Precious Cooking

Traditional Anise Drops Minus Their Tops!

2011-12-26T17:48:00.002-05:00

My husband says they are delicious. I miss my Mom more than ever as she knew when to make these cookies and when not to attempt to make them. My Mom's cookies never failed to form the white caps. I have modified the recipe and made them on everything from parchment, aluminum foil and silicone liners but no caps! The bottoms come out very shiny on silicone, a bit of the cookie seems to stick to aluminum foil, foil being suggested by the "Joy of Cooking" cookbook. My mother used parchment for all of her baking and my husband kept my Mom's house stocked with parchment paper!

My cooking instuctor suggested running a dehumidifier in the winter! If your anise drops had caps on them this year, let me know where you live and most important, your secret!

Summer Salads

2011-08-24T11:00:00.009-04:00

We love summer pasta salads as they are easy to make and take along. For picnics, concerts in the park and an easy meal, pasta salads can be made ahead and are great for "assemble your own salad".

Holden Arboretum has a Tuesday supper time concert series. I made this pasta salad to pack in our cooler, added some cherries for dessert and my husbands favorite picnic drink, orange lemonade, made with a ratio of 1:1 of orange juice and real lemonade.

Everyone including my 94 year young Mom enjoyed the orange, lemonade.

My sister brought some yummy Greek butter cookies to nibble on during the concert!

For a most generous serving of pasta salad for the four of us, I cooked about 1/2 pound pasta, 3 small chicken tenders and a generous helping of peas. I chopped up our favorite fresh vegetables including a whole red pepper, sweet orange and yellow peppers, 1/2 of a medium sized cucumber (I remove the seeds), about two tablespoons of sweet onion and a garden fresh tomato.

Before placing the pasta with the cut up onion, tomato, cucumber and peppers in a quart container, I added Italian and Asian Toasted Light Sesame salad dressing, a bit more than one would normally put on a salad as the peas and other fresh vegetables are added later to each plate, according to each person's preferences.

I kept the chicken cooled in a baggie, separate from the cooked pasta, peppers, cucumber and onion included in the quart container, thus making the meal appropriate for a vegan. For those that love vegetables, I included a baggy of sliced radishes and more sliced cucumbers in our little cooler. Olives, celery, carrots are also welcome additions to pasta salad. I include hard boiled eggs too for those like Mom that love an egg at a picnic.

To serve, I assemble each person's favorite veggies with the basic pasta and chopped vegetable dressed entree, adding the chicken, peas and radishes (if desired) on top of the salad. Serves 4-5.

The great thing about this meal is that the quart container fits easily in our middle-sized Playmate cooler and the other items in baggies fit nicely around the container. The entire meal, paper plates and utensils fit in the cooler, only the orange lemonade was not in the cooler.

A trick to making the orange lemonade is adding ice cubes instead of all the water required to make orange juice and lemonade from frozen concentrate. Adding a bit less water than needed and adding extra ice keeps the drink from thinning too much from the melted ice cubes. The ice cubes also keep the drink cold for the evening.

We had a great time with our family at the concert in the garden!

Barbecue Grill

2011-07-12T02:23:00.004-04:00

I finally received my new barbecue grill, made in the USA! I would love personal recommendations on grilling vegetables. My sister has been raving about her daughter's (my beloved niece's) grilled brussel sprouts.

Per clean up I was told to spray the stainless steel grates while hot with cold water and place aluminum foil over the grates. The grates did not come out very clean with either heavy duty or regular strength foil, however, they were a bit cleaner when I covered the grill with the heavy duty aluminum foil. Wonder if I sprayed enough water on the grates, put enough foil over them?

To preserve the stainless steel base, I was told to cover it with a coating of mineral oil twice a year and to use vegetable oil on the top, the black part of the grill.

Any and all suggestions for grilling or tricks to cleaning the new grill are most welcome!

Eggless, Dairy-free Mocha Cake

2011-04-11T13:05:00.008-04:00

For my mother's 94th birthday, we ordered a wonderful cake and for those, like my husband, who can not eat eggs or dairy products I made this easy cake in a large heart shaped cake pan:

3 cups flour
1 scant cup sugar (we do not like our cake too sweet)
9 tablespoons of Hershey's cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
9 tablespoons canola oil or (4 canola oil + 4 applesauce)
1 1/2 cups coffee

Mix all dry ingredients together, add coffee and stir well.
At the last moment, add the vinegar, stir quickly and place in the oven.

Oven temp 350F, bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Make sure the vinegar is added quickly followed by quick stirrying and immediately place the batter in the oven. The vinegar and baking soda combine to create a batter that will rise in the oven!

Do not overstir after adding the vinegar.

Holiday Traditions

2011-01-08T11:18:00.007-05:00

Mom will be 94 in 2011. Happy New Year 2011 from our house to yours!

Our holiday traditions include baking pretzels for New Year's Eve including the age my Mom will be on her birthday in the new year.

I use a different pretzel recipe each year but one thing remains the same, I must make my Mom's new age and the pretzels must be made with yeast dough.

My Mom enjoys the pretzels and deciding what part of her upcoming birthday to eat first.

The tradition was started by my maternal grandmother, Hedwig, for her husband, my grandfather, whose birthday was January 1.

Mom enjoys the pretzels and celebrating her upcoming age on New Year's eve, as do we!

A happy & healthy New Year 2011 to all those that read this blog and share home and traditions as caring for their parents.

Cooking for Mom, 93 years young

2010-12-12T02:29:00.002-05:00

My Mom loves T.V. dinners that I put in the blender and turn into tasty soups!

I look for T.V. dinners with the highest iron and protein content, add some broth to the blender, add the cooked TV dinner and blend on the ice crusher setting to a smooth consistency.

We call this "soup" at our house. My husband loves "Healthy Choice" soups. I take a bit of the broth as he cooks "his soup" and add it to the blender before adding the prepared, microwaved TV dinner for Mom. My husband adds pirogies to his soup and I have blended them into Mom's soup on occasion.

An easy meal for Mom is blending the TV dinner into a bit of broth.

If I gave Mom the TV dinner she would never eat the entire dinner, perhaps spit out the meat or anything not soft enough. At age 93 I think perhaps one might get tired of chewing on occassion. Via the blended TV dinner into a bit of broth to make the blender work, Mom gets a nutritious soup as every calorie is important.

Swedish meatballs and noodles, salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, all have worked fine to date blended into soup. Mom finishes the entire TV dinner as a big bowl of soup.

If you are preparing meals for an aged loved one that lives with you or anyone needing soft foods and you can not always prepare from scratch, remember the blender!

When I cook a green vegetable, I put it and some of the liquid into the blender and add butter, whole milk, protein powder or non-fat dry milk to make a palatable green vegetable soup for Mom. Green beans, asparagus, broccoli, all work great.

I add cheese to the broccoli for a cheddar cheese brocolli soup.

Mom is a blessing.

Foods for Those Who Can Not Chew

2010-10-23T15:57:00.010-04:00

What to eat when you can not chew

Us older baby boomers did not have flouride in our water and tend to have much dental work unlike my sister, a younger boomer, who has never had a cavity!

My 93 year young Mom needs to have her food pureed because her lower denture nolonger has bone to secure it. Her new upper denture is snug as a rug.

I purchased a good quality food/meat grinder and ended up throwing it out.

I had no idea that my simple Cuisinart blender that crushes ice, can be used to prepare wonderful steak soups, pureed barbecue chicken, lovely brocolli dishes whose delicate green color remind us of spring and such delicate flavored soups as green bean. I combine the vegetables with the liquid they were cooked in and either whole milk for my Mom or Almond Milk for my husband who is allergic to all dairy products as he was as a child. I add butter to most foods for my Mom but no fat for my husband.

I have added food grade thickeners, potato, noodles or whatever we are having with our dinner to the blender for Mom's meal. When Mom asked for spaghetti soup, I pondered and thought it an interesting idea. I put about 1/2 cup of cooked spaghetti sauce in the blender, added a few noodles and snuck in a small piece of white meat of chicken (a bit smaller than a deck of cards) and thinned with chicken broth to the consistency per our hospital dietitian's instruction. My Mom enjoyed the soup very much.

Barbecued chicken is also easy to puree into a smooth food. Place about 1/4 - 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (cooked) into the blender with a small piece of cooked chicken.
I added 1/2 of a small cooked potato as a filler to smooth the puree as Mom wants everything to be as smooth as possible, otherwise food bits will get under her lower denture and hurt as she eats. I made my own barbecue sauce on this occasion but think almost any barbecue sauce would work as long as it is not too hot in flavor.

Thankgoodness for "Thick-it" to thicken drinks enabling swallowing for those with dysphasia and protein powder for added protein on days when we have not met our 50-60grams of protein per day as instructed. In our case, Mom is to have 50-60 grams of protein per day.

At 93 years, we are pleased she enjoys food and for the original suggestion of what
to add to Mom's foods, a huge thanks to Stacey == Stacey my Mom loves food again because of Y O U!

Thanks to Stacey's incredible team too!

Mom will certainly enjoy her grandson Andrew's 18th birthday this December 23,
thanks to wonderful, caring dietitians.

If you need additional details don't hesitate to email me at rosa@raskinfo.com

Problems with Waring Food Grinder

2010-07-15T01:20:00.003-04:00

I am having nothing but problems with my new Waring MG100 Food Grinder. My first grind was fine. Two weeks have passed and the grinding blades are rusting and the machine does not work.

