Newspaper Page Text
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
FIREHOUSE
Curtis Lindsey
Engineer
Perry Fire Department
Chocolate Royale
Cheesecake
18 Oreo cookies, finely
crushed
2 tablespoons butter or
margarine melted
4 packages (8 oz. each)
Philadelphia Cream Cheese,
softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
4 eggs
1 pkg. (8 squares) Baker’s
semi-sweet baking choco
late, melted
1/4 cup hazelnut liqueur
(optional)
Mix crumbs and butter.
Press onto bottom of a 9
inch silver springform pan.
Bake at 325 degrees for 10
minutes.
Beat cream cheese, sugar,
flour and vanilla with an
electric mixer until well
blended. Pour over crust.
Bake at 325 degrees for 55
to 60 minutes or until cen
ter is almost set. Run knife
around rim of pan to loosen
cake. Cool before removing
rim of pan. Refrigerate for
four hours or overnight.
Garnish with sifted pow
dered sugar and mixed
berries if desired. Makes 12
servings.
EATER
From page 6A
desired letter.) Particularly
curious Stem Pluckers con
tinue the ritual by poking
the outside of the apple with
the stem to determine the
number of children they will
have, said to be equal to the
number of pokes it takes to
break the skin of the apple.
(Hey, we don’t make these
things up, we just reprint
‘em.) In a recent, incredibly
unscientific poll, three out
of four people surveyed
reported themselves to be
Stem Pluckers.
- from the U.S. Apple
Association
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stationery • invitations • notes
Selection of
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Delicious Greek fare you can make
“A good cook is like a sor
ceress who dispenses happi
ness. ”
- Elsa Schiaparelli
(1890-1973)
One of the highlights of
fall in Columbia is the Greek
Festival hosted by the Greek
Orthodox Church member
ship. It is always wonderful
to see the art displays, the
dancing, hear the music and
eat the delicious foods pre
pared by many of the mem
bers. I really get into the
music and love to watch the
children perform the tradi
tional dances. Personally, I
can’t resist the variety of
foods offered and try to taste
as many as I can. The fla
vors are meant to be
savored. There is also a gro
cery where you can purchase
items and a bakery serving
delicacies to take home. I
must admit that the Greek
beer and wines should not
be missed. I tried them both.
In honor of our Greek com
munity, I’m going to share
some of their traditional
recipes, which I think you’ll
find interesting. At this
writing, I am still working to
prefect my baklava. Enjoy!
Baklava
1 pound frozen phyllo
dough (21 16x12-inch
leaves)
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinna
mon
1/2 teaspoon ground nut
meg
1/8 teaspoon ground
cloves
Lemon-Honey Syrup
Thaw phyllo dough at
room temperature for 2
hours. Finely chop or grind
nuts. Cut phyllo in half
crosswise. Cover with slight
ly damp towel. Lightly but
ter the bottom of a 14x10x2”
baking pan. Lay 10 of the
Follow instructions with corticosteroids
Dear David, I recently
had a bad case of poison
ivy and my doctor pre
scribed a steroid dose
pack where I had to take
a decreasing number of
tablets each day until
they were gone. Why
does this medicine have
to be taken this way?
Dear reader, the type of
steroid you were given
belongs to a class of medica
tions known as corticos
teroids. Some examples of
this type of steroid are pred
nisone, methylprednisolone,
dexamethasone and corti
sone. These steroids are
similar to a class of steroids
actually manufactured in
the body by the adrenal
glands.
The adrenal glands, locat
ed near the upper portion of
each kidney, secrete differ
ent types of hormones, all of
which are types of steroids,
which serve various func
tions within the body. These
hormones regulate func
tions such as sodium and
water balance (which helps
regulate blood pressure),
blood glucose levels and, to a
lesser extent, hormone lev
els of sex hormones such as
estrogen and testosterone.
The adrenal glands also
secrete steroids that help
fight inflammation. In a sit-
APPLE
From page 6A
1 cup fresh or frozen
Chinese pea pods
1 tablespoon water
1 medium baking apple,
cored and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups cooked rice
Stir-fry cubed chicken
breast in 1 tablespoon veg
etable oil in non-stick skillet
until lightly browned and
cooked. Remove from skil
let. Stir-fry onion, carrots
and basil in oil in same skil
let until carrots are tender.
Stir in pea pods and water;
stir-fry 2 minutes. Remove
FOOD&STYLE
Catherine Collier Rentz
Let’s Get Cooking
catrent3@mindspring.com
half sheets of phyllo in pan,
brushing each sheet with
some of the melted butter.
Mix walnuts, almonds,
sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg
and cloves. Sprinkle half of
the nut mixture over phyllo
in pan. Drizzle with some of
the melted butter. Top with
another 20 of the half sheets
of phyllo, brushing each
with more of the melted but
ter. Repeat with another
layer of the nut mixture,
remaining butter and
remaining phyllo. Cut with
out cutting through bottom
layer into diamond-shaped
pieces or squares. Bake at
350 degrees for 50 to 55
minutes. Finish cutting, cool
thoroughly. Pour warm
Lemon-Honey Syrup over.
Makes about 24 diamonds.
Lemon-Honey Syrup: In a
saucepan, combine 1 cup
sugar, 1 cup water and 1/2
lemon, sliced. Boil gently for
15 minutes. Remove lemon
slices. Add 2 tablespoons
honey. Stir till blended.
Keep the syrup warm until
used.
Pastitsio
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 16-ounce can tomatoes,
cut up
1 6-ounce can tomato
paste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme,
crushed
’®r $ ' \ si&Llm
W. ‘j&r Mt
David Voltz
Pharmacy Q&.A
voltzrph@hotmail.com
uation where the amount of
inflammation occurring
exceeds the body’s ability to
fight it off (such as poison
ivy, arthritis, asthma or any
chronic inflammatory condi
tion) your physician may
prescribe a corticosteroid.
Since the body manufac
tures some of these steroids,
what your physician is doing
is simply augmenting the
body’s natural ability to
fight inflammation, thereby
alleviating the problem or
(in the case of chronic
inflammation) reducing the
symptoms.
With chronic inflammato
ry conditions, the physician
may prescribe low dose, con
tinuous therapy with a
steroid. With acute condi
tions (such as poison ivy or
from heat; stir in apple.
Add to chicken, serve hot
over cooked rice.
Makes 4 servings.
This is an official 5 A Day
recipe. This recipe is
approved by the “5 A Day -
For Better Health” Program
because it provides at least
one serving of fruit and/or
vegetable per serving, and
gets less than 30% of its
calories from fat, less than
10% of its calories from sat
urated fat, has less than 100
mg of cholesterol and not
more than 480 mg of sodi
um.
1 7-ounce package elbow
macaroni (2 cups)
4 slightly beaten egg
whites
1/2 cup cubed feta cheese
1/2 cup butter or mar
garine
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cin
namon
4 cups milk
4 slightly beaten egg yolks
In skillet cook beef and
onion till meat is browned;
drain off excess fat. Add
undrained tomatoes, tomato
paste, thyme and 1 teaspoon
salt. Simmer, covered, for 30
minutes, stirring often.
Meanwhile, cook macaroni
according to package direc
tions; drain well. Stir egg
whites and cheese into mac
aroni; stir in meat mixture.
Turn into 13x9x2-inch bak
ing pan. In large saucepan
melt butter. Blend in flour,
cinnamon and 1 teaspoon
salt. Add milk all at once.
Cook, stirring constantly, till
thickened and bubbly.
Remove from heat.
Gradually stir in some hot
sauce into egg yolks; blend
well. Return yolk mixture to
remaining sauce, stirring
rapidly. Pour atop meat mix
ture. Sprinkle lightly with
additional cinnamon, if
desired. Bake at 375 degrees
till heated through, about 35
to 40 minutes. Let stand 10
minutes before serving.
Serves 12.
Psomi
3 3/4 to 4 cups all-purpose
flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Melted butter
In large mixing bowl com
bine 1 1/4 cups flour and the
yeast. Heat milk, sugar,
shortening and salt just
until warm (115-120
degrees); stir constantly.
Add to dry mixture. Beat at
severe allergic reaction), it is
more common to see a high
initial dose given with the
dose taped off over several
days. This “dosepack” for
mulation is probably the
most commonly used.
The reason this medica
tion has to be tapered off is
because it is similar to
steroids that are manufac
tured by the body. And
because these steroids are
potent in nature, the body’s
manufacturing of them is a
very delicate system,
designed to ensure that just
the right amounts are made
and blood levels are kept
consistent.
This system of manufac
turing is known as negative
feedback, which means that
high levels of these steroids
and hormones in the blood
stop further production. The
adrenal glands constantly
monitor the blood for the
amounts of steroids and hor
mones that they
When the level is too high,
the adrenal glands stop
making steroids and hor
mones. When the level is
low, the adrenal glands
resume production.
When a high initial dose
of a corticosteroid is given
and the subsequent high
blood level is noticed by the
Approximate nutritional
analysis (per serving): calo
ries, 365; fat, 9 g; choles
terol, 62 mg; sodium, 71
mg; fiber, 3 g; percent calo
ries from fat, 22percent.
Source: Washington Apple
Commission
Apple Pizza
Two 7 x 7” pieces of plain
focaccia bread, split in half
and toasted, for crust
1/2 cup natural-style
applesauce
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon ground
savory
low speed of electric mixer
for 1/2 minute, scraping
sides of bowl constantly.
Beat 3 minutes at high
speed. By hand, stir in
enough of the remaining
flour to make moderately
stiff dough. Turn dough out
on lightly floured surface;
knead till smooth and elastic
(8 to 10 minutes). Place
dough in lightly greased
bowl; turn once to grease
surface. Cover; let rise in
warm place till double
(about 1 1/2 hours). Punch
down. Divide dough in half.
Shape each half into 10-inch
long loaf. Place loaves on
greased baking sheet. Brush
tops with melted butter.
