Mom’s Sweet and Sour Cabbage
This cabbage dish is great served with pierogi, roast chicken or pork chops. Sometimes I just serve it over noodles. If you cut the cabbage into small pieces, you can also use it as a filling for pierogi. We made it in class last night and everyone loved it.
The recipe calls for using a paste-type soup base for flavoring. This was a little change from how my Mom made it, but it was hard to explain what she really did. Using the soup base was a way anyone could make this cabbage dish. Every time my mom roasted a chicken or maybe a pork roast, she would save all the drippings from the pan. She’d strain them and chill it to remove the fat. She would take the drippings and pop them in a container in the freezer. Once she had a “nice amount”, she would use it to flavor the cabbage. You can see why we used the alternative soup base directions. You could also use chicken or vegetable stock, in place of the water for more flavor.
Here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Sweet and Sour Cabbage
3 lbs. sliced cabbage, about a 3 ½ lb. head or 3 lbs. Cole slaw mix
1 onion, sliced
1 T. oil, butter, margarine or even bacon fat
3 c. water
1 T. paste type soup base or to taste
½ t. thyme
1 t. dillweed
1 t. marjoram
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
¼ c. balsamic vinegar
2 T. sugar
½ c. catsup
1 c. water
¼ c. flour
Sauté onion in oil until wilted. Bring water to boil in large pot. Add soup base and add cabbage. Stir in onions and remaining ingredients, except for the 1 cup of water and flour and cook, uncovered until cabbage is tender. This can take from 15-25 minutes, depending on the age of the cabbage and the size of the pieces. In jar with a tight- fitting lid combine remaining water and flour and shake until smooth. Add to cabbage mixture and cook, stirring until thickened, about 2 minutes. Adjust seasonings. This dish is great served alone, or with pork or chicken dishes or with potatoes.
Braided Herb Bread
One of the benefits about baking your own bread is the aroma. The house gets filled with the most wonderful smells. In this case, the experience is even better because the breads I baked are filled with herbs and shallots, so those fragrances are also in the mix.
I like to make these loaves in braids and place them on a baking sheet- but they could just as easily be baked in bread pans for more traditional loaves. Great for sandwiches.
I like to toast some of this bread, and use as croutons or as a base for stuffing.
You can also slice the bread, brush with softened butter, then toast, for a twist on garlic bread. The garlic is already in the bread, but feel free to add more to the butter, before brushing it on the bread.
Braided Herb Bread
5 ½ -6 ½ c. flour
2 packages quick rising yeast
¼ c. sauteed shallots
2 T. each dried marjoram and parsley
1 T. each dried oregano and minced garlic
1 T. honey
2 t. dried thyme
2 t. salt
¼ c. olive oil
2 ¼ c. hot water
In a mixing bowl combine 2 c. of flour with the rest of the
ingredients and mix until smooth. Beat with electric mixer 4 minutes
then add 1-cup additional flour and beat 1 minute longer. Stir in flour ½
cup at a time until soft dough forms. Turn onto surface and knead,
adding flour gradually until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in
lightly greased bowl and turn to cover. Cover with a towel and let rise
until doubled, about 30 minutes. Turn dough onto surface and cut in
half. Cut each half into thirds. Roll each piece of dough into an
18-inch rope. Loosely braid three ropes together and repeat with the
remaining dough. Place on greased baking sheet and cover until doubled
in size, about 20 minutes.
Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when tapped lightly. Makes 2.
Variation: Whole wheat: Add 2 cups of whole-wheat flour to replace 2
cups of white flour. Also try adding ¼ c. of wheat germ, oat bran or 2
tablespoons of seeds (sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, etc.)
Regular yeast can be used, but rising times will be longer and water should be warm, not hot.
Spinach and Cheese Bread
I love these filled breads. They aren’t hard to make, and everyone seems to love them. They are filled with a combination of spinach, feta and Mozzarella cheese. They can be served as an appetizer or as a main dish.