I purchased this grinder as it was recommended by the salesperson who said it was an incredible grinder that her mother used.

I would love to talk to anyone that has this grinder. I put in small chunks of chicken today but no luck and a big mess.

A waste of good food, my time, energy, money, and most of all, the potential for my Mom to get the nutrition one of 93 yrs so desparately needs.

I am very disappointed, felt I was mislead by the sales person who I will call in the A.M. as well as Waring. Waring made the first blender that I ever owned. I was devoted and loyal to the company until my experience with this product. I do not wish to bother with the postage to send it back but maybe they might figure out the problem and prevent this from happening to another person caring for an elderly parent!

Maybe mine just happened to be a "lemon"?

Homemade Blueberry Pancakes

2010-06-26T23:16:00.006-04:00

My 93 year young Mom is a bit particular about what she eats but homemade blueberry pancakes are a hit! I use whole grain flour with some unbleached flour to make the pancakes a bit lighter and easier to eat. I mixed a handful of fresh blueberries into the batter at the last moment while cooking the pancakes. At age 93 years, one rarely gobbles anything but the blueberry pancakes disappeared as I had hoped.

Cooked berries appear to be easier for the elderly to consume. I put them in at the last minute and watch them swell while cooking, some burst to release the wonderful color and aroma into the cooking pancake.

I grow blueberries in my garden. One needs to plant different varieties to get berries. I have three blueberry varieties growing in my yard that produce a couple handfuls of berries each year. Once ripe, I pick them quickly.

Fast Summer Enriched Cheesecake

2010-06-19T22:41:00.002-04:00

I hate to turn the oven on in the summer when it is very warm outside but wanted to make a rich cheesecake for my Mom.

I decided to make the "No Bake" Jello brand cheesecake, follow the directions exactly and add one 8 ounce package of softened cream cheese to the mixture while blending with the hand mixer. Thus, the cheese mixture included the packet provided, one and one half cups whole milk, as directed, and in addition a softened 8ounce package of creamcheese. If I were making this for me I would use the reduced fat Neuchatel.

The cheesecake came our great, like a European one -- not as sweet as a U.S. cheesecake. It is the closest thing I have eaten to a New York type cheesecake without doing any baking.

I also decided to leave the sugar out of the crust as my Mom has been complaining that foods are "too sweet".

The problem is that the cheesecake is too good and I can not keep myself out of it and I am not the one supposed to be gaining weight!

Making Beignet (French Doughnuts)

2010-06-18T03:19:00.002-04:00

I am looking forward to making beignet (French doughnuts) for my Mom. She has never been to New Orleans and Cafe Du Monde but truly loves doughnuts.

I purchased a box of the Cafe Du Monde, original French Market coffee stand, beignet mix during a recent visit to Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have seen the mixd in stores at home in the Greater Cleveland area but had more time to look for it on a recent vacation trip to Cincinnati. I used to have to order the mix but it is carried in many grocery stores.

I have never seen a food store like Jungle Jim's. Jungle Jim's started as a small fruit market when we lived in Cincinnati long ago. It has grown to not only have every item from every country one can desire or imagine, but Jungle Jim's has a cooking school.

I would love to take classes in a cooking school but for now am content to make the beignet's for my Mom.

If you find yourself in Cincinnati, in addition to eating Cincinnati chili, buying bagels, and getting ice cream and wonderful baked goods at Graeter's, give yourself plenty of time to see Jungle Jim's, a few hours at least!

Don't forget to get a map of the grocery store, remember where you parked, and visit the country of your choice within the store.

Nachos for Mom

2010-05-12T14:54:00.007-04:00

On a recent trip to Charlotte, we learned that my 93 year young Mom loves black beans, chips, cheese sauce, and salsa. When I gave it to her once at home, no interest. However, on our trip she not only loved it but asked me to get the recipe!

I took my husband and Mom to Charlotte where I attended the American Coatings Show as I was in the category of exhibitor for one of my clients, and have published and am continuing to publish articles in APCJ: Asia Pacific Coatings Journal and PPCJ: Polymer Paint Colour Journal.

The trip was a wonderful adventure for Mom as she liked seeing an early spring. We drove no more than 200 miles per day. Most important, the trip gave us ideas as to how to prepare some new meals and snacks that Mom will enjoy.

We took Mom to a famous steakhouse and talked to the chef about preparing a filet mignon for her that she could chew. My husband said it melted in his mouth but Mom could not chew it.

What Mom loved was the nachos every evening at Embassy Suites in Charlotte. Mom had me call to find out their recipe. I also talked to the physician assistant at Mom's doctor's office who told me to take a piece of velveta cheese and about half that amount of sour cream, place in the microwave, stir, and the result is a wonderful cheese sauce that is just soft enough, yet not too soft.

The velveta sour cream mixture does not stick on Mom's teeth, a complaint she has about the melted cheese on pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc. I have a dentist appointment scheduled for her to find out why food feels like it is sticking.

McDonalds is never a problem. She eats her entire fish sandwich, fries, apple pie, etc., yet when I make the same fish at home "it does not go down".

Thanks to McDonalds, Mom is a member of the clean plate club.

We have a wonderful waitress at a local Chinese restaurant that has the big bowl of shrimp chips waiting for Mom.

Mom's doctor says have her eat anything she wishes. Too bad for us that Mom does not like milkshakes but loves potato salad with lots of real mayonnaise.

I make the potato salad so that my husand may eat it with non fat Miracle Whip and for Mom's portions, add lots of real mayonnaise.

Have I gained weight in the 1 1/2 years Mom has been with us, you bet and I only lick the spoon on occasion!

Sourdough

2010-02-15T15:15:00.004-05:00

I have used many sourdough starters in the past. I had one terrific starter that remains in my freezer but I am hesitant to defrost it. I have decided to start a few others to decide what works best in my area, the Midwest.

I made rye bread yesterday but it does not have enough of a sourdough taste. The bread is otherwise good and the slices came out heart-shaped, appropriate for Valentine's day.

Today I started making a new starter using only unbleached flour and water to try to "catch" potentially useful and tasteful organisms for my starter. I have read that it might be better to start with whole wheat flour as it contains potentially more organisms. but I started with unbleached flour.

In the past I have made starters using potato flakes, yeast, and various types
of flours.

Today's attempt is my first starting with only unbleached flour and water. I placed the ingredients in a wide-mouth glass jar and hope to see some interesting bubbles in my mixture soon. I have wanted to try this simple method for sometime.

The air in our area of the country does not have the same mixture of micro-organisms one finds in San Francisco, however, it will be interesting for me to find out our potential using the simplest method I know of to create a starter.

I will watch my sourdough starter most carefully for any unwanted colors or growths.

My goal is a perfect culture of micro-organisms in a symbiotic relationship.

Muffin Mixes and Others

2010-02-08T18:40:00.005-05:00

My nephew has 30 food allergies. My sister discovered that she can use certain muffin mixes by adding water and oil to the mix, instead of the required egg and/or milk, and the muffins come out wonderful. My nephew is allergic to soy, rice, almond milk, cow's milk, eggs, nuts, etc.

My husband is allergic to dairy products. He is not allergic to nuts or soy. Almond or rice milk works fine added to store bought baking mix products. To date I have tried brownies, blueberry muffins, and layer cakes. I also substitute almond milk for some of the oil required in the recipe per his diet. If the brownie recipe is too sweet, such as some of the fat-free mixes, I add 1/2 cup flour and a bit more liquid for a less sweet baked brownie.

I wonder how pumpkin pie will turn out using almond milk instead of the milk suggested on the canned pumpkin? Check back to find out!

Spicing Up Hot Drinks

2010-02-08T17:57:00.005-05:00

The snow makes me want a hot drink.

A dash of cayenne pepper sprinkled into my hot cocoa gives it a wonderful punch. If you try it be very, very careful not to overdue and make sure you are not allergic to the pepper.

I do not put cayenne pepper in my Mom's cocoa bur top it with whipped cream and sometimes a bit of cinnamon.

For coffee, I add cinnamon to the grounds before brewing. It seems to give the coffee a smooth flavor.

Does anyone have any suggestions for variation on winter comfort drinks?

Easy Coconut Cake or Bars

2009-12-26T11:07:00.011-05:00

For the hectic holiday season, instead of making coconut bars, my husband's favorite Cleveland confection, I made coconut cake. I saved much time by making the cake instead of cutting the cake into smaller pieces and turning each into a coconut bar.

I made a white cake using Pillsbury low sugar white cake mix and followed the directions using three eggs. I hand-mixed the cake batter as was watching my 92 year young Mom in her bedroom and did not want to work in the kitchen with the electric hand mixer. The cake itself was as light as a feather. I poked some holes in the cake, an option that adds a nice touch per the final product. You will understand why as you read the next section.

I placed about 1/3 cup of Hershey's chocolate syrup in a microwavable glass measuring cup, added a few drops of water, and heated the syrup mixture until warm. I use my two cup pyrex measuring cup for this as do not wish to spill the warm syrup.

I poured the syrup over the cake, making sure some goes into the the areas where I poked the cake. I spread the syrup over the top of a one layer cake. Next, I put coconut on the cake to cover up the chocolate syrup. The cake looks beautifully decorated and tastes delicious. The coconut sticks to the chocolate syrup on the cake.

