Quinoa Salad

Quinoa Salad

2 cups water

1 cup quinoa

1 T olive oil

salt, pepper, seasoning

Bring water & quinoa to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes. Fluff with fork and set aside to cool.

1 bunch asparagus, blanched & chopped into bite sized pieces

1 bunch of parsley, chopped

1 bunch of green onions, chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped

1 cup Feta cheese crumbles

Lemon vinaigrette:

Juice and grated rind of one lemon

olive oil, salt pepper garlic 

enough to make 1/2 cup or so

Mix cooled quinoa, chopped veggies and lemon vinaigrette into bowl and chill for at least an hour.

The best thing about this salad is that you can swap out the veggies for whatever is in season:

• 1 English cucumber chopped, with tomatoes, feta & kalamata olives
• 3 peppers (red/orange/yellow), green olives, and cooked shrimp 

Christmas Fruit Cake 1960

My grandmother used to make this every year, and had a bunch of 1 lb. tins for the purpose.  I remember helping her grease them and cut brown paper and waxed paper into little rectangles to line the pans. Fruit cake is pretty much a joke to most folks, but I actually like it.  Probably because it reminds me of my grandma.

It's called "Christmas Fruit Cake 1960" because that's what she wrote on the index card.

Pictured: Grandma Vi, me & Grandpa



Christmas Fruit Cake 1960

• One pkg currants
• 4 to 5 lbs mixed fruit
• 4 to 5 lbs shelled walnuts
• 3 lbs dates
• 1 lb cherries
• 1 lb pineapple
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 12 eggs
• 1 1/2 lbs margarine or butter
• 2 cups sherry
• 1 cup brandy
• 8 cups flour
• 4 T nutmeg
• 2 T each - allspice, cinnamon, mace, cloves
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Mix all fruit and nuts with half of the flour (4 cups).  In a separate bowl [the biggest one you own], mix sugar, syrup, eggs, spices, butter until well blended.  Add soda, salt and rest of the flour and stir until smooth.  Add some fruit mixture and booze, alternating. Mix well.

In tins, place one layer brown sack, then 1 layer waxed paper. [Or, buy a bunch of one lb paper baking "tins."] Bake at 200 degrees for 3 hours. MAKES 30 LOAVES.

Penny Penuche

My Grandmother's recipe for brown sugar fudge


2 c. brown sugar
2 c. white sugar
2 1/2 c. evaporated milk
6 TBSP white karo syrup
3 TBSP butter
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugars, milk, and syrup in large pan.
Cook until mix forms soft ball when dropped into cold water (234 degrees).
Add butter and cook one minute.
Remove from heat and cool until cool to the touch.
Beat until thickened, then add 1 2/3 cups walnuts
Beat until light and creamy
Place on waxed paper - cut when firm

Some Like It Hot

Every Christmas I make Sweet & Hot Red Pepper Jelly for gift giving. People seem to like it, and it's an easy thing to make, even if you don't have a lot of experience with canning. Serve it over some nice soft cheese with crackers.

Sweet & Hot Red Pepper Jelly

• 1 1/2 lb red bell peppers (about 3), cut into 1-inch pieces (6 cups)
• 2 teaspoons dried hot red-pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons Sure-Jell less- or no-sugar-needed pectin (from a 1 3/4-oz box)
• 3 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup white-wine or white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon butter



Photo credit: B. DeLeon

• pinch of salt

Have on hand a half-dozen half-pint canning jars with screw bands and lids, a candy thermometer, tongs, clean kitchen towels, a clean kitchen dishcloth,  and a pot of boiling water (for water bath method)

Prep your jars and lids:  Wash the jars, lids and bands in hot soapy water. Rinse well, then place bands and lids in a pan on the stove in about 3” of water, heat to just below boiling.  Turn heat off and keep the rings/lids in this water until you are ready.  Take the jars and put them in a deep pot of water (you’ll need to cover by about 2”) and bring to a boil for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, leave in water.

Making the jelly: Pulse bell peppers with red-pepper flakes in a food processor until finely chopped. (Mixture will measure about 2 1/2 cups.) Whisk together pectin and 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.
Stir together pepper mixture, vinegar, butter, salt, and remaining 3 cups sugar in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then continue to boil and stir  off and on for 5 minutes. Gradually add pectin mixture. Return jelly to boil, stirring constantly, and boil, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes (mixture will thicken slightly). Remove from heat.

Seal and process jars: Take the hot jars out of the water and drain upside down on a clean kitchen towel.  Invert jars and immediately ladle hot jelly into jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at top (Last jar may not be full). Wipe off rims of filled jars with the damp clean dishcloth, then firmly screw on lids with screw bands.