Because you can swap out the fillings, you can make them to suit most any taste. I have a list of some other filling ideas at the bottom of this post.
While there are two loaves in the picture, that is because I doubled the recipe. The recipe makes one loaf.
I have made this recipe with plenty of different fillings. This just might be one of my favorites.
Spinach and Cheese Bread
3¼ c. all purpose or bread flour
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 package quick-rising yeast
1 c. hot water
1 T. oil
Filling:
1 (10 oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c. crumbled feta cheese
2 T. chopped parsley
1 T. lemon juice
2 t. hot sauce, or to suit your taste
1 t. dill weed
Grease a large jelly roll pan and set aside. Place a shallow roasting pan on the stove and fill halfway with water. Start heating the water up. You’ll need it later.
Prepare filling: Take spinach and place in a medium bowl. Combine it with cheeses and remaining filling ingredients. Use your hands and squeeze the ingredients together, partly to mix them up well, but also to get them to stick together a little. Set aside and prepare the dough.
Set aside 1 cup of the flour. Combine remaining flour with the other dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in water and oil and gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Roll dough into a rectangle about 16 x 8 inches in size. Spread spinach mixture down center of dough. Squeeze it a little, sort of in a tube shape. You need to fold the dough over this mixture, so pressing it together helps with the next step. Cut one-inch wide strips of dough from filling to edge on both sides. It will sort of look like fringe. Alternating sides, fold strips up and over the filling at an angle. Pinch the ends. Carefully lift loaf onto greased jelly roll pan and place at an angle, so it will fit. Cover with a towel, and place the jelly roll pan on top of a roasting pan, half-filled with simmering water for 15 minutes. Because quick-rising yeast is more heat tolerant, the simmering water helps the dough to rise faster. After 15 minutes, remove towel and place jelly roll pan in oven. Bake in a preheated 375-degree for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers.
Bread can be baked ahead of time and reheated later. To reheat: Wrap in foil and place in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Loosen the foil after 10 minutes so the bread does not get soggy.
Note: The variations for this bread are almost endless. Some favorite combinations are ham and Swiss with mustard, roast beef and cheddar, chicken, broccoli and cheese, pizza with assorted fillings. You get the idea. Use your imagination and have fun. Just be careful not to overfill, or the bread will be hard to move, use fillings that aren’t too runny and always use cold fillings. Warm fillings will make the dough soggy before baking.
If you want to use regular yeast, in place of quick rising yeast, use warm, rather than hot water. Also, don’t let dough rise over boiling water. After kneading cover dough and let rise 45 minutes. Punch down and assemble as in original recipe. Cover with a towel and let rise until dough looks puffy, about 40 minutes. Bake as directed above. These breads can also be frozen.
Homemade Popcorn Balls
In a recent cooking camp with kids, we made popcorn balls. They loved making them. I was surprised that several kids had no idea what a popcorn ball was, before we made them in class.
We used to make them around Halloween, when I was a kid. They seem to be a part of more than a few Halloween parties when I was younger.
I don’t make them often, but popcorn balls are always a special treat for friends and family.
This recipe is pretty easy. Kids, supervised, could help make them. You just have to make sure the mix cools down enough before you let them form the popcorn into balls.
I am a bit of a purist and enjoy them plain, but you can add Halloween themed candies to the mix, to dress them up for a party. Candy corn or black and orange M&M’s would both work.
The recipe calls for corn syrup. If you don’t want to use corn syrup, my recipe for a corn syrup substitute, (sugar syrup) is listed below.
Homemade Popcorn Balls
9 c. popped popcorn
1 c. sugar
1 T. butter
1 T. vanilla
1 c. corn syrup*
Place popcorn in large bowl and set aside. Combine sugar, butter, vanilla and corn syrup in a saucepan. Heat and boil until thick, about 4 minutes. Pour over popcorn. Stir until well coated. Let cool until safe enough to handle. With buttered hands form mixture into balls. Store wrapped tightly in plastic wrap until ready to eat. Best eaten within a few days of making. Makes about 8.
