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
I’d be MORE than happy to take as many of them off your hands as you can spare!
Also, I really miss SC peaches. Haven’t found any yet here in FL. Grabbed a few California ones my Mom swears ripened really sweet and juicy for her. We’ll see! I’m going on a hunt for them this weekend as well as good tomatoes that used to come from the “Tomato Capital” Ruskin, FL. No luck so far.
Love baked potatoes with butter. And I eat the skins.
I don’t make cheese soups but I’m sure I would love them. One day I will try, and maybe some family members would try them, but some would not. My redheads do not like cheese.
That sounds fast and easy! and I’ll remember it.
Thanks!
James Lileks writing is very similar. His website takes me back to my mom's fancy cooking of the day. Lots of old photos and advertising make it alot of fun to peruse. He's also a bit of a conservative which is a rare bird in Minneapolis.
http://lileks.com/institute/gallery/
Sorry no live link. I tried twice and it wouldn’t work. :(
LOL! I recognized Lileks’ name, but had forgotten him. Thanks for the reminder!
You are welcome! I just laughed out loud at his French cuisine takes. Feels so good to laugh these days!
I remember looking to buy my first car and my first question was "does the radio work?"..
of course she never used a recipe, and back then as kids ,since we played outside all the time, we were hungry and everything tasted great...
it was a creamy soup...
so tonite, with fresh beans from our garden I tried it....not too bad if I do say so myself...
my recipe was just cooking the cut up green beans in salted water, and in another pan made a rue to which I added half and half, and then slowly incorporated the green bean water and the beans...
salt and pepper and there you go....
I love making burgers at home. Ground sirloin is a must. But the sliced dill pickles [I use Vlasic] are key.
I just don’t get that at restaurants.
I want to try sauerkraut as well.
I have made my own kimchi for quite a few years. Hope sauerkraut is as easy!
BTW, you choose great topics!
Made this the other night and really enjoyed it. I added some roasted butternut squash that I had in the fridge.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/summer-strawberry-panzanella
Here is another one that we also like. We have mounds of tomatoes in the garden.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/blt-panzanella-salad
Yes, we passed the place on our way to Spruce Head (it’s on Route 1). The lines were unreal. We always have bk’fast at Moodys on our trip up and buy the new year’s coffee cup model. Yes, the blueberry pie is excellent although I’ve been making them now for two weeks, too.
This is a nice picnic recipe. I add goat or feta cheese to this as well as some fresh mint. I serve this with cold rotisserie chicken, white wine sangria with fresh peaches.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/farro-cherry-walnut-salad
Reds is just an American Icon in Wiscasett Me.
Great Haddock,Clams,home made ice cream, wonderful view.
Wiscasetts’ main street is Route 1. Gorgeous town unfortunately overrun with tourists.
My SIL made sauerkraut & it turned out just fine - the biggest issue was the jar overflowing as the cabbage fermented. I found “pickle pipes” and bought her a set (plus the weights) for her birthday. Warning - they are NOT cheap, but I hit a nice pipe/weights combo sale. The reviews on them are pretty good - you can get regular or wide-mouth. Here’s a link:
https://www.masontops.com/products/pickle-pipe
In the meanwhile, as of two days ago, I (and my mom) are on an anti-inflammatory ‘diet’ ... I prefer to call it a way of eating/living. This year, she started having arthritis flare ups that leave one hand or the other useless for a week. She also had it in an ankle & after an MRI, ended up with a cortisone shot so she could walk. My issues have been building for about 3 months - I won’t bore you with the details, but after a day or two of sitting down and really analyzing what I was eating & doing some research, I know the culprit. It’s going to take a couple of months to get all “systems” back in order.
Mom bought a book (asked the bookstore guy for some books on the subject & liked this one) called “The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book”. I love the recipes .... right up my alley. It’s sort of a combo of Mediterranean with some Paleo. I started Wednesday - ate “well” all day & yesterday I was surprised that I felt noticeably better. Today, I feel a lot better than yesterday. Dr. Black does have some of her recipes on line - here’s a link (note - mini grain-free pumpkin ‘pies’ are going to be made for this Thanksgiving):
http://drjessicablack.com/recipes/
My SIL (next door) has a flock of young chickens that are free-range & they’ve just started laying - she’s swamped with eggs so I am the happy beneficiary of eggs on a regular basis. For lunch yesterday, I had the ‘Banana Eggnog’ except I had no banana so I added a few frozen blueberries. It was tasty & held me all the way to dinner without a blood sugar drop. Dinner was a Curried Quinoa with Vegetables salad (in the book) - quinoa, red peppers, scallions, raisins, olive oil/lemon juice with curry/allspice dressing. Delicious!
I’m excited to be feeling better & hopefully this will help mom with her arthritis. I’ve known about the “inflammation” issue & ‘diets’ for years, but it never applied to me personally the way it does now. I still need to go mostly low carb, but that’s not hard to do with the foods/recipes we’ll be using.
On an unrelated note, I was feeling inspired yesterday (because I’m taking control of the health situation & doing something productive about it) and taught myself to knit with double pointed needles. I can knit with straight & circular needles, but have always put off dpn projects. I’m making the sweetest little baby hat for a relative’s baby boy who is due around the 1st of September. It’s a good way to spend time when it’s ridiculously hot & humid to be outside.
I live for fresh mozzarella and basil, which I usually just dress with a splash of olive oil and some salt.
I start craving FRESH basil with clockwork regularity halfway through February. Pesto is usually enough to squeeze me through until the real stuff starts growing, but nothing can replace real live tomatoes.
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