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posted by Mom on 10/10/09

I am thankful that God  gave us taste buds. I’m also glad He gave us good-tasting things to eat–and herbs can make them taste even better!

My family did not use herbs very much when I was a child, at home, so I’ve had to learn this art from talking with others through the years. Here are some of the questions I asked and the  discoveries  I made.

1. Do I have to use pork in my soup beans to make them taste good?  After all, the less pork you eat the better.

2. What did you put in this stew? Mine always tastes so bland!

3. Can canned green beans taste good without adding oil or butter?

The answers, I’ve found, to each one of these questions involves using the right herbs and spices.

1) When Esther (now age 23) was three months old I found myself in the “nursing mothers’ lounge” in Knoxville while Don and I were attending the home school seminar. I asked one of the ladies, who was also there in the lounge, question number one, and this was her reply: “bay leaf”. She was right! After experimenting a bit, I discovered a very delicious recipe. This recipe is for one pound of dry beans (all kinds of dry beans will work).

Let beans soak overnight. Add one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of bouillon, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 cup of onion, and one clove of garlic (minced). Cook until desired softness. We have soft water so they are done after about `1 1/2  hours. Harder water will take 2 1/2 hours.

2) At a covered dish dinner, I tasted the best beef, potatoes, carrots, and onion I had ever eaten. I asked the one who brought it what herbs she used, and she said. “My brother actually made this, but I think he used  ‘rosemary’.” What a revelation! After experimenting a bit, I came up with this recipe for two pounds of stew meat,  two pounds of potatoes, one cup of onion, and three carrots. Add  1/2 teaspoon of rosemary (don’t overdo it–you can get too much!), one bay leaf, one clove of minced garlic, one teaspoon of bouillon, salt & pepper to taste.

3) This one is the best yet. Once, While waiting on our children, another mother and I were talking about menus. I asked her what she liked to fix, and she told me about adding Cajun spice to her green beans! After I warm  up the can of beans, I pour off the water, sprinkle on the Cajun spice, stir it up, and serve. You will have to experiment to see how much you like. I use quite a bit. Cajun tastes great on beans fresh out of the garden too.

One more little tip. If you grow your own herbs, they will usually dry just fine if picked and left on the counter for a few days. Just put them in a glass jar and keep them all winter. I found this out after accidentally leaving some raspberry leaves (for tea) in the car one summer.

3 Comments » | posted in Recipes

posted by Mom on 08/24/09

Ring! Ring! “Hello, yes, Dad, we have to eat at 5:00 so that we can meet Don at 6:15 and Judy at 6:30 because the program is at 7:00 and Chris will be disappointed if we aren’t there!”

“Are you sure you can be here by 5:00?  It is 4:15 right now.”

“No problem, Dad.  I’ll call Evelyn and tell her to be at your house at 5:00 too.”

Where did the time go?  I thought I had all afternoon! How can I  have the promised dessert (rhubarb crunch) ready in 15 minutes?  It would take 40 min. just to bake it.   Hum…  I’m glad Esther had diced some fresh rhubarb and made granola before she left for Virginia.  I will make rhubarb sauce!  We can pour it over ice cream and sprinkle the granola on top!

Here is the rhubarb sauce recipe.  It is also very good on plain yogurt, topped with granola.

Combine 3½ cups of diced rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, and 2 T. of orange juice.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Stir, cover, heat to simmer.  Cook, stirring several times.  Increase heat slightly as juice cooks out, until rhubarb is tender but not mushy.  Serve warm or cold.

We were late for Chris’ program but not because of a late meal!  We ate our supper on time!

6 Comments » | posted in Recipes

posted by Mom on 11/22/08

You can’t judge a book by its cover; well, you can’t judge a pumpkin by its shape either.

Actually, I am not talking about a pumpkin but a “melon squash” or “sweet necked squash.”

Some look at its shape and call it a gourd, but when you cut it open you see a solid orange neck and a hollow bulb full of seeds. We dry the seeds to plant in the spring or eat. Michael started growing these squash when he learned that they were sweet enough to eat raw. However, they are best when cooked and used in recipes which call for pumpkin.  They make perfect pumpkin pies.

One squash goes a long way. I cut up one that was fourteen pounds last week and was able to can five quarts of pumpkin with three cups left over for soup!  They also keep well in the cellar.

In all the pumpkin recipes posted, I have used this squash either fresh or canned. My latest experience with this delicious vegetable has been a pumpkin cake roll.  This is a cake rolled up with cream cheese.  This recipe is going to take some practice!  Does anyone have any pointers about how to make a pumpkin roll? Mine tasted good but did not look “like the picture.” 

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Matthew 7:1,2

14 Comments » | posted in Recipes

posted by Mom on 08/25/08

It was a pleasure to  attend church with  the Van Essen’s on Sunday. The openness and friendly atmosphere made it a special time! We enjoyed a walk and picnic lunch by a lock. Some of us had never  seen one before this vacation. We were fascinated to watch the boats enter the lock from the side of the  waterway where the water level was lower.  The gates closed behind the boats and the lock filled with water up to the level of water on the other side of the lock. The gates opened letting the boats sail out onto the higher water. The whole process took about 15-30 minutes.

Then the Van Essen’s took us to see the highest  hydraulic boat lifts in the world – The Peterborough lift lock.  The difference in water level was so drastic (65 ft) that the boat lifts actually moved up and down like an elevator! They were huge!

But it was more then just  site-seeing because the time spent getting there and back was filled with edifying conversation. What a blessing to spend time with such a spiritually uplifting family.

2 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Mom on 02/12/08

Grandma Brown introduced us to vegetable pizza a few years back but it was not until recently that I began making it myself by “staddonizing” the recipe.

The first thing I changed was the crust — we like “the real thing” rather than Pillsbury cresent rolls.

The second thing that was more to our liking was replacing the Ranch flavor powder style dressing or dip mix with our own spices and some sour cream or plain yogurt. Tastefully Simple has a very good all natural Fiesta Party dip Mix which makes a very good replacement.

We bake 5 loaves of bread once or twice a week so when we need a pizza crust we just make the crust instead of the loaves of bread: One loaf makes two crusts. After baking it about 6 minutes, the 12″ crusts freeze very nicely in a two gallon plastic zip-lock bag.

Also the vegetables can be cut up ahead of time and kept for as long as a week if covered with water which is changed every day.

Bake one pizza crust and cool
Mix: 1 T. Fiesta Party Dip,
          ¼ c. mayonnaise (real mayonnaise only), and
          ¾ c. sour cream or plain yogurt
Spread on cooled crust
Cut into small pieces:
          Cauliflower
          Broccoli
          Carrots
          Olives
          Celery
          Red/green/yellow peppers
          Whatever raw vegetables preferred (yellow squash, etc)
Top crust with vegetables
Chill well and serve

Enjoy!
 
 

2 Comments » | posted in Recipes