Column from September 23, 2010

My granddaughter watches as her mommy and her new step-daddy cut the poppy seed cake at their wedding reception Sept. 17.

An untraditional treat

At the end of last week, we headed to Eugene, Ore., for my daughter’s wedding. They were married Friday, Sept. 17, which was the second anniversary of their first date.

The plan was to have the ceremony in the Rose Gardens there in Eugene, under a 188-year-old cherry tree. Unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs, so it had to be moved inside to where the reception was to take place.

It still turned out to be a beautiful wedding and my daughter was gorgeous. My 7-year-old granddaughter was adorable, too, as she sprinkled rose pedals down the aisle.

My daughter has never been one for sweets and she tries to limit them when it comes to her little girl. So rather than the traditional white or chocolate cake, she arranged for the chef to prepare a poppy seed cake.

The cake was four layers, with raspberry filling and a creamy icing. It had to be refrigerated to keep it from melting in the damp heat.

Poppy seeds can be found in many recipes around the world, from the Middle East to Central and Eastern Europe. They are widely used in Austria, Germany, Romania and Hungary. The Jewish people use poppy seeds for some of their traditional pastries.

Allergies to poppy seeds are very rare and they are highly nutritious, so they are a good alternative to other seeds and nuts.

When using whole seeds, they need to be ground with a mortar and pestle. When preparing uncooked food, such as salads, lightly roast them first. For use in pastries, they should be covered with boiling water and allowed to stand for an hour or two before grinding.

The seeds purchased in the spice section at the local grocery can be used as is, but many recipes give special instructions for preparing them for the recipe, such as this one for poppy seed cake, which calls for them to be soaked in milk.

Poppy seed cake

1/3 cup poppy seeds

1 cup milk

4 egg whites

3/4 cup shortening

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

Cream cheese frosting:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, soak poppy seeds in milk for 30 minutes. Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

In another large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with poppy seed mixture.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into batter.

Pour into a greased 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on  a wire rack.

For frosting, in a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar. Spread over cake.

Store in refrigerator. Makes 12 to 15 servings.

Column from September 16, 2010

A bee gathers pollen to be used for making honey, a natural sweetener that is an excellent source of energy.

A sweet time at the Adams County Fair

Be sure to stop by the centennial display at the fair this week. There are still many souvenir items available, plus the calendars are on sale for a cut-rate price.

The centennial display is in the corner of the Caylor’s honey booth, along with some items from the museum to look at. Ken Caylor is the chair for the city’s 100^th birthday and he did an excellent job of putting together all the events in May.

Ken and his wife Barb will have quite an assortment of honey-related products for sale, from raw product to candy and more. They also have a piece of hive with honey bees swarming inside. It’s really very interesting to watch these busy insects.

National Honey Month is celebrated each year in September. A natural source of energy, recent studies show honey works great for preventing fatigue and enhancing athletic performance. It also contains small amounts of a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and trace minerals, as well as antioxidants.

There are 300 different types of honey in the U.S. They vary in both color and taste. The darker honeys also tend to have a higher mineral content.

Because honey originates with flowers, no two will be exactly alike in flavor. It is an ingredient in manufactured products, from cereals to cough syrup. More than 200 new products containing honey have been introduced since 1998.

A word of warning, though … don’t give honey to infants until they are at least 18 months of age. Their immature digestive systems can’t properly break down the honey and it can turn to botulism in their intestines. In fact, it has been shown to be a cause of sudden infant death syndrome.

If you have any questions, I’m sure Barb will be more than glad to answer them. She knows a lot about her product and I know she’d love to have you stop by their booth.

Here’s a recipe she was nice enough to contribute to this week’s Table Scraps. It makes about three dozen scrumptious cookies that your family is sure to enjoy.

Gingerbee cookies

1-1/2 cups honey

¾ cup butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

In a large bowl, cream honey and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Add flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and cloves; mix until combines.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours. When dough is chilled, divide dough in half; return one half to refrigerator.