I have made coconut bars using a frozen pound cake. It is easy to cut a pound cake while still frozen into bars. Dipping each cake bar into the syrup and coconut can be messy and unless you prefer bars, an unnecessary step. I have made a two layer cake with one cake mix, placing the syrup and coconut between the layers and repeating the syrup, coconut layer on top of the cake.

This cake is an easy and beautiful cake in spring, can be a no-bake cake in summer and everyone in my family loves it during the holidays when it reminds us of snow. Using a frozen pound cake, one need turn on the oven during our hot Cleveland summers.

I told my 17 year old nephew about this cake should he wish to impress a girlfriend with a simple, easy, beautiful cake. The cake can be any flavor. We like the contrast of the chocolate between the white cake and the white coconut.

Another version of the cake, using chocolate syrup over a chocolate cake topped with white coconut, is wonderful for chocolate lovers.

If one prefers to make coconut bars, the trick is not to get the coconut brown as one does not want the look of "dirty snow". Use one hand to roll each frozen cake bar into the syrup and the other hand to roll the syrupy bar in the white coconut.

I do not poke holes into the bars but poke holes when I make the cake version.

In the cake the holes become filled with a bit of chocolate syrup, making this an easy marble cake!

If your family prefers all white, yellow or chocolate cake, do not poke holes in the cake.

The easy technique makes an incredible German chocolate cake.

For a big party, bake several white, chocolate, and yellow cakes and after cooling, freeze them. While frozen, cut them into single serving bars before dipping each in the warm syrup and coconut. Place each small coconut bar in a colorful cupcake baking cup and pile high on a decorative plate for a colorful, edible centerpiece!

Let me know if you like this easy recipe for Cleveland style coconut bars by emailing me via my web site at http://www.raskinfo.com

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T14:34:00.007-05:00

This was an easy Thanksgiving dinner to prepare and best of all, my 92 year young Mom was able to chew everything.

We are so blessed that she asked to live with us one year ago. Mom came for Thanksgiving dinner last year and stayed!

I tried a turkey breast tenderloin that was easy for my Mom to chew and swallow. I told my situation to the salesperson in the grocery store who assured me, my mother would be able to chew and swallow this meat.

It was wonderful that I could make one meat that we all could enjoy on Thanksgiving.

Although a bit pricey, the marinated tenderloin was superb. I added 1/2 apple to my homemade dressing recipe to insure it would remain soft enough for Mom to swallow. Baked sweet potatoes are easy for Mom to consume as is the jellied version of cranberry sauce.

I made a tender peach pie and will make the homemade apple and pumpkin pies on another day.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who read this.

Apples in October

2009-10-07T03:01:00.007-04:00

I picked 37 pounds of assorted apples last week and seven pounds of concord grapes at Eddy's Fruit Farm in Chesterland, Ohio.

My husband benefited from my pickings as I made two apple pies including JonaMac, Cortland, and Muen (spelling?), and Gala's that I had from a local grocery store.

I love to use the largest apples I can find and picked enormous apples this year. The larger the apple, the less time I need to peel and core for the apple pies that my husband loves.

Since my mother recently became diabetic, I use as little sugar as possible and load up on cinnamon.

Because my husband is on a very low fat diet, I modified the American Heart Association pie crust recipe and lowered the fat content without compromising the flaky crust.

What is the secret to a low fat, flaky pie crust?

Email me for the answer at rosaraskin@hotmail.com and mention my blog.

Early Signs of Fall

2009-08-24T00:27:00.010-04:00

I purchased my first 1/2 bushel of apples from Patterson's Fruit Farm in Chesterland, Ohio, today.

The apples are JerseyMac, wonderful for eating, baking, and sauce. The apple has a wonderful taste and aroma. This early fall apple appeals to my 92 year young Mom, husband, and me.

The flesh is fragrant, white, crisp, but not too crisp for my 92 year young Mom to enjoy. The apples vary in size from small to medium with an appealing pattern of red to light green coloration on each apple's peel.

I traveled to Patterson's Fruit Farm two times this week, both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday I took Mom for her favorite lunch of bratwurst and beer, at the Snack Shop adjacent to the Orchard Hills Center. Later that evening when she prepared for bed, Mom noticed that she had lost one of her hearing aids. We searched the house, car, and hoped that a phone call to Patterson's in the morning might help.

To my surprise, when I called about Mom's hearing aid this morning, the kind person answering the phone at Patterson's Fruit Farm was involved in the previous night's wedding and told me that someone at the country wedding on Saturday night found my Mom's hearing aid.

Announcements were made during the wedding at the Orchard Hills Center that a hearing aid had been found. We had gone to the Snack Shop for lunch and were not part of the wedding. We had enjoyed watching some of the wedding preparations as we ate our most enjoyable lunch. We are lucky that a wedding guest found Mom's hearing aid that evening in the parking lot.

Thank you, whoever you are, that found the hearing aid for my 92 year young Mom. Mom can not hear without her hearing aids. You have my mother's blessings.

Best wishes and congratulations to the young couple getting married at Orchard Hills Center in Geauga County, Ohio, on Saturday night!

I gave some of the JerseyMacs to my sister, Maria, who commented on the enticing aroma of the apples in my kitchen. We enjoyed the tasty and aromatic strawberry-rubarb pie that was freshly baked at Patterson's earlier in the day and are looking forward to Patterson's blueberry pie for our celebration on finding Mom's hearing aid.

We saw a few leaves on Maple trees begin to turn a bit reddish on our drive in the country to Patterson's. The scents and signs of fall are here as many children and college students return to school.

My husband is looking forward to a home-baked apple pie and loves the taste and aroma of Patterson's apple cider. I think I will get a glass for myself as I write this blog entry.

Tonight my mother gave me the biggest hug that one can imagine for finding her hearing aid. I am most blessed that she came for Thanksgiving dinner and chose (asked) to stay with us.

I look forward to baking my first apple pies of the 2009 season that will fill our house with the wonderful smell of cinnamon sugar and freshly picked early apples.

Thanks again to all those working and enjoying wonderful life events at Orchard Hills/ and Patterson's Fruit Farm in Chesterland, Ohio. The staff at Patterson's Fruit Farm made this day one I shall long remember and enter into my album of wonderful family memories at Patterson's !

The wonderful personnel, fruits, and vegetables at Patterson's Fruit Farm continue to inspire me to cook and bake.

Diabetic Recipes

2009-04-10T21:57:00.003-04:00

My Mom found out she is diabetic at age 92 years. Mom is a cookie lover. I can not find any cookies in the stores that she likes. I am in the process of developing my own recipe for a cinnamon-raisen cookie that is low fat, without the use of sugar.

Mom does not need to lose weight, however, I would like to create a cookie that my husband may also enjoy.

I am lowering the fat content, removing the sugar, yet hope to create the best diabetic cookie in the world for my family to enjoy.

My recipe to date includes whole grains, a bit of oil, eggs, and a sugar substitute that diabetics may have in unlimited amounts. The recipe I am creating is not for children but for aging parents who love cookies and have been found in old age to have diabetes.

Does anyone out there have a recipe they love or any suggestions? I have created a wonderful cookie but would like additional recipes for low fat, no sugar cookies.

Carolyn's Incredible Pudding

2009-01-11T21:34:00.005-05:00

I have an addition to Carolyn's wonderful homemade hot pudding topped with cold whipped cream.

I decided to put a banana between the pudding and the whipped topping to get Mom to eat an extra piece of fruit. On other occasions I place slices of banana under the pudding.

Today I also added some of my husbands chocolate, pumpkin brownies (no fat) to Mom's tapioca pudding for a banana split type dessert. I include freshly grated nutmeg or cinnamon depending upon the flavor Mom suggests for the day. I always include pure vanilla, eggs, whole milk, and tapioca in the basic pudding recipe.

Mom says this pudding is yummy. I estimate that it contains a serving of calcium per the milk, a serving of fruit (banana), a bit of chocolate, protein (egg), and a bit of vegetable per the pumpkin brownie sliced in the smallest pieces under the whipped cream.

Mom tells me when the whipped topping disappears and needs to be refreshed.

I will try variations of the pudding by including cherry topping, peaches, blueberries, fruit cocktail, or cooked apples to keep Mom interested in this wonderful, quick, and simple dessert.

Colorful toppings might appeal to those with low vision.

Carolyn's incredible pudding is truly a winner for those that need the extra calories and a time saver for caregivers!

Add Pizazz to Incredibly Delicious Pudding

2009-01-08T21:46:00.005-05:00

My friend Carolyn has added a wonderful ingredient to her incredible hot pudding recipe. Carolyn tops each serving of hot pudding with real whipped cream.

It is exciting to see the whipped cream melt into the pudding at the edges, adding richness, cooling the pudding, and increasing the calories for those that deserve this most special treat.

Mom is eating the whipped cream topped hot pudding as I write this. Mom is skimming the edges of the pudding as she always does but now enjoys an additional treat, the whipped cream melting into the pudding. She is thoroughly enjoying herself. She loves this pudding so much that I will have to come up with a version for my husband who is sitting with her in the kitchen.

While reading Carolyn's email about her new pudding creation, I envisioned use for the cans of whipped cream I often pass in the dairy case at Costco.

For my husband, I will try to top his pudding based on almond or rice milk with fat-free Cool Whip topping.

My mother asked me to taste her delicious dessert. I was able to decline today, as I have gained a tremendous amount of weight just licking the pots of the meals I prepare for her. If I had her metabolism I would love this warm dessert that appears to be as beautiful as it tastes.

As I watch the whipped cream melt into the pudding, I remember a vacation at Cape Cod years ago where on a very cool day, we sat in a waterfront restaurant eating a very hot blueberry cobbler topped with cold whipped cream!

Thanks to Carolyn, my warm homemade pies and cobblers will include cool whipped cream for my Mom who will be 92 years young this March.

The warm pudding, now topped with whipped cream, turns an ordinary glass bowl into a piece of art. The topping adds more than pizazz to one of our most cherished comfort foods.

My adviser at The Ohio State University always said the kitchen is the science laboratory and
adds a creative side to my research activities in the materials sciences (see http://www.raskinfo.com)

Thanks once again to my dear friend Carolyn, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, for sharing her special pudding creation.

Hurry-Up Pizza from Scratch

2009-01-04T05:52:00.005-05:00

My family wanted pizza and I did not have time to find my usual pizza crust recipe. My crust turned out wonderful per the most critical opinions of my husband and mother, both pizza gourmets. I doubled the recipe shown earlier in this blog and added a new skill, hand tossing the pizza. Some of the discussion herein repeats what I posted last year and I have included additional tips and explanations.

My husband's cardiologists had told me to keep him at zero fat. This is almost impossible but he is a special case and a special person who adheres to his dietary restrictions and allergies. My nephew has 37 allergies but luckily, to date, no one is allergic to wheat in my family. I use whole wheat for my husband, mother, and me as often as I can. I do not use whole wheat when preparing products for my nephew, but use unbleached flour.

Herein is a pizza crust that my entire family can enjoy. I made it in a hurry yesterday and did not measure as exactly as I normally do.

Please note that I never use hot water from the faucet but microwave cold water until it is lukewarm to the touch. I am particular about my yeast and purchase in the large (only) package sold by Costco or Whole Foods as the yeast looks finer and never fails. It also lasts a very long time in the refrigerator.

My ingredients and the secret to a crispy, thinner type crust include:

2 teaspoons yeast (I used a real teaspoon as this is fast pizza and my two sets of measuring
spoons were in the dishwasher)
2 cups lukewarm water (cold water heated in the microwave, I use my Pyrex measuring cup)
2 teaspoons sugar (scant but measured with real teaspoons)

Very gently stir the above for a second. Yeast is alive and we want it to bubble and grow. I check for some bubbles before proceeding to the next step. The bubbles come from the yeast eating the sugar. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If the water is too cold, it will take longer for the yeast to grow and the flour to raise.

4 cups of unbleached flour (a bit more if the dough is too sticky but be cautious as adding too
much flour (especially when using the traditional whole wheat flour, will result in a tough dough. If too sticky, dust with a bit more flour until you can hand toss the dough).

Mix the flour into the dough and I knead it about 10 times, dusting with a bit of flour if the dough is too sticky to handle. I let the dough raise in a warm place but before I do this, I sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough. In the olden days, when my husband was not so fat restricted, I would place the smallest coat of olive oil on the bowl and on the pizza dough. It is important to cover the dough.

Some of my friends make the dough the night before, divide it in three or more portions for individual pizzas and let them raise in individual storage containers or bags in the refrigerator overnight, or all day, before a late evening dinner party of make your own pizza. I have done this and it works too, but I prefer to have the pre-baked crusts ready for my hungry guests.

Once the dough has doubled in bulk on its first raising, I punch it down and begin hand tossing the dough. After hand tossing to fit each pizza pan, I let the dough raise once again in a draft free place, usually in my oven, but I do not cover the dough this time, as it raises in each pizza pan.

I saw a glimpse of the hand tossing of pizza on one of the cooking shows and need to see this process once again. I need to perfect this skill that truly results in a wonderful crust.

For hand tossing, I started with a ball of dough, flattened it a bit and began tossing it from hand to hand. Miraculously, it begins to get larger and thinner. My first one had several holes in it that I patched once placed in the pizza pan, the second ball of dough was better, and the third ball I tossed was the easiest. I did not wear rings while tossing as feared tearing the dough.

I made three different pizza's from the dough recipe. One pizza was a medium pepperoni with lots of cheese for my mother, a pizza lover. It also included onions and sweet red bell peppers.

Another large pizza was made with no cheese as my husband is allergic to dairy products. His pizza included sauce (recipe follows), microwaved fresh onion, slightly microwaved fresh red peppers, and his specially thin sliced, non fat hot dogs.

My own pizza included cheese, sweet red peppers, and onions.

In the summer I add almost anything growing in my garden to the pizza shells that I have pre-baked on cooler spring days. I do not like to bake in the summer. I have added any kind of summer squash, fresh basil, fresh tomatoes, cilantro, any garden peppers, and onions from my garden.

I love a thick pizza crust too, but my husband and mother prefer one a bit thinner with some crispness. Majority rules in our democratic household.

After forming a circle of crust by hand tossing, I place it on a pizza pan sprayed with Pam.

I pre-bake the pizza crust for 6-10 minutes on the bottom rack of my oven at 425F.
When the top of the crust is set -- springs back slightly to touch, I add the sauce and the other ingredients. Depending upon the preferences of the member of my family, I have two procedures concerning the part-skim Mozarella cheese added to those who may have cheese.

My mother likes a crispy texture to the top and bottom of her pizza, thus I put on all the ingredients on her pizza crust after it has been pre-baked. I place the sauce over the pizza and add the vegetables, cheese, and top it with the pepperoni. I add olive oil to the top of her pizza on those occasions when she does not want pepperoni.

For my cheese pizza, I assemble all the ingredients on the pre-baked crust but do not add the cheese until the last 5 minutes in the oven. I love the cheese just melted to form strings. More baking of the cheese, as I do with my mothers cheese, decreases the strings. My mother can not handle stringy cheese but loves the part-skim Mozarella cheese. I also love Provolone.

A hand tossed pizza makes the difference.

I will use whole wheat flour, especially the newer white whole wheat flour but if I do not have it in the house, I use the unbleached flour. I never used bleached flour as the dough does not come out the way we like it. When using the whole wheat flour I have substituted it for all the flour or for one or more cups of the flour included in the recipe.

What is so nice about the new white whole wheat flour is that the color of the dough is one my family is familiar with and the taste of the crust is not as heavy as the traditional whole wheat flour. My family is happy with any homemade pizza.

When we order take-out, we must emphasize that no cheese or dairy product may land on my husbands pizza. On more than one occasion we have carefully placed our order only to find his pizza smothered in cheese.

Our family pizza sauce recipe is included herein. I have found the cans of pizza sauce sold in the stores to be good but we restrict our salt and have some allergies.

For the dough in the above recipe that makes three pizzas, one medium, and two large I use:

2 small cans of tomato paste
2 cans of water (helps rinse out the tomato paste)
3-4 T of Ketchup (some add a bit of sugar instead to bring out the sweetness of the tomato)
garlic powder (to taste, I prefer lots, I have also roasted fresh garlic from the garden)
basil (dried is fine added to the sauce, if I have fresh basil, I add entire leaves with the other
vegetables but be gentle as basil leaves bruse easily)
oregano (optional, I generally do not use it unless it is growing in my garden)

Both the initial pre-baking of the crust (helps prevent soggy pizza) and the final baking are done on the bottom rack of the oven at 425F. Pre-baked crust usually takes 6-10 minutes and the final baking takes another 10-15. Always preheat the oven. I keep an assembly line going so the oven is not empty until all the dough has been pre-baked and pizzas have been baked.

I watch the oven carefully and check for doness by lifting up a small section of the crust that lifts up easily from the sprayed baking pan (or pizza pan).

Caution: for the second raising, do not use the pizza pans with the holes in them. They are great for a pre-baked crust. However, if you place dough in them, the dough will raise through the holes. It is almost impossible to remove the pizza from the pan as the dough raises through those holes in the pan!

An easy way to cut pizza is to use a pair of scizzors. I devote any type of scizzor that will do the job to the pizza pan but am careful not to scratch the pan as I lift and cut the pizza slices.

One secret to storing pizza in the refrigerator was taught to me by my sister whose inlaws are Italian. Her husband likes cold pizza for breakfast. I too like cold pizza for breakfast in the summer, especially with fresh tomato slices on it.

Here is my sisters secret: to store the leftover pizza in the refrigerator, place the first set of slices, face side up on a plate, cover with a second set of pizza slices face down over the slices that are facing up. The toppings touch each other and the crust surrounds the pizza protecting the toppings, yet keeping the crust from becoming soggy. Cover the entire plate of pizza slices with plastic wrap. When needed, take out a slice or two and microwave for a great snack.

A Pudding without Milk!

2009-01-03T15:52:00.005-05:00

I am so excited as I have a pudding recipe that my husband enjoys. He is allergic to dairy and watches longingly as I prepare pudding for my mother of almost 92 years to help her gain weight.

The pudding recipe that I use for my mother, also works for my husband. Since my husband does not tolerate milk and is sensitive to eggs, I removed these from the ingredients and substituted Rice Milk or Almond Milk. He loves the pudding that includes:

2 cups of Rice Milk or Almond Milk
3 T Minute Tapioca (generous Tablespoons)
3 T sugar (scant Tablespoons)

Let the above ingredients sit in a saucepan for about 5 minutes.

