Mock Apple Pie

Have you ever baked a delicious apple pie without using apples? Well here is your chance, and you might just fool someone to think they are eating an apple pie. I fooled a few people.

• 2 cups water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 30 buttery crackers, I used Ritz
• 3/4  teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Combine water, sugar, cream of tartar and bring to boil. Add whole crackers, no need to stir. Simmer 5 minutes.
2. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell and sprinkle with lemon juice and cinnamon.

Topping:

• 25 buttery crackers, finely crushed, one 225 g box of crackers will do for the filling and topping, you will have some crackers leftover.
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

1. Combine first three topping ingredients, add melted butter. Using your fingers or pastry blender mix until crumbly.
2. Sprinkle over filling.
3. Bake in a 400º oven for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350º and bake for another 15 minutes.
4. Serve warm, plain, or with ice cream. You will think you are eating apple pie. 

Unbaked Chocolate haystacks

• 
  

                    My mom called these "Unbaked Cookies" and I'm sure most of you have

a similar recipe tucked away somewhere.

For those who've lost theirs or are interested in a slightly different version, here is mine.

They are easy to make so enlist the help of the little ones.

                                      As you can see, they are a hit with my grandchildren.

• 3 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Cover a large baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Mix oatmeal and coconut in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Mix sugar and cocoa together in medium sized saucepan.
4. Add milk and butter.
5. Bring to a boil stirring constantly.
6. When mixture has boiled, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
7. Immediately pour over oatmeal and coconut and mix well .
8. Working quickly, drop by teaspoonfuls on to prepared baking sheet.
9. Refrigerate until firm and then place in cookie tins.
10. Keep in a cool place. Makes about 2 -2 1/2 doz. cookies.

Bread for the Journey

John 15: 9-12

The Living Bible

How do you read your Bible?
Reading the Bible is a very personal thing.
We all have our own way of reading it, the version we prefer,
and the time of day we sit back to read His word
and listen to what God is saying.

When I was a young Christian,
there were times that the Bible just did not make any sense to me.
I felt like it was written in a way that I just could not understand.
Have you ever felt that?

I would strongly encourage you to find a Bible
with a text or translation that makes the most sense to you.
It may be a modern day version like
"The Message", "New International Version" ,
or the poetry of the traditional version of the Old King James .
Look here to find out what version is best for you to understand.
Instead of just reading the Bible on line it is best
to have a Bible you can hold in your hands to read,
write notes, underline, mark it up so it becomes the road map of your life.

My favorite version is the Bible
that my parents gave to me when I was 14.
"The Living Bible"
It is true that any version of the Bible is the living word of God.
A love letter to you,
a guide to daily living
a word of encouragement and hope.
Don't be afraid to mark up the Bible and highlight
the verses that are meaningful to you.

When our children went into grade 7,
they received a new student Bible.
We had our family and friends mark up the pages and highlight verses,
write in the side margins of why this verse was important to them.
That way when they started to read the Bible for them selves,
these verses would jump out at them and give a chance to read
the words that are meaningful to the people in their life,
and perhaps make it meaningful to them as well.
It also encouraged them to mark up this sacred book
and make it more personal for themselves.

My prayer for you this morning is that you have a stirring with in you
to read God's word, mark up the book and make it personal,
so that you too would learn for yourself that

God loves you with an undying love, which he proved giving us
His son Jesus Christ.


Proverbs 3: 5 & 6
The Living Bible

Mennonite (?) Egg Rolls - Gluten Free

I haven't had a Chinese egg roll in a very long time and hardly remember how they taste - I just remember that I liked them !

I looked at some regular recipes and came up with my own gluten-free version.

We enjoyed them this evening with Anneliese's 'Chicken Chow Mein' - substituting white rice noodles for the wheat ones .

So here is my recipe -- a bit of work to prepare but I thought it worth it.

Egg Roll Filling

• 10 oz of Mennonite Farmer sausage crumbled (this is the Mennonite part- smile) or use ground pork
• 1/2 cup of shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup of chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup of chopped green pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp gf soya sauce
• 1 tbsp molasses
• salt, pepper (as desired)
• oil

1. panfry the sausage or pork in a little oil .. until it is no longer pink
2. add the vegetables and stirring... cook for several minutes
3. mix the cornstarch, soya sauce and molasses and pour over the meat/veggie mixture
4. cook for a couple more minutes
5. remove from heat and cool

Wrappers

• 1/2 cup white corn flour
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup ice water

1. mix dry ingredients together
2. whisk egg into ice water
3. pour liquids over flour mix and stir, then knead into a smooth ball
4. cover dough with plastic wrap or in a ziplock bag and let it rest for 1/2 - 1 hour
5. roll dough out fairly thin , and cut into 3 x 4 inch pieces.
6. add filling making a ridge along the center of each dough piece and fold dough over to make a roll
7. heat oil and deep fry the rolls until they are golden .
8. Serve them hot with sweet and sour sauce

Sweet and Sour Sauce

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp real lemon juice
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 tbsp soya sauce
• 2 tbsp cornstarch

1. mix all ingredients in a small sauce pan and cook until mixture bubbles and thickens.