Dust work surface and dough with flour. Roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutter; transfer to well-greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove cookies from sheet a

Column from September 9, 2010

Using leftover rice

It seems like the big thing lately as far as a healthy diet is whole grains. But for many, that’s not an option – if they can’t eat gluten.

For a gluten-free whole grain, you might want to try rice. It’s also sodium-free and contains no cholesterol. And it’s the least allergic of all the grains.

Rice is the primary dietary staple for more than half the world’s population. More than 20 billion pounds are produced each year by U.S. farmers, with 85 percent of the rice consumed in our country grown here.

And there is such a wide variety, from short- to medium- to long-grain, as well as a number of specialty rice.

Rice provides over 15 vitamins and minerals. It is an energy food and contains no saturated fat.

To prepare, follow package directions by combining rice, liquid, salt and margarine in a saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring once or twice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer according time specified on box.

If rice isn’t quite tender or liquid isn’t all absorbed, replace lid and cook a few minutes longer. Fluff with fork to separate grains and to release steam.

For the perfect rice, measure ingredients accurately and set timer to prevent under- or over-cooking. While cooking, do not stir; wait until the timer goes off and test for doneness.

Because rice triples in volume while cooking, it’s not unusual to have leftovers. When my kids were little, they used to eat the extra the following morning with sugar and milk.

Another way to use leftover rice is to make pudding. It’s a nice change from the regular desserts and better for you.

Creamy rice pudding

3 cups cooked rice

1/3 cup golden raisins

¼ teaspoon salt

3-1/3 cups milk, divided

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

½ cup sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup halved maraschino cherries, drained

Combine rice, raisins, salt and 3 cups milk in 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add butter to hot mixture; mix well. Combine sugar, eggs and remaining 1/3 cup milk; add to pudding, stirring constantly.

Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture thickens and coats a metal spoon. Remove from heat; add vanilla. Place maraschino cherries on paper towels to remove excess syrup; stir into pudding.

Spoon rice pudding into eight individual dessert dishes. Serve warm or cold. You can also top with whipped cream.

Column from September 2, 2010

A final farewell to summer

Summer doesn’t officially end until Sept. 23, but the unofficial end is this coming weekend.

Labor Day is often considered the weekend when we begin getting ready for winter. School is back in session, the weather is cooling down, many families and friends have a final barbecue get-together and those shorts and Ts are sorted and packed away until next year.

It’s also a good time to reflect back to see if you had a good summer. For me, it seemed to go by so fast this year.

However, I did have the opportunity to do lots of fun things. There was a great camping trip to Madras, Ore., several pleasant Saturday and Sunday drives, I finished a few writing projects I had been working on, I read tons of great books and we had some good food using our new barbecue grill.

I also found quite a few new tasty recipes and I had the chance to share them with you through this column.

I feel very fortunate to be able to write Table Scraps. It’s lots of fun and I especially enjoy the comments I receive that tell me people are reading it. I would love to feature more of your recipes, so if you’re willing to share some of your favorites, send them to me at reading_frenzy@yahoo.com.

September is already looking like it’s going to be a very busy month with activities planned every weekend, including my daughter’s wedding on Sept. 17 in Eugene, Ore. It means we’ll be missing part of the fair this year, but we’ll be able to spend a day or two at the fairgrounds before we head south.

We also have a final camping trip planned. That means I’ll have to come up with some easy meals that don’t take a lot of preparation. I’d much rather enjoy being outdoors than stuck at the campsite cooking.

Here’s a fun recipe that is quick and easy. You can prepare some of the ingredients – such as cutting up the pieces and mixing the sauce – ahead of time.

It’s enough for four people and can be easily doubled if you are feeding more.

