Early on I learned that food was coupled with good discussions, friends and family. For my family, breaking bread together was a social event and probably the only one that my grandparents could afford. Because they grew their own vegetables and raised chickens, they were always wealthy in the food area. Sunday dinner was the best of course and usually consisted of fried chicken and many side dishes. Today I would like to talk about spinach - for a couple of reasons.
1 - It was like a staple at grams as was kale and turnip greens. The latter two are a more pungent and as a child I found them bitter, no matter what gram did to them. Today, as I often tell Nico, my taste buds are changed, and yes yours will too Nico, and I love all greens.
2 - Because my Italian pen-pal loves food and we have many discussions about our mutual love of food. That coupled with politics would make for some lively dinner conversations if he, Tommy and I could break bread together. Oh Giovanni I wish for that day my young friend!
Gram cooked simply and used yes...bacon, bacon, bacon to flavor everything. My mother often used vinegar to season her greens, it is also good to season brussel sprouts. With all the choices in vinegar today you can really add flavor to these delightful greens. My favorite green is spinach and because my wonderful pen-pal from Italy, whose email address has spinach in it, I thought I would tell you how I cook spinach.
I hate to try and write down recipes because as Jules and Gurly Girl know I don't use recipes. I devour them and then change them and measure nothing, well I guess that is not true because I do it with my hands and eyes. My grandmother used her hands for measuring instruments and I suspect if she were to have poured what she thought was a cup of flour into a measuring cup...it would be dead on. I am not quite that precise, which is why I am not a baker. I suppose I could use measuring devices and bake - but creativity is hard for me when it is placed into a device. So cooking where I can add a dash of something and not worry if it will rise properly is my thing! Having said this here is my spinach dish and I will try and tell you how much of anything I use.
IGREDIENTS
Bacon - bacon - bacon!!! (3 slices)
Spinach
Mushrooms
Garlic (2 cloves)
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Pepper
Cook bacon, reserve grease and drain in between paper towels, pressing out oil. Don't worry if you break the bacon. When you are satisfied that you have removed most of the lingering, lovely grease from the bacon put your cooked bacon inside a piece of wax paper that you have folded over on top of the bacon and run a rolling pin to crush the bacon. I prefer it really crushed, but you can also just break into bits. Preference here!!! Set this aside.
NOTE:
Olive culture has ancient roots. Fossilized remains of the olive tree's ancestor were found near Livorno, in Italy, dating from twenty million years ago, although actual cultivation probably did not occur in that area until the fifth century B.C. Olives were first cultivated in the Eastern part of the Mediterranean, in the region known as the "fertile crescent," and moved westwards over the millennia.
The belief that olive oil conferred strength and youth was widespread. In ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, it was infused with flowers and with grasses to produce both medicine and cosmetics; a list was excavated in Mycenae enumerating the aromatics (fennel, sesame, celery, watercress, mint, sage, rose, and juniper among others) added to olive oil in the preparation of ointments.
The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of ant oxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid.
Olive oil is very well tolerated by the stomach. In fact, olive oil's protective function has a beneficial effect on ulcers and gastritis. Olive oil activates the secretion of bile and pancreatic hormones much more naturally than prescribed drugs. Consequently, it lowers the incidence of gallstone formation.
Olive oil and heart disease
Studies have shown that people who consumed 25 milliliters (mL) - about 2 tablespoons - of virgin olive oil daily for 1 week showed less oxidation of LDL cholesterol and higher levels of antioxidant compounds, particularly phenols, in the blood.(4)
But while all types of olive oil are sources of monounsaturated fat, EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil, from the first pressing of the olives, contains higher levels of antioxidants, particularly vitamin E and phenols, because it is less processed.
Olive oil is clearly one of the good oils, one of the healing fats. Most people do quite well with it since it does not upset the critical omega 6 to omega 3 ratio and most of the fatty acids in olive oil are actually an omega-9 oil which is monounsaturated.
END OF COMMERCIAL ANNOUCMENT!!!
Meanwhile, in a hot skillet pour about 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil and sauté mushrooms until nicely brown on each side, sprinkle lightly with garlic salt and pepper. Add your finely chopped garlic cloves and turn frequently to avoid burning the garlic. It is really nasty when burned. When the aroma has you feeling like you want to spread it on your own arm to eat, you are ready to add the spinach. Please turn spinach constantly, I use tongues for this. I do this dish several ways. Lightly heated where there is still a bit of crunch or thoroughly done so it is more than wilted. Sprinkle (to taste) vinegar, and season with more garlic salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top and OMG serve it warm!
Another thing I do on occasion is add diced hardboiled egg to it and serve it like a salad instead of a side dish. It is also good with candied walnuts broken onto the top.
Grams added bacon grease to her water as she cooked her greens and please remember her greens were fresh from her garden and had to be washed thoroughly. I am so happy today that you can get baby spinach leaves in a bag that are clean and don't require the delicate job of washing off all the dirt from under, around and over each leaf...man our cooking life is so much easier than hers. She planted it, grew it, harvested it, washed it, cooked it, seasoned it and then finally got to eat it.
