Almond Biscotti

This recipe is specific to those who must watch their sugar intake. Trust me though, it's very very good! If you need to be more strict with the sugar, you can replace the sugar with Splenda to lower the calories and the sugar content further.



Ingredients

1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons margarine
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Place almonds in a small baking pan. Bake 7 to 8 minutes until golden brown (watch carefully to avoid burning). Set aside.
Beat sugar and margarine in medium bowl with electric mixer until smooth. Add egg whites and almond extract; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl; mix well. Stir egg white mixture and almonds into flour mixture until well blended.
Spray two 9x5-inch loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. Evenly divide dough between prepared pans. Spread dough evenly over bottoms of pans with wet fingertips. Bake 15 minutes or until knife inserted into centers comes out clean.
Remove from oven and turn onto cutting board. As soon as loaves are cool enough to handle, cut each into 16 (1/2-inch thick) slices. Place slices on baking sheets covered with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 5 minutes; turn over. Bake 5 minutes more or until golden brown. Serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight container.

Morgan's Breakfast Pizza...

This morning for breakfast, I ate split pea soup with two biscuits crumbled into it. Strange I know, but it was tasty, it was like a split pea and dumpling soup. There is no rule saying you have to eat traditional breakfast foods only for breakfast. If there were, many people would get upset they could not have pancakes, eggs and sausage for dinner.

My daughter hates to eat breakfast during the week. I tell her to eat something; I do not care what she eats as long as she eats. Usually she makes smart choices; a few times, she has pushed the limits with wanting ice cream. This is where I have to take a step back and bite my tongue, because I did say “eat something, I don’t care what.” Oh the pitfall of parenting a teenager!

Many college students live on pizza, for all three meals. Why not? One slice of a thin crust pizza loaded with vegetables is actually a better choice than cookies and a coke.
My husband’s roommate, Morgan likes to play in the kitchen, and try new things as much as I do. One item he makes is weaving bacon into a basket. Morgan will then fill it with various items and cooks it on a charcoal grill. More like a heart attack waiting to happen if you ask me, since the main filling is sausage.

I have decided that Morgan’s breakfast pizza is a better choice to share with you. It is a great way to use the leftover scrambled eggs from breakfast instead of feeding them to the dog or throwing them out. Personally, I would also add some onions and maybe green peppers, but to each their own.

Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury pizza crust
Salsa, heat your choice
4 eggs scrambled
Pico de Gallo
Thick cut bacon, cooked and chopped
Ham steak, cubed
Kraft 4 cheese blend, grated
Kraft pepper jack cheese, grated
Directions:
Heat oven per the pizza dough directions
Roll dough onto a pan, spoon salsa over the dough
Add cheeses
Add ham, bacon, eggs and Pico de Gallo
Cook per directions on the pizza dough can.

Creamy Eggnog Coffee

With the holidays here, I thought I would share another recipe for doctoring up coffee. I hope you enjoy it!

Creamy Eggnog Coffee
1 qt. (4 cups) freshly brewed coffee, cooled

1 qt. (4 cups) eggnog

1 8 oz tub Cool Whip Whipped topping, divided

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon rum extract

ground nutmeg for garnish

Beat coffee, eggnog, 3 1/2 cups of the topping, rum extract and cinnamon together with a wire whisk until well-blended. Refrigerate at least one hour or until ready to serve. Top with remaining Cool Whip and nutmeg. Store in refrigerator.

Enchilada Lasagna

So you planned on making enchiladas from dinner, only to find out someone has opened your tortillas. Instead of eight you only have six, not enough to feed the entire family. I have hit this dilemma several times over the years. Instead of coming up with something different to cook, I use what I have.

If you must put a name to it, you can call it enchilada lasagna. You can use four or six tortillas, depending on preference. I serve with refried beans and Spanish rice. I will dress it up bit and lay the enchilada slices on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce.

Ingredients:

1 pound of browned ground meat, your choice

6 tortillas

1 can of enchilada sauce, I use Old El Paso

2 cups grated cheese, I use Kraft Mexican blend or Cheddar Jack Cheese

Salsa, you choice

Sour Cream

Directions:

Spray a glass 9” X 13” pan with Pam cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°F

Reserve half cup of cheese

Mix browned ground meat, prefer beef, with half can of enchilada sauce

In pan layer of tortilla, ground beef, and cheese, repeat until you end with a tortilla on top

Pour remaining enchilada sauce on to top tortilla, followed by salsa and reserved cheese

Place in oven and cook for 15 minutes or cheese is completely melted.

Serve by cutting into squares, top with sour cream

Chinese Cocktail Buns…

One of my favorite places in San Francisco is China Town. Growing up in the Bay Area, I spent a lot of time in that section of the city. My experience got became more fun when I visited China Town with my Stepmother, Kit.

Kit was born in Hong Kong; her family immigrated to America when she was seven years old. Like most who immigrate here, their entire family worked hard and became legal citizens. I admire, Kit and her siblings, they truly know the value of hard work. As children here in the states, they would attend school during the day, and work in a sweatshop at night. I have been told it was common for them to fall asleep on the clothing they were making only to get up and repeat the process over again.

Many of us have gone to Chinese food restaurants; some of us have sampled the deserts. The first thing you notice is they are not very sweet, compared to American standards. The reason is Chinese people do not like overly sweet foods.

 On one of our trips into China Town, