A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE - with recipes

My friend, Marjorie Daniels sent me this. As you can see from her note, it's been a family favourite for over fifty years. It's a great family dish full of good healthy ingredients. Thanks for sending it, Marjorie.


RICE SOUFFLE (Saved from 1960’s era “Hints From Heloise” column in the Edmonton Journal newspaper. The column started with the words, “Is there a cloud above cloud 9?” I tried the recipe and it has been a family favourite ever since)

2 c. cooked rice (cold)
3 c. grated cheddar cheese
6 eggs (separated)
¼ tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1 tbsp. butter

Beat egg whites until stiff (fold in 1/8 tsp. crème of tartar while beating, to help hold the peaks)

In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients.
Gently fold in beaten egg whites. (Don’t over-mix)

Pour into greased casserole (glass is best).
Cook 35-40 minute in 300-degree Fahrenheit oven.

A note from Anita: I have interesting recipes for you. Pumpkin Pickles is on its way. Possibly tomorrow. Please let me know if you are enjoying my blog and trying the recipes.

Anita
www.anitabirt.com

A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE - with recipes

My niece, Elspeth Koor, sent me this delicious soup recipe. Elspeth has been making it for years and isn't sure where she got the recipe. She thinks she cut it out of a magazine and then added her own touches to it. The Jennifer mentioned is Elspeth's daughter.

Enjoy.

Beef and Barley Soup

This thick and hearty soup is Jennifer’s favourite meal. You may find that you have to add more water (or wine) if the barley expands and the soup is too thick.

2 tbsp. Vegetable oil ½ tsp. Crumbled dried sage
1 lb Beef cubed very small 5 cups beef stock
2 tbsp. All purpose flour ½ cup red wine (or more beef stock)
2 onions finely chopped 1 19 oz. can chopped tomatoes
3 cloves garlic minced 2 cups water
8 oz mushrooms chopped or ½ tsp pepper
1 red pepper finely chopped ¼ tsp salt
2 carrots finely chopped 1 cup pearl barley
2 stalks celery finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
• In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Toss beef with flour; in batches brown all over. Transfer to a plate.
• Increase heat to high; cook onions, garlic, mushrooms or red pepper, carrots, celery, thyme & sage, stirring, for about 5 minutes or til liquid is evaporated.
• Stir stock and wine into pot; cook for 1 minute, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of pot. Add beef, tomatoes, water, pepper and salt; bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1 ½ hours or until beef is tender.
• Add barley; cover and simmer for 30 minutes

I substitute red pepper for mushrooms when making for Jennifer as she has a mushroom allergy.

A note: Although my blog is copyright@2010 by Anita Birt, the recipes are for you to copy and keep in your special notebooks. Lots more to come in the days ahead including a very special salad recipe from Jeanelle Mitchell, cookbook author. And there are pickles on the way.

Anita
www.anitabirt.com

A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE - with recipes

Although I hold the copyright to my blog, the recipes are yours to copy, cook and enjoy. I'd love to know when you try them.

Tomorrow on my blog you'll find a wonderful recipe for Beef Barley Soup. It's guaranteed to make you feel good during the last few months of winter.

Here's a feel good recipe for Muffins.

This Muffin recipe came from Mimi Barbour with this note. "I've been making them since the first year I got married in 1967....it's one of my favorite recipes and I think it was the lady next door who, knowing I was a new bride, took pity on me and helped me with some good recipes. She's the same one who gave me the Cranberry, pecan shortbread cookie recipe that won me the recipe contest in the chatelaine magazine a couple of years ago.

Thanks for sending it, Mimi. We all love muffins.

Easy Bran Muffins ------Mimi

Beat: – 1 egg

½ cup brown sugar

Add: - ½ cup cooking (vegetable) oil

Beat all together, and then add one cup buttermilk (I use any milk I have and it works fine) Beat again.

Sift together: - 1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 cup cooking bran (I use oat bran, wheat bran or just the regular - flax can

be added maybe a few tablespoons but I’d use that as part of the cup of

bran

Throw in a handful of raisins, or cranberries, blueberries, choc chips – whatever you like…..or add in different kinds of fruit, peaches, pineapple, etc

Bake at 400 for 15 – 20 min

Then Enjoy!

We shall Mimi.

Anita, www.anitabirt.com

This delicious cake comes from my friend, Mary Robinson. She's had this recipe and used it hundreds of times for the past fifty years.