PLEASE FRIENDS, the few that are following post your recipes here for spinach...I would love to see how your family cooked it - especially you Giovanni as I suspect in Italy you do it well!!!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
My family considers gravy a beverage.....-Erma Bombeck
So I found this quote and it made me laugh - because yes gravy is very important to my family. I also know that many (even some in my family) feel like they are walking on ice when it comes to gravy making.
Just recently, my daughter asks my help with a dish I have made. Here's how the email traffic went go; "Mom, how do you make your Mexican Shrimp cocktail? And don't tell me you don't know!"
Which translated means figure out what and how much you put in it. I don't measure and the truth is my recipes change each time. Cooking for me is by instinct and taste of course.
So how do I make great gravy everytime. Well, like with anything I cook I know what goes in it and I adjust according to consistancy and taste. The big question is how to make gravy that isn't lumpy.
I also brown my flour before I use it as I believe it helps get rid of the starchy taste and heightens gravy color. You can use a jar to mix the flour with some of the liquids. Shake the heck out of it and there will be no lumps!!!
Good Gravy
Drippings+Butter+Liquids+Seasonings+Flour= YUM
THICKENERS
FLOUR is a good thickener for gravies, gumbos, and stews, it gives them a smooth, velvety texture. It's best to mix it with fat first, either by making a roux or beurre manié, or by flouring and frying meat and making the gravy from the pan drippings.
ROUX is a thickener that's made from equal parts of flour and a fat, like butter or meat drippings. It's especially good for thickening rich gravies. To make it, heat the fat in a pan, then gradually whisk in the flour. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, for at least several minutes, then gradually whisk in the hot liquid you're trying to thicken. You must then cook the sauce for at least 30 minutes to prevent it from acquiring a grainy texture and a starchy, floury taste.
BEURRE MAINé This flour-butter mixture is used to correct overly thin sauces at the last minute. To make it, blend equal weights of butter and flour, then knead them together. After you whisk it into a sauce, let it cook for no more than a minute or two to avoid starchy taste.
CORNSTARCH is mixed with an equal amount of cold water, then added to warm liquids to thicken them. They're a good choice if you want a low-fat, neutral-tasting thickener. They give dishes a glossy sheen and this is how I learned to make sauces with in Hawaii and stir fry dishes.
Finally remember that a gravy is only as good as the tastebuds of the cook making it....keep a taste cup right next to the stove! I recommend gravy on hashbrowns, something my friend laura taught me...
BISCUITS AND GRAVY
BISCUITS
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 3 oz. cold butter, diced
• 8 oz buttermil
Combine sifted dry ingredients. Gently knead in the butter. Add the buttermilk and knead on a floured board just enough to bring the dough together.
If you knee too much or too rough the gluten in the flour will develop and make the biscuits tough. Practice, practice, practice.
Form a flat mass with the dough and cut out biscuits with the rim of a glass. Don't make them too thick, you don't want the outside too done or the inside undone.
Place them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and then into a preheated 400-degree oven.
Start the gravy immediately. It should be done close to the same time as the biscuits, which is when they are golden in color.
GRAVY
• ½ pound ground breakfast sausage OR, yes you've got it bacon, bacon, bacon or combination of both.
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 3 cups cold milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the sausage (and/or bacon) until it is cooked and has released as much of its fat as possible. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and do NOT drain the grease. You'll need it to make the roux. Don't have your heart attack until you have eaten this!!!
You should have about 2 tablespoons of rendered fat. Add the butter and melt it. Then add the flour a little at a time over medium heat, constantly whisking. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Now start adding the cold milk a little at a time, whisking incessantly. Toward the end of the milk add the sausage and/or bacon back in. When you reach the desired consistency add salt and pepper to taste. Again you can mix a bit of your flour with a bit of the milk into your jar and shake the heck out of it...no lumps!!!
Cut the biscuits in half, pour the gravy over them both...Erma is right though, if you have made a good gravy you could almost drink it alone!!!
LEFT OVER GRAVY.....make a soup with it......use your imagination...lets see what goes good with gravy....potatoes...a gravy based potatoe soup!! YUM!!!
NOTE: I very seldom make a roast in the oven (although if you brown it first in a pan and reserve the pan with it's drippings you can make a decent gravy or glaze for your oven roasted meat. I prefer pot roast which almost makes it's own gravy melding the carrots, potatoes, onion and meat flavors together before you add thickens. NOTHING BETTER than potatoes that have been cooked with a pot roast and smashed with a fork just before you add the gravy!
Just recently, my daughter asks my help with a dish I have made. Here's how the email traffic went go; "Mom, how do you make your Mexican Shrimp cocktail? And don't tell me you don't know!"
Which translated means figure out what and how much you put in it. I don't measure and the truth is my recipes change each time. Cooking for me is by instinct and taste of course.
So how do I make great gravy everytime. Well, like with anything I cook I know what goes in it and I adjust according to consistancy and taste. The big question is how to make gravy that isn't lumpy.
I also brown my flour before I use it as I believe it helps get rid of the starchy taste and heightens gravy color. You can use a jar to mix the flour with some of the liquids. Shake the heck out of it and there will be no lumps!!!
