Marsha’s Comments (group member since Sep 26, 2012)

Marsha’s comments from the Baking and Books group.

Grandma’s Peach Pie – Preheat oven to 350°
https://iheartrecipes.com/grandmas-pe...


Ingredients:

2 store-bought pie dough crusts (or you can make your own)
32-oz. canned peaches, drained or 4 c. peeled, sliced fresh peaches
1 c. granulated white sugar
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. lemon juice
½ c. all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. unsalted butter, cut into sm. pcs.
1 egg, beaten
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

1. Roll one of the store-bought crusts into a 9-inch pie plate.
2. Set aside.
3. In a LARGE mixing bowl, add the peaches, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and lemon juice.
4. Stir until well combined.
5. Sprinkle in the all-purpose flour.
6. Fold the ingredients together until everything is well incorporated.
7. Fold in the butter until thoroughly mixed.
8. Pour the peach mixture into the pie dish on top of the crust.
9. Top off with the remaining crust. You can leave the crust whole or create a lattice topping. (see notes)
10. Brush the crust with the beaten egg.
11. Bake for 50-55 minutes.
12. Serve with ice cream.

Notes: To make a lattice pie crust, cut your pie dough into strips, about one-half inch to one-inch wide. You will have some longer and some shorter strips. Try to get at least 12 strips from one crust.
Next, lay half of the strips across the pie in one direction. You’ll want to use the longer strips for the center of the pie and the shorter pieces along the edges. Then you want to flip up every OTHER strip back all the way. Lay one unused pie crust strip across the pie perpendicular to the other strips. Fold them back over, then repeat the process with the other strips.

9/17/25 – I picked up several large (I mean Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs LARGE) peaches two days ago. They were from my local fruit vendor and they were on the verge of spoilage. So I decided to use them as quickly as possible. Four of them made more than enough filling for this pie.
I wanted to use the Easy Flaky Oil Crust recipe. But I don’t have enough oil. So I used the 5-Ingredient Pie Crust recipe instead, the one that allows you to use the crust right away without chilling. It worked very well once I doubled it, making just enough for a 2-crust pie. The egg wash really adds something, giving the finished crust a shiny, glossy look like certain kinds of baked bread.
9/28/25 – Last night, I made this with a lattice crust. It wasn’t my best effort but I’ll get better with practice. The people at Ridgewood Commons ate up this pie. It was gone in less than an hour. So I got something right. 😊

Derek wrote: "Hi everyone!
I just joined this group and love seeing all the baking ideas here.
Recently I tried a simple Mediterranean-style flatbread with olive oil and herbs — it turned out great, and my kit..."

I've probably stated this on the group line before now. But it's Chinese rice and vegetables. With quite a bit of tweaking, you can add soy sauce, omit soy sauce, use various different vegetables, remove veggies and add meat, cook the rice with water or broth, make it savory or sweet. The sky's the limit. It takes less than half an hour, too, which makes it perfect for a quick meal.

By the way, I make my own bread too. I found a nifty 2-ingredient recipe for bread that I perk up with various different ingredients. Earlier this year, I picked fresh sprigs of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme and used them to make a bread for my group. I called it Scarborough Fare.

I made a few comestibles in the past week. I baked double chocolate fudge brownies which were thick and rich but crusty and hard to cut. Next time, I'll try baking them for 30 minutes instead of 35 and see if that makes a difference.

I baked a carrot cake made with canned carrots. That was also a mixed bag. It tasted rich enough but had an oily aftertaste. Then I baked "limoncello" cookies. They were supposed to use that lemony liquor but I had none on hand. Instead, I used fresh lemon zest, fresh lemon juice and artificial lemon extract. The result is a sweet cookie with a sour aftertaste. It was just a bit too tangy for one man's taste. Again, I'll adjust by using less extract next time.

Stacked potatoes was another tasty snack, this one much better. I cobbled it together from a YouTube video and made certain changes. Instead of Parmesan cheese, I used cheddar. Instead of olive oil, I used vegetable oil. The result is a delicious, salty, cheesy potato treat, great as an appetizer, snack or side dish.

I also made jams! I used a recipe from a book titled Let's Make Jam by Hannah Lyons Johnson. It has step-by-step instructions with very helpful photographs about this process. It's so amazingly simple I wonder why I never tried it in the past. Goodness knows, I get tons of fruit every year and, sadly, a lot of it spoils before I can use it. Turning it into jam is an easy and sensible solution.