Quick Fresh Apple Cake (Freezes well)

½ c white, ½ cup brown sugar 2C unpeeled chopped apples
½ c oil ½ C raisins
1 egg ½ C walnuts
1 ½ cups flower
1 t baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
1 t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg
½ t allspice




Mix first 3 ingredients .
Add dry ingredient, fruit & nuts. Stir &
pour into 8” square pan.
Bake 350 deg for 30 – 35 mins

I’ve used this recipe for over 50 years.
It was given to me by our minister’s wife.

To send in a recipe: Send it as an attachment to an e-mail with RECIPE on the subject line.
Send it to me at: anita.birt@gmail.com

My granddaughter, Taylor, reminded me of a chicken recipe I've had since the 1960's. It's called "Communist Chicken" or "Little Red Hen" and there's a story to explain the strange names. I'll post it in the future. In the meantime, please send in your recipes. This is a wonderful place to collect recipes that have been used over the years by families like yours.

Anita
www.anitabirt.com

A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE - with recipes

When I started this blog I hoped to receive lots of recipes to share with everyone who reads my blog. Very few so far. My blog itself is copyrighted but the recipes are yours to copy and enjoy. As promised at the beginning here is my sister's CHOCOLATE CAKE recipe. It dates back to the early 1960's when I ask Helen Edna for it.

Helen Edna's CHOCOLATE CAKE

1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Cocoa (the real thing! I use Fry's Cocoa)
1/2 cup Boiling water
Boil these three ingredients together until smooth and set aside to cool

1/2 cup Shortening or Butter (I prefer butter for the delicious flavour)
1 1/2 cups flour ( I used Cake flour)*
2 tsp. Baking Powder*
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda*
1/2 tsp. salt*

*Sift the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together
1 Tsp pure Vanilla
1 cup Brown sugar firmly packed
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
3/4 cup Sour Milk (I squeezed some lemon juice into the milk to make it sour!)

Cream the shortening, add vanilla, the brown sugar and egg yolks. Mix well!
Add the cocoa mix. Add the flour alternately with the milk. Whip the two egg whites to soft peaks and add with the last of the flour.

Bake in a 8"x8" greased pan at 350 deg. F for about 50 minutes or until done.

Enjoy my sister's recipe. Let me know how it turns out.
I'd love to hear from you who read my blog. I want lots and lots of recipes! I have many I could add but this is for YOU not me.

Anita
www.anitabirt.com

A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE - with recipes

My niece, Allison, sent me this recipe. It's one of her mother's recipes. Allison is Helen Edna's daughter. The recipe dates back to the 1970's. Thanks for sending it Allison.

Easy Apricot Chews

½ cup of finely cut up dried apricots
½ cup raisins
1/3 cup of water

1) in a large heavy pot simmer the above ingredients until the water is absorbed
2) add 1 cup of white sugar
3) slightly beat 2 eggs and add
4) mix 1 cup of flour, 1 tsp. of baking powder + ¼ tsp. of baking soda and add
5) add 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
6) add ½ cup of crushed pineapple
7) add ½ cup of chopped nuts ( optional – I didn’t use this time but pecans or walnuts work well)

Mix all together in the pot. Have a 9 x 9 prepared pan ready for the mixture.
Bake at 350 f for 35/40 minutes.

This is a really easy recipe except for chopping the apricots but watch the top of the pan in the last 5 minutes or so as they are suddenly done very quickly and you don’t want the top to brown too much.

Note: To my readers. The recipes are not copyrighted but my blog is. Please copy the recipes and enjoy them. There are more on the way.

Anita
www.anitabirt.com

A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE - with recipes

I am the keeper of my sister's recipe for Chocolate Cake. Helen Edna gave it to me when my children were in their early teens many moons ago. I copied it on a file card and stuck it in one of my untidy recipe note books. I am blessed that my untidy recipe books hold small treasures from years gone by.

The file card with the chocolate cake recipe is spotted with chocolate, egg and cake batter. Almost good enough to eat! As I searched my note books for the missing file card I came across recipes from friends long gone with their names and the cities we lived in. It was like going back in time when I was years younger with a growing family.

I wondered if other recipe collectors like me have recipes they will share. My sister's chocolate cake recipe has never failed me. Please join me in A STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE and I will share my cake recipe with you.

I feel as if I'm following in the steps of "Julia and Julie," but strolling down memory lane is much easier than tackling The Art of French Cooking. My tattered and spotted collection of recipes make me feel as if I'm sitting in my kitchen with friends and reminds me of joyful moments in the past.

If you wish to take part, please leave a comment and jump on over to my web site for my email address. www.anitabirt.com. Attach your recipe in Word format and please make sure there are no viruses lurking on your computer or the cake might fail!

To encourage participation, I'll send a copy of my historical romance, A Very Difficult Man, to the person who sends in the fifth recipe that arrives in my mail. Thanks for coming by.

Anita