Posts from the ‘Recipes’ Category

Aug 15

SLOW COOKERS IN SUMMER

It’s time to take a fresh look at slow cookers and view them in a different seasonal light because they offer an option to grilling for busy people, especially when it’s too hot to enjoy being outside.. Also they can be a big help in outdoor entertaining especially for kids parties, and act as a safety measure.

Slow cookers were introduced in the 1970s, and their popularity has faded and revived at consistent intervals of about 20 years. Perhaps it’s a generational thing but slow cookers do have staying power. However, they are often regarded as seasonal because slow cooking implies well done food as soups and stews, associated with cold weather.

On the other hand, many of these slowly cooked “winter” dishes are acceptable served chilled. Italians are very fond of Minestrone with kale or spinach and pasta in summer. Many hearty soups can be cooked ahead and served chilled. Cold bean soups, with a salad make excellent warn weather meals. A friend slow cooks pork roasts in barbeque sauce, until meltingly tender, then shreds the meat. Her “Pulled Pork” sandwiches, topped with slaw, tomatoes and other goodies, are the anticipated highlight of her summer parties for all ages. Meatballs are another great yard party favorite, especially in sandwiches for kids or as Hors d’ouvres. They can be made days ahead and frozen, then simmered in sauce and served from a slow cooker.

Another advantage of using slow cookers outdoors was recently pointed out by a neighbor whose yard is her family’s go-to for children’s parties. Frightened as children crowded the grill that there would be some serious burns with all the pushing and shoving, she vowed to serve only cold food or dishes like pulled pork or meatballs which can be spooned onto a bun for children’s gatherings.

Of course, having dinner cooked and totally prepared to serve appeals to our A.S.A.P. mentality especially on a hot night. Another plus in our health conscious lifestyle is that slow cooker preparation restricts use of fats and requires that meats be well trimmed. Also because of the extended cooking time, it welcomes cheaper cuts of meat, which have a lower fat ratio. Slow cooker recipes instructed removing chicken skins long before it became popular or was recommended for healthier diets.

So, just because the food writers move onto more seasonal dishes, you don’t have to store the slow cooker away with the winter coat. Learn the pros and cons of slow cookers, and to get to know your own appliance, different makes and sizes handle tasks differently, and you’ll find ways to use it all year but remember to pick and choose recipes.

This choice doesn’t have to be set in stone either. I’m listing some great summer slow cooker recipes below but I’m also including a conversion chart so you can convert a favorite traditionally cooked recipe you think would be good as a summer meal along with some helpful tips.

1) Remember that slow cookers don’t allow moisture to evaporate as traditional cooking methods do, so reduce the liquid often by half.

2) The best thing to do when adapting a recipe is to find a similar one in the desired cooking method, and compare the ingredient amounts especially the liquid.

3) Vegetables may not cook as fast as the meat, and should be used in smaller sizes or cut in chunks. Examples–baby carrots and, pearl onions in place of regular. Check example recipe for correct size.

4) Though it may be used to keep a cooked dish warm for serving, never reheat in a slow cooker. If food has cooled remove it and always follow the directions for your appliance.

CONVERSION CHART

IF RECIPE SAYS COOK ON LOW COOK ON HIGH

10 to 30 minutes                                    4 to 6 hours                                          1 1/2 to 2 hours
35-45 minutes                                      6 – 10 hours                                         3 – 4 hours
50 minutes to 3 Hours                          8 to 18 hours                                       4 to 6 hours

RECIPES: Sources for several and for inspiration on converting others I turned to The Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good

Honey Wings: Makes 32 pieces
16 chicken wings, tips removed, divided to make drumettes= about 3 lbs.
3cloves minced garlic.
¼ cup oil
2 cups honey
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup ketchup
Rinse wings and dry. Put on a foil lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil on an upper rack 20 min. turning once until brown. Place in a slow cooker. Mix the other entire ingredient and pour over chicken. Cook on low 4-5 hrs. or high 2-2 ½ hrs.

Cranberry- Barbequed Chicken: Serves 6-8
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 cup barbeque sauce
1/2cup diced celery
½ cup diced onion
Salt and pepper

Put all ingredients in a slow cooker, cover and cook on high 2 hr. or low 5 hrs. Chicken will shred when stirred, or simply ladle out. Serve on rolls, optionally spread with mayonnaise. The addition of lettuce is also optional.

Pork Chalupa: Serves 12-16
3lb.lean pork
3garlic cloves
1Tbs. each dried oregano, cumin and chili powder
40z. can chopped green chilies
1lb. dried pinto beans—soaked overnight in water to cover
For Garnish–Grated cheese-Parmesan, sharp or Jack, Diced tomatoes, chopped onions

Lettuce for bedding
Put pork in bottom of slow cooker add remaining ingredients including beans with water. Add enough water to cover if needed. Cook on high 1 hr. and low 6 hr. Remove meat, shred it and return to pot. Cook on high another hour. Serve bedded on lettuce on plates or rolls with garnishes.

Barbequed Ribs: Serves 4-6*
NOTE: Most recipes for ribs call for pre-cooking them either by browning them on the stove, broiling or baking them to remove the excess fat. They can be done completely in the slow cooker by cooking on high 1 hr. and adding one hour to the total cooking time.
3-4 lb. baby back or country style rib
Salt & pepper
1 large onion diced
1 garlic clove sliced
1 cup barbeque sauce
1 cup Catalina dressing
Season ribs with salt and pepper and brown under broiler. Put ribs in cooker, top with other ingredients and cover with sauce and dressing mixed. Cook on low 6-8 hrs. until done.
*This recipe can be made with a lean roast of equal weight. Cook 1 hr. less, remove meat. shred and return to the pot with ½ cup barbeque sauce, cook remaining hour. Serve spooned on rolls.

Meatballs for Sauce: Serves about 6
This is a recipe I used for the many years I was automatically assigned the meatball sandwich booth at the local elementary school Spring Fair. It makes up well in bulk and can be served in any sauce to fit the occasion. An added tip is that the frozen meatballs can be microwaved 1-2 min alone or with sauce until warm and served as a canapé or over pasta.
Recipe for meatball Sandwiches– Makes 18 meatballs
1 lb. ground meat
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
½ hamburger bun in crumbs
½ small onion in fine dice
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups SAUCE home-made or commercial, any variety-tomato, Alfredo etc.
Combine all the ingredients except the sauce in a large bowl. Mix together well. Roll into balls about 1 ½ inch diameter. Place, well separated, on a foil covered cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 18 min. Cool on sheet.
Heat sauce over medium heat in a pan on stove top. Add meatballs and cook 15 minutes until flavors meld and meat is heated through. Serve hot on sliced buns with sauce.
TO FREEZE: Freeze meatballs in an air-tight plastic bag on a flat surface, so they don’t crowd together. Best re-heated in sauce thawed, but can be done frozen –increase cooking time to 20 minutes.

Beef Fajitas: Serves 12
11/2 lb. flank steak or bottom round
1 cup chopped onions
1 green bell pepper sliced lengthwise in ½ inch pieces
1 tsp. EACH powdered garlic, chili, cumin, coriander
8oz. can diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno pepper – chopped
1 Tbs. chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper
(12) 8 inch flour tortillas
TOPPINGS
Sour cream, salsa, guacamole, shredded sharp cheese
Cut meat into 6 pieces. Place in slow cooker with all other ingredients except tortillas and toppings. Cook on low 8-10 hrs. or high 4-5 hrs. Remove meat from cooker and shred. Return to
pot to keep warm. Serve by spooning a portion down the center of a tortilla, adding topping and roll.

Far East Steak Sandwich: Serves 6
1 lb. thin sliced sandwich steaks
2 garlic cloves minced
1 onion thinly sliced
! bell pepper julienned
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
¾ tsp. powdered ginger
3 Tbs. Soy sauce
4 0z can sliced mushrooms drained OR 1 cup fresh
Provolone cheese slices
Put all ingredients but cheese in cooker, cover and cook on low 6-8 hrs. Serve on sub rolls topped with cheese.

Reuben Sandwiches: Serves 4-6
TO COOK CORNED BEEF: Place a 3-4lb piece of corned beef on a slow cooker. Top a sliced garlic clove and about 10 peppercorns. Cover with water and cook on high 4-5hr.until tender. Remove and slice. Proceed as below for sandwiches.
FOR COOKED CORNED BEEF – deli or home cooked
1 lb. sliced corned beef
1 lb. sauerkraut –(2) 15 oz. cans do well

¼ lb. sliced Swiss cheese
1 bottle Thousand Island salad dressing*
Sliced loaf pumpernickel or rye bread:
Drain kraut well and squeeze dry. Layer in cooker in this order, kraut, beef, cheese. Spread bread slices with dressing and spoon cooker contents over them trying to keep layers intact. Serve warm.
*Tartar Sauce with ketchup (2 Tbs. per ½ cup) is a substitute for the dressing.

Corn on the Cob
6-8 ears of corn in husks – more if cooker can hold them without crowding
½ cup water
Cut stems off bottoms so ears can stand upright. Fold back the husks and remove silk and any loose outside leaves. Optionally lightly sprinkle taco seasoning over the kernels. Fold the husks back to cover the corn. Place ears vertically in pot, pour the water over them. Cook on low 2-3 hrs.

Aug 8

AUGUST IS STONE FRUIT TIME

My summer’s blogs wouldn’t be complete without discussing those delicious, succulent stone fruits, peaches, apricots and plums. Not only are they favorites for flavor, but in an age when most fresh produce is available all year, or found in the frozen section, stone fruits are found in markets fresh for just a few weeks and only peaches are frozen. (If you want to learn to freeze them, and other summer items, at home see posts for Feb. 2, 2012, Sept. 22, 2016, Sept.3, 2020 and Sept. 10, 2020) This year, I decided to review past posts and reprint a few recipes I found memorable for ease of prep, taste and presentation.

