EdlyEats

Old Time Fudge

2011-10-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

Folks-

The computer was on, so I figured Ishould power out another Zap 190 recipe. This one I intend to trysoon, only I want to try it using whipping cream instead of milk. IfI try it, I'll post the results!

-Edly

Old Time Fudge
P. Jones

Ingredients:
2 Cups Sugar
¾ Cup Milk
2 Squares (2 Oz) Unsweetened Chocolate,broken up
1 Teaspoon Light Corn Syrup
2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
½ Cup Coarsely Chopped Nuts (optional)

Line a 9x5x3” loaf pan with foil,extending foil over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil; set panaside. Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In the saucepancombine the sugar, milk, chocolate, and corn syrup. Cook overmedium-high heat to boiling, stirring constantly to dissolve thesugar. Avoid splashing the mixture on the sides of the pan. Cook overmedium-low heat, stirring frequently, until a thermometer reads 234degrees (soft-ball.) The mixture should boil at a moderate, steadyrate over the entire surface. Remove the saucepan from heat. Addbutter and vanilla but do not stir! Cool without stirring tolukewarm (118 degrees.) Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon untilfudge is just beginning to thicken; add nuts if desired. Continue tobeat until the fudge is very thick, and just begins to lose itsgloss. Quickly turn the fudge onto the prepared pan. While warm,score it into 1” squares. When the candy is firm, use the foil tolift it out of the pan; cut candy into squares. Store tightlycovered.

Crumb Cake

2011-10-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I wanted to power out another recipe ortwo while I still have my Zap 190 cookbook out. This one is my mom'scrumb cake and crumb cake topping recipes. They are very good together,and I just may fix them tomorrow. We'll just have to see...

-Edly

Crumb Cake
E. Perl

Ingredients:

3 Cups Flour

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Margarine or Shortening
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Cup Milk (approximately)

Mix together flour and sugar and cut inmargarine or shortening until crumbly. Save one cup of the crumbs forlater. Add the baking powder and salt, then add the milk and mixuntil it is the consistency of cake batter. Pour the batter into acake pan and top with the saved crumbs from earlier. Cook at 325degrees for 45 minutes or until done in the middle.

Crumb Cake Topping

E. Perl

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar

5 Tablespoons Flour

4 Cups Milk

2 Teaspoons Vanilla

Mix together ingredients in a pot.Bring mixture to a boil, stirring continuously all the way to thebottom to prevent it from burning (warning! It wants to burn!) untilit starts to thicken to the consistency of pudding. Remove from heatand serve warm on a slice of the crumb cake.

Melisse's Candied Walnuts

2011-10-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I have a few minutes, and the Holidaysare coming up, so I wanted to post the recipe for my grandmother'scandied walnuts. It's not hard to make them if you have a candythermometer, and have some candy making experience.

Here it is!

Melisse's Candied Walnuts

Ingredients:

½ Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

½ Cup Sour Cream

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

3 Cups Walnut Halves

Combine sugars and sour cream in asaucepan. Cook to soft-ball stage and then add the vanilla. Beatuntil mixture begins to thicken. Add walnut halves and stir untilthey are well coated. Turn mixture onto a greased platter andseparate. Cool to room temperature.

Fool Proof Pie Crust

2011-10-21T14:35:00.001-07:00

Folks-
It's been a while since I've updated the site with a new recipe, and that's because I use the site as my own personal recipe card file. If I haven't needed an old recipe, have been experimenting much in the kitchen, and haven't found a new recipe that I need to add to the old card file, then I don't update.
Well, one of Zhenie's old high-school friends (she went to school in The Philippines, so how did one of her old friends end up living only a mile away?) dropped off a whole bunch of pairs at our house. I was thinking pie, but didn't find my mom's old pie crust recipe online. Time to fix that.
Here's a recipe that my mom got from one of the cooks at the school she retired from:

Fool Proof Pie Crust
4 Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 ¾ Cups *Shortening
½ Cup Cold Water
1 Tablespoon Vinegar
1 Large Egg

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the shortening just until mixed in. In a separate bowl, mix together the water, vinegar, and egg. Add liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients just until a kneadable dough forms. Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick. If making an uncooked pie, be sure to poke the bottom of the pie crust multiple times with a fork before cooking to prevent bubbles.
*Shortening is getting harder to find these days. I intend to experiment with a cocoanut oil soon as a replacement. If I do, I'll let you know the results.