The recipe calls for only three ingredients: fruit, sugar and several drops from half a lemon. It's recommended to add pectin but you get that from adding unripe fruit to the mix. What some people may quibble about is the amount of sugar the recipe demands: 3 cups for 2 heaping quarts of fruit. When this is boiled down, you get 4 1/2-pints of fruit. That means 3/4 cups of sugar in every jar.

Yikes. That's a lot of sugar for my taste. But it does yield an excellent jam. I've made 9 jars in the last five days: 3 of raspberry jam and 6 of strawberry. Woohoo!

So what has everybody else been doing lately?

Lemon Curd Cake – Preheat oven to 350° – taken from The Berry Bible by Jane Hibler (makes 8 servings)
Serve this divine cake for breakfast as a coffee cake accompanied by a bowl of fresh berries or drizzled with a berry coulis and cloaked with whipped cream for dessert. I particularly like it with raspberries, but blackberries, blueberries or strawberries can be substituted.


Ingredients:

2 c. self-rising flour
1 c. sugar
7 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 lg. eggs, room temp.
1½ c. lemon curd, commercial or homemade (recipe follows)
Confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling
1 pt. (2 c.) fresh raspberries, rinsed, drained, puréed and pressed through a strainer plus a handful for garnish
Whipped cream

1. Grease an 11-inch springform pan. (My largest was only 10½ inches but it served.)
2. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. Put the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor.
4. Pulse until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
5. Add the eggs.
6. Process until the mixture forms a soft dough.
7. Press two-thirds of the dough into the bottom of the pan.
8. Spread with the lemon curd.
9. Then crumble the remaining dough over the curd layer.
10. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
11. Let cool in the pan.
12. Release the sides.
13. Remove the cake from the pan—discard the parchment paper.
14. Put the cake on a platter.
15. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
16. To serve, ladle some raspberry purée into the center of a dessert plate.
17. Set a piece of the cake on top.
18. Put a dollop of whipped cream on the side.
19. Garnish with a few raspberries.

Note: To make the cake by hand, combine the flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with 2 table knives or a pastry blender until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Beat the eggs together in a small bowl and pour them over the dry ingredients. Mix with a spatula until blended.

8/17/25 - My group adored this cake! I cut it into 16 slices so many people could have a share yet it was still finished in less than an hour. It's one of those cakes that looks fancy, as if it was made in a French kitchen, but is deceptively simple to make. The raspberry puree is needed, too. The flavor adds a slight tartness to the sweet cake that complements it beautifully.
 
Lemon Curd (makes abt. 1½ cups)


Ingredients:

2 lg. juicy lemons (yields 6 tbsp. fresh zest [or 2 tbsp. dried] and 4-6 tbsp. juice)
1 c. sugar
3½ tbsp. unsalted butter
2 lg. eggs, beaten

1. Finely grate the lemon zest.
2. Squeeze the juice.
3. Put the zest and juice in a saucepan.
4. Add the sugar and butter.
5. Gently heat over low heat until the butter has melted. Do NOT let the mixture come to a boil.
6. Remove the pan from the heat.
7. Slowly stir the lemon mixture into the beaten eggs. (Be careful; too much heat will scramble the eggs.)
8. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
9. Heat gently, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture thickens. (Actually, it took me 12 minutes on my stove.)

8/9/25 – This is such a ridiculously simple and easy recipe to make. I wonder why I don’t make it more often.
8/16/25 – I made more of this for the Lemon Curd Cake. It is easier to temper the eggs if I let the butter mixture cool for just a few minutes. That’s why removing it from the heat is essential.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake – Preheat oven to 325°


Ingredients:

1½ c. all-purpose flour
1½ c. whole-wheat pastry flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
3 lg. eggs, room temp.
½ c. non-fat buttermilk
⅓ c. canola oil
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
6 lg. egg whites, room temp. (¾ c.)
2 c. sugar, divided
½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 oz. Neufchatel cheese (or regular cream cheese)

1. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray or grease and flour.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In another medium bowl, whisk whole eggs, buttermilk, oil, corn syrup and vanilla until well blended.
4. In a LARGE clean bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until light and foamy.
5. Gradually beat in ½ cup sugar until stiff glossy peaks form.
6. In the LARGEST bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy.
7. Add the remaining 1½ cups sugar.
8. Beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
9. Alternately add the flour and buttermilk mixtures to butter mixture, starting and ending with dry mix, beating until smooth.
10. Fold in about one-third of the egg whites with a rubber spatula until just smooth and no white streaks remain.
11. Fold in the remaining egg whites.
12. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.
13. Bake the cake until a wooden skewer inserted into it comes out clean and the top springs back when touched, 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes.
14. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
15. Loosen the edges with a knife.
16. Turn out onto the rack.
17. Let cool for at least 1 hour more before slicing.

