Family recipe Monday: pancakes

The effects of a day-long freezing fog. That's ice, not snow.

It's cold enough up here for career Minnesotans to notice, even. Today's high is supposed to zoom up to 3*F. That does not mean that we get to stay home. This is an outpost on the Great Plains, after all, and we are made of hardier stock than that. Unless the car doesn't start.

I mean, brrr.

It gets colder tomorrow and then warms up for the rest of the week. I'm making tea and a warm breakfast before I head out. This morning, it'll be biscuits made from scratch yesterday and gently warmed in the oven (NEVER nuke bread) today. If we'd had the snow day I was hoping for, I might have made one of these instead. It's great weather for pancakes and for staying in, but education comes first.

Oh, and happy National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day.

Wholesome pancakes

2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup white flour
¼ cup wheat germ (optional)
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup skim milk
1 whole egg plus 1 egg white
1 T oil
Sliced fruit
Cinnamon sugar to taste

In a bowl, mix together the first seven ingredients. In separate bowl, mix together the next four ingredients and add to the first bowl, stirring just enough to break up the lumps. Fry on a lightly greased griddle. Serve with sliced fruits and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Makes about 16 4” pancakes.

Rye cornmeal pancakes

2 eggs, beaten
6 T molasses
1 cup milk
1 cup rye flour
1 cup cornmeal

Blend eggs, molasses and milk. Sift remaining ingredients and stir into liquid. Add more rye flour if necessary to make the batter stiff. Drop by spoonfuls onto a heated oiled frypan. Brown lightly on both sides. Serves 4 to 6.

Blueberry cornmeal pancakes

1 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 ½ T sugar
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
3 egg yolks
3 T unsalted butter, melted
3 egg whites
1 cup blueberries
1 cup cornmeal

Sift together all dry ingredients. Mix together the buttermilk, egg yolks and butter with the dry ingredients. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry, and fold into batter. Pour ¼ cup batter onto hot griddle, sprinkle about 2 T blueberries on each pancake, and cook until bubbles form and start popping on top. Flip with wide spatula and brown the other side. Turn only once, and do not press down. Yield: 18 pancakes.

Happy Monday. Stay warm. Seriously.

Family recipe Monday: Happy (day after) National Pie Day

Prairie dog babies out for a nibble. Most interesting squirrels ever.

I knew that there was a National Pi Day (March 14), but not a National Pie Day. No one ever clues me in on these worthwhile holidays. I almost missed National Squirrel Appreciation Day on January 21. And what a tragedy THAT would have been. Not so much for the city squirrels that the cats are convinced they could take down if I'd only let them out, but for the prairie dogs and ground squirrels out here that, like 'em or not, are the architects of the prairie. Lose a prairie dog town, lose a microcosm ecosystem. I am avidly following a story about prairie dog communications. It seems that they are far more sophisticated in their calls than we suspected.

But back to pies. Knowing that it was National Pie Day, I did my patriotic duty and made a buttermilk pie that set up beautifully (unlike my first attempt, in which the custard refused to set up and required a second baking. Still have no idea what happened there). This one behaved as ordered.

Since that recipe has already been featured here, try a couple of others. National Pie Day lasts all week. Honest.

If you have a ready source of fresh or frozen cherries, by all means substitute those for the canned ones; ditto for the blueberries.

Cherry pie

9” unbaked pie shell
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
4 3-oz pkg. soft cream cheese
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 425* F. Prepare pie shell. Spread half of cherry filling in bottom. Bake shell 15 minutes, or just until crust is golden. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350* F. In small bowl, beat cheese with sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Pour over hot cherry pie filling and bake 25 minutes. (Filling will be slightly soft in center.) Cool completely on wire rack. To serve spoon sour cream around edge of pie. Fill center with remaining cherry pie filling. Blueberry pie filling can be substituted

This is a Pennsylvania classic.

Apple dumplings

6 large baking apples
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 T butter or margarine
¾ cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 T lemon juice
2 T butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Make pastry first. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in shortening until like coarse cornmeal. Moisten with milk, stirring with fork as little as possible. Roll into a rectangular sheet about ¼“ thick. Cut into 6 squares. Peel and core apples and place one on each square. Mix ¼ cup of sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon. Fill center of apples. Use more sugar to fill centers if necessary. Make a syrup by bringing to a boil ¾ cup water, ¾ cup sugar, 2 T lemon juice and 2 T butter. Roll dough around apples and fasten by moistening edges and pinching them together. Place in large shallow pan. Pour syrup over dumplings. Bake at 450o for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350* and bake for 30 minutes.
--Dolly Shaffner Hess

Happy Monday. I don't think it's National Anything Day, but you never know....

Heroes: Vivien Maier

Thanks to cousin Colin, I have been apprised of a quiet, almost secret 20th century street photographer who blows away everyone's preconceptions about....just about everything. From John Maloof's blog:

"It’s still hard to grasp how quickly appreciation has grown for Vivian’s work. Efforts to assure a lasting recognition for Vivian Maier’s art are at an important juncture right now. To this end, we have begun with the creation of a documentary film about her amazing story."


You can see more about the upcoming documentary here.

I recommend that you skip the reading right now and go straight to her photographs that have been posted at these and other sites. She had an eye for Chicago street life and her surroundings that is unbelievable. If anyone ever again claims that color photography is better than b/w, I will send them Vivien's way. She can explain through her shots better than anyone can in words.

We are all surrounded by awesome scenes and stories in the details of even the most mundane activities. Only a few, like Vivien Maier, have the artistry and passion to remind us of that.

