Two Cabbages Salad

This recipe comes from the book, "12 Months of Monastery Salads," and has been a Joy family favorite for many years, partly because I do not really like the heavy mayo-based dressing typical of most coleslaw.

Toss together:

2 cups shredded green cabbage

2 cups shredded red cabbage

3 medium carrots, peeled and grated or finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

Whisk together until thickened:

1/3 cup olive oil

5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp fresh orange juice

2 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

(I also whisk in 1-2 Tbsp of mayo, just to bring it all nicely together)

Pour over salad, toss, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Add 1/2 cup raisins or craisins just before serving. It is also good with sunflower seeds and/or slivered almonds for a bit of crunch.

Cranberry Chutney

We love this with turkey, baked chicken, even ham. Yummy and festive, and a nice change from plain cranberry sauce!

Navel orange, peeled, tough membrane removed, chopped

1/4 cup orange juice or apple cider

12 ounces fresh cranberries

1-3/4 cups sugar1 large golden delicious apple, peeled, cored, chopped (I actually leave the peel on, and use any kind of apple)

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp ground ginger (I also add 1 Tbsp peeled and chopped fresh ginger)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes, until cranberries are popping.

Raw Zucchini Salad with Lemon and Basil

 Wondering what to do with all that zucchini from your garden? This recipe comes from the Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook. My additions/ changes are in bold print.

4 medium zucchini (about 1-1/2 pounds), scrubbed and ends trimmed 

1  medium onion

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice   1-1/2 Tbsp lemon juice plus 2 tsp cider vinegar

Salt to taste

10 large fresh basil leaves, cut into very thin strips

Slice the zucchini and onion as thin as possible.  Place in large bowl and refrigerate until well-chilled (at least two hours; may be refrigerated for several hours).

When ready to serve, whisk together oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt in small bowl. Drizzle  over the zucchini and sprinkle with shredded basil leaves. Toss and serve immediately.

Leftovers keep very well in the refrigerator.

This also works well with yellow summer squash, cousa squash, or a combination.

Watermelon Salad

Toss together:
1-2 C. lettuce
1-2 C. arugula
1/4 C. chopped mint leaves
Add on top:
4 C. seeded watermelon chunks
1 C. feta cheese
Dressing:
1/4 C. olive oil
zest and juice of 1-2 limes
2 T. white vinegar

Summer Eggplant

This is great as a first course and makes a beautiful presentation, but you can also serve it as a side dish. 

1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
a few tablespoons olive oil
3-4 tomatoes
1 eggplant
approximately 1/4 lb. ricotta cheese
small chunk Romano cheese
a few fresh basil leaves

To cook: Slice onion, chop garlic, and saute in 1 T. olive oil over medium heat until onions are clear. While the onion and garlic are cooking, chop the tomatoes in large chunks. When onions are clear, add the tomatoes to the pan, along with a little more olive oil, and some salt and pepper, and let simmer over low-medium heat.  While the tomato sauce is simmering, peel an eggplant, slice in half, brush with olive oil,  sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set on hot grill, 5 minutes per side. By the time the eggplant has finished cooking, the tomatoes should have cooked into a nice sauce.

To assemble: Cut eggplant into large chunks and arrange a few chunks on each plate. Cover with tomato sauce. Add a dollop of ricotta cheese just to the side of the eggplant. Grate Romano cheese over all, and sprinkle a generous helping of shredded basil leaves on top of that.

Ramps (spring onions)

Here in the Midwest we are lucky enough to get ramps -- called "spring onions" -- at the farmers' markets this time of year. So good!

2 T. olive oil
6-8 ramps, cleaned and sliced thinly
3 anchovies, chopped
zest of 1 small lemon
juice from 1 small lemon
salt, pepper, a few grains of hot pepper

Heat 1 T. olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute ramps in hot olive oil until they brown. Turn heat down, add another 1 T. olive oil and the rest of the ingredients, and let cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Crustless Quiche

You can experiment with different cheeses and add-in ingredients such as ham chunks, crumbled bacon, broccoli, carrots, par-boiled potatoes. I recommend steaming the veggies a bit before adding them to your egg mixture. This makes a great main dish for dinner; also very nice for breakfast or brunch.
Serves 12


1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup flour
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, cubed
2 cups cottage cheese
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Melt butter or margarine. Stir in flour. Cook and stir until smooth. Set aside.

Beat eggs well. Add the rest of the ingredients and the flour mixture. Blend well. Pour into greased 9x13" pan. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until set and a little browned around the edges.

Roasted Fennel, Carrots and Red Onion

This recipe comes from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook by Jack Bishop. 

1 large fennel bulb (about one-and-a-half pounds)
1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges
2 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 2-inch lengths
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt
1 Tbsp aged balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Trim and discard the stems and fronds from the fennel. Remove any tough or blemished outer layers and the core. Cut into several long slices that are about 1/2" thick.
Toss the vegetables with oil and season generously with salt. Place in roasting pan.
Roast for 30 minutes, turning once after 20 minutes.
Drizzle the vinegar over the vegetables and toss gently.
Roast 5 minutes more.

