http://www.recipelink.com 6/22 chat
Sunday Night 'Soul Food' Chat - Recipe Memories / Heirloom Recipes
Please note: this is long but is more of a chat than recipes.
I edited out our off topic 'chit chat' text for the sake of space.
Betsy (09:12:53 am) : Hello - sorry we missed you! We hope you can join us for tonight's 'On Food' chat. You can check out the time and topic on our new chat schedule page: http://www.recipelink.com/talktkl.html In the meantime, for your viewing pleasure:
MUFFIES: THEY'RE THE TOPSby Abby Mandel
Uploaded 03 January 1992 by Lon Hall
Who eat's muffin bottoms? Just about everyone prefers the tops. Which is why I invented "muffies". They're baked on a baking sheet instead of a muffin tin and have no bottom. The muffie has a lot going for it:
- Two cups of muffin batter, which customarily makes 4-6 muffins, is enough for 16 muffins. And they take much less time to bake, usually less than 10 minutes. I prefer them just lightly browned so they stay a little moist and soft inside.
- Almost any thick muffin batter will work, but space the muffies at least two inches part because they spread a good deal, especially if the batter is not chilled. They way to get a puffier muffie is to refrigerate the batter until it is very chilled. Bake the batter right after it is mixed and all you'll get is a flat, soft cookie.
- Muffies should be enjoyed warm, right from the oven. To reheat, wrap them in foil and warm gently in a conventional oven.
- To store, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze them. Once frozen, place them in an airtight plastic bag, then in another airtight plastic bag to stave off freezer odor. Defrost as needed.
The following muffies will get you started. The first two are deliberately low in cholesterol. The Blueberry-Apple Muffie is not low, but not excessive, either.
CURRANT-BRAN MUFFIES Makes 16 (3-inch) muffies
"Here the typical flavorings of bran muffins are mixed into a low-fat batter. Currants are used instead of raisins, however, because smaller fruits work better. If you want a crunchy finish, sprinkle the tops with a little more All-Bran before baking."
1 1/3 cups all-bran cereal
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large egg whites
2 tbsp safflower oil
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 cup currants
Combine cereal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in 1-quart mixing bowl. Mix well. Add buttermilk, egg whites, safflower oil and molasses. Stir to combine (disregard any small lumps). Stir in currants. Chill, covered airtight, at least 4 hours to thicken.
Drop 2 TBSP thickened batter, 2 inches apart, onto greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with more cereal, if desired.
Bake in center of 425-degree F oven until tops have taken slight tinge and edges are very lightly browned, about 8-9 minutes, rotating pans if browning irregularly. Do not overbake. Cool on racks.
ORANGE-POPPY SEED MUFFIES Makes 16 (3-inch) muffies
"Poppy seeds give a nice crunch to these muffies. With orange marmalade they would make a perfect orange muffie sandwich for breakfast. To get the most intense flavor from the orange zest, mince the strips of zest with the sugar in the food processor or blender until they are as finely granulated as the sugar. Be sure to wash the orange well and dry it with a paper towel before removing the zest with a vegetable peeler."
2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
zest of 1/2 large orange
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs unsalted butter, melted
orange marmalade (optional, for muffie sandwiches)
Combine dry ingredients in 1-quart mixing bowl. Mix well.
Process zest with sugar in food processor or blender until sugar-fine. Add orange sugar to mixing bowl with remaining ingredients (except marmalade). Stir to combine (disregard any small lumps). Stir in currants. Chill, covered airtight, at least 4 hours to thicken.
Drop 2 TBSP thickened batter, 2 inches apart, onto greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with more cereal, if desired.
Bake in center of 425-degree F oven until tops have taken slight tinge and edges are very lightly browned, about 7-8 minutes, rotating pans if browning irregularly. Do not overbake. Cool on racks.
BLUEBERRY-APPLE MUFFIESMakes 20 (3-inch) muffies
"If you use frozen loose blueberries, do not thaw them before mixing into batter and do not chill the dough- the thawing blueberries will weep and thin out the batter."
