Apple Bread

The zucchini bread recipe below is excellent, and rather quick to put together. A variation that my family loves is Apple Bread. Follow the recipe, but substitute:

- the same amount of apple for the zucchini
- 1 1/2 tsp of clove instead of the cinnamon

(In the interests of full disclosure, I haven't turned this specific recipe into apple bread. I use the one in my BH&G cookbook. They're similar, although this one makes more batter.)

The best part is the crunchy sugary crust on top. Mmm. Off to check if we have any apples now...

-- SJ

Kids Cooking

• Thanks so much for keeping this site alive (if barely). I love y'all's ideas!
  
  First off, let me say that I think the whole idea of making warm memories by letting your kids cook with you is highly overrated. I'm a fairly low-key person, but Addie and Stuart can have me chewing on my Pampered Chef rubber spatula within five minutes.
  
  BUT, they enjoy it. As long as I view it as Good Training instead of a Good Time, we do fine.
  
  Here are two things they enjoy making:
  
  Parfaits
  
  
  
  This is an old kid-friendly standby: fruit and yogurt. I have a safety knife that they can use to cut up the fruit, which makes it even more fun for them. But the real deal with these parfaits is that we add chocolate graham crackers or, on occasion, crumbled cookies. Forget the granola. Put in a little bit of junk, and they'll love the whole thing!
  
  We layer:
  
  * Vanilla yogurt
  
  * Strawberries, blueberries, or bananas
  
  * Chocolate graham crackers or some other yummy crunchy sweet
  
  

It makes a good breakfast or a side dish at supper. If Stuart will eat it, you know it's kid-friendly.


Chicken Smorgasbord

Take two chicken breasts and cut them into four pieces. Make a "bowl" of aluminum foil for each piece. Season each one differently: barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, basil and oregano, cinnamon and ginger, dill, etc. Drizzle with a little olive oil to keep it moist. Put the "bowls" into a casserole dish and bake at 350 or 375 for, oh, half an hour (until the chicken is at 180). When it's done, you have four different flavors of chicken to choose from, plus really yummy broth.

Addie and Stuart love choosing their seasonings. My job is mostly to say things like, "Um, that's enough dill!" or "No, no, don't put basil with cinnamon. Probably won't taste good." This dish is especially good with couscous.

-- SJ

The Two-Supper Disaster

It was evening. Darren walked through the door, said hello, and was informed that after the kids finished their supper and we dropped them off at AWANA, he and I (and Daphne) were going out to eat. He didn't argue: I'd earned it.

That morning, I'd got a frozen meal started in the crockpot. It was "teriyaki porkchops," one of ten freezer-bag meals I'd put together at a Homemade Gourmet party back in the summer. These meals were handy, but overall I wasn't very impressed, especially considering what Homemade Gourmet seasonings and spices cost. It was about 5:00 when I checked the meat to see how it was coming along. It was cooked through, and the sauce was, as usual, adequate. Something about the taste bothered me, however, and for the next half-hour I kept going back to taste the chops again. I finally admitted that the meat tasted a little off, and I couldn't serve it.

Saving my family from the dire affects of bad pork may have given me a glow of virtue, but a family can't live on virtue alone. I still had to scrounge up something for supper. I called Darren and explained the problem, and asked if he would mind having leftover salmon steak instead. To some people, salmon steak is a perfectly reasonable leftover. But Darren and I don't like fish very much, and the fact that I'd cooked salmon at all was an adventure. We liked it, but I didn't want to press our luck by serving it too much. However, he said it sounded fine to him.

I took out the salmon and began heating it in a pan. Somewhere it lurked in my mind that you shouldn't serve leftovers in the same form as their debut, so I pondered how to spruce it up a bit. Inspiration came in the form of cream of chicken soup: I flaked up the fish and added the soup, then heated it through.

It is now a new rule in my kitchen: Thou shalt not mix the fish with the chicken soup, for it is an abomination.

