Pumpkin Juice

Yes, another two recipes in one day.

A couple of years ago, my family visited Universal Studios Florida, and visited the then new Diagon Alley, and older Hogsmeade sections of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Besides the food at The Three Broomsticks, our favorite drink was (no, not Butterbeer, even the kids found that too sweet) Pumpkin Juice. It's served all over the Harry Potter section of the park, and only there. In fact, you can't find the standard Pepsi products there. Everything in those sections of the park reinforce the theme, but are exclusive to those areas. Unlike Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans, you can't get many of the foods sold there at places like Honeyduke's, outside the park.
That means you have to make them.
I found a recipe for the cold and refreshing Pumpkin Juice online at the now-inactive but archived foodie site, The Disney Diner. I've made it for several years, but found her recipe unnecessarily complicated, and have streamlined it, removing one ingredient and changing the proportions of one ingredient at the kids request. Here's the version for fixing it by the batch:

Ingredients:
1 can frozen apple juice concentrate
2-1/2 cans of water
1/2 cup of canned pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pour apple juice and water into blender pitcher. Add canned pumpkin, vanilla and cinnamon. Blend on high until well incorporated. Pour into glasses and serve cold.

To make this as a frozen mix for quick fixing it:
1-15oz can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Measure out in 1/2 Cup quantities, put into small plastic containers or freezer bags, and freeze them. To make pumpkin juice, in a blender add together pumpkin juice mix, one can of frozen concentrated Apple juice, and 2-1/2 cans of water, and blend until thoroughly combined. Serve cold.

Fool Proof Pie Crust

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

Ingredients:
4 Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 ¾ Cups or 335g *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 using a pastry blender just until mixed in and crumbly. Do not overdo it or the liquids won't mix 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.

Notes:
1. Shortening is getting harder to find these days. I intend to experiment with a coconut oil soon as a replacement. If I do, I'll let you know the results. Update: It works, but gives it a strong coconut flavor. This might work for some pies. I recommend sticking with shortening or maybe ghee.

2. It is best to get the liquids ready first then leave them in the refrigerator until ready. In fact, it's best to make this recipe when it's cold, and store it in the fridge until ready to roll out.

3. I made this for hand-pies recently using lard instead of vegetable shortening and it came out stronger than using the regular shortening. It still refused to seal (especially around the blueberry filled ones.) I may try a completely different recipe for hand-pies. (7/5/25)

Edly Fried Chicken

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.

White Bread-Bread Machine Recipe

Folks-
This is a good, simple recipe for bread machine white bread I got at cdkitchen. It makes a 1.5 lb loaf.
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 (can be hard if you dice it)
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp Bread Machine Yeast, or 1 tbsp active dry yeast)

Peanut Butter Granola

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

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

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 (Note: The original blog has been shut down) 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 oven 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.

Easy Ice Cream

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

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

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.

Adult Grilled Cheese

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!

Ingredients:

2 sandwich-sized slices cheddar, sharp cheddar, jack, mozzarella, Swiss, and/or gruyere cheese

2 slices sandwich bread, sourdough works well, but seeded bread is also good

1 slicing tomato, sliced thinly

1 thin slice of onion, red, white, or yellow, preferably red

Cooked bacon slice (optional)

1 tbsp mayonnaise 

Grated parmesan cheese, if available, optional 

Preheat a pan or griddle on the stove to medium heat. Spread half of the mayo and some of the Parmesan cheese on a slice of bread, and place it in the pan, mayo side down. Quickly assemble the sandwich in this order on top of that bread: cheese slice, onion, tomato slices, bacon slice, cheese slice. Smear the other slice of bread with mayo and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Flip when bottom slice of bread is golden brown and grill until the second side matches.

Eat while still hot. Acids in the tomato slices will prevent the cheese from solidifying. These do not keep well for later.

Edited 12/30/2024 to be more specific.

Jim's Chili

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

Ingredients

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.

Ed's Truffles

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

Clam and Cheese Chowder

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: 

2 T Butter

1 T Diced Onion 

2 Cubed Russet Potatoes 

1/2 Cup Water

2 Cans Minced Clams (Do not drain)

2-3 Strips Cooked Bacon, crumbled 

1 T Chopped Parsley

1/2 lb Cubed Whole Milk Mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese

1 Package of Onion or Potato & Leek Soup Mix, sifted for the onions or  3 T French Fried Onions

1 Cup Heavy Cream 

2 1/2 Cups Milk 

3/4 Cup Instant Potato Flakes

 

 

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.

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

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