Recipes, Cooking, Beverages

How to Prepare Lamb Loaf

2008-08-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

LAMB LOAF

8 SERVINGS

The touch of garlic is nice for lamb.

2 pounds ground lamb

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons minced onion

1 green pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 cup crumbled cracker crumbs

Mix ingredients and pack into greased loaf pan. Bake at 325° F. for 1 hour, 20 minutes. This is good with olive sauce. A little of the olive juice won't hurt anything.

You might add a tablespoonful to the sauce.

Relish Meat Loaf

2008-08-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

RELISH MEAT LOAF

6 SERVINGS

You wonder how you've produced so much flavor with so little effort.

1,5 pounds ground beef

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1,5 teaspoons mono sodium glutamate

3/4 cup packaged prepared bread stuffing

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup pickle relish

3/4 cup evaporated milk

1/4 up finely chopped onion

1 egg

Sprinkle beef with seasonings. Toss gently. Combine evaporated milk, egg, and Tabasco in mixing bowl; stir in bread stuffing. Add ground beef mixture and remaining ingredients. Form into loaf in shallow baking pan. Bake at 350° F. for 1 hour and 15 minutes. If you wish, serve with heated chili sauce.

Lamb Loaf with Spinach and Potato Crust

2008-08-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

LAMB LOAF WITH SPINACH AND POTATO CRUST

8-10 SERVINGS

A handsome dish to set before company!

1,5 pounds ground lamb from breast or neck

1/2 pound ground pork

2 medium onions, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 sliver garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 tablespoons minced parsley

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon each of pepper and nutmeg

1 cup soft bread crumbs

2 slightly beaten eggs

3/4 cup meat stock, milk, or water

1,5 cups seasoned mashed potatoes

1 cup chopped cooked spinach

Mix meats; add onions, green pepper, garlic, and celery which have been sauteed for several minutes in a little hot fat.

Add other seasonings, crumbs, eggs, and liquid. Pack in large greased loaf pan and bake 1 hours and 15 minutes at 350° F. Turn out loaf on ovenware platter and spread with a mixture of the mashed potatoes and spinach. Brush with a little butter, if you wish, and return to oven to brown.

This loaf, garnished with pimiento strips is a colorful dish and with its built-in vegetables, I suggest only a fruit salad and hat biscuits to complete a main course at dinner.Remember that mint jelly goes beautifully with any me at loaf made with lamb. Mint sherbet is an idea for special occasions-not as dessert, but as an accompaniment for the loaf.

How to Prepare Black Bean Salad

2008-08-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

BLACK BEAN SALAD

4 cans (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed

1,5 cups chopped tomato

1/2 cup chopped red onion

3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 tablespoons chopped scallion

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2/3 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Refrigerate before serving. Makes about 8 cups.

Spicy Shredded Chicken

2008-08-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

SPICY SHREDDED CHICKEN

2 pounds chicken breasts, skinless and boneless

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

In a heavy, medium-size saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil over medium-high hear. Reduce hear, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove lid, and continue to cook, breaking apart chicken and shredding with a wooden spoon or large fork.

Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more, until most of the chicken is shredded. Serve immediately, or reheat before party.

Makes enough for about 20 tacos.

Mexican Beef

2008-08-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

MEXICAN BEEF

2 pounds ground beef

2 pkgs. (1 oz.) taco seasoning mix

Follow package instructions for preparation. Serve immediately, or reheat before party.

Makes enough for about 20 tacos.

How to Prepare Yellow Rice

2008-08-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

YELLOW RICE

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1/3 cup chopped onion

2,5 cups uncooked white rice

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons salt 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen peas

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute onion in butter for 5 to 7 minutes, until soft and lightly golden.

Stir in rice and spices. Add 5 cups water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-law; cover. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in frozen peas, and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve, and reheat.

Rice can also be served at room temperature, if desired. Makes about 6 cups.

Follow time on rice package.

How to Prepare Cranberry Fizz

2008-08-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

CRANBERRY FIZZ

2 quarts cranberry juice

2 quarts ginger ale

2 cups lime juice

Combine ingredients; chill before serving.

Garnish with lime slices, if desired.

How to Prepare Salsa (Pico de Gallo)

2008-08-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

SALSA (PICO DE GALLO)

1,5 cups chopped tomato

1/2 cup chopped white onion

1/2 to 1 tablespoon chopped fresh jalapeno pepper

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes about 2 cups.

How to Prepare Guacamole

2008-08-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

GUACAMOLE

6 ripe avocados

1/2 cup chopped tomato

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro or parsley

1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapefio pepper

Juice of one lime

1,5 teaspoons salt

Pinch black pepper

Cut avocados in half, and scoop out pulp with a large spoon. Place avocado flesh in a medium bowl, and mash with a fork until almost smooth. Stir in tomato, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper. Season with lime juice, salt, and pepper.

Place one of the avocado pits in the Guacamole (to keep it from turning brown), cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Guacamole is best when served the same day (remove avocado pit before serving). Makes about 6 cups.

Pizzaburgers

2008-08-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

PIZZABURGERS

Pizza comes in many guises, and sizes!

