Love this Chili Sauce!

I've made this chili sauce years ago. It's Geralee's recipe and very good! Again, I was grateful to have my food processor for the grinding of the apples and onions. I tried putting some of the tomatoes in the processor, and they basically turned to liquid. So, the I decided to use my Pampered Chef handy chopper. Worked like a charm. You need to peel the tomatoes, and the best way to do it is to "blanch" the skins first. You do this by putting them in boiling water for a minute - in a deep fry basket is best. I bought one of those "as seen on TV" things and it worked great. Also, I called the expert - Geralee - to confirm that you really do need to process tomatoes. So I processed them for twenty minutes. I made a half recipe and got six pints.

CHILI SAUCE
20-25 tomatoes
6 sour apples
6 large onions
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 cup cider vinegar
Peel & cut up ripe tomatoes. Put onions & apples through food grinder. Mix together & add sugar, spices & vinegar. Boil together about 1 hour. Seal in pint jars (makes 10-12 pints).

Here's the other chili sauce recipe that I'm not going to try. Just thought I should include it here.

CHILI SAUCE (2)
1 peck ripe tomatoes
1 pound celery
1 quart small onions
3 green peppers
Scald & peel tomatoes. Cook slowly 15 min. Drain off juice. Chop vegetables fine as desired. Scald vegetables. Add to tomatoes & simmer 1½ hours. Add 1/2 tbsp. ground cloves, 1 tbsp. dry mustard, 2 sticks cinnamon, 2 lb. brown sugar, 1/4 cup salt, 1 quart cider vinegar. Cook slowly 1½ hours stirring to avoid sticking. Can while boiling hot.

Happy Birthday! - Chocolate Cake

Birthdays call for birthday cake, so I made Aunt Frances's chocolate cake. Here's the thing - I decided to use my Pyrex glass pan because it looked prettier than my old metal pan. Next time I think I'll stick with the metal pan. I looked up online the rules about using glass to bake cakes. The hints I read said to lower the temperature by 25 degrees and some also said to shorten the baking time, or at least start checking earlier. I did all that, but the cooking times just kept getting extended because the cake wasn't bouncing back from my touching in the middle. As a result I think the edges got too done. It was almost milk chocolately in flavor. I thought it would be darker since I was using the unsweetened baking chocolate, but I guess with all that butter and eggs, that made it lighter. Next time I make this cake, and there will be a next time, I'll for sure use a metal pan and not let it get overdone. We loved it anyway.

CHOCOLATE CAKE
1¾ cup sugar
1/2 lb. butter
Cream well.
2 sq. bitter chocolate, cut fine
5 tbsp. boiling water over choc.
Yolks of 4 eggs. Beat well.
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder (sift)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup walnuts cut fine
Add stiffly beaten egg whites (fold in). Bake 375°F 25 to 30 min. Dripper pan.

Oh, and yes, I left out the nuts for Coray. After all, it was HIS birthday!

Sign-Up Sheets - Beef Stroganoff / Snowflake Biscuits

Love those sign-up sheets that go around Relief Society because that means I'll be able to try another recipe. This one was for a family with a new baby - cutest little tiny thing. Anyway, I decided to make Beef Stroganoff, mainly because it contained sour cream (can't use it for us). I did save enough for me to have my dinner tonight, though. Doug is out of town. I also had enough left over for Marian & Nolan. I followed the recipe as written, with the exception of adding salt to the sauce. I figured that with all that soup it wouldn't need it - I was right. It was salty enough because I salted the meat as it browned. Also, I used butter to saute the onions and brown the meat, rather than shortening.

BEEF STROGANOFF
2 lbs. round steak cut in thin strips or cubes
Flour & 1/4 cup fat
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 can mushrooms
1 carton sour cream
2 10-oz. cans cream of chicken soup
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
10 drops Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. salt
Pepper
Dip meat in flour and brown in hot fat. Add onion, garlic & mushrooms. Combine sour cream, soup, mushroom liquid & seasonings. Pour over meat. Simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Serve over rice or noodles.