There are lots more easy, fun delicious recipes on my blog, in too many posts to back-link here. To find them go to Archives, roll the Home Page panorama or use the drop-down menu in the right margin of any blog page and pick August and September of each year.

Stone fruits combine well, not only with other ingredients, but with each other. If there isn’t enough of one type for a recipe, another can often be used to fill the quota. They’re generally interchangeable in recipes especially peaches and nectarines, which are really an antique Chinese variety of peach. Only peaches, of all the stone fruits, have to be skinned before cooking. That’s done as with tomatoes, by dipping in boiling water and peeling off the skin, but don’t remove the skin if grilling, roasting or broiling them, unless they’re to be sliced. Though the end-of-season fruits may be of lesser quality to eat raw, they cook as well, perhaps even better than the lush ones in their prime. Probably it’s due to the fact that they have less water content and the meat is more compact, but heating brings out a ton of flavor.

APRICOTS

In the U.S., apricots are the least visible members of the stone fruit group. Resembling small peaches with a slightly more acidic taste and less juice, apricots are the perfect on-the-go snack, able to be consumed in four bites, leaving no drippy mess.

Native to China, related to plums, apricots date back to 3000 B.C. By the first century A.D. they were established in Armenia, leading to the misconception by Europeans who discovered them there in the 15^thcentury, they were from that region. Smaller and hardier than other stone fruit trees, apricots got an early start in the New World. However, though they can stand extreme cold, they won’t produce in a climate where temperature fluctuates, which is why they grow well in Turkey. They preserve so well that in the U.S we focus on the processed fruit jam, nectar, canned, dried and tend to overlook the fresh.

In 2018, I was determined to find uses for fresh apricots and, being summer, I wanted recipes which didn’t take hours in a hot kitchen. Quick, fresh and easy was my goal. I hope I succeeded. Below is a sampling from that blog and if you want more consult the article. (Aug.9, 2018)

Quick Apricot Ice Cream: Yield about 1 gallon
4lb. apricots-stoned and pureed
¼ cup sugar
Pinch salt
Drop almond, vanilla or rum extract-optional
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
Mix the extract, salt and sugar with the pulp and let stand to dissolve . Mix the pulp in with the softened ice cream-partially, leaving a ripple effect is attractive-or fully incorporate the two. Place in a covered container and freeze until firm-best overnight at least.

Puff Pastry Tart: Serves 6-8– A Martha Stewart Recipe
1 cup shelled toasted pistachios + 1 Tbs.
½ cup sugar
1 stick butter pulse
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Flour for dusting
1 lb. box puff pastry-thawed
1 ¼ lb. apricots cut in ¼ inch slices
1 egg yolk
1 Tbs. heavy cream
2 Tbs. raw sugar-granulated O.K.
¼ cup apricot jam
Pulse the 1 cup nuts, sugar and butter into a paste . Add next 3 ingredients and pulse to combine. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, press edges of both pastry sheets together to form one large sheet. Roll out to a 9-by-17-inch rectangle; transfer to a baking sheet. Spread reserved pistachio mixture over dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border. Position rectangle so that a short end is nearest you. Arrange apricots on top in 4 vertical rows, alternating direction in which apricots face from row to row. Fold in edges of dough; use your index finger to make a scalloped border. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes. . Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together yolk and cream; brush egg wash over edges of tart shell. Chop remaining tablespoon nuts; sprinkle nuts and turbinado sugar over apricots. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until crust is deep golden brown and fruit is juicy, about 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. . Meanwhile, heat jam with 1 ½ tablespoons water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring, until thinned, about 2 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve into a small bowl. Brush glaze over fruit.

PLUMS

Plums may be one of the earliest domesticated fruits. The main cultivars, or named species of a plant still cultivated today, have been found around the remains of Neolithic settlements. Unlike other stone fruits, plums seem to have originated in two strains and in two places; one comes from the mountains of Eastern Europe, the other from Asia. Plums are the most widely grown of the stone fruits, and exist in the largest number of verities, including Plouts, which like nectarines are sold as a separate fruit. Interestingly, the major cause of the many verities of plums is due to geographic location, climate and soil, rather than genetic engineering.

Like apricots, plums are most often eaten out-of-hand, dried as prunes, preserved in jams or canned, rather than used as a recipe ingredient and their texture makes them unsuitable for freezing. However, they are excellent additions to fruit cocktails and salads. For more great plum recipes see Aug. 25, 2015

Plum Rustica, or Galette: Serves 6-8- from my book Dinners with Joy
Crust if making: mix
1 ½ cups flour, optionally substitute whole wheat pastry flour for half the regular.
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
3 to 4 Tbs. ICE water to form dough
1/3cup chopped toasted almonds or walnuts-optional
Combine sugar and flour. Cut butter into flour mix until texture is like gravel. Add water and form a dough ball. Chill 20 min. then roll to a 12 inch round. Transfer to a parchment or foil covered cookie sheet, or a pizza pan for baking. Optionally, sprinkle 1/3 cup chopped, toasted nuts over the bottom for plums, a sprinkle of cinnamon works for the other fruits.
Depending on size, fill the center with a 1 lb. to 1 ½ lb. fruit, leaving a 2 to 3 inch margin. (Apples pears and peaches should be peeled and sliced. Plums and apricots can be halved and stoned.)
Dot fruit with ½ Tbs. butter. Sprinkle with 1 Tbs. cornstarch, 1 Tbs. sugar and ½ tsp. lemon juice.
Carefully fold edges of pastry up around filling, pleating as you go. The edges can be brushed with cream or egg white and sprinkled with sugar as decoration. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 min. Cool on sheet; preferably on a wire rack. This can be moved to a plate for serving, but as the name implies, it’s a “rustic” or casual pastry, and I like to bake it and serve it in a pizza pan.
NOTE: While still hot, combine ½ cup melted red currant jelly and 1 Tbs. Grand Mariner and pour over the top.

Plum Cake: Serves 8-From Landoll’s Creative Cooking Dessert
1 ½ cups stoned plum halves
¼ cup shortening
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
salt
¼ cup milk
1tsp.vanilla
Garnish
½ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon

Grease and flour a 9 inch square baking pan. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs beating until smooth. Mix flours, salt and baking powder; add alternately with milk to egg mix, beating well. Stir in vanilla. Pour into pan and arrange fruit over top. Combine garnish ingredients and scatter over the fruit. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven 30 min. Cool in pan.

PEACHES

Peaches are stars of the season. Like apricots, their origin can be traced back about 3000 years to China. Nectarines are a smooth-skinned peach, and can be substituted for peaches in most recipes. Although peaches have many popular recipes, I wanted to present a different take on them in my post for Aug. 16, 2018. Those 8 recipes are geared to fit three requirements. First, they are easy to prepare in the heat of August needing little or no cooking. Second, they fit the current preference for casual, even rustic presentations. Third, they had to be ‘off the beaten track.’ I didn’t want a repetition of the usual shortcakes, pies and mousse.

The familiar recipes below are new twists on the old standards being made with raw fruit. There are a couple of tips about peaches which will make working with them simpler. Peeling them is a breeze. Just dip them in boiling water for about 10-15 sec., run them under cold water and the skin peels off like a tomato. If they could stand a bit of softening, leave them in the water a minute or two.

I love peaches grilled. They caramelize and get a depth of flavor that really carries a dish. There are many recipes featuring roasted peaches but to simply perk their flavor to use in another dish, place the halves, cut side up, in a baking dish with a bit of water in the bottom and bake in a 425 deg. oven until desired doneness or for 20 min. for fully roasted. They substitute in most recipes and peeling is optional.

PEACHES

Broiled, Grilled or Roasted Peaches or Nectarines
Peaches and nectarines are the favored stone fruits to withstand intense heat without the support of pastry or a pan. Simply halve and pit them, place them on a baking sheet in the oven or directly on the grill and cook them until the juices bubble and the cut edges begin to char. Grilling time depends on the size of the fruit and degree of heat. Roasting is done at 400 deg. for 20 min.
They can be served directly with meat but as a dessert I like to let them marinate a few minutes in a complimentary liqueur or liquor, Peach Brandy, Triple Sec, spiced rum etc., until they form a bit of sauce and then serve them with the sauce and meringues, ice cream or whipped cream.

Serving Suggestions:
1) Top with a scoop of ice cream-try peach. Make a hole in the center with the handle of a wooden spoon and fill cavity with peach liqueur.
2) Top with berries and whipped cream
3) Top with honey or maple syrup
4) Peach Melba-top with vanilla ice cream, place a meringue on either side and spoon over raspberry sauce.

Fresh Peach Meringue Pie: Serves 6-8
4-5 cups peeled, sliced peaches
Pastry for a 1 crust 9 inch pie
2 Tbs. peach or all fruit jam
2 egg whites
½ cup sugar
Few drops vinegar
Line pie plate and bake crust until golden. Cool and spread jam over the bottom, then fill with the peaches. Beat the whites until peaks form, add a few drops of vinegar, beat in and continue beating while adding sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over the top of the pie, being sure to cover right up to the crust edging. Decoratively swirl the top with a spoon and run the pie under a hot broiler until golden on top, about 2-3 min. Store several hours at room temperature, chill leftovers.

ALL FRUITS

The following 4 recipes are crowd pleasers, easy to make and open to virtually any fruit, but especially god with stone fruits. So make it easy on yourself and score a hit with dessert.

