Unbelievable Peanut Butter Cookies

When I was a young mother raising my children, I was concerned about nutrition and being sure they ate properly and stayed healthy. Which meant not too many sweets and hold down the junk food and carbonated sodas; being sure they learned to eat a variety of vegetables and nutritious foods. But, at the same time, Moms want their kids to have reasonably healthy treats. I liked this recipe because it uses a minimum of ingredients and is simple to make and is sure better than store-bought. Of course, you're out of luck if your little ones don't like peanut butter. But, there again, I was in luck. Peanut butter was a staple at our house. My husband even learned to eat it.

Unbelievable Cookies

1 cup peanut butter (either creamy or crunchy)
1 cup sugar (I cut this to 3/4 cup and it works fine, less sweet)
1 egg

Mix peanut butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well. Roll into walnut size balls (or bigger). Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten with fork (dip fork in granulated sugar to help prevent sticking to cookie). Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. This recipe will double very well. You may want to start out with double as the cookies disappear fast.

More Eggplant!

Just a quick heads-up for any of you veggie-lovers: Over on Marguerite Says you'll find Marguerite Butler's recipe for eggplant casserole. She took mercy on us, after much pleading in the comment thread, here. I remember Mom making something similar to this casserole, with cheddar cheese, saltine crackers, onion, and yellow summer squash. This one is definitely going on my list of eggplant dishes to try.

Hooray for Veggies!

One of the things I remember most fondly about my mother's kitchen is that us kids always tried at least one bite of something new. That thing where kids wrinkle up their faces and say "I don't like that!" when you know full well they've never tasted it before? There was no getting away with that, with my mom.

For example, let's talk about eggplant. (You'll also sometimes see it called aubergine, melongene or brinjal, depending on where in the great big world you're located.)

Now, eggplant is a gorgeous creation, plump and purple and slightly alien-looking, with a flavor that's delicately reminiscent of fried green tomatoes but sweeter. I love eggplant. I love it grilled, baked, on pizza, tossed in pasta, roasted, or in salads. I love eggplant.

That said, if you're feeding someone suspicious of hitherto unexperienced fruits and vegetables, here's a sure-fire way to get 'em to eat eggplant and ask for more.

To begin with, pick out a lovely specimen; the skin should readily indent under the pressure of a fingernail and retain the mark. Eggplant is primarily fresh locally in the late summer and fall in more northern climates, but you can usually find eggplant from southern California or Mexico most of the year.

This is fast and dead-easy. First, whip up a little seasoned flour. I usually take a couple of cups of flour, add some lemon pepper, seasoned salt, garlic and onion powder, and a healthy dash or three of cayenne pepper (you could use something like smoked paprika, though, and that would be yummy, too.) How much of each, you ask? I have no real idea, honestly, a couple of healthy tablespoons of everything but the salt. I'm in my forties, now, so I'm making a concerted effort to cut down on how much salt I eat; hence, the lemon pepper and cayenne. Save this recipe. I use it to cook almost anything I'm even a little suspicious of, and most meats. If it's edible, it's gonna be yummier chicken-fried.

Mix it all up in a bowl (I usually just use my fingers, but if you're fussy or don't feel like washing your hands, a fork works just fine, too.) Here's the thing that takes a little experience, though: You need to taste it, to judge the level of salt and spices. You don't have to taste a lot, because, hello...dry flour. But you can simply lick the light coating of seasoned flour from the tines of your fork. If it just tastes bland and floury, add some more seasoning.

Next, beat a couple of eggs in a bowl and add a big splash of milk. Maybe a quarter of a cup. If it's a really big eggplant and you're planning to cook the whole thing, use another egg or two.

Wash your lovely purple eggplant, peel it, and chop it into one-inch cubes or thereabout. You don't actually have to peel it, but you might want to acclimate your picky eater to the idea of eggplant before asking them to eat something that nature serves inside a deep purple skin. All washed and peeled now? Great! Toss the cubes in the bowl of eggy-milk, making sure they're thoroughly wet but not gunky. Then toss the cubes of eggplant in the seasoned flour, just lightly coating them.

Take your favorite cast iron skillet and put about a quarter of an inch of olive oil in the bottom, over medium to medium-high heat. You don't want the oil to smoke, but it should be hot enough to sizzle up if you flick dry a little flour off your fingertips into the hot oil. When your oil is hot enough, lay your pieces of eggplant into the oil. Give them a few moments to brown, then turn them and let the other side brown thoroughly. Leave enough space between the pieces of eggplant for them to brown thoroughly. If you think you need to brown the sides a little bit, go for it.