Along with the stroganoff, I made Snowflake Biscuits - a recipe from club friend Lois. They were super easy and really good. The dough was sticky, as noted, so I used flour liberally as I rolled them out. Of course I didn't have buttermilk, so I turned to my old friend, the Better Homes & Garden cookbook. On the back cover they have emergency substitutions. To make buttermilk, you add one tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to one cup of milk. Works like a charm.

SNOWFLAKE BISCUITS
(Can be kept 1 week in the fridge.)
1 pkg. dry yeast
1/2 cup water
5 cups flour
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. shortening
2 cups buttermilk
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand 10 minutes. Sift flour, sugar, b.p., soda, & salt in large bowl. Cut in shortening, stir in buttermilk & dissolved yeast. Put in lg. covered plastic bowl & refrigerate to use as needed.
Carefully roll on well floured board. Cut 3/4 in. thick with biscuit cutter. Bake 400°F for 15 min.
The yeast makes these biscuits taste like rolls.
Always refrigerate before trying to roll out - as the dough is sticky.

I Smell Memories - Sweet Cucumber Relish

Decided to make the sweet relish today. I've made this before but many years ago - at least 20 or so. When I walked into my kitchen from the garage, an instant memory came to mind. Anyway, since I last made this relish, someone invented the food processor. What a nice difference from the old grinder! I made a half recipe and got about four pints. Guess I'm going to have to make hot dogs more often now, and maybe start adding this to my tuna sandwiches. Any other uses for this relish would be welcomed. Yum!

SWEET CUCUMBER RELISH
12 large cukes (11 cups ground)
4 large onions
4 green peppers
1 red pepper (all ground)
Boil 5 min. in 1 qt. water. Drain & add:
4 tsp. mustard seed
4 tsp. celery seed
3 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
5 cups sugar
1 quart vinegar
Salt
Add green coloring.
Boil 20 min. & seal.

The Ward Luau - Oatmeal Cake

So I volunteered to bring a cake, even though I had already signed up for a salad. I veered from my standard practice of not making anything that I couldn't blog. I wanted to try niece Cheri's yummy Harvest Salad recipe. And it was - yummy, that is. Since it was a luau, I wanted to make something that reminded me of Hawaii - coconut won out over pineapple. I decided to make the Oatmeal Cake with the broiled coconut and pecan topping. There is a similar recipe in the Swan Cousins cookbook, but the cake and the topping are each slightly different. In the Cousins' book, Geralee's recipe says to put the topping on while the cake was till warm.

OATMEAL CAKE
1½ cups boiling water
Pour over 1 cup oatmeal
Add 1 square margarine. Let cool.
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
Put in greased floured pan & bake 350°F 40 min.
Cake Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cream
4 tsp. butter
1 cup coconut
1 cup pecan nuts
After cake is done, spread topping on cake & put under broiler for 5 minutes. Watch carefully.

This Face Says YUM! - Brownies (Mint)

Here' Sarah holding the YUMMY mint brownie that was Sunday dinner's dessert. This is a wonderful, rich brownie that was contributed by cousin Kathi. I cut the recipe in half for the brownies and made an 8x8 square pan. She's right about the frosting and glaze - you would need to double it for the full 9x13 recipe. If you like the BYU brownies, you'll love these.

BROWNIES
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
4 eggs
4 squares (4 oz.) unsweetened chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
2½ cups flour (sifted)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup broken nuts
Cream together sugar & butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs until blended, then melted chocolate. Sift flour, measure, sift again with dry ingredients, and stir in along with vanilla & nuts. Spread in buttered 9 x 13" pan & bake 325°F for 30 or 35 min. or until no imprint is left when touched by finger. Do not over bake. Cool. Frost.
Green Frosting
2 tbsp. soft butter
1 tbsp. cream or evaporated milk
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. peppermint
Few drops of food coloring. Mix well till creamy & spread on brownies. Refrigerate 1 hour. Glaze with 3 tbsp. butter or margarine, 1/2 cup chocolate chips & butter in top of double boiler. Add vanilla & blend. Pour gently over green frosting & spread. Refrigerate. Double frosting & glaze recipe for 9 x 13" pan.

