Elaine and I had a marvelous conversation Friday about what we remembered from our youth. (Which for both is a decade over a half-century ago!).
Green Jell-O at church gatherings came up.
Her preference was for the Jell-O with cottage cheese. Mine? Green Jell-O with a (drained) can of mixed fruit cocktail in it. Topped with a thick layer of marshmallow-cream cheese topping.
Odd – tastes, memories, and gatherings. Brings us back to grounding.
I sometimes wonder what a “food free Church” would be like? The Danish Lutheran church in Seattle our family attended was heavily based on food fellowship. Which ran the gamut from a cup of coffee and a cookie (after a service). To some multi-course amazing dinners of Danish food done in the commercial kitchen downstairs from the sanctuary.
Good times? Good food? The kind of “mental video tapes” to play back on an Easter weekend morning.
Treats from Nancy!
The Saturday Gourmet is a little behind schedule, so our guest chef today is Nancy. Who checks in with her…
“Here are my recipes for blueberry pound cake and cherry pound cake.
One box of pound cake mix, one stick of melted butter, either two large eggs or three small eggs, and some whipping cream. Mix in a bowl all ingredients. Cinnamon is optional. Add as many fresh blueberries as you possibly can. I use a lot, and I get them from Costco. I use a Bundt pan. Bake it at 350 degrees for nearly an hour. Check on the cake at 45 minutes so cake does not get too brown. Spread either vanilla icing or cream cheese icing on top when cake is cooled.
One box of pound cake, one stick of melted butter, either two large eggs or three small eggs, and some whipping cream. Mix in a bowl all ingredients. Cinnamon is optional. Add a jar full of Maraschino cherries and slice each cherry in half. Add most of a jar of cherry preserves. I use a Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for nearly an hour. Check on the cake at 45 minutes so cake does not get too brown. Spread either vanilla icing or cream cheese icing on top when cake is cooled.
I live at an elevation of 7,000 feet, so my cake mixes are on the thick side so they rise correctly.”
Beans, Too!
As long as we’ve set her loose in the kitchen, here’s her baked beans recipe, too!
“Soon, it will be time to cook meat on the BBQ grill; time to clean the patio and get the grill ready for cooking. Along with corn on the cob, baked potatoes, and veggies, baked beans make a very popular side dish to hamburgers, franks, ribs, steaks, chicken, and brisket. Here’s my recipe for baked beans that will feed a crowd of folks.
In a large pot, pour three to four cans of assorted baked beans and one can of pinto beans. Finely chop one large, whole white onion, Vidalia if possible, and a few cloves of garlic. Place them in a small skillet along with some extra virgin olive oil and a lot of real butter and let simmer. In another skillet, cook several slices of bacon. Add the following ingredients to the pot of beans: red chile powder, diced green chile that has been previously roasted, salt, black pepper, oregano, liquid bbq sauce of your choice, cumin, a bit of honey, cilantro, and a bit of Jack Daniels whiskey. Jalapenos and liquid smoke are optional.
These ingredients are all added in specific quantity to the taste of the cook, and also depending upon how spicy the guests are accustomed to eating their food. When the onion and garlic are done, add them to the pot, along with the olive oil and butter that they cooked in. When the bacon is done, break into pieces and add to the pot. When cooking a pot of chili, the cook may place the pot either upon a large burner on top of a gas stove or place the pot in the oven at 325 degrees for three hours. Thanks!”
When she’s not sharing recipes, Nancy is a rock star among gemstone designers.
Next weekend, I will try to get the SatGourmet out earlier. LOOB is going to teach us how to make home-made cornflakes. (Flaky as I am, this should be fun!)
Tomorrow, ShopTalk looks at ShopSmith tools and the art of the “right toolbox.”
Now, I have to excuse myself and go toss a largish honey-baked ham in the slow cooker…
Write when you get rich,
George@Ure.net
“Now here comes another dandy read from The Atlantic which speaks very much to the trend: “A Black Army Rises to Fight the Racist Right A man calling himself Grandmaster Jay has raised a disciplined, heavily armed militia. It has yet to fire a shot at its enemies, but it’s prepared for war.”