Good Gravy
Drippings+Butter+Liquids+Seasonings+Flour= YUM
THICKENERS
FLOUR is a good thickener for gravies, gumbos, and stews, it gives them a smooth, velvety texture. It's best to mix it with fat first, either by making a roux or beurre manié, or by flouring and frying meat and making the gravy from the pan drippings.
ROUX is a thickener that's made from equal parts of flour and a fat, like butter or meat drippings. It's especially good for thickening rich gravies. To make it, heat the fat in a pan, then gradually whisk in the flour. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, for at least several minutes, then gradually whisk in the hot liquid you're trying to thicken. You must then cook the sauce for at least 30 minutes to prevent it from acquiring a grainy texture and a starchy, floury taste.
BEURRE MAINé This flour-butter mixture is used to correct overly thin sauces at the last minute. To make it, blend equal weights of butter and flour, then knead them together. After you whisk it into a sauce, let it cook for no more than a minute or two to avoid starchy taste.
CORNSTARCH is mixed with an equal amount of cold water, then added to warm liquids to thicken them. They're a good choice if you want a low-fat, neutral-tasting thickener. They give dishes a glossy sheen and this is how I learned to make sauces with in Hawaii and stir fry dishes.
Finally remember that a gravy is only as good as the tastebuds of the cook making it....keep a taste cup right next to the stove! I recommend gravy on hashbrowns, something my friend laura taught me...
BISCUITS AND GRAVY
BISCUITS
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 3 oz. cold butter, diced
• 8 oz buttermil
Combine sifted dry ingredients. Gently knead in the butter. Add the buttermilk and knead on a floured board just enough to bring the dough together.
If you knee too much or too rough the gluten in the flour will develop and make the biscuits tough. Practice, practice, practice.
Form a flat mass with the dough and cut out biscuits with the rim of a glass. Don't make them too thick, you don't want the outside too done or the inside undone.
Place them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and then into a preheated 400-degree oven.
Start the gravy immediately. It should be done close to the same time as the biscuits, which is when they are golden in color.
GRAVY
• ½ pound ground breakfast sausage OR, yes you've got it bacon, bacon, bacon or combination of both.
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 3 cups cold milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the sausage (and/or bacon) until it is cooked and has released as much of its fat as possible. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and do NOT drain the grease. You'll need it to make the roux. Don't have your heart attack until you have eaten this!!!
You should have about 2 tablespoons of rendered fat. Add the butter and melt it. Then add the flour a little at a time over medium heat, constantly whisking. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Now start adding the cold milk a little at a time, whisking incessantly. Toward the end of the milk add the sausage and/or bacon back in. When you reach the desired consistency add salt and pepper to taste. Again you can mix a bit of your flour with a bit of the milk into your jar and shake the heck out of it...no lumps!!!
Cut the biscuits in half, pour the gravy over them both...Erma is right though, if you have made a good gravy you could almost drink it alone!!!
LEFT OVER GRAVY.....make a soup with it......use your imagination...lets see what goes good with gravy....potatoes...a gravy based potatoe soup!! YUM!!!
NOTE: I very seldom make a roast in the oven (although if you brown it first in a pan and reserve the pan with it's drippings you can make a decent gravy or glaze for your oven roasted meat. I prefer pot roast which almost makes it's own gravy melding the carrots, potatoes, onion and meat flavors together before you add thickens. NOTHING BETTER than potatoes that have been cooked with a pot roast and smashed with a fork just before you add the gravy!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Fried Rice...yes with bacon, bacon, bacon
Teppanyaki (鉄板焼き, teppan'yaki?) is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan (鉄板), which means iron plate, and yaki (焼き), which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried. In Japan, teppanyaki refers to dishes cooked using an iron plate, including steak, shrimp, okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and monjayaki.
The originator of the teppanyaki-style steakhouse is the Japanese restaurant chain Misono, which introduced the concept of cooking Western-influenced food on a teppan in Japan in 1945.[1] They soon found that the cuisine was more popular with foreigners than with the Japanese, who enjoyed both watching the skilled maneuvers of the chefs preparing the food as well as the cuisine, somewhat more familiar than more traditional Japanese dishes. As the restaurants became popular at tourist spots with non-Japanese, the chain increased the performance aspect of the chef's preparation, such as stacking onion slices to produce a flaming onion volcano.
Okay... so last night Jules, Ed and I took Nico to his 5th-grade promotion dinner at a Teppan Table restaurant... The chef was Good....made a great volcano out of a white onion, but didn't flip anything good into anyone’s mouth :-( sadly!!! Nico had a great time even though he was stressing a lot about the misbehavior of a 3 year old at our table. I found it somewhat comforting (and amusing) that he is old enough to recognize finally, how distressing a Childs bad behavior can be!!!
The first thing the chef made was Jules fried rice. I was sorry I didn't have it when I tasted it and I have to say it was ALMOST as good as the one I used to make for my kids. So...here you go Jules this is how Mommy did it, sorry I never made you learn - you were just NEVER interested in cooking.