Remember: 1 egg white = 2 tbsp. = ⅛ c.

8/1/25 – I had almost everything I needed for this recipe. I didn’t have whole-wheat pastry flour so I made do with regular whole wheat. I never have canola oil and always use vegetable oil when canola is called for in a recipe. I had an 8-oz. tub of strawberry-flavored cream cheese so I used that. There was no buttermilk; I used my usual sour milk for that. I had found whole-wheat flour, baking powder, eggs, butter and strawberry-flavored cream cheese. So this was a very cheap cake to bake.
I baked this for 70 minutes and it emerged completely baked and lifted easily from the pan.
8/3/25 – This is a dense cake, rather dry as pound cakes tend to be. But it tastes good enough. It just needs to be consumed with a glass of milk or perhaps a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Peach Custard Pie with Streusel Topping – Preheat oven to 425°
https://www.food.com/recipe/peach-cus...

Ingredients:

Crust:
1⅓ c. flour
½ tsp. salt
½ c. shortening or ½ c. butter (see note)
3-4 tbsp. water (see note)
Filling:
4 med.-sized peaches, peeled and sliced ¼-in. thick
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
3 egg yolks, room temp.
1 c. sugar
¼ c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Streusel Topping:
¼ c. butter, very cold
½ c. flour
¼ c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon, opt.

1. Crust: In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and butter with fork until crumbly.
2. Add in water 1 tablespoon at a time until soft dough forms.
3. Gather into a ball.
4. Roll out into a circle about ⅛-inch thick.
5. Place a 9-inch pie plate upside down on crust.
6. Cut off excess dough, leaving 1 inch overhang.
7. Place crust into pie plate.
8. Arrange as you wish.
9. Filling: Line crust with peach slices in a circle, slightly overlapping each other until you have an outer circle and inner circle. (Save any excess slices for garnishing the top of the pie, if you wish.)
10. In a LARGE bowl, whisk together sour cream, egg yolks, sugar, flour and vanilla until just blended.
11. Pour over top of the peaches.
12. Bake for 30 minutes until custard is mostly set.
13. Streusel Topping: In a medium bowl, combine butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon with your fingers or a fork until crumbly.
14. Sprinkle evenly over top of pie.
15. Bake for an additional 15 minutes until custard is set. Note: If your crust browns too fast, cover it with foil.
16. Let pie cool.
17. Serve cold or warm.

7/26/25 – I made this tonight because I found lots of peaches, going soft so I didn’t need to boil the fruit to remove peels. I made a mistake about the streusel. The butter was too soft so the streusel wasn’t crumbly but mushy. I think the butter for the crust may have needed to be cold too because it tore when I moved it to the plate. The recipes for pie crust usually call for cold butter and ice water. This didn’t so I thought that was a boon. Now I think that may have been an oversight by the recipe creators. Next time, I may use cold water and cold butter and see if that makes a difference.

Peach Cobbler – Preheat oven to 425°
https://www.familycookbookproject.com...


Ingredients:

Fruit Mixture:
1 qt. peaches (abt. 5 med.-sized peaches)
⅓ c. lemon juice
2 tbsp. flour
¼ c. sugar
2 tbsp. apricot jam or orange marmalade
2 tbsp. butter
Nutmeg and/or cinnamon (opt.)
Topping:
1½ c. sifted flour
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
5 tbsp. butter
1 egg, room temp.
½ c. soured milk, room temp.
Vanilla ice cream, opt.

1. In a LARGE bowl, mix together the fruit mixture.
2. Put into baking dish. (I used a 9-inch pie plate but a 9.5-inch one will do.)
3. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar and baking powder.
4. Cut in butter.
5. In a small bowl, beat egg with soured milk.
6. Stir into flour mixture just until smooth. Do not overmix.
7. Divide topping into 8 portions.
8. Drop into mounds on fruit. (see notes)
9. Bake for 30 minutes.
10. Remove from oven.
11. Let cool to room temperature.
12. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