Put sealed jars on rack in canner or pot and add enough hot water to cover by 2 inches. (If you have a jar that is partially full, do not process it. Keep this one in your refrigerator and use it first.  We call this “cook’s privilege.”) Bring to a full boil, and let boil for 15 minutes. Transfer jars with canning tongs to a towel-lined surface to cool. Jars will seal; if you hear a *snick*, that means that the vacuum formed above the cooling jelly has made the lid concave. The important thing is for the jars to have concave lids. You can tell this has happened by pressing on the lid - if it clicks, it’s not sealed.  These are fine, just use them right away.  

After jars have cooled, 12 to 24 hours, press center of each lid to double check that it's concave, then remove screw band and try to lift lid with your fingertips. If you can't, the lid has a good seal. Replace screw band. Put any jars that haven't sealed properly in the refrigerator and use them first (along with jar that was only partially full).  If you did it right, it will thicken as it cools.  If not, tell everyone you meant it to be like that.

Adapted from:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spicy-Red-Pepper-Jelly-236699#ixzz2BGZKjuN4

Ye Olde Stuffing Recipe

Thanksgiving is a food holiday that, for my family, is strictly old school. We do not do radicchio, or tofu, or quinoa. Think Betty Crocker, not Giada. We also believe that stuffing doesn't have any "stuff" in it that you can clearly identify. If you find a mushroom or chestnut or (god forbid) a cranberry in it, then it isn't "true" stuffing. This is my recipe for stuffing that is adapted from how my mother taught me. It cooks down so long it begins to resemble dark matter. Enjoy.
Ye Olde Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients:

• 2 boxes of stuffing mix (Mrs. Cubbison's Unseasoned is good - do not get cornbread type)
• 1 lb. Jimmy Dean Sausage (plain is best, or try Sage)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 onion
• 1 bunch celery
• White Wine (or chicken broth, or other liquid)
• Ground sage, salt & pepper to taste
  

Directions:

1. Open wine. If it is after breakfast have a glass. It's Thanksgiving, what the hell. Plus, you know it's going to be a long day.
   
2. Empty boxes of stuffing into really large mixing bowl
3. Cook & crumble sausage until browned; drain on paper towel
4. Put skillet back on (don't waste time washing it) and melt the butter on low heat until it is foamy.
   
5. While the butter is melting, chop the onion and celery until fine. Save the heart of the celery for stuffing with cream cheese, because that is an important part of Thanksgiving Dinner. Even if no one eats it.
6. Top off your wine.
7. Cook the celery and onion in the melty butter until they are translucent. Don't let them get brown.
8. Dump the sausage and onion-celery-butter mix and seasonings onto the stuffing cubes.
9. Add liquid for however much the boxes of Dressing say to add, making it half wine and half chicken broth. I think it's about 2 cups per box. It should be moist, but not soggy.
   
10. Now stuff it into a greased crock pot (this makes it "stuffing" on a technicality). Cram it in there, it should all fit.
11. Cook on "low" for at least 4 hours. If you want to get fancy, do two things: add some of the drippings from your turkey pan part way through the cooking time, and bump it up to "high" for the last hour; this will make crispy edges that are delicious.
    

If you cook it this way and for long enough, you shouldn't be able to tell there was celery in it at all.

The Legend of Meat Roll

My husband is the only grandson to a lovely Italian lady named Rose. At 80-something, Rose still makes her own pasta; putting out entire holiday dinners from scratch. Once she got up at 4:00 am to make a few dozen pizzelles for Chris when he was away in college, because he likes them. In other words, she's a tough act to follow.

The tales of her mad skills in the kitchen are epic, but nothing tops The Legend of Meat Roll. When I first heard about this dish I couldn't get my head around it. A roll where you wrap meat around more meat, then serve it with... meat. However, because Chris likes it*, I ended up getting the recipe from his sweet grandma Rose (handwritten, double-sided on notebook paper in delicate spidery grandma script). Here it is, transcribed verbatim:

"Basic recipe for 1 loaf - I always double it.

• 1 1/2 lb. meat loaf mix. Beef & pork or 1 lb. or 1 1/4 lbs.
• 1/2 lb. Genoa salami - slices - diced
• 1/2 lb. provolone cheese slices - diced
• 2 hard boiled eggs diced 1/4 inch
• For the sauce I use 2 lb. meat for meatballs and 2 lb. for the sauce
• Garlic, finely minced - parsley, eggs, bread crumbs

Mix the meat loaf, garlic - 1 or 2 cloves (or if you prefer garlic powder) - basil (optional) chopped fresh parsley (or dried), salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients like when you are mixing for meat balls. Using parchment paper, spread out the meat to about 1/2" thick or less on the paper - spread out the cheese, then the salami, then the egg.

