Our twin grandsons, Toby and Jake, turned three-years old this week. They had a construction-worker themed birthday party. The cake was a family creation. Toby used his hammer to break up the "dirt" (oreo cookie wafers) topping. Their dad, Nick, mixed up the chocolate frosting. I frosted the layer cake that their mom (our daughter, Emily) had baked the day before. Emily dug into the "perfectly" frosted cake with a spoon to make a it look like a construction site. She poured on the "dirt" and positioned two thoroughly washed and dried toy vehicles and candy boulders on top. So much fun! Of course, we had to eat it with vanilla and chocolate ice cream.
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The Poets House Showcase in New York City had an opening reception on July 14th, including poetry and poetry-related titles published from January 2015 to the present. Betty Farber’s book, “My New York: City Poems,” was on display as well as being included in the Showcase Catalog. It was published by Houts & Home Publications LLC. This free exhibit features all of the new poetry books and poetry-related texts published in the United States in a single year from over 650 commercial, university, and independent presses. Poets House is located at 10 River Terrace. The Showcase continues until mid-August. For information call 212 431 7920 or go to www.poetshouse.org. My Aunt Ruth is remembered as a gracious hostess and a great baker. Try this coffee cake and you’ll agree. But it’s not only delicious, it’s easy. That’s my kind of cake! Made like a pie dough, butter or margarine is cut into a flour/sugar mixture. Once the crumbs are made, ½ cup is reserved for the topping. The rest of the crumbs are mixed with milk, egg, and fruit. I love the taste and texture of golden raisins and apple in this moist, delectable cake. The fruit makes it more nutritious, too. Great for a Father’s Day Brunch!
Aunt Ruth’s Coffee Cake 1 ½ cup unbleached white flour 1 cup sugar 1 stick butter or margarine 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 egg, beaten ½ cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ cup golden raisins ½ apple, pared and diced fine Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8- or 9-inch square pan. In a medium-sized bowl, blend flour, sugar, and butter or margarine with a pastry blender or two knives until the size of peas, similar to making a piecrust. Set aside ½ cup for topping. Add remaining ingredients (baking powder, egg, milk, vanilla, raisins, and apple) and mix just until blended. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter. Bake about 35 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or cool. Yield: 9 servings SSM Health St. Francis Hospital #1 priority in Nodaway County, Missouri, is fighting heart disease. Its #2 priority is fighting obesity. The following information is from their Strategic Implementation Plan for 2016-2108. Sources: 1 Healthy Communities Institute 2 is Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In February, I met with Presbyterian minister, Reverend Jonathan Mitchell, Chairman of the Board of the Ministry Center in Maryville, Missouri, to discuss ways to help the low-income clients that are served by the Ministry Center. The biggest issues Americans face related to feeding their families are: cost, time, health, and picky eaters. My cookbook, Mealtime Magic: Delicious Dinners in Half the Time, addresses those issues. Using the strategies in Mealtime Magic, a family of four can save $500/year, waste less food, spend fewer hours in the kitchen, and eat a variety of delicious, healthy meals. I contacted area businesses to inquire about underwriting the cost of my cookbook to distribute copies to families who are served through the Ministry Center. I am so thrilled to announce that we have exceeded our goal of offering 50 books by Mother’s Day thanks to SSM Health St. Francis Hospital, the Northwest Missouri Regional Credit Union, and Compass Dental. My book will be an added tool to help these families use the food they are given more efficiently. My book helps in important ways: • Save $500/year According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, American households throw away an average of 20 pounds of food/month costing hundreds of dollars each year. Using the strategies from Mealtime Magic, families can save up to $43/month or over $500/year. How? In Mealtime Magic, one dinner becomes the basis for two additional meals. Recipes incorporate leftovers to create completely different meals, so they don’t look or taste like leftovers. Each “Three-Day Plan” clearly shows what to serve and what to save. • Save hours in the kitchen A well-documented survey found that an average family spends 175 hours in the kitchen per month. Mealtime Magic’s tried and true method--a three-day cooking strategy—saves time and energy not only through its cooking methods, but by washing fewer pots and pans. • Encourage good health In statistics published by the National Institutes of Health, in 2009–2010, more than two-thirds (68.8 percent) of adults, age 20 and older, were