Cook the pudding on medium heat a bit past boiling, stirring constantly.

Add the vanilla (I use about 1 teaspoon real vanilla, as my husband loves vanilla) and take the pudding off the heat but continue stirring.

Pour the pudding immediately into serving bowls, carefully, as it is very hot.

Please let everyone know that you are serving "hot" pudding. The pudding will become more and more dense as it cools but my family loves it hot.

My mother loves the pudding as hot as it can be served. She has a technique for eating it. Mom skims the outside rim of the pudding and continues this process until she has finished. Although my Mom eats what I consider to be very little, she can manage two servings of the homemade tapioca pudding. Mom's pudding includes a beaten egg that I add to the saucepan before cooking using whole milk. The egg adds a bit of richness and color to my Mom's pudding while the pudding for my husband varies in color whether I am using the Rice Milk or the Almond Milk.

My husband and my mother now both enjoy eating pudding warm. For my mother I grate fresh nutmeg into the pudding while it is sitting in the saucepan for the first 5 minutes prior to cooking. I also grate a bit of nutmeg on the top of each serving to be eaten by my Mom.

My mother can smell the freshly grated nutmeg with its fresh spice and lemon scent. I do not get the same response from my Mom when I use nutmeg from a can. I do not include nutmeg in the pudding for my husband. For one variation, I add cinnamon to the pudding for my Mom and my husband. Both also enjoy the pudding when it includes sliced bananas. I place the slices of bananas in each individual serving dish and make sure to cover all the banana slices with the hot pudding.

The first time I ate warm pudding was when I visited my friend Carolyn and her daughter many years ago. Carolyn made the most heavenly puddings and served the freshly made pudding, warm -- I had only eaten cold pudding until that time and was always impatiently waiting until the pudding cooled off and could be placed in the refrigerator.

At my friends home, I realized that there is nothing better than warm pudding in the middle of our cold Midwestern winters. Carolyn's young daughter, Jenny, loved the warm pudding as much as I did. I remember Carolyn's butterscotch pudding that warmed the palette as well as one's soul. Jenny would chose the pudding flavor for dessert each evening. Jenny is grown and has two young daughters of her own. I imagine her young family enjoying warm pudding together.

Carolyn's tradition continues in my home. The pudding that is refrigerated in our house is microwaved as everyone wants warm pudding, a special treat to eat as one watches the snow fall. I am careful to pour pudding into serving dishes that can be refrigerated and microwaved as no one in my family wants to eat cold pudding, once they have enjoyed warm pudding.

Thanks Carolyn, for sharing your warm pudding and home with me so long ago.

Latke Recipe - Low Fat

2008-12-18T17:20:00.004-05:00

While waiting in the doctors office I grabbed a magazine and noticed a recipe for low fat potato latkes that included 2 egg whites, 4 large potatoes, 1 T lemon juice, 2 T flour and grated onion.

The recipe stated that the batter should be placed on a regular (not thermal) cookie sheet that has been spraye. The latkes should be baked for about 15 minutes at 475 degrees and then turned over to continue until the desired crispness is reached.

I wonder if this recipe will really works? The lemon juice is a great idea for keeping the latke batter from turning green (I have seen the use of vinegar for this purpose also).

If baking the latkes in the oven would turn out anything close to a fried latke, my husband would love them as per his diet I don't know if he remembers what potato pancakes (latkes) taste like?

He is very excited about our trying this recipe in the near future.

Getting Mom to Gain Weight

2008-12-17T15:13:00.003-05:00

I have found a recipe that my mom of 91 years loves to eat before she goes to sleep each night. While she is visiting for the winter, I make her a homemade tapioca pudding that never fails. She loves the extra flavor that fills the kitchen. She can smell it cooking while napping too!

Here is the simple recipe for my tapioca pudding:

2 cups whole milk (I need her to gain a bit of weight or at least to stop losing weight)
3 T Minute Tapioca
3T Sugar

Let the above stand for 5 minutes in the saucepan that it will cook in and then add:

One well beaten whole egg to the mixture of the three items above (the pudding works without the addition of the egg but I feel she needs the egg in the pudding and it gives it a richer texture and color).

Next, gently stir well until the egg and milk are mixed. Once mixed, begin cooking over medium heat, watching the pudding until it continues to boil even when stirring.

After it has been at a full boil add:

1 t real Vanilla extract
Nutmeg -- use a nutmeg grater to grate nutmeg and add to mixture

Pour into serving bowls, I use two large or three small bowls.
Garnish with a bit more freshly grated nutmeg (optional).

The freshly grated pudding adds a holiday flavor to the pudding and the smells in the kitchen.
My mother enjoys eating the pudding hot and it continues to solidify if it cools. My mother had never eaten warm pudding until I made this recipe for her. In the winter months, if the pudding has been refrigerated she asks me to microwave it so that it is warm.

For fun I asked my youngest sister who uses canned nutmeg everyday, what spice I was grating and she could not guess. She was surprised at the wonderful aroma of fresh nutmeg that includes many flavors from lemon to spice!

Lingering Memories of My Summer Garden

2008-11-23T14:59:00.006-05:00

It is winter and it is cold.

I have saved herbs from my summer garden by transplanting, freezing, and drying.

I transferred my outdoor garden Rosemary to a pot that sits on my bay window and smells wonderful in my living room. I hope I remember to water this pot.

I picked sage and parsley for my Thanksgiving herb stuffing. Even the water from the vase holding the sage gives off a wonderful aroma each day when I place fresh water in the vase.

My indoor kitty, Precious, ate some of the dried parsley. Precious especially loves the dried lovage from my mother's herb garden that I planted years ago for my Mom. Mom continues to enjoy the everlasting herb garden that needs little tending.

How I miss my summer garden!

Now that we have had several snowfalls, I will peak under the snow to see what surprise may linger under the wonderful pure white blanket and plan for next spring!

First Tangerine Colored Heirloom Tomatoes are Ripe

2008-09-01T13:16:00.003-04:00

I picked my first tangerine colored heirloom tomato. It is a Hillbilly tomato. My husband had left it growing in the garden as he saw the orange color and thought it was a tomato not yet ripe enough to pick. We sliced it and enjoyed each beautiful slice. The tomato had a soft skin compared to the cherry tomatoes in my garden that have a much tougher one. Our first Hillbilly tomato was mild yet full of flavor, as if a touch of lemon had been added to perfect tangerine orange flesh. The seeds within were small and the tomato fit in the palm of my hand.

We have another Hillbilly almost ready for the table and lots of red cherry tomatoes. A rabbit ate a hole in my plastic fence and I am trying to deter him by closing up the plastic chicken wire fence and spread a bit of Vicks on the fence as read it deters rabbits. If it does, I will include in a later item in this blog.

I saw our rabbit that ate all of my squash plant and broke off some of the branches of my heirloom tomato plants. I have never lost all of my summer and winter squash, including leaves and all to a rabbit and have planted squash for many, many years.

Luckily, when I first noticed that my squash plants were being nibbled down to the root, I planted one in my rose garden and this plant is doing superbly well, does not have any fungus growing on it as many of my squash plants might have in a rainy summer and this lonely squash plant has one small zucchini on it to date. The plant is the healthiest squash plant I have seen in my garden in years.

I hope the garden rabbit does not find my last squash plant. I saw him standing six feet from the garden after I closed up the hole he chewed in my plastic fence.

Found in the Greenbean Patch

2008-08-21T00:32:00.008-04:00

I have a bumper crop of parsley, cilantro, arugula, and basil. I have made my first large batch of pesto as a topping for pasta and pizza and have made much parsley salad. I love to watch everything grow and share the produce with members of my family and neighbors.

My cherry tomatoes are starting to turn red. My Mr. Stripey and Hillbilly heirloom tomatoes are still green. My garden was planted late this year and whoever is eating my squash plants and some of the branches of my tomatoes is still in the area. Whoever it is also knocked down some of my large green tomatoes.

I saw a rabbit jump out of my garden. He ate all of the zucchini plants but left me a couple butternut squash plants that are intermingled with the arugula. I think our bunny does not like arugula or the marigolds around the garden but jumps over my low plastic gate that has protected squash plants in the past.

I would love to plant a fall crop of beans. Seven years ago, I found a newborn kitten in my garden patch, exposed to a hot August day with a storm on the way. She is now a house cat and we love our dear Precious most dearly. However, my husband will not let me plant green beans as our Precious allows us to live with her in our house. She is truly a full member of our family and loves to be hugged and sung to by my mother.

Our vet helped us much with suggestions for taking care of our newborn kitten seven years ago and we have become more and more attached to our Precious as the years go by. This August 23 we will celebrate her seventh birthday. Unlike the Cheetahs pictured on my web site at
http://www.raskinfo.com, our Precious was found alone in our garden and I tried to be the best kitty mother I could.

In case you are wondering what is under Garfield, it is a towel with a hot water bottle as the vet said that we had to keep Precious warm. In her earliest days, with little hair, we had to keep the temperature in the house at 90F in August for our dear Precious, who was named by our vet!

Precious does not like anything I grow in my garden but she loves a vase of Lovage (Levisticum officinale) from my mother's garden. Lovage reminds me much of celery but has a much stronger scent that Precious enjoys playing with whether it is green or dried.