We took Addie and Stuart to AWANA, then enjoyed a restaurant-cooked meal of gyro and stromboli. Darren agreed that I had enough credit to my account to afford two supper disasters. "But it's a shame they both cashed in on the same day."

-- SJ

Freezable Recipes

In anticipation of The Bigness of Pregnancy In Summer, not to mention a third child, I'm realizing I'd do well to have meals already on hand. I don't know many freezer-recipes, though. You can eat only so much lasagna, after all.

I'd love some meal recipes, or even just freezable components ("Pasta freezes. Rice doesn't. Jello is a total loss.")

As a completely irrelevent side note, I tried Sarah's Irish Stew recipe. It was marvelous.

-- SJ

A handy little method I periodically rediscover: instead of adding more salt, use a little lemon juice to brighten up the flavor. Works especially well on chicken, pasta, or potatoes.

-- SJ

Lunches that Travel

Hey, Marthas, rally 'round. We're planning a weekend trip, mostly because Darren has been traveling a lot lately and, since he can't be at home with us, we'll just join him on the road.

Here's what I need: to cut down on food costs, I want to pack breakfast/snack/lunch stuff to take with us. Lunch especially. Sandwiches are okay, but I'm looking for something a little more filling. And we can't be sure we'll be near a microwave, so I can't necessarily heat anything up. Any suggestions?

Also, I need your suggestions pretty quickly, since due to my usual forethought and planning, I didn't think of this until today. Thanks in advance for any help, and fie on you if there isn't any. That's all.

-- SJ

Roasted Green Beans

In my continual quest to find vegetables that we'll eat, I came across this recipe:

Toss fresh green beans with olive oil and some salt and roast in a 400-degree oven for 20-30-ish minutes until they're tender and slightly brown in places.

Make up a dressing along the lines of:

Vinegar
Oil
Sugar
Dill
Black pepper

Remove the beans from the oven, coat with dressing, and yummy! This is a "simple" one, Rachelle -- not a lot of ingredients. You may could try it with Ben. Our kids at least don't despise them.

-- SJ

The Big Dipper

Lately I've begun serving a plate of raw vegetables and dip along with meals, in yet another attempt to get us to eat our veggies. I've come up with two or three different dips, but would love more suggestions -- especially ones lower in fat. I know, I know, we should be eating the vegetables without dip, or at most a light drizzle of low-fat vinagrette, blah blah blah. Any progress is good, in my opinion.

-- SJ

Orange White-Chocolate Cheesecake

Can you tell I was suffering from Lent-imposed baking deprivation? Here's the other Easter treat I made. I probably won't make desserts this fiddly until next Easter.

Formatting note: Notice all the italics in the last post? How nice it looks? Since my browser doesn't let me do that automatically, so I have to type in all the <'s and /'s. So formatted posts are almost as rare a treat as orange white-chocolate cheesecake. And less enjoyable to make.

1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup orange juice
1 envelope (7 grams) unflavored gelatin
2 cups (12-oz pkg) white-chocolate morsels
2 pkgs (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons finely grated orange peel

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees.

COMBINE crumbs and butter in medium bowl. Press crumb mixture onton bottome of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 min., cool in pan on wire rack.

COMBINE orange juice and gelatin in small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, till gelatin dissolves.

MELT morsels in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 1 minute; STIR.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large mixing bowl until combined. Gradually stir in gelatin mixture and morsels.

BEAT whipping cream in small bowl until soft peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream and orange peel into cheese mixture. Pour filling over crust. Cover; refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours or until firm.

Allow to stand at room temperature for a few minutes before removing side of pan.

Yummy!

-- SJ

Gumdrop Cake

This is a recipe of Darren's grandmother's, and one of Darren's favorites. Always a risky undertaking for a wife, to attempt to reproduce a matriarchal specialty; but I tried it anyway. Success!

