Rice Pancakes

• 1 cup milk (I usually economized by using reconstituted dry milk in our cooking.)
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour (I like to use half whole wheat flour, but if I am using brown rice, I let that be the whole grain)

Mix the milk, rice and salt in a large bowl.  Beat the egg yolks and add them, then stir in the butter and flour.  Beat the egg whites until stiff, and gently fold them in.  Drop by large spoonfuls onto a moderately hot greased griddle.  Turn with a spatula when the cakes are  full of bubbles.  Of course, I often would have to double this, and sometimes would cook extra rice just so that we could eat these the next day.  From an old copy of Fanny Farmer’s Cookbbook.

Quick-Rise Cinnamon rolls

In a large Tupperware bowl (or other bowl with a lid), measure:  10 cups of flour

On another bowl, mix:

• 3 pkgs (or 3 tablespoons) dry yeast
• 3 3/4 cup of warm water
• 6 tablespoons of sugar
• 5 teaspoons of salt
• 2 eggs

Make a well in the flour, and pour on the liquid.  Don’t Stir. Seal with the lid, and put it in a sink of HOT water.  (you don’t want the water to come up past the top, obviously, but it will probably float.) Let it “rise” for 30 minutes. Remove, and add 1/3 cup oil.  Stir, seal, and put back in the sink of HOT water. Let rise for another 20-30 minutes.  This dough is very soft, so flour the counter generously.  Divide the dough in thirds, and roll each third into a rectangle. Generously spread with real butter (sometimes I put pats of butter all over the dough) and sprinkle liberally with sugar (you can mix brown and white) and cinnamon.  Remember, this isn’t health food. Roll it up and cut into slices.  Use a serrated knife, or it’s easy to use dental floss (unflavored): just slip the floss under the roll, bring the ends up around it, crisscross and cut through the dough. Put the dough into a greased long cake pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Frost with powdered sugar glaze.  Sometimes, I would melt a stick of butter in the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle that with brown sugar. In that case, I would lighten up a little on the sugar and butter in the roll.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Mix:

• 2 tablespoons dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water

Add

• 2 cups warm milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon baking powder (yes)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• about 7 cups of flour

Add flour to make a soft dough, but don’t overdo it.  Knead about 8 minutes.  Let rise about 1 hour.  Divide the dough into halves, and roll into a rectangle. Spread liberally with butter, and sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon.  Roll up and slice, using a serrated knife.  Place in a greased cake pan. Let rise overnight in the refrigerator. Take them out of the fridge about 2 hours before you want to eat them.  After they have risen about an hour and a quarter, you can bake them at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Frost with powdered sugar frosting.

okay, here’s the truth: I can’t find my recipe, so I’m flying by the seat of my pants as far as the amounts go.  I’m pretty sure this is right; I double checked the bread recipe so it’s reliable.  Silas and Patty, thanks for asking: I sometimes don’t find time to update this unless I get a request.

Lots of chopped onion and black pepper make these tasty.

Bierrocks

• 2 pounds of hamburger
• 1 very large onion, chopped
• 2 cans sauerkraut, drained (or 1 large can)
• salt and lots of black pepper

Cook the onion until soft. Add the hamburger. Drain the excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Add the drained kraut. Hold it. Make the dough.

Dough:

• 2 Tablespoons yeast

• 1/2 cup warm water

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.

Add:

• 1 cup mashed potato
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening or oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 cups milk

Stir all this together and add

• about 8 cups flour; I use about 3 cups of whole wheat flour.

Stir until the dough holds together.  Knead for about 8 minutes. Let rise — about an hour.

Divide the dough in half.  Roll one half into a rectangle and then cut into squares.  Put a large spoonful of filling onto each square and bring up the 4 corners to meet each other and pinch the sides together.  You want to enclose all the filling. Repeat with the other half.  Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 35o until brown — about 20-25 minutes.