7/12/25 – Aaargh! I need new glasses or I need to pay better attention. I used 1 cup soured milk instead of ½ cup indicated here. The 9-inch pie plate I used looked just a tad overloaded. So I placed it on a baking tray before putting it in the oven. This was excellent foresight since it bubbled over onto the tray as it baked.
7/13/25 – The people I brought the cobbler for at Woodbine Kitchen (name to be changed) didn’t seem to notice any overly sour taste in the crust; they ate every bite. So the mistake wasn’t too bad. But when I make this again, I’ll follow the recipe strictly this time. I’ll also see if I can find a 10-inch pie plate to use.
7/14/25 – Tonight, I baked this again using ½ cup soured milk and a 9.5-inch pie plate. The finished result doesn’t look as good as the previous pie since the crust doesn’t reach the edge of the plate. At least, it didn’t bubble over as the previous attempt did.
So…if I use a 9-inch pie plate, it looks prettier and fits in one of my large tins. However, it bubbles over and makes a mess of my baking tray (although that can be prevented by laying down a brown paper bag sheet). With a 9.5-inch pie plate, the cobbler stays in the plate but it’s too wide to fit in my tin and the fruit is left exposed in an unseemly ring. Perhaps next time, I can distribute the topping around the outer ring of the pie first and then add more drops into the interior surface.

Plum Buckle – Preheat oven to 350° (makes 9 servings)
https://www.williams-sonoma.com/recip...


Ingredients:

Cake:
1½ c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, room temp.
1 c. sugar
2 eggs, room temp.
1 lb. plums, halved, pitted, ea. plum cut into 8 slices (abt. 4 sm. plums, 4040 size)
Topping:
1 tbsp. sugar
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Place rack in the lower third of the oven.
2. Coat an 8-inch square pan or 8½x3-inch springform pan with shortening.
3. Coat with flour.
4. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
5. Coat the parchment paper with more grease.
6. Cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
7. Set aside.
8. Using an electric mixer, in a LARGE bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until well blended.
9. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
10. Add the flour mixture.
11. Reduce the mixer speed to low.
12. Beat until blended.
13. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
14. Spread evenly with a spatula.
15. Poke the plum slices into the batter, placing them close together.
16. Topping: In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon and sugar.
17. Sprinkle over the batter.
18. Bake until the top is golden, the edges pull away from the pan and a tester inserted into the center of the buckle comes out clean, 50-60 minutes.
19. Let cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.
20. Invert cake.
21. Remove cake from pan.
22. Remove the parchment paper from the cake.
23. Place cake right side up, cooled about 30 minutes before serving.

6/3/25 – I made this tonight because I had a lot of plums that I’d found and I wanted to use them before them spoiled. I had found eggs and butter, too. There was also a cinnamon-sugar mix in a small brown bottle, the remnants from another recipe. So this cake was a snap to whip up and very cheap as well. It was finished at the 1-hour mark. I had neglected to poke the plum slices into the batter; I merely arranged them in lines on top of the batter. However, it rose while it was baking so it didn’t really matter in the end.

I didn’t find the square pan (not in time, anyway). So I looked up the volume and thought I could substitute a round pan of sufficient size. Fortunately, the springform pan I found worked perfectly.

Grandma Mary’s Pancakes (makes 11-16 pancakes)


Ingredients:

1¼ c. buttermilk or sour milk
1 egg, room temp.
1½ tsp. baking soda
1¼ c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt

1. Into a medium bowl, pour buttermilk or sour milk.
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg.
3. Add beaten egg to buttermilk.
4. Mix together.
5. Into a LARGE bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
6. Add wet ingredients to dry.
7. Beat together just until blended. DO NOT OVERMIX.
8. Heat cast-iron or copper skillet until water drops sizzle.
9. Pour batter by ¼ cupfuls onto hot skillet.
10. Cook each pancake until the edges are done.
11. Flip over pancakes.
12. Cook for a few seconds on the other side.
13. Remove pan from heat.
14. Flip or lift pancake onto a plate.
15. Keep warm.
16. Repeat until pancake batter is finished.
17. If you want to save some, place a wax sheet between each pancake.
18. Store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

5/20/25 – I don’t know if it’s the recipe, the newish pan I found or a combination of both. But these are the best pancakes I’ve ever turned onto a plate. The ¼-cup measure makes them the right size. They’re fluffy and light. Each one was cooked to perfection: no burnt edges, no raw underdone samples and most of them are round in spite of using a square pan. Also, I was in too much of a hurry to make the egg room temperature. I used it straight out of the fridge. Perhaps that also made a difference.

