Welcome
I am constantly amazed at how animated and talkative people get when you mention food. The mere aroma of certain foods can evoke memories that transport us back to a special place and time. Food can bridge the gap between all ages, races and ethnicities.
Let's face it, the only thing that should ever come between people is a table and some serving bowls.
My Mother moved out on her own when she was barely 17 years old. She rented a little studio apartment, which was actually the turret of a big old house in the city. At $50.00 a month(sounds cheap to us) but then it might as well have been$500.00. In those days she was able to put alot of what she needed to purchase on lay away. If she needed a winter coat or a kitchen table she could get it and only pay a dollar or two a week. Unfortunately she did not have that payment option when it came to food. My mother always loved rice and rice was very inexpensive. You could make a little bit of rice go a very long way. So she concocted this version of Spanish rice, which at the time cost her less than $3.00 to prepare.
This recipe filled one of those big stove top dutch oven pots and gave her 2 meals a day for almost the entire week. Luckily for her she truly loved it.
I was always amazed that she still made it on occasion when I was growing up. She use to say; "You would think that I would never want to see Spanish Rice ever again".
My mother currently resides in a nursing home and I always bring some kind of treat when I go to spend time with her. This last visit she asked if I would make her some Spanish rice the next time I come...... all these years later, still one of her favorite meals.
Remember this is a frugal version of Spanish rice, created by a girl with very little money. You can easily add more meat, different spices etc....
Harriet's Spanish Rice
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons of oil
3 cups chopped onion(she loves onions)
2 bell peppers chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup ketchup
2 cups long-grain rice
3 cups of water
In a 3 quart dutch oven(big Pot with lid) brown ground beef in oil. Add onion, green bell pepper, salt and pepper.
Cook until onion is tender. Add tomatoes and ketchup; simmer 15 minutes.
Add rice. Cover and simmer 25 minutes, or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if necessary.
HOTLIX
I know.......you are thinking;"How disgusting"!
This isn't anything you'd ever find cooking in grandmas kitchen.
True, but luckily for me my parents and grandparents had very adventurous palates.
From the time I was little I was exposed to a wide range of delicacies. Granted I turned my nose up in disgust more times than you can imagine. But my family always told me I couldn't say that I didn't like something until I at least tried it. Then and only then if I did not like whatever it happened to be at the time such as;"calves brains, eel, turtle, tripe, snails, grasshoppers, rattlesnake.......the list seems endless" I never had to have it again.
Funny thing is as it turns out, I truly ended up loving just about everything. I still do to this day.
All I am saying is be open to the experience.......you may just end up liking all the things that "bug" you!
YUM!
There aren't a whole lot of major rules here....
Sliced Bread: Challah, Italian, vienna even pound cake works nicely.
Raspberry Jam(seedless is better)
Chocolate: Hershey bar, semi sweet chips, Ghiradelli(whatever you like)
Butter and a little powdered sugar
Fry Pan, Griddle or Panini Press
Spread jam on bread, place chocolate on jam, top with second slice of bread.
Get pan set to medium - medium high
Butter outside of bread and fry.
Put on plate, cut in half, dust with powdered sugar
Pure Heaven!
Have a little fun try different jams or fresh fruits. Grilled chocolate and peanut butter is wonderful. We all deserve to indulge from time to time. Although I have to admit that once you try a grilled chocolate sandwich.......from time to time could easily turn into day to day!
Pelmeni are one of the most ancient of traditional Russian foods.
The idea of these delightful dumplings came hundreds of years ago
when the early Mongols (an ethnic group that originated in what is now Mongolia, Russia, and China) borrowed the idea from the Chinese (pot stickers).
Polish pirogies are like a dumpling cousin to the Pelmeni. Much later on the Italians borrowed the idea and created“Ravioli”.
1 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
garlic to taste
To make the dough, combine the flour, eggs, water and 1/2 tsp. salt. Knead mixture. Let rest for 30 minutes. Mix the ground beef, ground pork, onions, 1 tsp. salt, pepper and garlic together. Cut the dough into three equally sized pieces and roll each one into a cylinder the diameter of a finger. Cut each cylinder into pieces the size of a walnut, then roll each piece into a very thin flat cake with a diameter of about 2 inches. Put some of the ground meat mixture in the center of each flat cake (quite a lot, but not so much that you can't then seal up the dough). Then fold the dough in half and join up the edges to seal them. Pinch the corners together: you should now have a ravioli-shaped "flying saucer." If you wish to make this job a bit easier they do have
“Pelmeni Dumpling Molds” that you can purchase.
Cooking: (If you plan to store your pelmeni, freeze them uncooked).Boil a generous amount of water with 1 tsp. salt. Drop the pelmeni into the boiling water. They are ready to eat when they float to the top and stay there.
Presentation: Serve pelmeni with one of the following: butter and salt, sour cream and dill, sour cream and vinegar, as a soup with meat broth (you may boil the pelmeni in meat broth for added flavor). You may also serve pelmeni with a traditional Russian salad of chopped cucumbers and tomatoes with mayonnaise or sour cream.
This is one of the most delicious tasting cakes you will ever have. It’s moist and spicy.
My Aunt Elsie made this cake only a few times a year. It went so quickly you were very lucky to even get a taste; it was such a special treat.
Aunt Elsie is 99 years young and her baking days have long since passed…..
But luckily she has shared her recipe and now we can all make this special treat. Just don’t forget to save a piece for Aunt Elsie.
Honey Cake
3 Eggs
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Soft Margarine
2 1/2 cup Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1/8 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/4 cup Honey
1 cup Cold Strong Coffee
1 Ripe Banana, mashed
Beat the eggs until thick. Add the sugar gradually. Beat in the margarine. Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together. Add gradually to the creamed mixture with the honey and coffee. Beat until combined. Add the banana. Pour the batter into a lightly oiled and floured 10 inch tube pan or two 9 inch loaf pans. Bake in a 350° F. oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool thoroughly before slicing. Serves 16
"Inspiration for these products came from a family farm in northern Wisconsin, where grandmother Florrie began cooking at 13 in the logging camps of the early 1900’s. Extensive preserving by mother and grandmother was a fond childhood memory. When these memories met the ingredients of his adopted California home–wine, grapes, citrus fruit and ginger-–-his product line was born".
You will find some truly unique flavors and products here.
The White Ginger syrup makes a wonderful tea hot or iced.
It wants"Brontosaurus sized Cheeseburgers"
My hunger mixed with a slight fever has me turning into Fred Flinstone or at least given me his appetite.
Any cheeseburger will do at this point....I am salivating just thinking about it.
Humor me.....Not the best post in the world but what do you expect(I'm Sick...achoo)!
I'm going to go feed my cold a cheeseburger.
Italian Style Cheeseburgers
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon leaf basil, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon leaf oregano, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon pepper
6 slices Colby or Cheddar cheese
6 sandwich buns, split and buttered Lightly mix the ground beef with onion, salt, basil, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper, just until blended.. Shape mixture into 6 patties. Place on broiler pan then broil on both sides until done as desired. Top each patty with a slice of cheese; return to broiler just until cheese begins to melt. Serve in the buttered buns.Cheeseburger recipe makes 6.
