Baking Day

Theresa and I had a very busy day today with several appointments and a visit to the health club. This afternoon we decided to do come baking and it turned out that we enjoyed a successful time.I decided to bake bread from scratch as I have not done this for a while.

I got used to one of those breadmakers when I was up North so I forgot how to have the fun of actually baking bread the old fashioned way. I checked with Fanny Farmer and realized that the book was way out of date as fast acting yeast was not mentioned. A little note on the yeast gave me all the information I needed to get my project under way.

While Theresa was busy with her recipe  for five of anything cookies I had my bread setting  waiting to rise. Rise it did and I had to punch it down to get it under control. I decided to divide the dough and make one loaf and twenty dinner rolls. They rose in a few minutes and as Theresa was taking her cookies out of the oven I was prepare to put mine in.

Fifty minutes later we had a stove top full of bread and cookies. It is fun to bake and cook if you have the time and interest. We have both.

Comfort Food

On a cold day there is nothing better to eat than a nice hot stew and home made biscuits. Doris was here and I suggested that she make her home made biscuits. At 95 Doris had to  look up the recipe but it did not take long for her to make a small batch to go with the stew. Sometimes the simplest of meals are the best.

Cabbage Rolls

Late in the fall I had a tradition of making sauerkraut and cooking cabbage rolls. Making the kraut did not bother me but my family really hated the smell which lasted quite a while. I used to make three kinds and each took a different length of time to cure. One year I used my sons third floor bedroom for the process while he was away at school. Unfortunately he came home for the weekend.

With the cabbage not used to make the kraut I used to make a large batch of cabbage rolls. I lived with an elderly lady when I was a young principal just getting started in the education business. Although she was over 80, she and her son - and later me - made kraut every fall. I was not used to the German food but learned to like it so much I acquired a special taste and interest in its preparation.

For the cabbage rolls I used a German recipe and later I modified it somewhat so it was more like Polish. Tonight we are having company as our neighbours are coming for supper. They are from Cuba originally and have special tastes of their own. In our food preparation I decided to make cabbage rolls while I had the urge for cooking. This time I used the slow cooker and hope all would be well.

The joys of cooking can only be matched by the joys of tasting you own homemade specialty foods. Since my family here are not fond of these comfort foods, I shall have to freeze most of them and feast on them when they are out shopping.

Spaghetti Time Again

Every year Theresa and I say we are going to cut down on our canning and making of jams, sauces and jellies. This year was no exception but we had such a great crop of tomatoes we had to use them. Our daughter (III) looked after our home while we were away and faithfully picked and froze these tomatoes. What were we to do ?

Saturday evening we got everything ready and made the sauce according to no special recipe but by 11 o'clock we called it quits and decided to bottle it next day. We made 12 quarts and 12 pints of delicious sauce. Enough for us this year and to share with the family. Next year we swear we will cut down even more. We used to make 48 quarts so we are keeping our word.

Comfort Food

With the cooler weather here in Florida we are able to feel better by cooking our favourite comfort foods. The first to come to mind is stew. We were practically brought up on hearty stew.It comes in many forms but my favourite is to cook the stew and cover with baking powder biscuit crust. Twenty minutes in the oven and there you are with a perfect meal for cold weather.We have had two in the last ten days. The upside is that you also clean out your fridge of all those odds and ends which have been there too long.

The second is home made beans. Despite the obvious drawbacks these little fellows are hearty and easy to make. Full of protein and with explosive power they can qualify as comfort food. I always add ginger to my beans and this gives the warm taste you need during the cold. Of course you must have home made biscuits or bread as well. Here we prefer corn bread and molasses. This gives a potent punch.

For my third choice I would add a large pot of home made soup. Any flavour including scotch broth will do but some stay away from the barely in the Scottish broth. Make enough for several meals and add something every time you reheat. Cooking during these down days is a wonderful diversion and the reward is comfort food that is so good.

Spaghetti Sauce

Beginning in the mid sixties we made spaghetti sauce using a recipe which was used by a number of our close friends but probably my mother in law was the one who made me a believer. I always grew great tomatoes and lots of them.Come fall the natural thing to do was to keep them in some usable form for the winter.