The pan itself may have had something to do with the success of these particular pancakes. I was using a square 9.5-inch copper pan I’d found on the street and it worked beautifully, no greasing required. Excellent!

My cousin gave me Baking Yesteryear as a belated birthday gift. She asked me what I wanted and I told her it was THIS book. I came to adore Dylan Hollis's cheeky, joyful baking style and his simple recipes from earlier years.

So a couple of days ago, I made sequilhos (the recipe is called something else but I like the Brazilian name better). It's a recipe that includes corn starch--lots of it. At the end, it made only 24 cookies. It was only three ingredients but quite a bit of work for a mere 2 dozen cookies. Normally, when I make cookies, I like a bigger yield.

I made cola marinated steak this morning. I ate it because it was actually a realllly late dinner. It had been in my fridge for four days too and I didn't want to let it sit to the point of forgetting about it and letting it spoil.

I had every ingredient needed and let it rest for about 3-4 hours in the fridge. The recipe states it should be in there for 2-6 hours so I thought this was plenty.

However, the finished product was less than stellar. It was tender and juicy enough but tasted mainly of meat. There was no taste of the cola or any flavor of the spices I used. So it was a grand disappointment.

Roasted Chicken – Preheat oven to 425°
https://www.allrecipes.com/juicy-roas...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAuPY...

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, patted as dry as possible inside and out
Butter or oil (I’m using olive oil)
Seasonings (dried or fresh herbs*, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, onion powder or chopped onion, garlic powder or garlic clove)
Stuffing (I’ve got boxed stuffing. I’m adding chopped olives and bacon bits)

1. Take chicken out of the fridge 30-45 minutes before roasting so it comes to room temperature.
2. If the chicken has a packet of giblets in the cavity, remove BEFORE roasting.
3. Lower the oven rack to the lower one-third of the oven.
4. In a medium-sized bowl, use ½ cup of softened butter.
5. Add chopped herbs such as rosemary, sage and thyme, the grated rind of a lemon, 4 minced garlic cloves, a squeeze of mustard, 2 tablespoons olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, Cajun seasoning and poultry seasoning. (Don’t overdo it. You don’t want the chicken too spicy to eat.)
6. Mix it all together thoroughly.
7. Using your hands, season the chicken with the herb rub liberally inside and out. This ensures the bird is fully seasoned and flavorful after it’s cooked.
8. If you’re using stuffing, mix as preferred. (Add in the chopped giblets if you like your stuffing meaty.)
9. Stuff the chicken with it.
10. Place the chicken on a baking sheet or a cast-iron skillet.
11. If you want, you can surround the chicken with cut vegetables like carrots, onions, potatoes, turnips and drizzle them with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper.
12. Using kitchen twine, tie the legs together in a figure 8.
13. Knot at the top.
14. Cut off the excess with a scissors.
15. Adjust your cooking time based on the size of the chicken. E.g., a 3-lb. chicken would be roasted for 75 minutes. So that’s 25 minutes per pound.
16. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken thigh near the bone to ensure it’s thoroughly cooked. If the thermometer reads 165°F (74°C), your chicken is ready to come out of the oven.
17. If you wish, you can baste the chicken with the juices from the pan halfway through the cooking time.
18. Turn the chicken since most ovens have hot spots. This ensures an evenly cooked bird.
19. Allow the chicken time to rest for 15 minutes after cooking. The rest time allows the juices to redistribute so that they don’t all pool out when you go to slice up the bird.

Roasted chicken is surprisingly simple to make. You need four things to make a great roasted chicken: a whole chicken, seasonings, butter or oil, and stuffing for the chicken cavity. When it comes to seasonings and stuffing, you can go as simple or complicated as you like.
This recipe keeps it simple, using salt, black pepper, and onion powder for the seasoning and celery to stuff the chicken cavity. If you like, you can add other seasonings and stuffing to impart more flavor. Some Allrecipes commenters recommend adding garlic powder, poultry seasoning, and Cajun seasoning to the chicken. Others recommend adjusting the stuffing as you like, adding cut potatoes, halved lemons, onions, and fresh herbs to the cavity. Adjust as it appeals to you and whomever you cook for.


*Herbs – Stick to hardy herbs like marjoram, rosemary, sage, thyme. Use one or a combination dried or fresh. Avoid soft herbs like basil, chives, dill, parsley and tarragon. Oregano and garlic are also other options.