4-6 SERVINGS

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 pound ground beef

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

3 tablespoons tomato paste

Minced parsley

Oregano

English muffins, split and toasted

Mozzarella or Scamorze cheese, sliced

Saute onion in butter, add meat mixed with egg and seasonings and let brown. Turn heat low and simmer a few minutes, adding a little water if mixture seems dry. Spread on muffin halves, heaping high. Top each with a slice of cheese and broil until cheese melts.

Miniature Buns for Baby Burgers

2008-08-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

MINIATURE BUNS FOR BABY BURGERS

Let it be known that you made the buns as well as the burgers, and watch them go!

Your bakery will special-order tiny buns for you, but you may want the fun of making them for a cocktail party. Of course, they may be shaped big for big burgers, too.

2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm

2 cups flour

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons salt

About 4 cups more flour

Soften yeast in the warm water. Beat 2 cups flour into the cooled milk until smooth. Add yeast and let stand until light and bubbly. Cream shortening and sugar together well in electric mixer, add eggs and salt and beat well; then beat this into yeast mixture. Work in enough more flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl, cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Shape dough into skimpy 1-inch balls, place on greased baking sheets, let rise until double in bulk and bake at 400° F. for 8 to 10 minutes. Split the little buns, butter them, and fill at serving time with tiny, hot hamburgers. Do remember that yeast dough puffs up a lot, even in the baking. Keep the rolls tiny.

Bacon Burgers

2008-08-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

BACON BURGERS

8 SERVINGS

A perfect choice for back-yard entertaining.

2 pounds ground beef

1,5 cups fresh bread crumbs

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup catsup

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 medium onions, sliced thin

2 tablespoons butter

8 thin slices tomato

16 strips bacon

Mix meat, bread crumbs, milk, catsup, salt, pepper, and egg.

Shape into 16 thin patties on wax paper. Saute onions in butter 5 minutes. Place onions and a tomato slice on half of patties.

Cover with remaining meat, and press edges together. Place 2 strips of bacon crisscross on wax paper, and top with a meat cake. Fold bacon over, and press firmly. Grill over charcoal.

De Luxe Hamburgers

2008-08-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

DE LUXE HAMBURGERS

2 KING SIZE, 4 REGULAR, OR 6 SLIM

These moist patties are fried in butter.

1 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons minced onion (optional)

1/2 cup undiluted evaporated milk or light cream

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Lightly mix beef, seasonings, onion, and milk; shape into patties. Mixture will be quite moist to handle. Brown on each side in hot butter in a frying pan. Serve on buttered, toasted buns with rings of onion and sliced tomatoes.

Cook king-size patties 6 to 8 minutes to the side, and regular-sized ones, 3 to 5 minutes to the side. Allow about 3 minutes per side if you make slim patties.

Brandywine Beef

2008-08-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

BRANDYWINE BEEF

3 lb. boneless chuck or other beef suitable for potting
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
Freshly ground pepper
Salt
2 tbs. cooking oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 bay leaf
3 tbs. brandy (or bourbon)
1/2 cup dry white wine

Sprinkle meat with salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Be meagre with cinnamon!

Heat oil in a large pot over a medium high heat, until hot but not smoking. Add meat and brown it well on all sides.

Add the onion slices and let them brown. Add garlic if desired.

Baked Eggs with Anchovy

2008-08-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

BAKED EGGS WITH ANCHOVY

1 can anchovies
2 tbs. chopped parsley
1 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced
4 eggs
1 tbs. butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mash anchovies in bottom of a 4-cup baking dish. Add cream and mix well. Bake until mixture begins to bubble.

Saute mushrooms in butter until soft. Add to cream, and add parsley. Continue baking until mixture is reduced by about a third. Season to taste with pepper. Turn off oven heat.

Remove baking dish from oven, but leave oven door closed to retain heat. Break each egg into a saucer and slide carefully into sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Return to lowest part of oven, and cook gently until eggs are set.

Egg-Stuffed Meat Loaf

2008-08-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

EGG-STUFFED MEAT LOAF

8 OR MORE SERVINGS

A well seasoned loaf with center decoration.

2 pounds ground beef, or beef and veal

2 slices bacon or salt pork, ground

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 cup dry bread crumbs

2 eggs

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 cup tomato juice

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 hard cooked eggs

Combine ingredients except cooked eggs. Pack half the mixture into a greased loaf pan and line up the eggs down the middle. Top with rest of meat. Bake 1 hour, 15 minutes at 350° F. When sliced, the egg makes an attractive center for the meat loaf. Frankfurters or large stuffed olives may be used in the same manner as the eggs.

Meat Loaf with Variations

2008-08-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

MEAT LOAF WITH VARIATIONS

6-8 SERVINGS

A basic recipe to change around as you wish.

1,5 pounds ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1/4 cup minced onion (1 small onion)

1 cup soft bread crumbs, rolled oats, crushed crackers, or cereal flakes

2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup diced celery, including tops (optional)

1/2 cup milk, water, stock, tomato juice, catsup, chili sauce, or red wine

Combine ingredients and turn into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350° F. for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Bacon strips may be laid across the top before baking.

