Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

- small head or half large head of broccoli, chopped
- peeled potatoes, about same quantity as broccoli (by volume), diced
- finely chopped onion, preferably sweet
- 2 tsp butter
- 1 quart stock
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled
- salt and pepper; white pepper is especially nice

* Bring the stock to a boil and add potatoes, boil about 15 minutes
* Meanwhile sautee the onion in the butter slowly, until soft but not brown
* add onions and broccoli, boil another 15 minutes
* reduce heat and add half and half, and about half the cheese
* add salt and pepper to taste

Serve with remaining blue cheese as a condiment to sprinkle on soup.

Autumn Sweet Potato Apple Casserole

There are various versions of this around. Irene and Michael started with one from Jane Brodie's cookbook, but over time it has developed into a separate recipe.

This goes wonderfully on a Thanksgiving table.

===

INGREDIENTS

2 medium to large sweet potatoes, the more tube-shaped the better
4 large apples, not too tart
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 stick butter
chopped pecans
autumn spices:
    cinnamon
    nutmeg
    allspice
    vanilla

TOOLS

microwave safe bowl or cup
baking pan and foil

===

1 peel sweet potatoes, halve lengthwise, and slice into thin semicircles.

2 peel apples, halve, core, and slice into thin semicircles

3 grease a large baking pan with butter

4 preheat oven to 410 F

5 fill pan with alternating sweet potato and apple slices, round side up.

6 in microwave, melt remainder of butter into orange juice; add spices to liquid, to taste

7 pour liquid evenly over casserole

8 sprinkle with pecan pieces to taste

9 tightly cover casserole dish with foil; bake for 40 minutes

10 remove foil; bake for additional 10 minutes to crisp the nuts; avoid burning the nuts

let cool and serve

===

A less fussy version is simply to toss sweet potatoes and apples together without arranging in layers. (Usually a second pan with the less perfect pieces left over gets made in this way.)

Impromptu Hatch Green Chili Soup

This is easy, healthy and delicious.

requires
 * 2 cans pinto beans
 * 1 large onion, chopped
 * 3 carrots, peeled and coarsely diced
 * 2 zucchini, sliced thin
 * 2 cans chopped mild green chiles, or 3 fresh, roasted, peeled hatch chiles
 * 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped
 * chili powder
 * garlic, salt, pepper to taste
 * olive oil

If using fresh chiles, pierce, broil carefully, turning often, until skin blisters; try to avoid getting totally black. Running under cold water, peel and remove all seeds. Chop fine.

1) in a large pot, put about 1 tbsp olive oil on medium heat, add a little onion. It should sizzle quietly
2) add onion and a bit of salt, and pressed garlic if using, sauté slowly, stirring occasionally
3) meanwhile, put carrots in a bowl with a little water. cover. microwave 2 minutes
4) when onion is starting to cook, add zucchini slices, diced carrot and chopped chiles
5) add chili powder generously. Vegetable mix should be colored a deep red.
6) When onions are getting soft, add tomatoes; don't mix, cover and cook for 5 minutes
7) Add canned beans including liquid. Stir. Cook until beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, more chili power, to taste.

Garnish with tortilla chips for a festive touch.

Big tomatoes

This year we have had a huge tomato crop.In the Upper Garden Julia planted her tomatoes, which she started from her saved seeds from previous years tomatoes  Celebrity, Brandy Wine and Big Boy.

In the  Lower Garden Jane planted several verieties like Early girl, Celebrity and several verieties of Italian tomatoes
for her pastas.
 Julia and Stosh  were  picking the huge, ripe tomatoes from the gardens, cutting them in small pieces for Jane, who, was canning endless amount of jars for that extra special, wonderful tomato juice.

We also had plenty of that wonderful crop to share with our friends.
We also had plenty of green tomatoes to salvage from the expected frost.  Here is the recipe, that one of Julia's friends, Susan gave her:

•               Slice washed and unpeeled tomatoes nice and thick and pat dry

•               Heat oil--she likes olive oil--in fry pan, not too hot

•               Dip tomato slices one at a time first in flour, then in beaten egg, and then in cracker crumbs

•               Note: Mom says her family likes the taste of the tomatoes, so she doesn't use too much seasoning, but suggests adding salt or pepper or onion powder to flour, to taste; can also use a little Parmesan cheese or use herb or cheesy crackers for crumbs

•               Place in hot oil and fry til brown and toasty, turning carefully as needed

•               Remove and set on a paper towel on plate or cookie sheet

•               Serve immediately or keep warm in oven

I like them alone or as a side with ham or a pork chop.