*If you don’t have corn syrup- or don’t want to use it here is a way to make a substitute for it.
Sugar Syrup- corn syrup substitute
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup Water
1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1/4 t. salt
Combine ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and cover the pot. Reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 5 minutes. Uncover and cook to soft-ball stage. Stir frequently.
Soft ball stage occurs at 235-245 degrees. This stage can be determined by dropping a spoonful of hot syrup into a bowl of very cold water. In the water, use your fingers to gather the cooled syrup into a ball. If it has reached soft-ball stage, the syrup easily forms a ball while in the cold water, but flattens once removed from the water.
Remove from heat. Cool and store at room temperature. It will keep well for a month or two.
North Carolina Lemon Pie
This might be one of the best lemon pies I have ever had. It was simple to make, with a surprise ingredient in the crust. That ingredient is saltine crackers! They work so well in this crunchy and slightly salty/slightly sweet crust. Perfect with the lemon filling.
I first heard about this pie in one of my cooking classes. A woman mentioned it to me after class. Said she saw it on a TV show. I looked for it online. Odd thing was that every recipe was exactly the same. Even down to the wording in the directions.
I found one reference to the recipe first showing up in Cook’s Country Magazine about 4 years ago. I prefer to credit the source of a recipe, when possible.
I did change a couple of things from the original recipe. I added more lemon zest- from 1 tablespoon to 2. What can I say? I like a zesty pie.
I also thought it was odd to make so little whipped cream for the topping. Assuming you had a cup of whipping cream to start with, you use 1/4 cup in the pie filling. That leaves you with 3/4 cup of whipping cream. The recipe only calls for whipping up 1/2 a cup of whipping cream. I rounded it up in the recipe to 3/4 cup. Honestly, I would make even more topping the next time.
My guests really enjoyed the pie. I think you will, too.
North Carolina Lemon Pie
Crust
6 oz. saltine crackers (about 1½ sleeves)
1/8 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup light corn syrup
Filling
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14-ounce)
4 large egg yolks
¼ cup heavy cream
1-2 T. grated lemon zest- I used 2 tablespoons
½ cup lemon juice
Topping
¾ c. heavy cream, chilled- increase from original recipe. I think even more whipped cream would be better. Just my preference.
1 T. sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Add the saltines and salt to the food processor and pulse until you have coarse crumbs (about 15 pulses). Add the melted butter and corn syrup and pulse until the crumbs are well combined.* Add the cracker mixture to a greased 9-inch pie plate. Use the bottom of a dry measuring cup or glass and press the crumbs into an even layer on the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake until light golden brown, 17 to 19 minutes. Prepare filling while the crust is baking. Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, cream, and lemon zest together in a bowl, add the lemon juice and whisk until well combined. With the pie plate on the baking sheet, remove it from the oven and pour in the filling (the crust does not need to be cooled) and place it back in the hot oven. Bake until the edges of the pie are set but the center still jiggles, 15 to 17 minutes. Place the pie on a wire rack and let it cool completely. Refrigerate the pie until completely chilled.
For the topping, use a stand mixer fitted with a whisk and whipped the cream, sugar, and vanilla on medium low until foamy (about a minute). Increase the mixer speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. Spread the whipped cream over the top of the pie and serve cold.
*Note: I will admit to just crushing up the crackers by putting them in a bag and using a rolling pin. I had a few larger pieces. Still worked. I think it gave the crust a crunchier texture. Although it sank down into the pie pan when I baked it- so maybe next time I will crush the crackers a little more.
Apple Pie Blintzes
Since I posted the recipe for making your own apple pie filling recently, I thought I’d share a fun way to use it- other than in a pie. I made blintzes with the pie filling.
I used flour tortillas for the crepes. Don’t get me wrong, I love making real crepes. But, when you don’t have the time, the tortillas are a fun and tasty substitute.
I soaked the tortillas in milk. By soaking the tortillas in milk, they soften up, and can be used like a crepe. Soak them for at least 10 minutes, or up to 30 minutes. I placed the tortillas in a shallow baking pan and made sure to drizzle each one with milk as I added them to the pan.