Start rolling out the parchment & the meat to the end - press in the edges - put seam side down (when spreading out the ingredients - keep a clear 1/2 inch border so you can enclose all without falling out. Place on a baking sheet - oil the part where the meat roll is going to be. Bake about 45 to 60 minutes until done. I now freeze them wrapped in freezer paper.

About two days before Christmas put them in the refrigerator to thaw out. Slice them 1/2" or a little less - lay them in a casserole - glass 9"x13" or less - on some sauce spread in the bottom. Sauce the top - sprinkle cheese over sauce - Cover with foil and bake 45 mins - (350 degrees) or until hot.

Note: Stagger them card style. I use Romano-Pecorino, Parmesan or other Italian cheeses. "

This is served as a side dish. As in next to meat sauce over spaghetti and meat balls, with some lasagna. I'm not making that up.

Here is a shot of the finished product:

It's actually pretty delicious. I served it with angel hair pasta in a basic marinara sauce, paired with a bottle of A. Rafanelli Zin. Thanks, Grandma Rose!

* Spoiled much?

Rolls I Like to Make

My sister's second marriage ended in 2010. She didn't get much out of her 10+ years with the guy, but she did get this amazing dinner roll recipe from his mother. She called it "Rolls I Like to Make."

The recipe notes that "the secret to good rolls is: The 'rising' of the dough. 1st rising at least 1 hr. and 15 or 20 min. 2nd rising the same amount of time."

I have had a lot of luck cutting this recipe in half, and with making interesting shapes out of the dough. I suppose sometimes the best family recipes come from other families.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm water
• 2 packages yeast (dry yeast)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1/4 cup shortening (FW note: I use butter.)
• 6 1/2 to 7 cups flour

Mix the first 6 ingredients all together. Pour into the flour and mix well ("a dough"). Set in a warm place to rise (an hour and a 1/2). Knead the dough and shape into balls and put on two greased cookie sheets. Set in a warm place and let rise another hour and 20 minutes at least. Set oven at 350 degrees and have oven on for the 2nd rising. Bake rolls until light brown (almost 15 minutes).

Coloma County Casserole

My dad found this recipe, but I am not able to find a "Coloma County" in the south (California gold country and Wisconsin are the two that come up). I also haven't seen black eyed peas done this way, but it is the best way and will convert most people who say they hate black eyed peas.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. bag dried black eyed peas
• Bay Leaf
  
• 2 cups chopped ham
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded & divided
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped (save other half for beans)
  
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
  
• 2 tsp Seasoned Salt (Lawry's)
• 1 tbsp Tabasco sauce

Soak beans overnight, and rinse. Cover with fresh water and bring to boil in large pot. Add a ham bone if you have one, and the non-chopped half of onion & bay leaf. Reduce to simmer and let cook until the peas are soft, an hour to 90 minutes.

Make a cheese sauce by sauteing the onion and butter until onions are soft. Add milk and heat to almost boiling. Add cornstarch dissolved into a little cold milk, and stir with a whisk into the milk mixture. Keep stirring as it thickens. Add Seasoned Salt, Tabasco, and 1 cup of the cheese.

Grease a 13"x9" casserole dish. Add drained black eyed peas, ham & cheese sauce. Top with remaining cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with corn bread and collard greens on New Year's Day for luck & prosperity. And if you double up on the ham and cheese, it still comes out okay.

[photo from sleepyneko's flickr stream]

Ginger Cookies

During the '70s health craze, my mom would make "cookies," made with Wheaties, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, practically no sugar, and raisins. They came out of the oven as hard as rocks, and my sister and I would use them as such in our fights. Later on, my mom started making cookies that were much better, like these:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Combine butter, sugar, molasses and egg; beat well. Sift dry ingredients and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Chill in the refrigerator while you enjoy a glass of wine; about an hour. Roll dough into 1" balls, dip on sugar, and place un-sugared side down on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Battle of the Banana Breads

"In this corner is Patricia's banana bread - a lightweight if there ever was. And in this corner is Jackie's Banana Bread - heavyweight champion of the bake sale." Both of these are great recipes - you decide which one you like best.

Patricia's Banana Bread
Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup soft butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mashed banana
• 2 tbsp orange rind
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup nuts

Cream butter and sugar; beat in egg and banana, rind, then milk. Sift dry ingredients together and gently fold in. Add nuts. I forget how long to bake this as bread; mostly I make muffins with it - 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Jackie's Banana Bread
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup banana (3 large)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Cream butter and sugar; add bananas, eggs and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients; add alternating with milk. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Lemon Meringue Pie fit for a King

In the past when I've gone to visit my dad, he's greeted me at the door with a pie pan and a lemon. This recipe is why.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 3 egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Rind of one lemon

Meringue:

• 3 egg whites
• 1/3 cup sugar

In heavy saucepan, blend sugar and cornstarch. Gradually add water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to boil, and boil for one minute. Stir 1/2 mixture into beaten egg yolks; stir back into rest of the mixture. Boil one minute longer. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, rind and butter; stir well. Pour into baked pie crust and top with meringue; brown under broiler taking care to not set it on fire because man oh man it will do so the minute you look away.