12/19/24 – I found a whole raw chicken today on my outings. Since the temperature outside was 41°F, I thought it would be safe to eat. So I took it home, looked up some recipes online and roasted it.
Oh my goodness! This is SO good! It took my quite a few hours of preparation work and roasting but it’s worth it. The chicken is tender, succulent, moist and juicy. I made it using a skillet, a carrot, two zucchinis, one onion and plaintain—all of which I found (and that includes the skillet). I washed it down with homemade juice (also from found food items) and stuffing mix from a box I found. Oh, the satisfaction of a meal you’ve prepared yourself and practically from scratch.

I found a stalk of celery and a bag of onions. So this was a great recipe to make.

Celery Soup


Ingredients:

1 lb. celery, chopped (abt. 1 stalk of celery)
1 med. onion (4 oz.), chopped
2 tbsp. (1 oz.) butter or coconut oil, vegetable oil, olive oil
1½ pt. (24 oz.) chicken stock or 1½ pt. vegetable stock (3 c.)
¼ pt. (4 oz.) milk or ½ c. rice milk + 2 tbsp. cornstarch for thickener
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Over medium heat, sweat the onions in the butter until soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the celery and a small amount of stock, about 2-4 ounces.
3. Put a lid on the saucepan.
4. Sweat down for 5 minutes.
5. Add the rest of the stock.
6. Over HIGH heat, bring soup to the boil.
7. Reduce to a simmer.
8. Cook for 20 minutes.
9. Stir in the milk.
10. Keep a low simmer until heated through.
11. Season to taste.
12. Serve.

Notes:
1 pound of celery sliced or diced makes 2 cups; 2-3 medium ribs make 1 cup, chopped or sliced
Onions, white or yellow: 1 medium onion is about 4 ounces. ⅓ – ½ cup, chopped

Food equivalents for a variety of foods: http://southernfood.about.com/library...
(Caution: Amounts can vary depending on food item size, peel, manufacturers’ packing, etc.)

3/13/2013 – I made chicken stock for the very first time today! That makes this a really easy recipe, although I didn’t get to taste it. But I think next time I’ll cut the celery chunks just a little smaller.
12/09/2024 – I had one stalk of celery and wanted to use it before it wilted. Stripped of its leaves and root, it came to just one pound and the medium onion when weighed was exactly four ounces. I lacked dairy due to low finances. So I used coconut oil for the butter and rice milk thickened with cornstarch for regular cow’s milk. Thus, this became a vegan dish.
It tastes very good, surprisingly so for a bare-bones recipe like this.

I found five cucumbers. I had already used two so I used the remaining three for this recipe.

Cucumber Noodles with Peanut Sauce
https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/cu...


Ingredients:

Peanut Sauce:
⅔ c. creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
2½ tsp. tamari or soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. agave or honey
1 tsp. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. finely grated ginger or 1 tsp. ginger powder
1 garlic clove, minced
Dash of crushed red pepper, to taste
⅓ c. warm water

Cucumber Noodles:
2 lg. seedless cucumbers
⅓ c. chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
⅓ c. chopped peanuts, for garnish

1. Peanut sauce: In a LARGE bowl, combine peanut butter, rice vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, agave, lime juice and ginger.
2. Whisk until smooth.
3. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes.
4. Whisk in the warm water until sauce is smooth.
5. Cucumber noodles: Adjust the julienne blade on a mandoline to the ⅛-inch-thick setting.
6. Carefully run a cucumber down the blade, slicing the cucumber to form noodles.
7. Continue with the other cucumber. If you don’t have a mandoline, you can use a julienne peeler or a spiralizer to make the noodles.
8. Place the cucumber noodles on a plate or in a bowl.
9. Drizzle with peanut sauce.
10. Toss gently.
11. Toss with cilantro and peanuts.
12. Serve.

Note: Some cooks have noted that it’s best to draw out all the excess liquid from the cucumbers so the sauce would adhere to the noodles.

To dry out cucumbers for salad, you can salt them to draw out excess moisture:

1. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt on the cucumber slices or chunks.
2. Toss to coat.
3. Place in a colander over a bowl or sink.
4. Let sit for about 30 minutes.
5. Pat dry with a paper towel.

Salting cucumbers enhances their flavor and keeps them crisp in salads. It also prevents the dressing from becoming watered down, especially in creamy mayo-based salads. You can also squeeze out excess water from shredded cucumbers using a clean towel or paper towels.

This tastes REALLY good! The sauce is absolutely delicious. It's tempting to use it on other kinds of vegetable salads.