What I find curious… Is you don’t see the racest actions that happen in the big cities happening here in the outback.. Now when I asked an adopted grand daughter she said that it upset her a little because once in a while someone would want to touch her hair.. and in school there were bullies.. ( the principle should be fired for not stopping or attempting to stop the bully action and I have told him as much as well..but that doesn’t just happen to little black children that happens all the time and should be dealt with swiftly.. been there done that)
On the big city side.. a Nephew has his own gang in a poorer neighborhood.. and from what he posts on mass media sites should be put over someones knee and spanked ( I have told him as much to( I actually said kid are you brain dead or just stupid. does your mom and dad know you do this crap..) . and I am not being racest.. just worried that a child that could have a great future ahead of them is throwing it all away ).. he is to big for that so my fear is Jail and future prison time will be his next options.. but that hasn’t got a thing to do with the fact that He’s black but more on.. He didn’t have adult supervision because he mother had to work and he was left to the neighborhood and the gangs there to raise..
speaking about the grand daughter.. ( adopted grand daughter. black of course otherwise I wouldn’t have brought her up… ) she told me that she is expecting so as a good granpa should I have been name dropping LOL LOL LOL. Unfortunately she and her fiancee are going to school in Germany.. one of the kids that listened to me about getting an education outside the country.. so I won’t get to see her this Easter.. to bad.Although the one that is going to Juliard is back for the weekend so she should be stopping by for coffee which will be nice.. ( she likes to tease me lol ) . just the thought of her being a mom brings back memories of her in her dancing shoes.. or playing catch outside.. they grow up way to fast enjoy them when they are young…
as far as the militarization of the cities Neighborhoods.. I can see that.. as we go back to the feudal system and in area’s where BLM and Antifa have neutered the police.. I am afraid we will see more actions like that.. I think instead of the gangs controlling the neighborhoods.. neighborhood militia’s will take the spot of police..
Thanks! Ours usuallyends up just being pound cake . . . ‘someone’ eats all the berries before they can be mixed-in. :-)
My late mom used to put a light layer about 1/2” of crushed pineapple in sugar syrup right out of the can at the bottom of the pound cake form/pan (either the circular pan with the ‘tunnel’ hole in the center or the regular loaf pan, bake that by itself for about 10 minutes, then pour in the batter and bake the cake per normal, adding a minute or two to the bake time. The cooked pineapple glaze on the top was outrageous. When in a hurry (or if you don’t trust the above method), cook up some crushed pineapple on the stove top until it just starts turning light brown, then lightly spoon it over the very slightly undercooked baked pound cake (2 minutes under done or so) once the cake has cooled enough to free it from the baking pan and is slightly cooled. Make sure to leave the oven on. Then place marriage of yumminess back into the oven for 3-4 minutes (similar process to glazing a ham).
dam that sounds good to WarHammer……
Pineapple upside pound cake — yummy! Thanks, WH.
Lime green Jello with cottage cheese and pineapple is wonderful.
we are big jello and pudding people here to.. love lime green but the vast majority love cherry.. or strawberry…
Jack Daniels .. I never have tried that.. thanks Nancy.. I will put in a batch of baked beans..
I would love to learn how to make Texas Beans.. the trip to the SW the biggest thing I had eaten there that was to die for was Texas beans… I have tried so many times to replicate it.. and still haven’t gotten the knack of it down…
I saw this in a movie late one night about sweet bean paste. What really stood out was the street it was on was filled with cherry blossoms. Beautiful! I am posting the link to the recipe for Anko, bean paste, the process in the movie took hours the old way but there are short cuts.
Anko (sweet red bean paste) Recipe: https://www.japanesecooking101.com/anko/
Link to movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4298958/
Burdened with a heavy and ever-increasing debt, a dorayaki baker hires a kind ageing woman, after tasting her delicious surprise. Little by little, she unravels her beautiful inner world. Could she be holding the secret to his success?
Enjoy!