Avocado Milk Shake and Cinnamon Smoked Pork Chops

2011-03-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

Folks-
I've got one recipe, and one new grilling trick to relate to you today. Both are the result of looking ingredients up on Wikipedia.
In the first case, I looked up Cinnamon, and discovered an interesting story. According to what I read, the Roman Emperor Nero burned an entire years supply of cinnamon for the city of Rome to mark the death of his first wife. I wondered what that would smell like, thinking it might be sort of incense-like, so I tried burning a stick. I found it didn't smell like incense, but the smell was unique, and I wondered how it would add to grilled meat. Tonight I tried it, grilling pork chops on my gas grill. I soaked an ounce or two of cinnamon sticks in water for an hour and a half, drained the water, and wrapped them in aluminum foil in two bundles. The bundles of cinnamon sticks went directly onto the gas flames in the grill. Everyone in the family liked it at least as much as hickory smoking, with me liking it more for pork. I recommend trying it!
The second experiment I tried on my family (Zhenie went shopping before she had a chance to try it) is also the result of reading Wikipedia. I was looking up Avocados, and discovered that Avocado milkshakes are popular in Brazil. My kids all liked it, until I told them what it was. The flavor is very subtle, but good. Here's the recipe:

Avocado Milkshake
2 Cups Vanilla Ice Cream
1 1/4 Cup Milk
1 Avocado, skinned, pitted, and diced

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Quick and Easy Fried Artichoke Hearts

2011-03-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

Folks-
Two posts in one day? Yep. After posting my fried chicken recipe, I decided to add a note to the fried artichoke recipe I was sure I'd posted a long time ago. Guess what? I'd never posted it in the first place!
In case you're unfamiliar with fried artichoke hearts, they're often sold at county fairs in the central coast of California. They're delicious, but expensive, and only available for a week each year! Not good!
So, I had to come up with something. Now, the cheapest place I've found frozen artichoke hearts is Trader Joes.
Oh, and Aaron lost another tooth today. Congratulations, little Bob!
Here's the recipe!

Quick and Easy Fried Artichoke Hearts
1 Cup Beer Batter Mix
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
2/3 Cup Water
1 Package Frozen Artichoke Hearts

Heat up oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. Mix together beer batter, Italian Seasoning and water. Coat the frozen Artichoke Hearts with the Beer Batter Mixture and drop into the hot oil. Fry for 5-7 minutes, drain, and allow to cool until edible on blotter paper or paper towels.

Edly Fried Chicken

2011-03-09T18:48:00.000-08:00

Folks- it took me a few tries, but I think I got this recipe worked out pretty well. Zhenie loves it, so I recommend giving it a try!
I use a kitchen deep fryer to cook it. Here's the recipe:

Edly Fried chicken
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Italian seasonings
1 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Sage
1/2 Tsp Chili Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
2 Eggs, scrambled
Chicken parts

Mix together dry ingredients. coat chicken parts in egg, then dredge through the dry ingredient mixture and fry in 350 degree oil for 20 minutes or until core temperature reaches 170 degrees.

Easy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

2011-02-23T19:06:00.000-08:00

Folks-
By now you've realized that I use this site to keep the recipes I've tried and liked more than those that I've created myself. The reason I'm reposting all of these recipes is that I like them, and don't want to lose them either by an Internet company going under or abandonment, or simply by me forgetting that the recipe exists, or where it was located. This is one of those recipes I tried recently, and my wife loved it so much that I was afraid of losing it! I found it at food.com, a site I go to fairly frequently.
Soon I may post the fried chicken recipe I cobbled together that Zhenie loves. I hope to at least!
For today: Upside-Down Cake!

Ingredients:
1 (18 ounce) box yellow cake mix
3 eggs (or as called for by your cake mix)
1/3 cup oil (or as called for by your cake mix)
1 1/3 cups water (or as called for by your cake mix)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 (20 ounce) can sliced pineapple
1 (8 ounce) jar maraschino cherries (optional)
halved walnuts (optional)

Follow the instructions on the cake box for making an oblong single layer cake. Prepare the cake batter and set aside. Cut up the butter in small pieces and place all over the bottom of the oblong pan specified on the cake box. Sprinkle the brown sugar generously over the butter. Place pan on the stove (or in the oven) and heat slowly until butter and sugar melt to a liquid then remove from heat. Evenly space the pineapple slices around the bottom of the pan in the heated sugar and butter. Place the cherries and nuts between the pineapple slices (Though the cherries and nuts look nice and taste great, they are optional). Pour the cake batter on top of the pineapple/cherry/nut mixture. Place in the oven and bake as directed on the cake box. As soon as the cake is done place a plate over the cake and turn it upside down and carefully remove the pan. If you wait too long the sugar will harden and be difficult to remove. Note: Peaches may be used in place of pineapple.