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup minced unpeeled tart apple (best minced in food processor)
3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
Combine dry ingredients in 1-quart mixing bowl. Mix well. Add egg, buttermilk, butter and minced apple to bowl. Stir to combine (disregard any small lumps). Gently stir in blueberries. If blueberries are frozen, bake batter immediately. Otherwise, chill batter until thickened, covered airtight, at least 2 hours or overnight.
Drop 2 TBSP chilled batter, 2 inches apart, onto greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with more cereal, if desired.
Bake in center of 425-degree F oven until tops have taken slight tinge and edges are very lightly browned, about 7-8 minutes, rotating pans if browning irregularly. Do not overbake. Cool on racks.
Recipe Memories / Heirloom Recipes starts here...
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Liz (9:45:00 pm) : Most of all, I remember my Mom having a wonderful sense
of humor when it came to cooking. I'm sure we had more than our fair share
of kitchen disasters, but Mom was always able to shrug and try to find the
best of it.
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Betsy (9:45:50 pm) : I have great memories of my Grandma's kitchen. Once a
week she would make her own pasta. She was a fantastic baker and one of my
prize flea market finds was a crockery cookie jar the same as she had. She
'put up' fruits and vegetables and was very frugal. Our kitchen was the
center of the home.
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Betsy (9:46:33 pm) : That's great Liz, probably helped you take a more
relaxed attitude towards trying things.
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Liz (9:48:05 pm) : I'm sure it did. Mom canned a lot of tomatoes. I can
remember hearing her good-natured grumbling at Dad for planting a dozen
tomato plants and that she had to spend her late summer evenings in the
basement canning instead of enjoying sitting in the backyard.
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Betsy (9:48:56 pm) : Unfortunaely, I was too young to know enough to write
down her recipes (she was 70 when I was born) and the rest of the family
didn't get any of them, so it's hard to duplicate her dishes.
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Betsy (9:50:15 pm) : Liz - that's a hard job. My Grandfather wouldn't eat
any store-bought canned goods so my Gram canned everything - even pineapple!
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Liz (9:50:48 pm) : That is a shame. Both of my grandmothers were Polish. I
have a couple of one grandmother's recipes written down in her handwriting,
but the other grandmother didn't cook very much. A couple of the recipes,
unfortunately, only have ingredients, so it's been hard to duplicate her
efforts.
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Velma (9:50:52 pm) : I'm sure those canning times bring memories to most of
us. When I was young, I only weighed about a hundred pounds, and almost
twice that much not. Anyway, our canning jars were stored in a cellar, and I
was the only one who had hands small enough to go inside a canning jar, so
it was my job to wash all those jars and get them ready. Then then were
dipped in boiling water.
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Betsy (9:52:52 pm) : What a job Velma! I can imagine how many jars you're
talking about!
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Liz (9:54:24 pm) : You're right, Velma. We used to wash and sterilize jars,
too. I can remember my Mom having the washer, dryer and a large table
covered with dish towels and the sterilized jars lined up, ready to be
filled.
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Betsy (9:54:40 pm) : So many of the recipe requests people mail me are for
recipes they're trying to recreate from their childhood.
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Velma (9:54:52 pm) : My mother canned everything she could get her hands on,
for we lived in the city. She built a fire around a laundry tub in the back
yard, and canned by the hot water bath method, so it took a couple of hours
for a canner of beans to come off.
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Betsy (9:56:57 pm) : Velma - that's interesting - what a wonderful picture
that would be, all of you setting jars into the tub with the fire going -
must have been hot!!
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Velma (9:58:18 pm) : I, too, have done a lot of canning since I married, for
we have four sons, but I canned in a pressure canner, taking much less time.
We, too, made apple butter, stirring it over a hot fire in a copper
kettle--don't ask me why it had to be copper.
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Betsy (9:58:37 pm) : What was your favorite dish as a child?
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Cath (9:59:49 pm) : Beef n Noodles, a pot roast cooked in water, then
homemade egg noodles added
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Velma (10:00:43 pm) : My favorite birthday dinner, in February, was ham,
potato salad and lima beans, and a cake, of course. We never got gifts, but
mother did try to fix our favorite food.