The succulent little cubes should feel quite tender when you spear 'em with fork tines to turn over, in spite of the toothsome and alluring crunch of the breading. Yep. You've just made chicken-fried eggplant.

Yay for you! Drain on a couple of layers of clean paper towels on a plate, and serve hot. Or serve warm. Or eat 'em cold out of the fridge the next morning when you're rummaging for milk to put in your coffee. I'm still not sure how I like 'em best. I do recommend not letting anyone dip them in ketchup...but if you're feeding little kids and that's how they want to do it, then hey. There are worse culinary sins.

Shall we pretend this was healthy? We shall not. Although eggplant is awfully healthy and even the olive oil is good for you, it's still basically chicken-fried. If you're curious about how healthy eggplant really is, the nutritional breakdown looks like this:

Nutritional Values

Preparation	Serving Size	Carbs	Fiber (g)	Fat (g)	Energy (kj)
Eggplant - raw	100g	2.5	2.5	0.5	75
Baby Eggplant	4 (65g)	1.5	1.5	0	45
Eggplant - grilled	3 slices (90g)	2.5	2.5	0	75
Eggplant - fried	100g	2.5	2.5	25	1000

Mary's Bread

When my children were growing up, we lived 30 miles from a town. Needless to say, we did not run to the corner grocery to pick up a loaf of bread if we ran out. Even trying to plan ahead, there were times we ran out of things before shopping day. Fresh bread was always hard to keep on hand. Keep in mind, this is before bread machines, so we did it the old-fashioned way. Fortunately, my next door neighbors, about 3 miles away, were a colony of very friendly Hutterites. One of the ladies who worked in the bakery shared this easy recipe with me.

Mary's Bread

1/2cup warm water (approx 110 degrees)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon yeast
Mix together to activate yeast

Mix 2-1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
2 tsp sugar
Add 1 cup flour to make batter.
Add yeast mixture and a little more flour and 3 tablespoons melted lard (I use oil or shortening)
Add enough flour to make a stiff dough (approximately 3 cups)
Knead on floured board until dough is elastic.
Place in a greased bowl and grease top and cover and let rise 1 hour - punching down every 15 minutes.
Regrease top and cover and let rise 2 hours
Cut into 3 equal parts and let rest for 20 minutes Shape to fit greased pans.
Let rise another 2 hours
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. Crust will be brown and sound hollow when tapped. Recipe will double well and produce 6 loaves, using just under 5 pounds of flour. I always doubled it; because, especially in the summer, we had extra kids staying with us and the first two loaves were inhaled with fresh homemade butter.

And speaking of homemade butter, I'd like to share a poem that brings back some of my childhood memories. This is written by Rachel Friend Capehart, Neosho MO., 1908-1991

When Mama Used To Churn

Sometimes a fresh baked loaf of bread

Can cause my heart to yearn,

Because it takes me back to days

When Mama used to churn.

I loved to watch her as she sat

Holding the Dazey churn;

Turning the gears paddled the cream...

Sometimes I'd take a turn.

It did not take so very long

To make the butter come

But I could scarcely wait for it

Because I wanted some

To spread on thickly sliced fresh bread,

Oh, what a treat was mine!

Nothing tastes half so good these days,

No matter where I dine.

Doing the wash-up seemed like fun--

All offered help I spurned--

Because I washed between the bites

After Mama had churned.

Since we were in the country and had milk cows, I was able to share the experience with Mac and my other daughters. I discovered it is a lot more fun in memories than in the actual doing, but nothing equals the taste.

For those of you who have never experienced the taste of fresh homemade butter, you can do it with whipping cream and the electric mixer, although the fresh farm cream is better. Just whip the cream past the whipped stage until it makes butter. Drain the milk off (it is okay to drink), rinse the butter in cold water, kneading it, until all the milk is rinsed out; salt lightly. Spread on your fresh bread as soon as you cut the loaf and enjoy!!

I grant you, buying a block of butter and making the loaf with a bread machine is easier and less time consuming, but not nearly as satisfying as doing it the old fashiond way and sharing the experience with your children and, in my case, the grandson. Every mom should try it at least once.

