| July 2004 |
|
June is over and what a busy month. We had retired teacher’s luncheon at the Hampton Methodist Church. They served a delicious baked potato lunch. We had several toppings, tossed salad, dessert and beverages. Every one was very pleased. We left that afternoon and drove to Collinsville, the next day Nashville and Friday we arrived in Northport Alabama. My friends from college were having their Fifth Wedding Anniversary and I had been a bridesmaid. I made all the arrangements with Pat and Ron’s children. We stayed three days and came back in two days. We were back by the 15th and spent the rest of the week baking for Ride The River. We had a very nice crowd. It was Father’s Day. My son Merlin Jr was here with his family from DesMoines because her was born on Father’s Day back in 1966. I baked Strudel for both Ride the River and the Grand Excursion. Several people asked for the recipe. I said I would put it in my Column. It is an excellent recipe and very easy.
APRICOT JAM STRUDEL
½ cup cold butter
2 c flour
½ t salt
1 c sour cream (fat free can be used)
½ c jam. I used all fruit jam. ½ jar and all flavors are good.
½ c white raisins
2/3 chopped walnuts or pecans
powdered sugar.
Combine butter, flour and salt in a bowl and mix with a pastry blender. Stir in sour cream. Refrigerate over night. I cut the dough in three pieces and put each in a plastic bag to put in the refrigerator. The next day roll each piece on a slightly floured board in to a 10x15 rectangle. Spread with jam, raisins, and nuts. Roll as like a jelly roll Place seam side down on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cool for 10 minutes on a rack sift with powdered sugar. You can then cut each strudel into 1 inch piece.
You can double this recipe and make 6. I use the Smuckers 100% fruit or All fruit . It is also good with cream cheese and cinnamon and a little sugar. These are very low in sugar and if you use fat free sour cream they only 1/6 lb of butter.
While we were in Alabama I did buy a little cookbook called “High on The Hog Hillbilly recipes” by Ella Mai Tucker. It has recipes for squirrel pie, Ham and Red-eye Gravy, Home-Made Hominy and Persimmon Pudding. The one that sounded interesting to me was:
SAUERKRAUT CAKE
2/3 c butter or margarine
1 1/2c sugar Blend together
3 eggs, beaten
1 t vanilla Beat in
2 ¼ c all purpose flour
½ c cocoa
1 t baking powder
1 t soda
¼ t salt
1 c water Sift dry ingredients together, and add alternately with water.
2/3 c sauerkraut Rinse, drain and chop, and stir in. Turn into two 8 in pan or one 9x13pan and bake until center springs back when lightly pressed. 350 degrees. 30 mins. Ice and fill with mocha whipped cream or a powder sugar icing.
This recipe seemed very unique to me
LIVING YEAST
1 potato, about the size of a large hen egg
2 T sugar
flour to make a stiff batter
Peel the potato and boil until done in unsalted water. Drain, saving the water, and mash. Add sugar and ¾ c of the potato water, and enough flour(a llittle at a time) to make a rather stiff batter. Place in a 1 quart, wide-mouthed fruit jar, cover with foil (never seal tight), and hold in a warm place to ferment, which should take less than a week. (You can hasten the fermenting process, if you wish by adding a package of Active Dry Yeast.)
TO MAKE BREAD, USING LIVING YEAST
“ Set the sponge” when preparing the evening meal for warm bread at noon the next day; set the sponge in early morning for warm bread for the evening meal.
To “set the sponge” place all of the above yeast mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 cups warm milk or un salted potato water, 1T sugar, and 1 ½ cups flour, or enough flour ( a little at a time) to make a stiff batter, beating in well as you add, Cover bowl with oiled paper and let stand until moorning, or until mice and bubbly if setting the sponge in morning
Before proceeding to make the bread, take out of this bubbly spong-mixture a good, heaping 5 T of the sponge and place in the refrigerator, covering the jar with foil. This is your yeast for the next bread baking. All of this will then be placed in the mixing bowl, the sponge set the same as directed above; then, when nice and bubbly, another heaping 5 T of the sponge will again be taken and stored to be used the next time, and so on and on. At any time in the future, should the sponge fail to become bubbly, throw it away and start over, fresh.
To what is left in the mixing bowl of the sponge, (or to the 5 heaping T of yeast, with which you will start each time from then on) add
2 c milk or unsalted potato water, warmed
1 t salt
1t sugar
1 T shortening
flour enough to make a dough you can handle, adding gradually, and working it in well after each addition.
Turn out on a floured bread board and knead, then place in greased bowl and let stand to rise to double in bulk in a warm place-it should rise in about 1 ½ hours.
Punch down, then and shape into two small loaves, or one medium-sized loaf and a pan of rolls. Loaves should fill the pans but half-way. Place in greased pans, let rise to double in bulk in a warm, and bake in a moderate oven. Bake 350 degrees F. about 45 minutes, or until golden brown and the bread has pulled away from the sides of the pan. Turn out of pans at once and butter sides and tops.
The lady that gave this recipe said if you want to have really good luck with your bread be sure to give some of it away.
My grandmother Mattie used to make Buckwheat pancakes by this method. She would set the dough in a crock each night and then make pancakes in the morning. I have never tasted anything quite like them. They had a very unique taste.
I hope to have a few quiet weeks until Aug. My Mom ,Mary EllenMcNeal fell in her home and cracked her pelvis. She is staying at Bev and Jack Coder’s if you would like to send her a card. 107 5th St Hampton Il 61256. If you have any good recipes I am always in need.