Lala's Fried Rice
about 3 slices of bacon - cut in small pieces
1/2 onion sliced thickly
1 egg
2 small zucchini sliced
1 small carrot julienne slices
1/2 cup bean sprouts
handful of sliced mushrooms
seasonings to taste (garlic salt, pepper)
soy sauce to taste
vegetable oil
2 cups cooked rice (sticky rice is best - we use brown rice)
2 tbsp green onion tops for top
Cook your bacon until brown and crispy, moving all around the pan (or grill) to flavor it...remove and reserve. Crack egg and cook it similar to an omelet and slice into small pieces and reserve.
Next add your sliced onion, cook a bit before adding carrots cook them a bit longer before adding zucchini. Make sure to move everything around the greased pan, permit it to soak up all the bacon juice you can. Dice the vegetables as they become tender adding mushrooms at the end, as they tend to cook faster. Cook until you reach desired tenderness, I prefer mine a bit crunchy. Move everything to the side of the pan where heat is NOT concentrated. Add the rice and some additional oil if necessary and flip the rice all around the pan. When the rice has been coated properly season to taste, add soy sauce to taste and mix the bacon bits, cooked vegetables and mushrooms to the rice. Serve steaming hot with green onion on top.
(NOTE: If you really want to makes this special after you have cleaned your pan (and that means scrapping the dirty residue off from the veggies) add another slice of bacon build your grease back up and cook some scallops and or shrimp in the bacon grease and serve with the fried rice. Some hot sake, scallops and fried rice yum!!!
I am fortunate to now own a outdoor griddle that works well as a teppan stove. In fact last night I realized we need to build a table around it as we could have a lot of fun with this. If you do not have one a woke - stove top preferably or an electric wok will do in a pinch. If you have none then a large heavy skillet will work. Make sure to get your pan really hot and if you are cooking inside turn on your fan.
ONION VOLCANO
The flaming onion volcano is a type of food performance demonstrated by chefs at some teppanyaki restaurants. It consists of a number of slices of onion stacked to look like Mount FujiMount Fujiis the highest mountain in Japan at . Along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku, it is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains" . An active volcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji is just west of Tokyo, and can be seen on a clear day...
, which are set on fire and then doused in liquid that bubbles up like lavaLavaLava is molten rock expelled by a volcano during eruption. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at temperatures from 700 °C to 1,200 °C...
.
In the traditional preparation, an onion is sliced into layers, and one layer from the top or bottom of the stack is separated out. This stack is then separated into individual "rings". The largest, outermost, ring is used as the base, with its wider side down. The smaller rings are then stacked on top, forming an open cone. The rings can be stacked because they are wider on the bottom than the top.
After constructing the cone, oil is poured into the center through the open top, then diluted ethyl alcohol, and then the mixture is set on fire. The alcohol burns off in a few seconds, leaving a steam of unburned alcohol streaming out of the top like a smoking volcano. For an added touch, teriyakiTeriyakiTeriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade...
sauce can be poured in after the flames die down, and the oil, heated by the grill, will cause it to boil out of the top like lava.
If you want to make a volcano onion you might want to watch this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDe13GbFGTM&feature=related
The originator of the teppanyaki-style steakhouse is the Japanese restaurant chain Misono, which introduced the concept of cooking Western-influenced food on a teppan in Japan in 1945.[1] They soon found that the cuisine was more popular with foreigners than with the Japanese, who enjoyed both watching the skilled maneuvers of the chefs preparing the food as well as the cuisine, somewhat more familiar than more traditional Japanese dishes. As the restaurants became popular at tourist spots with non-Japanese, the chain increased the performance aspect of the chef's preparation, such as stacking onion slices to produce a flaming onion volcano.
Okay... so last night Jules, Ed and I took Nico to his 5th-grade promotion dinner at a Teppan Table restaurant... The chef was Good....made a great volcano out of a white onion, but didn't flip anything good into anyone’s mouth :-( sadly!!! Nico had a great time even though he was stressing a lot about the misbehavior of a 3 year old at our table. I found it somewhat comforting (and amusing) that he is old enough to recognize finally, how distressing a Childs bad behavior can be!!!
The first thing the chef made was Jules fried rice. I was sorry I didn't have it when I tasted it and I have to say it was ALMOST as good as the one I used to make for my kids. So...here you go Jules this is how Mommy did it, sorry I never made you learn - you were just NEVER interested in cooking.
Lala's Fried Rice
about 3 slices of bacon - cut in small pieces
1/2 onion sliced thickly
1 egg
2 small zucchini sliced
1 small carrot julienne slices
1/2 cup bean sprouts
handful of sliced mushrooms
seasonings to taste (garlic salt, pepper)
soy sauce to taste
vegetable oil
2 cups cooked rice (sticky rice is best - we use brown rice)
2 tbsp green onion tops for top
Cook your bacon until brown and crispy, moving all around the pan (or grill) to flavor it...remove and reserve. Crack egg and cook it similar to an omelet and slice into small pieces and reserve.
