Heavenly Honey Oatmeal Bread

 1 cup quick oats

2 cups boiling water

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (105-115)

1/3 cup honey

1 T. butter or oil

2 t. salt

5 1/2 cups flour, all purpose

1. Place oats in large bowl. Pour boiling water over oats. Let sit 15 min. or until lukewarm. (105-115)

2. Proof yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add smidge of sugar to help activate the yeast. Let stand until bubbly about 5 minutes

3. Add honey, butter, salt and yeast mix to the oats. Mix well. Stir in enough flour so dough can be handled. (The oats and honey make this a stickier dough than regular bread dough.)

4. Knead for two minutes. Let rest for ten minutes. Knead again adding more flour as needed. Let dough rise.  Punch down, form into two loaves. Let rise again until high. 

5. Bake at 350 around 45 minutes. Quick temp should be around 200.

St. Bede Abbey, Father Dom

Sage Bread Stuffing

 1 1/2 cups chopped celery with leaves

3/4  cup finely chopped inion

3/4 cup butter

9 cups bread cubes 

1 t. salt 

1 t. dried ground sage

1/2 t. dried thyme

1/4 t. pepper

1/4 cup parsley minced

Chicken broth

Cook and stir celery and onion in butter until tender. In a large bowl in which you have put the bread cubes add the cooked ingredients on top of them. Stir it up. If the bread cubes look dry then add chicken broth and squeeze it through the cubes until you get the consistency of stuffing that you like.

Bale om a 2 quart casserole. Cover and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes

Betty Crocker recipe

Notes: I like to toast the bread in the oven for more flavor. Then I need to add chicken broth to the final product to get to the consistency of stuffing that I remember from my childhood.

My mother used two loaves of ordinary white bread, chicken broth that she dipped the bread into and squeezed out excess moisture. She used 2 medium onions, 1 cup of celery approximately, 1/4-1/2 cup minced parsley, 2 eggs, 1/2 stick of margarine in small bits, 1 t.  salt, 1/4 t. pepper and 1 t. sage.

Working at Casey's I learned that the egg isn't really necessary for the stuffing. Plus it's an allergen for a lot of people so they just didn't put them in. 

I'd like to say that this recipe is a blueprint or jumping off point for stuffing. If you don't like parsley don't use it. If you want to toast your bread go ahead. If you want it mushier than add more chicken broth.

Lemon Curd

 

Ingredients

• 4 large egg yolks (see note)
• 2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
• 1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice (about 2–3 lemons)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons (86g) unsalted butter, softened

Instructions

1. Fill the bottom pot of your double boiler with 1-2 inches of water. (Or use the DIY double boiler method listed in the notes.) Place on high heat. Once the water begins to boil, reduce to low heat to keep the water at a simmer.
2. Place egg yolks, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt into the top pot of your double boiler. Using a silicone whisk, whisk until completely blended, then continue to whisk as the curd cooks. Constant whisking prevents the egg yolks from curdling. Whisk and cook until the mixture becomes thick, resembling the texture of hollandaise sauce, about 10 minutes. If curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk.
3. Remove pan from heat. Cut the butter into 6 separate pieces, then whisk into the curd. The butter will melt from the heat of the curd. Pour curd into a jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. (This prevents a skin from forming on top.) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Once cool, the plastic wrap can be removed.
4. Refrigerate the curd for up to about 10 days.

Notes

1. Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, you can freeze the curd up to 3-6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying.
2. Thicker Lemon Curd: For thicker lemon curd, replace 2 of the egg yolks with 1 whole egg. This means you will use 2 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg. Keep the rest of the recipe and instructions the same.
3. Lemon Juice: Do not use bottled lemon juice. Use fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
4. Butter: You can use salted butter instead of unsalted butter. Simply omit 1/8 teaspoon salt in the recipe.
5. No Double Boiler? No Problem! If you do not own a double boiler, you can simply place a small heatproof glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water– you will cook the curd in the top pot/bowl.
6. No Straining: I don’t strain the lemon curd. The zest is very tiny and has been cooked, so you can hardly detect its texture. It’s really just there for flavor. However, feel free to run the finished lemon curd through a fine mesh sieve if you want to take the extra step.
7. Notes: This turned out very well. I used it as the filling between the poppyseed cake layers.

Poppyseed Cake

 

3/4 c. poppyseed                                                     

3/4 c. milk

2 c. flour all purpose

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

4 egg whites

1/2 c. butter, soft

1/3 c. shortening

1 1/2 c. sugar

 1/4 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

Oven 375 F -25 minutes

2 -9 inch cake pans greased and floured or parchment bottomed

Soak poppyseed in the 3/4 c. milk for two hours.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. 

Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.

Cream butter and shortening.

 Gradually add sugar beating well.

Add the 1/4 c. milk and vanilla to poppyseed milk mixture

Add flour mix alternately with milk mix.

Fold egg whites into batter gently.

Bake 375 for approximately 25 minutes.

Fill with lemon custard filling or lemon curd.

Sift with confectioners sugar or frost with white frosting.

Recipe from Slovak Catholic Sokol Cook Book 3rd edition 1976

Pork Meatballs Asian Style

 1 pound ground pork

2 eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 T. water

1 t. garlic crushed

1t. ginger root paste

1 t. sesame oil

1 t. soy sauce

1 T. small amount of chives or scallions

Mix all. Fry or bake balls. Keep them small. Finish with a spray of sesame seeds.

Dipping Sauce

2 T. soy sauce

1T. rice vinegar

I also like to use soy vay or similar product to sweeten the sauce. This can be on the side to dip as well.

This recipe is meant to be modified to the diners tastes. If you like a stronger amount of any of the ingredients than try it! It's all about the exploration of initial ingredients. Modified recipe from:

https://www.keepingitsimpleblog.com/food/oven-baked-asian-style-meatballs/

Mushroom Pasta Sauce

 

Mushroom Pasta Sauce

AUTHOR The Culinary Institute of America and the Mushroom Council

Ingredients

SCALE

• 2 pounds mushrooms, minced
• kosher salt to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, medium, chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 basil sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup white wine, dry
• 4 cups tomatoes, canned or fresh, crushed, juices reserved
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 pound pasta

Instructions

1. In a large pot, add the minced mushrooms and season with salt to taste. Add the olive oil and heat the mixture on medium. Add the onion, garlic, basil, and bay leaf, stirring over medium for 5 – 6 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the wine. Stir to release any of the drippings that are sticking to the bottom of the pan. Allow the mixture to cook for 5 more minutes, or until the wine is mostly evaporated.
2. Add the tomatoes, and tomato paste. Stir well and bring the sauce up to a gentle simmer over low heat for 3 hours. Partially cover the pot and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally and adding the reserved tomato juices or a bit of water if the sauce seems too thick as it cooks. The finished sauce should have a deep, rich red color. The sauce is ready to add to your cooked pasta now, or will store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta at once and follow package directions until pasta is cooked.
4. Drain the pasta in a colander when finished. Shake well and remove any extra water clinging to the pasta. Pour the pasta in a large serving bowl. Add the sauce and toss together until the pasta is evenly coated.
   
   
   

Chicken Pot Pie

 

Betty Crocker and her old fashioned chicken pot pie.