The Comforts of Home

Instinct tells us all is well if we smell something cooking.  One of the biggest anxieties is the fear of no food, or no shelter.  This week I kept life simple with soups and fresh bread but it was amazing what  even savory onions browning on the stove added to the "glad to be home" feeling of the holidays.



Wednesday: Baked potatoes

Thursday:  Fresh white bread, pineapple, and milk for supper.  Holiday Stuffing for the party I attended.
The Stuffing was made of 9 cups cubed fresh bread, 1/2 cup butter, 1 large onion diced,1-1/2 cups diced celery, 2 tsp thyme, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1 cup cranberries all mixed with 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup.  Brown the celery and onions in the butter.  Mix all ingredients together with sauteed onions and celery.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Friday:  Joe's potatoes.  Potatoes were on sale the first of October again.  We stocked nearly 300 pounds for our family.  They are being stored in open totes in the garage.  I also bought a large bag of fresh onions.  Many onions are 4 inches in diameter.  To use the onions and potatoes before they rot, dishes like "Joe's Potatoes" are fantastic.  Brown 2 large onions cut into circles in 1/2 cup butter.  Add 7 pounds peeled, sliced potatoes (in rounds).  Cover with enough water to just barely submerge the potatoes.   Cook until potatoes are soft to a fork.  Salt and pepper.  The potatoes brown with the caramelized onions and thicken the broth as it boils down.  This dish is a Depression Dish that my grandpa would often make to feed his eleven children.  Savory onions helped assuage the lack of meat on their table.

Saturday:  Macaroni, taco flavored ground meat and tomato sauce were added together to make a variation of macaroni/ hamburger/ and tomato dish.  The children assembled all the ingredients while I went out.  They ate it all.  It must have been delicious.  I start with the macaroni-  measuring1/2 the volume that I want in the end.  So to serve 8  people 1/2 cup servings each, we needed 2 cups of macaroni.  We added 1 pound of meat, about 3 cups of crushed tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.

Recipes

Whole Wheat Bread
4 cups warm water
3 TBS yeast
1/3 cup sugar or honey
8 cups flour
1 TBS salt
1/3 cup oil

Mix all together until it forms an elastic dough. Let rise until double. Put in 3-4 loaf pans. Let rise again and Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Tin cans can also be used. We often bake in apple juice cans because we can get 9 loaves in the oven at once with cans and only six pans at once.

Carrot Cake Muffins
Mix the Snack cake mix and divide in 6 equal portions of about 2 1/4 cups:
8-3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 TBS baking soda
1 TBS salt
5-1/4 cups granulated sugar

Add the following dry ingredients for carrot cake muffins:
1 cup dehydrated carrots
1 cup walnuts
2 TBS flax meal
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (to boost iron if you want)

Add wet ingredients and Mix before baking at 350 F for about 25 minutes.
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1- 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup pineapple chopped fine (I use the chunk pineapple and just chop it)

Enjoy!

Oatmeal muffins
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup oil
3 cups brown sugar
4-5 eggs
4 1/2 cups flour (3 white, 1 1/2 wheat)
1 TBS cinnamon
1 TBS baking soda
1 tsp salt

Mix. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 350 for 15 minutes.

Zucchini/Winter Squash Bread

7 cups flour ( 1/2 wheat, 1/2 white is okay)
5 tsp cinnamon
2- 1/2 tsp baking soda
2- 1/2 tsp salt
2- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 -1/4 tsp baking powder
5 cups sugar
10 cups grated zucchini or winter squash
5 eggs ( can use 2-3 TBS flax meal to substitute for equal number of eggs)
1 -1/4 cup vegetable oil
1-1/4 tsp lemon/orange peal (optional)
2 -1/2 cups walnuts

Mix all ingredients together. Bake at 325 for 45-55 minutes if you use bread loaf pans.

Minestrone Soup
Saute in soy oil-
1/2 large onion
celery - center stalks and leaves

Add: 2 cups corn
4 cups green beans
2-3 cups diced tomatoes
2 carrots chopped
1/2 cup dehydrated carrots
1 1/2 cup macaroni
2 large celery stalks
3 cups zucchini pared and chopped (One large overgrown from our garden fall 2009)
3 quarts water
2 cans (12 oz each) roast beef with gravy
2 cups cooked red beans
1 TBS basil
2 tsp salt


Joe's Potatoes
This is a depression dish. My Grandpa, Joseph Hafen, would cook this dish to fill the hungry mouths of his 11 children.

Brown 1-2 large onions in butter (or margarine)
Cook on low heat in large stock pan until onion is marblized (nice dark color)
Add 5-8 potatoes (about 1 per person) pealed and sliced in thick rounds
Add water to just barely cover potatoes. Bring to boil. Salt to taste (1 tsp). The potato starch will thicken the brothy water to make a vegetarian gravy. Enjoy.



Teriyaki/oriental Stir fry Mix (Make a Mix Cookbook)
6 TBS cornstarch
3/4 tsp garlic powder
2-1/4 tsp beef or chicken bullion
3/4 tsp onion powder
6 TBS water
1-1/2tsp fresh ginger paste
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup corn syrup
2-2/3 cup water


Egg Substitutes: One egg equals-
1 TBS unflavored gelatin + 3 TBS warm water
1 TBS flax meal + 3 TBS warm water
egg sized mound of mayonnaise about 3 TBS (for baking)
1 TBS soy flour + 1 TBS water
1/2 banana smashed + 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup applesauce (for baking only) in muffins, pancakes, yeast free quick breads like pumpkin or banana add a little baking soda or baking powder to help
3 TBS pureed fruit
1 TBS cornstarch + 3 TBS water
1/4 cup soy milk
2 TBS water and 2 tsp baking powder
2 TBS water and 1 TBS oil and 2 tsp baking powder
for 2-3 eggs - 1 heaping TBS baking powder, 1 TBS cider or apple vinegar + 1 TBS water
For Egg allergies - Tofu, 1/4 cup bananas or commercial egg substitutes.


Yogurt
4 cups warm water
1 cup non instant dried milk
1/2 cup yogurt start

Blend. Pour into jars and place in hot water bath (120degrees)on the counter top, or in a cool oven, or on a heating pad. Be careful not to over heat it will kill your start.

Frozen Vanilla Yogurt

3 quarts of yogurt
1-3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp clear vanilla
1/2 to 1 cup of cream (optional)

Mix and churn in ice cream maker. Enjoy!