Sweet barbecue chicken kabobs

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces

2 cups 1-1/2 inch fresh pineapple chunks

1 each: red and green pepper, cut into 1-1/2 inch chunks

½ cup plain barbecue sauce

3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Using eight long wooden skewer (two, side-by-side, for each kabob), thread chicken alternately with pineapple and peppers onto skewers to make four kabobs.

Mix barbecue sauce and juice concentrate; brush some of the sauce mixture onto kabobs.

Grill 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, turning and brushing occasionally with remaining sauce mixture.

Note: Soak wooden skewers in water 30 minutes before using. Wrap ends with foil before grilling to help prevent them from burning.

Column from August 26, 2010

Preparing for autumn weather

It’s hard to believe fall is just around the corner. We’re already seeing shorter days, cooler nights and back-to-school specials at the stores.

One advantage to fall, however, is the abundance of fresh tree fruits in our area. In fact, the top agriculture commodity for Washington state is apples. 

Here in Adams County, our farmers contribute $344 million dollars annually to the state’s $38 billion food and agriculture economy. Our top three crops are wheat, potatoes and apples.

A popular crop that will be ready for harvest soon is peaches. There’s nothing as sweet or as juicy as a peach fresh off the tree.

And you can do so much with them – cobbler, pie, fruit salads and jams and jellies.

The one drawback, as far as I can tell, is the fuzzy skin on a peach. I’ve known several people who just can’t tolerate it. Personally, it’s OK by me, but it is necessary to remove the peel if you’re baking with peaches or when you make jams or jellies.

Peaches are simple to peel. Just dip them for a few seconds in a pot of boiling water. The skin will split and easily peel away from the fruit.

Canning peaches is very simple, too. All you have to do is fill up quart jars, add some sugar to taste and pour in boiling water to cover. Then, process in a water bath canner for about 20 minutes.

You might want to wait until the temperatures begin to cool down, though. We are still having hot days and canning is definitely one way to heat up your house.

But is you do have peaches that need some attention, you could try making freezer jam. It’s quick and easy and because you’ll be putting the jars in the freezer, you don’t have to heat up the kitchen with canning.

I found this unique recipe recently and I’ll be trying it this fall. It’s the first time I’ve seen vanilla bean added to peach jam and I’m willing to bet it adds an interesting flavor.

Remember, as always, if you want your jam to set properly, be sure to follow the recipe exactly and measure carefully. This recipe will make eight half-pint jars or four pint jars of freezer jam.

Peach freezer jam

2-¾ cups finely chopped peeled and pitted ripe peaches (about 2-¼ pounds)
6-½ cups sugar
2 pouches (1 box) Sure Jell Liquid Pectin
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and cut into 8 small pieces

Combine the peaches and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sugar should be almost dissolved.

In a separate bowl, combine the pectin and lemon juice.

Stir the pectin mixture into the peach-sugar mixture and stir constantly until the sugar is no longer grainy and is almost completely dissolved, about three minutes. Add the almond extract and the vanilla bean seeds and stir to combine.

Spoon the jam into clean half-pint or pint-size jars. Place one piece of vanilla bean inside of each jar. Cover the jars and let stand at room temperature until jam is set, up to 24 hours.

Place the jam in the freezer and use as needed. Freezer jam should be consumed within one year. Jam may also be stored in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Column from August 19, 2010

Recipes can bring back fond memories

The best recipes are often the ones that we keep in our heads. Those are requested for many events or get-togethers.

I was visiting with Grace at the Chamber of Commerce a while back and she told me about a recipe for cinnamon rolls she got from Barbara Pederson. It’s one of her kids’ favorites and they always request she make it when they come to visit.

Of course, Grace keeps it in her head, so she has to stop and think about how it’s made whenever anyone asks for the recipe.

I have lots of recipes like that – my meatloaf, spaghetti, chili, potato and macaroni salads, baked beans, etc. My daughter tends to be the one to ask for those and it’s difficult to explain some of them.

The best way to learn how I make them is to watch carefully during the process.