Next add your sliced onion, cook a bit before adding carrots cook them a bit longer before adding zucchini. Make sure to move everything around the greased pan, permit it to soak up all the bacon juice you can. Dice the vegetables as they become tender adding mushrooms at the end, as they tend to cook faster. Cook until you reach desired tenderness, I prefer mine a bit crunchy. Move everything to the side of the pan where heat is NOT concentrated. Add the rice and some additional oil if necessary and flip the rice all around the pan. When the rice has been coated properly season to taste, add soy sauce to taste and mix the bacon bits, cooked vegetables and mushrooms to the rice. Serve steaming hot with green onion on top.
(NOTE: If you really want to makes this special after you have cleaned your pan (and that means scrapping the dirty residue off from the veggies) add another slice of bacon build your grease back up and cook some scallops and or shrimp in the bacon grease and serve with the fried rice. Some hot sake, scallops and fried rice yum!!!
I am fortunate to now own a outdoor griddle that works well as a teppan stove. In fact last night I realized we need to build a table around it as we could have a lot of fun with this. If you do not have one a woke - stove top preferably or an electric wok will do in a pinch. If you have none then a large heavy skillet will work. Make sure to get your pan really hot and if you are cooking inside turn on your fan.
ONION VOLCANO
The flaming onion volcano is a type of food performance demonstrated by chefs at some teppanyaki restaurants. It consists of a number of slices of onion stacked to look like Mount FujiMount Fujiis the highest mountain in Japan at . Along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku, it is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains" . An active volcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji is just west of Tokyo, and can be seen on a clear day...
, which are set on fire and then doused in liquid that bubbles up like lavaLavaLava is molten rock expelled by a volcano during eruption. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at temperatures from 700 °C to 1,200 °C...
.
In the traditional preparation, an onion is sliced into layers, and one layer from the top or bottom of the stack is separated out. This stack is then separated into individual "rings". The largest, outermost, ring is used as the base, with its wider side down. The smaller rings are then stacked on top, forming an open cone. The rings can be stacked because they are wider on the bottom than the top.
After constructing the cone, oil is poured into the center through the open top, then diluted ethyl alcohol, and then the mixture is set on fire. The alcohol burns off in a few seconds, leaving a steam of unburned alcohol streaming out of the top like a smoking volcano. For an added touch, teriyakiTeriyakiTeriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade...
sauce can be poured in after the flames die down, and the oil, heated by the grill, will cause it to boil out of the top like lava.
If you want to make a volcano onion you might want to watch this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDe13GbFGTM&feature=related
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
BRIDGEPORT - HIGH SIERRA'S
I come from a somewhat long line of campers, and fisherman, so it is no surprise that as a child I spent most vacations in the High Sierra's, a short drive from our Southern California home. The fun, as Tutu would say was in the prepartion for each trip. We would pack our cars with the food my Mother and Aunt Pat packed away in the food foot-locker reserved for our trips. My Father and Uncle Ed would load it to the top or the back of the car, along with fishing rods, ice chests, sleeping bags, tents leaving room barely for us kids to lay in the back while the dog road in the bucket up the mountain. One memorable year I remember them even trying to tie a boat to the top of one of the cars. It turned into such an exasperating ordeal for my father and uncle that everyone else retreated to the house to let the two of them work it out. Of course we watched from the picture window making comments under our breath about how they should tie it down, but no one had the nerve to tell them. We spent two weeks hiking, fishing and yes...you got it eating each year. Showers were rare and we often had rain, well at least one trip was almost a complete rainout. But being the inventive family that they (we) are, one tent was set up for card playing and that was the main retreat from the rain. We spent most of our time playing cards and eating snacks as we did. Baths were taken in private sleeping tents with a bucket of water and a bar of soap. Campfires were made every day, but not without distress, as the rain was constant. The weather was so bad that my Aunt Maggie and Uncle Carroll rented a trailer to escape the downpours. But, with all the food preparations, menu and meal planning and even great bacon we stopped and bought from the meat store in Bishop on the way up the hill....we generally ended up eating most our meals at Crandalls, a Mexican Restaurant on the edge of Mammoth. Mammoth in those days consisted of a general store and gas station, a trailer rental, a post office, a real estate office, and the Crandalls Resataurant owned and operated by the sweetest older couple.
Crandalls is where at 15 I had my first taste of tequila, but was told by Mr. Crandall to never tell. I was not as impressed with him letting me taste the tequila as I was by my Aunt Pat's drunken poetry writing or the gifts Mr. Crandall gave my younger brother and I. My mother was most impressed with the chile rellano's that they served. In fact the whole family loved them and they convinced Mrs. Crandall to share her recipe, which was written on a paper placemat and my mother still retains this keepsake whose corner was long ago torn off.
CHILE RELLANOS
27 oz. can Mild Whole Green Chiles
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Flour
6 Raw eggs (separated)
2 cups salsa verde
2 cups Homestyle Mexican Salsa
1 cup Corn oil
Salt
1. Rinse the chiles.
2. Preheat your oven to broil.
3. Place the chiles in a 9 x 14 baking dish and place on the top shelf of your oven.
4. Watch and listen closely. When the skins start to make popping sounds and to char and turn black in places, take the chiles out and flip them over. Be sure and use a potholder so you don't burn your hands!