considered to be overweight or obese. One reason Mealtime Magic works is because vegetables and grains are added to the main dish, not only to stretch the meal, but to create new flavors and textures. The result is healthier, more appetizing dinners that satisfy hungry kids and adults. Cooking at home is healthier than eating out because families can choose a cooking method and control the amount of salt added. • Please picky eaters Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care book discusses the anxiety parents feel when their child is a picky eater, one of the biggest challenges at mealtime. Combining my educational background (at the Culinary Institute of America) and practical knowledge cooking for my family the last 40 years, I’ve created delicious main dishes that have been requested again and again. Click here to look inside Mealtime Magic. Contact me, Amy Houts, for details and benefits Houts & Home can offer your business if you want to help the Maryville Ministry Center or food pantry in your area by offering Mealtime Magic to its clients. Every year on St. Patrick’s Day, I prepare corned beef and cabbage. I look forward to it because I only make it once a year. Spicy beef, boiled potatoes, tender carrots, and fresh cabbage make a great combination of flavors and textures. I also look forward to the leftovers for Reuben sandwiches, another favorite. This glorified grilled cheese sandwich includes slices of corned beef, Swiss cheese, and a layer of sauerkraut. I like to spread on Thousand Island Dressing, too.
Reuben Sandwiches 8 slices rye or whole grain bread Approximately 3 tablespoons soft butter or margarine 4-8 slices corned beef, depending on size 4 slices Swiss cheese Approximately ½ cup sauerkraut Heat a large skillet or griddle on medium. Meanwhile, assemble sandwiches. Spread butter or margarine on one side of each slice of bread. Place buttered side of bread down on plate. Place corned beef, 1 slice of cheese, and a thin layer of sauerkraut on a slice of bread. Top with a slice of bread, buttered side out, to complete the sandwich. Repeat to make 4 sandwiches. Place sandwiches on the preheated skillet, no oil needed because the butter or margarine will keep the bread from sticking to the skillet. Fry just a few minutes, until lightly browned; then carefully turn over, keeping the sandwich filling intact. Fry second side until lightly browned. Serve warm. Yield: 4 sandwiches This cornbread is sweet and moist with the perfect texture. Adapted from a cookbook titled, A Hundred Years of Good Food!, this book of nearly 500 pages was complied by the United Methodist Women of the First United Methodist Church, Maryville, Missouri. I first decided to try this recipe because of the title, "Almost Tippin's Cornbread." Tippin's was a very popular restaurant that served delicious pies and breads. I'm not sure they are still in business. I must admit that this cornbread uses two mixes. I'm not a purist, so I don't mind using mixes occasionally. So, it's quick and easy. I can't help but cringe a little because one of the mixes is a cake mix. That makes the cornbread higher in sugar and fat, but also gives it a wonderful texture and flavor. The other mix is a corn muffin mix. Combined with eggs, milk, and oil, this hybrid cake/bread becomes a delicate concoction. Slather on the butter and serve with soup or chili. Let me know what you think. I hope this recipe will become your go-to favorite cornbread like it has mine. MY FAVORITE CORNBREAD 1 box (8.5-oz) corn muffin mix 1 box (8.5-oz) cake mix OR half of a box (16.5-oz) cake mix (about 1 1/2 cups) 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup oil 2 eggs 2 tablespoons water Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x9x2-inch square pan. Mix all ingredients and stir with a wire whisk until mixed. Do not over mix. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cut into ninths. Serve warm. Yield: 1 9x9 pan A friend asked me if I’d made any New Year’s resolutions. I usually don’t, but because her question related to health and food (not exercise) I decided to think about it. I knew improvements needed to be made in this area of my life. So I decided to focus on eating more whole grains. I eat about 50 percent whole wheat bread, but I'd like to increase that to 75 percent (or more). I buy and eat both brown rice and white rice, so I’m planning to buy only brown, and to eat brown rice in a restaurant if it’s available. Most of the time I cook rolled oats for oatmeal, but this year I plan to wait the extra 15 minutes to cook steel cut oats (at least more than I do now). What exactly are whole grains? According to the Whole Grain Council, “All grains start life as whole grains. In their natural state growing in the fields, whole grains are the entire seed of a plant. This seed (which industry calls a "kernel") is made up of three key edible parts – the bran, the germ, and the endosperm – protected by an inedible husk that protects the kernel from assaults by sunlight, pests, water, and disease.” See their list of whole grains from amaranth to wild rice here.