When my kids were in high school, it wasn’t unusual to find my dining room table filled with their friends who stopped by for spaghetti. Even when I would meet one who hadn’t been to our house before, they tended to tell me they heard about my spaghetti.

There’s nothing like a roomful of crazy teens to make a house feel like a home.

I wish I had Grace’s recipe back then. It would have been the perfect ending to a perfect meal for those kids.

Grace was generous enough to write it down to share with my readers. You’ll have to do some improvising, but that’s the secret to remembered recipes.

So, have fun preparing these cinnamon rolls and if they don’t turn out exactly right, try again. Once you get the hang of it, you might be making them regularly for your own friends and family.

Cake mix cinnamon rolls

1 box yellow cake mix

5 cups bread flour

2 packages or 4 teaspoons yeast

2-1/2 cups warm water (105 to 110 degrees)

Mix all ingredients together and knead until soft (dough will be sticky). Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Punch down and roll out into a rectangle.

Spread with ½ cup butter, sprinkle with ½ to ¾ cup brown sugar. (Grace didn’t include cinnamon on the list of ingredients, so I would recommend sprinkling it on at this point to your own personal taste.) You can add nuts and raisins, if desired.

Roll and slice every 1-1/2 inches to form rolls. Place in buttered pan (Grace uses a baking sheet) and let rise again.

Option: In small sauce pan, melt ½ cup butter, ¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup white Karo syrup and 1 cup finely chopped nuts just till warm (do not boil). Cool until warm to touch. Pour into buttered pan and place rolls on top and let rise.

Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown (time will depend on size of rolls). Remove and immediately invert pan onto foil and allow sauce to drip over rolls.

Pan may be lined with foil and buttered for easy removal.

Column from August 12, 2010

 Naomi Reynolds

Sharing recipes with friends

There’s something about a friend giving you a special recipe that has been in their family for generations. It really shows they care about you.

Last week, Eric and I took a road trip. We stopped to visit his mother’s best friend, who is also the daughter of one of Othello’s earliest pioneers. They went to school together and graduated in the same class.

Naomi Reynolds Adams will be 95 years old this weekend. Her mother Sara Little Reynolds came to Othello in 1903 and helped prove up three different homesteads – with her parents, grandmother and husband Earl, whom she married in 1910. She was a much loved member of the community.

Sara and Earl raised eight children in Othello. She loved gardening and had a beautiful yard on Cedar Street. She taught both her children and grandchildren to appreciate nature, to fish and to hunt. She also taught them to embroider and quilt.

Naomi lives in a beautiful home her husband designed and built himself. It features an awesome fireplace made of petrified wood from the Saddle Mountains west of Othello.

You would never know she is 95. She gets around great and still lives on her own, although her children check in on her several times each day.

We had a wonderful visit and Naomi shared lots of stories about the early days of Othello and her friendship with Eric’s mother. We gave her the current copy of The Othello Outlook and promised to send some of the back issues that talked about the centennial celebration as some mention her mother. Sara was one of the women the museum highlighted for its special display that weekend.

I’ll also send her this week’s paper because Table Scraps includes a couple recipes she shared with us.

One of her favorite recipes is for lemon cheese. The recipe is originally from England and came through Canada to her friend Esther Porter, another woman who lived in Othello years ago.

Naomi said she likes to spread it on toast and it’s also good between cake layers or on top of a poppy seed cake. It will last for about two weeks in the refrigerator or can be frozen.

Lemon cheese

2 eggs, beaten

Rind (zest) and juice of two lemons

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

Melt butter in double boiler. Add remaining ingredients and cook until thick. Cool before refrigerating.

Crème fraiche

1 cup sour cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix together and let set at room temperature for 24 hours before refrigerating. This will last for two weeks in the refrigerator.

Naomi said to add a layer of both the lemon cheese and crème fraiche in a rolled up crepe. It’s one of her favorite breakfast dishes.

She said the crème fraiche is excellent on gingerbread.