(I warmed these rolls in the microwave the next day and they were great! )

Baked Fanned Potatoes

Baked potatoes can be served many ways, sometimes it's fun to do them a little differently. I liked the way these looked, and they were so pretty on the plate.

• 2 Russet potatoes
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 teaspoons dried herbs of your choice, I used parsley
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Scrub potatoes and dry on paper towel.
2. Cut the potatoes into thin slices but don't cut all the way through. Lay a mixing spoon along side potato, as you cut the knife will stop at the spoon handle and will prevent from cutting all the way through the potato.
3. Place potatoes in a greased baking dish and fan them by slightly pulling the slices apart with your fingers.
4. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle salt and pepper over potatoes. 
5. Sprinkle your favorite herb on each potato.
6. Bake in a 425º oven for 50 minutes or until tender.
7. Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheeses and bacon and bake for another 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned and the cheese has melted.
8. I used quite large potatoes so this served 4 good appetites. 

Buttermilk Bran Muffins

With the addition of cottage Cheese...these muffins have hidden protein tucked alongside fiber for healthy lunch box ideas.

Since discovering buttermilk powder, I am always testing and tweaking old recipes to include buttermilk powder to replace liquid buttermilk. 

This one is a keeper.

• 1 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 cups all-bran cereal
•  1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda'
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup buttermilk powder
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates
• 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Line 1 - 12 cup muffin tin with large paper liners and spray the tin and liners with cooking spray.  They will not stick to the liners this way even when warm.
3. Pour boiling water over the all-bran in a medium bowl.  Allow to sit while measuring the remaining ingredients.
4. Put the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, buttermilk powder and walnuts and dates or raisins in a medium bowl and stir well.  If you use dates, use your fingers to break apart the chopped dates and rub with flour to keep separated.
5. Stir together the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. 
6. Fold the bran-ceral mixture and dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.  You don't want to overstir...use a quick and gentle fold to keep the rising mixture from deflating.
7. Use a large icecream scoop if possible to divide between the muffin cups.  They will be full.
8. Bake 25 minutes.

Chicken Chow Mein

This has been a family favorite at my mom's for many years. I call it a Mennonite version of Chinese food, because it really does not taste like any kind of Chinese take out, especially when she serves stewed cabbage with raisins and chicken fried steak alongside with it. All I can say is that everybody loves it!

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts (halves)
• oil for browning
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cups cabbage, finely sliced
• salt and pepper to taste*
• 4 - 6 tablespoon light soy sauce (less if using regular)
• 1 (397g) bag steam fried  or instant noodles

Method:

1. Chop chicken into bite size pieces and cook on medium to high heat, in a small amount of oil, in a large frying pan. Using salt and pepper shakers, sprinkle lightly to season.
2. When chicken looks white on all sides, this should not take long, add onion, stirring until tender and then add cabbage. Salt cabbage lightly using salt shaker. Add more oil if it begins to stick to pan and keep stirring and cooking until chicken is partly browned and vegetables and juices caramelize to a golden color.
3. Meanwhile cook noodles according to directions on package, until just done, then drain and rinse.
4. Add ¾ cup water to meat, top with cooked noodles, do not stir, cover and allow to cook on low heat just to steam noodles.
5. When noodles have heated through, add soy sauce according to taste and toss. Serves 6 - 8

* if using flash-frozen, pre-salted chicken, it is not necessary to add any extra salt.

Please Help !!!

Mystery Solved !! I knew our 'smart' readers could do it ! Thank you soooo much !!! You are all wonderful !

Here is the response from the company's Germany office... Hi! I am the Customer Service Rep at WMF Americas that was contacted about this piece. Our Germany office found it in an old US catalog (2002). It is actually a citrus reamer - used for extracting juices from lemons, limes, etc. This particular piece was discontinued several years ago. check out our website! www.wmfamericas.com

and

'thetroikatable' found a picture of it on line dispelling all doubt !

http://www.headcook.co.uk/wmf-profi-plus-citrus-hand-juicer.html

***At the end of the day ..... Thank you one and all for your interest and your comments.

Thorstenveblen, I'm sorry you were bored with my 'fun' post but you are certainly entitled to your opinion... Maybe you just had a bad day ... but I did have to smile at Miss Manners who so politely reminded you to mind yours !

