Bran Muffins

Jennie was just asking me about mom's bran muffin recipe when I came across this one on my computer. It very well may have been the one mom used. That's the problem with mom's recipes---we never know which she used and how she tweaked it. So, here's this one. I can't vouch for it because I've never tried it, and I don't know if it really makes that many muffins, but that's what is written :)

Bran Muffins
Dorothy Hawkes

1 c shortening or margarine
1 ½ tsp salt
2 ½ c sugar
4 eggs unbeaten
2 c boiling water
1 quart buttermilk
6 c bran buds cereal (?)
5 c sifted flour
5 tsp baking soda

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, liquids, and dry ingredients. Add nuts raisins and dates if desired. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. I can be stored in the refrigerator for 6 weeks and used as needed. If stored, add nuts, raisins, dates, etc.. at time of baking. Makes 130! “_

Oatmeal Nut Cookies

Katie requested this recipe of mom's, so I thought I'd post it here for all. We actually got this from Cheryl Arney who gave it to us along with some of her own family recipes for our weddings. Mom's original must have been lost in the shuffle. It smacks of Grandma Davidson, so I suspect it came from her.

Oatmeal Nut Cookies

1 c applesauce
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c c shortening
1 1/2 c oatmeal
2 eggs
1 t baking soda dissolved in 1/4 c hot water
2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1 c raisins boiled in a small amount of water
1 c chopped walnuts

Mix shortening, brown sugar, and eggs thoroughly. Add oats, dry ingredients and soda. Add raisins and nuts.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

RSC substitutes

I need a substitute for a Relief Society Casserole. A friend in our ward here just had a baby. I would love to take her a dinner, but can't seem to think of just the right thing. Every one-dish dinner I can think of/find has a gzillion calories, dozens of fat grams, and costs a fortune in cheese, cream cheese, mayo, or a combination of the above, with no nutritional value to speak of. My favorite to take is a rotisserie chicken, some tortillas, black beans, cheese, etc. But without a Costco here we don't have good rotisserie chickens, and even with a Costco it does end up costing about $10 for the meal, which is a little high for us right now. And it ends up being kind of a lot of stuff to clutter up a fridge.

Anyone have any ideas for cheap, healthy, easy-to-transport meals?

Tim and Becky, did you get any meals from family or friends when you had C-man? What were your favorites?

Cracked Wheat Cereal

Hey all -- has anyone successfully reproduced mom's cracked wheat hot cereal? I'm in desperate need of new breakfast ideas, and I'm curious as to whether I really love it as much as my memory tells me I do. I don't know why I haven't tried to make it before now... Anyone know whether I use bulgar wheat or whole wheat berries or something else? I imagine she soaked the wheat overnight before cooking it. We make steel cut oatmeal (to-die-for, by the way: no glue, lots of flavor) in our rice cooker -- program it to be ready when we wake up. Maybe the wheat works the same way?

my favorite non-green salads

Here are the recipes of my 3 favorite salads in case you don't have them, have forgotten, and/or need something new to bring to the ward sociable:

Russian Potato Salad

from the Moosewood Cookbook (not sure which one)

2 c potatos, peeled, diced, and cooked (I prefer to boil them in halves, then cool and cube quite small)

2 c carrots, peeled, diced, and cooked

2 c beets, cooked, peeled, and cubed

1 c minced dill

1/3 c minced onion

1 c tart apple, diced small (Granny Smith)

2/3 c heavy cream or sour cream (I use sour cream)

2 T lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (I prefer the taste of cider vinegar with the sour cream)

dash or salt, sugar, and ground black pepper (I increased all to at least 1/4 t)

If preparing ahead of time, keep veggies and sauce separate until just before serving. Note to Hawkeses who tend to estimate measurements (me!): this salad is much yummier if the quantities are followed exactly rather than estimated. I tend to under-eye-ball the carrots, onions, and dill pickle.

Roasted Corn Salad

Mom's

6 large ears corn, brushed with olive oil, broiled for 6 min/side

2 poblano or pasilla chiles, roasted under broiler (with corn) until blistered and charred. Let rest 15 minutes in paper bag, then peel, core, seed, and remove membranes before chopping.

1 large ripe tomato (fresh from the garden!)

1 white onion, diced (I prefer a small onion or 1/2 large, diced larger), massaged w/ 1/2 t salt

1 sweet red bell pepper, diced

1 sweet green bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 ripe Hass avocado

Italian dressing to taste (Good seasons made with red wine vinegar is my favorite)

If preparing ahead of time, reserve avocado, tomato, and dressing until just before serving.

French Potato Salad

Janet's

3-4 lbs potatoes, cooked and cubed or 1/2 inch sliced

green beans (optional)

3 T minced shallots

1/2 t salt

1/4 pepper

2 T country dijon (Grey Poupon) mustard

2 T red wine vinegar

Pulse the above several times w/ hand-held blender before adding

1 c canola oil

With hand blender, blend all ingredients and lift blender *very* slowly until emulsified. Note: if blender is raised too quickly, the oil will separate, and the dressing will have to be thrown out. Be patient!

Enjoy!

Rehabilitating Salsa

No time to make salsa fresh? Here's a summer solution I just figured out. Just take whatever bland jar salsa you have on hand (like the huge bottle of Costco salsa we have in the fridge), dice a fresh tomato, chop up some fresh cilantro, and then mix into a bowl of the bottled salsa. (I'm sure you could do the same with roasted garlic or peppers.) Fact is: salsa isn't meant to be bottled because it immediately loses what makes it special--that fresh from the garden taste. But it does make a decent salsa tomato base, so just add back in the fresh stuff and ... voila! Great salsa.

Chocolate Pudding

We really enjoy this pudding recipe from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook:
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tb cornstarch
2 Tb Dutch-processed cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups milk
3 large egg yolks
6 oz melted bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
2 tsp vanilla extract

The original recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups half and half, but that's overkill in my book. Even 1 percent milk works fine. It also calls for a tablespoon of unsalted butter, which also seems unnecessary. (Let me put it this way: I don't miss it when I leave it out.)

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium sauce pan. Slowly wisk in the milk, then the egg yolks one at a time. Add the melted chocolate (don't worry about lumps: they'll dissolve as it cooks).

Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium high heat, whisking gently and/or scraping the sides as it heats up. Once it starts to simmer, reduce the heat to medium, continue to stir, and let the pudding cook until it thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (1-2 minutes).

Remove from the heat and strain through a fine strainer, pushing it through with a spatula if necessary. (This removes any little bits of cooked egg and/or unmelted chocolate.) Stir in the vanilla extract (and butter if you want to try it that way) and chill for about 3 hours if you want it chilled through. Or, if you can't wait, eat it warm, which is a great way to eat it. (Remember how Mom used to serve the cook and serve pudding that way? You actually get a richer flavor if you eat it warm.)

The recipe says to "press plastic wrap directly on the surface" to prevent a skin from forming, but if you're like me, the skin is half the charm.

Lick all the varous bowls, pans, spoons, and whisks used in cooking the pudding (or, if you're feeling particularly generous, share them with the kids), and, once it's reached your preferred temperature (or if you lose patience waiting for it to cool), eat it straight with the biggest spoon you can find or serve with a dollop of fresh whipping cream.

Variation: add a half teaspoon (or more) of ground cinammon to the dry ingredients. The family remains dubious, but I love the combination of cinammon and chocolate--it adds depth and interest. (I do the same with chocolate ice cream, gelato, etc.) If you're feeling really adventurous, add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Oh yeah.