My Mom’s Recipe Boxes

Memories of Food gone by…

I have spent the last few weeks taking care of my mother and then sitting by her bed side as she died of cancer. Now comes the time of going through her things, clearing out her apartment, examining her life, and contemplating all that goes with the death of a loved one and what comes next. My mother was a great cook and I have written previously here about learning to love cooking from her. I have so many happy memories of cooking together, cooking for our family, making desserts for my dad. I have memories of great meals and of family traditions based on food.  In the course of sorting through things, I have been given my mom’s recipe boxes. What a treasure and how sweet it has been to look through and see what she thought was important to cut out of a newspaper and to find some of the family classics. I thought I would share a few and some story that goes with them. I wish I had good photos of some of the recipes. As you can imagine as recipe keepers yourselves, they are tattered and stained and full of history.

One of the ones that I was anxious to get is an old family favorite – Prune Cake. This recipe is handwritten on an old envelope along with a to do list on each side. That day, she went to the cleaners, the Hospital, Rentzsche’s ( which I think I remember was a clothing store), talked to or saw Marjorie, and a few things I cannot read. According to the other list she called Helen, who was her friend until her dying day, Mildred, Audria and Rich. The last three I do not remember. The envelope is totally covered with food and oil stains. This was a well used and well loved recipe. I have no idea of its origins though I did find several references on the internet and other blog posts with pretty much the same recipe.

Prune Cake

for the cake:

1 1/2c. sugar
3 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. oil
1 c. chopped cooked prunes
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. soda
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. allspice
1 c. chopped nuts
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Sift flour and spices, salt, and soda. Add sugar, stir in oil and beaten eggs, buttermilk, nuts and vanilla. 40 minutes at 300º. ( I am thinking this goes in a  9x9in. pan which I would grease)

for the sauce:

1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. soda
1 stick oleo ( ! ) ( I would use butter)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 T. Karo syrup

Cook 7 minutes after it boils. Stick cake with fork and pour sauce in and over. ( poke a lot of holes and the sauce seeps down into the cake. After it cools, these places become super yummy!).

My brothers were the recipients of this cake many times throughout summer camp, boarding school, and college. They and their friends can attest to its deliciousness! ( It mails quite well as it is dense)

The other recipe I found which made me smile deeply was my mom’s Party Meatloaf. My mother loved to give parties and did regularly. This meatloaf was on every menu for many years.

Party Meat Loaf

3 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 beaten egg
2 cups milk
2 cups bread crumbs
6 T. minced onions ( she used the dried ones, reconstituted)
4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 T peanut butter ( I always thought it had more in it than that, just enough to give it some creaminess I guess)
1 1/2 T horseradish
1 1/2 T catsup/ketchup

The only instructions are ” 2 hours. 350º

I would free form them on a parchment lined baking sheet after mixing all the ingredients thoroughly but gently.

I found many other recipes, given by friends on their personalized recipe file cards, things cut from our local Celina Ohio newspaper, some from the New York Times, many of unknown origin, a few in my handwriting which as a child was much better than it is now including my famous blueberry muffins which were part of a 4 H project which became a classic family story. My project was creating a simple meal. Mine was a tomato stuffed with either chicken or tuna salad ( I cannot remember but think probably tuna), melon balls, and a muffin. We had learned about menu planning, about making the plate look nice, about using different colors. I took that part very seriously and dyed the milk I served green and flavored it with mint! I was sad at the County Fair to only get a red ribbon instead of blue. When I asked about it, I was marked down because everyything was round! Thus was my first lesson in food styling.

I so look forward to making these old favorites and trying out some of the one she obviously enjoyed over the years. I will treasure having this connection to my mama who took such great care to make sure her family was well fed and got such great satisfaction out of cooking.

Personal Chef for Hire

Whetting your appetite

We are moving ever closer to spring and I am contemplating new items for my personal chef clients’ menus. I thought I would whet your appetite with some pictures and descriptions of some of the things my clients have eaten lately. Some things stay on the menu year round and many things are seasonal. As you faithful readers of this blog know, I am a firm believer in eating according to the seasons. The reasons are many. The quality of locally grown in season food is higher, has more nutritive value, and is less expensive. Each season has its own energies, as does the food that grows during that time.

I must admit I am ready for the spring produce – peas, asparagus, strawberries! But, we have a few more weeks of root vegetables and squashes ahead of us. We are blessed here in California with an early spring but Mother Earth is still resting and waiting and so must we.

Here is a Winter Vegetable Stew I made for a vegetarian couple, rich with mushroom broth and locally cultivated mushrooms, winter squash, celery root, celery, onions, spinach, and sundried tomatoes which were picked and dried in the height of the season and so carry that life force in them.