White Bread-Bread Machine Recipe

2011-02-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

Folks-
This is a good, simple recipe for bread machine white bread I got at cdkitchen.
I'm not including instructions, because most bread machines have their own instructions. The only modification I've done is change the order of the ingredients to match my own bread machine.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup warm water
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

Peanut Butter Granola

2011-02-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

Folks-
Holy cats! Another post? What am I thinking?
Today I'm posting a recipe I found at Food.com. I modified it, as usual (the original recipe used margarine instead of olive oil, called for added salt, used 3 cups of oatmeal instead of 2, omitted the bran, and included none of the optional seeds or nuts. So, yeah, I've played with this recipe a lot.) My middle child loves this!
My favorite version is posted below. I usually use an Unsalted creamy natural peanut butter without saturated fats or sugar. I've also used maple syrup instead of the honey with some success. If you want to add dried fruit, I recommend adding it after it is cooling off.
Here it is! My variation of the Hillbilly Housewife Peanut Butter Granola Recipe:

Peanut Butter Granola

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Peanut Butter
1/3 Cup Honey
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Oatmeal
1 Cup Unprocessed Bran

Optional:
1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds
1/2 Cup Raw Shelled Pumpkin Seeds
and/or
1/2 Cup Raw Unsalted Shelled Sunflower Seeds

Heat together olive oil, honey, and peanut butter for about 30 seconds in a microwave. Mix together and add vanilla extract. Add bran and oatmeal and toss to coat completely. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Stir and add optional ingredients, spread onto the sheet and bake another 5 minutes. Cool and store in a tightly sealed container. Note: watch it closely while baking since it will burn easily at the edges.

Egg Noodles

2011-01-31T16:45:00.000-08:00

Folks-
My chicken and Turkey noodle soups are well known in my circle. The real secret to them is the homemade noodles. Since I haven't figured out the measurements for the soup ingredients yet, I'll post the recipe for the noodles first. It's my moms recipe, with a variation at the end from my dad. I prefer the egg yolk version over the whole egg, but it takes so dang many eggs! Both versions are easier than most people would think. Give them both a try and see which you prefer!

Here it is, my mom's homemade noodle recipe!

Egg Noodles
E. Pearl

6 Egg Yolks
1 Whole Egg
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Cups Flour

Mix together in the order above until very stiff. Roll out dough on a well floured board to 1/8" thickness. Cover with a towel and allow to dry for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Roll the dough into a cylinder and slice first once along the length of the cylinder, and then across the cylinder to make noodles of about 1/4" width. Boil for up to 45 minutes.
You can substitute 3 whole eggs for 6 egg yolks and 1 whole egg.

Mrs. Knott's Buttermilk Biscuits

2010-11-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

Folks-

A couple of summers ago my family went to Disneyland for a week-long trip, driving down Highway 101 past Santa Barbara and Solvang. One of the highlights of the trip was the one day we spent at Knott’s Berry Farm. I actually hadn’t been there since I had been a fairly small child, and had almost completely forgotten what it was like. To my adult tastes, it feels like it needs a bit of an update, but it does a good job of being friendly to smaller children while retaining a rustic charm for adults. Before we left for the day, we wanted to try some of the famous Mrs. Knott’s fried chicken. I remember that when we went there when I was a child, we skipped that part because the restaurant was so crowded. We found the same thing happened the day I went there as an adult, but they had a small to-go storefront next to the sit-down restaurant that we were able to get a bucket of chicken from, as well as biscuits and other sides. We took it back to our hotel room and found out that all of it was fantastic—better than KFC! The biscuits were light and flavorful, and the chicken was wonderful!

After that, I was disappointed that I couldn’t get the Mrs. Knott’s food in my area (they haven’t franchised, even though I think that it would work well as one.) So I started looking for a biscuit recipe to help compensate. I found this one at Meemo’s Kitchen (http://meemoskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/09/mrs-knotts-buttermilk-biscuits.html) and have used it several times. While I tend not to like homemade biscuits nearly as much as baking mix biscuits, these are an exception. They have a lot of flavor, and are light and fluffy. I, of course, modified the recipe a little bit (500 degrees F? That’ll cause my over to start self-cleaning!) My next test of the recipe is going to involve using dried buttermilk instead of liquid. I’ll let you know how that works!

Enjoy!

2 Cups Flour

1/8 Teaspoon Baking Soda

2 Tablespoons Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup plus 2 Teaspoons Buttermilk

1 Teaspoon Shortening

½ Cup Oil

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening. Add soda to buttermilk, then blend into the flour mixture. Roll out dough on a generously floured surface until ¼ inch thick. Cut out with a 2 inch biscuit cutter. Dip biscuits into cooking oil to cover all sides and place immediately on an oiled baking sheet with all biscuits touching. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until nicely browned.

Fruit Salads

2010-09-04T14:07:00.001-07:00

Folks-
Here's another couple of Zap 190 recipes from my mom (Eleanor Perl.) Both are fruit salads, so it seemed to make sense to put them together. The first is my mom's Waldorf Salad, and the second is her Dodie Salad, named after a co-worker of mine at Pacific Western Bank back in the late '80's.

Waldorf Salad:

Ingredients:
3 Apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 Medium Bananas, sliced
1 Cup Diced Pineapple
1/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1/4 Cup Small Marshmallows (optional)
1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1/4 Cup Milk
2 Tablespoons Sugar

Toss fruits, walnuts, and marshmallows together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, milk, and sugar. Use the mayonnaise mixture as a salad dressing over the fruit.