Tomatoes

Slice washed and unpeeled tomatoes nice and thick and pat dry Heat oil--she likes olive oil--in fry pan, not too hot Dip tomato slices one at a time first in flour, then in beaten egg, and then in cracker crumbs Note: Mom says her family likes the taste of the tomatoes, so she doesn't use too much seasoning, but suggests adding salt or pepper or onion powder to flour, to taste; can also use a little Parmesan cheese or use herb or cheesy crackers for crumbs  Place in hot oil and fry til brown and toasty, turning carefully as needed Remove and set on a paper towel on plate or cookie sheet Serve immediately or keep warm in oven

Beets for barszcz

Every year we plant red beets for our traditional Wigilia.  This year we got the most beautiful beets ever!
They were big and very, very dark red. We don't know what we contribute the success to, whether the location ( Upper garden), the weeding, plentiful of rain, the selected variety or covering them with crates to protects them from the deer.
Jane also is working on making "kwas", which is fermenting the beets for the required sourness.
I also like to cook them as a vegetable, accompaniment for my main meal.  

Friendship Bread

On my visit to Phoenix, I met Zosia and her family. Zosia is a good friend of Anna, with whom I came on the boat from England to America 60 years ago. Anna and I kept friendship ever since.

Zosia presented me with her "Friendship Bread" starter and recipe. I followed it day by day and on the 10th day, I baked it and took it to Irene's friends who are now my new friends on Facebook! We also called it "Time Cake" since although it has many ingredients, the main ingredient is your time!

Zosia's daughters

Special tips:
- Do not use any type of metal spoon or bowl for mixing.
- Do not refrigerate.
- If air gets into the bag, let it out. It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble and ferment.

DAY 1: Do nothing. (This is usually the day you receive the starter batter.)
Day 2-5: Mush the bag once each day.
Day 6: Add to the bag: 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk, then mush the bag.
Day 7-9: Mush the bag once each day.
Day 10: Follow the instructions below:

1. Pour the entire contents of the bag into NON METAL bowl.
2. Add 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cup milk. Mix.
3. Measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cup each into four 1-gallon Ziploc bags. Keep starter for yourself and give the other three to friends, along with copy of this recipe. Date the bags with marker. (Should this not be passed to a friend on the first day, be certain to tell this friend which day the bag is at when presented to them.)
4 . Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
5. To the remaining batter in the bowl, add:
     a. 1 cup oil
     b. 1/2 cup milk
     c. 3 eggs
     d. 1 cup sugar
     e. 2 tsp cinnamon
     f. 1 tsp vanilla
     g. 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
     h. 1/2 tsp salt
     i. 1/2 tsp baking soda
     j. 2 cups flour
     k. 1 cup craisins or raisins
     l.  1 cup walnuts or Texas pecans
     m. 1 large box instant vanilla pudding (but I skipped all those chemicals and it turned out fine).

6. Grease 2 large loaf pans.
7. Pour the batter evenly into the pans. You can sprinkle with mixture of 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon (optional).
8. Bake 1 hour. Cool until bread loosens from the pan (about 10 minutes). Turn out onto a serving dish. Serve warm or cold. .

Now serve the bread to your friends, and if they like it, give them the starter and this recipe. They say only the Amish know how to create the starter, so if you give it all away, you will have to wait for another friend to make it if you would like to have it again!  If you keep starter for yourself, you will be baking every 10 days. The bread/cake is very good, and so it is good for making new friends!

Favorki

4 eggs yolks
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. confectioner's sugar
2 Tbsp. rum or brandy
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. flour
3 c. veg shortening for frying (oil)

In a large bowl combine egg yolks, egg and salt. Beat on the highest speed until mixture is thick and drops softly from the beaters, 7 to 10 minutes.
Beat in sugar, a small amount at a time. Beat in rum and vanilla extract. Remove from mixer.
Fold flour into mixture by hand until incorporated.
Turn dough onto generously floured surface. Knead dough until blisters form on the dough, about 10 minutes. Add small amount of flour as needed to surface to keep dough from sticking.
Divide dough in half. Cover one half with inverted bowl, towel or plastic wrap to prevent from drying.
Roll out other half of dough as thin as possible, about an 8x12 inch rectangle. If the dough resists, let it rest for a few minutes and resume rolling.
Cut dough into 2x4 inch rectangles. Make a 2 inch slit from center to almost to end of each dough strip. Pull opposite end of strip through slit to twist the dough. Repeat with the remaining dough.
In a large skillet, heat vegetable shortening until it reaches 350 degrees F. on the deep-fat fry thermometer. ( This is important, if the oil is too cool dough will absorb too much oil, if too hot
the pastry will burn on the outside and will not cook inside.)
Add a few angel wings at a time and fry until golden brown on both sides.
Remove and drain on the paper towels. Repeat, frying a few favorki at a time.
cool completely and dust with confectioner's sugar. Store in a airtight container.