I wish I'd met her. Or maybe I just did.

Family recipe Monday: staying warm, giving back

Barn buildings in the snow

I haven't done nearly as much photography in the past couple of months as I would like or need to. It's been difficult to get away from the museum, and sometimes impossible to drive on the blue highways in this not-quite snow and not-quite ice we've been having. And that just feels wrong. I'll do better, at least monthly. The light is terrific these days, and so far the snow has been minimal.

Today is the Martin Luther King Day of Service. We're throwing our support to the Reach Out and Read program.All other factors being more or less equal, early literacy makes the most difference in building rich and productive lives. Get out there and give a book, or read one to a child. It's a huge investment in the future of your community. MLK Day is no longer just another three-day weekend.

But make sure you stay warm out there. No one can understand you if you are trying to read aloud with your teeth chattering or your energy flagging, after all. Building on last week's stocks, here are some good winter soups to fuel your community spirit.

There are a number of elegant squashes that are winter vegetables, often overlooked in the produce aisle. This recipe calls for the warm-weather scallop or patty-pan squash, but can be used with any of the others. It's especially good with butternut squash. Use chicken stock for this one.

Volunteer butternut squash arising out of a stray seed in the compost pile, from Delaware.

Squash soup with rosemary

¼ cup vegetable oil

6 large white scalloped squash, coarsely chopped
1 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped
2 T chicken broth base
2 cups water
1 pint half-and-half
2 T minced rosemary
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg

Heat oil over moderate heat in a large skillet. Add squash and onion, and sauté for 4 minutes while stirring. Add chicken broth base and water. Stir and cover. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft. Drain and reserve liquid. Process the solids to puree. Combine puree with liquid and half-and-half. Add rosemary and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat and stir. Serve either warm or chilled. Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg and a sprig of rosemary. Serves 8.

Multi-bean soup mixes are always good to have on hand. They are easy to make, too, and incredibly inexpensive. Many of us were sent off to college with a pretty glass jar filled with a colorful bean mix and strict instructions to make soup for ourselves, since dorm food could not be trusted. You can substitute other kinds of meat or protein for the bacon and sausage, or leave them out altogether, depending on your tastes. If you're not in Ro-Tel country, use crushed tomatoes and chopped green chilies. Extra points if you grew them yourselves. You can substitute stock for part or all of the water. This is a natural for a slow cooker. The lemon juice really adds a shine to the taste--don't add it until you are ready to serve.

Seven-bean soup

Bean mix

Use 1 lb. each of the following dry beans:

Lima beans
Kidney beans
Pinto beans
Navy beans
Lentils
Black beans
Split green peas

Mix together thoroughly and store in closed glass jars.

Soup

2 cups bean mix
5 quarts water
2 slices bacon
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt to taste
10-oz can Ro-Tel tomatoes with chiles
1 lb. country-style breakfast sausage, browned
2 T lemon juice

Wash and pick over beans carefully. Place in a large pot and cover with 2 1/2 quarts water. Soak at least 2 hours. Bring to a boil and remove from flame. Discard water. Fill with fresh water (2 1/2 quarts again) and bring to boil again with bacon slices. Add onion and garlic. Bring to a boil again, reduce heat, and cook over low heat for 1 1/2 hour or until beans are soft but not mushy. Add Ro-Tel and cook for 30 minutes. Add browned and drained sausage. Add lemon juice and salt to taste. Remove and discard bacon slices. Simmer for a few more hours. Serve hot with tortilla chips or over rice.

Here is another version.

Nine bean soup

Bean mix

Use 1 lb. each of the following dry beans:

Dried yellow split peas
Black beans
Red beans
Pinto beans
Navy beans
Great Northern beans
Dried split green peas
Red lentils
Dried black-eyed peas
Barley pearls

Combine all beans and barley. Divide into 10 2-cup portions.

Soup

2 cups nine-bean mix
2 quarts water
1 lb. diced ham
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ to ¾ tsp salt
10-oz can Ro-Tel tomatoes, undrained
16-oz can tomatoes, chopped, undrained

Sort and wash beans carefully. Place in a large pot and cover with water 2” above beans. Soak overnight. Drain beans. Add water, ham, onion, garlic and salt. Cover, bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes 2 quarts. Serve with cornbread or corn tortillas.

Happy Monday. Go make your corner of the world a little brighter today.



Schoolhouse, South Dakota.

Family recipe Monday: winter stocks

Best doorway ever. Photo by Pat Monaco

“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.”
--William Blake

One solid week into 2011, and everything seems to be holding together. It's been an emotional roller coaster of a week, as we deal with getting the new building dried out and put back together, deal with the impact of the tragic shootings in Arizona, and get ready for the search for the new director while missing the old one.

The problems that caused this particular little incident in the building have been fixed, and hopefully we will hear nothing more from the sprinkler system until and unless it has an actual job to do, which Heaven forfend. Classes start next week, and we need to be ready to rumble.

We also started the Nostalgia Night series of vintage films shown in the big-screen vintage movie theatre downtown for the next 10 weekends. This is a fundraiser for the campus library: Best. Idea. Ever. Cheapest date night ever, too. Nostalgia Night is a treasure; there just aren't that many big screens any more, and the older films look wrong in any other format. More on that later.

On the home front, we are bracing for some seriously cold weather. No high winds or heavy snows are in the forecast--just bitter cold. The forecast keeps changing, too. By Tuesday, the low will be -9* F. That kind of weather sets off some genetic switch in my brain to drag out the stockpots and get some serious soups going.

