FOOD SCIENCE, The How To's & Why's.... Options

[Truthsayer]

Well. I can't find Nonnie's Cornbread recipe on here.

Nonnie's Cornbread

1 1/2 cups corn meal
1/2-3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
spoonful or big squirt of honey
1 cup of buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 stick of melted butter and some olive oil

~Set the oven to about 425 or so. Depends on your oven.
~Mix up all the dry things in a big bowl with a rubber spatula. Make sure it's mixed real good. Don't put more baking soda in it because it will make the bread taste like baking soda instead of cornbread. Use the non-aluminum baking powder because aluminum causes Old Timer's Brain Malfunction Disease.
~Make a well in the center of the dry things and add the buttermilk and the egg and honey. Iffen you don't have buttermilk use canned evaporated milk with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. You need the sourness of the buttermilk or the vinegar to react with the baking soda and baking powder which makes the bread rise since we aren't using yeast. You don't use yeast for cornbread-that's all wrong.
~Mix it all together lightly.
~While all this is going on you should have your 10-12 inch iron skillet heating on medium. Then add the butter and olive oil and get that heated good.
~Add the oil to the bowl and mix it all LIGHTLY. You don't want to beat out the air bubbles that are already forming or the bread will cook out flat and that's wrong.
~Dust the skillet with a small handful of cornmeal on the bottom of the skillet not the sides just the bottom.
~Turn the batter into the skillet in the middle and let it settle out to the sides by shaking the skillet real easy. Don't smooth down the top or it will pop out the bubbles.
~Put the skillet in the oven for about 20 or so minutes until it smells right and the top of the bread is browned lightly.
~When it's done, turn the bread onto a ceramic plate and cover it with a clean cotton dish towel, this keeps the bread warm and moist. Don't leave the bread in the skillet or it will cook in the hot skillet and get dried out.


HAPPY EATING!!!

This recipe does up good in the iron cornbread pan that looks like corn cobs.

[Truthsayer]

Nonnie's Keeper Cookies

This is one of My Nonnie's old recipes.... several weeks ago a relative of one of Nonnie's friends sent me a copy of this cookie recipe and a tin full of them....and it's one Nonnie had written with a fountain pen on a piece of cardboard that I couldn't make hide nor hare of... the recipe makes up a really good cookie.... these cookies are called Keeper Cookies because they don't go stale and they won't break up iffen you send them in the mail......

~Set the oven to about 375 degrees but no hotter or the cookies will burn.

~Take 2 sticks of butter which is 1/2 pound of REAL butter not lard or margarine and put it in a small saucepan with 2 Tablespoons of golden syrup (and I don't remember what golden syrup is exactly so I use rice syrup or cactus syrup and I guess you could use corn syrup but I don't like like corn syrup).
Melt this on real low heat.
~While that melts take 1/4 cup of water that has just come off the boil and add to it 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda (use the non-aluminum baking soda so you don't give anyone Old Timer's Brain Malfunction Disease). And set the dissolved baking soda in water off to the side for a while.

~In a big bowl mix up 2 cups of plain flour (not self rise) with 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of shaved oats (this means oatmeal and the old fashion oats do up better than the quick oats). Mix it up good.
~Add one package of that frozen coconut which has been thawed out. Mix this in real good.
~Now. Add the baking soda/water which has cooled down to the butter/syrup which is melted. The add about a teaspoon or so of vanilla extract. Don't use fake vanilla because it tastes funny. Use the real stuff. Mix all this up good.
~Now. Add all the liquid to the bowl of dry things. You need to mix this lightly and don't beat it hard. Don't use an electric mixing machine. Use a wooden spoon. The electric mixer make it all wrong and the cookies won't do right.
~Let this set up for about 15 minutes to let the liquid soak the oat shavings so they wont be dry.

~Now you need a little spoon. Take a little spoon and scoop up a little ball of dough and set each scoop on a baking sheet. No need to grease the baking sheet because of all the butter. Set each scoop apart from the others since these cookies spread out as they bake.
~These cookies need to go about 10 minutes or until the edges are browned and the tops are a little brown. While these bake, get the next pan ready and find a cooling rack.
~Once the cookies come out, let them sit on the baking sheet for about 1 minute to get set up and then put them on the cooling rack. Let them cool down all the way.