Kale Salad

Ok, I got on the kale bandwagon, but this salad is really easy and really good! 

Wash and chop 1 bunch kale. Toss generously with dressing (below). Toss a handful of coarse breadcrumbs on top. (You can make them yourself -- just toast stale bread and crumble.)

Dressing: Chop 1 small clove garlic, sprinkle with salt, and puree against the side of a knife. Place in small bowl. Add 3 T. olive oil, juice from a small lemon (scant 1/4 C.), 1/4 C. grated Romano cheese, a few red pepper flakes, and black pepper to taste. Whisk together.

Pickles

These are just the recipes. You will have to prepare and process the jars for canning.

Mrs. Tucker's hot pickles: Fill quart size jar with cucumber spears, dill weed, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1-3 hot peppers (to taste). Cover with boiling brine: 1 1/4 C. water, 3/4 C. white vinegar, 2 T. pickling salt (enough for about 1 jar, depending on how full it is). 

Bim's mild pickles:  Fill quart size jar with cucumber spears, dill weed, small handful of pickling spice (with all cinnamon removed). Cover with boiling brine: 1 C. water, 1 C. cider vinegar, 1 T. pickling salt, 1/4 C. sugar (enough for about 1 jar, depending on how full it is).

Note: You may make your own pickling spice, leaving out the cinnamon. The proportions are: 2 T. whole mustard seed, 1 T. whole allspice berries, 2 tsp. whole coriander seed, 1 tsp. ground ginger, 2 bay leaves crumbled, 6 whole cloves, 6 whole black peppercorns, 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (or to taste). 

Creamy Rosemary and Sage Polenta

Good comfort food on a cold day...

2 C. water
2 C. milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 C. corn meal
1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. mascarpone cheese
1/4 C. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Fresh sage and rosemary, chopped, to taste (about a tsp each)

Mix water, milk, salt and sugar in a heavy saucepan. Bring to boil. Slowly pour the corn meal into the boiling water in a steady stream whisking all the while. (The polenta will develop lumps unless the water boils rapidly, the corn meal is added slowly and you whisk continuously at this stage.) Once the cornmeal is added, whisk for another minute and then turn down the heat. You want the mixture to be a little active, but not to have large bubbles. Cook for about half an hour, whisking every few minutes. When done stir in the rest of the ingredients. Taste for salt. Serve warm.

Macaroni Potato Egg Salad

I combined a couple of recipes I found online to come up with this.  It may make an appearance at the Birthday Bash.

1 pound bow-tie pasta
4 or 5 large baking potatoes
6 eggs
3 stalks celery, chopped in small dice
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard
1 1/2 tsp salt, plus more for cooking potatoes
A few dashes hot sauce, to taste

Cook the pasta according to package directions, making sure to leave it "al dente".  Drain and set aside.  Peel and quarter the potatoes.  Cover with salted water and bring to a boil.  Boil until tender but still firm, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.  Put eggs in a sauce pan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Cover pot, turn off heat and let eggs cook in hot water for 15 minutes.  Drain.  Peel the eggs and roughly chop them.  Set aside.  Combine cooked pasta, potatoes and eggs with celery and onions in a large bowl.

In separate bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard, 1 1/2 tsp salt and hot sauce.  Mix well.  Pour dressing over pasta mixture just prior to serving and toss to coat.

Stuffing (from Nana Stella's Italian cookbook)

When I was in one of my first apartments Nana Stella gave me her old cookbook. It was obvious it had been well-used: It was falling apart. I still have it, with a rubber band around it keeping it together. The cookbook calls for this stuffing to be used with chicken for Sunday dinner. I also use it for crown roast of pork, in which case I double the recipe and add the ground pork that comes with the roast or a pound of mild Italian sausage (browned). Once I used it (tripled, and with pork sausage) to stuff a turkey. 

1/2 C. boiled arborio rice
1/2 C. breadcrumbs
1 egg
4 pieces prosciutto, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1 tblsp chopped fresh parsley (or can use dry)
About 1/4 C. grated Romano cheese
Salt, pepper to taste
If using for crown roast: Brown the ground pork that comes with the roast; or
Alternatively, if desired: Brown 1/2 lb. pork sausage.

Mix ingredients all together. Add a little milk if it looks too dry. Rub meat inside and out with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stuff. Cook as directed for meat.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

A blast from the past for late summer. First posted in 2008 by Jimmy, who wrote:

I think this was a recipe Mom started making when we were all older, but once she started using it she made it for all special occasions. Mom has a hand-written note on the recipe that "a glass bowl looks very pretty" with this salad.

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. dijon-style mustard
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. each of salt, pepper, oregano, minced garlic

Put all ingredients into a jar and shake well.

Salad:

2 cups each broccoli flowerettes, cauliflower flowerettes
1/2 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
1/2 each of a red pepper and green pepper, cut into 1/4" strips
1 can (14 oz.) hearts of palm, drained and cut into slices
1 bag (10 oz.) fresh spinach

Heat 3 qts. water to boil. Drop broccoli and cauliflower into boiling water. Cook 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Remove with slotted spoon and put into ice-cold water. Add beans to boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp-tender. Remove with slotted spoon into ice-cold water. Drain vegetables well.