Gumdrop Cake

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

1 lb. gumdrops (cut in half or third -- do not use purple or black, as they discolor the cake)

1 cup golden raisins (which I forgot to put in)

1/2 cup red & green cherries (which we couldn't find, as they're seasonal, so we used dried cherries instead)

2 dried pineapple rings or fruit of your choice (we couldn't find rings, so used a package of dried chunks. It was a small package; can't remember the exact size.)


Cream butter and sugar well. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture, alternating with milk (flour first, then milk, in small amounts, mixing after each addition. End with flour.) Add extracts. Flour fruit (in small amounts, so it doesn't fall to bottom of cake) and add to batter. Add gumdrops.

Bake in a greased square or tube pan at 325 degrees for 1 1/4 hours, till done.

Note from Darren's grandmother: She -- and so I did, too -- bakes it at 300 for about an hour to see how it's coming along, then raises the temperature if it's not getting done. I baked it longer than I expected, but it came out nicely done. Take it out of the pan once it's cool enough, or it'll stick horribly.

-- SJ

Glad to Be Back

I was delighted to return to the cyberhood and see that y'all kept up the chit-chat while I was gone. The recipes look great. Alison, glad to see some posts from you!

When recipes, time, and computer all coincide, I'm going to post my two Easter successes: Gumdrop Cake, one of Darren's grandmother's specialties; and Orange-White Chocolate Cheesecake... yeah, it was pretty good.

Got to rush!

-- SJ

Successful Soup and Substitutions

I tried the "Cream of Acorn Squash" recipe that Sarah posted a while back (post entitled "Tale of Two Soups"). Delicious soup. I'm sure that if I'd followed the recipe, it would have been just as good.

I mostly did follow it. Due to an absence of limes and cream, I used lemon juice and evaporated milk/milk instead. I also added salt, garlic, and celery salt. It was quite good, served with biscuits. I'm enormously proud of myself for making and enjoying a squash dish. Thanks for the recipe, Sarah.

Also, I made a coffee cake that called for sour cream, which I didn't have. I used plain yogurt and cream cheese instead. How often will you have plain yogurt and cream cheese instead of sour cream on hand? Well, if it ever happens, now you know what to do.

-- SJ

Thanks for Lunch

This weekend we made tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch. (I forgot to buy cocoa, so couldn't make the brownie pudding.)

I've detested canned tomato soup ever since my daycare days, but Rachelle gave me the courage to try it again. I am pleased to say that it turned out marvelously good. I sauted onions and celery, and seasoned the soup with garlic, corriader, and something else I forget now. As my brother would say, it was plumb edible.

Darren did the grilled cheese, and we added cream cheese, as the Queen suggested. It was very rich, but so good that Darren says he might leave off the cheddar next time. :)

So thanks for the ideas. I wouldn't ever have tried tomato soup otherwise. -- SJ

Menu Planning

Tomato soup, grilled cheese, and brownie pudding... I think I've got a dinner all planned out for this week. :)

Do the rest of you all plan menus for the week or month? We did for a couple of months and really liked it, but it was more effort than I usually want to put into meals. I'm just curious as to how y'all handle things. I might get back into meal-planning again, especially as it's more efficient and economical.

-- SJ

Sprucing Up...

Tuna fish.

I really like canned tuna fish (although my one occasion of freshly-caught deep sea tuna opened a whole new world for me). I grew up eating tuna fish made with mayonnaise, dill pickles, and boiled egg. Later in life my mother started putting in apples and sweet pickles, which was an absolute desecration of a good dish. Not that I said that, in so many words, to my mother.

Recently I came across a great recipe for grilled tuna-fish sandwiches, along the lines of grilled-cheese. It even froze well (pre-grilled, of course). I'll look for the recipe.

Nowadays, I do half and half mayonnaise and sour cream, and throw in a dash of garlic and celery salt. And dill pickles, of course. If you cut the sandwiches into little triangles and have a picnic on the living room floor, it suddenly become delicious to kids, too.