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Liz (10:01:20 pm) : My favorite was kapusta (which is Polish for
sauerkraut). My Mom would always make it with country ribs cooked in the
sauerkraut, served over mashed potatoes. Whenever she made it, I always ate
tooooo much.
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Cath (10:02:34 pm) : Sorta of, when my my mom rolled out the noodles, there
was alot of flour on them, this then thickened the brooth. This dish, my
grandmother and aunt made every Sunday for lunch, my Mom carred on the
tradion.
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Liz (10:02:37 pm) : Gosh, Velma, that brings back memories of birthdays when
I was little, too. Whoever had a birthday got to pick what we had for dinner
that night. I tell my son now that that was the only time we ever had a say
in what we had for dinner, on our birthday.
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Betsy (10:03:10 pm) : That sounds so good Liz! My favorite was roasted
chicken with roasted carrots and potatoes.
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Cath (10:05:09 pm) : Reminds me of a dish my Mom made, she'd fry chicken,
then make gravy, and using bisquick make biscuits, she'd cut out with a salt
shaker top, these were baked for a shor t time and then the gravy poured
over them
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Robin (10:05:10 pm) : My mother let us choose our menu on our birthday as
well. I do that with my children. Mom still does it for me and my sister and
brother and all our families even now.
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Betsy (10:05:54 pm) : My Gram made these wonderful cookies for the holidays
- an eggy dough filled with a raisin and nut mixture. She'd shape some into
cutout dolls for me.
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Robin (10:07:45 pm) : my Mom could turn a boring day into something special
by walking outside, putting her hand to the wind and saying with authority
that "it's a baking day!"
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Betsy (10:08:41 pm) : You know what Cath, biscuits cut that size, maybe even
with little star cookie cutters would be great for strawberry shortcake! How
cute that would be!
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Betsy (10:09:30 pm) : Robin - what fun! So you got to help?
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Robin (10:14:10 pm) : definately! We got to knead the bread and help do just
about anything in moderation. Mom was a single parent and we never knew that
all her home made goods were as much to save money as well. All my friends
in hight school loved to come to our house to spend time... there was always
something good cooking!
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Liz (10:15:50 pm) : My family's Christmas Eve tradition was 13 non-meat
dishes (I guess it's some kind of Polish thing). I can remember all the
wonderful foods weighing down the huge table in Grandma's basement, and
barely being able to eat when I was a kid because we got to open presents
after dinner.
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Betsy (10:16:39 pm) : That's great Robin - did you notice how everything
tastes better when you have a hand in it?
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Liz (10:18:34 pm) : I've been trying to include my son in cooking, since he
shows some interest and I've always thought that everyone should be able to
cook, at least enough to get by.
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Betsy (10:18:38 pm) : Liz - 13 dishes! That house must have smelled sooo
good! I think they should make holiday meal air fresheners that smell like a
meal just cooked in the house!
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Robin (10:18:40 pm) : It's amazing how good something tastes that you would
not nomally eat. Liz, what was your favorite dish on Christmas Eve?
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Velma (10:18:52 pm) : My daughter-in-law is Italian, and on Christmas Eve
she cooks everything she can get her hands on that comes out of the ocean,
and that is lots since they live in Florida. Since I lived inland all my
life, I never had those things, but to tell the truth I like our Tennessee
Southern cooking best.
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Cath (10:19:41 pm) : My Mom's traditional Easter dinner
Devil Eggs
Mayonnaise (miracle whip)
Mustard
Pimentos (2oz)-to taste
Salt and Pepper
Vinegar
Sweet pickles-chopped
Onion-chopped
Hard boiled egg
mix yolks and other ingr. together. Put back into whites and sprinkle with paprika.
from Mom's card file on 12/22/75
*Kay once sprinkled with red pepper eck!
Cranberry Sauce
1 (16 Oz.) Can jellied cranberry sauce
Chill, slice, place on serving plate.
Serving suggestions: (from Ocean Spray label)
Spread Jellied Cranberry Sauce on your turkey or ham sandwich.