I like to have stock on hand in the refrigerator or freezer at all times, usually chicken or vegetable, to act as a base for creative (aka "good grief, clean out the refrigerator") soup-making. My grandmother would have called these broths and would have had them on hand at all times, too. My dad's grandmother never took the simmering stock pot off the back of the wood stove in east Texas, and legend has it that she added a newly killed and cleaned chicken to it every morning. You are supposed to keep the stock pot going. I usually drag it out every week or two and put the stock in the refrigerator (especially chicken, so that it nicely defats itself) and then the freezer. We like having soup on weekend nights or when we need to thaw out.

For stocks and soups, I use the low temperature-long time (LT²) approach. You can use a slow cooker to get the same results, in fact. Simmer, don't boil. Boiling too fast cheats you of deep flavor and texture, kind of like real life.

Quick and easy vegetable stock

½ lb. carrots
2 medium onions
4 green onions
½ lb. leeks
2 ribs celery
3 T butter or oil
10 cups cold water
Small bouquet garni (2 sprigs parsley, small bay leaf, and 1/8 tsp thyme tied up in cheesecloth)

Peel and slice all vegetables. Sauté vegetables in stockpot in butter until soft. Cover with the water, bring slowly to a boil, skim well with a fine-mesh skimmer and add the bouquet garni. Simmer for 2 hours or until liquid is reduced to 8 cups. Strain stock through chinois or strainer lined with cheesecloth. Store in refrigerator or freeze. Makes about 2 quarts.

Basic chicken soup

1 5 to 6-lb. fowl, or 7 to 8 lb. of broilers, with neck and all giblets except liver

10-12 cups of water, as needed
2 medium carrots, scraped and quartered
2 or 3 celery stalks with leaves, whole or cut in half
1 medium yellow onion, whole or cut in half
2 to 3 tsp coarse salt
8 to 10 black peppercorns

Clean and trim chicken; quarter if necessary. Place in a 5-quart soup pot. Add 10 cups of water for broilers, 12 for a fowl. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a slow simmer and skim the foam as it rises to the surface. When the foam subsides, add all the remaining ingredients with only 1 tsp salt. Cook chicken until it loosens from the bone (~1¼ hours for quartered broilers, 1 ½ for whole broilers, 2 ½ to 3 hours for a quartered fowl and an extra 30 minutes for a whole fowl). Add more water during cooking if chicken is not 7/8ths covered. Turn chicken 2 or 3 times during cooking. Add more salt to taste gradually. Remove chicken, giblets, and bones. Pour soup through a sieve, rinse the pot and return soup to the pot. Skim the fat. The chicken can be trimmed, cut into smaller pieces, and reheated with the soup.

With good stocks on hand, you can do just about anything. I substitute stock for plain water in a lot of entrée and vegetable recipes for better nutrition and flavor. We know what went into our stocks and what didn't, so these are much better for Gene, without the added salt and starch of commercial products. They also make the whole place smell good for hours.

Here is a cold-night favorite. I would and do substitute chicken stock for the water called for.
 

Hot and sour soup

6 dried Chinese mushrooms

8 cups stock or water
4 cubes vegetable bouillon
6 sliced green onions, green and white separated
2 cakes tofu, silvered (1/2 lb.)
2 T dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
¼ cup cider vinegar or Chinese rice wine vinegar
2 T tamari
2 T cornstarch or arrowroot
¼ cup cold water
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup carrot cut in 2” matchsticks
¼ cup bok choy or celery, cut in 2” sticks
¼-½ tsp ground black pepper

Before preparing vegetables, place mushrooms in a small bowl. Bring 2 cups of water to boil and pour over mushrooms. Let stand 15 minutes and prepare other vegetables. Place 6 cups water and bouillon cubes in a large saucepan, Drain mushrooms and add liquid to pan. Simmer. Cut mushrooms in slivers and add to stock with white part of green onions. Simmer 5 minutes and add tofu. Simmer 5 minutes and add wine, vinegar and tamari. Dissolve cornstarch in cold water. Stir into soup and bring to gentle boil, stirring. Drizzle beaten eggs into boiling soup, stirring so that egg forms shreds. When soup becomes clear and thickened, remove from heat. Stir in pepper and adjust vinegar and tamari. Distribute carrots, bok choy and green onion tops among bowls. Ladle in soup and serve at once, passing additional pepper and vinegar. Yield: 4 servings.

(This will cure any cold on the planet. And you can still make it without a prescription.)

Happy Monday. Let's make this a year of inclusiveness and not polarization, k?

Family recipe Monday: enchiladas

Sign photo courtesy of our friend Pat. It describes the past few days very well.

It's been a non-stop beginning to 2011, dealing with the aftermath of the water in the new building. In the midst of the hectic day yesterday, I received an envelope confirming my appointment as Interim Director of the museum. I had so hoped to be called Czarina, but I guess that's not on the state position roster.

To celebrate both the job title change and the fact that we survived three days of post-water aftermath with very little damage, our friend Pat made crayfish gumbo and I made pineapple upside-down skillet cake. They were both great comfort foods. The night before, we made venison chili stew, so our leftovers currently are unbelievable. Pat has headed back for Colorado and I am contemplating making a big pan of enchiladas to have on hand for the next few days.

Enchiladas are wonderful and as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. The Mexican saying "estas no son enchiladas" (these are not enchiladas) is used to describe anything that is not easy. As noted in the great discussion here, "enchilada" simply means "dipped in chili."

It seems as if every Texan has a version of this recipe. Because it is Texan, the enchiladas are rolled. In New Mexico, they are stacked. You can get into endless discussions about the pros and cons of each approach, which I will not do here. These are Texan. They are rolled. Not up for discussion.

