, with aromatic sage marbled throughout it.

Even with all the snacking, everyone managed to do the Thanksgiving dinner full justice. In fact, the only sounds during the meal were the clink of forks against china, and the occasional murmur of conversation. Gram prepared and served all the food herself, and never sat down until everything was on the table. There was turkey, of course, with mounds of moist bread stuffing, redolent of Bell’s Seasoning, and Gram’s incomparable dark brown gravy. There were vegetables -- white, fluffy mashed potatoes, well-peppered golden winter squash, boiled onions, and tender green peas. There was cranberry sauce, both the jellied and the whole-berry types, both referred to by Gram as “cranberry jelly”, and often there was cranberry-orange relish as well. Always, there was a huge tossed salad with Gram’s favorite, Wish-Bone Italian dressing. There were home-baked rolls that exuded a marvelous, yeasty aroma. And sometimes, in keeping with Gram’s love affair with convenience foods (understand this was a lady who once cooked in lumber camps, and you’ll know why) there were Pillsbury butterflake rolls! What fun it was to pull them apart and eat them layer by layer -- at least, it was fun unless my dad happened to notice, at which time I would be scolded for playing with my food. (There were some benefits to being relegated to the little kids’ table in the kitchen!)

After all this, the desserts were a bit of an anticlimax: apple, custard, and pumpkin pies, and hot, sweet Indian pudding that never tasted quite as wonderful as it smelled.

Even after consuming all that food, most of us were not uncomfortably full. (My cousin Kevin was the exception. He invariably ended up on the living room couch clutching his stomach.) And, as everyone rallied around to clear the table and help with the dishes, there seemed to be a spirit of family closeness and good will that was rarely felt at any other time. Maybe -- just maybe -- the magic of Thanksgiving at Gram’s worked on grownups just as well as it did on children!

Kitchen Memories

 Recently I was challenged, by a Bible study book I was using, to think back to my childhood and memories of my mother as a homemaker -- to reflect on things she may have taught me.

As far as cleaning and housework-type skills, I didn’t learn the lessons I should have, in part because not all the right lessons were taught, and in part because the ones that were taught were not absorbed.

But oh, the kitchen memories! Now THOSE are worth their weight in gold!

There were always wonderful things to eat coming out of Mom’s kitchen. There was always something homemade to snack on after school, and supper was always a good, nourishing meal. Only occasionally was something served that I truly disliked, such as liver. I also remember not liking runny eggs for breakfast, and I didn’t really care for pot roast as a child because we always had farm-raised beef that was not cut particularly well, and there were all these tendons and other things showing up in the meat that just made me gag. Other than those few exceptions, I loved the food that Mom prepared.

It’s funny how some of my sharpest memories are of little things -- like how she always set my dad’s place at the table with a separate little sauce dish for any vegetable (for example, summer squash, or peas) that might be too liquid on the plate. She didn’t do this for the rest of us as I recall, just for Dad. That was the way he liked such things to be served. Another little thing was how she always made her own salad dressing fresh for each salad we ate. As far as I remember, there was no making up a whole jar of dressing and storing it in the fridge. She never measured, just shook up oil, vinegar, and seasonings. I was probably ten or even older before I tasted -- and instantly fell in love with -- bottled Wish-Bone Italian dressing, at my grandmother’s house.

My mom was always exchanging good recipes with friends and family too. She had a recipe box full of them, scribbled on bits and pieces of paper and envelopes as well as on 3x5” cards. Most of her scribbled-down recipes (probably relayed to her across the kitchen table or over the phone) have rather sketchy directions and amounts, but they’re fun to look back at and try to translate.

Holidays were special times at home -- especially Christmas. I’ve written an entire book of my Christmas memories, and am sure I barely scratched the surface of them. Thanksgiving was also special. Often we went to my grandmother’s, but other times we ate at home, and Mom went to a lot of work to make things festive and to involve us kids in the preparations. I remember grinding cranberries and oranges for cranberry relish, washing seedy red grapes, cracking nuts, etc. Mom loved to have fancy dishes of grapes, nuts, and candy around for people to enjoy on Thanksgiving Day. I believe this is something that her family had often done, at least in later years when they could afford such things.