FANCY DRESS FOR MEAT LOAF

Barbecued: Shape loaf in shallow baking pan. Spoon barbecue sauce over it at intervals during baking. lndividual loaves may be shaped.

Catsup or Chili Sauce Topped: Use another liquid in the loaf itself and pour 1 cup catsup or chili sauce over it before baking.

Cheese Topped: Lay slices of process Cheddar cheese over the top of the loaf 15 minutes before the end of baking.

Mushroom Meat Loaf: Add to the basic loaf 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sauteed in butter and chopped fine.

Peachy Meat Loaf: Pack mixture in 8-inch square pan, Make 6 indentations in surface and bake 35 minutes. Place a peach half in each hollow. Fill peach cups with catsup. Sprinkle surface of loaf with brown sugar and bake 25 minutes longer.

Potato Topped Loaf: Place loaf in square pan, spread with chili sauce, and bake 40 minutes. Pile on top 3 cups fluffy mashed potatoes and flute into ridges with tines of fork. Brush with butter. Return to oven for 20 minutes. Or bake loaf in square for 40 minutes, turn out on hat platter, cover with butter-brushed mashed potatoes, and broil a few minutes, just to heat through and brown lightly. Instant mashed potatoes are dandy for this purpose. You could beat in an egg.

Sausage Meat Loaf: Substitute bulk pork sausage for park, and use just 1 teaspoon salt.

Paul Bunyan Burgers

2008-08-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

PAUL BUNYAN BURGERS

4 SERVINGS

These are hearty enough for any giant north woodsman. There's a half pound of meat in each savory portion.

2 pounds ground beef

1,5 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper

1/2 teaspoon mixed salad herbs

1/4 cup catsup

1/4 cup milk

4 or 8 strips bacon

Mix meat, seasonings and liquids; the blend will be moist.

Shape into four thick patties and wrap a strip or two strips of bacon around each, securing with toothpicks. Broil about 4 inches from heat, 6 minutes to each side, to have them brown outside and pink within.

Stupendous Burgers

2008-08-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

STUPENDOUS BURGERS

4 SERVINGS

Here is a super cheeseburger, well stacked, superbly sauced, for hearty appetites. It's knife-and-fork food.

4 large hamburgers, broiled (1 pound meat)

2 cups hot cheese sauce

4 slices toast

4 slices Swiss cheese

4 slices mild onion

4 slices tomato

4 strips bacon

4 sliced stuffed olives

Better make the sauce while the burgers cook: Blend 1/4 cup flour with 1/4 cup butter, add 2 cups milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a few drops Tabasco and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. Stir and cook to smooth sauce. Melt 1,5 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese in the sauce.

When sauce and burgers are ready, do this: Place a slice of Swiss cheese on each side of toast, and park a hamburger on it. Top with an onion slice, then a tomato slice. Pour the hot cheese sauce over the burger stacks and garnish with the bacon and olives.

Cheeseburgers De Luxe

2008-08-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

CHEESEBURGERS DE LUXE

6 SERVINGS

You could become famous for these!

1,5 pounds ground round steak

1,5 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

6 slices cheddar cheese

6 thick tomato slices

6 strips bacon

6 large mushrooms, sauteed in butter

3 hamburger buns, split and toasted

Season meat with salt and pepper and form into 6 large patties. Broil until brown on both sides. Place a slice of cheese, and a slice of tomato on each hamburger. Cut bacon strips in half and place two pieces on each tomato slice. Return to broiler and heat until cheese is melted and bacon is done.

Serve the burgers on toasted bun halves and top each with a sauteed mushroom cap.

Beefburger Sandwich

2008-08-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

BEEFBURGER SANDWICH

4 SERVINGS

Well seasoned beef broiled on toast.

4 slices white bread

Softened butter or margarine

Prepared mustard

1/2 pound ground beef

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon minced onion

Butter

Toast bread on one side only. Spread untoasted sides with softened butter and mustard. Combine beef, milk, salt, pepper, and onion. Spread on untoasted side of bread, being careful to cover bread entirely. Place 1/2 teaspoon butter on top of each slice. Broil about 5 minutes.

Sunday and Holiday Hamburger Variations

2008-08-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY AND HOLIDAY VARIATIONS

Baby Burger: A teeny-weeny edition of any of the easier to eat burgers, in teeny-weeny buns, "boughten" or your own.

Bacon-Wrapped Burger: Circle each patty with a strip of bacon and fasten with a toothpick before broiling.

Barbecued Burger: Baste with your own or a bottled barbecue sauce as you cook the meat on the outdoor grill.

Burgundy Burger: Add ;4-;6 cup Burgundy to the beef mixture, or rinse out the skillet with wine after frying hamburgers, pouring the sauce over the cooked meat patties.

Cheeseburger: When the second side of a broiled hamburger is browned, lay a slice of cheese on it and broil until the cheese melts.