Kerrville jalapeño chicken enchiladas

1 large stewing chicken
1 quart water
2 stalks celery, cut into 4” chunks
1 T salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. poultry seasoning

Put the chicken in a pan with the water, celery, and seasonings. Boil the chicken until tender. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, Remove the meat from the bones and shred. Keep the dark and light meat separated. Make the sauce:

Jalapeño sauce

2 T salad oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 fresh green jalapeños, finely chopped
1 cup cooked shredded dark chicken meat
3/4 cup water
½ tsp. salt
Dash of pepper

Sauté the onion and jalapeños in the salad oil until tender (5-6 minutes). Add chicken and stir for about 2 minutes. Add water, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Assemble the enchiladas using the following:

2 cups cooking oil
12 corn tortillas
3 cups of the remaining chicken
4-5 cups jalapeño sauce
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Heat the oil in a skillet. One at a time, dip the tortillas into the oil for a few seconds, just enough to soften. Set each aside on a paper towel or platter. Spoon about 2 T of shredded chicken into the center of each tortilla. Cover the chicken with about 1 T of the sauce. Roll and place the enchiladas seam side down. When all the tortillas have been filled, place them in a baking pan, pour the remaining sauce over them, and top with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes in a 475* F oven or until the cheese has melted. Serve at once. Serves 6.

You can expand the recipe as needed, but don't forget the casserole law: one to have, one to share. This is a one-pot meal in itself and freezes beautifully.

Happy recipe Monday Tuesday. We're a bit late, but we got here, and it looks like we have survived the water crisis just fine.

Happy 2011

We have made it to the start of a new year, despite a last-minute sucker-punch of a winter storm that dropped temperatures here to -15* F (with the wind chill factored in), blew 6 inches of snow in all directions, closed the interstate and just generally wreaked havoc with a lot of New Year's Eve plans. But we had a lovely evening at a friend's house with good food and good company. Minus, unfortunately, the hosts, who were stranded in Denver overnight. They'll have great leftovers, though.

Today is a lovely day with snowdrifts glittering in the sun. The New Year's Day menu was served as planned and we looked forward to enjoying a slow afternoon. I have a quilt to bind and send off. The teacakes arrived in Afghanistan safely and have been consumed to the last crumb, from the reports, so another batch is on the horizon.

It was going to be the last truly slow day for a few months. My boss has taken a well-deserved retirement, after 31+ years of service as a professor and curator. Effective tomorrow, I will be the acting director of the museum until the position is filled. I did not see this one coming and am looking forward to this with some excitement but much more apprehension. I'll be posting on the perspective from the director's office periodically. We all hope that the search will go smoothly and that we'll get someone with the vision to make our museum a leader in the field.

Instead of resting up, I plunged in headfirst today when I got a call that a malfunctioning sprinkler head had flooded the building. Because we have the best colleagues, faculty, staff and students ever, we had a dozen people there in 20 minutes to move boxes and get archives and publications into dry boxes. It is a bit of a nightmare right now, and there will be a lot of drying and recovery to do, but the problem was caught early enough to be a nuisance rather than a disaster.

We are hoping that this gets our bad luck out of the way for the year. Had our security guy not come by today and noticed the problem, we would have had a massive disaster to deal with on Monday. As it is, we will get everything dried out and back in place over the next week.

I am thankful for the people I work with. Museum work does not make any of us billionaires, but it puts us in touch with the best, brightest, most dedicated people I have ever known in my life, believing so strongly that we are blessed to be able to preserve a vital legacy for the future. It is good to remind myself that that is the point of all of this work. Maybe I can do this.

Happy New Year to all.

Family recipe Monday: New Year

Seeking warmth...

There are rules--no, make that laws--about New Year's Day cooking, especially if your family tree is full of Southerners swarming all over its branches, like ours. The most iron-clad, fundamental one of all is that you have to have black-eyed peas on the menu in large quantities. This is supposed to bring good luck and prosperity in the coming year. I was surprised to find out just how deep-rooted this tradition is. Here's one account:

"The 'good luck' traditions of eating black-eyed peas at Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, are recorded in the Babylonian Talmud (compiled ~500 CE), Horayot 12A: "Abaye [d. 339 CE] said, now that you have established that good-luck symbols avail, you should make it a habit to see qara (bottle gourd), rubiya (black-eyed peas, Arabic lubiya), kartei (leeks), silka (either beets or spinach), and tamrei (dates) on your table on the New Year." However, the custom may have resulted from an early mistranslation of the Aramaic word rubiya (fenugreek)....This custom is followed by Sephardi and Israeli Jews to this day....In the United States, the first Sephardi Jews arrived in Georgia in the 1730s, and have lived there continuously since. The Jewish practice was apparently adopted by non-Jews around the time of the American Civil War."

I'm not so sure that it took that long. Black-eyed peas were themselves brought to the US from West Africa, and were very much present on the tables of African families. They were, however, considered a poverty food crop, suitable for the poor and for livestock only, until after the Civil War. They made it from West Africa to the West Indies by 1643 and made it to the continental US as the slave trade expanded. Black-eyed peas were, and are, a sturdy, dependable and nutritious food. They're the opposite of a luxury crop. Their place on the table expanded after the Civil War, when they were often all that was left in the Reconstruction South's fields. Today they are a Southern favorite across the board.

The tradition is to combine these with greens or cabbage (representing folding money) and cornbread (representing gold) to ensure maximum chances at luck and fortune. Southerners take this very seriously. Really, to do it right, you should eat 365 black-eyed peas to ensure that every day will be a success. Leave three peas on your plate for even better luck.

