Many families have special foods they prepare for Christmas and this time of year newspapers often publish holiday recipes. My mother had a recipe drawer in her kitchen on Blauvelt’s Hill. That drawer was filled to over flowing with cookbooks and advertising pieces chock full of holiday food ideas. Since my father’s oldest brother was a Gas Service Company manager, we always got copies of the recipes promoted by the company’s home agent who promoted natural gas ranges as the best cooking device.
I’m not sure any of those recipes. were used at Christmas time for my family prepared the same thing ever year. Uncle Maurice made fudge. Grandmother Wrench made divinity and an assortment of cookies. My parents made popcorn balls and caramel corn.
The holiday season is such a busy time at the newspaper office that Rita and I seldom have time to prepare special holiday foods but when searching for a topic for today’s notebook, I thought about some of our favorite receipes.
This morning we had a food emergency. When it came time for breakfast, the granola container was empty. For several years my standard breakfast has been two small bowls of homemade granola. I don’t know how I got started using the small desert bowls for breakfast instead of a larger soup bowl but I suspect it was related to my long-time hatred of cooked oatmeal.
I have never liked cooked cereals and oatmeal is the worst. For me, it is impossible to swallow a single bite of a cooked cereal that doesn’t contain a raisin.
When Rita proposed I try the granola and I learned it contained oatmeal, I knew I wouldn’t like it and so took only a small amount. Surprise! I liked it and it has become my favorite breakfast. When traveling, I pack a container of our homemade granola. It is so good I use it as an ice cream topping.
Here’s the recipe. Combine 4 cups Old Fashioned Oatmeal, 1⁄2 cup flaked coconut, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and two tablespoons of brown sugar. Then drizzle a boiling syrup made of 1⁄4 cup of Canola oil and 1⁄4 cup of sweetener. For sweetener we usually use white corn syrup, but for taste variety we may use honey or molasses.
For fear of burning, we usually just warm the sweetener in the microwave until it pours easily before adding to dry ingredients. Stir well so all of the dry ingredients have had a chance to be coated with the sweetener. Spread in a 9x13 cake pan and bake for 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven. Remove from oven and stir. Return to over for another 20 minutes. Stir and let cool.
After this combination has cooled add 1⁄2 cup peanuts and 1⁄2 cup raisins. No need to use special peanuts. The cheapest, unsalted kind work well. You can substitute higher priced nuts but peanuts are fine.
On cold winter days, I enjoy a bowl of soup. Since we will be home alone this Christmas, the following soup recipe will make a fine dinner provided we have pumpkin dessert to finish the meal.
Rita’s calls this Pork-Chili Stew. It is fast and good. She starts by browning 1.5 pounds of fresh ground pork and then add the following in a big sauce pan:
1 Tablespoon oil, 1 cup water, 1 medium size chopped onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 1⁄4 cup of cornmeal, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1⁄2 teaspoon Orego, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 can of drained pinto or black beans, 1 can diced tomatoes, two cups whole kernel canned or frozen corn.
That’s it, Just heat and serve. If you like cumin, you may add 1 teaspoon of that but I don’t and we always leave it out.
We were inspired to try the following recipe by Rick Cleveland, the former Lovewell State Park manager. I didn’t think I liked cooked pepers but it has been the basis of our Sunday dinner the last two weeks. And to think, before this recipe came along the only way I liked rice was in rice pudding.
One of the reasons we like the recipe is we can raise the vegetables in our garden. The ingredients call for 1 green pepper, 1 medium onion, 2 carrots, 3 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, 3 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons canola oil, 1 clove of crushed garlic, 2 thin slices ginger root, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water with a dash of pepper. However, Rita has been making it with red peppers and onion
Cut pepper and onion into thin strips. If desired, can blend and add two stalks of celery but I’m not a good celery eater and it must be put through a blender to get rid of all the strings. Slice carrots. Heat vinegar, remove from heat and add sugar, water and bouillon. Set aside.
Heat oil in skillet until very hot. The recipe calls for adding adding garlic and ginger roots to season oil for 30 seconds. Remove garlic and ginger root. (Rita has been garlic and ginger powder and not removing) Add carrots and stir-fry for one minute. Add other ingredients and stir-fry about two minute or until color brightens. Add vinegar mixture. Stir-fir for one minute. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Cook until thick.
Serve over whole grain brown rice. Delicious.
Until seeing Rick stir fry peppers and onions in his giant skillet at a Lovewell State Park special event, I always skipped over stir-fry recipes for they were usually served with rice and I didn’t like rice and I didn’t like cooked peppers.
I was visiting with Rick after last week’s Nuckolls County Historical Society’s Christmas program and told him about his inspiring that Sunday’s noon meal. He suggested we also add some onions and peppers to the skillet when frying hamburgers. The Blauvelts haven’t tried that but suspect we will.
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