Deviled Burger: Add a sliver of minced garlic, 1/4 cup catsup or chili sauce, 2 teaspoons minced onion, 1,5 teaspoons prepared mustard and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce to the basic meat mixture. if you like, add also 2 teaspoons horseradish.

Dogburger: Shape meat to fit hot-dog buns. Shape around a strip of dill pickle, a strip of cheese, if you wish. Wrap in bacon if you like.

Hamburger in Green Pepper Ring: Pack meat mixture into 1/2 -inch wide green pepper ring and smooth off. Then broil, grill or fry.

Pineapple Burger: Shape meat to fit pineapple ring, but broil pineapple separately, adding a slice of Cheddar cheese toward the end of cooking. Place the burger on the cheesy pineapple and serve with a split toasted bun.

Sauced Burger: Put cooked burgers on a platter and heat a can of mushroom, celery, or tomato soup with 1/2 cup water.Pour hat sauce around patties. No buns, this time.

Smothered Burger: Saute lots and lots of mild sweet onion slices with the pan-fried burger, after turning, and serve the half-cooked onions on the meal.

Stretched Burger: Not pulled out like a rubber band, but "extended" with 1/2 cup or more soft bread crumbs or rolled oats, and moistened with an equal amount of milk. Chopped onion and about 3 tablespoons chili sauce may also be added.

Stretching is sometimes done for economy, sometimes because two more recruits are waiting for burgers.

Stuffed Burger: Shape twice your usual number of patties.

Sandwich two patties with cheese, or bread stuffing. Seal the edges of the meat so that you may also or chopped onion makes good tilling, also.

Triple-Deck Burger: Slice unsliced buns (sometimes hard to find except at a bakery) into three layers and put together with two skiııııy meat patties. Then you can put piccalilli on top of one, catsup on the other.

Genuine American Hamburger

2008-08-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

GENUINE AMERICAN HAMBURGER

4-6 SERVINGS

This is what children and adults expect when they say, 'I'll have a hamburger."

1 pound ground bed (with some fat)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine ingredients lightly, and shape into patties; fry, broil, pan-broil, or grill over charcoal until just brown on each side. Three to five minutes per side, no more. Pop into split, buttered buns and provide catsup, chili sauce, piccalilli, or fried onions.

Optional ingredients: A teaspoon of minced onion, 1/4 - 1/2 cup milk, tomato juice, stock or wine.

Skillet Burgers

2008-08-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

SKILLET BURGERS

8 SERVINGS

These flavorful hamburgers may be served with braised onions or with your favorite barbecue sauce.

2 pounds ground beef

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Mix ingredients. Store in refrigerator for about 1 hour before using. Use about 1 cup of mixture per hamburger. Drop from measuring cup into hot drippings in a skillet. Brown on both sides.

Western Roundups

2008-08-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

WESTERN ROUNDUPS

4 SERVINGS

Try these meat rolls for a party luncheon or dinner. Creamed mushrooms or tomato sauce could be served over them.

MEAT ROLLS

3/4 POUND ROUND STEAK, GROUND
1 TABLESPOON MİNCED GREEN PEPPER
1 TEASPOON GRATED ONION
1/2 TEASPOON SALT
1/8 TEASPOON PEPPER
1/2 TEASPOON WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
FLOUR
2 TABLESPOONS DRIPPINGS

BISCUIT DOUGH

1 CUP FLOUR
2 TEASPOONS BAKING POWDER
1/2 TEASPOON SALT
1/4 CUP SHORTENING
1/3 CUP MILK

Combine meat, green pepper, onion, and seasonings. Mold into 4 finger-shaped rolls about 2-inches long. Roll in flour. Brown on all sides in hot drippings. Cool slightly.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening with pastry blender. Add milk and mix thoroughly. Turn out on a floured board and roll about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into 4 oblong pieces about 3x4 inches.

Wrap each meat roll in a piece of dough and seal well by pinching edge of dough into roll. Place sealed edge underneath in a greased, shallow, baking pan. Bake at 450 F. for 30 minutes.

Planked Burger Steak with Vegetables

2008-08-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

PLANKED BURGER STEAK WITH VEGETABLES

6 SERVINGS

It doesn't look any prettier in the most exclusive restaurant. A planked dinner is spectacular, but kind to the food budget.

2 pounds ground chuck or sirloin tip

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper

3 cups fluffy mashed potatoes

6 slices or wedges ripe red tomato

3/4 pound whole fresh snap beans, cooked

1 small head cauliflower, cooked

12 small white onions, cooked (or 6-12 canned ones)

6-12 carrots, cooked (12 if they're tiny)

Season meat with salt and pepper, place on a sheet of foil, and shape with your hands to look like a big T-bone steak-nice and thick. Brush surface with butter or oil, and broil until brown on one side. Meanwhile, border a steak plank with mashed potatoes forced through a pastry bag. Place steak in center, cooked side down. Brush melted butter or oil over both potatoes and steak. Broil 15 minutes, or until browned. Arrange tomato slices, hot beans, cauliflower, onions, and carrots around steak and inside of potato border. if you wish, sprinkle chopped parsley on cauliflower.

All vegetables for this assemblage should be well seasoned and hot. You may want to heat everything but the tomatoes together in the oven for a few minutes, right on the plank.