Taco Bean Soup

After all the fun, camraderie, visiting with my dear spinner friends and making new ones, learning new patterns and purchasing exciting fibers for the new projects, I bid farewell to all and headed toward Austin to visit my dear daughter Irene.
I've been warmly invited to stop overnight in Lafayette at my other spinner-weaver friend, Elaine. Two of her darling dogs greeted me excitingly at the door of her lovely home.
Apologizing for my late arrival (due to my lost directions) we sat the table, while Elaine served this spicy and delicious Taco Bean soup. Of course I had to have the recipe, and was proud to make it for Irene and Michael on the following day after my arrival at their home, and they loved it!

Taco Bean Soup

1½ lb. ground beef

1 large onion chopped

2 tablespoon minced garlic

1 package taco seasoning mix

1 package original ranch style dressing

1 – 15 oz can pinto beans

1 – 15 oz can red kidney beans

1 – 15 oz can black beans

1 – 15 oz can whole kernel corn

1 – can Rotel (original)

1 – can stewed tomatoes

1 – can tomato sauce (small)

Brown meat, add chopped onions & garlic until onion is wilted. Add seasoning mix and mix well. Add this meat mixture to all other ingredients in soup pot. Do not drain beans, empty entire can into pot. Cook to heat up all ingredients or ready to serve.

Enjoy

Tilapia in Zucchini - Spin-In 2010

Spin-In 2010 in Destin, Fl was a good incentive to get away from our Wisconsin's winter.After two days driving ,partly braving the the torrential rain,I arrived safely at Joan's place in Pensacola, Fl.
Here Bunny, who drove from Rhode Island to also attend Spin-In, welcomed me, with delicious dinner of tilapia wrapped in zuchini slices accompanied by copious amounts of baked veggies and salad. Following day Joan treated us to scrumpcious fried shrimp with sticky rice, while her grandson entertained us playing as accomplished accordion musician.

Texas Frittata ("Free Totta")

- 3 eggs
- 2 Hatch green chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded
- 1/2 medium onion, peeled, diced
- breakfast sausage, Jimmy Dean, bulk, frozen
- spice blend, Wewoff Western Spice Rub or other smoky sweet blend
- sour cream, creme fraiche, or yogurt, pourable, no gels or thickeners - this is important

1. With a sharp knife, shave off very thin slices off sausage. Break up into coarse shavings, about 1/2" across. Cover an 8" non-stick pan with the shavings, leaving a few gaps. Do not overlap. Heat on low.
2. In another pan, saute onions and Hatch chiles with a little salt.
3. Do not turn sausage. When cooked through, cover with layer of vegetables. Keep heat on.
4. Combine eggs, 1/2 tsp of spice blend to taste, and 1 tbsp of sour cream in a bowl. Scramble coarsely. Mixture should not be totally homogenized.
5. Pour eggs over sausage and veggies. Leaving on low heat, cover with a glass lid. Cook slowly until top is just set.
6. Turn over and serve, with homefries and black beans if possible

Note: Should be almost burnt on outside, almost uncooked on inside. Mucho bueno! 2008 Central Market (Austin, Texas) Hatch Chile Cooking Contest finalist, created by Michael Tobis. Serves 2.

Helen's Eggplant Torta

Peel and slice in fairly thick slices, one eggplant.
Layer in pie plate, add two tablespoons water and microwave five minutes or until eggplant is cooked.
Drain well, sprinkle with a little olive oil and seasoning—salt, pepper, oregano, etc.
Place a layer of sliced tomatoes next, season.
Put chopped green tomatoes over top, then sliced good Mozarella or Asiago cheese.
Also may use chopped mushrooms and/or chopped black olives.
Beat two eggs and add ½ cup milk. Pour over torta.
Bake in 325 oven for about 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and let sit about 20 minutes.
It can be made ahead of time and very briefly heated in microwave, just enough to melt the cheese.

Julia—I hope when you make this dish you will remember our good time at Grayton Beach. It is a blessing to have such good friends who enjoy being together. I hope we will have this opportunity for several years to come. Meanwhile, keep on enjoying life, laugh and relax. You can’t keep an indefatigable gal down! I love you---Helen

Only Helen would say “indefatigable” in her note. I looked into Bunny’s Webster New Collegiate Dictionary to find that word: INFATIGABLE: Incapable of being fatigued, or not yielding to fatigue, untiring, tireless.
-Julia

Sharon's Salmon Bake with Pecans

4 (4-6 oz) salmon fillets
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 ½ tablespoons honey
¼ c soft bread crumbs
¼ cup pecans, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
Fresh parsley sprigs, lemon slices (garnish)

Preparation

Sprinkle salmon with salt & pepper. Place filets, skin side down in a lightly greased 13x9x2 inch pan. Combine mustard, butter, & honey. Brush mixture on the fillets. Combine bread crumbs, pecans, and chopped parsley; spoon mixture evenly on top of each fillet. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork. Garnish.