Fruit Crisp: Serves 6
9 ripe peach sized fruits sliced, peaches if using peeled
½ cup softened butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
Place fruit in a greased 9 inch baking pan. Sift last 4 ingredients and work in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the peaches and bake in a preheated 375 deg. oven 45-50 min. Serve warm or room temp with ice cream or a whipped topping

Angel Nest: Serves 4
Add 1 Tbs. flour and 1 Tbs. cornstarch to just 3 egg whites per cup of sugar. Shape them on an 8 inch round template, using the back of a fork to raise the sides into nests. Bake at 250 degrees for 60 min. Leave in oven for 30 min. Cool on a wire rack. Store in a dry place until ready to use, up to a week. Fill centers with fresh fruit and serve with whipped cream, or topping, on the side. I would imagine these can be made in individual portions, and would be most attractive. Judging by the timing to cook basic meringues, I don’t think there would be much adjustment to the directions either. Something you might want to try.

Fruit Pizza: Serves 8-10
Make dough as instructed above, increasing sugar to ½ cup and shortening to 2/3 cup.
If buying; purchase a roll of sugar cookie dough, not pie dough. Roll dough to fit a pizza pan, prick several times with a fork and bake as for cookies, 350 degrees for 10 to 12 min. until lightly browned, or as directions on package state.
Cool completely in pan.
Decoratively arrange raw fruit over the crust. The amount you will need depends on the chosen fruit, roughly about 1 ½ lbs. For July 4th use a combination of strawberries and blueberries. Top with a glaze made from a clear jelly, apple or current, melted with 1 Tbs. water per ¼ cup jelly. For a thicker glaze dissolve ¼ tsp. cornstarch in 1 Tbs. water per ½ cup jelly, which is the amount I use for one of these. Boil until clear and spoon over the fruit. Chill until completely set. Serve in wedges and optionally pass whipped cream, or ice cream.

Wonton Fruit Cups: Serves 12
24 wonton wrappers
2 Tbs. melted butter
1/3 cup fruit preserves—flavor complimentary to fruit filling
1 cup lemon yogurt or instant pudding-pie filling, flavor optional
1 ½ cups diced fruit
Line a 12 cup or (2) 6 cup muffin pans with a wonton wrapper. Brush with ½ the butter. Place a second wrapper diagonally across the first and brush with remaining butter. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven 10 min. or until golden. Remove and cool. Spread 1 tsp. fruit preserves in each cup. Fold yogurt or pudding with 1 cup fruit and spoon into cups. Garnish with remaining fruit.

Fruit Crisp: Serves 6-8
4-5 cups sliced peaches or nectarines, halved apricots, quartered plums
½ cup melted butter
¾-1 ¼ cups white or light brown sugar-depending on sweetness of fruit
¾ cup flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon or ½ tsp. nutmeg or allspice—depending on choice of fruit
Few drops lemon juice
Place the fruit in an ovenproof bowl or pan the size of a 9 inch pie plate and sprinkle with lemon juice. Stir all the other ingredients into the butter and scatter over the fruit. Bake in a preheated 400deg.oven about 30-40 min. until fruit is done. Cool on a rack and serve spooned into bowls topped with ice cream or whipped topping.

Aug 1

MEET LILLY

The Lilly Likes to Cook books were inspired by the realization that kids start anticipating summer before the buds open and zoom into activity the second the school doors close. However, things change, along about August. It’s the peak vacation month and summer programs end to free people. For kids boredom often sets in. Summer has become routine as are the things they longed to be free to do, and at home or away they miss friends. Rainy days are the pits!

One year, when my daughter was in grade school and our swim club team’s regional meets had ended in July, empty Saturdays loomed ahead. The first one, I was baking a cake and found I had an audience, four boys and two girls begging to help and I obliged. During the week, I was casually asked if I’d be baking again on Saturday, and ‘my crew’ showed up as if summoned that morning. So began, always seemingly impromptu, ‘Cake Saturdays’. Flavor was never discussed but the pan options were vital, bunt, sheet, tube or layers and the choice of shape was a major topic in judging the finished product, which disappeared magically while discussing the verdict.

The experience sowed the seeds for the Lilly Likes to Cook series because it taught me a lot about dealing with bored children. The casual and spontaneous plan is often better than the elaborate and expensive one. A distraction works best when it involves creating or perfecting something within a short time-frame, with a welcome reward at the end. Above all avoid repetition. Even if just baking cakes, make each a bit different to keep interest alive.

I also learned these tactics fostered bonding and enhanced friendships. The action and then the memory of having worked together to create something which gave a sense of mutual satisfaction to be shared and enjoyed, was incredibly unifying and enduring. And these ploys aren’t limited to the young. They work with people of all ages anywhere, anytime, even on vacations.

The ‘Cake Saturday’ diversion for boredom was a god-send and the increased bonding a bonus outcome, but over the years, I’ve had a lot more experience cooking with children and I‘ve come to understand that cooking is a natural project for both these purposes. It only requires equipment found in most homes. The time-frame is dictated by the choice of recipe, usually only a couple hours at most. The rewards are immediate, known, eagerly anticipated and easily shared–no arguments over custody of the finished product. Plus learning some kitchen skills always comes in handy.

A few years ago, actually two years in a row, a neighbor’s children asked my help with their Mother’s Day plans. I’ve detailed the episodes in No Stress Recipes for Mother’s Day and Can I help?. Working with those children reminded me of how fun and rewarding it is to watch kids interest and confidence grow as they realize there were tasks they can do and more difficult ones they could master. Seeing their pride and pleasure at the prepared dish is priceless. That’s when I started writing the Lilly Likes to Cook series.

Although there’s room for assistance in most recipes, choosing one to share with a child narrows the field and depends, above all, on the age and abilities of the child in question. It should be something liked, difficult enough to be interesting, but simple enough to fit in a limited time-frame. Desserts are popular choices because they fit these requirements, but also because they’re not pivotal to a menu. If the dish is a flop, it can be remade or replaced but, most importantly, desserts can be easily shared, giving a child the opportunity to show off a bit and receive praise.

However, children aren’t long satisfied with only making desserts, especially if it’s an ongoing partnership. They will want to move on to more important menu items and adult pleasing dishes, which fit the requirements, don’t always leap to mind.

My motives in writing the Lilly Likes to Cook series of books were first, my desire to help those coping with kids suffering from ‘the bored blaas’ due to weather, minor illnesses, or empty schedules. Second, I wanted to share what I have found to be an excellent method of getting children to bond both with each other and with adults. Third, I hoped to ease things by offering a selection of tested recipes suitable for the purpose.

I’ve put the recipes into loosely woven story lines which give the books continuity as well as illustrating possible presentations or functions for the finished dishes, so the selection of recipe can fit the situation. They also break down the preparation tasks giving detailed directions, according to age and experience, without being too obvious. The books are digital, available on Kindle and this web site for far less than a cup of coffee. (Book 1 is free onsite-Prices are slightly higher on Kindle

Lilly is a girl of 8, living in a suburban town with her parents, sister, Brianna 13 and brother, Brian, 10, but she could be in a city, on a farm, anywhere. I choose age 8 because 3^rd grade is a break-out time. Schools introduce changing classrooms per subject and seasonal sports with regular teams. Social organizations like Scouts and 4-H are encouraged and hobbies are explored to discover special interests or talents.

I usually include Lilly’s sister, Bri, in her undertakings which widens the age appeal. Her brother, though disinterested himself, has a best friend, Jake, who is, which introduces a unisex attraction, so are covered. I allow Lilly to develop cooking onto a hobby for the sake of creating a series most bases and because that’s where my experience lies but the books are sold separately and the recipes can be selected according to specific need. They’re also sold in groups of 3, for kids who show an interest or adults who may need them more often.

Lilly first becomes interested in cooking watching her mother transform a cake disaster into a

different, beautiful dessert. The creativity and the appearance intrigue her and she wants to make other pretty, tasty things. Then, gradually, she learns the dishes she cooks can serve other uses than filling her spare time. The things she makes can be used for gifts, rewards, fund raisers and more and the process can be shared with others forming friendships, helping out and simply brightening someone’s day. In short, a creative activity, whether it’s time- filler or becomes a hobby, can teach a lot of life’s lessons.

Resume of the Lilly Likes to Cook books, recipes and utensils needed:

All quantities are in easily divided or multiplied amounts, including the meatball and sauce recipes which are stated as needed for a large event.

Book 1) Making a Cake for Molly:

Lilly’s sister helps her make a cake for her doll’s birthday but it’s a disaster. Mother transforms the flop into a dessert which becomes a family ‘company’ favorite. Molded ice cream cake–Spoons only. Free on site.

Book 2) Cookies for an Uncle Overseas:

Lilly makes cookies as a treat for an uncle in the military. Chocolate-Coconut Macaroons— Spoons, can opener, brief microwaving and baking $1.99

Book 3) Lilly Makes Meringues:

Lilly helps her sister make meringues from their mother’s recipe as an assignment for geography. Spoons, beaters, baking $1.99

Book 4) The Meatball Booth:

Mother is in charge of the booth at the School Fair and needs all the help she can get to prepare the meatballs. To Lilly’s surprise friend of her brother’s offers to help. Knives, spoons, processer and baking $1.99

Book 5) The Luncheon:

Lilly’s mother is busy at work, so Lilly offers to have luncheon ready, with her sister’s help, when their grandmother arrives. Tuscan Tuna-Bean Salad–Can opener and spoons $1.99

Book 6) Dinner for Two:

Lilly’s sister wants permission to begin babysitting. The girls are thrilled when their parents agree to allow them to make dinner and stay alone for an evening. Hot Dog Potato-Vegetable Hot Pot–Spoons, optional knife, baking $1.99

Book 7) Kabobs Are Fun and Easy:

Lilly’s parents are throwing a big cook-out for visiting relatives and everyone pitches in to help prepare Shrimp and Beef Vegetable Kabobs for the grill. Knives, skewers $2.99

Book 8) Girl Scouts Get a Zebra Cake:

Lilly makes a cake ahead, as a reward for her troop members after a day working on crafts to sell at the Town Fair for Charity. Craft directions included. Cake-butter knives; Craft-scissors, pins, rulers and chalk $3.99

Book 9)* Brian’s Birthday:

Lilly helps prepare her brother’s birthday dinner for Brian and his soccer team mates. Slow cooker pulled pork heros plus a variation on the recipe in Book 1.-Spoons, forks, knife,
* To be available soon

Jul 25

WATERMEON –THROUGHOUT THE MEAL –ALL YEAR

Watermelon is synonymous with summer but it’s really much more than a seasonal icon. It’s a welcome addition to salad dinners because its distinctive, fresh taste and crisp, delicate texture ‘play nice’ with other ingredients. For this reason, and because it’s now readily available all year, watermelon is being paired with lots of different ingredients in a variety of new ways.