In a Pickle - Breaking the Rules! - Six Pickle Recipes

What? Shocking! Here's the thing. I told myself that I wouldn't post any recipes that I didn't make first. Well, realistically, I know I won't be making three versions of sweet pickles, for example. So, here are some pickle recipes I probably won't make.

SWEET PICKLES
Wash 100 cukes. Put in brine of 1 cup salt (not iodized) to 1 gal. water. Soak for 2 weeks. Put a cloth on top & rinse out every day or so. Put a plate on it to weight it down. After 2 weeks wash good & cut in desired pieces & soak in 1 tbsp. alum to 100 pickles over night. Wash good & drain.
Syrup:
1 quart plus 1 cup vinegar
2 quarts sugar
2 stick cinnamon
1 tbsp. whole cloves
1 tsp. mace
Heat syrup to boiling & pour over pickles. Do this for five days. On last day heat & have pickles in jars. Pour over boiling syrup & seal.

Notice that you're supposed to use plain salt, and not iodized. I'm not sure why, but I remember the rule.

SWEET PICKLES (2)
Pour boiling water over cucumbers. Let stand over night. Next day wipe off cukes. Then let them come to a boil in syrup made of 1 quart vinegar to 1 quart of sugar (1/2 brown is best). Add 1/4 pkg. to qt. Add 1/4 tsp. alum. They don't have to be sealed.

IMPROVED BREAD & BUTTER PICKLES [Don't Know Why]
1 gallon large cucumbers - peeled & diced
4 large onions - chopped fine
4 peppers - 2 red, 2 green
1 small can pimentos
2 tsp. whole cloves (in cloth bag)
2 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups vinegar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
2 tsp. turmeric
2 tbsp. salt
Mix ingredients together and boil 20 min. Thicken with a little flour & vinegar paste (about 2 tbsp.). Caution - do not add more liquid.

DUTCH PICKLES
12 large cukes (in salt overnight)
2 quarts onions
4 cups sugar
2 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tbsp. flour
1 can pimento
Celery seed
Enough vinegar to see on cukes
Cook until tender.

SWEET MUSTARD PICKLES
2 quarts cubed cucumber
1 large cauliflower, broken in small pieces
1 quart silverskin onions, peeled
1 quart coarsely cut green tomatoes
2 cups celery, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
3 red peppers, seeded and chopped
3 green peppers, seeded and chopped
1½ cups pickling salt
3 quarts cold water
5 cups white vinegar
5 cups granulated sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup dry mustard
2 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. celery seed
1 tbsp. mustard seed

Combine all vegetables. Make a brine of the salt and water, pour over the vegetables, let stand 24 hours. Bring to boil in the same solution, but do not actually boil. Drain thoroughly, making sure all excess liquid is removed.
Combine sugar, flour, mustard, tumeric, celery seed and mustard seed. Mix to a smooth paste with a little of the cold vinegar. Slowly stir in remaining vinegar. Bring to boil over low heat, cook five minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Add well-drained vegetables to the mixture, keep over low heat until just heated through. Do not actually cook the pickle.
Turn into hot, clean jars. Seal firmly tight. Makes about 12 pints.