Put cooked vegetables into large mixing bowl. Add red and green peppers and hearts of palm. Pour dressing over vegetables and refrigerate at least 2 hours (covered).

Line large salad bowl with spinach leaves. Spoon vegetables over and serve.

Grandma Tressa's Spinach Pie

Spinach pie makes a great main dish, side dish or snack. Grandma Tressa does not include a pie crust recipe, so use your own (plus a lattice top). "Milk bread" is a slice of bread soaked in milk, used to stiffen the mixture. Wring it out and crumble it into the mixture.

Allspice was Grandma's "secret ingredient" in many recipes.

1 lb. fresh spinach, wilted (Bim wilts hers in the microwave)
Olive oil
Minced garlic
1/2 lb. cream cheese (Mom substituted ricotta)
1/2 c. grated romano
2 eggs
1 egg white (save yolk)
Salt, pepper
Allspice
1/3 c. cooked rice
1 slice milk bread

Saute wilted spinach in olive oil and garlic. Strain well and chop. Mix cheeses, eggs, salt, pepper, allspice and rice. Add the spinach and milk bread. Mix well. Pour mixture into pie crust, add lattice top and brush top with saved egg yolk. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes. Allow to sit before slicing.

Mom's Cobb Salad

1/2 head each iceberg and romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 bunch watercress, washed and trimmed
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut in halves
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked, chilled and cut into julienne strips
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 avocado, peeled and sliced
1/2 c. crumbled bleu cheese

Dressing:
1 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. wine vinegar
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. snipped chives
1 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine greens in salad bowl. Separate hard boiled egg yolks from whites. Dice egg whites and arrange in a row across greens. Sieve yolks over the whites. Arrange chicken, tomatoes, bacon, avocado and cheese in rows atop salad. Cover and chill until serving time.

Just before serving, combine all dressing ingredients in jar and shake until blended. Pour over salad. Serves 4-6.

Servietten Knödel (Bread dumplings in a napkin)

Lisa Joy sent this along with her Goulash and Wiener Schnitzel recipes. Great comfort food on a cold day.

5 stale bread rolls, cut into cubes, or 500g unflavored stuffing cubes

375 ml (13 fl oz) milk, warm

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

salt and pepper

Place bread cubes in a large bowl. Combine milk, eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper and pour over bread. Let sit a few minutes to allow the bread to soak up the liquid, and then gently mix with your hands to form a dough. Divide into two, and each half of the mixture onto a cloth napkin or clean dish towel. form into a cylinder, going length-wise over the towel to about 1-1/2inches from the edges. Roll up tightly around the dough and tie ends with kitchen string. Cook in a large pot of boiling water about 35 minutes. Remove from water and let drain. Carefully remove towels from dumplings and slice into 1 in slices. Serve in place of boiled potatoes, for instance on the side of goulash, or with a roast with good broth or gravy.

Beet Salad

There aren't any amounts for this salad. I just usually buy whatever I think will feed the crowd.

Balsamic Vinagrette (use a store-bought or make your own)

Mixed greens

Jarred sliced marinated beets, drained

Canned hearts of palm, drained and cut into slices

Crumbled blue cheese

Walnuts (I use the "walnut halves")

Melted Butter (about two tablespoons to toast the walnuts)

Salt

Spread walnuts on cookie sheet. Pour melted butter over them and sprinkle with salt. Toss to coat. Cook in pre-heated 350 oven for 10 minutes, checking frequently to make sure they don't burn.

Mix the mixed greens and hearts of palm together. Toss with the vinagrette. Lay mixture on a large platter. Spread the beets over the greens. Sprinkle the blue cheese and walnuts over the top.

Pinapple Mango Salsa

One whole pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
Two mangoes, peeled, pitted, and cut into small pieces
Approx. 2 Tblsp. minced fresh onion
Juice of 1 - 2 limes
Minced jalapeno pepper to taste
Minced fresh ginger root to taste

Mix altogether. Good as a side dish with fish and certain meats.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

Ok...this was never a favorite of mine, so why am I posting it?  For some reason, Mom got it into her head that I loved this casserole and almost every time I came home she would say, "I made you Cheesey Potatoes."  She always seemed so happy that she was making something I enjoyed that I never had the heart to tell her I didn't like them.  So I guess I'm posting this for Mom, who probably got the most enjoyment out of life by doing things that made those she loved happy! 

2 lb. bag cubed, frozen hash browns

3/4 cup melted butter or margerine, divided

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 cup chopped onion

1 can creamed chicken soup

12 oz. container sour cream

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

2 cups crushed corn flakes

Paprika

Defrost hash browns.  Heat oven to 350º.  Mix with 1/2 cup melted butter.  Add salt, pepper, onion, soup, sour cream, and cheese.  Put into a 9 x 13 pan.  Top with corn flakes and remaining 1/4 cup butter.  Sprinkle with paprika.  Bake for 1 hour.