The problem arises with their taste and texture, which is a bit off-putting for some. Plain boiled black-eyed peas are earthy-tasting with a slightly gritty feel in the mouth, which I for one had trouble handling. Flavoring them with ham hocks did not help. I was happy to leave them all on my plate, but that was not an option. You'd think that would help with the luck thing. It was a source of consternation for all those Southern relatives, and it's a miracle I ever had any good luck or money at all, to hear them talk. Eventually I discovered the myriad recipes for Hoppin' John, and have never looked back. If you're up here on New Year's Day, this is what I'll be serving. Come on over.

Hoppin' John

West Indies rice and bean dishes and promptly spawned thousands of variations across the Caribbean, Central and South America, and eventually the United States and Mexico. If they have made it to Canada, all the better. It's easy to see why--these are solid, nutritious, tasty dishes that can be made in quantity very inexpensively. The name "Hoppin' John" has many explanations, the most likely being that it is an English mispronunciation of pois pigeons, or "pigeon peas," the name still used in the Caribbean for the many, many varieties of black-eyed peas. Leftover Hoppin' John served on January 2 is apparently called Skippin' Jenny, and is yet one more harbinger of good luck, representing your frugality. We will take all the luck we can get....

1 pound dried black-eyed peas (or two cans if you forgot to soak the dried ones)
5 T olive oil and/or butter (or enough to cover the bottom of a skillet, just)
1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 can (10 to 14.5 ounces) Ro-Tel tomatoes
2 sweet onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, minced
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning (I am a Tony Chachere fan)
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt

This is best made the day before, so that the flavors have time to reach their peak. (You may not feel up to cooking on New Year's Day, either, so this can be a real plus.)

Soak the black-eyed peas for at least 4 hours in plain cold water, better yet overnight. Pick out the floaters and any other non-starters, drain  the water and replace it with fresh cold water just to cover. (I use a slow cooker for this.) In a skillet, heat the olive oil and butter, and saute the sausage, onion, garlic, peppers, and celery. Add the seasonings and continue to saute until the vegetables are cooked through but not limp. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the black-eyed peas. Check the cooker periodically to stir the mixture and adjust seasonings. The peas are done when you can see their skins start to peel back when you blow gently on a spoonful of them. Serve hot over cooked rice (or mix with cooked rice) with plenty of Tabasco (regular, green and/or chipotle, if you're not a purist) and Worcestershire sauce, cornbread and greens.

You can also use a Dutch oven or small lidded stockpot if you want this as a stovetop preparation. Keep the burner temperature low to medium, never high. I personally don't cook the black-eyed peas and rice in the same pot, but that is a popular approach. I just like serving the peas on top of the bed of rice. I've used long-grain white, brown, pecan, and wild rice in years past, all to great effect.

This recipe is great for additions and experimentations with ingredients, and can be doubled (or quadrupled) to feed a crowd. The one thing you cannot do on New Year's Day, unless you want to be swarmed by Southern ghosts, is to substitute any other bean variety for black-eyed peas. Not an option. You have the rest of the year for red and black beans.

I'm planning to use this cornbread recipe:

Texas Panhandle cornbread

1 cup blue or yellow cornmeal
1 T baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt
2/3 cup melted butter or bacon drippings
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
2 cups whole-kernel corn
¼ lb. grated cheese
1 4-oz can chopped green chiles
½ cup bacon bits (very, very optional)

Grease a 9” square pan or large cast iron skillet. Mix the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Blend the butter, eggs and sour cream with the dry ingredients. Fold in the corn kernels. Pour half of the batter into the pan or skillet. Cover with the cheese and chiles. Pour the remaining batter over the top and add the bacon bits. Bake in a preheated oven at 375* F for 30-40 minutes.

For the greens, I like to do a spinach salad, not having a ready source of fresh collard or turnip greens up here. Cabbage is also an option. I assume that it has to be green cabbage for green folding money, so red cabbage is out. This may annoy Gene's Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors, but, really, y'all, we can make up for it starting January 3. This version omits the hard-cooked eggs and bacon. I would use the artichoke oil as part of the dressing, myself.

Spinach salad

Fresh spinach, washed, torn
Tomatoes
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
Onions
Mushrooms
Garlic salt
Onion powder
Mix all ingredients. Toss with 2 T oil and 2 T vinegar. Toast sesame seeds and mix.
--Vada Brooks Johnson

There are no New Year's Day dessert laws that I know of, so you can go wild there. We made pecan pie for Christmas and may just do it again for New Year's Day.

Pecan pie (Tidewater, Virginia)

Make pastry for 1 9” pie and line pan. Beat together 3 eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 tsp salt, 1/3 cup butter (melted), 1 cup dark syrup. Mix in 1 cup pecan halves. Pour into pan. Bake at 375o for 40-50 minutes.
--Dolly Shaffner Hess, Gene K. Hess

Serve with iced tea (sweet if you're Southern) and possibly mimosas if you're up to them after the New Year's Eve party. Here are tips from the Simple Gifts files, if you're unsure about iced tea. Any time you have the option, sweeten tea when it is hot and then allow it to cool.