Turtle cookies

Now that I have reached my "Golden Years", I look back on the years of raising my three children and one of the things I remember as being very special is being in the kitchen with my girls. They were always in the kitchen with me when I made meals or did dishes or churned butter of made special things, like cookies and breads and desserts. They were my helpers from the time they were tall enough to stand on a chair and reach the cupboards. They learned their fractions and to read from recipes. One of my favorite things was cooking with the girls. It was just fun, but they were learning life skills.

I'd like to share this recipe with Moms with young children. It is quick and easy and fun for the kids. My grandson even got into the act after he came along. They all love doing it and love the results.



Turtle Cookies

Preheat your waffle iron.

6 tablespoons cocoa OR 2 squares baking chocolate
(If you use cocoa add 2 tblsp. butter)
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tblsp vanilla
1 cup flour

Melt chocolate and butter. (If you use cocoa instead of chocolate squares, blend it into the sugar and just add the melted butter to the eggs vanilla and sugar). Beat the eggs, vanilla and sugar, add chocolate and butter. Fold in the flour. When well blended, drop by teaspoonfuls onto heated waffle iron and cook approiximately one minute.
These are great plain or dusted with powdered sugar, or if you really want a chocolate fix, frost them with the Never Fail Chocolate Icing.

Icing
1/2 cup shortening or oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar (adjust for spreading consistency, if necessary.)
Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until moistened then beat with beater to proper consistency.

Moms, be patient and be prepared for a little mess and a LOT of fun with the little ones. My girls were operating the waffle iron from the start and felt like they were cooking, long before they were old enough to use the stove. If they burned a batch of cookies, no big deal, it's only four cookies. The memories are priceless.

Grilled Salmon!

When I first moved to the Pacific Northwest, I could not eat enough salmon to suit me, and at the time, salmon was extraordinarily reasonably-priced, in-season.

Salmon cooked outside, in the fresh Northwest air, on a charcoal grill has to be one of the finest culinary experiences available, anytime, anywhere. If you've been in the Pacific Northwest for any amount of time, you'll already be familiar with the popularity of good local fresh "salmon bbq"—it took me a little while to realize that doesn't actually mean salmon smothered in a tangy catsup-based sauce; rather, barbecued salmon is simply salmon cooked on a barbecue grill. The best part of that, of course, is that there's no need to wait for a special occasion. Salmon is healthy, delicious, and remarkably easy to prepare.

First, of course, you need a nice piece of fish. I like to plan for 6-8 ounces of fresh fish (uncooked weight) per person served. If you're serving particularly hearty eaters, though, figure 10-12 ounces. Before you decide exactly how much fish you might, you may also want to plan ahead and think about how nice it would be to have cold grilled salmon tomorrow, to top a salad or to mix with a little mayo and some capers.

There are a couple of things you need to know to buy good fish. You can find pretty reasonably-priced salmon at your local supermarket—but chances are it's going to be previously frozen. Now, that's not a deal-breaker by any means, but you want to be certain the flesh is firm and the odor isn't fishy or strong, the color should be bright and your piece of fish should smell like ocean. Whether you prefer the tail-end or the head end will depend partly on how well-done you like your salmon cooked, and whether you like your fish ever-so-slightly fattier. (Salmon fat, by the way, contains an enormous amount of extraordinarily healthy substances, so don't be worrying about the fat content, okay?) The tail-end, for example, is a good deal thinner, so will cook much more quickly. I prefer a nice thick fillet for grilling, because you can cook a single piece of fish big enough to serve everyone. If you happen to be serving a sizable group, you can most certainly grill salmon whole, as well. This is preferable, as far as I'm concerned, because cooking the fish in a single large piece gives you a little more leeway in terms of heat and cooking time.