Sugar Top Cookies

This amazing bar cookie recipe is from my Great-grandma Brown, and I've never seen anything like it in any cookbook or on the internet. It is my mother's favorite.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (one stick)
• 2 eggs; plus one egg yolk (reserve white)
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt

Topping:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs one at a time. Add sifted dry ingredients. Spread into greased 13"x9" pan. Make a meringue by adding brown sugar to stiffly beaten egg white. Add vanilla, and spread over cookie mixture. Sprinkle nuts evenly over top, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cut into bars.

Peanut Butter Cookies

This is my father's mother's recipe, and my all-time favorite peanut butter cookie.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp vanilla

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and beat well. Add peanut butter, flour, soda and vanilla. Drop by teaspoon full onto cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes 6 dozen cookies if you don't nibble at the dough.

Puffy Peanut Brittle

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup Karo syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 3 cups raw unsalted peanuts
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp baking soda
  

Cook first four ingredients until spins a thread (230 degrees), then add peanuts. Boil about 8 minutes more on moderate heat, until candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees. Add butter and boil for about 2 more minutes ("300 degrees plus 2 digits on Rubie's thermo") Remove from heat and add vanilla and soda, stirring quickly. It will be very foamy. Pour onto cookie sheet and break into pieces when cool.

This recipe is from my Great Aunt Grace, on my father's side.

English Toffee

Why is this Toffee English and not from some other country? No idea, but no holiday season goes by without me whipping up 10 or so batches to give away. This is a classic Nana recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp corn syrup
• 1 cup finely chopped nuts
• 1/2 pkg semisweet chocolate chips

Combine butter, sugar, water and corn syrup in heavy saucepan. Bring to boil stirring well until sugar is dissolved. Insert candy thermometer; cook over low-moderate heat until it reaches 260 degrees. If the mixture starts to get dark, turn down the heat.

From 260 degrees, stir constantly until candy reaches 300 degrees. Pour toffee over 1/2 of finely chopped nuts spread onto cookie sheet. Melt chocolate chips and spread over the toffee, then sprinkle remaining nuts over the top. Let set for a day in a cool place. Break into pieces when set. Serves one.

Christmas Fruitcake

Ingredients:
1 package currants 1 1/2 lbs butter
4 to 5 lbs. mixed fruit 2 cups sherry
4 lbs. shelled walnuts 1 cup brandy
3 lbs dates 8 cups flour
1 lb cherries 4 tbsp nutmeg
1 lb pineapple 2 tbsp each allspice, cinnamon, mace, cloves
4 cups sugar 1 tsp soda
1 cup Karo syrup 1 tsp salt
12 eggs

Mix all fruit and nuts with 1/2 of flour. Mix sugar, syrup, eggs, spices and butter. Gradually add soda, salt and rest of flour. Alternately add fruit mixture and booze, mixing well.

In 1 lb loaf pans, place a layer of waxed paper. Add dough. Bake at 200 degrees for 3 hours. Makes 30 loaves.

This is one of Nana's recipes. She would make these on Thanksgiving weekend, and keep them in the refrigerator. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, she would sprinkle a shot of brandy onto each loaf to soak up.

Welcome to Frontier Wife!

I come from a long line of cooks, bakers, and moonshine makers*. My great-grandmother loved to bake, my grandmother was an excellent candy maker, and my mom makes a badass pie crust. Most of my cooking memories come from time spent with my Grandmother (Nana - seen here with my Grandpa). We would stay with her over summer vacation, and she would make home-made doughnuts, or enchiladas, or (my favorite) liver and onions. She's the one who taught me about following a recipe and not following it; making substitutions for taste or frugality or just for the adventure.

Collecting cook books and recipes has also been a passion of mine. My treasures include The United States Regional Cookbook (circa 1947 - its recipe for possum starts out with "scald possum in lye water and scrape off the hair, taking care not to break skin"), a "Prudence Penny" cookbook published in 1952, and Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book from 1961. Recipes from family & friends, however, are my greatest treasures. This blog is dedicated to them, and intended mainly for the next generation of cooks - my children who seem to be following in my footsteps.

P.S. Why "Frontier Wife?" It's a nickname my husband gave me, because most of the time I like to cook the old fashioned way. I like making bread from scratch, and I usually work without Cuisinart (tm) or other highfalutin' gadgets. In part it's because cooking that way is like a meditation for me. That, and because I'm kind of cheap.

*My dad's side is responsible for the moonshine. He's a pretty awesome cook, too.