~Once the cookies get all the way cool you can put them in a cookie tin which has been lined with wax paper. If you put the cookies in a cookie tin when they are not cool they will get stuck together and that's not right.


These cookies keep real good-and you don't put them in the icebox... these cookies don't have eggs or milk so they are good for people who can't have eggs... there is butter in them.




Happy eating!!!

Be back in a few minutes with My Nonnie's recipe for homemade cheese crackers.......

[Truthsayer]

Nonnie's Homemade Cheese Crackers

~Set the oven to about 375 degrees or so but not higher than 400

Ingredients...........
-Eight ounces of grated hard cheese like sharp or extra sharp cheddar (or mix it around with some grated hot cheese iffen you like it)
-1/2 cup grated Romano cheese or parmesan-some sort of hard cheese for crunch
-1 stick of REAL butter that has gotten soft
- 3 or 4 Tablespoons of water, not hot or iced/just plain cool water

Mix all this with a big tined fork in a glass bowl

Now. Take 2 pinches of Kosher or sea salt and mix this in to the cheese/butter.
Now. Add a few shakes of ground red/cayenne pepper. This is also a good time to add some dry parsley or dill or oregano or some of that Mrs Dash for extra flavor if you want to change the flavor around. The Mrs Dash is a modern thing, however, it's good.

Now. You need to add 1 cup of plain flour (not self rise) AND 1 cup of shaved oats (that's oatmeal and again the old fashioned does up better than quick oats). When you add the flour and oats, do it a little of each at a time or the cheese and butter won't mix up right. Start with the flour, then the oats, then the rest of the flour. Get this all mixed together real good. And this will be a dry mixture but don't use an electric mixer, just use a big fork.

Once the whole thing is mixed real good, get out a long piece of wax paper and put it on a marble board like you use when you do up a pie crust.
Now. Pour out the dough onto the wax paper and shape the dough into a long log shape. The log needs to be done up around 2 inches on each square side of this long rectangular log. Don't work the dough too much or the heat from your hands will get it greasy and all wrong. Once you get it shaped, wrap the dough in the wax paper sealing the ends. Put the dough stick in the ice box for about 2 hours to firm it up.

Go do something else while the dough sets.

Once the dough sets and the oven is hot just right you unwrap the dough and cut it with a serrated knife in about 1/8 to 1/4 inch slices and put the slices on a baking sheet that has been oiled with a light coat of olive oil. Push the edges together so they don't crumble as they cook. These crackers don't spread so you can put the close together.

Get tour next pan ready while the other one bakes. Iffen you don't have time to bake them all at once, the dough will keep in the icebox for a few days.

Bake the crackers for about 8 minutes or 10 minutes or whatever it takes to get the edges browned nice. Then take the pan out and put the crackers on a cooling rack until they go cold.


These crackers are great with homemade soup or with salad or just for a snack.

HAPPY EATING!!!

[Truthsayer]

Sometimes... I put in ground pink and green peppercorns into ^this^ instead of the cayenne or other things and the crackers turn out real nice.

Somewhere around here I've got a Nonnie recipe for sliced icebox cookies.... it's a basic recipe for what they call sugar cookies and you can modify the recipe with spices and extracts... there's one that calls for vanilla or almond extract combined with chopped pecans or other nuts and we used to do them up with shaved chocolate and red pepper..... I'll try to find it.....

With the holidays coming on, it's time for cookies.........

[Truthsayer]

This one's for you, JD......

Cream Cheese Spread Ala Herb

Ingredients
2 blocks of cream cheese
1/2 cup minced onion or scallions
1/4 cup chopped olives (either use black olives and pimento OR use the green pimento stuffed olives)
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp fresh basil, chopped
1 TBSP fresh ala herb
pinch of freshly ground peppercorns
1 tsp fresh garlic, minced

Directions
Get out the electric whirlyjig food machine and put all the ingredients inside. Whip it good for about 3 minutes. Iffen you don't have a contraption like that, just put everything in a glass bowl and mash it all around with a fork till it gets mixed real nice.

This is a great spread that goes good on some matzo crackers or any other dull crackers. Leftover spread can be put up in a glass mason jar and stored in the icebox.


Next ala herb recipe..... cookies...........

[Truthsayer]

Hokay, JD.... this is a recipe for some great ala herb sugar cookies....................