Three ways of looking at iced tea

• Using loose tea or teabags and boiling water, bring 1 quart of freshly drawn cold water to a full rolling boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and immediately add 1/3 cup of loose tea or 15 teabags. Stir, cover, and let stand 5 minutes. Stir again and strain into a pitcher holding another quart of cold water. Serve over ice. Yield 2 quarts.
• Using teabags and cold water, fill a clean quart pitcher or container with cold tap water. Add 8-10 teabags without tags. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Remove teabags, squeezing against side of container. Pour into ice-filled glasses. Recipe may be doubled.
• Using instant tea or iced tea mixes and cold water, follow directions on jar or envelope. In general, allow 2 rounded T of powder to each quart of cold water. Stir and add ice. If using flavored iced tea mix, use 2 small envelopes or ½ cup mix to each quart of cold water.

May the New Year be bright, bountiful, and just filled to overflowing with good luck for you and yours.

Blessings of the season

Winter is here, Christmas is here, and half of us are isolated from the others by snow and ice. But the cardamom bread and holiday pies are baking, and the lights are bright. After the spectacular lunar eclipse four days ago, we have had the best light show of all.

This season's most eloquent message was sent in by Tartan Girl. There is no way to improve on it, except to add our favorite holiday song. From our homes to yours...

"Even though we're flung far from each other this year, I thought it might be good to share a story and a couple of carols that are particular favorites of mine. Perhaps I feel a little like Mole this year, but perhaps you'll forgive a sentimental girl whose child's heart has always looked more for the quiet hope and promise of Christmas Eve--perhaps you'll understand why you are the anchorage in my existence, a place all my own that I can turn to......"

"The weary Mole also was glad to turn in without delay, and soon had his head on his pillow, in great joy and contentment. But ere he closed his eyes he let them wander round his old room, mellow in the glow of the firelight that played or rested on familiar and friendly things which had long been unconsciously a part of him, and now smilingly received him back, without rancour. He was now in just the frame of mind that the tactful Rat had quietly worked to bring about in him. He saw clearly how plain and simple—how narrow, even—it all was; but clearly, too, how much it all meant to him, and the special value of some such anchorage in one’s existence. He did not at all want to abandon the new life and its splendid spaces, to turn his back on sun and air and all they offered him and creep home and stay there; the upper world was all too strong, it called to him still, even down there, and he knew he must return to the larger stage. But it was good to think he had this to come back to; this place which was all his own, these things which were so glad to see him again and could always be counted upon for the same simple welcome."
--Kenneth Grahame, Wind in the Willows: Chapter V: Dulce Domum

Welcome, Christmas

Welcome, Christmas, come this way,
Welcome, Christmas, Christmas Day

Welcome, Christmas, bring your light,
Welcome, Christmas, in the cold, dark night

Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer,
Cheer to all Whos far and near.

Christmas Day is in our grasp,
So long as we have hands to clasp.

Christmas Day will always be
Just as long as we have we.

Welcome, Christmas, while we stand,
Heart to heart and hand in hand.

--Theodore Geisel

Family recipe Monday: holiday mornings

Part of the teacake shipment to Afghanistan

Dozens of teacakes are winging their way to a dear friend of the family who is in Afghanistan. I made two full-size batches and wound up sending 5 dozen to the war zone, 1 1/2 dozen to work, and the rest for us here at home. That was a major baking day. If you are interested in doing this, use the sturdiest peasant cookie recipes you have. Delicate doesn't cut it. I bagged the teacakes by the dozen just in case they do get broken during shipment, but am hoping that they make it there and make his day a little bit better. What I really want is an end to this war. For all sides. Next year, I want to give this man teacakes in person.

We are approaching the winter solstice very soon, and all our senses tell us that it is time to slow down, take a break, stay warm, and stay close to our loved ones. I associate holiday mornings with decadent sweetrolls and coffees, and we have some terrific recipes in the Simple Gifts files. They're even better if you eat them while you are still in your pajamas. Extra points if they have feet in them. Triple points if you actually wear the pink bunny outfit. Double-dog dare ya. By this time next week, the days will be getting just barely perceptibly longer and many of the holiday celebrations will be over. 

Cinnamon rolls and breads are worth taking a little time and trouble to bake from scratch, one recipe from each side of the family. Once you do, you'll understand why friends don't let friends buy refrigerator aisle cinnamon rolls. I would bake the rolls from the first recipe at ~350*. These are very rich and yeasty. You can refrigerate them after the first rise if you are baking ahead of schedule.

Cinnamon rolls

4 T shortening
3 T sugar
1 ½ tsp salt

Mix and add 1 cup boiling water. Cool. Add 1 egg and 2 cakes yeast which have been dissolved in ¼ cup tepid water. Add 4 cups of flour. Mix. When the dough is formed pour over it 3 T cooled and melted shortening. Let rise until double in bulk, roll out to ¼ ” thick and spread on it 1 stick butter which has been melted and cooled. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, chopped nuts or raisins. Roll and cut in slices and let rise again. Bake until done.

Glaze

¾ pkg. powdered sugar

½ stick butter

Enough milk to dissolve sugar

Heat until sugar is smooth and pour over rolls.

 --Vada Brooks Johnson

Quick cinnamon buns

Sift together 2 cups flour, 3 T baking powder, 1 tsp salt. Add 6 T soft shortening, cut in finely. Stir in to make soft dough 2/3 cup milk.

Roll into ¼” rectangle 7” x 16”. Spread with mixture of ¼ cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and raisins. Roll up tightly from wide side and seal edge. Cut into 1” slices. Place cut side down on greased cookie sheet or in muffin tins. Bake at 425* for 15 minutes.