Another kitchen memory is how warm and cozy it always seemed when we came in from playing outdoors in the winter. We would be greeted with mugs of hot cocoa with blobs of marshmallow fluff melting on top. I never thought much about it at the time, but several older children from a neighbor family often went sliding with us, and they were always welcomed in Mom’s kitchen too. These children were from a very poor family; I can’t imagine that they ever were greeted with mugs of hot cocoa at home. A smack upside the head was probably more like it, unfortunately. I was too young to realize that, and also too young to realize what a wonderful opportunity my mom was giving them to spend some time with a real family around a welcoming kitchen table.

As I’ve thought about this topic ever so briefly, I realize there are many more kitchen memories yet to surface. I’ll be sharing more of them across my kitchen table in the weeks and months to come...

Doughnut Doings

 

What an unusual mess my kitchen table was last night! A friend has a ministry with a dozen young girls ages 10 to 15. I had told her some weeks ago that if she ever wished to use my kitchen for a cooking or crafting venture with the girls, she would be welcome to. (The home where they usually meet is small, and kitchen space a bit cramped for so large a group. My kitchen, by contrast, is large and rambling.) She had the wonderful idea that for their October meeting, she would like to use my kitchen and have me teach the girls to fry doughnuts. We would have hot cider to go along with the finished product. It sounded so simple! 

Let me hasten to add that, although I learned to fry doughnuts at my grandmother’s elbow, I have not made doughnuts for years. One of my daughters made them several times during her high school and college years, but at those times I only supervised. So my skills were rusty and my aversion to deep-frying deep-rooted, but I was game for the challenge. I was quite certain the finished product would not likely resemble my grandmother's doughnuts in any way, though I intended to use her recipe. 

As time went on in my planning for this event, I decided just to make one batch of my grandmother’s recipe -- which produces 3 1/2 dozen doughnuts -- for the girls to fry. In addition, I would make a double batch of a no-fry, baked doughnut of the raised variety -- much healthier than frying. These would be all baked when the girls arrived, allowing them to spend all their time in the production of the fried cake doughnuts. Their leader had told me she hoped to have each girl be able to take part in the frying process, and hopefully in the rolling and cutting too. In addition, we decided to provide frosting for the baked doughnuts and to ask the girls to bring sprinkles, coconut, nuts, or other toppings. This sounded wonderfully easy when we were planning it. 

However, when I sat down yesterday morning to try and plan how it would all work, I found I had a challenge on my hands. I made four charts before I found one that worked. We would have 12 girls and wanted each to be able to roll, cut, and fry some doughnuts, as well as take a turn removing them from the fat and later frosting some doughnuts. In addition, I thought up a couple more jobs to streamline things and keep everyone busy -- 1) Transferring the cut doughnuts to waxed paper-lined trays; 2) Carrying said trays to the girls who would be frying doughnuts in 2 electric skillets (stationed at opposite ends of the kitchen to avoid tripping a circuit breaker) and 3) Finishing, which included arranging finished doughnuts on doily-lined plates for each girl to take home; cleaning up, and doing dishes. We would have 1 hour of their 2-hour meeting time to accomplish all this. 

Making up a schedule that worked was like doing one of those logic puzzles: If Jane’s favorite subject is math, and Sue takes peanut butter sandwiches in her lunch. what position does Linda play on the basketball team? (Fortunately, I have always enjoyed such puzzles.) I assigned each girl a letter of the alphabet and made up a printed schedule for each girl detailing what she would be doing first, second, etc. My thought was that every 10 minutes we would rotate jobs. Even when the first part of the meeting went a bit overtime, I still thought it would work -- we would just rotate jobs every 5 minutes instead. 

 My plan did work well, but not as well as I had hoped. To begin with, I should have had a few doughnuts -- maybe 3 for each fryer -- all cut out and ready so that the girls frying could begin their task at once and not have to wait for those rolling and cutting. Other than that, things went quite smoothly, and most of the girls followed their schedules quite well, seeming to enjoy every part of the process. Flour, dough scraps, frosting and sprinkles were everywhere! But most of the girls and a few moms pitched in to clean up the kitchen, and it was soon restored to order. All the girls (I hope!) got to try their hand at the deep-frying technique, and the frosted doughnuts were works of art! The plates of doughnuts they took home looked wonderful, and if a few of them turned out raw in the middle, some family member probably ate them anyway. 

 All in all, it worked well, and the girls seemed to have a marvelous time. An "all-round" good evening!