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HOUSTON HOMS JOURNAL
Waste not, want not... helpful hints for the thrifty cook
Yvonne
Sutherland
Food
Columnist
yvonnes@ windstream. net
Food prices are going
up and up, and everyone
is looking for ways to trim
their grocery bill. It helps
to make sure we use the food
we have on hand. Below
are some tricks that will
help eliminate waste in the
kitchen:
Fixing Mistakes
Even the best cooks say
“Oops!” on occasion. I say
it frequently. Last week, I
was preparing for a com
pany dinner. I had decided
to serve, as a first course, a
light broth with small pasta.
I started the chicken stock
and left the kitchen for a
moment. When I returned,
the stock was boiling rapidly
which made it quite cloudy.
(To make clear broth, always
simmer slowly.) I cleared
it with egg whites which
worked amazingly well. See
below.
Broth Cloudy - For every
6 cups of broth, add 3 lightly
beaten egg whites and bring
to a simmer. Cover and sim
mer 15 minutes. The egg
whites will make a scum on
top that has attracted all the
bits and pieces in the soup.
Skim off the scum and strain
the soup through a colander
lined with cheese cloth.
Gelatin Stuck in Mold -
Dip the mold into hot water
for a few seconds being care-
Farr: recipes for raspberry jam, eggplant casserole
are still bearing and are
healthy ... so for now, will
leave them for some more
fresh okra dishes. So what
to do with all these small
green tomatoes?
If you love raspberries, you
are going to love the follow
ing recipe. It was given to me
by a wonderful Mennonite
friend, Vern Swartzentruber.
Vei n and her husband Jonah
ran the Macon County can
ning plant. It was such a
great lose for the community
when at Jonah’s death, the
plant closed. They taught
me so much.
Raspberry Jam
(Makes nice gifts.)
5 cups ground green toma-
Halloween treats (no tricks)
cheese slices into quarters
(1/2 slice cheese, cut in half).
Wrap 4 pieces of dough
around each hot dog and
1/4 slice of cheese to look
like “bandages,” stretching
dough slightly to completely
cover hot dog. About 1/2 inch
from one end of each hot
dog, separate “bandages” so
hot dog shows through for
“face.” On ungreased large
cookie sheet, place wrapped
hot dogs (cheese side down);
spray dough lightly with
cooking spray.
Bake 13 to 17 minutes or
until dough is light golden
brown and hot dogs are hot.
With mustard, draw features
on “face.”
Mulled Cider
1 quart apple cider or apple
juice
1/2 cup water
5 whole cloves
5 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
In a large saucepan over
medium heat, bring all the
ingredients to a boil. Reduce
the heat and simmer 20 min
utes. Strain the mixture,
reserving the cinnamon
sticks. Place 1 cinnamon
stick in each of 5 mugs and
ful not to get the gelatin wet.
Invert on the serving plate
and shake. If it is still stuck,
repeat.
Gravy Lumpy - Try
whisking rapidly to blend. If
that doesn’t work, put it in
a blender to puree and then
reheat.
Pasta Stuck Together -
Return to boiling water with
a tablespoon of oil. Drain and
serve. Or put in a colander
and boil boiling water over it.
Sauce Scorched - If a
sauce begins to scorch on the
bottom during the cooking
process, pour it into a clean
pan being careful to leave the
burnt part behind. Continue
cooking.
Sauce Too Thin - The
easiest way to thicken a sauce
is to knead as much flour
as you can into cold butter.
Drop bits of the butter and
flour into the* sauce until it
is thickened. You can also
add cornstarch mixed with
water. Remember that you
use a lot less cornstarch than
you would flour. Be sure the
sauce is not boiling when you
add the cornstarch or it will
lump. Another method is to
slowly simmer the sauce until
it is reduced to the right con
sistency.
Soup Salty - Add three
or four slices of potato and
simmer 5 - 10 minutes and
remove. The potato will
absorb some of the salt. Or,
if appropriate, dilute with
low-sodium broth or a can of
tomatoes.
Vegetables Oversalted
- Rinse and cook in fresh
water. If they are already
done, put in a colander and
rinse with boiling water.
toes (I use the food proces
sor) (You don’t peel toma
toes. Just cut out the stem
end.)
4 cups white sugar
1 - 6oz box red raspber
ry Jell-O (Only use Jell-0
brand) (NOTE: Vern recom
mended the red, however I
prefer the black raspberry
Jell-O. Either will work.)
In a large non-aluminum
pot, put ground tomatoes
and sugar. Bring to a rolling
boil and
Boil for 10 minutes, stir
ring constantly. Turn off
heat and add Jell-O. Stir
until it dissolves. Put in hot,
sterilize jars, seal, and put
in a boiling water bath for
10 minutes.
pour 3/4 cup hot cider into
each mug.
Crunchy Popcorn
Trail Mix
5 cups popped popcorn
3 cups whole grain oat
cereal
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup peanuts (or other
nuts)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or
margarine
6 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon light corn
syrup
Stir together popcorn,
cereal, raisins and nuts in
large microwavable bowl; set
aside.
Combine butter, brown
sugar and corn syrup in small
saucepan, Heat until boiling;
cook for 3 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Pour over pop
corn mixture, stirring to coat
evenly.
Microwave 3-4 minutes,
stirring and scrapping bowl
after each minute. Spread
onto greased cookie sheet;
cool. Break into pieces and
store in airtight container.