Jelled Cranberry sauce is perfect next to any chicken dinner-baked, barbequed, fried ,,,
Replace applesauce with Jelled Cranberry Sauce when you serve pork chops.
Baked Beans
Recipe By : Mom
1 can Baked beans
1/4 Cup ketchup
2 Tablespoons chopped onion
3 Slices bacon, cut up
Mix together. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until bubbly and thick.
NOTES : Mom used BM brand. She served with sunday or Easter ham dinner, or with hamburgers or hot dogs.
Canned Ham
Recipe By : Mom
3 Pounds canned ham -- Armour Gold Star
Put in pan, bake for 1 1/2 hours. Covered with aluminum foil at 350 degrees F. If using glaze, uncover last 30 minutes. *Mom doesn't use glaze
From: MOM (FAMILY) 1/1/76
Scalloped Potatoes
Recipe By : Box mix
1 package betty crocker scalloped potates
2 cups boiling water
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons Butter
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Liz (10:20:18 pm) : My favorite on Christmas Eve was cheese pierogi. They
are little half circle dumplings filled with a farmer's cheese filiing,
boiled and then pan fried in butter, served with sour cream. Not exactly
diet food, but WONDERFUL.
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Robin (10:21:04 pm) : Velma, I live on the Chesapeake Bay in Va, never
cooked seafood until I got married. You can all laugh at me... the first
time I steamed shrimp, I shelled them first. Tiniest things I ever did see!
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Cath (10:23:12 pm) : Traditional xmas
Macaroni Salad
Recipe By : Mom
Servings: 4-5
1/2 Pkg Macaroni -- elbow
3 Tbsp Sweet Pickles -- chopped
1/4 C Onion -- chopped
4 Hard-Boiled Egg -- chopped
1/3 C Miracle WhipÆ Light
Salt
Pepper
1 Recipe Devil Eggs
Boil macaroni till soft. Run cold water over it. Add other 4 ingr. Then
mayo (adding more till desired creamness.) Chill. Serve sprinkled with
a little paprika and topped with acouple develed eggs
From: MOM (FAMILY) 7/17/75
Mashed Potatoes
Recipe By : Mom
Servings: 4
6 Potatoes; Peeled -- Cubed
Water -- to cover
Salt -- to taste
Milk
Butter
Salt And Pepper -- to taste
Velveda Cheese -- optional
Place potatoes in saucepan, water to cover. Salt to taste. Bring to boil
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Betsy (10:24:36 pm) : On Christmas Eve we wouldn't have any meat dishes. One
of my favorite holiday dishes was spaghetti tossed with a mixture of bread
crumbs, chopped nuts, raisins and parsley that had been fried together in a
little olive oil - sounds strange, but so good!
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Velma (10:26:50 pm) : Yes, Becky prepares spaghetti similar to that without
tomato sauce. She shreds toasted bread and then frys it with garlic to mix
with the spaghetti.
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Betsy (10:27:02 pm) : Cath - I was raised by my Dad and Grandmother so most
of my food memories are my Gram's cooking, but your Mom's recipes remind me
of my how my Mom cooked real '70's food'!
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Liz (10:27:18 pm) : You're right, Robin. Some of the things I remember as
wonderful from my childhood. Now, when I mention them to my husband, he just
sort of gives me one of those "okay, I'll humor you" weak smiles. I guess
the history is part of the flavor.
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Robin (10:28:36 pm) : I think my all time favorite meal was soup cooked on
the wood stove with home made bread! The soup was never the same twice. But
always wownderful. Hi Denise.
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Denise (10:30:02 pm) : Hmmm... lets see.. I guess I should go and pull out
some of moms old cookbooks...*smile*.... Hi Robin... hey that sounds like my
moms soup... whatever we had left over.. she made it into soup... always
great!!
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Betsy (10:30:40 pm) : Liz - same thing with Bob - he thinks some of the
dishes are so strange - I think you have to be able to taste the memories to
enjoy some dishes
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Liz (10:31:26 pm) : My Mom made great soup, too. It seems we'd always have
the best vegetable soup at the end of summer when all the vegetables were
ready from the garden. She always laughed that it happend on the hottest day
of the summer, but boy was it gooood.
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Liz (10:33:16 pm) : It's funny, Betsy, but I guess I feel the same way when
Fred tells me about the great food memories he has from his childhood. . .
sometimes they seem so strange, only because I've never lived them.
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Robin (10:33:20 pm) : Still, nothing quite tastes the same as when Mom made
it. Just isn't the same without the atmosphere that made it so special :-)
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Denise (10:34:45 pm) : I remember my mother always making english trifle at
Xmas..in fact, she still does.. but no one knows the recipe.. she says.. she
puts a little of this and a little of that.. but says she will never tell...
:) It will go with her to her grave..
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Liz (10:34:46 pm) : You know, Robin, when I first got married and tried to
duplicate some of my Mom's recipes, I always wondered why they didn't taste
the same. I just attributed it to her special "touch of love" that she added
to everything that came out of her kitchen.
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Cath (10:35:49 pm) : I think Mothers leave something out of recipes. Nothing
I make tastes the same
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Denise (10:36:29 pm) : I have tried to duplicate.. but Liz.. your
right!!..nothing tastes the same as when moms make them.. its that "touch of
love" that comes with it...
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Robin (10:36:33 pm) : You know, my Mom lives just 6 miles away. I think I'll
give her a call tomorrow and invite myself for dinner next week LOL.
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Liz (10:36:39 pm) : I think they cook so much by instinct, they just "know"
what to put in and don't always follow a recipe. It makes it hard to carry
down traditional dishes, though.
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Velma (10:36:44 pm) : Even though Mac and I grew up in Tennessee--he in The
Smoky Mountains in a small town, and I from Middle Tennessee in Nashville,
our mothers cooked so differently. I've learned to like some of the things
his mother cooked, and he in turn liked what my mother cooked, so we have
the better part of both cultures.
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Robin (10:38:23 pm) : When I was 9 years old my Mom got Hepatitis and was
completely bedridden for 3 months. It was my job to do all the cooking. My
first cook book was Betty Crockers cook book for children. That's when I
developed a love for cooking!
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Betsy (10:38:40 pm) : Did any of the men in your families cook?
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Velma (10:40:16 pm) : No way, Betsy, I Dad got up and started a fire in the
coal stove and put the coffe on--that was it. On the other hand, my husband
and sons all cook and are good cooks.
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Cath (10:40:18 pm) : Andy my hubby, cooks the steaks on the grill. Don't
recall my Dad doing any, but putting the steaks on the grill, but he didn't
saute and season as andy does
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Robin (10:40:21 pm) : My Dad was never around, worked 2 jobs. My brother was
4 years younger than me and didn't realy have any other family around who
could help much. And yes, I was scared!
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Betsy (10:40:39 pm) : sara!! :)))
Well Denise, her future generations will have to fill the trifle bowl with
flowers for the table in her memory then!
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Liz (10:40:55 pm) : My Dad didn't cook until after he retired and Mom was
still working. All of us kids had left by that time, but Mom said that he
did a pretty good job (watching a true master for all those years probably
helped). Now that she's gone, I'm glad he can cook for himself, especially
since I now live 180 miles away . . . another reason I'm encouraging my son
to learn all he can about cooking.
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Denise (10:43:37 pm) : My father never cooked.. he had a hard time boiling
water *laff*... He was from the old school , where the women did
everything.. but hey.. my hubby cooks... and is pretty good at it too :)
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Betsy (10:44:20 pm) : My Dad was a cook - he owned restaurants and was also
developed food products to sell to groceries - but Gram ruled the kitchen at
home!
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Liz (10:44:58 pm) : Fred can cook, if he wants to, but rarely wants to. We
had a running joke when we first got married . . . we had a file folder with
pizza and carryout menus from local restaurants and it was entitled "Fred
Cooks"
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Robin (10:45:38 pm) : When I was in Nursing school my husband did most of
the cooking. Had a pretty shaky start, but he got better! I must admit, he
makes a better meat loaf than I do and he won't tell me how he does it. On
second thought, maybe I'm safer not knowing. LOL
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End of chat