Sorry I am on week 3 of Keto. My favorite food that is on the list is Steak and Whiskey 0 carbs. Dr. refused to give up CC for Sam trip to purchase necessities so I eat boiled eggs and salad. Oh well. I do get Fish, green beans, shrimp and some ground meat and tuna fish wrapped in lettuce. Did I mention I do not like Keto. Well at week four switching to sugar buster and eat for your blood type. So much fun. Like dear old dad used to say with diets like this all you can really have is shredded wheat no milk. Oops can’t have wheat. There is Gouda cheese though.
Time to hit the special bottle of Skrewball peanut-butter flavored adult beverage.
Yes it is real.
Boiled eggs.. I use to have the best recipe for sweet pickled deviled eggs. It was one of the countries presidents favorite weaknesses.
I got the recipe out of a really really old cook book.. and I made them regularly. But the book and recipe either was thrown away..it was really brittle or someone borrowed it and never returned it or my ex wife has it. .
I do make really good dill pickles..crisp like clawson..and would love to get the old pickled egg recipe back..
Omg… I love google.. I did a genera search for president Filmores pickled eggs and found it lol. Before it gets lost again I’m going to post it here..
12 hard-boiled eggs
2 cups distilled white vinegar
1 cup beets , peeled and sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon mace
1 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 cup mayo
1 tspSriracha (or to taste)
Smoked paprika for garnish
Peels the eggs and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Place the remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until beets are tender. Place the eggs into two 1-quart jars. Pour beet mixture over eggs. Cover jars tightly and place them in a cool, dark place for at least 2 days [aka the fridge].
My additions instructions:
Instead of boiling fresh beets, I used 2 cans of sliced beets and added it straight to the saucepan and brought to a boil with the remaining ingredients (except for the eggs).
http://thecurioustastebud.com/blog/2016/1/19/millard-fillmores-pickled-eggs-pretty-little-nightmares
GREAT GEMSTONE SETTINGS!!!
They look like jewelry I would expect to see on the High Elves in Lord of the Rings.
Nancy, you’re so lucky to have kept up and developed your gem cutting craft to such a high degree! Do you develop and cast your own settings?
I had a lap when the kids were coming along. My step-dad taught me the craft and I did enjoy it. It was originally in the master bedroom, then got moved to the South bedroom which later turned into one of the kids bedrooms whereupon I was “commanded” to move it to the garage. You can imagine how difficult it was to keep it clean out there! After seeing one too many scratches go across a perfect table facet I finally just sold it to a friend but I still miss it to this day. Still have a pigeon blood red CZ … somewhere … I cut. I worked mostly in blue Topaz with the Texas Star cut.
Dam girl – you do beautiful work..
Really like the yellow Topaz wit Chrysoprase vibe- nice look..Very fine detail work on all Ure pieces – Ure cutting work = amaze ballz – really impressed.
I take my work to a lil Italian lady from south philly/jewlers row – tough as nails. She helps me (creates) with settings – they design and produce – collab. on my swiss cheese brain ideas..
Just 2 projects this season (spring&summer) – single – cushion cut Nummite, set in Silber, a chunky, “rocky”, bouldery design.
The other is a single – cushion cut Dark Green Imperial Jasper – the likes of which I have never seen before, but my old lapidary guy id’d/called it imperial jasper..set in yellow gold – formal..
Really impressed with your work Nancy – color me inspired.
Just emerging from a cloud of dust and “stuff” as the wife cleans up for the kids to show up this evening. I think there’s food involved so I may come out from my hiding place. If I don’t show send out a search party!
Sure miss the days when my Mom cranked out tons of pumpkin bread, cookies and cakes from the Greeks. We always knew something good was coming our way when the old mix-master was whirling. We found that old thing in the garage a few weeks ago. Thinking about cleaning it up and putting it back to work.
The German Lutheran family gathering treat, virtually unknown outside of Wisconsin: “Schaum Torte”. For our large family pot-luck gatherings, my aunt who organized them would say ‘NO SCHAUM TORTES!’ because otherwise EVERYBODY would bring the same thing! My aunt who organized it all would bring the Schaum Torte… the only one.
https://www.culinaryhill.com/schaum-torte/
Mom’s Recipe Hall of Fame: Ham and Bean Soup
The perfect destination for those ham leftovers.