Use the regular recipe for sugar cookies... add almond or vanilla extract for the base flavoring.....

To this simple recipe add........

the juice of two lemons
the grated zest of the two lemons ( grate the zest BEFORE you squeeze the lemon juice)
1 Tablespoon of minced fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon of fresh minced ala herb

Iffen you want more crunch add chopped almonds or chopped pecans/walnuts at the end of mixing.................

Bake the cookies @ 400 degrees for about 9 minutes, remove the cookies from the baking sheet onto a rack to cool....... store in a cookie tin..........

Ala Herb also works well with your basic chocolate chip cookie recipe or your basic brownie recipe......

.

[Truthsayer]

So,,, the other day or yesterday there was a blurb on at least two of the MSM networks jabbering about how children exposed to pesticides suffer a higher rate of some syndrome known as ADHD which has something to do with attention deficit combined with hyperactivity. And these kids are prescribed some sort of pharma medicine akin to trucker's speed in the form of ritt-uh-lin or ad-uh-rhal...... so the news pundits offer a 'solution' in the form of 'wash your fresh and frozen vegetables and fruits' AND 'buy organic if you can'..............
The blurb was informative, yet misleading.......... not once did I hear anything with regard to the fact that chlorine is classified as a pesticide NOR that chlorine is added to most drinking water supplies.....

Go figure.

So anywho.... if by some chance we managed to remove pesticide laden food products from the kid's respective diets... whut can we do to keep them from being exposed to the chlorine in the water supply????????
BTW.......................
Has anyone happened to notice how many chlorinated chemicals are in household/laundry cleaning products, or hand sanitizers, or underarm deodorants????

And iffen these kids are having an adverse effect.... what about old people????? Ever wonder why so many old people these days are senile??????????

[Truthsayer]

When the bug spray truck rolls down your skreet... stop wondering why all the chillun are toopid and out of control.....

BTW.... skeeter poison is outlawed in places where people are generally better educated and informed.................... we aren't talking rocket science........

[Truthsayer]

So this is a recipe for Oven Baked Fried Eggplant...............

You need fresh eggplant- wash it and set aside..........

Now make up some bisquit dough but stop before you add the buttermilk... this would be the base for the breading you dredge the eggplant slices in OR just get out some course ground corn meal....

Take the breading (cornmeal or bisquit crumbs) and add a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder,,, stir all this around in a dinner plate....

Make a bowl with an egg and a little milk (soy or rice milk, sweet milk, buttermilk)...

Make up a baking dish with a good layer of olive oil and set the oven to about 350............

Now... slice your eggplant on the diagonal about 1/2 inch thick..........

Run the slices on both sides through the egg wash and then on both sides in the breading, place the slices in the baking dish....


Bake the slices for about 30 minutes, you may want to flip them and cook for about 10 more minutes....

Take the dish out of the oven and let it set up for about 10 minutes.....

While you are waiting... make a thin sauce of mayo and mustard or do up a little vinegar/olive oil....

Serve the crunchy eggplant slices with a drizzle of sauce..............

Yellow summer squash or zucchini does well but you'd need to slice them thicker ..................... those little pattie squashes work good, too...........

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM................

[Truthsayer]

Hokay....

This is how Nonnie makes Sweet Hot Pepper Syrup...............

Take a bunch of banana or japelano hot peppers--- wash them and remove the seeds and membranes and set all this aside.........

Now,,,, take about 2 cups of white vinegar and a teaspoon of salt, and 1 cup of sugar and set this on a boil to dissolve the sugar, after it comes to boil set to low heat while you get your canning jars ready..... you can add pickling spices to the vinegar solution if you like that flavor.......

Pack the peppers in the jars---make sure the lids and rings are clean.....

Pour the HOT solution over the peppers and put down the lids and rings--- tighten the rings pretty good and set aside for about 30 minutes... by then the lids should be sucked down enough to seal... so then after that--- tighten the lids and let the jars sit on the counter until they are room temp.....

Then put the jars in the icebox,,,, shake them about from time to time over the next week.... then after that the peppers will be ready to eat and the syrup will be just right...........

The peppers and syrup go real well with fresh purple hull or blackeyed peas or butterbeans....................

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.........................

Pepper sauce and pepper syrup helps keep you cool during the summer because it acclimates your body temp to the heat............
That's why people who live where it's real hot eat so many peppers...............