Gifts from the Garden

2008-08-15T11:13:00.009-04:00

The parsley is wonderful, the cilantro is flowering so that I can collect seeds for next year as is the arugula.

My cherry tomatoes are ripe but someone has been munching on my summer squash plants and knocked down large green heirloom tomatoes.

I planted the Italian, flat leaf, parsley this year from seeds, and it is doing wonderfully. The basil I planted from seed is growing as fast as the basil plants I purchased at a local nursery. I planted the basil seed in between my tomato plants as I read they do well growing near each other.

We have been lucky to have some rain almost everyday and my garden includes mulch.

The bush cucumbers are small but very tasty and crunchy. There is nothing like a just picked cucumber from the garden.

In regard to seed germination, the arugula germinates most quickly, followed
by cilantro. About a week later the parsley and basil appeared.

The marigolds around my garden include many bright colors and are doing well.

I have made salads with the parsley, arugula, and cilantro as well as some wonderful egg dishes. Arugula loses the spicy taste when cooked.

I wish I knew who was eating my squash leaves as I never had this problem before.

Help, does anyone out there have any ideas or had any experience with an animal eating squash leaves and/or destroying some of the branches on my tomato plants?

Easiest Baking: Box of Cake Mix and a Can of Pumpkin

2008-08-12T10:32:00.004-04:00

My niece in Austin, Texas, who does incredible tailgate parties
associated with football games, emailed me this very easy
recipe. All one needs is one box of cake mix and a
can of pumpkin. Mix the two together in a pan (I added
about one tablespoon of water as rinsed out the pumpkin
can) and place in muffin pans, a loaf pan, or a brownie
pan and bake at 350 F. until done.

Please note that the dough will be stiff. I really did
not believe I would end up with an edible product but my
niece always has wonderful suggestions and creative ideas.

The pumpkin is an excellent substitute for the oil and
anything else the regular cake mix calls for.

I used a chocolate cake mix and one could not taste the
pumpkin. Next I will try it in a brownie pan as my husband
and I believe the brownies will be wonderful with a crisp
crust and moist interior.

I will also try this easiest of recipes with a light colored
cake mix and add the spices normally added to pumpkin pies to
make pumpkin muffins that taste like pumpkin.

My younger sister substituted equal parts of applesauce and
water and added it to a cake mix (her son has many allergies)
and she said it also came out terrific!

A Most Special Lunch

2008-04-11T22:11:00.029-04:00

Last Friday, April 4, Maria Shine Stewart, and I were invited to a most wonderful lunch by my long time mentor and graduate school adviser, Dr. William Rod Sharp, who took us to the Tavern on the Green, located in Central Park in New York City. Last December 9, 2007, Dr. Sharp was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by E. Gordon Gee, President of The Ohio State University.

What an incredible vacation from our usual work and cooking activities for Maria and me! Maria is a writer, editor, blogger and teaches a wide range of courses at several universities. I am an independent information professional involved in research for companies, professionals, and trade associations that do not have an in house technical or business analyst.

I was looking forward to meeting Dr. Sharp for lunch to catch up on his current work and networking opportunities as I am always seeking clients that would benefit by my research and information services. Dr. Sharp, Maria and I, discovered that we have many things in common including places we have lived, academic activities, and interest in the tomato and/or tomato products.

Maria prepared many frozen meals for her son to take along on his bus trip to New York City with his school orchestra (Brush High School of Lyndhurst, Ohio) as he has many food allergies. I did my share of cooking before our trip to see Maria's son age 15, play violin at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. My baking included pizza ( recipe included in an older entry in this blog ) and fun food for my husband and dear mother, 91 years young, who are also on special diets. My husband is a pizza lover as is my mother. I make as many of our foods from scratch as I can and grow much in two gardens. I baked fat-free scones and other foods for my husband and mother while Maria and I made arrangements to attend the concerts, do research at an institute in NYC, and see some special sights.

I wanted Maria to see the Statue of Liberty. Maria was born in the U.S. I arrived in the U.S., after a tough trip including a stay in a displaced persons camp, with my parents as displaced persons. I first saw the Statue of Liberty on a Navy Troop carrier, the General William C. Langfitt, when we entered the Port of New York on September 4, 1951. My father held me up to see her, the Statue of Liberty. Although it was long ago, I remember all as if it were yesterday.

As soon as we came near the Tavern on the Green we noticed outdoor overhead heaters. It was a cool spring and slightly damp afternoon in NYC. The Tavern blends in with Central Park from the outside and is a shiny, colorful heaven of flowers and chandeliers on the inside.

The Tavern on the Green has its own horticulturist and florist. It is also one of the busiest restaurants in the nation. However, our Friday afternoon was a most relaxing lunch. We walked from our hotel, at our leisure, through part of Central Park to get to the Tavern that is closest to the 67th Street entrance.

All three of us selected the fresh fish on the menu and a salad.

While waiting for our salad course, I decided to introduce my adviser to Reiki. Shortly, our wonderfully tender, baby arugula salad with grape tomatoes was served to us, (to my adviser's delight).

Maria mentioned at the table that I grow everything that we ate that day for lunch, which is true. I was taught gardening by my father when I was five years old. The only food item I do not grow that we ate was the fish. I do research that includes the marine sciences and fish.

I have never grown such a tiny and tender arugula but will look for the seeds to plant as soon as possible. I grow the grape tomatoes in my mother's yard as they are one of her favorites. The blackberries and strawberries grow near my rose garden. I planted strawberries as needed a ground cover but the strawberry plants turned out to be heavy producers of fruit, to my surprise. The large blackberries are native to our area. I would prefer berries without thorns and have tried to remove the plants many times but they always return. My mother asks me to plant arugula in her garden and mine every year and never forgets to remind me to find the best seeds.

Our next course was a most tender and delicate fish, sea bass. As I was eating the most tender fish, to my shock, I found a tooth on my plate. I had no idea that it was my own as all felt fine in my mouth. Panicked, I asked Maria to look in my mouth right there at our table, in public. I needed to know if and how, I should save the item next to my fish?

Maria kindly checked my mouth and said I had lost something as she saw my gum from a distance. I am very lucky that she is far-sighted. I saved the item next to the fish on my plate and later noticed that it was not an entire tooth but a white crown. My wonderful dentist, Dr. Steven Marsh, whose office is in Lyndhurst, Ohio, cemented it back on my return, a few days later.

I was careful to save my crown in tissue and placed the tissue in a medicine bottle. I feared accidentally throwing out my crown with the tissue. I therefore protected the crown by cushioning it with tissue in my small bottle. We had several more days in NYC in addition to a flight home to Cleveland, Ohio, and did not want the crown to be damaged.

Dessert was served without any major event. I had told my adviser (joke) not to expect to find an engagement ring in his cheesecake when I began his introduction to Reiki. I think that by this time in the course of the lunch, I may have embarrassed him beyond words. I am sure he hoped that no one that he knew saw us but he was kind enough to say that he has lost dental work on out-of-town trips also. It was the first time I had ever lost any dental work in a public place and of all places it had to be with my adviser at a wonderful lunch at Tavern on the Green.

I did not realize how much I needed a break from cooking, although I love to cook. It was a wonderful, memorable, experience to be taken to Tavern on the Green by someone so important to me and my family. After mentoring me for almost forty years, I hope my adviser understands what a truly wonderful experience it was having some time to talk with him. I rarely had time to talk to him when I was in graduate school so many years ago.

I would have enjoyed speaking with him anywhere and appreciate his taking us to a most beautiful and special place. The spring flowers were in bloom, the lily arrangements were fantastic. The shrubs were trimmed in the shape of animals. Many movies were filmed in the area -- glass windows, beautiful flowers, sparkling colors -- all created a wonderful afternoon visit.

Thanks for treating your first graduate student and Maria, who helped in your lab and greenhouse as a young teenager, like royalty. Taking time from your busy schedule to meet with your first graduate student and Maria are forever in my memory and in the picture each of us has of the afternoon (picture taken by the photographer at the restaurant was given to us by Dr. Sharp and is being enjoyed by our families).

As I had lost a crown needed for chewing, the remainder of my days in NYC consisted of the New York Cheesecake diet. It was the only thing I dared to eat and the perfect excuse to eat all the cheesecake one could dream of. I purchased it at the wonderful Fairway grocery store across the street from our Hotel Beacon where I had a large double room with a kitchenette.

The next time I visit NYC, I hope to return the invitation for "a most special lunch".

Gardening - Tomatoes

2008-03-26T01:55:00.005-04:00

As the snow begins to melt in Cleveland, Ohio, I am looking forward to selecting plants to include in my garden. Per the information on the importance of cis-lycopene, I plan to include tomatoes that are tangerine in color, as the tangerine colored varieties are known to have cis-lycopene. I like to use plants that breed true and have always been interested in heirloom tomatoes and will continue to plant them. In the past I carried seed from a perfectly round, yellow heirloom from Cincinnati to Cleveland as it was given to me by dear friends who had a greenhouse in Maineville, Ohio.

We eat the yellow tomatoes raw, in sauces and freeze them. I wonder what a sauce made of all tangerine type tomatoes would taste like, assuming they were not all eaten raw when freshly picked from the garden.