For the filling, I used some of my homemade apple pie filling. If you have fresh apples, you can just peel and slice the apples, then cook them in a little water and sugar until softened. You can make them as sweet as you like. You made need less sugar if the apples are extra sweet. Add some cinnamon and nutmeg, too. If they are too watery- combine a little cornstarch with cold water and drizzle the mixture in until the apples thicken up. Don’t add too quickly or you might them too thick and gummy.
To assemble the blintzes, place a softened tortilla on your work surface and spoon a little apple filling in the middle. You can do this with hot filling, but cold or room temperature filling is easier to use. Don’t over fill them or you won’t be able to fold them up. I used 8-inch tortillas and used about 1/3 cup of filling for each one. Fold the sides in until they almost meet in the middle and them roll the tortilla up to cover the filling. Place seam side down until ready to fry them.
Heat butter in a skillet, and brown the blintzes over medium heat until lightly toasted on both sides. They will be crispy on the outside, but tender in the middle. Put on a serving plate, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve while warm. These are fine just as they are, but feel free to add ice cream or whipped cream, too.
My guests really liked them and said they did not realize they were made from tortillas. I have made these before and use different fruit fillings. I’ve even made a cheese filled version a few times. It seems I usually have a package of tortillas, so it is a go-to dessert for me in a pinch.
Homemade Pita Bread
After tasting fresh baked, homemade pita bread it’s nearly impossible for me to eat the stuff I find in stores. Pita is fun to make and not difficult at all. We made fresh pita in a bread baking class last night. I think most of my students were surprised at how easy they were to make.
Although the recipe calls for placing the rolled out dough directly on the oven rack, we placed the dough on baking sheets in the oven. Just a little easier and neater.
If the pita doesn’t puff up, it will still taste wonderful. Most of ours puffed up last night. The more careful you are when rolling out the dough- the better your odds of a good puff.
You can add some whole wheat flour, if you like. The dough pictured is a batch I made for home. I added about 2 cups of whole wheat flour to the dough, in place of some of the white flour.
Pita Bread
4 ½- 4 ¾ c. flour
1 pkt. Active dry yeast
1 ½ t. sugar
1 ½ t. salt
1 ¾ c. water
2 T. oil
In large bowl combine 2 cups of the flour with other dry ingredients. Heat water and oil to 120-130 degrees (warm) and add to flour mixture in bowl beating until smooth. Beat three minutes then begin stirring in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover dough with plastic wrap and then a towel and let rest on board 20 minutes. Punch dough down and divide into 12 pieces. Shape each into a smooth ball and place on board, allowing space in between. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Roll dough balls into circles. Place 3 circles at a time directly on oven rack. They will puff up and brown in about three minutes. Remove to rack to cool and repeat with remaining dough. Makes 12.
Baking pita 
Pita bread fresh from the oven 
Fresh baked pita bread
Wonton Soup
With a chill in the air today, I decided to make wonton soup. It is one of my childhood favorites. Wonton soup is actually not that hard to make, and everyone seems to like it.
For me, Wonton soup always brings back memories of going out for Chinese food with my family, when I was a kid. The restaurant would serve it family style, and my mom or dad would ladle out everyone’s soup. It always looked and smelled wonderful. Tasted wonderful, too. Even more special, because we only had it when we out to dinner.
The one problem I find when trying to make this soup at home is finding wonton wrappers that are thick enough. The square ones I find at the neighborhood grocery store are OK, but thinner than the ones in Wonton Soup at a restaurant. At a local Asian grocery I have found round wrappers that are labelled for dumplings and are thicker. That is what I used. They worked out better. I normally add strips of roast pork to wonton soup, but one of my friends doesn’t eat pork, so the use of chicken thighs was a great substitute. You can play around with fillings, too. I often add shrimp as both a filling, and to the soup itself.