Actually, watermelon is full of surprises. Long thought to have evolved in South Africa and migrated north into Asia then Europe, it was classified a vegetable close to cucumbers and pumpkins, because it’s a vine. However, DNA testing with 3,000 yr. old seeds from Egyptian tombs proved that watermelon originated in North Africa and moved north through the Near East probably branching off to Asia and Southern Europe about the same time.

Moreover, watermelon is now re-classified not only as a fruit, but as a berry because the seeds are located throughout the meat, rather than being clustered around a central core and the skin, though thick, is fragile if mishandled.

The final surprise is that while containing no fat and only about 80 calories per 2 cups, it’s full of vitamins A, B & C, as well as lycopene, a phytochemical being studied now as a preventative for cancer and heart disease. Watermelon is truly a food for the 21st century.

Watermelons are harvested in the U.S. from April to November and imported ones are in stores from October through June. They come in several colors, yellow, pink, red and white but all have the same nutritional value. Generally, the larger the riper and sweeter, so test them by slapping them with the open palm. A ripe melon will have an almost musical ring.

Uncut melons will keep for two weeks at room temperature, longer if chilled. Cut melons should be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated but last for several days.

Small families and single individuals usually choose the little Sugar Babies, but in view of the melon’s ability to keep fresh, given a wider variety of uses, the larger ones become an option for those buyers as well.

I have always loved Watermelon Pickle and found, early on that I can make better than I can buy. So every year, about this time, I renew my annual supply. This results in at least two large bowls of melon meat, which gets watery in a day or so off the rind. There was no problem with the whole family still home and snacking, but in an empty nest one gets ‘watermeloned’ out before one is out of watermelon. At first I made a lot of granita to freeze, but then I looked for other uses.

First, I saw a recipe combining the melon with tomatoes in a salad. When a friend visited, I decided to experiment and made a dinner salad she still raves about. Unstructured salads followed and then other pairings of watermelon with various foods. Now ‘excess’ vanishes.

The recipe for my first salad is below along with others for you to try. Hopefully, watermelon will find a place on your menus all year. Its taste on a cold day is like a ray of warm sunshine, unexpected and most welcome.

However, there are some restrictions in using watermelon in winter meals because the meat is very delicate. It renders all liquid and collapses into a pulpy mess when heated and wilts when combined with the heavier winter vegetables. So, though it may not figure into cold weather entrees there are still side salads, first courses, desserts, smoothies and ‘beverages’, especially the ‘beverages’ which know no season. As I said, now that watermelon is available all year, there’s a place for it in your menus all year.

RECIPES– Remove the seeds or use a seedless melon before making any recipe. Watermelon perks up with a pinch of salt and a dash of citrus, preferably lime over lemon. If looking for an extra flavor boost, add crumbled feta cheese. It has a special affinity for watermelon. Nuts are a great garnish, especially pistachios and peanuts. I like the dry roasted ones.

Watermelon Pickle: Traditional recipe
Remove the meat and cut the green skin off the rind. Cut the white pith into about 1 inch pieces. Cover with well salted water and soak for 12 hrs. Drain and cover with fresh water and boil rapidly for about 10 min. until crisp tender and drain. For every pound of rind allow
1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
2 cups sugar
2-3 inches stick cinnamon
8 cloves
1 oz. fresh ginger root-sliced
Boil these ingredients until they form a syrup. Add the rind and return to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. Place in clean glass jars with tightly screwed tops. Store chilled. Keeps for years if kept cold. Excellent in place of sweet pickles or accompanying poultry.

Watermelon Caprese Canapes: Per piece
Thread on longer toothpicks a cube of melon, a large, fresh basil leaf and a small ball of fresh Mozzarella. The cheese can first be lightly marinated in a vinaigrette or flavored oil if desired.

Spicy Watermelon Salsa: Yield about 1 qt.- From allrecipes.com
3 cups chopped watermelon Per piece
Thread on longer toothpicks a cube of melon, a large, fresh basil leaf and a small ball of fresh Mozzarella. The cheese can first be lightly marinated in a vinaigrette or flavored oil if desired.

Spicy
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
2 Tbs. lime juice
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbs. chopped scallions
1 Tbs. chopped jalapeno
½ tsp. garlic salt
In a large bowl, combine the watermelon, green bell pepper, lime juice, cilantro, green onions, jalapeno and garlic salt. Mix well and serve cold.

Watermelon Gazpacho: Serves 4- From Food Tips and Cooling Tricks by David Joachim
6 cups watermelon cubes
1 peeled, seeded, cubed cucumber
½ chopped yellow bell pepper
3 chopped scallions
1 ½ chopped garlic cloves
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 tsp. olive oil
½ tsp. hot sauce
1 cup chilled cranberry juice
3 Tbs. chopped fresh mint
Process ½ the melon with the next 7 ingredients until evenly chopped. Add reserved melon, juice and mint and process just until chopped. Serve chilled.

Watermelon-Shrimp Salad with Avocado: Serves 4-6 – From Real Simple
1 pound frozen, fully cooked medium shrimp
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
4 cups watermelon, roughly chopped
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
2 avocados, roughly chopped
Vinaigrette
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped + leaves for garnish
Torn lettuce leaves for bedding, optional
Combine the vinaigrette ingredients and mix well. Arrange the salad ingredients on a platter or plates and drizzle with the dressing. Garnish with the reserved cilantro leaves.

Steak and Watermelon Salad: Serves 4—by Judy Kim for Delish (NOT the salad shown)

1. Tbs. brown sugar

1. tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
Flank steak
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 cups arugula greens
1/4 cup Chopped red onion
1 cup croutons
2 cups watermelon, cut into chunks
1/2 cup feta
Sea salt
In a small bowl mix brown sugar, garlic powder and chili powder. Massage all over steak. Preheat grill or cast-iron grill pan on high heat. Grill steak for 5 minutes on each side, then let meat rest for 3 to 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix together vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss in arugula, onion, croutons and watermelon.
Slice the meat against the grain. Serve steak with watermelon panzanella salad and top with feta and a sprinkle of sea salt.

My Watermelon-Tomato Salad with Fish: Serves 2
½ lb. firm fish-baked or broiled- I like Monkfish- cooked chicken is also good. A Louis Kemp product can be used as well.
2 medium tomatoes in thin wedges
2 cups watermelon in rough chunks
3 scallions sliced on an angle
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups green leaf lettuce – torn in bite sized pieces
Balsamic vinaigrette-commercial or DIY
Separate the meat into chunks, avoid cutting if possible. Place all the salad ingredients in a large bowl gently toss and plate. Drizzle with some dressing and pass the rest.

Watermelon-Orange Salad with Prosciutto: Serves 4-From Food Tips and Cooling Tricks by David Joachim
3 cups roughly chopped watermelon
3 oranges in segments
4 slices red onion
2 Tbs. chopped mint
3 oz. sliced prosciutto
2 bunches arugula-torn
Dressing
½ cup oil
1 tsp. lemon or lime zest
½ tsp. EACH Dijon mustard and salt
½ garlic clove mashed
¼ cup lemon or lime juice.
Mix all dressing ingredients. Arrange salad ingredients in a platter or plates and drizzle with the dressing.

Watermelon Granita: Serves 4- From 1-2-3 Ingredient Menu-Cookbook by Rozanne Gold
4 cups diced watermelon
¾ cup sugar
½ cup chocolate chips
Puree the melon and sugar until sugar is dissolved and mix is smooth. Place the mix in a shallow metal pan and freeze until slushy. Break it up with a fork and return it to the freezer. Repeat the process as it begins to harden until fully frozen, about every 20 min., usually about 6 times. Serve by scraping spoonfuls from the surface. Garnish with chocolate chips as ‘seeds’.

Watermelon Slush: Serves 4
2 cups diced watermelon
1 cup white grape juice
1 Tbs. EACH lime juice and honey
Freeze melon. Blend half with the other ingredients until smooth, then add the 2^nd cup of watermelon and, optionally 2 Tbs. of rum or other liqueur and blend just to a slush. Serve at once.

Nana’s Cooler:

My grandmother made a refreshing drink by pureeing the meat and straining the pulp. Add salt and chill, serve with a lime wedge and if available a sprig of mint. This doesn’t say “no” to a jigger of vodka, gin or tequila.

Tipsy Watermelon

Cut a plug about 2 inches square and deep in a melon. Pierce the meat several times with an ice pick or similar utensil and pour in liquor of choice, rum, brandy, wine something that will add flavor, filling melon. Replace plug and refrigerate melon 24 hrs. turning occasionally. Cut melon open and serve cut marinated meat and serve with juices.

Watermelon cocktails are trending -check the web.