Stock:
1 meaty ham bone
16 cups water
5 sprigs parsley
1 medium onion, quartered
2 carrots, peeled, cut into chunks
2 ribs celery, with leaves cut into chunks
Soup:
1 tbsp. oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, sliced into 1/4 inch slices,
3 ribs celery, sliced
Stock from above
1 1/2 to 2 cups leftover diced ham
1 can 32 oz. Great Northern beans or dried beans soaked overnight
salt and pepper to taste
To make stock:
In a large stock pot, place ham bone, water, parsley, onion, carrots and celery. Cook over medium heat until it just begins to bubble. Cover slightly, reduce heat to simmer and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add more water if needed.
Remove the bone and set it aside. Strain the stock back into the pot. Or strain into a bowl, cool and refrigerate overnight. Skim off fat the next day. Pick off meat from the bone cut into bite size pieces.
To make soup:
In large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Saute for 5 minutes until onions soften. Add the stock, chopped ham and beans. Heat over medium heat. Simmer about 45 minutes or until carrots are softened.
Adventurous types will add a splash or 2 of crystal hot sauce to their bowls.
Serve with fresh warm cornbread:
https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/6241-cornbread
just got an air fryer.
Have tried french fries so far-really good
Could be addictive
Any other suggestions for what to make in an air fryer?
Everything ….depending on which one you got.. the kids bought me one..
I set it for raising bread dough.. makes great toast.. french fries you know about..pork chops perfectly done.. I use that as much as I do the instapot. I’ll crisp up a couple pounds of bacon just for bacon bits..make croutons. Dehydrator. I don’t dehydrate because I have a freeze dryer…
If you ever get a freeze dryer..
https://harvestright.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwpKCDBhBPEiwAFgBzj6oCQrbViwK94TXivhTc5VPth5AuIZxAa01fx2BIX7n_5jZyw-d0KBoC268QAvD_BwE
Don’t taste the onions or the dill pickle slices…
If you do..you’ll end up eating twenty pounds of onions in a sitting lol..
Pineapple never makes it to storage..
Most people toss out two to three grand a year in leftovers.. we freeze dry and package.
Thanks, George,
In answer to Bill, I have been cutting gems for 35 years. I have gems in the Smithsonian, the mineral museum in Socorro, New Mexico, and the Natural History museum in Albuquerque. I usually design a cut for a gem that best utilizes the rough piece of gem material for an interesting shape that also promotes a lot of sparkle. Often, this becomes a unique design. I also repair damaged gems and recut existing gems. Most faceters do not like to do this, but I enjoy it. Repairs can be challenging and are usually fun.
The website I keep is terribly out of date, as it does not showcase all of my jewelry. The jewelry you can see, plus the pieces not on the website, were all designed my late husband and I using SolidWorks computer program. We would also use 3D Coat for gallery work on basket settings and such. We cast our pieces ourselves, and my late husband would finish the pieces and set the stones. Many of the jewelry we made was specifically designed and made for my faceted gems. We also made custom pieces.
Thank you all for your compliments.
Wow. To repair a damaged stone takes a lot of skill. Don’t know what or if you use different laps but doing something like that on the one I had would have been nearly impossible. I forget the name of it but it was a good one for it’s time. Break or melt the stone off the dop and you’re back to square one but transferring the stone from one dop to another to do the top or bottom must have provided a way to do this. It’s been too long ago to remember it. But to more or less free-form a stone’s cut is something I’d not heard of back in the 70s and beyond. We certainly didn’t have computer programs to go by!
I did enjoy the lapidary work when working in my step dad’s shop and a friend who had a bigger shop in town. Life moved on and took me in a different direction but the memories are good ones. I still have a measured ton of geodes in the back yard as well as a few other mineral samples. The market and industry has changed quite a bit.
I still have to get a ring or necklace with a rose quartz gem in it..
I Should maybe get motivated on getting that before everything comes unhinged..
Nancy,
I used to belong to the Georgia Mineral Society and go to a couple of large gem and mineral shows every year. Your work is incredible.
He called them
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/04/get-nazis-calgary-pastor-shouts-police-interrupting-church-service-holy-week-video/
Good polish pastor
Called them a Gestapo
That is true devotion to his faith! We’re all being tested now. Hope I make at least a B minus.