VARIATIONS

You may wish to substitute butter-crumbed tomato halves for the fresh tomato, and broil them with steak and potatoes.Asparagus, peas, beets, and broccoli are among other vegetable possibilities.

The steak mixture may be seasoned with so me minced onion, if you like. You might even work into the meat 1/2 cup of red wine. But don't make the mistake of seasoning the meat too highly. Remember, this is "steak." You can't improve upon good beef flavor.

Lily-gilding: Pour mushroom sauce over the steak. A can of sliced mushrooms in gravy would do if you don't want to start with fresh mushrooms.

Stir-Fried Garlic and Whole Mild Chilies

2008-08-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

Stir-Fried Garlic and Whole Mild Chilies

12 ounces, fresh, mild chilies, such as anaheim, preferably of different colors, washed and patted dry2 tablespoons, peanut oil

1/2 teaspoon, salt

1-1/2 tablespoons, chopped garlic1 tablespoon, low-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons, sugar

1/2 cup, vegetable stock

Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat.

Add the oil, salt, garlic, and chilies, and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Add the soy sauce, sugar, and stock, and continue to stir fry until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Pour the mixture onto a platter, and serve at once.

Serves 4.

Spicy Collards

2008-08-23T09:26:00.001-07:00

Spicy Collards

1 large onion, diced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 bunch collards (about 2 pounds)
2 tsps. vinegar (or to taste)
1/4 tsp.. crushed red pepper flakessalt and pepper

Saute the onion in the oil in a large skillet or saucepan on low heat for about 10 minutes, until translucent. While the onion sautes, thoroughly rinse the collards. Remove and discard the large stem ends, and coarsely chop the leaves.

Add the moist collards to the onions and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the leaves are wilted but still bright green. Stir in the vinegar and red pepper flakes.

Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Crunchy Bananas-Kenya (Crunchy N'Dizi)

2008-08-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Crunchy Bananas-Kenya (Crunchy N'Dizi)

1 tablespoon cold water
8 bananas, peeled
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Put the water in a large pan over medium heat. When the water starts to boil, add the bananas, cover, and steam for 10 seconds, until heated through.

Be careful that they do not become too soft. Drain and roll them in the melted butter. Roll each one separately in chopped peanuts.

3. Arrange them on a baking dish, and bake for 15 minutes, or until the peanuts are lightly browned. Serve hot. Serves 4 to 6.

Batter Fried Sunchokes

2008-08-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Batter Fried Sunchokes

Yield: 6 servings

2 cups water, divided

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 lbs. sunchokes

1 cup powdered milk

3/4 cup flour

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash or another herb blend

Olive oil

Mix the lemon juice and 1 cup water in a bowl. Set aside. Wash, peel (or not) and slice the sunchokes 1/4 inch thick, lengthwise. Place them in a bowl with lemon water until ready to cook.

Mix the milk, the remaining 1 cup water, flour, salt, pepper and seasonings with a spoon or a spatula. (The batter will not be thick.)

Put the olive oil to a depth of about 1/2 inch in an 8-inch frying pan and heat. Dry a small quantity of sunchokes on a paper towel, batter and fry them until golden-brown, turning once.

Sweet Potato Puff

2008-08-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Sweet Potato Puff

2 cups mashed sweet potato
2 tablespoons buttersalt and pepper
1/4 cup milk , half & half , cream or soy milk
1 large egg (separate the yolk from egg)

To the mashed potatoes add the melted butter, seasonings and milk.

Beat the egg yolk and white separately, add the yolk to the potato mixture and then fold in the white.

Bake in one dish or in individual molds until puffy and brown.

Polenta Primavera

2008-08-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Polenta Primavera

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Special Considerations: Vegan
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (16 oz.) Polenta, cut into ½" slices
2 tbs. Olive Oil
1 Small Red Onion, cut into thin wedges
2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
½ lb. Fresh Green Beans, cut into ¾" pieces (2 cups)
1 Medium Red Bell Pepper, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
1½ c. Baby Bellas, sliced
1 Small Yellow Summer Squash, cut lengthwise in half, then cut crosswise into ¼" inch slices
1 tsp. Fennel Seed, crushed
¼ tsp. Salt
¼ c. Soy Mozzarella Cheese, finely shredded

Directions:
1. Cook polenta as directed on package.
2. While polenta is cooking, heat oil in 10" skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic in oil 3 – 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp tender.
3. Stir in green beans and bell pepper. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 8 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beans are crisp-tender. Stir in mushrooms, squash, fennel and salt. Cover and cook 3 – 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until squash is crisp-tender.
4. Serve vegetable mixture over polenta. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

How to Make Salad Dressing

2008-08-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

Salad Dressing

1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons parsley
2 tablespoons minced onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon minced sweet red peppers
4 teaspoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup light oil

In small bowl, whisk together all ingredients except oil.

Whisk mixture while slowly drizzling in oil.

Let stand for 30 minutes to blend flavours. Whisk again before using. Dressing can also be made in food processor. (use pulse).

Serves 2.

