Posted on 08/17/2017 4:07:35 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
It’s been very humid and muggy here the last few days, and I’ve wanted fresh, crisp, and cold things to eat and drink.
This week’s newsletter from Lee Valley features a kicked–up Bread-and-Butter Pickle:
http://www.leevalley.com/us/newsletters/Gardening/2534/Article3.htm
I’ve been looking through ‘Square Meals’, a delightful book by Jane and Michael Stern which is, as the preface states, "about the friendly foods of childhood and the bygone dishes that were, not so long ago, in the repertoire of every homemaker".
It's a fun book, full of vintage/retro recipes, photos and drawings; and a lot of commentary on the food habits of decades past. In a section on The Cuisine of Suburbia, they describe a 'Luau in your Living Room' which includes this recipe for a cocktail called 'Apricot Slush':
Claire's Apricot Slush
6 oz. frozen Orange Juice Concentrate
6 ox. frozen Lemonade Concentrate
1/2 C. Sugar
6 C. water
1 Pt. Apricot Brandy
Blend and freeze. To serve, scoop 1/2 C. into a glass and fill with 7-Up
Serves 8
Another book I found at the thrift store recently is a tiny 1958 book of French recipes from the Peter Pauper Press: ‘Simple French Cookery’, with recipes compiled by Edna Beilenson. (You can still buy this little book through Amazon.) It included a dish that I’d never heard of, but which is apparently a classic of French Bistro fare: Celeri Remoulade – and it looks like an interesting celeriac alternative to Cole Slaw. Here is the Epicurious updated take on it:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/celery-root-remoulade-11069
-JT
He is 12. I also had his two sisters, Cashmere and cotton, until last spring when cashmere passed away. She was always the week one, skinny and finicky. Still, I didn’t expect her to get kidney failure so soon. His name is corduroy. We got him after the girls, so I had to come up with a fabric name starting with the same sound. But we just call him Roy.
The vet said it looks like he is healing. It looks bad to me, but when she strained it to see the wound on the cornea, it was a lot smaller. So he was sent home with the conehead and more anabiotic’s.
I making the pair Jell-O salad as we speak. The lime Jell-O by itself seems pretty strong, so I’m glad to be adding the cream cheese. I’m only making a half recipe because I used the other half in a cilantro cream sauce to go on top of pork tacos. I’m wondering how easily the cream cheese stirs in though? I guess I will find out in a few minutes.
The cream cheese won't stir in. You have to beat it up after it has been brought to room temp and add the cooled jello to it, beating small amounts in at a time and then adding more. Continue until all the jello is incorporated. Hope you got something to work there.
It's a matter of taste, I suppose, but the strongish flavor of the jello is diluted by the water and cream cheese. BTW, I never add the full 2 cups of cold water, go down to about 1/2 to 3/4 a cup (depending on my mood). I like the jello pretty stiff and full-flavored. And the small box of jello might not firm up enough, dunno. I like a lot of cr cheese flavor anyway.
Wish I'd warned you about getting the cream cheese mixed with the jello. I suppose the jello can be slightly warm but shouldn't be hot. But if you have a strong enough mixer, maybe the cream cheese will work in like it sounds you were doing.
Most cream cheese recipes you beat room temp cream cheese before using it in a recipe such as cheesecake, the real deal or refrigerator. Let me know if it turns out and how Roy is doing. Sorry you lost the other one.
Oh well, I will know what to do for next time. I got a whisk and dumped the cream cheese in globs into the Jell-O and tried to whisk it in. The whole thing was probably too cold. Oh well it will still taste good. And a little droplets of cream cheese that didn’t mix in might provide good texture.
Speaking of which, I forgot the walnuts! I’ll go throw a few in...
We buried my Dad in 1995 with his old beat up transistor radio, he loved sitting in the back yard listening to the games. Brother insisted on taking the batteries out so they would not leak. I advocated for putting in fresh batteries and turning it on so we could hear it as he was lowered down. I lost.
I had that lime pear cream cheese jello once, years ago. It was YUMMY! Sounds like your potato salad is pretty close to mine, except I have to put celery and celery seed and sweet relish in it. I ran out of miracle whip last time I made it, but I had a jar of dukes mayo, so I used that instead of my Hellmans, with some vinegar and sugar. Tasted great, and I’m picky.
Nice. Too bad re: the radio. Didn’t see what the big deal would have been; so what was the reason not to put fresh batteries in his radio?
We made sauerkraut in my microbiology class, as an experiential lesson in good microbes. Only the instructor’s turned out. Ours all rotted. :( But his was good. Nothing like the canned stuff.
Brother was afraid the acid from the batteries would leak out over time.
Homemade cheddar cheese soup is easy and delicious. I use 8 oz. regular, not sharp cheddar, shredded, a few slices of American cheese (helps make it smooth and silky), a teaspoon of grated parmesan or romano, 2 12 oz cans evaporated milk, 2 tablespoons each, butter and flour, and a little minced green pepper and minced onion, black pepper, and the tiniest bit of nutmeg. Most people would probably like it with sharp cheddar. I cook the green pepper and onion til it’s soft, not browned, add some flour to make a roux, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes,add the black pepper and nutmeg, whisk in the milk, cook til comes to gentle boil, taste to make sure the raw flour taste is gone, turn off the heat, and stir in the grated and sliced cheeses. You can cheat and add a drop of yellow food color if you must have yellow cheese soup. Taste for salt, adjust accordingly.