5. When both sides are fairly evenly charred, remove them from the oven.
6. Wrap each chile in a moist paper towel or place in a sealed plastic bag to steam.
7. After a few minutes, check them. Once the skin comes off easily, peel each chile.
8. Cut a slit almost the full length of each chile. Make a small "t" across the top, by the stem. Pull out fibers and seeds (this is where the heat is) and replace with a slice of cheese. You can set these aside, for a few minutes or a few hours if you put them in the refrigerator.
9. Whip the egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer, until stiff peaks have formed.
10. Heat the oil in a skillet until a drop of water sizzles when dropped into the pan.
11. Beat the egg yolks with one tablespoon flour and salt. Mix the yolks into egg whites and stir until you have a thick paste.
12. Roll the chiles in 1/4 cup flour and dip each one in the egg batter. Coat evenly. Fry, seam side down on both sides until golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain. Note Mrs. Crandall used an iron skillet.
13. Meanwhile, heat the salsa in a medium saucepan (either one or some of each). Place one or two Rellenos on each plate and pour salsa over them or if desired on the side.
ENJOY!!!
Crandalls is where at 15 I had my first taste of tequila, but was told by Mr. Crandall to never tell. I was not as impressed with him letting me taste the tequila as I was by my Aunt Pat's drunken poetry writing or the gifts Mr. Crandall gave my younger brother and I. My mother was most impressed with the chile rellano's that they served. In fact the whole family loved them and they convinced Mrs. Crandall to share her recipe, which was written on a paper placemat and my mother still retains this keepsake whose corner was long ago torn off.
CHILE RELLANOS
27 oz. can Mild Whole Green Chiles
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Flour
6 Raw eggs (separated)
2 cups salsa verde
2 cups Homestyle Mexican Salsa
1 cup Corn oil
Salt
1. Rinse the chiles.
2. Preheat your oven to broil.
3. Place the chiles in a 9 x 14 baking dish and place on the top shelf of your oven.
4. Watch and listen closely. When the skins start to make popping sounds and to char and turn black in places, take the chiles out and flip them over. Be sure and use a potholder so you don't burn your hands!
5. When both sides are fairly evenly charred, remove them from the oven.
6. Wrap each chile in a moist paper towel or place in a sealed plastic bag to steam.
7. After a few minutes, check them. Once the skin comes off easily, peel each chile.
8. Cut a slit almost the full length of each chile. Make a small "t" across the top, by the stem. Pull out fibers and seeds (this is where the heat is) and replace with a slice of cheese. You can set these aside, for a few minutes or a few hours if you put them in the refrigerator.
9. Whip the egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer, until stiff peaks have formed.
10. Heat the oil in a skillet until a drop of water sizzles when dropped into the pan.
11. Beat the egg yolks with one tablespoon flour and salt. Mix the yolks into egg whites and stir until you have a thick paste.
12. Roll the chiles in 1/4 cup flour and dip each one in the egg batter. Coat evenly. Fry, seam side down on both sides until golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain. Note Mrs. Crandall used an iron skillet.
13. Meanwhile, heat the salsa in a medium saucepan (either one or some of each). Place one or two Rellenos on each plate and pour salsa over them or if desired on the side.
ENJOY!!!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
TUTU REMEMBERS SUNDAY DINNER
After a wonderful homefried, homegrown fried chicken dinner with fixins' like turnips and turnip greens, baked beans and either skillet fried corn bread or hot homemade biscuits, we would then laze on the porch and play cards or guitars and harmincas awaiting our next homegrown meal - super and it's tasty delights. Yes, I admit my family lived for food and yes, we have even planned vacations around what food we could either take and make or what we could feast on at our favorite restaurants.
Our tastebuds were treated to vacations with every visit to grams kitchen, that is until her tastebuds started to go. As I said before she did not use conventional methods to measure things. It was a handful of this and a pinch of that. So you had to pay close attention not only to her handfuls and pinches, but to the taste and ingredients in order to replicate her recipes. She did write some of her delightful recipes down and we are very grateful to have them.
Despite the fact that I was the laziest cousin in the family, I evidently spent more time than I realized paying attention from under the table as I put olives on each fingertip. It appears I am the one in the family that got the cooking gene from Gram and I believe my niece Lani and her cousin (my daughter) Jules and my son Justin both have been bitten by the chef/cooker bug as well. Although Justins wife Tami so loves to cook she does most of it in their home these days.
One of my mothers favorites meals was Sunday super and my grandmothers famous Hot Corn Fritters with loads of warm Apricot Syrup. There is no doubt that my gram was the best cook with my mothers sister Margaret (Aunt Maggie to me)takig a close second.I knew Gram and could fry chicken in her sleep and, I often wondered if she ever dreamt about any of those chickens necks she wrung to feed her family. But I remind myself that farmers had animals for one of two reasons,to eat or to work.
Two of my favorite dishes of Grams were her hot boysenberry cobbler with grandpa's home made ice cream churned by hand and her tarts. My real favorite(and I have yet to make them for my grandkids and MUST), were her boysenberry tarts. They were made from leftover pie crust and Grams wonderful preserves. You can make it from any kind of preserve or fresh fruit and grams pie crusts, which I still cannot accomplish though I have almost died trying.