[Can't imagine why anyone would want to make these, but in fairness I'm including them. It's Aunt Ruby's recipe.]
CHERRY PICKLES
Fill bottles with fresh washed cherries, stems on. To pt. jar of well packed cherries add 1 tsp. salt & 3½ tbsp. sugar. Pour salt & sugar over cherries in jar. Boil equal parts of vinegar & water & pour over cherries boiling hot. Seal. (Bing or Lambert cherries)

If It's Fall, There's Canning - Sweet Pickles / Bread & Butter Pickles

Well, not at my house. I gave away all my jars years ago. I used to bottle lots of fruit every year, but that was when my kids were home. Even though we like the home-canned fruit better, I just decided that store canned was OK - not as good, but good enough. So, by special request (thanks for reading, Kathi!) I broke my no-canning policy and did a couple of batches of pickles today. And yesterday. I was amazed at how the aroma of cucumbers soaking in salt water brought back memories of home. Frankly, I don't remember putting up pickles, so the memory must have been from my childhood. Mom had three recipes for sweet pickles (which were the requested ones). Her sweet pickles were SO good. I remember them soaking in an old crock with cheesecloth on top. Well, I didn't do those. First, I don't have a crock. Second, I didn't want to spend four weeks making pickles. I chose the "overnight" version, but I'm hopeful. She did make a little comment about the amount of pickling spice to use, so maybe she made these, too. Here's the recipe:

SWEET PICKLES (OVERNIGHT)
8 quarts med. cucumbers cut in chunks
4 quarts water
1 cup salt
Soak overnight and drain.
In the morning boil 15 minutes in solution of:
1 pint vinegar
2 tsp. turmeric
2 quarts water
Drain and rinse in cold water.
Pack in jars and pour prepared syrup of:
10 cups sugar
5 cups vinegar
4 cups water
2 handfuls mixed pickling spices (I don't use this much)
Boil about 5 minutes. Seal.

Notice that there is no mention anywhere about green food coloring. Well, Mom used it so I had to include it. I wasn't sure as to when to add or how much, so I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter. And I used the pickling spice from the new container. I heard on the radio that if you have any spices in square cans to throw them out - they're too old and have lost their potency. You can see I didn't throw it out, but I didn't use it this time either. I got 13 pints from this recipe.

I only bought a half box of pickling cucumbers - I had to go to five places before I found them. I was really sad to learn that the old fruit stand where we used to take the fruit from our orchard had finally closed for good. Of course I went there first, if nothing else than for sentimental reasons. Anyway, I was only going to make half a batch of sweet pickles but that only used half of my half box so I made a full recipe. We'll never eat that many pickles! With the rest of the cukes (Mom liked to use that word) I made Bread & Butter Pickles for Doug. He likes that kind - now I hope he'll like mine. And I also hope he develops a taste for sweet pickles because we have way more than we'll use. Anyone out there want some just let me know!

BREAD & BUTTER PICKLES

1 doz. small cukes, sliced
1/2 doz. small onions, sliced
Sprinkle with salt & let stand 1 hour then drain.
1 pint vinegar
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. tumeric
Bring to a boil. Add cukes & onions. Boil 30 min. Seal.

I only got two pints from this recipe!

Warn Them First - Evergreen Zucchini Squash

Aren't we always looking for a new zucchini dish this time of year? Well, here's one that I thought was pretty good, but it made Doug shiver when he tasted it. Turns out he wasn't expecting to taste lemon. After all, zucchini is rather bland. I would probably suggest using 2 tbsp. lemon juice instead of 3 (the recipe says 2 or 3). Doug also said, "Don't bother putting 'good' or 'very good' by this one." Guess that was pretty clear! Try at your own risk; but if you warn them first, they might actually like it!

EVERGREEN ZUCCHINI SQUASH
Wash & slice in 1/4" slices. Bring 3/4" water to boil in sauce pan with 1 tbsp. salt. Cover & cook till tender but crisp. Meanwhile heat ¼ cup butter, 2 tbsp. minced onion, 1/2 tsp. fresh grated lemon peel, 2 to 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice. Pour over drained squash. Add & toss lightly 1 cup snipped fresh parsley.

I didn't have fresh parsley, so I used a tablespoon or so of dried parsley flakes. And I probably cooked it too long. There's a fine line between tender and mushy.