Dodie Salad

Ingredients:
3 Apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 Kiwi Fruit, peeled and sliced
2 Cups Grapes
2-3 Bananas, peeled and sliced
1/2 Cup Diced Pineapple
1 Starfruit, peeled, sliced, and de-seeded (optional)
(Any other fruit you may think of)
1 Pint Non-fat Yogurt
1/4 Teaspoon Coconut Flavoring
1/4 Cup Shredded Coconut
3 Tablespoons Sugar

Toss together all of the fruit excepting the Kiwi or Starfruit slices. In a separate small bowl, mix together the yogurt, coconut, coconut flavoring, and sugar into a dressing. Pour the dressing over the tossed fruit, and use the Kiwi and/or Starfruit slices to decorate the top of the salad.

"Just Like Starbucks" Vanilla Scones

2010-09-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Folks-
I've been experimenting with this recipe for a couple of weeks now since I first found it online until my kids firmly approve of the results. I now think that I can publish it without embarrassment. I found it online at 5forks.com, and one other place, but I like the 5forks version more. When I've made them, they come out a bit moister than the Vanilla Bean Mini Scones they sell at Starbucks. As you know by now, I like modifying the recipes I post here. I have made this one using both the Vanilla Extract called for in the recipe, as well as the Vanilla Sugar I taught you how to make in an earlier post. I prefer using the Vanilla Sugar in this recipe. Also, I have found that there is very little difference in flavor using salted butter instead of unsalted butter.
So, tested in Edly's kitchen, here is the 5forks version of the "Just Like Starbucks" Vanilla Scones (with my slight modifications, as usual):

Ingredients:
Scones:
2 Cups all purpose flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1 Cup of full-fat sour cream
1 Large egg yolk
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract (or 2 Teaspoons vanilla sugar replacing 2 teaspoons regular sugar.)

Glaze:
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
1/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 Teaspoon salt
Milk as needed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk together dry ingredients. Using any method you prefer, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the flour resembles coarse meal (I would recommend using a food processor if you have one, otherwise make sure the butter is cut into very small pieces.) In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg yolk, and, if you are using it, the vanilla extract, until blended. Add this mixture to the flour-butter mixture and stir with a fork until the dough forms a cohesive ball. Use a spatula to get the dry bits fully integrated. (It may not seem like there is enough liquid at first, but the dough will eventually come together.) Split the dough into two equally sized balls and pat them into disks about 1 inch in height, and cut each disk into 8 equal triangular pieces. Place the pieces onto ungreased baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. While the scones are baking, prepare the glaze by putting the sugar into a separate bowl, then adding the vanilla extract and milk one teaspoon at a time while stirring with a fork. Once the glaze has become slightly runny, it is ready. When the scones are done, take them out of the oven and immediately spread the glaze over them using a pastry brush. This will give the glaze a more even and shinier coating than just drizzling.

Chocolate Coated Peanut Butter Candies

2010-08-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

Folks-
This is a variation of an old recipe I found in a Betty Crocker's Cookbook. I first tried the recipe when someone else gave me one of these, and I loved them! This is really using their changes from the original recipe. Unfortunately, I don't remember just who it was, except to say that they worked with my mom at Live Oak Elementary School.
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/4 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Margarine or Butter, Softened
4 Cups Honey Graham Cereal, Crushed into Coarse Crumbs (a food processor works well for this)
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Tablespoon Shortening
1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Mix peanut butter and butter or margarine in a large bowl; stir in cereal crumbs. Mix in powdered sugar, 1/3 at a time. Press mixture into a melon baller and drop onto an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet, or similar surface. Mix the chocolate chips and shortening in a small bowl and melt in a microwave, stirring the mixture every 20 seconds or so. Dip the candy balls one at a time into the melted chocolate, fishing them out with a fork and replacing them on the aluminum foil lined sheet. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes or until the coating is hardened.

-Edly

Jam "Tarts"

2010-07-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

Folks-
This good recipe is from an old friend of mine, Siobhan Spencer. These "Tarts" are much more like a shortbread muffin with a jam center, but I'll use her term for them.

Here's the recipe!

Jam Tarts

Ingredients:
1/2 C Shortening
3/4 C Sugar
2 Eggs
2 C Flour
1/4 t Salt
2 t Baking Powder
Jam

Cream shortening and sugar. Add other ingredients except jam. Divide the dough into about 12 equal parts, form into balls and place into muffin tins. Press a thumbprint halfway into each ball and fill with about 1 teaspoon of jam. Bake for 10-15 minutes in a preheated oven at 400 degrees.

Seafood Chowder

2010-06-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

Folks-
This is another "Zap 190 Cookbook" recipe. This one came from my sister, Tammy Barbre. This one is distinct from the Clam Chowder recipe I posted some time ago, so don't confuse the two!