A soup that sticks around most of the year is Chicken Noodle soup. Obviously, this was not for the same clients, but a family who orders soup every week. Here is where I get to be creative. I hardly ever use a recipe for soup. I have a memory of a recipe or a concept  and either see what looks good at the market and/or what is available in the fridge. This means each time it is a one of a kind masterpiece, never to be exactly repeated. This soup contains chicken thighs which I find have so much more flavor and richness, especially good for soups and stews. It also has onions, carrots, celery, spinach and noodles. This day, I used what noodles were available in the clients’ cupboards. It also has a healthy dose of garlic, and some salt and pepper.

Next up is a recipe, often requested by my vegetarian clients, from the wonderful Molly Katzen for Spaghetti Squash Pancakes. You first bake the squash and when cooked scrape out the flesh which is noodle like in shape. Personally, I have never quite gotten into using this squash as a substitute for noodles but many people do. The batter is simple with the cooked noodles, rice flour, onion, eggs, salt and pepper. I like using red onion and adding some fresh thyme. This definitely is a seasonal recipe, appearing in the fall and winter. These clients love little patties and cakes so I am sure some sort of spring pancake will be on their menus soon, perhaps peas.

Lastly is a recipe I found on a piece of paper when cleaning out my garage. I suspect it is a Zone diet recipe but I cannot give appropriate credit for it. Delicious little good for you cookies, made of dried figs, almond flour, salt, vanilla,orange zest, and a bit of coconut oil. ( the oil was not in the original recipe) Happily, they are processed sugar free, grain free, and gluten free.

Almond Fig Bites

2 cups almond meal
1 c. ( 6 oz) soft dried figs ( one of my personal chef friends suggested subbing apricots, yum!)
2 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. coconut oil

Heat oven to 325º. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 1 minute.

Form dough into small slightly flattened balls  and place on baking sheet 1/2 in. apart. ( cookies do not spread during baking). Bake until bottoms of cookies are slightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes, turning pan once half way through. Cool and eat!

There is a small taste of what has been keeping me busy lately. I love my work as a personal chef. Every day is different and every client is different. Stay tuned for Spring will surely come and new ideas will emerge along with the new vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

This post is part of  GNOWFGLINS Tuesday Twister. Head over there and read all the other interesting posts, please.

Pizza!

my amazingly awesome actually good for me nutrient dense gluten free pizza

That title is a mouthful as was my most excellent dinner tonight.

Good pizza starts with the crust. When one is on a gluten free diet, this is a huge challenge at best. I am just not fond of any gluten free pizza crust I have ever tasted. A few years ago, Mark Bittman of the New York Times wrote about socca, a flatbread typically made with chickpea flour. I made his recipe as is and it was delicious. Not only am I gluten free, I generally avoid flours of all kinds, preferring to eat fresher, more whole foods. Enter the idea of making pizza crust from quinoa. This would take care of the whole food issue and definitely ups the protein values.  The important step that Mr. Bittman does not include in his instructions is to soak the grain or flour. This step is important for removing the phytates . Phytic acid is an “antinutrient” which binds up the minerals in the grain and prevents the body from using them. Soaking does mean some  planning and premeditation. Use pure water and cover the quinoa and let it sit overnight. When ready to use simply drain.  Easy but as I said, takes some thinking ahead.

Quinoa Pizza Crust

makes 2 thin 8 inch crusts

1 1/2c. quinoa, soaked overnight and drained

1/2 – 3/4 c. pure water

1 tsp. celtic sea salt

1/4c. olive oil

(of course you are using organic ingredients!)

Preheat oven t0 450º F. Place the quinoa, water, and salt in a blender and blend until creamy. The consistency will be thick ( like pancake batter). Start with 1/2c. water and see if you need more. Divide the olive oil and cover the bottom of 2 8 in. cake pans. Place the pans in the oven until they are shimmering hot ( not smoking).Remove from the oven. At this point, you can add some minced garlic and/or herbs if you would like. Divide the quinoa mixture evenly. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the crusts over and return to bake another 10 minutes.  They should be brown and crispy.

At this point, let your imagination take over. Top with classic pizza ingredients or try something new. I have recently renewed my love of pesto but as you can imagine not your typical pesto. This one is made of arugula, parsley, walnuts, olive oil, hemp oil, and garlic. Delicious! Pesto is a nutrient dense food that assists the liver in detoxifying the body and helps lower blood fats. So, on went a hearty layer of pesto. I topped this with some caramelized onions and sauteed red chard, mixed with some pine nuts. Lots of vegetables, that deep red color that is good for us. The “icing on the cake” is a few dollops of kefir cheese. I strained some goat’s milk kefir to get the liquid whey for some fermenting that I am doing this week. What is left is a thick sour cream like substance that is delicious! AND it contains lots of good bacteria/probiotics.

Every part of this pizza is actually full of nutrition and while it does not look like pizzeria pizza, it was so good and gave me pleasure that a slice of that pizzeria pizza would not. I am satiated from the good fats, my belly is full from the big pile of chard, and I am happy with having made a good choice for dinner.

So, step out of the box. haha, literally. Don’t get take out, make your own good for you pizza.

Thanks to my friend and nutrition mentor, Craig Lane of Health Alkemy, for the inspiration!