Rum Sautéed Pineapple

2008-08-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

Rum Sautéed Pineapple

2 tsps. butter or marg.
1 lb. pineapple chunks, drained
1/3 cup raisins3 tbsps. sugar
2 tbsps. rum, or 1/2 tsp. rum extract
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 cups vanilla frozen yogurt, ice cream or soy ice cream

Melt butter in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Sauté remaining ingredients, except yogurt, 10 to 15 minutes or until pineapple is glazed.

Serve pineapple over frozen yogurt.

Yields 4 servings.

Household Hints

2007-11-25T05:22:00.000-08:00

SOAP

Five pounds lard or five and one-half pounds cracklings, one can of lye, one and one-half gallons water. Stir occasionally the first day, then set for three days. Cook until clear. Let set until hard and cut into bars.

WASHING FLUID

One can Babbit's lye dissolved in one gallon rain water; let cool, and add 10 cents' worth of salts of tartar and 10 cents' worth of ammonia. Use in washing and boiling water, a half teacupful to one-half boiler of water.

SOLUTION FOR TAKING OUT STAINS
Half pound chloride of lime, one and a half pounds sal soda; put both in a jar and pour one gallon of boiling water over, stir until dissolved, then strain and bottle. Wet the stain with the solution and lay in sun.

HINTS ON WASHING
Clothes should not be soaked over night; it gives them a grey look, and the soiled parts lying against the clean portions streak them. Rub the clothes in warm--not hot--water, for hot water sets, in place of removing the dirt. Wash flannels in luke-warm water, and avoid rubbing soap upon flannels.

TO KEEP BLUE CALICOES BRIGHT AND FRESH
The first time they are washed, put them in water with a cupful of spirits of turpentine to each pail of water. This will set the color, and they will always look well.

CLEANING SILKS

To renovate silk, rip and dust the garment; lay the pieces on an old sheet; take half a cup of ox-gall, half a cup of ammonia, and half a pint of tepid soft water; mix; sponge the silk on both sides, especially the soiled places; then roll on a round stick (old broom handle), being careful about wrinkles. Silk thus cleaned and dried needs no ironing, and keeps the lustre. Try woolens the same way.

TO CLEAN CORSETS

Take out the steels at front and sides, then scrub thoroughly with tepid or cold lather of white Castile soap, using a very small scrubbing brush. Do not lay them in water. When quite clean, let cold water run on them freely from the spigot to rinse out the soap thoroughly. Dry, without ironing (after pulling lengthwise until they are straight and shapely), in a cool place.

CLEANING KID GLOVES

The simplest and most successful method of cleaning kid gloves is to buy a pint of naphtha of any dealer in burning fluids; wash your kid gloves in it as if it were water, rubbing the parts soiled most. Wash two or three times in clean fluid, according to the needs of the soiled gloves. The usual care should be taken, as this fluid is highly explosive, much the same as kerosene.

SHOE POLISH

To restore the color of black kid boots, take a small quantity of black ink, mix it with the white of an egg, and apply with a soft sponge.

TO CLEAN SILVER

Table silver should be cleaned at least once or twice a week, and can easily be kept in good order and polished brightly in this way: Have your dish pan half full of boiling water; place your silver in so that it may become warm; then with a soft cloth dipped into the hot water, soaped and sprinkled with powdered borax, scour the silver well; then rinse in clean hot water; dry with a clean, dry cloth.

TO WHITEN KNIFE HANDLES

The ivory handles of knives sometimes become yellow from being allowed to remain in dish water. Rub them with sandpaper till white. If the blades have become rusty from careless usage, rub them also with sandpaper, and they will look as nice as new.

TO WASH WINDOWS

Have a pail partly filled with tepid water, throw in a teaspoonful of powdered borax, have one small chamois dipped into the borax water to wash the windows, then with a dry chamois rub the window dry and polish. In this way windows may be cleaned in a very few moments, and not wet the carpets or tire the person.

FURNITURE POLISH

One tablespoonful sweet oil; one tablespoonful lemon juice; one tablespoonful corn starch.

MOTHS IN CARPETS

A good way to kill them is to take a coarse towel and wring it out of clean water. Spread it smoothly on the carpet, then iron it dry with a good hot iron, repeating the operation on all suspected places, and those least used. It does not injure the carpet in the least. It is not necessary to press hard, heat and steam being the agents, and they do the work effectually on worms and eggs.

BEDBUGS

Close the outside doors and windows and burn brimstone, and you will not have any trouble with bedbugs, as we know from experience. Twelve years ago I bought a farm I now own, and the house was alive with them. I heated an iron red hot, placed it in a large kettle, placing brimstone on it, and left it twenty-four hours. Have not seen a bug since.

CURES FOR HOUSEHOLD PESTS

Rats are said to have such a dislike for potash, that if it is powdered and scattered around their haunts, they will leave them. A piece of rag well soaked in a solution of cayenne is a capital thing to put into rat and mice holes, as they will not attempt to eat it. A plug of wood, covered with a piece of flannel so prepared, may be used to fill up the holes. Cockroaches and ants have a similar dislike of cayenne, and a little strewed about a cellar will keep it clear of them.