Ingredients:
1 Can Morton's Clam Chowder (for base)
3 Cups Milk or Half and Half
1/2 lb Prawns, any size
1/4 lb small Scallops (optional)
1/2 lb boneless Chicken breast, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/4 lb Ling Cod or Snapper
1 Cup chopped Potatoes
Splash of Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup dried green onions

Saute each of the meats and the potatoes separately, then put the clam chowder, milk, and potatoes in a large pot. Cook on medium heat for a few minutes, then switch to low heat and add all other ingredients. Cook 15 minutes on low heat. Serve with pepper and green onion sprinkled on top.

15 Bean Soup

2010-06-06T11:37:00.001-07:00

Folks-
Time for another ZAP 190 Cookbook recipe. This time it's from my mom's assistant at Live Oak School back in the day. With no further ado, here's Sheril Gomes's 15 Bean Soup Recipe.

Ingredients:
1- 20 oz bag 15 Bean Soup Mix
2 T Salt
Chopped Ham, Ham Hocks, or 1 Ring Smoked Sausage
1 Large Chopped Onion
1 Large Can Tomatoes
1 Red Pepper or 1 t chili powder
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Clove Minced Garlic

Directions: Wash beans thoroughly. Place beans in a kettle, cover with water and add salt. Soak overnight. On the following morning, drain and add 2 quarts water. Add ham or sausage. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add other ingredients and salt and pepper to taste and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Easy Ice Cream

2010-06-05T21:12:00.001-07:00

Folks-
I made this for the first time today, varying the recipe that I found on a British website. I found following their directions exactly caused the ice cream base to be much too sweet (probably due to differences in measurements.)
You do need an ice cream freezer to make this.

Ingredients:
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 1/2 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup Whipping Cream
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon Salt (added 6/16/2011)
Optional (for Chocolate): 4 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Mix all ingredients together and put into the ice cream freezer and freeze according to directions.
*Edited 6/16/2011: When making this tonight I put in about a quarter teaspoon salt and this improved the flavor. This may now be the best ice cream recipe I've ever tried. At least that's what my kids say!

Broccoli Soup via Zap 190 Cookbook

2010-05-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

Folks-
I know you're thinking: What, two posts in as many days? Yep. I noticed I had a couple of recipes from my old "Zap 190 Cookbook" that I had transcribed, but not posted. In case I haven't mentioned it yet, Zap 190 was our interoffice mail address at the old Pacific Western Bank Proof Department where I worked in the late '80's and into the late '90's. My friends, family, and co-workers, as well as those of my mom at Live Oak Elementary School, and one of my dad's at the Pajaro District of the State Department of Parks and Recreation submitted recipes for the thing. I'll be posting them on this site over time, and I'll be sure to give credit where it's due.

This recipe comes from my sister. I haven't tried making it myself, but I do remember it being tasty.

Broccoli Soup- Jocelyn Swenson
Ingredients:
3 Fresh Broccoli Crowns, Chopped
1 Large Onion
1 Cup Chopped Mushrooms
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
2 Cans Cream of Celery Soup
1 Cube Butter
1/2 lb Bacon, cooked and crumbled (Optional)
4-8 Cups Milk

Directions: Mix broccoli, onion, mushrooms, celery and butter in a large saucepan and simmer until vegetables are soft (add water if necessary.) In a large pot, mix together soup and milk. Boil to desired thickness. Mix vegetables in with soup and top with crumbled bacon.

Tyler's Ultimate Barbecue Sauce

2010-05-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

Folks-
The best barbecue sauce I have ever had was one I made from a recipe I got on Food Network once. That's a TV network I seldom watch, because it makes me want to cook like mad, and that can be an issue. I ran across Tyler's Ultimate one day, and thought the barbecue sauce recipe looked good enough to have me sit in front of the TV with a notepad and the remote for about an hour, reverse engineering the recipe from what he was doing on the TV (since when does a "dash" equal a small bucket of something?)

Since I first worked this recipe out a couple of years ago, I've found alternate ingredients for some of those in his recipe. I'm including both his basic recipe, as well as the alternates in the ingredient listing below. Enjoy!

Tyler's Ultimate Barbecue Sauce (with alternate ingredients tested by Ed)

2 Strips of smoked bacon or 1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke
Large sprig of fresh Thyme or 1 tablespoon dry
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Large Onion or 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2-3 Cloves Garlic- Crushed and skinned or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Cups Ketchup
1/4 Cup Fruit Preserves (Peach, Apricot, or Raspberry have tested well)
1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Cumin
2 Tablespoons Red Wine or Basalmic Vinegar
1/4 Cup Molasses
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Ground pepper to taste

Wrap bacon around fresh thyme and simmer in olive oil. Add other ingredients and simmer 20 minutes.

Classic Cheesecake

2010-04-10T01:47:00.000-07:00

Folks-
Here is my variation of the Classic New York Cheesecake recipe I found at Food Network's website. This is just a little bit easier than the method Food Network suggests but comes out just as good. (Baking in a water bath? Really?) Also, this version of the recipe makes use of the Vanilla Sugar I taught you how to make a few months ago (glad you were paying attention now, aren't you?)

