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May 4, 2017August 4, 2017

Savory Meatloaf – Skip The Jelly

For years, I tried to come up with an acceptable meatloaf…..my husband John’s favorite comfort food. I failed.

My original attempts were based on a basic cookbook recipe and tips from my mother (who made fabulous meatloaf but never relied on a recipe).

I had the basics right. I used ground beef and/or ground pork, chopped onion, chopped celery, crumbs of some sort, a squirt or two of ketchup and an egg to hold it together. But my meatloaf was consistently bland.

A decade later it finally occurred to me to ask my mother what I could be doing wrong.

“Did you add the grape jelly?” she asked.

Flabbergasted, I wondered if I’d heard her correctly but took her suggestion to heart. I didn’t have any grape jelly but added a teaspoon of sugar to my next meatloaf with amazingly good results. The sugar balanced the other ingredients.

I next copied the technique of sauteing the chopped veggies before adding them to the meat from a local chef. The recipe I ended up with for “savory” rather than sweet meat loaf follows.

It’s simple to make though I add many herbs and spices. You’ll note that this meatloaf is not coated with a tomato-based sauce because it’s delicious without.

Sharon Lee’s Savory Meatloaf

(Serves 4)

1-1/2 or 2 pounds ground beef (or half ground beef and half ground pork)

Bread crumbs – Two handfuls (Grind my own but can be purchased)

Chopped onion (equivalent to two tablespoons)

Chopped green pepper ( equivalent to two tablespoons)

Chopped celery (equivalent to two tablespoons)

Two or three dashes of salt from shaker

1 teaspoon sugar

Fresh or dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, and parsley

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Dash of poultry seasoning

Dash of onion powder

Two or three dashes Worcestershire Sauce

Two or three dashes Soy Sauce

1 egg

2 dollops of ketchup

First, find a large bowl or pan to mix the ingredients in (I use an old sheet pan). Arrange the ground meat in the pan. Add two handfuls of breadcrumbs. Chop the onions, peppers and celery.

Next, saute the onions separately in some olive oil. When translucent add them to the meat and breadcrumbs. Add a bit more olive oil to the pan. Saute the green peppers and add them to the meat mixture. Saute the celery and add it as well.

Add seasonings beginning with two shakes of salt (or to your taste). Next add the all-important teaspoon of sugar and your favorite herbs. I like oregano, thyme, rosemary and parsley. If fresh, strip from stems. If dried, rub pinch or two between your fingers to release the oils.

For great flavor, add a pinch of cayenne, a pinch of poultry seasoning and a pinch of onion powder followed by two dashes of Worcestershire Sauce and two dashes of soy sauce.

Finish by adding one egg and two dollops of ketchup. Then mix everything together with your hands.

Move the meat mixture to a loaf pan. Place in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Half way through cooking, pour off accumulated fat. Place back in the oven until the meat loaf appears firm and the top is nicely browned.

You can bake potatoes along with the meatloaf for an easy meal or prepare the easy-to-make turmeric rice. (Recipe below.)

Turmeric Rice

1 cup white rice

1 clove garlic smashed and chopped

1 teaspoon roughly diced onion

2 tablespoons diced red pepper

2 tablespoons diced mushrooms

2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

Quarter teaspoon of turmeric (or more according to your taste)

Add rice to saucepan and rinse several times until water runs clear. Drain rice and press toward side of saucepan. Add olive oil and saute garlic, onion and red pepper and fold the rice into the oil with the veggies. Add the mushrooms followed by the 2 cups of water and teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer until the water has evaporated and the rice is done.

April 10, 2017August 4, 2017

Easter Eggs the Easy Way

Perhaps like me, you’ll be having family around your table for Easter Sunday…adult children or grandchildren who love Easter eggs. You love having a large bowl of pretty pastel eggs as a centerpiece/menu item for brunch. But you don’t have any small kids around at the moment to help dye eggs.

With other preparations to make for the holiday, you’re much to busy to line up small cups of dye and dip eggs all afternoon. So what are you to do?

Having found myself with this dilemma on more than one occasion, I wisely adopted my mother Margaret Owings’ shortcut for easy Easter eggs.

You simply dye the eggs while simultaneously hard boiling them. All that is required is pots in which to boil water, a tablespoon, some food coloring and some vinegar.