PASTE FOR SCRAP-BOOKS

On wash days there is always enough thick starch left, or sticking to the sides of the pan, to last through the week for paste. If wanted in large quantities, of course, starch would be expensive, but scrap-books can be made merely by saving what would otherwise have been thrown away. It makes a very nice, smooth paste, and a little of it goes a great way. It will keep a week in a cool place, even in summer.

Kitchen Helps

2007-11-25T05:21:00.000-08:00

BREAD CRUMBS

All scraps of bread should be dried and rolled very fine to use instead of cracker crumbs for cutlets and other meats.

COOKING BUTTER
One pound kidney suet cut in small pieces and melted over a slow fire; add one pound butter, melt, and strain through a sieve.

VANILLA EXTRACT

To one vanilla bean cut in small pieces, add half a pint of alcohol and let stand for several weeks before using.

LEMON EXTRACT

Pare a lemon, being careful to use only the outside yellow, put in a jar and cover with alcohol, and let stand for several weeks before using.

BAKING POWDER

One pound pure cream of tartar, half pound common baking soda, quarter of a pound corn starch; sift six or seven times together, put away in an air-tight jar; ready for use at once.

Yeast Bread

2007-10-16T04:31:00.000-07:00

Sift the flour into a large bread pan or bowl; make a hole in the middle of it and pour in the yeast in the ratio of a half a teacupful of yeast to two quarts of flour; stir the yeast lightly; then pour in your "wetting," either milk or water, as you choose. If you use water, dissolve in it a bit of butter the size of an egg; if you use milk, no butter is necessary, but the milk must be scalded and cooled before it is added. Stir the "wetting" very lightly, but do not mix all the flour into it; then cover the pan with a thick blanket or towel and set it in a warm place to rise (this is called "putting the bread in sponge"). When the sponge is light, add a teaspoonful of salt and mix all the flour in the pan with the sponge, kneading it well; then let it stand two hours or more until it has risen quite light. Knead it again until the dough is elastic, then form into loaves, place in baking tins, and allow to rise until the bulk is doubled. Bake in a quick oven from forty-five to sixty minutes (the temperature is right when a tablespoonful of flour browns in five minutes).

Mid- nineteenth-century scientists were sharply divided over the comparative nutritional value of yeast bread and bread raised with saleratus--potassium bicarbonate or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Proponents of yeast bread, while admitting that stale yeast or overfermentation produced a sour, unpalatable product, contended that "saleratus and soda in our bread have more to do with the thin bones, rotten teeth and flabby looks of our children--large and small--than many would imagine." Supporters of the opposite position, on the other hand, argued that "a large proportion of the bread in some communities, is scarcely more than an active form of yeast, thrown into the stomach only to produce fermentation and a host of disorders. And then we witness, of course, the blue vapors, which under different aspects, are as ruinous to the welfare and peace of a family as are those of a distillery." In all seriousness this group recommended making bread with weak muriatic (hydrochloric) acid and baking soda.

Wild Rabbit

2007-10-16T04:29:00.000-07:00

After cleaning the rabbit, wash it in cold water and hang up to freeze in order to loosen the meat fibers. Soak for a short time in salt water before cooking, to draw out the blood. Cut into pieces, washing each in cold water. Then put pieces in a stew pan filled with water in which a pinch of soda has been dissolved. Bring to a simmer, remove from the heat, and pour off the water. Put pieces back in the pan, add more water, and stew until the meat is loosened from the bone but not shredded. Then drain, add a little bacon fat, and fry the pieces brown; or bake them for about half an hour. Wild rabbit is best in the fall and winter months.

Beginning in the 1840s, the Platte River route became a major highway for travelers to Oregon and California. One of the first large groups of emigrants to follow that road were the Mormons who spent the winter of 1846-47 at Winter Quarters, now part of north Omaha, in their exodus to the Great Salt Lake. The Mormon women were notable for their resourcefulness, according to a contemporary observer.

They could hardly be called housewives in etymological strictness; but it was plain that they had once been such, and most distinguished ones. Their art availed them in their changed affairs. With almost their entire culinary material limited to the milk of their cows, some store of meal or flour, and a very few condiments, they brought their thousand and one receipts into play with a success that outdid for their families the miracle of the Hebrew widow's cruse. They learned to make butter on a march by the dashing of the wagon, and so nicely to calculate the working of barm in the jolting heats that, as soon after the halt as an oven could be dug in the hillside and heated, their well-kneaded loaf was ready for baking, and produced good leavened bread for supper.

Yeast bread was made by the sponge method, and the "harm"--yeast or starter--might or might not contain commercial yeast powders or compressed yeast.

Pemmican

2007-10-16T04:26:00.000-07:00

Combine equal parts of buffalo suet; dried fruit such as cherries, berries, and plums; and dried venison or other game. Add salt if available, and pound the mixture in a bowl or a hollow rock; then form into bricks. Dry in the sun, or near the fire in rainy weather. Pemmican may be eaten as is, by biting off chunks, or bricks may be simmered in water to make a thick soup or stew.