So we ate a lot of beans when I was growing up.  My mom always served navy beans, slow cooked with ham hocks, onion and bay leaf. Just like the chili, we added a dash of vinegar, and lots of ground black pepper, and hot cornbread.  Mom was mildly amused when, after she had been in the hospital for a couple of weeks, Dad proudly said that he had “discovered a great way to cook beans: you just soak them overnight, and then cook them at a really low temperature for about 3 hours! ” To Mom, it was sort of like reinventing the wheel.  I continued the tradition while raising a family of eight children.  I remember being a little embarrassed when one of the boys’ friends walked in the house, sniffed and said, “Hmmm your mom’s cooking beans again.”  I don’t think he wanted to stay for supper that night. Lentils are a more convenient legume to serve, as they do not require soaking.  Brown lentils look a little “homely”, so if you can get red lentils at the City Market, they look a little better.  Kusherie is a recipe straight out of More With Less, and is subtitled Egyptian Rice and Lentils.  If you have trouble with raw onions, ask hubby to slice them.

Kusherie

Heat in a skillet:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Add:

• 1 1/4 cup dry lentils

Brown lentils over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add:

• 3 cups boiling water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash pepper

Cook uncovered 10 minutes over medium heat.

Stir in:

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1 cup boiling water

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 24 minutes without stirring.

In another saucepan, heat together:

• 3/4 cup tomato paste
• 3 cups tomato juice or tomato sauce
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks chopped celery
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Simmer for 20 minutes

For the Onions, in a skillet heat:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 onions, sliced thinly
• 4 cloves garlic, minced

Cook these gently til soft and slightly brown.

To serve, put the rice and lentil mixture on a platter.  Pour the tomato sauce over and top with onions.  Serve with a nice spinach salad.

Ironically, even though chili was one of my favorite things, my mom’s chili just wasn’t my favorite.  I love you, Mom, but you were a great seamstress! Here is the recipe I usually use now.

Chili

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds cubed beef chuck roast (you could use 1 # of beef and 1 # of pork)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1large Anaheim chili, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 18 oz of beer —1 1/2 cans?
• 5 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder — get a good brand
• 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 Tablespoons paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed oregano
• 1 large — 16 oz? — can diced tomatoes
• 1 or 2 chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 2 large bay leaves: THESE ARE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL! imho
• 2 or 3 cans of dark red kidney beans, or pinto beans, or black beans, or all three (drain them)
• about 1/4 cup of masa harina, if you like it thick

Note: Aaron, you had asked for a slow cooker recipe.  Brown the meat first, then put everything in the pot and set it for 6-7 hours.
In a large pot, brown the meat in the olive oil.  Do this in batches so that the meat will brown and not stew.  (Frankly, I think you could leave out the meat and just make vegetarian chili with beans and skip this whole browning thing.  And then you could just put everything in the crock pot and have fewer dishes to wash. But if you want to eat a dead animal — whatever.) Remove the meat with a slotted spoon to a plate or something, while you saute the onions and peppers.  (Saute: Cook them at a low to medium heat, so that they tenderize but don’t necessarily brown.) Add the garlic and cook some more — add more olive oil if you need to. Add the tomatoes, spices, and the meat, and the beer.  Cover and cook it for about 2 hours at a simmer, til the meat is really tender.  If you like, you can add a handful of masa harina to thicken it up.

Serve this with — you guessed it — carrots and celery sticks, sour cream and cheese for a garnish.  Try the vinegar, it really gives it a nice tang.  (I quit doing this when I moved north to Lawrence; seems everyone there thought it was strange.) Cornbread, corn chips, tortillas or just plain saltines are good accompaniments. Apple pie makes the best dessert.

So here I am posting a recipe for pancake mix, and two waffle recipes. I made the pancake mix in big batches; it really made the job quick, and traveled well when we went camping.  I always use half whole wheat flour.

Pancake Mix

(makes  4 lbs: get a large Rubbermaid container)

• 12 cups flour ( I use half  whole wheat)
• 2 Tablespoons salt
• 3/4 cup (yes) baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 cups dry milk powder

Mix all this together well and keep in an airtight container.