Ingredients:

Crust:
6 Tablespoons Butter (Unsalted Optional)
1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker crumbs
2 Tablespoons Sugar
Pinch of salt (no, really, a pinch)

Filling:
2 Pounds Cream Cheese at room temperature (about 4 packages)
1 1/4 Cups Sugar
3/4 Cups Sour Cream
6 large eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Sugar
About 1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest, finely ground (about 1 lemon)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Melt the butter. Brush a 9 inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter into the Graham Cracker Crumbs, Sugar, and Salt and press into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes and cool.

While the crust is cooling, beat the cream cheese on medium speed in a good stand mixer until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl and the beaters as necessary. Slowly beat in the sour cream and eggs one at a time, the vanilla sugar and the lemon zest. Do not whip the mixture. Pour into the cooled crust. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour, 10 minutes, then turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to continue to cook in the cooling oven for another hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and run a knife around the edge and allow to cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

Ed's Coffee Spices

2010-03-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Folks-
For years I've been adding this combination of spices to coffee grounds before brewing. I find that they turn a rather average coffee into something special. You only need about 1 t for a full pot of drip coffee. I personally use one of the cheaper name brands of coffee with this spice blend, whatever is on sale at the supermarket. Here's the recipe!

2 Parts Ground Cinnamon
1 Part Ground Nutmeg
1 Part "Other Ground Spice" (Cardamon, Allspice, Nutmeg, Ginger have all tested well.)

That's it! For one or two cups of coffee, I just put it in a shaker and shake it over the grounds a couple of times. For a full pot I use from 1 t to 1 T and add it straight to the grounds.

Enjoy!

-Edly

It Aint Just for Kids

2010-03-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

Folks-
One of my kids favorite sandwiches--actually most kids favorite--is the simple Grilled Cheese. I discovered a while ago that you can turn this simple favorite into a more adult meal through just a couple of simple additions.

My version of the Grilled Cheese for Adults is to use whatever hard cheese is available (usually a cheddar, Jack, or mozzarella), using two slices (or a small handfull of the cheese if grated) and before grilling it, I add thin sliced onion and tomato slices.

Give it a try next time you want a hot sandwich at home at lunchtime!

-Edly

Pudding Cake

2009-12-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

Folks-
It's been a long time since anyone made my mom's pudding cake. My kids don't seem to like it, but I love it. Here's the recipe:

Basic Cake Mix Ingredients

4 Cups Cake Flour

3 Cups Sugar

6 Teaspoons Baking Powder

¾ Teaspoon Salt

1 ¾ Cups Vegetable Shortening

In a bowl, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Cut in shortening until evenly distributed. Put in a large, airtight container. Store in a cool, dry place for up to several weeks.

Pudding Cake Ingredients

1 Cup Basic Cake Mix

1/3^rd Cup & 8 Teaspoons sugar

1 1/3 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder

1/3 Cup Milk

2/3 Teaspoon Vanilla

1/3^rd Cup & 8 Teaspoons Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

8 Teaspoons Cocoa Powder

1 Cup Boiling Water

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Combine Basic Cake Mix, Sugar, 1 1/3 Teaspoon Cocoa, Milk, and Vanilla. Blend well. Pour into 8” square unbuttered baking pan. Combine brown sugar and 8 teaspoons cocoa powder in a small bowl. Sprinkle over top of cake mixture. Gently pour boiling water over cake mixture (Do not stir!) Bake 35-40 minutes until edges separate from pan. Cool in pan 15 minutes before serving.

*Note: 16 Teaspoons = 1/3 Cup (48 Teaspoons per Cup)

-Edly

Jim's Chili

2009-12-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

Folks-
Here it is--the second post of the week! Wow! Nothing for months, and then three in a two-week span!

My dad had never written down his Chili Recipe until a couple of years ago when I wanted to learn how he did it. I still have to get his Lasagna recipe this way.

Without further ado--here's the recipe!

Jim's Chili Recipe

2 Cans (15 oz.) Tomato Sauce
3 T. Chili Powder
1 1/2 T. Ground Cumin Seed
1/2 Large Onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 C. Water
1/8 t. Cayenne Pepper
1 Bay leaf
1 t. Salt

3 C. dry pinto beans
1 lb. cheap hamburger
1/4 t. pepper

The night before the Chili is to be served:
Mix 1 can of the tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of the water with the chili powder, cumin seed, onion cayenne pepper, and 3/4 t. of the salt and refrigerate.
Soak beans with at least 1" of water covering the top. Change the water every 1/2 hour for the first 2 hours, and then leave to soak overnight.

The day the Chili is to be served:
Change the water in the beans again and drain. Soak the beans with at least 1 " of water over the top of the beans and simmer over a medium-low heat with the bay leaf for 1/2 to 1 hour. Brown the meat with the remaining salt and pepper. Drain the beans, saving the water. Add the sauce mixture from the night before to the meat and add in the second can of tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of water. Add the sauce/meat mixture to the beans and add in about 3-1/2 C of the water from the beans saved previously to the mixture. Mix and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally (every 5-10 minutes). Check several times while simmering to make sure it is seasoned correctly.