Like the Indians, early white explorers, traders, and missionaries lived largely off the land, carrying only as much of the basic items like flour, sugar, and coffee as their packs could accommodate. Even these were not in their present convenient form. Until the last decades of the nineteenth century, refined white sugar was scarce and expensive on the frontier; and when it was available, it was supplied in the form of loaves, or cubes. Brown sugar, much coarser than that we see today, was used extensively, as well as molasses. The flour, unbleached and perhaps unbolted, was subject to an unpleasant rawness (some recipes of the period instruct the cook to dry the flour in front of the fire before using it). Only green coffee was sold, and it had to be roasted and ground before brewing. Salt pork was a frontier staple because it kept almost indefinitely and was easily prepared: after soaking a few hours or over night in fresh water to remove the salt, it was generally fried.

When Fort Atkinson was established in 1820 near present Fort Calhoun as the westernmost outpost of the United States, the regulation daily ration called for three-fourths of a pound of pork or bacon, or one and one-fourth pounds of fresh or salted beef; eighteen ounces of bread or flour, or twelve ounces of hard bread, or one and one-fourth pounds of cornmeal; and one gill of whiskey per man. Two quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, and twelve quarts of peas or beans were allotted with every hundred rations. The War Department, apparently influenced by current medical theories, directed that meats were to be "boiled with a view to soup, sometimes roasted or baked, never fried," but from all evidence these eccentric instructions were generally ignored.

Although Fort Atkinson was abandoned after only seven years, agriculturally it was a great success. The abundant crops of corn, beets, cabbages, radishes, parsnips, carrots, and other vegetables, planted in an attempt to see if the post could be made self-sufficient, provoked one military inspector in the mid-1820s to complain irately that "the present system is destroying military spirit and making officers the base overseers of a troop of awkward ploughmen." Along with the hogs and cattle which were also raised at the fort, these provisions were augmented by wild game and wild berries and fruits in season.

Oven Temperatures

2007-10-16T04:17:00.001-07:00

Very slow: 225-250°
Slow: 275-300°
Moderately slow: 325°
Moderate: 350°
Moderately hot: 375°
Hot: 400-425°
Very hot: 450°

Table of Equivalents

2007-10-16T04:13:00.000-07:00

Weights and Measures
A speck equals one-quarter saltspoon.
Four saltspoons equal one teaspoon.
Three teaspoons equal one tablespoon.
Sixteen level tablespoons equal one cup (teacup or coffeecup).
One cup equals eight ounces.
Four tablespoons equal one wineglass.
Two wineglasses equal one gill.
Two gills equal one cup.
Two cups equal one pint.
Two pints equal one quart.
One quart of flour makes one pound.
One pint of sugar makes one pound.
One heaping tablespoonful of flour or sugar makes one ounce.
One pint of soft butter makes one pound.
One pint of finely chopped meat, packed, makes one pound.
Ten average-sized eggs make one pound.

Spiced Blackberries

2007-10-16T04:11:00.000-07:00

One pound of sugar, one pint of vinegar, one teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, one teaspoonful of allspice, one teaspoonful of cloves, one teaspoonful of nutmeg.

Boil all together gently fifteen minutes, then add four quarts of blackberries, and scald (not boil) ten minutes more. The spice can be omitted if preferred. These are excellent for children in case of summer complaint, and where blackberries are abundant every family should have a plentiful supply.

NING PO SPINACH

2007-09-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

2 lb. spinach cleaned, drained 3 qt. boiling water 2 tbs. oil 3 cloves garlic, chopped.

1. Plunge spinaeh into boiling water. Boil 1 minute and drain.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet, add garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add spinaeh, stir rapidly over high heat for three or four minutes.

3. Sprinkle with salt and sweetener. Mix well and serve hot or cold.

Note: This makes a good filling for a luncheon or light supper omelette.

LEMON VEAL WITH OLIVES

2007-09-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

3 lb. boneless veal, rolled and tied, 1 tsp. dried rosemary leaves, tied crushed 2 tbs. grated lemon rind (use i tsp. dried sweet basil leaves, fresh lemon rind) crushed i clove garlic,finely minced 3 tbs. olive oil, 1 tsp. salt, 1 cup dry Marsala wine, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 cup Pitted ripe olives, sliced.

1. Mix lemon rind, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, and basil.
Divide this mixture in half. Untie and unroll the veal and rub the inner surface with one-half of the flavouring mixture.
Reroll and retie. Rub the remaining mixture all over the outside of the veal.

2. Heat the olive oil over a medium high flame in a heavy pot large enough to hold the veal. Brown the veallightly.

3. Pour the wine over the veal, reduee the heat to low, eover tightly and simmer about i! hours, or until veal is fark tender, but not too soft. Turn the veal occasionally. Be careful not to overcook.

4. When done, remove the veal to ahat platter and let it stand. There should be quite a bit of liquid in the pan.

Increase the heat and boil untilliquid is redueed to about half. Add the sliced ripe olives and heat through. The sauee should thieken somewhat on being reduced.

5. Slice the veal and spoon the sauce over it.