Jul 18

ALL ABOUT SEAFOOD

This is an all too familiar dilemma, especially now, during Lent. When buying seafood, we’re confronted by an increasing, constantly changing variety of choices, some often new to us. With such selection, buying can be a learning experience. Rapid transport, excellent refrigeration and safe handling have opened seafood to international options, not just in cities, but in small inland towns. Aqua-farming has made more products available and widened the price range too. Salmon fillets, once considered upscale are sold in dollar stores as is Tilapia, introduced in the U.S. in the late 1980s-early 1990s, now a mainstay.

That’s good news in the U.S. because we over-fished our waters almost a century ago but didn’t begin to address the situation for about 50 years. In the 1970s seafood, especially fish, began to be promoted as a ‘healthy’ food and demand bloomed, exposing the problem. Until then the question was ”Do you like seafood?” Now it’s “What’re your favorite seafood recipes?” implying that people not only eat it frequently, but cook it at home as well, which is true.

The growing worldwide demand for seafood and the increasing desire to explore, improve, even create different cuisines, plus the interest in actually cooking food, naturally led to international resourcing. There are few variations and/or additions to the shellfish and mollusks categories but the number of fish species available has exploded.

Walking up to the supermarket fish counter or entering a fish store can be an exotic experience. It’s leveled off a bit, but there’s often a new item with an unfamiliar name. At times like those, it’s wise to depend on the fish monger’s advice but in order to take full advantage of it, you should be aware of the classifications of the fish familiar to you. You should know the general texture, taste range and oil content of the major types, how they cook and which ones fit certain dishes. Then you have a frame of reference and can make informed purchasing decisions, especially if a substitution is required, or if you want to try something new.

All About Seafood is a short, informative book which will give you the confidence to shop for seafood. It itemizes and describes shellfish and mollusks, categorizes the most familiar fish species, tells how to judge freshness and gives advice on portion sizing to calculate weight. You will also feel confident as you return home with your purchase because the book has instructions on cleaning, filleting and skinning fish as well as safe-handling, storing and general cooking directions with some illustrative recipes, including suggestions for serving canned fish. It’s a lot of content for $2.99.

For example, shrimp is one of the most popular foods, but sizing as related to portioning is often gives us pause in purchasing, particularly since they’re most frequently sold in multiple pound bags. This convenient chart, from the book, will make things a lot simpler. It’s just one of the helpful pieces of information you’ll find there. Average serving =About ½ lb. as solo ingredient, less in combination dishes.

Shrimp (Colossal) 10 or less per pound

Shrimp (Jumbo) 11-15 per pound

Extra Large 16-20 per pound

Large 21-30 per pound

Medium 31-35 per pound

Small 36-45 per pound

Miniature 100 per pound

Incidentally, ‘prawn’ is an older term for shrimp, but now usually connotes the very large ones intended for grilling and stuffing. ‘Scampi’ is simply the Italian word for ‘shrimp’. So ‘Shrimp Scampi’ on U.S. menus is an oxymoron really translating ‘shrimp shrimp’, although it’s come to mean shrimp in garlic-butter sauce, a popular dish in Italy. Here’s a different way to serve them, a recipe from the book:

Shrimp Kabobs: Serves 4

Cubes of Monkfish, Salmon steak, Swordfish, even Tuna steaks will work in place of shrimp:

2 lbs. extra-large (26-30 count) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. Tabasco

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary or equal amount dried

3 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. allspice powder

2 lemons – one juiced one in quarters

Kosher salt to taste

Barbeque Sauce***

Skewers

Mix all the ingredients but the salt and quartered lemon in a bowl large enough to hold the shrimp. Add the shrimp and marinate, covered at room temperature at least 1 hr. or several hours in the refrigerator. Thread shrimp head to tail on as many skewers as necessary – long metal ones require about 4. Preheat broiler or grill, and cook shrimp until pink and beginning to brown, basting frequently with the marinade. Sprinkle with salt. Serve with lemon quarters, and pepper.

***The Barbeque Sauce is for optional dipping

Want to see some more?

Broiled Scallops: Serves 4

1 ½ pt. Sea Scallops or about 1 ½ lb. equal to between 4 to 6 per person depending on size

2 Tbs. butter

1 cup milk – optional

Fine bread crumbs or Panko – optional

Paprika

1 lemon – quartered

Wash scallops well and blot dry on paper towels. Preheat broiler, if using, or burner if pan broiling. For a crispy look, dip scallops in milk then in crumbs Place scallops in a greased dish, crumb side up, sprinkle with paprika, dot with the butter and broil about 3 – 5 min. or until browned and opaque.. Do not turn. Serve at once with lemon wedges
To pan broil, melt butter in skillet over medium heat and add scallops. Sauté until brown on one side, @ 2 min. Turn scallops cook on other side @ 2 min or until opaque.. Plate.

Smoked Salmon in Pasta with Vodka Sauce: Serves 4

(1) 20 oz. can crushed tomatoes OR 11/2 lbs. fresh Plum tomatoes skinned, seeded finely chopped

1 cloves garlic – mashed

1 medium onion – diced

1 Tbs. oil or butter

½ cup Vodka

½ cup heavy cream

(1) 8oz package sliced, smoked Salmon

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 lb. of shaped pasta – bowties are traditional

Dash of red pepper – optional

Slice salmon in 1 inch pieces. In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion in the oil or butter for 2 min., add the garlic and cook 1 min more. Add the tomatoes, lower the heat. and simmer about 10 min., to reduce slightly and mash a bit, Add the vodka and simmer 5 min more. Add the cream, stir to incorporate well and simmer another 5 min. Gently add the salmon and heat through, stirring very little to avoid tearing the meat, about 15 sec. Cook the pasta al dente while the tomatoes are simmering. Drain and, while still hot, gently pour into the skillet, then turn the contents of the skillet onto a platter, and apportion on 4 plates, gently guiding it with a wooden spoon. The object is to have the pasta fully coated with the sauce, while leaving the meat pieces intact. Sprinkle with the fresh parsley, and serve.

There are at least 40 postings of fish recipes on this site, plus more recipes embedded in posts on quick meals, cold diners and soups. So please scan the panorama on the Home Page. However, may I suggest: Grilling Fish July 6, 2017, Popular Fish Recipes July 13, 2017 Salmon Recipes Feb. 15, 2018, , Tilapia Recipes Feb. 22, 2018, Cold Salmon June 12, 2018, , Fish Salads Aug. 18, 2022.

Here’s the Table of Contents. To find the book, click the links or the Book/Products button on the page header. It’s also available on Kindle for $2.99.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION –Page 2

FISH – – Page 3

General Rules about Fish – – Page 3

Types and substitutions – Page 4

Safe Handling Fish – Page 4

Salt Water fish – -Page 4

Fresh Water fish – – Page 4

Shark – -Page 5

Preparing fish – – Page 5

Small fish – – Page 5

Large Fish – – Page 5

How to Skin a Fish Fillet- – Page 5

Preferences- -Page 6

Taste – – Page 6

Fresh- -Page 6

Frozen – – Page 7

SHELLFESH – – Page 7

Lobster – – Page 7

Crab – – Page 8

Shrimp – – Page 9

Crawfish or Crayfish – – Page 10

MOLLUSKS – – Page 10

Clams – – Page 10

Oysters – – Page 11

Mussels – – Page 12

Scallops- – Page 12

Abalone – – Page 12

Conch – – Page 13

Cockles – – Page 13

Snails – – Page 13

CANNED FISH – – Page 14

Tuna – – Page 14

Salmon – – Page 15

Mackerel – – Page 15

LISTINGS – – Page 15

Shrimp Sizes – -Page 16

Types of Fish – – Page 16

Salt and Fresh Water Fish- – Page 17

RECIPES – – Page 17

Jul 11

9 EASY DIY ICY DESSERTS FOR SUMMER

Last week I talked about how simple it is to make an Ice Cream Soda but there are other cooling treats which are just as easy. In this time of higher food costs, when ice cream novelty prices rival steak, it’s convenient and cost efficient to have some DIYs on hand, especially if you have kids.

Some of these recipes are ‘older’ in the sense that they’re classics, but they can showcase the seasonal fruits and fit this function. They’re easy to make but do need time. The best thing about these icy treats is that they can be prepared, not just ’ahead’ but waaaay ahead, a couple of weeks in fact, and popped out of the freezer at will.

A few years ago home ice-cream makers were hot items. I confess I bought one and have made a few concoctions, banana, pineapple-ginger and blueberry, which were pretty good, but I had one major problem. They require a lot of free freezer space and I don’t have that but I do like having something icy- sweet on hand. The answer is in making ice-cream and its alternatives, granita, sherbet, sorbet, semifreddo and gelato, the old-fashioned way. I’ve been doing it, and it works out well, in fact I’ve even made some on a stick for easy eating especially for children. (There’s a short-cut recipe below for that!)

I give descriptions of each of these types of dessert below, with recipe examples. Naturally, it’s understood that the flavors can be changed at will. The basic formulas define the differences between them and outline the choice options. Here’s a tip though, most are healthier than ice-cream. However, if you’re still interested in the ‘real thing’ I’m including a recipe for ice-cream made the original way—without a machine.

I do want to warn that many current magazines and recipe sources include the use of raw eggs, especially the whites. For anyone concerned over Salmonella, I recommend substituting Wilton Meringue Powder in any recipe that calls for directly adding raw beaten egg whites. It’s available at all bakery supply stores and craft stores that sell baking equipment such as A.C.Moore. A bit of evaporated milk can also add a creamy texture. Another helpful note is to follow the ingredient quantities exactly and be sparing with any alcohol based flavorings. Both excess sugar and alcohol deter freezing and that’s a disaster with these dishes.