Easter Eggs the Easy Way

Three dozen eggs (Grade A large)

Three large pots filled three-quarters full with water

Three tablespoons white or cider vinegar per pot

Thirty or more drops of yellow, red, blue or green McCormick’s food coloring (can mix other colors according to directions on box)

Add three teaspoons of vinegar to each pot of water and turn on the burners. Remove eggs from carton and drop carefully in the pots. Squeeze in approximately thirty drops of food coloring per pot depending on how deep you want the color to be. Bring the water to a boil, then lower it to a simmer and cover each pan with a lid. Let the eggs simmer for 15 minutes.

Extract eggs. You can submerge them in cold water for easier peeling but I usually place them back in the egg cartons to cool before arranging them in a bowl or basket. I’ll serve them with homemade muffins or quick bread with juice and coffee for Easter brunch.

April 3, 2017August 4, 2017

Fresh Spring Herbs Tantalize Taste Buds

While not my favorite time of year, March is the month when my herbs spring back to life alongside daffodils, tulips and grape hyacinths. I’m always careful not to get the grape hyacinths mixed up with the brighter green garlic chives that pop through through the soil at the same time. Oregano peeks through the dried leaves and quickly spreads across my herb garden. Radicchio plants that overwintered are growing too.

Pots of thyme, sage and parsley bounced back well. They are abundant enough that I can run out the back door and break off springs to use for cooking or use them in spring salads and salad dressings.

Here’s a recipe for an easy homemade balsamic dressing with garlic and herbs that’s a hit with my family.

Balsamic Dressing with Garlic and Herbs

1 clove garlic (finely chopped)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Dash of salt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2-1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 scant tablespoon water

Dab of French-style mustard (I use Grey Poupon)

Fresh herbs of your choice basil, oregano, sage and thymeYou can mix this dressing in a blender as shown here or simply in a clean jar that you can shake to mix. The basic recipe may be used with different kinds of vinegar (red wine or cider vinegar are good) and with different herbs. You can vary the ratio of oil to vinegar according to your taste.

To blender or jar add: garlic, sugar and salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and water

Use a knife blade or small spoon to add mustard

Strip leaves from springs of herbs and add to blender or jar

Blend or, if using a jar, shake until the ingredients are blended

Pour over salad greens and other ingredients

(The salad I made contained romaine lettuce, sliced apples, slices of orange pepper, blackberries, blueberries, garlic chives and edible violets. However, the dressing is equally great with red leaf lettuce, and mushrooms, red peppers, shredded carrots or other veggies.)

March 30, 2017October 24, 2017

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

Driving about beneath bright October skies, I was deep into my annual hunt for the perfect pumpkins, seeking small, solid varieties that could stand in as autumn porch decorations and later be baked or pureed.

I’d spotted numerous specimens at my local supermarket, a garden center and two churches. But most were large and ornamental …not what I was looking for.

Then I visited Diehl’s Produce stand in Olde Severna Park, Maryland which was surrounded by colorful mums and pansies. Inside, I found late season produce and more than 20 varieties of pumpkins, squash and gourds.

There were giant pumpkins suitable for jack-o-lanterns, modestly-sized “Spookies”, and crates full of mini-pumpkins with names like Wee Bee Little, Jack be Little, and Orange Mon.

Hoping to find baking varieties, I cornered produce guru Elliott Enderkin for suggestions. He recommended “sugar pumpkins” which come in various sizes and are noted for their sweet, solid flesh. But “peanut pumpkins” – so named because the rinds are covered with growths resembling peanuts – were his second choice since they also make good pies. His third choice, orange-fleshed long-necked squash – are equally flavorful.

Winter squash are decorative and just as yummy as pumpkins for roasting, making soups or baked goods. Diehl’s selection included dark green or orange acorn squash, striped Mexican Hat and Carnival squash, pale orange Butterkin squash, Speckled Hound squash, and emerald gooseneck squash with speckles. It was hard to choose but I bought a large sugar pumpkin and two acorn squash.

Stopping next at Pumphrey’s Farm Stand in Millersville, Maryland, I passed by bins of squash, heirloom tomatoes and colorful peppers to a table piled high with small orange pumpkins that felt very solid. Assured they were perfect for cooking and baking, I bought several.

I displayed my purchases as porch decorations along with pots of yellow chrysanthemums, an autumn-hued wreath and a door decoration of “fall corn” with a few kernels missing thanks to an ambitious mouse.

After Thanksgiving, I retrieved the pumpkins and then baked, cooled and pureed them as bases for pies, cakes, cookies, muffins, pumpkin bread, pancakes and soups. Here’s my easy method.