--Dolly Shaffner Hess

Cinnamon loaf

 

1 pkg. active dry yeast

2 T warm water (105-115* F)

2/3 cup milk, scalded

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

6 T butter or margarine

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

Melted butter or margarine

Sprinkle yeast into water. Let stand a few minutes, then stir until dissolved. Pout hot milk over ¼ cup sugar, salt, and 4 T butter. Cool to lukewarm. Add eggs, yeast, and half the flour. Beat with rotary beater or electric beater until smooth. Beat in remaining flour with spoon. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). Punch down and knead lightly. Roll out on floured pastry cloth or board to a rectangle 18”x9”. Spread with 2 T butter. Sprinkle with ¼ cup sugar mixed with the cinnamon. Roll up tightly from the end and put in greased loaf pan. Brush with 2 T melted butter and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes). Bake in moderate oven (350*F) about 30 minutes. Remove and cool.

This is another mix that is great to have on hand for visitors or lazy mornings.

Cinnamon coffee

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup instant coffee granules

2/3 cup granulated sugar or equivalent sweetener

2/3 cup powdered milk or coffee creamer

Blend all ingredients in a blender until they form a fine powder, then store in a covered container at room temperature. To serve use 2 rounded tsp per cup of boiling water.

Variations

• To ½ cup instant coffee granules, add ¾ cup sugar, 1 cup powdered milk and ½ tsp dried orange peel. Blend in blender until powdered.
• To ½ cup instant coffee granules, add ½ cup sugar, 1 cup dry milk or coffee creamer, and 2 T cocoa.

If you are REALLY feeling decadent and don't need to drive anywhere, and the occasion is really festive, try this. Shirley is a Bailey's fan and we need to make this for her soon.

Bailey’s Irish Cream eggnog

12 eggs, separated

1 ½ cups superfine sugar
1 quart milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 bottle Bailey’s Irish Cream
4 cups (1 quart) heavy cream
Freshly grated nutmeg

In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and pale yellow in color. Gradually add sugar; mix with whisk or mixer. Beat in milk. Pour in 2 cups cream. Add Irish Cream, stirring constantly. Pour in large punch bowl. Just before serving, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into mixture. Whip remaining cream until stiff and fold in. Beat. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Serves 16.

Happy, merry, jolly, joyous, y'all!

In the bleak midwinter: Christmas Bird Count

I have no explanation for this. Read on....

It was bitterly cold at 6:00 this morning, overcast and trying to snow. I know this because we were bundled up to the gills and out in it, participating in the annual 111th Christmas Bird Count. This is a winter census of birds in the Western Hemisphere, carried out by thousands upon thousands of volunteers. It's as wonderful an example of citizen science as you could wish for, and the data acquired help enormously in figuring out changes in bird populations, migration routes and habitats.

Try telling yourself that as you put on the sixth layer of cold-weather gear and head out before sunrise into a freezing-fog day. Even most self-respecting birds aren't out in these conditions.

But we managed to turn up 300+ birds representing 20 species, even in the fog. In the process, we also turned up evidence of a mad Christmas tree decorator in the wild. We love this part of the world--we never know what we will see next.  Now we are thawing out and going over the pictures. Enjoy.

Someone with an odd Christmas ornament fixation placed random decorations in the trees along Rapid Creek. Whoever you are, you're nuts and we love you.

Freezing fog coming in over Cowboy Hill.

If you look carefully, you'll spot yet another green Christmas tree ornament.

And here's another one. At least this one's in an evergreen.

Gene, the Bird Whisperer.

Yep, there's another one. Someone went to a LOT of trouble....

Flora on the frozen tiny wetland.

Canada geese coming in through the fog.

Geese heading to the north.

The hill is disappearing in the fog.

Rapid Creek turning icy even as we watch.

Not exactly wildlife, the mallards were clearly hoping that we could not read the signs forbidding the feeding of waterfowl.

Irate, or perhaps just cold, chickadee staring at us.

House on the prairie on a cold day.

Last and best bird sighting of the day: an adult bald eagle. This is the closest we could get to it.

Family recipe Monday: biscuits

We missed the snowstorm that has blanketed everything up here east of the Missouri River. There was one night with high winds that blew old dry snow around, but so far that is all we have had, and that is fine with us. Nevertheless, it's cold out there, so we have stayed in except for a brief expedition to get baking needs and library books, not necessarily in that order of importance.

The result of a two-day kitchen weekend are as follows: two gallons of lemon- and garlic-infused chicken stock, 8 dozen teacakes, and a loaf of honey whole-wheat bread that is just now starting to bake. The place smells like home. At least 4 dozen of those teacakes will be on their way to Afghanistan as soon as they are ready to go, to bring a tiny bit of thanks to a group of heroes who don't need luggable things like quilts right now. It's so little. It's all we can do, sending food from home. All of us, whether we are part of one of the peace churches or not, wish that the holidays next year will be happier on this front, that everyone will be safely home with the people who love them. Instead of exchanging gifts, we are all pitching in for a contribution to the Wounded Warrior Project and to a project supporting teachers and classrooms in Afghanistan. We have so much, and so much is needed.

We'd send biscuits if we could. Biscuits are one of our all-time favorite comfort foods. We're not comfortable with anything from the refrigerator section of the grocery store, not when they're so easy to make from scratch. Here is a recipe for making a big stock of dry biscuit mix that will keep forever and be there when you need to have biscuits first thing in the morning. You can use buttermilk powder in place of the dry milk. All of these are rolled out and cut with a biscuit cutter or a smooth-rimmed water glass, and baked in a preheated hot oven. Don't let them burn on the bottom.

All-purpose baking mix

A true time-saver and the basis for several of our recipes for breads and cakes. Great for large groups, or for small groups that eat like large groups...like our family.