Vegetable - Purple Cabbage

2008-03-05T23:17:00.019-05:00

Pictures of the raw and cooked purple cabbage by my dear friend, Gerhard Schlinke, of Merzhausen near Freiburg, Germany

One of my precious cooking memories involves the color purple when I was about three and a half years old. My maternal grandmother and my aunt, baby sat for me while my Mom took care of my father who was not feeling well. I looked out the window at my parents walking down the steep steps and through a courtyard of green plants and stonework.

As they left, I began to smell the most wonderful aroma and noticed the most brilliant purple colored vegetable, I had ever seen, in my grandmother's kitchen. My grandmother started with an object that looked like the ball (cabbage) above, cut it into the
tiniest of slices by hand and turned the purple cabbage into a product whose color and flavor I will never forget. The chopping seemed so effortless for her yet each slice looked perfect to me. My Aunt Lorle (Hannelore) stood beside my dear grandmother tasting each item and adjusting the spices for the most flavorful dish for her beloved nieces, my sister and me.

It was a wonderful afternoon in a cozy warm kitchen with lots of light coming in from the window above the kitchen table. The purple color was as intense as possible in the most comfortable of kitchens. I remember feeling so happy, warm, cuddled and safe in the presence of my grandmother and aunt whose eyes never left us while they prepared a wonderful Sunday dinner.

The final product of my grandmother's efforts was a side dish of sweet and sour purple cabbage whose intense color and flavor I have never again experienced. That Sunday afternoon in Karlsruhe, Germany, was the last meal I remember having with my grandmother and Aunt Lorle before my mother, father, sister, and I departed for D.P. Camp Vegesack, near the port city of Bremen, in anticipation of a trip to the U.S.A. Our parents told us the purpose of the trip was to meet our paternal uncle's kittens. We ate little on the voyage over the ocean in the Navy troop carrier, the General William C. Langfitt. I was seasick and perhaps a bit spoiled by my grandmother and aunt who made the art of cooking colorful and appealing.

The purple cabbage, kohlrabi, and meat was a heavenly meal made with the love of a devoted maternal grandmother and my dear Aunt Lorle. I remember the loving care of my grandmother and the meal she prepared with her youngest daughter, my aunt, as one of my most precious
memories. Whenever I see a purple cabbage, I think of that happy sunny day that I spent "cooking" with my grandmother and aunt. I longed for my grandmother, aunt, and their warm and cozy kitchen on the six week voyage to the U.S.A.

Fifty years later, when my grandmother's buffet and dish cabinet had no where to go, they too went on an incredible voyage by ship over the Atlantic Ocean. After serving as a small part of the cargo on a ship, my grandmother's furniture continued by truck to find a resting place in my home. At my house my mother enjoys her mother's furniture and it has taken me many years to truly understand how courageous and wonderful my mother was and continues to be at almost 91 years young on March 23, 2008.

A Rally for Hillary

2008-02-16T00:34:00.004-05:00

I had the great privilege of hearing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton speak at Brush High School last night. I was in the "overflow" room full of people who could not get into Welser Gym and thus were treated to her speech initially on wide screen TV. Feeling rather rejected and invisible--this is, after all, my fate in life--and grumbling over the irony, since I have paid taxes into this district since the early 1980s, my son was part of a featured music group performing, and I could not even have my way begged in with the help of a campaign member--I was surprised to hear Sen. Clinton indicate that she intended to visit the group of 900 plus that was at the overflow location. Wow. Few things in life impress me more than flexibility. So, I could hear firsthand her message and her goals. To this day, I cannot understand why people heap so much negativity upon her. Is it because she is smart? Female? Straightforward? Is it because she was perceived as a victim in her marriage, and heaven knows that people "blame the victim"? I have no clue.

I do not know whether Sen. Obama or Sen. Clinton will get the nomination.

But I suspect that if Hillary had the power and support to become President, we would see a transformation in our nation--despite the snide, crude, and sexist remarks of local talk shows and other commentators.

Traditional Family Favorites - Linzer Torte

2008-01-31T08:38:00.005-05:00

This is a traditional all time favorite treat in our family. First, thanks to my dear friend, Gerhard Schlinke, of Merzhausen near Freiburg, Germany, for sending me this wonderful picture of our family favorite. The Linzer Torte has a crust made of ground hazelnuts and includes a filling of rasberry jam. When my sister or I see anything like it in a store, we must purchase it . It rarely tastes like the original baked by my mother, aunt or maternal grandmother but brings back precious memories.

My mother once baked two for a school bake sale, shortly after we immigrated to the U.S.A. She cut the dough into leaf shapes to make the top. Her masterpiece was beautiful and added much profit to the bake sale. I remember that I wanted to purchase my mother's baked goods, but they were already gone.

I love the crust that can also be made into a Linzer cake. The entire cake is ground hazelnuts and holds up for a very long time when covered in chocolate that hardens on cooling. I never made the cake but when I would visit my aunt in Freiburg, Germany, she would make a huge loaf and cut it in half for a piece for my husband and a piece for my brother-in-law as they both loved the cake as much as my sisters and I.

The Linzer Torte and the Linzer cake bring back the most precious memories of our family celebrating precious moments together. The Linzer cake was a specialty of my late Tante (Aunt) Hanelore, my mother's dearest and youngest sister.

Cakes - Decorating for Everyone

2008-01-28T22:48:00.003-05:00

Notice that the decorated football themed birthday cake looks like any other decorated cake sitting next to two conventional decorated cakes. Decorating birthday cakes was a hobby until my nephew was born. When my nephew entered school he asked me if he could have a decorated birthday cake like the other kids. Until this time we used a dusting of confectioners sugar on his cakes per his allergies. I said of course you will have a decorated cake and we searched for alternatives to food coloring using natural jams or jellies. The cake on the far left, a football cake, is made with frosting using natural ingredients he could tolerate. The top cake and the one to the right are cakes made with the usual food coloring for others in our family.

I took cake decorating as a hobby but never expected it to bring such happiness to someone that would not otherwise have a decorated cake. The cake itself is eggless, dairyfree, and modified from the recipe used when eggs and milk were rationed, thus one may think of it as a patriotic cake instead of an "allergic cake" as the kids would call it. The "special" birthday cake tastes the same as any decorated cake and can be made in flavors and any types of jams or jellies, that are permitted per the person's allergies, mixed into the frosting.

It takes me over 20 hours to prepare the "special" birthday cake but it is much fun. Variations of the football theme will be appropriate for many years.

Vacation - Foods

2008-01-28T05:24:00.002-05:00

Collage of Pictures from Hawaii

One of our favorite places is Hawaii. Of the islands we visited, the Big Island of Hawaii, is most precious to us. With the city of Hilo on one side and Kona on the other, one enters a world including every climate one could imagine from tropical, to snow, to volcanoes, as if the four seasons all agree it is their favorite place to stop and rest.

We love the small bananas used in many items including pancakes and purchased papaya from a local market. The ocean scenes were fantastic as was the food. We enjoyed driving around the entire Island meeting those selling Macadamia nuts from the trees on their farms and enjoyed the unique features of each island. We found a small shop selling coffee and sandwiches, the avocado given to us was from the huge tree in the backyard overlooking the ocean. The coffee was from the beans in front of the small store. The Macadamia nut farmer suggested this unique place, high on a hill overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean, when we asked him if he could direct us to a nearby coffee shop.

Gadgets - Zester

2008-01-19T19:52:00.003-05:00

One of my useful gadgets is a zester. My mother told me she loved the cookies that I made for her, the ones having a lingering aroma of citrus. I call my recipe:

Andrew David's Orchestra Cookies: a Zesty Dough

Zest from two tangerines/oranges/lemon (optional)

Cream 2 sticks of butter (I soften it slightly in the microwave if necessary)
Add 1 1/2 cups of sugar and continue creaming the butter and sugar (important step)
Add 3 whole eggs to the mixture
Add 1 tsp vanilla
Add 1/8 cup milk (an alternative is about 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice + Zest)
Add 3 1/2 - scant 4 cups of flour to make a stiff dough remembering to
Include 2 teaspoons of baking powder in the flour (I use unbleached flour)
Mix and place the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight, be sure the dough is covered so that it does not dry out in the refrigerator.

After refrigeration for at least three hours, I take out some of the dough and hand roll it into one inch balls. I slightly dampen my hands as the dough becomes sticky. I place the one inch cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet (I use the silicone covers on my cookie sheets and nothing sticks to the pans).

As the dough is not overly sweet, one can add jams, nuts or a chocolate kiss to each cookie by pressing the kiss into the round ball or making a thumb print in the cookie ball and filling it with a jam. We like rasberry and apricot preserves in our cookies as the flavors and colors are appealing. One can also press a favorite nut, such as a pecan into the round cookie balls.

The cookie balls will spread out so leave two inches between the cookies and bake for about 15-18 minutes in a preheated 350 F oven until the bottom of the cookie becomes slightly brown. Do not over bake, the cookie will remain very light.

The recipe makes from 80-96 cookies depending upon the size of the small ball one hand rolls. The dough may also be rolled in larger long rolls and cut. The nice thing about this dough is one need not use a rolling pin or cookie cutters.

I usually make one tray with chocolate kisses, one with nuts, one with apricot jam and a tray with rasberry jam. This cookie dough does not crack when a chocolate candy kiss or nut is pressed into the raw cookie dough before baking or if the cookie is indented with a thumb print, something that might appeal to children helping to place their thumb prints in the cookie before adding jam or preserves.