Dearest Julia ~

True Friends bring true joy…to see you again, Julia, has brought me that joy. Your wonderful spirit is a treasure we all cherish and we are so pleased you made the trip down to be with us this year. Too much time has passed since our last visit. I look so forward to sharing with you the east coast of Florida. Yet, another adventure in this incredible life of Julia Kubat…so many twists and turns and stories to tell. h love ~ Sharon

Sharon's Crab & Mushroom Bisque

¼ cup butter
8 green onions
1 pound fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 pint half & half
Dash of ground nutmeg
1 cup fresh crabmeat, drained & flaked..I use ½ lump & ½ claw meat
Dash of red pepper
Pinch of white pepper
½ teaspoon salt

Melt butter in heavy dutch oven; add onion and mushrooms, and sauté until tender. Add flour, stirring mixture constantly for 1 minute.

Combine chicken broth, half & half, and nutmeg; gradually add to mushroom mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining ingredients, and reduce heat. Cook until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently…DO NOT BOIL.

Julia ~

It has been absolutely wonderful to have you with us…even though the time was short, it was truly special. Please come again when we have more time…so much to see and do. Adventures await! Much love ~ Sharon & Buzz

Sharon has been my friend from long time ago, when we lived in Mississippi and belonged to weavers and spinners guild in Pass Christian, MS. We always gathered for Christmas potlock, when we shared our best dishes and exchanged the mostly handspun and handwoven gifts. This delicacy I remembered her by. Sharon served it again this year (especially for me) when I visited her and Buzz in their beautiful Victorian home in Jacksonville, Florida. Julia

Golabki - Stuffed cabbage - for Sharon

When I visited my dear friend Sharon in Jacksonville, Florida,
she took me to St. Augustine, the oldest city in America.
As we walked through the narrow streets of this beautiful city,
taking a lot of pictures, I spotted a sign, in perfect Polish: "Smaczne golabki".
Excitedly, I said: " Let's go in"!
Cooking the traditional Polish dishes were a mother and father,
and their 14-year-old son was tending the cash register.
In no time, we were speaking in Polish. I got the golabki to take out.
When we tasted them the next day, in that lovely tomato sauce,
we agreed they were delicious. As to tradition, Sharon asked me:
"Are they truly as they should be?" I said, " Definitely!"
(That's my daughter, Irene, in the picture, the day I tried this recipe at home.)
- Julia


In advance boil the rice till nice and fluffy.

Fill 1/2 of the large pot with the water. Add
1 Tbsp of salt. and bring it to boil.

Remove outer leaves of a large head of cabbage.
Cut out the core.
Place the cabbage in the boiling water for 2-3 min to soften.
Lift the cabbage out and place on a platter.
When cool enough to handle, remove the leaves one at a time,
with the help of a knife.
Repeat the procedure till you remove almost all the leaves.

Sautee onions in butter or olive oil.

In a bowl mix ground meat (beef, with some pork sausage for kick),
onions, egg, and salt and pepper to taste.
Maybe add a little Worcestershire sauce.
Place 1-2 Tbsp of meat mix. on each leaf. Fold the edges over and roll it
to the end.
Cover the bottom of the pot with one layer of cabbage leaves.
Place the rolls next to each other (so the don't unroll).
Pour small amount of water at the bottom of the pot to prevent burning.
Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour.
Add tomato sauce and pureed tomatoes and simmer for additional 10-20 min.

Mix some of the tomatoes sauce from the pot with 1-2 Tbsp of sour
cream and pour it over "golabki", and simmer together for additional
2-3 min.

Serve as is or with boiled potatoes.

If you taste the golabki and they seem ho-hum, just add lots of freshly ground pepper. Then they'll be terrific.

Julia's Turnips

1 cup of water
1 cup of milk
1 tsp. of salt
3 cups white turnips roots sliced thin
2 cups sliced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup grated cheese
5 Tbsp fine cracker crumbs

Bring water and milk to a boil. Add salt, carrots, onion, celery and peppers. Simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Do not drain. Add butter. Pour into baking dish and cover with cheese. Sprinkle cracker crumbs on top. Broil in oven just until the cheese melts.

I found this recipe in Neal's Brown of McHenry, MS., in her "Southern Cooking" cookbook, which she published and sent it to me some time ago.
I had served her this dish, after we came back from our horseback ride in the nearby woods. Neal's favorite horse was my Maraya, beautiful white, part Tennesee, part Apaloosa breed. She had extremely comfortable gait and was very well trained.


This is what Neal wrote so nicely in her book:

Wait! Before you pass up turnips, lets look a little closer. This wonderful lady is from Poland. She had two lovely horses that we rode every morning for 8 years in the woods on long trail rides at her farm, Twin Oaks in Poplarville, MS. It was one of the most exciting things I ever experienced, since I was 50 before I put a leg over a horse.
She now resides in Wisconsin, near her children. She enjoys traveling and continues her arts in weaving as well as her new hobby: photography.
She frequently visits her son's farm in nearby Mineral Point,WI, who raises Clydesdales and llamas.
Her recipes were unusual and delicious. This one that I want to remember her by.