-- SJ

Help Wanted: Quick and Easy Cookies

We're hosting a "stroll-by" party on our lawn next week, and have promised our neighborhood that we'll provide hot chocolate, cider, and cookies. I don't have a lot of baking time -- even our evenings are crammed full this week -- but I would like to have at least some home-baked cookies available.

So if you have a quick cookie recipe, I'd much appreciate your posting it. By "quick" I mean that it doesn't require a lot of preparation or fussy details, and the fewer ingredients the better. My thrify side tends to run away screaming from any recipe that calls for more than half a stick of butter or more than two eggs, so I guess that's a condition as well.

Also, any finger-food desserts would be welcome. It's just that people will be eating from paper plates with gloved hands, so I can't serve anything very crumbly.

-- SJ

Squash Trials

I'm really optimistic about all these squash recipes. Maybe I'll actually find I can eat squash without claiming a few years off Purgatory.

I did buy a spaghetti squash a couple of weeks ago. First of all, the success: we both liked the taste -- not squashy at all -- and it worked fine smothered in spaghetti sauce.

But, the failure: My cookbook said to halve it, seed it, and cook it on a baking sheet for half an hour to forty minutes. We did. And then cooked it another half hour. And it still came out underdone. So I don't know if it's just that I don't know how to cook squash, or if my cookbook is a low-down liar. Guess I'll be working on that little kink.

-- SJ

Quickie Yeasties

These yeast rolls don't require much of a rising time, as opposed to all the other "quick yeast roll" recipes that deviously toss into the instructions, "Allow to rise about 1 hour..."). The original recipe omits salt for some reason, but I've added it back in without any adverse effects. Also, the original instructions were rather vague, so I just wrote out what I do. Those more experienced in breadmaking might know better methods.

I use white flour, of course. I don't know how they'd do with wheat flour.

***
2 1/2 Tbs shortening
2 heaping Tbs sugar
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs yeast, dissolved in 1 Cup warm water
2 cups flour

Melt shortening, add sugar and salt, mix well. Pour in dissoved yeast. Add flour a little at a time, mixing as you go, until the dough is quite firm. You might use more or less than 2 cups.

Take out the dough and knead it until it's elastic and smooth-ish. Since it's also sticky, it gets all over your hands and looks like something from a 50s horror movie.

Peel the dough off your hands using a little more flour if necessary, then let it sit for 15 minutes.

Roll into balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Alternatively, place three small balls of dough in a muffin cup to create mini "cloverleaf" rolls. Bake in a 450-degree oven for about 15 minutes, or when the tops barely start browning.

-- SJ

Coming Soon: Quick Yeast Rolls

My sister, Rosemary, found a great recipe for yeast rolls that take only twenty minutes from start to finish -- no rising time. So I'm going to post it for the benefit of those on this blog, when I have time to find the scrap of paper it's written on and remember to bring it to the computer.

Meanwhile, as to squash/pumpkin stories: Amy, can't you share valuable wisdom with us about making pumpkin muffins from scratch? :)

-- SJ

Sqaush Stories

I know that many of us have recently been attempting to tackle that Godzilla of vegetables, the winter squash. Unparalleled in frugality, nutrition, and difficulty of cooking, the various winter squashes pose a unique challenge to the chef. I, for one, am not satisfied with my current method of tackling the beasts.

Perhaps we can improve by pooling our knowledge. So here's the challenge: post your most recent squash-related adventures. Please include the type of squash, the approach you took to get it from a raw solid lump to digestible portions, how long it took, the end dish or dishes for which it was used, your overall level of satisfaction with the experience, and what you might do differently next time (if there is a next time). If you have multiple experiences that would provide insight, feel free to make multiple posts.

I'll be back and add mine once I finish with it. So far it's a tossup which of us will lose our skin first.