On reading this to Tutu(my mother), she is saying another of her favorites of Gram's deserts was Apricot Fried Pie. I suspect it had a lot to do with the amount of time my mother spent picking and pitting fruits as a kid. Reaping the benefit of their juicy splender after spending her youth pitting fruit seasonally hour after hot summer sweaty hour for a lousy 6 cents a lug box, she deserved a reward!
Lug boxes are the shallower crates used for grapes and deciduous fruits (like apricots, peaches, plums, etc.) Quite a few pears were also packed in these smaller boxes, sometimes called L.A.Lugs.
Tutu says, "They had great fun, the boys spread a canvas tarp under the tree and shook the tree with a pole capturing the ripe fruit and the girls pitted the bouty hauled in by the boys. Laugter often encompassed the pitting sheds, as the boys brought the fruit in the lug boxes while girls would then pit as fast as they could. The girls were paid by the lug, she does not recall how much the boys were paid. I suspect it was in the smiles they received from the girls.
The pitted fruit would go onto a large tray which was hauled to a sulpher shed for smoking to rid the fruit of insects and disease. After which the fruit was spread out to dry in direct sunlight. What happened next she doesn't recall as her job was complete and her shopping would begin. "I was proud that I made enough money to buy my school clothes for the coming year", she said, "Except the horrible old lady shoes my mother made me buy which I had to try and hide under my skirt at dances."
Working for the right shed was important. If you could slip the pits you could make more money. Slipping a pit helped you increase speed, this was done by cutting around and then pushing the seed through the stem hole rather than all the way around and taking out the pit in a fluid motion. Slower workers had to take the fruit apart to get out the pit which meant fewer lugs were done by them and less money made. However, many sheds did not permit slipping because it tore the top of the fruit which made it's market value less. So slow or not you often had to cut and remove versus slip.
Each day after the work was done they cleaned up and went to the high schools baseball field to plY baseball. This informal league was made possible by the installation of lights on the field that were operated by inserting quarters into it. Realize that it took four lug boxes + one cent to turn the lights on, she doesn't remember how much time they got for their 25 cents, but it was worth every penny. Each shed had it's own team and compeated against other sheds making an informal baseball league. She says no competition went on between sheds as to who got the seasons harvest picked and pitted first, but the baseball league was completely anther story.
GRAMS CORN FRITTERS WITH APRICO SYRUP
CORN FRITTERS
3 cups oil for frying
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon shortening, melted
1 (12 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
Directions
1.Heat oil in a heavy pot or deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
2.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat together egg, milk, and melted shortening; stir into flour mixture. Mix in the corn kernels.
3.Drop fritter batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil, and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.
APRICOT SYRUP
6 ounces Dried Apricots
¾ cup Sugar
1 slice Lemon
4 Whole Cloves
5 cups Cold Water
In a heavy saucepan, combine the apricots with the sugar, lemon, cloves, and the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the apricots are very soft, 1 to 1 1/4 hrs. 2. Discard the lemon slice and cloves and puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. Makes about 2 cups. Note: If the syrup has boiled rapidly and become too thick for your taste, add about 1/3 cup of cold water and bring the syrup again to a boil. This is a thick syrup, however, so avoid adding too much water.
Our tastebuds were treated to vacations with every visit to grams kitchen, that is until her tastebuds started to go. As I said before she did not use conventional methods to measure things. It was a handful of this and a pinch of that. So you had to pay close attention not only to her handfuls and pinches, but to the taste and ingredients in order to replicate her recipes. She did write some of her delightful recipes down and we are very grateful to have them.
Despite the fact that I was the laziest cousin in the family, I evidently spent more time than I realized paying attention from under the table as I put olives on each fingertip. It appears I am the one in the family that got the cooking gene from Gram and I believe my niece Lani and her cousin (my daughter) Jules and my son Justin both have been bitten by the chef/cooker bug as well. Although Justins wife Tami so loves to cook she does most of it in their home these days.
One of my mothers favorites meals was Sunday super and my grandmothers famous Hot Corn Fritters with loads of warm Apricot Syrup. There is no doubt that my gram was the best cook with my mothers sister Margaret (Aunt Maggie to me)takig a close second.I knew Gram and could fry chicken in her sleep and, I often wondered if she ever dreamt about any of those chickens necks she wrung to feed her family. But I remind myself that farmers had animals for one of two reasons,to eat or to work.
Two of my favorite dishes of Grams were her hot boysenberry cobbler with grandpa's home made ice cream churned by hand and her tarts. My real favorite(and I have yet to make them for my grandkids and MUST), were her boysenberry tarts. They were made from leftover pie crust and Grams wonderful preserves. You can make it from any kind of preserve or fresh fruit and grams pie crusts, which I still cannot accomplish though I have almost died trying.