Hello, dear friends!

I am so happy to share with you this website, which is my Christmas present from my dear family! My daughter Irene and I collaborated on a printed cookbook, with which we surprised the other members of our little family. I did not know that she and her husband were at the same time working on this website as a surprise for me! Now I am learning how to add my pictures and recipes!
- Julia, Christmas 2005

Merry Christmas, Everybody!

Pierogi for Wigilja

Homemade pierogi comes but once a year!

The dough

2-4 cups flour
1 egg
water

Place flour in the bowl, add egg and a little water. Mix with spoon. If dry add a little more water until the batch holds together. Place the dough on the floured board, then roll it out. Roll till thin, using more flour if too sticky. Cut out the circles with cookie cutter or a drinking glass.

Fill with meat or other filling, fold and pinch together to seal.

Meat or Mushroom Stuffing

Remove the boiled meat from the stock. Cool it. Run it through the
meat grinder or chop it finely.

Sauté finely chopped onions in butter, add finely chopped mushrooms and fry it together. Add meat (or skip
for vegetarian), add salt, pepper, and spices (thyme, oregano, paprika) to taste.

Cabbage stuffing

Cut cabbage in quarters, put into the pot with boiling water. Boil until almost soft. Drain. Cool it until easy to handle. Cut thinly. Sauté finely chopped onions, add finely chopped mushrooms, then add the cabbage. Salt and pepper to taste. Fry together a little.

The Grand Finale

Fill a large pot with water, add a little salt, and bring to boil. Drop the pierogi into the boiling water. Cover for a short time.
When the pierogi come to the top (or about 5 minutes), remove with large strainer, and rinse with hot water (so they won't stick together later). Serve with hot barszcz. Some people like to add a dollop of little sour cream.

Leftovers

Be sure to make plenty of pierogi so you can fry them in butter with some chopped onions the next morning for brunch!

Barszcz Burakowy / Beet Soup for Wigilja

Our traditional Christmas soup

3 quarts water
2-3 lbs beets
2-3 lbs beef potroast or pork sirloin with bone in
1-2 lbs available vegetables:
(carrots, onions, celery, parsnip, leek, onion, cabbage)
some dried mushrooms

---

Soak mushrooms.

Rinse the meat.

Place meat and mushrooms into a large pot with water and boil until the meat is tender.

Remove the meat. (Use the meat for the pierogi to be served with the barszcz.)

Add vegetables and boil until tender. Drain the stock. Separately boil washed beets till they are tender. Cool them, slip off the skins, then grate them on the grater with the large holes, add it to the soup. Boil a little, then season with 1/4 cup vinegar, 3-4 Tbsp sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Ask every member of the family to taste ......

Adjust seasoning according to taste with vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper, a little at a time, to give good sweet-and-sour taste, until the consensus is reached.

– Mama (Grandma)

Choose beets as dark and healthy looking as you can find. Old variety Detroit Reds are reliable.

Irene's Persimmon Pudding

lovely image by "Splat Worldwide" from Flickr.com

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Hachiya persimmon pulp
(mashed, with some larger chunks)
1 egg
4 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sherry
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place first six ingredients in a bowl and blend. Sift dry ingredients together and add, a little at a time, to the wet mixture. Add the walnuts and stir to incorporate. Pour batter into a greased, 8 x 8-inch or 8 x 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Great as is, with whipped cream or with cornstarch-thickened hard sauce, or the sort of frosting you’d put on a carrot cake.

I got this recipe off the Internet (also the photo above, which shows you the kind of persimmons to look for) but I remember the persimmons from a huge tree at our country house in Jacksonville when I was 8 years old. It fascinated me since you couldn’t eat the fruit until after the first frost (until then it was so hard and tart it was inedible) but after the frost it smelled wonderfully. You want the fruit to be a little mushy, like a ripe avocado. If it’s too hard, you can leave it outside overnight when it’s below freezing and it’ll be much better. This "pudding" is something like a banabread, but it's called persimmon “pudding” which is the British word for generally any sweet dessert, and it’s better eaten the same day it’s baked. - Irene

Allison's Pumpkin Troll Pie

Butter Pie Crust

3 cups flour plus 1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter (cold)
1 egg
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 cup very cold water

Cut butter into flour, then crumble with hands.
Beat up the egg, add vinegar, then water.
Moisten flour with liquid very gently. Do not overwork.
Wrap in plastic and cool in refrigerator.
Roll out for pie crust and press into a pie pan

Filling

¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
(Libby’s or any that has only
one ingredient: “pumpkin”)
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 unbaked pie shell

MIX sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a small bowl. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell.

BAKE in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Uncle Michael found the Pumpkin Troll right about the time that Allison, who had been into trolls for years, seemed like she was growing out of them. So Michael and Irene had the little fellow around for years. Somehow he ended up at Grandma’s house. And of course Grandma has been really into digital photography for years, and that troll wanted his portrait taken. But he’s really very, very small. He had to stand on the salt shaker just to get up close enough to the camera to show Allison his most excellent pumpkin. He must know she really likes pumpkin pie!