Seriously? Well modern batteries don’t do that anymore, they’re sealed.
Kraut (or kapusta) 101. It has to be cold. If it rotted it was probably too warm. I make it ever year, sometimes just a #6 crock, sometimes a #6 and a #8. We are in west Michigan with an attached garage. I put it up in the garage on a table late October and in mid January it is done and I can most of it in quart wide mouths. In Chicago where I grew up, Dad did it in a separated garage. Not a big deal if it freezes, just not frozen solid for a month. My dad was the sauerkraut guru. He walked into a bar once and as soon as he smelled the air he said to the owner, “someone’s got kraut going bad in here.” Sure enough the owner took him in the basement where he had a barrel right near the furnace. Dad helped him dig out what was still good and they put it somewhere colder.
In the summer, mother would make what she called a “cold plate”: Sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, bell pepper slices, and either potato cakes or sometimes fried potatoes. If my dad insisted on meat, she might fry some thick slices of baloney. Sometimes a hot leaf lettuce salad, made with cider vinegar, sugar, and bacon grease with diced cooked bacon, piping hot, poured over the lettuce, with some diced onion. I sometimes make pan fried corn fritters instead of the potatoes, if we don’t have corn on the cob. It’s good year round now, but 40 years ago, corn wasn’t fit to eat if you couldn’t get it to the table within 24 hours after picking it; otherwise, it would turn to starch and be tough and tasteless. I guess genetic engineering isn’t such a bad thing, when used on corn. And STRAWBERRIES! Real biscuit shortcake, still warm, split and buttered, then sugared sliced strawberries, left to sit til lots of juice was formed, poured over both layers of shortcake, then topped with real whipped cream. Yum! It’s a good thing I’ve already had my lunch!
Seems like I remember my mother canning sauerkraut a time or two.
Heh, ya the walnuts. It should taste good. And a blender or a food processor would probably smooth it out. But you might like it just the way it’s going to be.
I quit the sweet relish, too. Just like it on my hot dogs :-). Another version has cut up dill pickles (and a little juice) in it which I like, too. And I still like my traditional if I can ever chew again; I loved it and it did have relish in it. Also like a little green or red pepper in it. Some people put in cukes, think I did once and liked that.
I think the mayo doesn't matter that much, just all I have on hand. Hellman's is mild and the sweet vinegar adds to it. I used to use all Miracle Whip. But don't ever put anything but Hellman's and celery in my tuna salad. I don't like all that other stuff in it. Mine I finally got a knockoff version of ones I used to have at a tea room when I was a little girl. You never forget certain flavors.
I like celery seed in my tomato soup with a pat of butter in it :-). Sprinkle it over the top.
I also like Gruyere in my sauce, a little or a lot. I wanted the soup for something fast since they screwed up the Velveeta and I won't buy it any more.
Sterility is very important, as I understand it. It’s almost like making wine.
I had forgotten that my husband did try it once; it was ‘clean’, but he didn’t like the way it tasted, and tossed it. He thinks he ‘fooled around’ with it too much, instead of just leaving it be.
A project for another day. (We did small batches in big mason jars, and I really think you have to do it the giant-crock way.)
Well, the walnuts floated on top so they are mingled with the little bits of cream cheese that didn’t mix in. I definitely won’t be making it this way for guests! LOL but it should taste fine
Yeah, I brush my cats every other day, come rain or shine. If I don’t keep up with it, they just become a mangled mess. The two girls were pains, growling and fighting me, while the boy would just sit there and purr his head off. I always saved him for last, like dessert. Well I still miss cashmere every day, I don’t miss having to brush her. She also had the most interesting winter fur. In the summer her coat was pretty skimpy. in the winter she grew so much fur that two separate people called her a yeti. She got so much fur on her face that I had to trim it or she could not see. I tried putting in infant barrettes but she took those out pretty quick. I hated spring time and she would lose all that for, and I would have to fight her to get it all out before it matted up. She was awful pretty being that fluffy though.
She was a chinchilla Persian, so she was just very very lightly silver on the tips of her fur.
Well, the walnuts floated on top so they are mingled with the little bits of cream cheese that didn’t mix in. I definitely won’t be making it this way for guests! LOL but it should taste fine
Yeah, I brush my cats every other day, come rain or shine. If I don’t keep up with it, they just become a mangled mess. The two girls were pains, growling and fighting me, while the boy would just sit there and purr his head off. I always saved him for last, like dessert. Well I still miss cashmere every day, I don’t miss having to brush her. She also had the most interesting winter fur. In the summer her coat was pretty skimpy. in the winter she grew so much fur that two separate people called her a yeti. She got so much fur on her face that I had to trim it or she could not see. I tried putting in infant barrettes but she took those out pretty quick. I hated spring time and she would lose all that for, and I would have to fight her to get it all out before it matted up. She was awful pretty being that fluffy though.
She was a chinchilla Persian, so she was just very very lightly silver on the tips of her fur.
Celery seed in tomato soup? That sounds good. I made homemade tomato soup once. A little grated onion and a little allspice with the tomatoes and milk or evaporated milk, I don’t remember which. It turned out really well, but my husband didn’t care for the consistency, because it was thicker than Campbell’s. Now that I have an immersion blender, he probably would like it. Never tried dill pickles in my potato salad. Sounds good.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.