Note: To give the Chili a fresher flavor, just before serving stir in a drained can of mild green chili peppers.

That's it! One of the next posts will probably be one of the recipes from the cookbook I compiled about 20 years ago.

-Edly

Ed's Truffles

2009-12-22T17:00:00.001-08:00

Folks-
The main reason I'm writing this recipe blog is to keep track of the recipes I use and like. Since it's Christmas week, I'll post two today, and perhaps more later this week. I'll start by posting my Truffle recipe. I got it from the Betty Crocker's cookbook, and then started fiddling with it to make it my own. The secret is in the notes at the end (hint: This is a versatile recipe!)

Ingredients:

6 oz Chocolate (Semi-sweet, dark, or milk)
1/4 C Whipping Cream
2 T Melted Butter
1 C Chocolate Chips (Semi-sweet or milk)
2 T Vegetable Shortening

Melt the 6 oz of chocolate over a double boiler or in a glass bowl in a microwave oven (run the microwave starting at 30 seconds and then progressively shorter time periods, stirring between each heating cycle.) Mix in the melted butter and whipping cream until the mixture is smooth, and pour into a buttered baking pan. Refrigerate until hard, and then cut into 1" cubes. Melt 1 C chocolate chips and mix in shortening. Dip chocolate centers into the melted chocolate and fish it out with forks, placing them on an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until hard. Best served at room temperature.

Notes: This recipe is very versatile. You can change the flavor by changing the kind of chocolate, or by adding flavorings. One thing I have noticed is that white chocolate tends not to harden as well as other kinds, I recommend halving the amount of whipping cream and melted butter if using white chocolate.
Mocha Truffles: Use semi-sweet chocolate and add 2 T Instant Coffee crystals to the whipping cream.
Mint Truffles: Add a few drops mint extract to the whipping cream. Seal finished truffles in a container. DO NOT MIX WITH OTHER TRUFFLES! The flavor is so strong that it will overpower the flavor of other truffles and you can easily end up with your box of mixed truffles being a box of mint truffles.
Orange or Strawberry: Add up to 1/2 t flavoring to the whipping cream before mixing it into the chocolate.
Mexican Chocolate: Add 1/4 t Cinnamon and 1/2 T finely chopped almonds to the melted chocolate before adding in the melted butter and whipping cream.
Conversion tip: 1 Cup of chocolate chips is 6 oz. Feel free to use baking chocolate, eating chocolate, or chocolate chips in this recipe!
The coating for these truffles is so good that I use it for almost all candies that need a chocolate coating. I have never had it separate out or bloom.

I'll be posting my dad's Chili recipe soon, and then I'll start posting the recipes from the cookbook I compiled with my old co-workers (The Zap 190 L.O.S. Cookbook!)

-Edly

Well past time for an update!

2009-12-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

Folks-
It's been a long time since I updated any of my sites, and due to requests, I'm going to start updating this site more often. I've already gotten a few recipes backlogged, so I'll be able to keep going for at least a little while.
I'm going to start to with a recipe that my mom started, and I modified. My kids claim it's the best they have ever tasted: Clam Chowder.
This one is just perfect for cold weather, especially with fresh bread.
-Edly

Eleanor & Ed's Clam & Cheese Chowder

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Instant Potato Flakes
1 T Diced Onion
2 Cubed Russet Potatoes
2 T Butter
1-2 Strips Cooked Bacon, crumbled
1/2 lb Cubed Whole Milk Mozzarella
1 Package of Onion or Potato & Leek Soup Mix, sifted for the onions or 3 T French Fried Onions
2 Cans Minced Clams (Do not drain)
1 Cup Heavy Cream
2 1/2 Cups Milk
1 T Chopped Parsley
1/2 Cup Water

Directions:
Melt the butter in a pot and add potatoes and diced onion. Add water, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add clams with the juice in the can, bacon, parsley, onion soup, and cheese and stir until cheese melts. Add cream, milk, and instant potatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Alternatives: 1. Use Monterey Jack cheese instead of the Mozzarella.
2. Use 1 1/2 Cups of Whipping Cream instead of the Heavy Cream, and 2 Cups of Milk instead of 2 1/2 Cups.

Orange Cake

2009-06-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

Folks-
This one comes in somewhere between a cooking tip and a recipe. I don't consider it a full-blown recipe because one of the ingredients is a mix, but it's a bit more than a tip since there are two modifications to the mix. Here it goes:

Ingredients:
1 White Cake Mix
1 Tbsp Orange Extract
1 1/2 Tbsp Yogurt (Flavor hardly matters.)

Prepare the white cake as the directions on the box say to (I usually use the whole egg recipe), but before mixing add in the orange extract and yogurt. Continue making the mix as the box instructs.