Simple Red Lentil Soup

onion
butter or olive oil
red lentils
water or stock or bouillon
ground pepper
lemon juice

Chop half an onion (to serve 1-2) or a whole onion (to serve 3-6).
In a small or medium saucepan, sauté chopped onion in 2-3 tbsp butter
(usually for company) or olive oil (usually for everyday).
Cook slowly until onions are glassy. Don't let them brown or the flavor won't be right.
Rinse lentils. How much? Enough to fill about 1/4 of the pot, or less. They'll expand at least double, maybe triple.
Add lentils to the pot and stir them around for half a minute.
Add water or stock to cover, or up to fill 3/4 or less of the pot.
Plain water will do, but stock gives more flavor. I like to use "Better Than Bouillon" goop by "Superior Touch" brand, which gives great flavor and extra nutrition - but only a tsp or two, since if you add too much it gets too salty. Start with less, then add to taste. I prefer to add the goop after the lentils are nearly cooked. Similarly with the liquid, start with less and add as needed, so that the lentils have enough water around them to cook without getting too thick.
Cook lentils until they’ve changed color to yellow and they're very soft.
Add freshly ground black pepper and lemon juice to taste. (Also salt if you've used unsalted water or broth.)
Puree in blender. (This is optional, but I think it's worth it.)
Enjoy!

===

This soup is almost effortless, or at least very rewarding for the little bit of effort that it is. I try to always keep the dried red lentils on hand, since this soup is good nutrition/protein for everyday but also nice enough for company. Red lentils are just green/brown lentils with the husks taken off. They vary a bit - smaller sized seem to have better flavor, if you can find them, often in Indian groceries, but most health foods stores carry the regular larger ones.

I've been making some version of this soup since my Findhorn days, even tho they didn't actually serve it there. I learned it from a British legume cookbook - tho the rest of the recipes in that book were a bit grim! This was the soup that was served at the wedding when Michael and I got married - since after we'd met those institutional cooks who were in charge of the meal (they came with the University alumni venue, which was pretty cheap since we were pretty poor) we weren't sure we trusted them to come up with anything tasty. Indeed, the parts of that meal that we left to them weren't very good, but I gave them the basic recipe and they didn't manage to screw up this lovely, easy soup.
-Auntie Reenie

Irene's Cornish Pasties

Filling

3 large onions,
3 cloves garlic
2 lbs ground beef or vegetarian substitute
2 large potatos
1 rutabaga
salt
pepper

PEEL and dice rutabaga and potato. Boil together until soft.
PEEL and chop onion, press garlic, and fry with burger until browned.
DRAIN rutabaga/potato mix and add to ground beef mixture.
SEASON to taste with salt and pepper.

Pastry

4 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup shortening
iced water in a spray bottle

SIFT flour and salt
CUT half of shortening into flour until like coarse cornmeal. Cut remaining shortening into this until like small peas.
ALTERNATELY spray and knead dough until evenly moistened and holds together.
ROLL and cut into 5 inch disks about 1/4 inch thick.

Finish

PLACE filling on half a disk, not overlapping the center line or the edge. Fold the other half over. Using small amounts of water to stick the dough together, seal into a semi-circular pocket.

BAKE pasties at 400 F on a cookie sheet until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

I tasted my first Cornish pasty in Cornwall, when traveling in the British Isles, and then only later realized they were known elsewhere. I usually make a huge batch of these for freezing. Heat frozen pasty in oven for 20-25 minutes at 400 F for a quick and hearty meal. Fred loved these.

Sunflower Parmesan Crackers

1 cup raw, shelled sunflower seeds
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
(the cardboard tube from the
supermarket shelf is fine;
don't waste your Reggiano)
¼ cup water




PREHEAT oven to 325 F

PROCESS seeds and parmesan in a food processor until a fine consistency, almost like flour, is achieved.

COVER a cookie sheet with baking parchment. Place dough on it. Cover with another sheet. Moosh together by hand to get as thin and even a sheet as possible, but avoiding holes. Peel off top sheet of parchment and score with a pizza cutter into 1 ½ to 2 inch squares.

BAKE about 30 minutes until browned. The edges will brown first. Remove when the edge is fairly brown like toast.

SERVE with soft cheese like brie or goat cheese. Yum!