At first I made and canned a dozen quarts or so but as time went on we bottled up to 50 quarts. That seems like a lot but by the time you share with friends and family the number is more like 35 quarts. This year we had a bumper crop but still decided to downsize for our goal was 25 quarts.

Much to our surprise when we went to the process of actually making this sauce, we see that the real number will be around 36 quarts. So much for downsizing. We love to eat pasta at least once a week and this amount will be used in a hurry. Theresa and I take more than a dozen bottles to Florida to treat our American friends to Ontario tomatoes at their best, in spaghetti sauce.

There is no doubt of the nutrition value in tomatoes and we try to eat them in some form or another but in Florida you cannot buy a good eating tomato. We grow our own there as well and as a green gardener we have the same result as we do in Ontario, great tasting tomatoes.The secret is to use good seed, fertilize with organic material, cow manure and water often. Do not add these quick growth chemicals and you will be rewarded.

Today we will complete our bottling and have a supper with our new fresh sauce and pasta. We will judge it and make the same remark we do each year and declare it the best ever. I expect my family to appear any minute after all the sauce is in the bottles. They know a good thing as well and we will have a visit as a bonus.

Cherries by the Bucketful

I watch for the blackbirds to land in my fruit trees before picking. Every year they visit our cherry trees when the fruit is at it prime. They know from experience that a day here or there makes all the difference between sweet succulent berries or sour, tart fruit. Unfortunately one year I was away when they ripened.

This year I was able to test and re-test our cherries and today Theresa and I will pick enough for our use. Our neighbours and family can share with the birds for the rest. Our trees were gifts from Doris, my mother-in-law who has kindly added to our orchard on the occasion of our anniversary. Another time it was a peach tree she gave us and we have made good use of the fruit. Doris makes good choices as she loves jam - or could I say anything which contains sugar - and the more sugar the better.

This year we plan to freeze some for the future but the immediate need is for a one crust cherry pie with crumble topping. This is my favourite pie and the girls collaborate in making the very best pies.

Our trees are grafted and one of them produces four different varieties of fruit. We prefer the large yellow variety because of their size and sweetness. I have to leave now but will be thinking of you people who are not around to have some pie later today.

Fishcakes

Cod cakes , fish cakes or potato cakes with cod all say the same thing. The very thought of these yummy morsels makes my mouth water. Several times a year I get the urge to make - and of course eat - these down-east cultural blessings.

As a child we used to buy a bale of salt cod when needed. A bale was usually 25 or fifty pounds. The cost was something like 10 cents a pound when delivered. The fish were big and the dried cod were often five or six pounds each. The poor fisherman used to get a few cents a pound for the green cod delivered to the fish plant. The other day I bought two pounds of salt cod bits and they cost $6 per pound. Normally they cost $8 a pound. Inflation I guess. At any cost, you have to have the fish to get cod cakes.

To make them I use my mother's recipe, as best I can remember, with a little help from my sister Jeannie. I always test the cod for salt and eat a little raw. This sometimes makes me thirsty and a little down-east screech and Pepsi does the trick.

Soaking the salt cod with a minimum of three waters also does the trick. Start with boiled potatoes - not too soft so they stick together - and onions partially cooked, added for their wonderful flavour. Pull apart the fish or mince it and add an egg. Use your hands to squeeze the mixture through your fingers until the mixture is soft and sticky. Now my specialty is to add some garlic, fresh if on hand and powder if that's all you can get your hands on. Poultry seasoning will provide the special taste I love.

Have fun trying to make 24 balls of equal size and place on something flat like a counter top. Use the potato masher to flatten. This also makes nice grooves for the heat to penetrate and cook. Use cooking oil in small amounts and high heat to brown the cakes on both sides. Most time you lose pieces of the cakes when turning so these become testers. Finish by letting these cakes cool and either freeze them or better still - eat them.

My daughters love the delicious taste of these cakes and I want them to learn the secrets to making this - about the simplest dish going. My daughters Glenda and Lynda usually get their share but Dar misses out as she lives too far away. In any case the tradition of cod cakes will live on in our family as I will give them the recipe for a gift someday. The reason I have not up until now is I love to make them myself.

Try them sometime and you will surely agree.