The recipes are divided into two groups of three. The first is water based and the second dairy. Granita and semifreddo can’t be made in machines; the others can, following the individual manufacturer’s directions. You will notice that several of the recipes like sherbet and sorbet seem similar. The main distinction is in the product’s purpose. Sorbet, made from fruit juice or juiced fruit, is lighter and often used as a ‘palate cleanser’ between courses during a multi course meal, or a light finish to a heavy or rich one. Sherbet, based on pureed fruit, is a dessert. (There’s a shortcut included in the recipe below.) Gelato is a bit less caloric and cholesterol laden than ice-cream (or Italian vrs. French.)

RECIPES

Basic Granita: Serves 4
1 ½ cups water
½ cup sugar
½ cup juice or other flavoring liquid- or extract squeezed from pureed fruit*
¼ cup lemon or lime juice
Pinch salt – optional
Additional flavorings-spices, herbs and/or garnishes—optional
Over low heat dissolve sugar in water, remove from heat and add flavoring liquid and juice, cool and put into a metal 9 X 13 inch pan. Freeze, scraping with a fork to break up every 20-30 min., for 2-3 hours until resembles fluffy shaved ice. Keep in a covered container in the freezer for about 1 week. Scrape to fluff before serving. (The ice chips don’t clump during storage.)
*I often make this with cranberry juice, but other juices and liquids like coffee, green tea(matcha) even flat soda pop and pureed, strained fruits can be used as well. For example, it can be made with meat from ½ a watermelon, blended and squeezed through a sieve. Small amounts of liquor can also be added but beware the alcohol prevents freezing so use only enough to give taste. With some mixtures a dash of pepper is nice. The flavoring options are endless.

My Plum Sherbet: Serves 4-5
(2) 15 oz. cans of plums, with juice (or other fruit) Pits removed
1/8 tsp. powdered ginger-or spice suitable for selected fruit
Puree the fruit and juice until completely smooth. Freeze in metal or plastic container for several hours until frozen through. Puree again. This aeriates the mixture and smooths the texture. Freeze until firm,
usually overnight. Store in plastic, with a piece of plastic wrap over the top.

Orange-Campari Sorbet: Serves 4-6*
Juice of 3-4 large oranges strained, to make ½ cup*
½ cup superfine or bar sugar-or slightly more to taste
21/2 cups water
3 Tbs. Campari
2 large egg whites
Mint leaves to garnish
If using fresh oranges, remove peel, without white pith, from 3 of them. Dissolve sugar in water over low heat then boil for 2 min. without stirring, wiping down pan sides with a wet brush. Pour mixture into a non-metallic shallow, freezer safe container with a cover and add orange peel to steep while mixture cools. When cool add strained orange juice and Campari; cover and chill for at least 30 min. Remove zest and freeze for 1 hour. Transfer mixture to a bowl and beat to break-up ice crystals. Return to freezer container and freeze for 30 min. Repeat twice more. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks and beat into juice mixture and freeze for 30 min. Beat once more. Store covered for 2 months. Serve by the scoop.
*Strained commercial juice can be used and flavors are optional—omitting the Campari.

Melon Sherbet: Serves 6-8
1 medium melon-cantaloupe or casaba
Juice of ½ lemon
4 egg whites
6 oz., sugar-super-fine or ’bar’ sugar is best
¼ -1/2 cup cherries or berries for garnish-optional
Fresh mint leaves for garnish-optional
Cut the melon in half, in a zigzag pattern if to be used it for serving. Remove seeds and cube meat. Blend with the lemon juice until smooth. Pour into a 1 ½ quart container and freeze until beginning to set. Beat the egg whites until stiff and gradually add the sugar. Gently whisk or beat the melon mixture until broken up and light. Fold in the egg whites and return to the freezer and freeze until firmly set. Serve by the scoopful, in the melon shell or dishes. Garnish with fruit and/or mint. Keeps frozen about 1 month.
NOTE: Choose overripe fruit to make sherbet, or blanch it if not quite ripe. It freezes smoother.
A short cut to making sherbet is to freeze a can of fruit in syrup. Puree the frozen contents and combine with eggs and optional ingredients, adjusting quantities to fit the basic recipe. Examples: Peaches with almond extract or Litchi with ginger.

Semifreddo: Serves 6-8
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon flavor extract—almond, vanilla etc. –optional but advised
2 egg whites*–also optional recipe
2 cups whipping cream – well chilled
Line a 5 x 9inch loaf pan or 3 quart capacity dish with plastic wrap leaving generous overhangs on long sides.
Place the eggs, egg yolks, flavor extract and ½ the sugar if making meringues, all if not, in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, (a double boiler or Bain Marie). Using a hand held mixer, beat the mixture for 6-8 minutes until custard is pale and thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and beat for an additional 4-6 minutes until cool. In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until thick. Gently fold into the egg mixture until smooth. *If adding meringue- beat egg whites in a clean Bain Marie or double boiler over simmering water until soft peaks form, add sugar and continue beating until billowy and glossy. Fold into the eggs and cream. Freeze until firm, at least 6 hours but better overnight, unmold and slice to serve-DO NOT SCOOP OR SPOON.
Note: Semifreddo is intended to contain a mixture of flavors. Chopped fruit, ground nuts or fruit purees are usually incorporated into the whole or just one layer (see puree directions below) to give a color and flavor contrast. 4 oz. of finely chopped chocolate can be added to the custard while hot to make a chocolate semifreddo or just 2 oz. to half the custard to make just one layer. This means the whipped cream and meringue will have to be added in half portions as well.

Berry Puree:
2 cups blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
To make the puree, combine the berries and powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust sugar if necessary. Strain through a mesh strainer.
To make swirls, spoon the blueberry puree over the top and use a spatula to gently fold it into the cream. Otherwise gently fold it into half the finished mixture and pour it into the mold first to make a bottom layer.

Gelato: Serves 4*
6 large eggs
¾ cup superfine or bar
¼ cups milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1tsp.flavoring-vanilla, butterscotch, mint etc. –optional
2 oz. finely chopped dark chocolate, butterscotch, nuts, candied fruit or cookie crumbs
Beat the eggs and sugar in the top of a double boiler or Bain Marie, until creamy. Stirring, heat the milk and cream to a simmer and add it in a stream to the egg mix while whisking. Heat the mixture in the double boiler over medium heat, stirring constantly until it coats the back of a spoon or the spoon pulled across it leaves a mark on the surface.in. Remove from the heat and add flavoring. Allow to cool at least 1 ½ hr. then chill for 30 min. Strain to remove any lumps, transfer to a freezer container and freeze for 2 hrs. until frozen 1 inch from the sides. Transfer to a bowl and beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate etc., return to the freezer container, smooth the top and lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on top. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months.

Vanilla Ice Cream: Serves 4-6 *
2 ½ cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
1 pared zest of 1 lemon
4 eggs beaten
2 egg yolks
6oz. superfine or bar sugar
Whisking, bring the cream to a simmer, add the eggs and lemon zest. Lower the heat and cook 8-10 min. still whisking until thickened. Stir in the sugar remove from the heat, let cool and strain. Open the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture into a shallow freezer container allow to just freeze 1-2 hrs. Remove to a bowl, beat and return to the freezer container, cover and freeze overnight or for up to 3 days.
*Although these recipes are basic to the dish, the particular flavoring combinations are from the Summer Foods and Desserts volumes in the Practical Cooking series of book

Quick Banana Pops: Serves 8 in plastic pop sickle molds, 4 in Dixie cups used as molds
1 pt. vanilla ice cream
1 large VERY ripe banana
Wooden sticks if using Dixie cups
While the ice cream softens, mash the banana in a bowl, with a fork until no lumps remain. Combine the two well and fill the molds. Insert the ‘sticks’ and freeze until firm. Rub with a warm cloth to unmold, if necessary. This can also be made in a single mold for table service.*
*If considering substituting other fruits, use them in proportion bearing in mind that bananas have a low pulp/juice ratio and changing that will affect the ability to freeze. Fruits should be very ripe and pureed, then strained if necessary. The addition of sugar depends on the fruit, some powdered may be needed, but remember sugar inhibits freezing, so be sparing.
This tip can also be used to flavor the other dairy based desserts here. Delete the given flavoring agents and replace with the preferred ones. You can use the Berry Puree above as a guide for quantity and swirl (sugar may be needed) or mix (possibly no sugar) into the dessert base ingredients. The best move is to research other recipes for quantities as to specific flavoring agents. Basically any recipe for machine made ice cream type desserts can be processed by hand following the guidelines given here.
Have fun, experiment, be independent and create your flavor for the holiday. For example, the dessert pictured with this post is Espresso Granita garnished with Lemon Thyme. It’s the perfect end to an outdoor dinner, and ’kills two birds with one stone’ because hot coffee isn’t missed.

The above recipes can be frozen in pop sickle molds or other individual serving container.

Jul 4

ICE CREAM SODAS-PERFECT FOR JULY 4th

This is a reprint of one of my most popular posts and a favorite of mine because it’s a perfect fit for this specific time. July 4^th is a traditional holiday, without set traditions—except for fireworks. Their exuberance and spontaneity are iconic of this holiday’s mood. Those adjectives describe ice cream sodas too. With only 4 ingredients, hand-made just before serving, the variety and combinations of flavors, as well as sodas’ cooling effect make them a fitting treat for Independence Day.

I don’t remember them in their hay day, when Soda Jerks made coke by the glass from syrup and seltzer, but I do remember the iconic Ice Cream Soda. Nowadays, the only way we sip ice cream through a straw is with milk shakes. Sodas are two-textured, to be sipped and spooned, enjoyed at leisure and ultimately satisfying.