Recipe from 500 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender, although I got even better flavor using Romano cheese! - Irene

Nicoise Salad Dressing

Good over any or all of these:

small red potatoes, cooked and quartered
hard boiled eggs, sliced
cooked green beans
tomato wedges
oil-packed canned tuna, flaked
fresh spring lettuce

Whisk together in a small bowl:

3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon style mustard
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Add in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly:

6 tbsp high quality olive oil

from the Joy of Cooking, slightly adapted by Irene

Kibbee

 

1/3 cup bulghur
1 lb lean ground beef, and/or lamb, or vegetarian burger
1 medium onion, grated
8 oz tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (a little less if you have fresh from Penzey's)
1/4 c pine nuts
3 Tbsps butter

MIX bulghur with 1/4 cup hot water and let stand 1 hour

COMBINE bulghur, burger, onion, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, cinnamon. Mix well and press into a casserole dish.

PRESS pine nuts into the top, and pour melted butter evenly over the top

BAKE at 400 F for 30 minutes

SERVE hot, if desired with a yogurt sauce

This lovely dish is from Ethnic Cuisine: The Flavor-Principle Cookbook, a nice cookbook from 1983 by Elizabeth Rozin.

Deviled Eggs

You will need

4 hard-boiled eggs
2 tbsp high quality mayonnaise or sour cream
1 tsp or more Dijon-style mustard
1 tsp vinegar

You may also want, to taste (quantities are if you use all of them):

2 tsp minced herbs, fresh if possible (chives, tarragon, parsley and/or basil)
1 tsp minced shallots
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp Worcestershire suace
1/8 tsp ground black pepper


PEEL and halve the eggs

MASH the yolks with the other ingredients

SPOON filling back into eggs, mounding slightly; for extra fanciness use pastry tube with star tip; otherwise sprinkle with paprika for a festive appearance

REFRIGERATE. Remove from fridge about 15 minutes before serving.

How to Boil Eggs the Easy Way

Many people don't know how to hard-boil eggs. This is how.

Place fresh eggs in a single layer in a large saucepan or pot, without crowding.
Cover with cold water about an inch over top of eggs.
Bring to a boil.
Immediately after reaching a vigorous full boil, remove from heat and cover.
Let eggs sit 15 minutes or a bit more.
Drain, rinse in cold water and peel.

Michael's India-inspired Brown Rice

Bring 2 cups of filtered water to a boil.

Add a cup of rinsed dry brown rice.

You may need to add a little water toward the end (after 30 minutes) to prevent burning.

When it's almost done add:




1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup raisins
pinch cardamom
pinch powdered ginger
pinch cinnamon
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Continue to boil at least five minutes.

An improvisation. It turned out really nice. If I were to do it again I might add some unsalted cashew pieces. - Michael

Vodka Libations in Honor of the Count

Irene had an email exchange with the scion of the family, the charming and urbane Count Jan-Roman Potocki. I had the pleasure of making his acquaintance over dinner at Ralph Lauren's, a place I would normally find utterly intimidating. The man is highly civilized, and had occasion to gently correct my manners in such a way that I felt respected and enriched. We certainly wish him well in his endeavors in reviving the fortunes of the great family.

His chosen vehicle is the traditional family vodka, which is indeed a fine libation. He recommends it straight up, but here are some suggestions.

Potocki Rosso

2 shots Potocki Vodka
1/2 shot Martini & Rossi red vermouth
dash lemon juice

shake with ice until very cold
serve in a Martini glass with a twist

Marie Antoinetteski

this is sort of a girly drink, but if no one's watching I'll drink it (grin)

2 shots Potocki Vodka
1/2 shot Parfait Amour

shake with ice until very cold
serve in a Martini glass with a twist

CHRISTOFLE SILVER COCKTAIL

This drink was concocted for the introduction of Potocki Vodka into the Chicago market. Irene, Allison, and Irene's friend Leslie first met the Count at the shindig at Christofle, a fine silver and crystal place on the Mile. It's a lovely cocktail.

For 1 quart of syrup (prep two days ahead):
1. Make simple syrup by combining 4 cups of sugar to 3 cups of hot
water. Stir until well dissolved.
2. With sharp knife, gently zest (peel only) 6 lemons and 6 limes.
Pour warm syrup over peels
3. Add as many of the following as possible: fresh lemon verbena,
lemon balm, lime basil, kaffir lime leaf (if kaffir limes or meyer
lemons are available, use zest in addition to standard lemon and
lime). All herbs should be very fresh and free from dirt. Once added
to syrup mixture, gently press on herbs and peels with muddler to
release essential oils. Let steep refrigerated for two days. Syrup may
be served in a container with a spigot (it will self strain) or
strained off of solids for service.

To make cocktail: Add one count (1/2 ounce) of syrup to 4 counts (2
ounces) Potocki Vodka or to taste. Thickness of syrup and intensity of
flavors will determine ratio of syrup to vodka. Cocktail NOT be very
sweet – it is really a martini, and the syrup provides just a hint of
flavor.

-Michael

Jean's White Bean Dip

the dip is really simple and it's made with white beans (canelli) instead of chickpeas. i made it in the blender, but you can hand crush it too (maybe with a little help!) i used

two cans of beans,
a few tablespoons of lemon juice to taste,
about a cup of olive oil,
four cloves of garlic,
salt,
cayenne pepper,
oregano,
paprika.

all of those amounts are just me guessing how much i put in, because i never cook with measuring devices.