Source: The Popcorn
Board
Many recipes call for egg
yolks or egg whites leaving
you with one or the other
left over. When I clarified
my broth with egg whites,
I used the yolks to make
a bearnaise sauce to serve
with supper:
Bearnaise Sauce
3 egg yolks
1 stick of butter cut in
small pieces
1 tablespoon minced shal
lots
2 tablespoons tarragon
vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon dry tarragon
2 tablespoon cream
salt and white pepper to
taste
Making good use of leftover bread
Crostini
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice a loaf of French or Italian bread into very thin slices (1/4 inch or a bit
thicker.) Place on a cookie sheet and brush with olive oil. Flavor with a bit of garlic salt, oregano, red pepper flakes,
etc. Bake 4to 5 minutes and then turn the cookie sheet around to ensure even cooking. Bake another 4or 5 min
utes longer or until they are brown on the edges and golden in the center. Serve with soup or salad or as the base
for canapes.
Homemade Croutons
Cut the bread into 1/2 inch cubes. Saute in 1/2 butter and 1/2 olive oil until browned. Season with garlic salt, herbs
and/or Parmesan cheese. ,
Homemade Bread Crumbs
To make fresh crumbs, just toss chunks of bread into the food processor and pulse until desired consistency.
To make dried bread crumbs: Slice the bread and lay in a single layer on a cooking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees until
completely dry and crispy. Pulse in the food processor to desired consistency.
To make seasoned bread crumbs: Prepare as above and add salt, pepper, herbs and finely grated hard cheese such
as Parmesan or Romano.
Eggplant Casserole
(If you live alone ...
Prepare - up to adding the
cheese and freeze in indi
vidual serving sizes. Add
the cheese when you go to
heat.)
1 medium eggplant, peeled,
cubed and steamed till
done. Let drain.
1 can cream of onion soup
1 egg
1/2 soup can milk
10 -12 saltine crackers,
crushed
2 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar
cheese
Salt and Pepper
Steam eggplant and set
aside to drain. Mix together
Rocky Road
Caramel Apples
6 Granny Smith apples
6 wooden sticks
1 (14 ounce) package indi
vidually wrapped caramels,
unwrapped
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups miniature marsh
mallows
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans,
toasted
1 cup semisweet chocolate
chips
Insert wooden sticks 3/4 of
the way into the stem end of
each apple. Place apples on
a cookie sheet covered with
lightly greased aluminum
foil.
Combine caramels and
water in a saucepan over low
heat. Cook, stirring often,
until caramel melts and is
smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
Dip each apple into the cara
mel and gently run apples
around insides of saucepan
to scrape off some of the cara
mel. Scrape excess caramel
from the apple bottoms using
the side of the saucepan.
Combine the miniature
marshmallows and pecans on
a dinner plate. Roll the apples
in the mixture to coat. Place
on the aluminum foil and
FOOD
Using the Rest of the Egg
Put the egg yolks, but
ter, shallots, vinegar, water
and tarragon in the top of a
double boiler. Let sit for 30
minutes. Bring water to
a boil in the bottom of the
double boiler. Whisk the
sauce over the boiling water
until thick-2 or 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and
let stand 5 minutes. Stir in
the cream, salt and pepper.
Serve over meat.
Zabaglione
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup Marsala wine
(or another sweet wine
such as Madeira or sher
ry)
milk and crackers. Let set
for a few minutes for the
milk to soften the crackers.
Mix together with the egg,
then the soup and onion and
last the eggplant. Salt and
pepper to taste and pour in
a small buttered dish... here
you can cook in a 350 degree
oven for 20 or so minutes or
in the microwave according
the manufacture instruc
tions. Add the cheese on top
and return to oven just for a
minute.
Watch the bees, wasps,
and hornets...if you do get
stung and are not aller
gic...the following might
be of help. REMEMBER: If
you are allergic ... do what
the Drs have told you to
do!! Don’t try a remedy...it
chill. Put the chocolate chips
in a microwave-safe bowl.
Cook in the microwave for
30 second intervals, stirring
between each, until melted
and smooth. Drizzle over the
apples and return them to
the refrigerator until ready
to serve, with foil.
Source: Allrecipes.com
Graveyard
Crunch
1/4 cup maple-flavored or
pancake syrup
2 Tbsp. butter or marga
rine
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 cups cocoa or fruit-fla
vored sweetened rice cereal
1 cup Dry Roasted Peanuts
2 cups Miniature
Marshmallows
1 cup candy corn
1 cup candy-coated choc
olate pieces
Preheat oven to 300°F. Place
syrup, butter and cinnamon
in large microwaveable bowl.
Microwave on HIGH 1 min.;
stir until butter is completely
melted. Add cereal and pea
nuts; mix lightly. Spread into
lightly greased 15x10x1-inch bak
ing pan. Bake 30 mini, stirring
after 15 min. Cool completely.
Break into pieces; place in
large bowl.
Combine the egg yolks
and sugar in the top of a
double boiler. This works
best if the top has a round
ed bottom. Using a wire
whisk or hand-held mixer,
beat until the eggs are
pale and creamy-about 3
minutes. Slowly whisk in
the wine. Place the mix
ture over gently simmering
water and continue beating
until the custard is thick
and doubled in volume-5 to
8 minutes. Spoon into serv
ing dishes.
Meringues
4 egg whites (1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon cream of
tartar
1 cup plus about 2 table
spoons sugar
Berries
might mean your life.
Mix together baking soda
with a little vinegar and
spread over the bee sting
area. This also works on
some rashes. It will help
ease the itch. Just plain vin
Famous Homemade
Cinnamon Rolls
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Whipped Cream
Make the night before
serving: Preheat the oven
to 225 degrees.
Whip the egg whites and
cream of tartar in a large
bowl until they reach the
soft peak stage. Gradually
add the sugar and beat until
stiff, shiny peaks form.
Line a cookie sheet with
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meringue in eight por
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Flatten each mound into
a 4-inch circle, slightly
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Bake 1 1/2 hours or until
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Serve with berries and
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From Page iB
egar will also help.
By immediately rubbing
honey on the stung area
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swelling.
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