Large batch

5-lb. bag or 20 cups flour (all-purpose, whole wheat, or combination)
2½ cups nonfat dry milk
¾ cup baking powder
2 T salt
3¾ cups shortening

Combine dry ingredients in very large bowl. Sift. Using a pastry blender, cut shortening into mix until mix is consistency of cornmeal. Store in airtight container in cool, dry place. To measure, spoon lightly into cup and level off with spatula. Yield: 27 cups mix.

Small batch

8 cups flour (all-purpose, whole wheat, or combination)
1 cup nonfat dry milk
¼ cup plus 1 T baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1½ cups shortening

Use the same procedure as for large batch. Yield: 11 cups of mix.

Basic biscuits

For 6 biscuits:
1 cup All-Purpose Baking Mix (above)
¼ to 1/3 cup milk

For 12 biscuits:
2 cups All-Purpose Baking Mix (above)
½ to 2/3 cup milk

Gradually add milk, mixing with a fork, adding just enough to make a soft, nonsticky dough. Turn onto floured board and knead about 10 times. Roll or pat out to ½” thickness. Cut out with floured biscuit cutter. Bake on cookie sheet at 450* F 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned.

Southern raised biscuits

2¼ oz pkg. dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (105-115* F)
2 cups buttermilk
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1¼ tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup shortening or unsalted butter

Combine yeast and warm water; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Add buttermilk and set aside. Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Add buttermilk and yeast mixture gradually, gently combining with a fork. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead lightly 4 or 5 times. Roll dough to ½” thickness. Cut out biscuits and place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Bake at 450* F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.

To freeze: Bake only about 6 minutes; cool, freeze, and wrap airtight. Finish baking on a greased baking sheet at 450* F for 6 more minutes, or until browned. Yield: 2 dozen.

Ranch biscuits

2 cups presifted flour
¾ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ rounded cup shortening
¾ cup buttermilk

Sift together the dry ingredients and cut in the shortening until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Stir in the buttermilk slowly with a fork until a soft dough is formed. Scrape out onto a well-floured board and knead a few times. Roll dough about ½” thick and cut out the biscuits. Bake in preheated oven at 450* F until golden brown (8-10 minutes). Makes 10-12 2 ½” biscuits.

Happy Monday. Take a minute to think about everyone who is overseas for us.

Family recipe Monday: holiday sweets

Downtown Rapid City lights

The holiday season is definitely upon us, ready or not. Mostly not, here, because it is also the end of the semester. Yesterday was the college's annual choir concert. We have attended this since we arrived here, because it seems that I have always had students singing in the performance and felt the need to be there. The productions are always excellent. Our attendance has not always been so.

Two years ago, we plowed through 2-foot snow drifts to get to the cathedral, and that caused snow and ice to work deep into the mechanism of Gene's power chair. That was the year that the choirs performed the Messiah. The whole thing. Sometime after the Hallelujah Chorus, in one of the achingly beautiful and very quiet solos, the chair started audibly sparking and smoking. It caused a great perturbation in the rows behind us. We were seated in the front row, so about the only good thing anyone could say was that it did not interrupt the performance.

Observations:
1. Every retired engineer in the audience (and in Rapid City there are tons and heaps of retired engineers) mobbed us after the performance to offer help with the chair problems.
2. My respect for the music director soared to the ceiling and has stayed there ever since.
3. There are still a few people, including my mother, who call Gene "Sparky" to this day.
4. Great music cannot be impaired by awkward moments.
5. Astonishingly, we are still allowed to attend the concerts.

Ah, December. This is a time of year for inclusion, empathy, affection, and large quantities of sweet treats that you would not touch the rest of the year. Here are a few from the Simple Gifts files.

Divinity is a great example of a super-sweet holiday treat that is never made, seen or heard of the rest of the year. For those of you worried about the raw egg whites: they are thoroughly cooked by the addition of the boiling sugar solution. You can either drop it by spoonfuls onto wax paper, or pour it into a wax-paper-lined pan and leave it to cool before cutting. It does not work nearly as well in a humid atmosphere. Be careful--boiling sugar solutions cause nasty burns.

 Divinity

4 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup Karo syrup
3 egg whites
2 tsp vanilla

Cook sugar, water and Karo to hard-boil stage. Pour into beaten egg whites, slowly at first. When candy begins to harden, beat with spoon until ready to pour out.
--Bonnie Hall

Not everyone cares for candied fruit, but you can substitute good-quality dried fruit of your choice in the following recipe. I am particularly partial to dried cherries, papayas, mangoes and pineapples in combination, diced to about the same size.

 Holiday fruit drops

1 cup shortening
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
3 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ cups pecans
2 cups candied fruit
2 cups cut-up dates

Mix shortening, sugar and eggs well. Stir in buttermilk. Measure flour by dipping method by sifting. Blend dry ingredients and stir in. Stir in pecans, fruit and dates. Chill at least 1 hour. Heat oven to 400o F. Drop rounded tsp. of dough 2” apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Place pecan half on each cookie. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly. Yield 8 dozen.
--Vada Brooks Johnson

Everyone seems to have a recipe for the world's best fudge. This one is ours. I would use butter instead of margarine, honestly.

Million dollar fudge

4 ½ cups sugar
1 tall can milk
2 sticks oleo
18 oz chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Bring sugar and milk to a boil and boil 10 minutes. Put 2 sticks oleo and chocolate chips into large bowl. Pour milk mixture over and beat with mixer until thick and creamy. Add vanilla and nuts and pout in buttered pan.
--Vada Brooks Johnson

Happy Monday. Please keep the sparkles in your eyes.