Sadly, sodas seem to have disappeared from popularity along with the fountains. The Ice Cream Soda was a special treat, built by hand, opulent, gleaming and overflowing the glass, served with an ice tea spoon and a straw, it took time to eat. It offered contrasts in taste and texture down to the last drop, and left you feeling satisfied, not just filled.

It always seemed the ideal dish for the Fourth of July, as appropriate to the holiday as pumpkin pie to Thanksgiving. My association is also linked to childhood memories. My Aunt and Cousin always arrived July 1^st for the summer and every Friday night, they, my Grandmother, my Mother and I went to the movies and afterward to a popular ice cream parlor for sodas. Nothing tasted so good as the soda on that first Friday, which was always within a few days of the 4^th.

I can still remember the choices. My cousin and I stood by our usuals, chocolate for me, strawberry for her, but the women varied their orders regularly. Grandmother liked all vanilla, or asked for peach ice cream or one scoop peach and one strawberry. My Aunt picked a chocolate soda with a ripple ice cream, fudge, caramel or peanut, because she liked the taste tweaks as she ate. My Mother chose a chocolate soda with coffee, pistachio or mint chip ice cream, creating different flavors.

Every so often, at this time of year, I used wax nostalgic and make sodas for my kids and their friends, but mine didn’t generously overflow. I wasn’t into cleaning dippy messes and something else was missing. The kids loved them and were always happy I made them, but to children used to soft-serve cones and take-out shakes everywhere, to whom an ‘ice cream fix’ was opening the freezer door, my ‘special’ magic wasn’t there.

I really would like to see the Ice Cream Soda make a comeback. Anyone can make one. All they need is an ice cream scoop and the flavor options are limitless. If my relatives could consider 11 combinations normal in those conservative food years, when Howard Johnson’s 28 flavors was thought exotic, imagine what could be concocted today. Moreover, it’s easy to create new ones with home machines.

There are also many favors of syrups in the markets now. Additionally, we may not be the basic ’from scratch’ cooks our grandmothers were, but we are adept at accessorizing our dishes and that includes making syrups. I make coffee syrup frequently for Tiramisu. Simple syrup is equally easy and can be flavored with pureed fruit and/or extracts. Lemon curd is available and it’s always possible to turn to old standbys like maple syrup or butterscotch sauce to improvise.

Then there’s the huge variety of flavored seltzers in markets today, white grape, peach, raspberry, lime to name just a few. They can provide interesting contrasts in tastes as well. Using flavored soda isn’t a novel idea either. The famous ‘Brown Cow’ was chocolate syrup, vanilla ice cream and coke.

Which brings me to the ‘kissing cousin’ of the ice cream soda, the Float; simpler than the soda, it’s simply a soda pop, originally, I think, root beer, or other carbonated beverage even beer and ale, poured over a scoop of ice cream. Does anyone still remember root beer? Apparently, however, floats aren’t such dinosaurs as ice cream sodas. Guinness features one made with ale in its current recipe book.

So here’s an idea. July 4th is this week. Why not celebrate a truly American holiday by remembering a traditional American drink? You can even make a party of it, kinda like a sundae party, by offering different ice creams, a variety of seltzers and syrups, even some toppings, whipped cream, cherries, jimmies. Line up the options and let people make their own. It doesn’t have to be a large group, in fact smaller is better, but it is festive.

Just one tip; in choosing the ice cream for a soda, think twice about varieties with larger add-ins, like nuts and candy. They don’t fit in a straw, or worse, clog it, making eating difficult. I wouldn’t advise cookie cough either, not just for that reason, but the soda will partially dissolve it and, being heavy, it will sink, leaving a gummy mass in the bottom of the glass.

Happy Fourth of July all!

RECIPES

Basic Ice Cream Soda Recipe:

Single serving
20 oz. glass
3 Tbs. flavored syrup or + to taste
2 scoops of ice cream
Chilled club soda, seltzer water (Not sparkling mineral water) or other carbonated drink, cola, ginger ale or other pale soda pop.
Pour the syrup into the bottom of the glass; add about of 1 oz. soda and 1 scoop of ice cream. Stir gently around the sides of the ice cream lifting the syrup up around the scoop. Slowly add more soda to fill the glass ¾, mixing the contents gently as you pour. Add the other scoop of ice cream, and fill the glass with the soda water, creating bubbles.

Basic Ice cream Float:

Single serving
20 oz. glass
1 scoop ice cream
Carbonated beverage, including beer or ale.
Fill the glass about ½ full with the liquid, add the ice cream and then pour over the liquid to fill.

Simple Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Combine and heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. If it seems thin, cook to evaporate water until desired consistency.

Brown Simple Syrup:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
Follow above directions.

Coffee Syrup:
Method 1) Make either above syrup with strong coffee in place of water
Method 2) Add 1 Tbs. or to taste, instant coffee as you make it. I like Instant Espresso for flavor depth.

Vanilla Syrup:
While cooking simple syrup add from 2-3 tsp. or more vanilla to taste. This amount will also be determined by whether pure extract or imitation is used. The main thing is not to let it dilute the syrup recipe, so the length of cooking time will depend on the degree the fluid needs reducing to achieve the right consistency.

Fresh Fruit Syrups:

Examples of how fresh fruits can be used. Always store chilled. Traditionally these directions would have included straining, but I like the rustic appearance of a rougher texture.

Strawberry
Marinate sliced berries in sugar as for shortcake topping, then puree.

Peach
Method 1) about ½ cup peeled, sliced fruit and 1Tbs. simple syrup, or to consistency, pureed
Method 2) Roasted peach half(halves-depending on quantity wanted) pureed with simple syrup, if needed. Gives a more intense flavor

Blueberry
½ cup blueberries and 1+? Tbs. simple syrup microwaved at 1 min. intervals for 3 min. or until soft, then pureed.

Feel free to experiment—perhaps chopped apple, with cinnamon treated as blueberries or plums substituted for peaches. A few drops of liqueur or extract or a pinch of spice can add to the taste as well.

Jun 20

Can I help? A BOOK THAT BONDS

This book is based on my experiences cooking with children-preparing my own for the future, keeping the neighborhood ‘gang’ amused on a rainy day and safely distracting clients’ curious kids. Children love to hang out in the kitchen when something’s going on. I think it has to do with cooking being a process which yields quick results. The fact is, they will try to participate and safety is a major concern. These modified recipes solve these problems.

So much for my primary motive in writing the book. Then a friend was seriously injured and her husband and young daughter had to do KP. Both were total novices, the daughter willing to step up, the husband, not so much. To help them with the basics I gave them the book and they made it through with flying colors. The husband actually became interested in cooking and active in the kitchen. Making dinner became a family bonding project they enjoyed together.

I had realized the book could be a training manual for those starting out and the modified recipes could help a pinch-hitter in a strange kitchen. I also intended it to be a way to bond with children but hadn’t thought of it as a family bonding tool before. Everyone doesn’t have to develop an interest in cooking, just understand that there’s a way to lend a hand and produce something of value together. Nowadays we stress the importance of sharing and doing things as a family, especially daily requirements like preparing a dinner, or lunch or breakfast

There are over 100 recipes in Can I help? ranging from personalizing frozen or take-out waffles or cake with special toppings, like Easy Berry Cakes #1 & #2 (below) and simple can openers like Tuscan Tuna Salad (below), Sausage, Bean, Potato Casserole to more challenging ones like Double Punch Lasagna Roll-Ups (below) and Cornish Hens with Wild Rice and Grapes. Every recipe is adult, and child, pleasing while still having lots of safe tasks for little, or novice, hands, without loss to ego. The hope is that most people will realize cooking can be interesting, creative and FUN but above all it can link people by giving them something to share.

Summer, when there is no homework, fewer organized activities and the longer hours of daylight make evenings less hectic, is the perfect time to begin this process. Dinner can be a little later, last a little longer and interacting with other family members given more time. If everyone helps with meal preparation, it’s that much more time to spend together and the meal becomes a family accomplishment. It doesn’t have to be every night, once a week is a good start, and it can yield rewards the rest of the year too, if the family gets into the habit of pitching in. It could become a tradition which carries into fall, winter and on.

The recipes in Can I help? are divided into four groups, breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. I’m including sample recipes from each group below to show how they can be both ‘company presentable’ and easy to make. With each category heading I’ll list a couple of others from that group as examples of the variety of options. To read more about Can I help? Go to July 6, 2016, June 22, 2017, July 5, 2018, May 28, 2020 and June 3, 2021

WELCOME to CAN I help?

Breakfast: Other recipes include Eggs Parmesan, Easy Home-Made Cinnamon Buns, Oven Pancake and Melon Boats

Yogurt with Bananas and Nuts: Serves 4
3 large, ripe bananas
16 oz. Greek yogurt
4 Tbs. toasted chopped nuts, walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts
Peel the bananas and wrap separately in plastic wrap. Microwave 1 min. on high. Cool, unwrap and mash. Gently mix with the yogurt and spoon into 4 dessert dishes. Chill briefly to cool and sprinkle nuts equally over the tops as garnish.

Eggs Florentine: Serves 4
(1) 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach
4 eggs
1tsp. salt OR 1 envelope bouillon powder-beef or chicken
Pinch nutmeg
Grated Parmesan cheese
Thaw and drain the spinach in a sieve until it is moist but not wet. Mix in the bouillon or salt and nutmeg then divide it between 4 greased custard cups or ramekins. Top with a raw egg and sprinkle with cheese. Place cups in a pan with ½ inch water and bake at 350 deg. 15 min. or until eggs are set.