Wonton Soup
1½ lb. chicken
1 head bok choy
3 T. hoisen sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
24 won ton wrappers
2 qts. chicken stock
1 t. ginger
1 t. hot pepper sauce
Chopped green onions
Sesame oil
Bake the chicken until cooked. I used boneless chicken thighs, but even leftover roasted chicken would work. Once cooled, I minced enough of the chicken to give me 1 cup of meat. The rest I cut into thin strips. I then took stems from the bok choy and minced enough of them to make 1 cup. Combine the minced chicken with minced bok choy, the hoisen and the garlic. This is the filling for your wontons. Slice more of the bok choy- using mainly the leaves, into thin shreds. This will go into the soup later, along with the strips of chicken. You should have at least a couple of cups of the shredded bok choy, but more is OK, too. To make the wontons place one on your work surface and spoon a rounded teaspoon of the filling into the middle of it. Moisten edge with water, fold in half and press to seal. I used round wrappers, but square wrappers are fine, too. Repeat with remaining wontons and fillings until done. Bring stock to a boil and add the ginger and hot sauce. Add the wontons to the simmering stock. Simmer gently for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the strips of chicken and the shredded bok choy greens. Cook about 5-6 minutes longer. Finish soup with chopped green onions and a drizzle of sesame oil. Serves 6-8.
Homemade Pumpernickel Bread
There are few aromas I like more than freshly baked bread. I don’t bake much during the hot summer months, and look forward to cool Autumn days and fresh baked bread. I enjoy baking all sorts of breads.
The dark color comes from a mixture of rye flour, strong coffee, cocoa powder and molasses. These ingredients also give this bread a richness and texture I adore.
It’s hard for me to find a store bought Pumpernickel bread that comes close to this one. Some store bakeries rely on caramel coloring for the color in the bread. For real flavor you need the real ingredients. It is worth the time to make your own.
Pumpernickel Bread
2 Packages active dry yeast
½ c. warm water
2 c. lukewarm strong coffee
¼ c. each molasses and unsweetened cocoa
2 T. Caraway seeds
2 t. salt
5-6 c. flour- I use bread flour
2 c. rye flour
Cornmeal
1 egg white, slightly beaten
In large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in coffee, molasses, cocoa, seeds, salt and 3 cups of flour. Beat with wooden spoon about 2 minutes. Stir in rye flour and enough of the remaining regular flour to make soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead until dough is smooth, about 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top, cover and let rest until doubled, about 1 hour. Grease large baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Set aside.
Punch down dough, divide in 2, and form into balls. Place on baking sheet and cover. Let rise until double, brush with egg whites, slash tops and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.
Pink Applesauce
I really enjoy the flavor of homemade applesauce. I try to can at least a few batches this time of year.
I decided to mix things up a little by making a batch of applesauce with cranberries. It came out a pretty shade of pink. The cranberries also added a nice tartness to the mix.
You don’t have to add sugar, if you don’t want to. You add the amount of sugar you like, or leave it out completely. I like to mix different varieties of apples, for different flavor in your sauce.
You can also freeze the mixture if you don’t want to can it.
Pink Applesauce
60 medium apples, I used mostly Melrose and some Jonathans
12 oz. cranberries
water
1 c. lemon juice
sugar to taste
Peel and core apples. Put in water with some ascorbic acid, citric acid or lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Place apples in a pot with enough water* to prevent sticking and add the cranberries and lemon juice. Cook over medium high heat until soft. I wanted smooth applesauce, so I ran the cooked apple mixture through a food mill on the medium blade. Return apple mixture to pan and bring to a boil. Sweeten with sugar, if you like, or leave unsweetened. Have water bath full of boiling water and have hot, clean canning jars and lids and rings ready. Ladle hot applesauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Wipe rims and apply lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes for pints or quarts. Turn off heat and let jars stand in water bath 5 minutes before removing. Set in a draft free area to cool down. Yield: 8 quarts or 16 pints. *rather than add water, to prevent the apples from sticking, you can use cider instead.
Adapted from Ball Blue Book directions.