I like to use a good natural lump charcoal, rather than briquets; again, though, you've got quite a lot of room to use your own favorite grilling technique. You can even use your propane grill and no one will give you any funny looks. If you've not grilled fish before, here's one sure-fire method that will please any salmon-lover, even that picky aunt who always tells you your marinade is a little too strong:

• Start your charcoal about a half-hour or forty minutes before you plan to begin cooking. You want a nice, hot grill; hot enough to cook a steak, and your charcoal should be evenly and steadily glowing white on the edges.
• Take your piece of fish out of the refrigerator and let it warm on the counter for ten or fifteen minutes. Squeeze a lemon and chop some fresh dill into a bowl, and save about half your lemon/dill mixture to use on the grill, when you turn the fish.
• Just before you're ready to pop it onto the grill, rub the fish all over with a little olive oil, lemon, and fresh chopped dill. This is important: OIL THE FISH, NOT THE GRILL. Do I need to say that louder, or did you get it the first time? If you oil the grill, your fish will stick. Also? Don't use any salt on your raw fish. It only draws out the yummy juices before your fish ever gets to the grill.
• No matter if you're cooking steaks or a fillet, you only want to turn the fish once, so you don't dry it out. Lay the fillet flesh-side to the grill, which should be hot enough to sear grill-marks into the yummy pink of the salmon. Don't poke at it. You only need to leave the fish flesh-side down long enough to get a good sear, then turn the fillet so the skin-side is on the grill, and baste your fish with a bit of your lemon and dill mixture.
• Don't overcook your fish. As soon as the thickest part of your fillet begins to separate into flakes when you pull gently with a fork, your fish is done. Serve immediately, with a nice bearnaise sauce if you're feeling fancy, or wedges of lemon if you like to keep it simple.

Most of all, have fun; drink good beer or a fresh, crisp wine, and enjoy your grilled salmon with people you like spending time with. Happy spring, everyone!

Scones

I spent about eighteen months in the late 1990s researching scone recipes. My approach to baking scones is practical rather than fussy, which means I don't use a glass or cookie cutter to shape the scones, and I don't form a circle either, because they're awkward to cut. The basic recipe can be enhanced by adding dried fruit, lemon or orange zest, or candied ginger—use your imagination. You can substitute milk for the cream, use a mixture of milk and cream, or in a pinch, use canned evaporated milk, as long as the quantity remains the same.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chilled butter
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Procedure:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour with a pastry blender or fork. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
3. If you wish to add raisins, or dried fruit, add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup now, and stir them in.
4. In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream (or a mixture of cream and milk), beaten egg and vanilla.
5. Add combined liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir just until the mixture becomes a dough you can easily handle. You want to mix and handle the dough as little as possible since the more you handle it, the tougher the scones will be.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl; most of it should adhere into a single lump.
7. Knead the dough gently on a lightly floured surface to mix in any odd crumbs or dry flour left in the bowl.
8. Roll or pat out the dough into a rectangle that's about an inch to an inch and a half thick (depending on how many scones you wish to make).
9. If you want to make the scones sparkle, lightly sprinkle a little granulated sugar over the rectangle. Cut the rectangle into six to twelve scones.
10. Transfer the scones to a lightly oiled baking sheet.
11. Bake 375 F. for about 15 minutes, or until the scones are lightly browned.

These freeze well; I suggest removing them from the oven just as soon as they are cooked through though not quite done, cooling them, then freezing them.

Back to Basics Nostalgia

 The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook was my mom's go-to resource whenever she was making something new or experimental. (She just called it "the red and white checkered cookbook, and I was a teenager before I realized that wasn't actually it's official title.) It's the cookbook that taught me to cook, laboriously working my way through from Baked Alaska to Zucchini Parmesan, while my long-suffering family was obliged to consume whatever I'd attempted.

If I could only have one cookbook on my shelf, I'd want it to be this one. But I'd want one of the older editions, not any of the post 1980s editions.

The recipes have changed subtly, I suspect to make them simpler and more accessible for cooks who don't grow up with a mother who once taught Home Ec (when they still had Home Ec in high schools)—but simpler to make doesn't necessarily translate to better cooking. In fact, sometimes those two goals are diametrically opposed. I discovered this completely by accident, after buying a new copy to replace my trusty old graduation-present cookbook that went missing during a house move. I've bemoaned its loss for years, now. So imagine my utter joy when I received a trusty older edition for Christmas, this year.

Thumbing through the indexed sections, seeing the well-loved recipes I haven't made in years, was like returning to a much-loved childhood home.

Joyeux Noel!

Especially for the season, Springerle cookies:



There's an absolutely lovely article about these very old traditions around these cookies, at Intute:

Springerle cookies, like other time-honoured recipes, reveal through their ingredients and methods of preparation their times and places of origin. These cookies are additionally notable because they depict visual motifs with cultural messages and historical meanings that have changed with the centuries and are still recognized and preserved today by mold carvers and cooks.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!