At our house, when we eat a piece of citrus fruit, I wash the peel vigorously and collect the zest before peeling the fruit. I have the zest on hand for baking and find that it replaces the need for salt in many recipes. I am trying to get my 90 year young Mom to gain weight and decrease her need for salting everything by substituting a citrus flavor. She often says "I will eat it if you do, as it is more fun to eat with someone than eating alone". Thus, I gain weight and Mom does not gain a single pound.

The cookies with a chocolate candy kiss in the middle of each cookie, sold at a recent bake sale benefiting my nephew's school orchestra. Next year I will make a tray including all four types of cookies by cutting a long roll of cookie dough into 1/3 inch rounds and including all four cookies on one tray of cookies. One dough recipe makes four unique tasting cookies that also look appealing.

Homemade Foods - Pizza

2008-01-10T04:59:00.005-05:00

I make my pizza similar to a graphics program, in layers. I am a self taught techie. My pizza recipe is modified from a recipe included on page 104 of the cookbook entitled Everyday Cooking with Dr. Dean Ornish, M.D.: 150 Easy, Low-Fat, High-Flavor Recipes published in New York by HarperCollins in 1996.

This is not a political blog. I noticed today that Dr. Ornish dedicates the cookbook to President William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton with this statement, a direct quote:

"May G-d grant you the wisdom, courage, and compassion needed to lead our country during these transformative times."

I honestly did not notice the quote in the book until I decided to include my favorite homemade pizza recipe in this blog. I am not making a political statement. I seem to remember that perhaps Hillary brought Dr. Dean Ornish to the White House kitchen. The Clintons were reported to be eating pizza for dinner during the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday night. I wonder if they were eating a modification of this recipe?

The pizza recipe I use for my family is as follows, one recipe makes one large round pizza, I double or quadruple the recipe depending upon the number of pizzas I need.

Please note: if you are interest in studies on pizza you might wish to look at an article from the American Chemical Society (2007, March 27). Chemists Create Healthier Pizza By Boosting Antioxidants In Dough. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070326181611.htm that mentions nutrient advantages of high heat and a long fermentation process (related to the yeast)in making the most nutritious pizza.

I let the pizza dough rise in separate plastic bowls in a turned off stove, overnight in plastic bags for individual pizzas the next day in the refrigerator or for a party of "make your own individual pizza". I have never made more than 4 times the recipe in my largest green Tupperware bowl as the dough raises more than twice the size in the first rise.

After the first rise, I punch it down, smooth it out in a pizza pan and let it rise for a second time, again until about double the height. I use flour over the dough and around the bowl when it rises the first time and cover the bowl with a clean cloth. For the second rise, I place the pizza pan with dough in a turned off oven without covering the dough on the pizza pan. I always tap the dough to the edges, should it stick too much to my fingers, I add a bit of flour on top of the dough or to my fingers. Wetting the hands also works (some use a bit of oil in their hands but I may not do this per the dietary restrictions in our family).

I pre-bake the dough at 425 F until I have a light brown color on the bottom of the crust (about 10-15 minutes) and if I want to be able to remove the crust from the pan I must always spray the pan with a nonstick cooking spray. The cooking spray step seems to be important no matter what type of pan I use. I spray the pizza pans lightly before placing any dough on them and then proceed to fit the dough to the pan. If I do not lightly spray the pizza pan, the dough will stick to the pan!

After pre-baking the dough I cover it with ingredients that individual members of the family tolerate. I always microwave the vegetable toppings in the microwave and let them cool a bit before placing them on the pre-baked pizza dough. Cheese is not added in the oven but added later in the microwave for those who may eat it. Cheese can be added to the pizza during the last few minutes of the baking process if cheese is permitted in the household.

Many toppings may be added to the baked dough. I often use a can of tomato paste mixed with a bit of water and ketchup but if tomato is not permitted, I add the permitted item directly to the pre-baked dough. Red or green pepper, cooked chicken, hot dogs, or the usual pizza toppings used on a commercial pizza may be added to the pre-baked crust.

To make one large pizza crust I mix the following:

1 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon cane sugar
1 cup luke warm water

(Reserve about 2 cups of flour total and don't forget a nonstick baking spray)

Let the mixture of yeast, sugar and lukewarm water rest for about 3 minutes. I never use anything metal with my yeast dough. I use cold water from the faucet that I place in the microwave for a few seconds to bring it to lukewarm, if too hot, I add cold water to the microwaved water.

After resting for a few minutes, I notice if bubbles are forming. If I see bubbles, I gently stir the mixture and add half of the new light wheat flour and half unbleached flour, totaling about 1 1/2 cups of flour or a bit more if the mixture is two sticky to handle.

I knead the dough until it is smooth in the bowl, for just a few minutes. After brief kneading, I sprinkle flour under, on top and around the dough in the bowl for easy removal after the first rising. I cover the dough with a cloth. Flouring the areas that the dough will touch during the raising process is an alternative to using oil in my family, as one family member is on as low a fat diet as possible and is a pizza lover.

For my 90 year young mother, I add the richest ingredients to the pizza. Pizza is one food my mother loves to eat. She is a true pizza lover and enjoys all toppings such as vegetables, meats and cheese (I usually use mozzarella cheese).

After the toppings are added to the pre-baked crust, I bake the pizza at 425 F for about 15-20 minutes. When adding cheese to the pizza in the oven, I add it during the last few minutes.

My sister Maria, a contributor to this blog, taught us how to store leftover pieces of pizza. She cuts the pizza in slices and places them faces together on a plate to keep the toppings together, thus keeping them from drying out. Next she covers the entire cooled pizza with plastic wrap and stores it in the refrigerator. Her husband likes to eat it cold as do I sometimes in the summer.

Homemade Foods - Russicher Zupfkuchen

2008-01-08T07:21:00.002-05:00

Russicher Zupfkuchen is a popular European cheesecake within a chocolate shortbread dough. This cake was made by my friend, Gerhard Schlinke, of Merzhausen, near Freiburg, Germany who is also an accomplished photographer.

Homemade Foods - Cheesecake

2008-01-08T05:44:00.002-05:00

In German, a cheesecake is called a Kasekuchen (with an umlaut (two dots) over the "a" in Kase) This is not for those dairy or egg intolerant but is an example of a beautiful and professional looking, international dessert. Many thanks to my friend Gerhard Schlinke of Merzhausen, near Freiburg, Germany, for baking the cheesecake and sending this picture.

Snacks for Special Diets

2008-01-08T05:19:00.002-05:00

For over 16 years, I have been working on a line of snacks and meals for those on special diets or having allergies. I am wondering if there is a need for a not too sweet snack that I call Andrew David's Twist Cookies.

The twisted cookie does not contain eggs, dairy products, nuts, or soy and is cholesterol free. The cookie twist can be made with plain sugar or a variety of natural flavors. The cookie twists include unbleached wheat flour.

Would there be any interest in such a product for those with allergies or dairy intolerance were it available? I am still perfecting Andrew David's Twist Cookies per a group of selected taste testers with allergies or on low cholesterol diets.

Cookies - Butterless, anise cookies

2008-01-05T23:15:00.001-05:00

I made four batches of anise cookies, the kind one has to dry overnight so that a top or cap forms on them. I used four different recipes that varied by the number of eggs and the use of baking powder. I dried them per the directions overnight or up to 18 hours. None of the cookies developed the traditional tops that remind me of white mushroom caps.

As you can see it is winter in Cleveland and the house could not be too humid for the caps to form. I have no idea why the recipe did not work for me as it has for my mother and my grandmother. Does anyone know the secret to making this self topping cookie? I tried baking on cookie sheets with and without aluminum foil, liners, etc. The cookies were good but capless!

My grandmother would send us these cookies and many of her precious cookies each year in a package that took four weeks to arrive via a voyage over the Atlantic Ocean by ship. I will never forget the wonderful smell when we opened the box. My maternal grandmother lived in the Black Forest and the box had a heavenly smell on opening it. My mother would form perfect little circles and let the dough dry upstairs. I watched with awe as the caps appeared. I would love to recreate this magical cookie, any and all suggestions are most welcome.

I was born in the northern Black Forest.

Cookbooks - Travel

2008-01-03T19:02:00.003-05:00

When I travel, one item I purchase for my collection is a regional cookbook. My Mom has accompanied me on vacations and loves to review the trip by looking at the cookbook. I generally have to modify cooking recipes but having purchased the cookbook in the area somehow makes the recipe and the book precious.

Friends visiting cities such as New Orleans or Dallas have borrowed my cookbooks when preparing for their trips. I also love the cookbooks purchased in smaller towns, those detailing local events and international books. These cookbooks make cooking fun and bring back wonderful memories of our vacations.

Cookbooks - Secrets

2008-01-03T17:40:00.001-05:00

I read secrets to making pie crusts in an older cousin's cookbook when I was in grade school. The secret mentioned was to roll the crust on wax paper that is made to adhere to the counter by wetting the underside of the paper slightly. After the crust is on the paper, remove the paper from the counter and hold the paper over the pie pan to transfer the crust to the pan.

Although I did not bake a real pie for many years, I committed the secret to memory and have used this method for over 40 years. I wish I knew the name of that cookbook.