-Jean

Chicken with Wild & Brown Rice Stuffing

Stuffing

1 cup cooked (with salt ) wild rice/brown rice mixture,
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries ("craisins")
1/4 cup onion
1/4 cup celery
1/4 cup pork sausage
(frozen breakfast sausage;
e.g. Jimmy Dean brand)
black pepper
marjoram
butter

(It's good to very gently brown the pine nuts in a dry frying pan,
to give better flavor, but this is optional.)
Chop the dried cranberries, onions, and celery.
Then, in a frying pan, saute:
onion and celery and pork sausage (1/4 cup each? more veg than sausage),
then add the cooked rices,
then add chopped dried cranberries and toasted pine nuts.
Season to taste with black pepper, marjoram,
and/or anything you think will be good.
Add butter if it looks or tastes too dry.
Adjust tastes until you think it tastes really good. Refrigerate.

Bird

Get a nice big chicken. (I got one once that was almost 6 pounds.)

Then, a good couple of hours before you want to serve:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Wash & dry the chicken thoroughly, place it on your nice roasting rack, with pan under.
HEAT the stuffing in microwave until very hot, stuff the bird with hot dressing.
Sew or tie up opening to hold stuffing in.
Bake for approx 1&1/2 hour, basting with melted 1/2 stick butter as soon as it starts to look a little brown.
Keep checking when you baste a few times. You can reduce heat to 350 if it looks like it's too fast.
Get it good and brown. With all that basting, it won't be dry, and it's better for it to be falling apart.

I also pour 1/3 stick of melted butter over it once it starts looking a little brown, and I baste it a few times. It is easy to baste if you use a back, so you can just lift the rack, set it on another cookie sheet, and pour the juice over the chicken from the first cookie sheet.

Vegetarian Version

Omit the chicken.

- Irene

Chocolate Pecan Pie

2 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
¼ cup coffee
2 Tbsp butter
4 eggs
1 cup maple syrup (or part light corn syrup)
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups chopped pecans
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
6 to 8 pecan halves


Combine chocolate and coffee in a medium saucepan or in the microwave, stirring frequently until chocolate melts. Remove from heat, add butter, stir until butter melts. Cool. Combine eggs, syrup, and sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Gradually stir into chocolate; stir in pecans. Pour into pastry shell; garnish with pecan halves. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until filling is set.

Michael’s Canadian insistence on maple syrup improved the original recipe. And if you forget to add the chocolate/chocolate back in, as we (Mama and Irenka) did, it’s still really good!

Butter Pie Crust

3 cups flour plus 1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter (cold)
1 egg
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 cup very cold water

Cut butter into flour, then crumble with hands.
Beat up the egg, add vinegar, then water.
Moisten flour with liquid very gently. Do not overwork.
Wrap in plastic and cool in refrigerator.
Roll out for pie crust.

Kluski / Kluski ziemniaczane / Potato Noodles

2 ½ lbs potatoes
1-2 eggs
3-4 cups flour
1 stick of butter
onions
salt

Wash the potatoes with the brush, boil, cool, and slip off the skins. Mash. Add egg, salt, flour, and form the dough. Divide into 3 portions. Roll into thin strips and cut onto pieces 3-4 cm long. Put the noodle into the salted boiling water and boil them until they come to the top. Drain. Serve with stewed meat, covered with butter or mushroom or tomato sauce.

Grandma’s way:

When you have leftover mashed potatoes from the previous dinner, add the egg, and flour and mix into a dough. Roll the thin rolls, and cut into 3” pieces. boil in the salty water, drain and serve with leftover meats or sauté onions in butter and fry noodles in it till nice and crispy.

With the leftover potatoes from the previous dinner, it is difficult to judge how much flour to use. First add egg to the potatoes, then gradually add flour until the consistency is like molding clay. Roll it into 1-2” log, and cut into 1” pieces (sprinkle flour to cut the stickiness). Bring water to boil, add a little salt, drop the noodles into boiling water, wait till they come to the top, drain. Pour the cold water over, drain in the colander, and then refry in butter. You can sauté some onions in the butter, then fry noodles in it.

Potato Pancakes / Placki Kartoflane / Latkes

1-2 lbs potatoes
1 onion
1 egg
1-3 Tbsp flour
salt
oil for frying

Wash, peel, and rinse potatoes,
grate them on the grating board,
add egg, grated onion, salt and flour.

Heat the oil in the frying pan, place a small amount of grated mixture on the frying pan and sooth it thinly.

Turn each potato pancake when it got brown.

Serve immediately. You may serve it with the sour cream or applesauce (you may omit the onion).

Michael doesn’t believe in applesauce with latkes.

– Mama (Grandma)