I made zucchini noodles. I’d found three zucchinis that came up to the required weight of 20 ounces. So I made the dish right away to avoid spoilage. It’s a ridiculously easy recipe, requiring only 20 ounces zucchini, 2 tablespoons olive oil and sea salt and pepper to taste. (It helps that I had a spiralyzer that someone kindly gave me.)

It’s delicious! If I get more zucchinis in the near future, I’m making this recipe again.

Vegan Mango Cake – Preheat oven to 350° (makes 12 cupcakes)
https://www.egglesscooking.com/vegan-...


Ingredients:

1½ c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1½ c. mango purée
⅓ c. avocado oil
⅔ c. white sugar

1. Take a 12-cup muffin pan and line with cupcake liners OR grease with oil and coat with flour.
2. Set aside.
3. In a LARGE bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In another bowl, mix together the purée, oil and white sugar until thoroughly incorporated.
5. Thoroughly mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Do NOT overmix.
6. Divide the batter equally among the 12 cups of the prepared muffin pan.
7. Bake for about 26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cook’s note: I felt that it was too sweet for us. So I would definitely bake this again but would reduce the quantity of sugar to ½ cup.

12/2/24 – I don’t know why this is called a cake when it’s clearly meant to be a muffin recipe.

I found a mess of mangoes recently. So I picked up three or four mangoes and reduced them to a purée with a potato masher. Simple and efficient. I substituted coconut oil for the avocado oil since I have never had avocado oil.

This entire recipe is easily and swiftly thrown together. However, it’s a fruit quick bread so I’m going to wait 24 hours before consuming it.

Peach Upside Down Cake – Preheat oven to 325°
https://www.food.com/recipe/peach-ups...

Ingredients:

Topping:
¼ c. brown sugar
¼ c. margarine
2 ripe peaches, sliced
Cake:
1½ c. flour
1 c. sugar
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1½ tbsp. lemon juice
5 tbsp. vegetable oil
¾ c. water
½ c. peach purée
1½ tsp. vanilla

1. Topping: In a small saucepan, melt brown sugar and margarine on medium-low heat until sugar is completely dissolved.
2. In a 9-inch oiled cake pan, pour the topping mixture into the bottom of the pan.
3. Arrange the sliced peaches over the topping mixture, making sure the entire bottom of the pan is covered.
4. Set aside.
5. Cake: In a LARGE bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
6. In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix the lemon juice, oil, water, peach purée and vanilla.
7. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients.
8. Quickly stir together until just combined (the batter will be thick).
9. Pour batter over the arranged peaches evenly.
10. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the top feels slightly firm.
11. Let the cake cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan.
12. Use a knife to loosen the edges.
13. Hold a plate firmly over the pan.
14. Flip over.

I had canned peaches but I also found a number of fresh mangoes. The peaches would keep; the mangoes wouldn’t. So I altered the recipe to make it a mango upside down cake. Mangoes taste like a combination of peaches and oranges. So I thought the substitution would work well.

It did! I let it sit for two days before serving it to my group. I was working on my theory that fruit cakes always taste a little better 24-48 hours after you’ve baked them. So this cake was incredibly moist and delicious. My group adored it and I made notes so that I can bake it again in future. (It also has the benefit of being vegan.)

Grilled Italian Sausage with Warm Pepper and Onion Salad (makes 4 servings)
Luganega (also called luganiga, luganica or lucanica) is an Italian fresh sausage made with pork. It is a traditional food from Lombardy, Veneto and northern Italy and is usually rolled up to appear like a snail.

Ingredients:

3 mixed lg. bell peppers, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
1 lg. red onion, quartered lengthwise and separated into layers
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1½ tbsp. red-wine vinegar
½ tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
½ tsp. salt
⅛ tsp. black pepper
1 lb. luganega or other Italian sausage

1. Prepare grill for cooking over medium hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas-see below).
2. Toss peppers and onion with 1 tablespoon oil.
3. Grill on lightly oiled grill sheet set directly on grill rack, with grill covered only if using a gas grill, turning occasionally, until slightly softened and charred, 9-15 minutes (onion will cook faster), transferring to a bowl as cooked.
4. Add vinegar, oregano, salt, pepper and remaining 2 tablespoons oil to peppers and onion, tossing to coat.
5. Let stand 10 minutes to allow flavors to develop.
6. While vegetables stand, run skewers crisscross horizontally through sausage coil, securing ends.
7. Grill directly over medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas) on lightly oiled grill rack, covered only if using a gas grill, turning over once, until cooked through, 10-12 minutes total. (Thicker sausage may take longer.)
8. Transfer vegetables to a platter and top with sausage.