Thank you, Ashley, I agree -- It MUST be a kitchamajig - and shall henceforth be referred to as such ! smile

I agree that Foley Fork seems to be the more reasonable answer but it does not seem to follow the normal design of handle ... it is fat and awkward to hold.... here is a photo of it held in a hand.

Sarah C , I appreciated you e-mailing the company .. what an interesting response! I'm very curious to see if there is a response from the Germany office.

I thought Esther's idea of a pastry/decorating tool was interesting and I am going to try that.

Tracy, I'm sorry but my husband forgot where he bought it ... we tried to retrace his 'journey' a couple of days after he brought it home but we could not find another in any of the places he remembered being --- so I'm afraid I can't help you!

All of your suggestions and ideas were helpful and I enjoyed reading them all ! Thank you so much for making my day !!

*************************************************************************************

I just finished reading a book where the author remembers a conversation

she had in a Middle East home.

The women gathered there were eagerly offering advice to a young bride.

One older woman said... "Ohh.. absolutely necessary is for you to have a Motkhenna."

The author, not familiar with that Arabic word asked what a Motkhenna was.

The older woman looked her askance!

"You do not know what a Motkhenna is ?"

and getting one from the kitchen she explained ....

"A Motkhenna is important in the kitchen. You can grind wheat or corn for cakes and bread. And you can grind vegetables and tomatoes for sauces. It is 'daruri' (essential) for every wife's kitchen!"

Smiling politely, the author agreeed to make sure she looked for one next time she was shopping.

How could she describe her high-powered food processor to a woman who thought her ill-equipped without a stone grinding slab in her kitchen?

****

We recognize that almost as important as as a well stocked pantry, are the appliances and utensils that make our kitchen user friendly.

Some time ago ... my pastry blender broke and I noted a request for another on the shopping list I handed my husband.

Thinking that there must be a pastry blender better than the one I'd broken, he came home with a strange utensil that I had no idea what it was.

No one I have asked has had any idea either !

Now .. I love a good handy kitchen utensil ... but what do you do with a perfect good utensil for which you have no use ??

So, I have pictured my utensil in the above photo .. and throw out a challenge!

Can anyone solve this mystery for me ? PLEASE?

Surely someone out there must know what it is for !!

White Chili

This is a tasty chili that will feed a crowd. Plan ahead because you need to soak the beans.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Great Northern white beans, rinsed and picked over
• 2 pounds chicken breasts (2 large half breasts are about 2 pounds)
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 2 cups onions, chopped
• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 2 – 4oz. cans chopped mild green chiles
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. each of  cumin, and dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 3 cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded and divided
• sour cream
• salsa
• fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Method:

1. Place beans in a large, heavy pot. Add enough cold water to cover by at least 3 inches. 
2. Cover and soak overnight.
3. Spread a little butter on the skin of each half breast of chicken and season it. 
4. Place on shallow pan and roast in 375 degree oven till cooked through. 
5. Let cool. 
6. Remove skin and bones and cut chicken into cubes.
7. Drain beans into large colander. 
8. Heat oil in same pot. 
9. Add onions and saute over medium-low heat until translucent, about 10 minutes. 
10. Stir in garlic, green chiles, chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder and cayenne. 
11. Saute 2 minutes. 
12. Add beans and stock. 
13. Bring to a boil. 
14. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 hours. 
15. Add additional water or broth if necessary (Can be prepared 1 day ahead). 
16. When you are ready to finish the chili cover and bring to a simmer before continuing 
17. Add chicken and 1 cup of cheese. 
18. Stir until cheese melts. 
19. Ladle chili into bowls. 
20. Serve with remaining cheese, sour cream, salsa and cilantro leaves to sprinkle on top.

Of course it’s up to you which of these additional ingredients you add to your chili.
We also like to serve this with some warm cornbread.
Serves twelve to fourteen…

Ground Chocolate and Oat Cookies

Cookies are always a good lunch box or afternoon coffee break treat. The grated chocolate bar and ground rolled oats in these cookies make them slightly different than regular chocolate chip cookies. The peanut butter is really good in these cookies, but can easily be replaced with soy butter or by replacing the 1/3 cup peanut butter with another 1/3 cup butter.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup peanut butter (see description above for substitutes)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cups rolled oats, ground in blender
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 regular size grated milk or dark chocolate bar, I used a Hershey bar

Method:

1. Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugars and eggs. Grind oats and add along with flour, vanilla, salt and baking soda. Mix well. Grate in chocolate bar and mix until just incorporated. 
2. Drop onto lightly greased or parchment lines cookie sheets. Bake at 350º for 12 minutes. 
3. Remove to cooling rack immediately.