To use:

Mix in a bowl:

• 2 eggs (see note)
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 1 1/2 cup mix

Stir only until combined (there will still be a few lumps). Fry on a hot griddle. (Test your griddle’s temp by tossing a few drops of water on it.  When they dance, you’re hot. ) Pancakes are ready to turn when the bubbles on the surface pop and when the edges look dry. This will serve 3-4.

I learned a trick from an older woman re: buttering the pancakes.  It seems cold butter was always too hard to spread on pancakes, so I started keeping mine on the counter at room temp.  We didn’t have to worry about it going rancid, since we used it up so fast.  In fact, we used it up too fast.  This lady told me that she always put a pat of butter on top after she flipped them.  That way, the butter was perfectly softened and easy to spread when it was served.  It was sensible: we used less butter and the kids didn’t tear up their pancakes. Win-win.

Note:  The recipe I have calls for only 1 egg.  But my husband taught me that adding one extra egg always makes them less likely to stick.  Of course, if you are watching your cholesterol, you might not want to try that, but I always add an extra egg.

“Oh Boy” Waffles — straight from the 1941 edition of the red plaid covered Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.  Thanks.

• 2 1/2 cups flour (again, I use half whole wheat)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
• 3 eggs, separated
• 2 1/4 cups milk (again, again, I use reconstituted dry milk)
• 3/4 cup oil (I use less, like about 1/2 cup)

First, lightly grease the waffle iron and heat it up.  I like to use a baking spray.  Stir the dry ingredients together.  In a small bowl, stir together the milk, oil and egg yolks.  (Do this by hand) With a mixer, beat the eggwhites in yet another small bowl until they are stiff.  Actually, to save dishes, I combine the dry ingredients with the wet, and then I rinse out the small bowl and use it for the whites.  You have to put the whites somewhere, but that can be just a small dish.  You’re going to have to wash 3 dishes one way or the other.  Fold the whites into the batter.  REMEMBER TO STIR PANCAKE AND WAFFLE BATTER BY HAND AND NEVER OVERMIX.  Your waffle iron should be hot now, so spoon on the batter.  It rises and spreads, so you don’t have to completely cover the grid.  Close the lid.  Watch for the steam  — when it stops or lets up, the waffle is done.  Enjoy!

Of course, the nice thing about waffles and pancakes is their versatility.  You can add fruit such as chopped apples, mashed bananas or blueberries.  Dried blueberries and cranberries are great, and when I was little, my favorite add-in was raisins.  Nuts are good, and chocolate chips.  The 1941 BHG cookbook recommends adding 1/2  cup of crushed cornflakes! You can serve any kind of fruit on top of either pancakes or waffles, and I remember some memorable summer-time suppers of waffles, strawberries and whipped cream.  Nowadays, I like waffles and pancakes with peanut butter, banana and honey.

Chicken Paprika

• 8 chicken thighs or legs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup paprika (try to find a store that sells good Hungarian paprika)
• salt and pepper
• 1 14-oz (used to be 16 0z) can of diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken broth (see note at bottom)
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Remove skin from chicken(not absolutely necessary, but I do it with this dish.) In a large skillet, melt the butter.  Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 4 min.  Add  seasonings and cook for 1 min.

Add tomatoes, with the juice, 1 1/2 cups broth and chicken pieces.  Cover, bring to boiling, and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for about 20 min, til chicken is nice and tender.  In a small bowl, combine the rest of the broth into flour and stir until smooth.  Stir into skillet, cook 1-2 min until thick. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.  Some fresh parsley is a great garnish.

Note re: chicken broth.

Of course, the best way to get chicken broth is to cook some chicken.  This didn’t always seem practical to me, because, unless you are going to use the cooked chicken,  —well, it just didn’t make sense.  I guess you could cook the chicken, and if you’re not planning on using it (for instance, this dish calls for raw chicken), you could freeze it and make chicken enchiladas or tacos another day.  If you are going to make soup, then you are making broth for that dish, and you won’t have any left over.  Anyway, here’s my solution to what some may not think is a problem in the first place.  First, If I am doing a stir fry, something that calls for cutting the raw chicken off the bones, I cook those bones into broth and freeze it.  Otherwise, I buy canned broth or I have even used bouillion cubes, which I am ashamed to admit.  I know some fine chefs who will cook a chicken only for the broth and then give the meat to the family pet or something.  You get really good broth that way.  Like mom used to say, “You can either save time or money.”