On reading this to Tutu(my mother), she is saying another of her favorites of Gram's deserts was Apricot Fried Pie. I suspect it had a lot to do with the amount of time my mother spent picking and pitting fruits as a kid. Reaping the benefit of their juicy splender after spending her youth pitting fruit seasonally hour after hot summer sweaty hour for a lousy 6 cents a lug box, she deserved a reward!
Lug boxes are the shallower crates used for grapes and deciduous fruits (like apricots, peaches, plums, etc.) Quite a few pears were also packed in these smaller boxes, sometimes called L.A.Lugs.
Tutu says, "They had great fun, the boys spread a canvas tarp under the tree and shook the tree with a pole capturing the ripe fruit and the girls pitted the bouty hauled in by the boys. Laugter often encompassed the pitting sheds, as the boys brought the fruit in the lug boxes while girls would then pit as fast as they could. The girls were paid by the lug, she does not recall how much the boys were paid. I suspect it was in the smiles they received from the girls.
The pitted fruit would go onto a large tray which was hauled to a sulpher shed for smoking to rid the fruit of insects and disease. After which the fruit was spread out to dry in direct sunlight. What happened next she doesn't recall as her job was complete and her shopping would begin. "I was proud that I made enough money to buy my school clothes for the coming year", she said, "Except the horrible old lady shoes my mother made me buy which I had to try and hide under my skirt at dances."
Working for the right shed was important. If you could slip the pits you could make more money. Slipping a pit helped you increase speed, this was done by cutting around and then pushing the seed through the stem hole rather than all the way around and taking out the pit in a fluid motion. Slower workers had to take the fruit apart to get out the pit which meant fewer lugs were done by them and less money made. However, many sheds did not permit slipping because it tore the top of the fruit which made it's market value less. So slow or not you often had to cut and remove versus slip.
Each day after the work was done they cleaned up and went to the high schools baseball field to plY baseball. This informal league was made possible by the installation of lights on the field that were operated by inserting quarters into it. Realize that it took four lug boxes + one cent to turn the lights on, she doesn't remember how much time they got for their 25 cents, but it was worth every penny. Each shed had it's own team and compeated against other sheds making an informal baseball league. She says no competition went on between sheds as to who got the seasons harvest picked and pitted first, but the baseball league was completely anther story.
GRAMS CORN FRITTERS WITH APRICO SYRUP
CORN FRITTERS
3 cups oil for frying
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon shortening, melted
1 (12 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
Directions
1.Heat oil in a heavy pot or deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
2.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat together egg, milk, and melted shortening; stir into flour mixture. Mix in the corn kernels.
3.Drop fritter batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil, and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.
APRICOT SYRUP
6 ounces Dried Apricots
¾ cup Sugar
1 slice Lemon
4 Whole Cloves
5 cups Cold Water
In a heavy saucepan, combine the apricots with the sugar, lemon, cloves, and the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the apricots are very soft, 1 to 1 1/4 hrs. 2. Discard the lemon slice and cloves and puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. Makes about 2 cups. Note: If the syrup has boiled rapidly and become too thick for your taste, add about 1/3 cup of cold water and bring the syrup again to a boil. This is a thick syrup, however, so avoid adding too much water.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Wee Bit of Irish that I am...
So tomorrow I will put Green Food coloring in the toilet as I used to do at school....I will hope to catch Tommy as he hops out of the shower without green on so I can pinch his wee little arse....:-) and I will make him corned beef, cabbabe and red potatoes...and here is a dip you can make from leftovers....
16 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces chopped deli corned beef
4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
Half a cup of sauerkraut, drained
Quarter cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons brown mustard
Half a cup of beer or beef stock ( I used 1/4 cup of each)
Make some Irish soda bread to spread it on!! YUM!!!
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.
16 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces chopped deli corned beef
4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
Half a cup of sauerkraut, drained
Quarter cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons brown mustard
Half a cup of beer or beef stock ( I used 1/4 cup of each)
Make some Irish soda bread to spread it on!! YUM!!!
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
ONION SOUP
So as with all things for me...my life has taken another turn and I have not been back here to write for some time. I have however been trying to figure out what to tell you when it comes to Julia's "Mushroom Soup", I seriously doubt that my grandmother ever made Mushroom Soup...or Onion Soup for that matter. She did however, make the BEST gravies I have ever had and fortunately it is a talent that I picked up from her. The secret to good gravy with no lumps, in my humble opinion (and there are many ways to make gravy) is what gram used...a pickle jar. That's right - even with wondra
mix your liquid with your flour in a pickle jar...easy to shake free of lumps......and when it comes to ONION SOUP there is only one person I know who holds the best (and smelliest) honors of ONION SOUP - that is my DEAR friend Jessica Lossner...maybe if we ask she will post her recipe here!!! Come on Jazzzzzzzzzzzzzz how about it your reekin/rockin onion soup recipe!!???
mix your liquid with your flour in a pickle jar...easy to shake free of lumps......and when it comes to ONION SOUP there is only one person I know who holds the best (and smelliest) honors of ONION SOUP - that is my DEAR friend Jessica Lossner...maybe if we ask she will post her recipe here!!! Come on Jazzzzzzzzzzzzzz how about it your reekin/rockin onion soup recipe!!???
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