The cake will come out MUCH moister than the standard cake mix will because of the yogurt. In fact, I add yogurt to all of my cakes for this reason. If you don't have yogurt, sour cream works just as well. I used to exclusively use unflavored yogurt in the cake mix until I realized that the flavor of less than two tablespoons of flavored yogurt was being diluted by several cups of cake batter. I stay away from really strongly flavored yogurts, but darn near any fruit flavored yogurt is going to add no noticeable flavor changes to the cake.

For a frosting, I make a traditional buttercream (sometimes called an American Buttercream) frosting and add about 1 Teaspoon of Orange Extract to flavor it.

Giving credit where credit is due, this flavor is my mom's creation. We've even used Devil's Food Cake mixes with it for a good chocolate-orange flavor, but in general, the straight-up orange flavor is most people's favorite.

Hoping to post more recipes soon!

-Edly

A baking tip: Vanilla Sugar

2009-04-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Folks-
This post is going to be more a cooking tip than a recipe. I found out about this a couple of years ago. You can create a nearly perpetual flow of vanilla flavoring if you’re willing to go through a bit of work and wait a while, but considering the cost of real vanilla extract, it’s definitely worth it.

The flavoring is actually not a vanilla extract, it’s vanilla sugar. It will work well in virtually any recipe that you use that includes both vanilla and sugar. It may take some experimentation on your part to get the substitution correct, but the basic substitution is this:

Remove the same amount of sugar from the recipe as your recipe calls for vanilla (i.e. If the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of vanilla, remove 1 teaspoon of sugar from the recipe) and include the same amount of vanilla sugar.

Now, how is this useful? Like I said, you can create a nearly endless supply of it. I’ll include a recipe that uses it soon.

There is one drawback to making vanilla sugar: Once prepared, you have to wait about a month before harvesting any of it.

Here’s how you do it:

You need one pound of sugar, one vanilla bean, and an airtight container. Slit the vanilla bean down it’s length, and then cut it into one inch pieces. Mix the pieces of vanilla bean into the sugar, and place it in the airtight container. Store it in a cool, dry place (like a pantry.) Now, wait one month.

Now, once the flavor/scent of the vanilla has infused the sugar, simply replace any vanilla sugar you use with regular sugar as you use it. There is no need to wait another month after replacing reasonable amounts of vanilla sugar (say, less than about a quarter cup.) But you should replace it pretty much as you use it. If you do this, your supply can last as much as 10 years. Not bad, huh?

What, ANOTHER blog? And the Smoky Southwestern Pot Roast Recipe

2009-04-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Folks-

Yep, it’s time for yet another themed blog from yours truly. I’ve currently got two other blogs here at Blogspot: My first blog is about my political views; my second is about my art and pictures.

So, why another blog? ‘Cuz I like to cook. This blog is all about my favorite recipes and cooking techniques. Some recipes I’ve created, some are from family members, and some are from other sources. I’ll try to give credit where it’s due. I may even give off-the-cuff reviews of some restaurants or food suppliers (but I won’t commit to that.)

So, in order to usher in the premier of this blog, I’ll introduce one of my wife’s favorite recipes: The Smoky Southwestern Pot Roast. This is one of the first recipes I came up with completely from scratch (I usually enjoy tweaking someone else’s recipe,) and it’s almost freakishly simple. Here’s the history of this recipe: I made my first pot roast about a year before my daughter was born, about 10 years ago. I had found a decent recipe online that used a slow-cooker. The ingredients were simple, just a roast and vegetables, and put them in the slow-cooker on high for several hours. It came out okay, but really my big problem with the recipe was that the meat consistently came out with very little flavor. I’ve since discovered that this is fairly common with roasts, but I digress. I came up with the idea that I would try making the pot roast and adding liquid smoke to give it more flavor, and while shopping, I thought that the next time I would use salsa instead of the vegetables the next time and see how it came out. When I got home, I decided to try both approaches simultaneously, and the Smoky Southwestern Pot Roast was born.

Before you try to make this roast, I should warn you that your entire house will smell like a good restaurant. You should also budget plenty of time the first time you make it just to watch it so it doesn’t burn.

Without further ado, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Beef Roast, about 2 to 4 lbs.

1 16oz Jar Hot Salsa or Picante Sauce

1-2 T Liquid Smoke

Up to 1 C Water

Combine Salsa or Picante Sauce in a bowl with the Liquid Smoke. Pour half of the mixture into the bottom of a slow cooker. Put the roast in the slow cooker, and cover it with the remaining mixture. Cover and cook on HIGH.

If you like to be able to slice your roast, cook for 5-6 hours. If you want your roast to be so tender that it falls apart, cook for 7-8 hours.

The meat on the outside of the roast will have the most flavor. People with sensitive taste buds should go for the meat in the center of the roast.

That’s it for this time. I’ll have another recipe soon!

-Edly