• One bag of whole wheat, spiral macaroni (I think it’s about a pound)
• One large can of diced tomatoes
• One onion
• One green pepper
• One can of pitted black olives
• Some olive oil
• Some balsamic vinegar
• Some basil and garlic
• one can of tuna, preferably the solid white kind.

Cook and drain the pasta.  Chop the onion and pepper.  Slice the olives. Drain the tomatoes, but drink the juice — it’s yummy and good for you.Mix together about 1/3 c. of olive oil, the same of the vinegar, and season with basil and garlic until you are satisfied with the flavor.  You can serve this hot or cold.  Some crusty bread is good with it.

Macaroni and Cheese

• 1 bag of macaroni – usually about a pound.  And I like to use whole wheat mac, the spirals.
• 4 tablespoons butter.  and it’s better if your butter is not margarine.
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk (or alternatively, 2/3 cup dry milk powder mixed with 2 cups water. or add the powder with the flour and then stir in the water.)
• 0ne pound (or more) of cheddar cheese, shredded — or you can  use a mixture of Monterey Jack, cheddar, etc.  Sometimes I also use some cream cheese.  And, while some would say that Velveeta is not real cheese, it sure does melt nicely. Use the big box.
• salt and pepper

• additional seasoning: I like to use either Worcestershire sauce or Lawry’s seasoned salt.  Some chopped green onions are also good.

First, you need a big pot in which to boil your water and cook your macaroni.  I assume you can follow the directions on the bag.  When it is cooked, drain it and return to the stove (but turn the burner way down.  In fact, turn it off for a while.  The mac is pretty hot.) Now, stir in the butter and let it melt, and then add the flour.  Now the milk (or the milk powder and water). Now, with the heat on low, start stirring in the cheese til its melted.  If you choose to add the additional seasonings, go ahead.  Remember, the more cheese the better.  That’s it; you can eat it out of the pot, or if you are from southern Kansas, pour it into a greased casserole dish and bake at 350 til brown on top.  (buttered bread crumbs always make a good casserole topping.)

Like my Mom said, “Feed ‘em macaroni and cheese!”

A Word about Powdered Milk

I don’t suppose anyone likes to drink powdered milk, but it is handy to have around.  If you bake or cook any recipe that calls for milk, the difference won’t be noticeable if you substitute reconstituted dry milk. It’s cheaper, and it keeps for a long time. And then you can save the real milk for drinking and eating cereal.

ZUKE SALAD

I’m not sure of the origin of this recipe; I may have gotten from a fellow teacher in Kansas City who probably brought it to some luncheon, as my copy is scribbled on the back of a blank test form.  When I pulled this scrap out of my bag  home the other day and prepared it, I had forgotten how delicious it is!  It is reminiscent of home-made pickles.

Mix together:

• 3/4 cup sugar (I used about 1/2)

• salt and pepper – you decide

• 2/3 cup vinegar ( I used a combination of balsamic vinegar and apple cider; red wine vinegar would also be good.)

Add:

• 5 cups of thinly sliced zucchini
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, sliced

Mix it all up and refrigerate.  It keeps very well and gets better every day (just like you!).

ZUCCHINI CAKE

Grease and flour a Bundt cake pan.  Preheat the oven to 375.

Mix in a large bowl:

• 3 cups peeled and grated zucchini
• 3 cups sugar (you could probably get by with 2 cups)
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine and add:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Add:

• 1 cup nuts, optional
• 1 cup chocolate chips, also optional
• 1/2 cup cocoa, also optional

Pour into the pan and bake for 40 – 45 minutes.  It’s good with cream cheese frosting, but isn’t everything? You can see that this can be made to be a chocolate cake or not.  1 teaspoon cinnamon can also be added.

I have to be honest:  I don’t think you need that much oil.  I think you could leave out 1/2 cup, but it’s been a while since I’ve made this.  Tell you what:  I’ll make it up next week and let you know.