Pumpkin Puree

Wash pumpkins – Do not peel

Fill a large baking pan with 2 to 3 inches of water.

Add 1 large or two small pumpkins to each pan.

Bake at 375 degrees until done. (Rind will darken, take on a sheen…sides will collapse and flesh will be soft.)

Cut pumpkin in half

Scoop out seeds (rinse and save for roasting)

Scoop out flesh into large container

Use hand blender to turn the flesh into a smooth puree. Alternatively, add the flesh to a food processor or blender.

Divide the puree into ½ cup and 1 cup portions and use or freeze.

Pumpkins and squash are loaded with Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and are good sources of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Potassium, Copper and Manganese. The seeds are nutritional powerhouses and when ground, add wonderful flavor and texture to pancakes, muffins and cookies.

The recipe for pumpkin muffins below is a nutritional powerhouse

I’m most inspired to make them when autumn leaves begin to fall. But, truth be told, I like these muffins any time of the year.

The recipe’s based on one for banana muffins I cut out of a newspaper and modified by substituting pumpkin for bananas and increasing the amount of sugar used. I continue to play around with ingredients that add texture including pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds and/or ground pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin muffins are hearty and perfect to serve for breakfast or afternoon tea. I’ve even served them to hungry jazz musicians taking a break from rehearsing. Here’s the recipe.

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins

(Makes 1 dozen)

1 cup old fashioned oats uncooked

1 cup all-purpose or unbleached flour

1 pinch salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup brown or white sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 pinch ginger

1 egg

1 cup whole or low fat milk

1/2 cup pumpkin puree (thawed if frozen)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup raisins and/or dried cranberries

1/4 cup pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffins tins or line 12 muffin cups with paper baking cups

Plump raisins and/or cranberries in hot water

Combine oats, flour, baking powder, pinch salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Add

Add combined wet ingredients. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened.

Drain and add raisins/cranberries

Fold in nuts or sunflower seeds

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown

Pumpkin puree may also be used to make the fantastic dessert below.

The best recipe for pumpkin cake I’ve ever eaten came from my mother Margaret. It’s easy to make and smells wonderful when baking.

The cake is so moist, rich and delicious that I serve it simply with a dollop of whipped cream. However, it may be iced with cream cheese frosting.

Margaret Owings’ Pumpkin Cake

4 eggs

1-2/3 cups sugar

1 cup oil (I use canola)

2 1-cup portions of pumpkin puree (thawed) or 16 ounces canned pumpkin

2 cups flour

2 tsps. baking powder

2 tsps. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

Combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin puree and mix well

Blend dry ingredients together in a separate bowl

Add to wet ingredients a bit at a time beating well after each addition

Bake in ungreased sheet pan at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. (You can halve the recipe and bake in an 8 inch round pan.)

My mother used canned pumpkin but I substitute homemade pumpkin puree as it produces a better texture. For an unexpected twist, sprinkle pecans across the top of the batter before baking.

March 28, 2017August 4, 2017

Savory Split Pea Soup

Nothing lifts my spirits more on a cold, wet day than watching the steam rise from a pot of soup bubbling gently on my stove. I love the aroma of split pea soup simmering away with its combination of ham broth, garlic, onions, celery, carrots and herbs.

Normally, I prepare the soup with dinner in mind. But then I’ll have a taste and find it so delicious I can’t wait to have a bowl.

Smooth, aromatic and hearty, this satisfying soup is a favorite family comfort food. I cobbled together this quick and easy-to-make recipe from one I discovered on the back of a package of split peas and another I found in an old cookbook. But like most of our recipes, it’s evolved over time. Here’s hoping it’ll become a family favorite for you too.

Split Pea Soup

One 16-ounce package of green or yellow split peas (any brand will do)

One ham hock or two cups of ham stock

Eight cups of water if using ham hock, six cups of water if using stock

Two cloves of garlic

Half an onion

One or two sticks of celery

Two carrots (or substitute a handful or two of frozen carrots)

Three sprigs of fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano)

1 leaf of sage (fresh or dried)

Salt to taste

Peppercorns

Empty package of split peas into a soup pot or dutch oven and cover with cold water. Though unnecessary, I soak the peas for 30 minutes, then rinse several times.

If you have a ham hock instead, simply add it to the pot with eight cups of water. If, instead, you have ham stock available, add two cups to the pot along with six cups of water. (Chicken stock may be substituted for part or all of the ham stock.)

Bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any impurities that have floated to the top as foam. Then lower to simmer.

Chop the onion, carrots and celery and add to the pot.

Add oregano and sage

Ham has a high salt content but you’ll nevertheless need to taste the soup and add additional salt if needed.

Add a few grinds of pepper

Simmer for about 40 minutes until split peas soften. If you used a ham hock, remove it at this point. Chop and reserve any meat left on the bone to be added at the end of cooking.

For the final step, I prefuse a hand blender to cream or smooth the soup mixture. Or place part of the soup in a food processor or blender and then return to the pot.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with crackers or a sandwich for lunch or with a simple salad and bread for dinner.

Split peas are high in protein and fiber and low in fat and provide complex carbohydrates which improve energy, digestion and metabolism and reduce stress.

March 21, 2017August 4, 2017

My Mother’s Cake

Like an echo from the past, a dinner guest tasting a dessert I made from scratch, exclaimed “That’s my mother’s cake!”

Indeed, the two-layer yellow cake with chocolate icing that I served was likely made from the same recipe his mom used. It was printed on the pages of a popular woman’s magazine where my mother Margaret spotted it.

Years later, she shared the recipe with me. I prefer this versatile, easy-to-make cake to cakes made from mixes.

You can divide the batter between two eight- inch rounds for a layer cake or pour it into a rectangular pan for a sheet cake.

The recipe can substitute for “shortcake” when topped with strawberries, raspberries, black berries or peaches and a dollop of whipped cream. Or, one can use the first half of the batter to make a pineapple, apple or berry upside-down cake and the remaining half for cupcakes.

For the original version of the cake, my favorite icing is a simple one made with cocoa and confectioner’s sugar. My mother used a recipe printed on the back of Domino confectioner’s sugar boxes.

Today’s busy cooks will love this homemade cake that’s quick to make.

My Mother’s Cake – Original Version

Two-layer yellow cake with chocolate icing

Recipe

1 stick shortening – (Original recipe called for Crisco. Can substitute butter or Land O’Lakes margarine which is trans-fat free)

1-1/3 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

½ tsp. salt

3 tsp. baking powder

1 cup of milk

½ tsp. vanilla or to taste

Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans or line with rounds of parchment paper and preheat oven to 365 degrees.

Mix shortening and sugar together on low speed. Add eggs and cream until smooth. Combine and/or sift dry ingredients together. Add slowly to the creamed mixture along with ½ cup of the milk. Beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add vanilla and remaining ½ cup of milk. Beat until smooth. Pour into pans. Bake at 365 degrees approximately 30 minutes. When done, cool 5 minutes and remove from pans onto a cooling rack. When cool, ice both layers.

Chocolate Icing

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine on burner in heavy pan

Add 3 tablespoons of cocoa and whisk until melted together, smooth and shiny

Add half a box of confectioner’s sugar and two tbsp. of milk

Mix at high speed until smooth adding more milk if necessary

Place first layer of cake on serving plate and spread with icing. Then add the top layer and ice top and sides.

My Mother’s Cake – Version 2

Apple Upside-Down Cake

In autumn, when local produce stands and farmer’s markets are carrying apples, I buy lots. A tart apple works best for this upside-down cake and I personally prefer Winesaps or Granny Smiths. Pumphrey’s Farm stand in Millersville, Maryland carries Winesaps all the way through Thanksgiving. If unable to find tart apples, sprinkle lemon juice over slices of sweeter varieties.

I like to add fresh cranberries, blackberries, raisins, and pecans or walnuts between the slices of apples. Feel free to experiment.

Apple Upside-Down Cake version of recipe using Winesaps

I make a full recipe of My Mother’s Cake (recipe above) using half the batter for this cake. I reserve the other half for a second dessert.

First:

Melt 2 tbsp. of butter or margarine in an 8 or 9-inch round pan

When melted, crumble brown sugar over the melted butter to cover bottom of pan

Wash and cut 2 apples into slices (peels on) and arrange over the brown sugar in circular pattern.

In the openings between slices, layer cranberries, blackberries, raisins and/or Craisins and pecans or walnuts.

Pour one half of My Mother’s Cake batter over the apple slices, berries and nuts

Bake at 365 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.

Let cool for 5 minutes.

Run knife around edge of pan

Invert pan over plate. Cake should come out easily with apples intact