Oven Pancake: Serves 4
6 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ cup butter or margarine melted + extra for topping
1 cup flour
½ tsp. salt
Powdered sugar
Blend first 3 ingredients until smooth. Add flour and salt and blend on medium until smooth. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan and bake at 450 deg. for 20 – 25 min until puffed and golden. Serve from the dish drizzled with melted butter or margarine and dusted with sugar.

Lunch: Some other options are Greek Pita Pockets, Shrimp and Spinach Salad, Classic Quiche, and Gazpacho-Pasta Salad

Tuna and Bean Salad: Serves 4
6 oz. can solid white tuna in water- drained
16 oz. can cannellini or other white beans-rinsed and drained
2 plum tomatoes diced
2 tsp. dried basil
Ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. powdered garlic
1 Tbs. oil
2 Tbs. Dijon or spicy mustard
Mix the last 5 ingredients well and set aside to let the flavors form a dressing. Gently toss the first 6 ingredients. Then add the dressing. Allow the whole to chill for 30 min. at least to meld flavors. Serve on lettuce lined plates garnished with a sprinkle of basil.

Turkey Mousse: Serves 4
1 ½ cups chicken or turkey stock
1 envelope Knox unflavored gelatin
1 ½ cups minced cooked chicken or turkey – Deli, canned or leftover
¼ cup mayonnaise** See options at bottom
1 small onion minced
1 stalk celery minced
½ tsp. curry powder
1tsp. celery seeds
¾ cup heavy cream whipped ** See options at bottom
Soak gelatin in a microwave safe cup with ½ cup of stock until softened and risen. Microwave for 30 sec. or until dissolved. Mix in all remaining ingredients except cream and chill until beginning to set. Fold in whipped cream and spoon into a lightly oiled 1 qt. mold. Cover and chill overnight. Unmold and serve on a lettuce lined plate.
** Cream can be replaced with yogurt. Use 1 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt and increase mayonnaise to ½ cup.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches: Serves 4

Anyone who likes French toast will love this

½ lb. cooked ham – sliced

½ lb. cooked White meat turkey – sliced

½ lb. Swiss cheese- sliced

1 loaf (preferably bakery) unsliced whole wheat or 7 grain sandwich bread

Mayonnaise

Dijon or spicy Brown mustard

3 eggs

1 cup – possibly more – milk

4 Tbs. butter – at least

Divide the cheese and meats into 4 piles each. Mix the eggs and milk. Cut 8 slices of bread. This is one recipe where I like the bread sliced rather thick at least ½ an inch. Lightly toast the bread and spread one side of 4 slices with mayonnaise, and one side of the other 4 with mustard. Divide the cheese for each sandwich into 3 piles. Put 1/3 on the mustard covered bread slice; top with ham, then 1/3 cheese; then the turkey, then the last 1/3 cheese, and cover with the mayonnaise spread bread slice. The reasoning here is that the cheese in melts and holds the sandwich together. Melt 1 Tbs. butter in a skillet, if you have one that holds 2 sandwiches good, melt 2 Tbs. of butter. Dip both sides of a sandwich in the egg mixture then gently fry them in the butter, first one side and then the other, until both are brown and crispy, and the cheese has melted. Repeat with the rest of the sandwiches. Serve hot.

Dinner: Among the other choices are My Beef Kabobs, Chicken with Cherries, Pork (or Turkey) Loin with Apricot Glaze and Salad Nicoise. These recipes point out specific tasks for children.

Chicken with Mustard and Honey: Serves 4-easy to divide and/or multiply
NOTE: The seasoning ingredients are placed under the skin to help them infuse the meat. This can be done by children and they can count the cooking time.
4 large chicken thighs
4 tsp. honey
4 tsp. Dijon or grained mustard
¼ tsp. ground black pepper—optional
Garlic Powder NOT garlic salt
Mix the honey, mustard and pepper, if using. Lift the skin on the chicken and place 2 tsp. of the mixture on the meat sprinkle with garlic. Place the pieces slightly separated in a roasting pan. With ½ inch of water or broth in the bottom. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven for 30- 40 min. or until juices run clear when pricked with a knife point.
A pan sauce can be made by adding a bit of apple juice, cider or broth to the pan drippings to deglaze.

Double Punch Lasagna Roll-Ups: Serves 4
Save for the actual cooking, children can do most of the work in preparing this dish.
If you need to plan ahead for an oven-ready dinner, this casserole keeps wonderfully well for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator, and makes a good party dish, but the stuffed noodles have to be served as separate entities. Don’t randomly cut into the dish.
1 lb. ground turkey (Frozen rolls ex. Jenny-O, work well here. The finer ground seems to compact more easily for stuffing. Be sure to thaw before cooking.)
1 medium onion chopped
(1) 4oz. can mushrooms-stems and pieces – drained
2 tsp. chopped garlic
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
¾ cup ricotta cheese
1 Tbs. oil
4 Lasagna noodles broken in half (or cut after boiling)
(2) 8oz. cans tomato sauce
7 oz. canned diced tomatoes = ½ a 14 oz. can- drained and juice reserved
2 ½ cups milk
5 Tbs. flour
5 Tbs. butter
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese in small cubes ( peppers optional)
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
Salt to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese and paprika to garnish
Cook noodles in boiling water until very tender @ 10 min. Drain and keep in cool water so they don’t dry out. In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat and sauté onion until soft @ 3 min. Add mushrooms for 2 min. then add garlic for one minute, then turkey, separating it between the fingers as it goes into the pan, and 1 teaspoon each of the oregano and basil. Cook, stirring, to keep meat separated until it browns @ 5 min. If mixture begins to seem dry or stick to the pan, add a bit of the reserved tomato juice. Stir in ricotta and remove from heat.
Lightly coat a casserole about 9x9x3, with cooking spray. Spread tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and second teaspoons of oregano and basil, in the bottom. Lay out the noodles, and put an equal portion of the meat mixture on each. Roll the noodle around the stuffing, until the ends meet, and carefully lay each, seam side down in the prepared casserole.
In a saucepan, over high heat, melt the butter until it foams. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour to make a smooth paste. This is called a Roux. Add the milk, and stirring constantly to incorporate the roux, return the pan to the stove over medium heat. Continue stirring until sauce thickens, never allowing it to boil (lift the pan for a moment if it starts to) @ 3 min.
When it has thickened, stir in the Jack cheese until it melts, add the nutmeg and salt. White Sauce often does need salt (see Sauces and Gravies Link) Pour this sauce over the noodles, dust with grated parmesan cheese and paprika to garnish. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake until sauce bubbles and slightly browns about 30 min.

Salad Nicoise:

Ideally this should be made with grilled Tuna steaks thinly sliced, but canned works well. Just be sure it’s a good brand of Solid White Albacore. This recipe is actually for 6 servings, but I find it does 4 well. Kids love making this because they can safely do most of it themselves…

1 head Boston lettuce – sometimes called “Garden” or “Bibb” – if not available buy Romaine NOT Iceberg

1 lb. redskin or new potatoes

1 lb. whole green beans

4 hardboiled eggs – peeled, halved lengthwise and chilled

1 large red or Bermuda onion in fairly thin slices

3 large or 4 medium tomatoes peeled and cut in medium slices OR pint box cherry or grape ones

(1) 2oz can anchovy fillets drained oil reserved for dressing

(1) 5oz can colossal pitted ripe olives – drained

(2) 7 oz. cans solid white Albacore Tuna in water – drained

Kosher salt

White wine

Dried tarragon

Fresh ground black pepper

DRESSING RECIPE BELOW

Cut the potatoes in quarters, or halves, depending on size. Boil them separately or together with the beans until the potatoes are done and the beans still crisp about 10 min.

Drain well, run under cold water to stop the cooking and cool. Place the potatoes and beans in an oblong container, so they can spread to marinate, with ½ cup white wine and 2 tsp. dried tarragon. Allow to marinate at least ½ hr. or all day. Separate the lettuce leaves, wash well and allow to air dry. Cover a large platter with the leaves. Pile the tuna, topped with the anchovies in the center, and attractively arrange the other ingredients, in separate sections, in a surrounding circle. Sprinkle with the salt and fresh pepper.

Dessert: Here there are three recipes to show the variety. Some other choices in the book are Baked Alaska Pie, Fruit Pizza, Chocolate No-Cook Bars, Cherry Cobbler and Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Easy Berry Angel Cake # 2

1 purchased pound cake
8 oz. tub of Whipped Topping
1pt. box of strawberries
Save several nice berries for decoration. Slice the rest and sprinkle with sugar. Allow to rest a few hours for the juice to extract itself. Just before serving, cut the cake into 3 layers. Spread first with 1/3^rd of the whipped topping, spoon ½ the sliced berries over it allowing the juice to drip down the sides. Repeat with 2^nd layer. Finish with 3^rd layer topped with the rest of the whipped topping and the reserved decorative berries.

Dump Cake

2 cans fruit pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
½ cup butter or margarine melted
1 tsp. ground cinnamon – optional
Spread the pie filling in the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan, mix with cinnamon if using. Cover with the dry cake mix and pour the butter over all. Do not stir. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven 30 min. until top is golden. Serve with ice cream or whipped topping.

Fruit Gelati: Makes 1 quart
2 bananas
2 papayas
1 Orange grated to yield 1 Tbs. zest and 1 Tbs. juice reserved
1 lemon grated to yield 1 Tbs. zest and 1 Tbs. juice reserved
1lime grated to yield 1 Tbs. zest and 1 Tbs. juice reserved
½ cup sugar
1 quart milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Blend or process all ingredients until blended. Pour into a shallow pan and freeze until firm. Process again until smooth, pour into a bowl and freeze until solid-overnight is best. Scoop as ice cream to serve.
Variation: Substitute 1 ripe pineapple diced and 4 peeled and diced kiwi for the other fruit.

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