This morning, NPR reported on the new dietary guidelines from the U.S. government. There is one big change: “Americans are being told to limit sugar to no more than 10 percent of daily calories.” However, some of the guidelines have not changed since the last time the guidelines were updated five years ago: “Much of the dietary advice included in the new guidelines will sound very familiar and remains unchanged from 2010. For instance, there's a focus on consuming more fruits and vegetables, more fiber and whole grains, and less salt.” Have you made a New Year’s resolution related to health and food? I’d love to hear about it in the comments section. In honor of my resolution, I baked the best granola (see here for an earlier blog post) and have whole-wheat bread rising in the bread machine. Here’s the recipe. Enjoy! And may you take steps to improve your health in 2016! First Step Whole-Wheat Bread One third of this bread is whole-wheat flour to two-thirds white flour. It’s a great start in the transition from eating white bread to eating whole-wheat. I’ll be experimenting with 100 percent whole-wheat flour bread recipes this year and share them in future posts. 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water 1 teaspoon salt 1 ½ tablespoons butter or margarine 2 cups bread flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1 ½ teaspoons active-dry yeast Measure and add all ingredients to a bread machine loaf pan in the order listed. Use the basic white bread setting according to the manufacturers instructions. After baking, remove from loaf pan and let cool on a rack. For even slicing, use an electric knife. I like to slice the loaf in half down the middle, then place the half cut side down and slice ½-inch thick. Yield: One 1 1/2-pound loaf Walking into the candlelit room—each table decorated with a different Christmas theme—was magical. Women oohed and aahed walking around the large room at the Heartland Presbyterian Church in Clive, Iowa, looking for the table where they would sit. Tables were drenched in traditional colors of red, green, and white, or muted blue satin. One table featured the 12 days of Christmas, another, a variety of snowmen, and still another, reindeer and cranberry glass. My daughter, Emily, had invited me to this women’s event titled “Advent by Candlelight.” She and her friend, Tricia, had volunteered to host a table this year. While Tricia had hosted before, this was Emily's first time. Hostesses work in twos. They had to provide eight place settings: china dessert plates, coffee cups, sugar bowl and creamer, plus water goblets, a centerpiece, candles, and table favors. Each guest at our table took home a holiday ramekin filled with chocolates covered in silver foil. I had helped Emily pack three boxes to transport to church. Others used large laundry baskets or plastic containers. The church provided the coffee, tea, water, cream, sugar, insulated carafes, and water pitchers. Emily had left two hours before the beginning of the event to meet Tricia to set up. Emily baked these heavenly Pecan Pie Delights (recipe following) which are easy to mix up—no fussing with a separate crust. The batter is mixed like a muffin, but tastes like a pie, soft and chewy on the inside. Tricia’s chocolate fondue created the perfect contrast of tastes and textures. The fondue was served in glass bowls surrounded by strawberries, pound cake, marshmallows, and pretzels for dipping. After enjoying dessert and meeting a few of my daughter’s friends, the program began. We learned the background for and sang a number of Christmas Carols accompanied by a talented pianist. A free-will donation was taken for Cross Ministries, which assists with housing loans, utilities, personal care items, and more, for those in need. This event was a wonderful way to start the Advent season. I will cherish this experience and the memories I made at “Advent by Candlelight.” Pecan Pie Delights1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup packed brown sugar 2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted 2 eggs Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour or use cooking oil spray on two 12-cup or one 24-cup miniature muffin tin. (You can bake two batches.) Mix pecans, flour, brown sugar, melted butter or margarine, and eggs in a medium-sized bowl until well combined. Fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way full. Do not overfill. Bake for for 17 - 18 minutes until the edges are slightly browned and the tops spring back. Let cool one minute and remove from pan. Note: To prevent sticking, do not let cool in pan longer than a minute. Cool on wire rack. Yield: 24 mini muffins. |
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