Note: If you aren’t able to grill outdoors, vegetables and sausage can be grilled in a hot lightly oiled well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat. If using a gas grill, preheat burners on high, covered, 10 minutes, then, if necessary, reduce to heat specified in recipe.

11/15/24 – Earlier this month, I found a red onion. Yesterday, I found 2 13-oz. sausages and 2 large bell peppers, 1 orange and 1 yellow. I had no red wine vinegar so I made to with apple cider vinegar. Improvise!

The bell peppers were so large, I cut them into eighths instead of quarters. The red onion was on the small side. So I cooked the peppers and onion for 10 minutes in step 3 to avoid burning.

Tomato Soup (by Drew Barrymore, taken from Daily News)


Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lg. onion, finely sliced
2 lg. garlic cloves, crushed
2 lb. ripe tomatoes, skinned and diced, not drained (abt. 3 beefsteak tomatoes)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. sweetener (honey, maple syrup, sugar syrup or vanilla syrup)
1½ c. water or vegetable broth/stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Over medium-high heat, heat the oil in a large saucepan.
2. Add the onions and garlic.
3. Stirring occasionally, cook until soft but not brown, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes.
5. Cook for 10-15 minutes.
6. Stir in the lemon juice, sweetener and water or broth.
7. Over HIGH heat, bring to a boil.
8. Lower heat.
9. Then simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
10. In a blender, purée in batches until smooth, about 30 seconds per batch.
11. Pour purée back into the emptied pot.
12. Reheat if necessary.
13. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
14. Serve hot or warm.

How to Peel a Tomato

1. Cut a shallow “X” in the base of the tomato.
2. Drop into boiling water for about 20 seconds.
3. Remove and transfer to a bowl of ice water.
4. Slip off the skins.

This is a very bare-bones tomato recipe. If you like, here are some additions you can make to the soup:

Dairy: Add a dollop of sour cream to the bowled soup; stir in ¼-½ cup of heavy cream after reheating or sprinkle ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese over the bowled soup.
Herbs, Spices: Small amounts of freshly chopped or dried cayenne powder, celery salt, chili powder, chives, oregano, paprika, parsley, red pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme added before lowering heat.
Pasta: Add small amounts of cooked rice to the finished soup after seasoning with salt and pepper.
Vegetables: 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped; 2-3 ribs celery, diced

I made brownies again. They were called "Bangor Brownies" and they're so simple to make. I usually don't bake in the mornings because I want to get out early and baking takes time. But I got the urge and whipped this together in about an hour.

Bangor Brownies – Preheat oven to 350°
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVLi-...


Ingredients:

½ c. salted butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate or 6 tbsp. cocoa powder + 2 tbsp. oil or shortening
2 eggs, room temp.
½ c. pastry or all-purpose flour
½ c. chopped walnuts

1. Grease an 8-inch baking tin.
2. Line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, beat the butter until smooth.
5. While beating the butter, beat in the sugar until creamy and fluffy.
6. Set aside.
7. Heat a pot with about 2 inches of water in it over medium heat until boiling.
8. Set a heat-proof bowl over the pot, making sure it doesn’t touch the water.
9. Place the unsweetened baking chocolate squares in the bowl. (If you're making your own baking chocolate using the cocoa and oil technique, you can skip steps 9 and 10.)
10. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the chocolate is melted.
11. Mix the melted chocolate into the butter-sugar mixture thoroughly so there’s no white showing.
12. Making sure the batter is cooled, thoroughly beat in the eggs.
13. Once the eggs are thoroughly incorporated, add half of the flour.
14. Mix in the flour thoroughly until no white shows.
15. Mix in the remaining flour until no white shows.
16. Stir in the walnuts thoroughly.
17. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, flattening the top and spreading it into the corners with a spatula.
18. Bake for 20 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick or cake tester. You don’t want it too liquid or too dry.
19. Remove from the oven.
20. Let the brownie rest in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
21. Upend the brownie out of the pan onto the rack, removing the parchment paper.
22. Let cool to room temperature before cutting into squares.

My oven is temperamental (like all ovens). It required an extra ten minutes to bake the brownies properly. But, wow. These are sooo good. Chocolaty, crunchy from the walnuts and rich. They're a balance between dry and moist so they're great for people who don't come down on one side or the other.