Cover; let rise till almost
double (about 1 hour). Bake
at 375 degrees till golden,
about 45 minutes. Makes 2
loaves.
Greek Moussaka
2 medium eggplants,
peeled and cut into 1/2-inch
thick
slices
1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup burgundy
2 tablespoons snipped
parsley
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2/3 cup soft bread crumbs
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup shredded sharp
American cheese
Dash ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose
flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Dash ground nutmeg
1 beaten egg
Cooking oil
Sprinkle eggplant slices
with a little salt and set
aside. In skillet cook beef
and onion till beef is
browned; drain. Add
Burgundy, parsley, tomato
paste, 1/4 cup water, 1 tea
spoon salt and dash pepper.
Simmer till liquid is nearly
absorbed. Cool. Stir in half
the bread crumbs, 2 eggs,
adrenal glands, they stop
producing. The dose has to
be tapered off in order to
allow the blood levels of cor
ticosteroids to gradually
return to normal and to
allow the adrenal glands to
resume production normal
ly-
If a high dose were given
and not tapered off, the
adrenal glands would inter
pret the subsequent huge
drop in corticosteroid levels
as a complete shut down and
begin producing massive
amounts of corticosteroids
themselves. This could
cause very serious health
problems (such as elevated
blood pressure and/or blood
glucose alterations).
As you can see, taking
prescribed corticosteroids
exactly as directed is very
important. While these med
ications are very helpful,
they are very potent and
need to taken cautiously. It
is important to take these
medications with food. And
since these medications may
alter blood pressure and
blood glucose levels, be sure
to let your physician know if
you have any problems
and/or family history of
hypertension and/or dia
betes.
Lastly, make sure you
Salt and black pepper,
freshly ground
2 ounces white cheddar,
grated
1 ounce goat cheese, crum
bled
1 ounce blue cheese (Stil
ton, roquefort), crumbled
1 apple, coreless, cut into
thin slices
Combine applesauce,
lemon juice, ground savory,
salt, and pepper. Cook over
medium-low beat until all
lemon juice is evaporated
and mixture is dried out
slightly.
Divide applesauce equally
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2003 ♦
half of the cheese and cinna
mon. In saucepan, melt but
ter. Stir in flour. Add milk all
at once; cook and stir till
thick and bubbly. Stir in
nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt
and dash of pepper. Add a
small amount of the sauce to
the one beaten egg; return
to hot mixture. Cook and
stir over low heat for 2 min
utes. Brown the salted egg
plant slices on both sides in
a little hot cooking oil.
Sprinkle bottom of 12x7
l/2x2-inch baking dish with
remaining bread crumbs.
Cover with half the eggplant
slices. Spoon on the meat
mixture. Arrange remaining
eggplant slices atop. Pour
milk-egg sauce over all. Top
with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees about
45 minutes. Makes 6 to 8
servings.
Kourabiedes
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sifted powdered
sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground
aniseed
1/4 cup finely chopped
almonds
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking pow
der
Whole cloves
Sifted powdered sugar
Cream butter and 1/2 cup
powdered sugar. Stir in egg
yolk, vanilla and aniseed.
Stir in almonds. Stir togeth
er flour and baking powder;
blend into creamed mixture.
Wrap and chill for 30 min
utes. Form into 1-inch balls;
stud each with a clove. Bake
on ungreased cookie sheet at
325 degrees till a pale sand
color, about 20 minutes.
Cool. Top with powdered
sugar. Makes 48. These are
served at Christmas and
during the celebration of the
Epiphany.
Bon appetit
understand exactly how to
take the medication. In
some instances, the physi
cian may not prescribe a
convenient “dosepack” and
may have you taper the
medication over several days
or weeks. Don’t hesitate to
ask your pharmacist to
explain to you what you
should do. I’ve always sug
gested writing the dosing
schedule out on a calendar
and marking the doses off as
they are taken, but your
pharmacist may have a bet
ter idea.
The question from our
reader also reminds us that
poison ivy and allergies can
occur just as much in the fall
as in the spring. So be care
ful doing that fall gardening.
Thanks to our reader for
the question and remember
readers, write to me if you
have any questions regard
ing medications or pharma
cy practice in general, or
comments, or suggestions for
topics you’d like to read
about in this column. 1 can
receive email via
voltzrph@hotmail.com or
postal mail at Pharmacy
Q&A, do The Houston
Home Journal, 2060 Watson
Bloulevard Warner Robins,
GA 31093. All questions are
confidential, so you don’t
have to give your name.
among four crusts, spread
thinly. Top with cheeses,
then apple slices. Bake at
450 S F for approximately
seven minutes, until cheese
is melted and golden. Serve
immediately.
Makes 4 servings.
Approximate nutrition
analysis (per serving): calo
ries, 240; fat, 10 g; choles
terol, 26 mg; sodium, 438
mg; carbohydrates, 29 g;
dietary fiber, 2 g; protein, 9
g;
Source: Mark Rosenstein,
author of In Praise of Apples
(Lark Books, 1996.)
7A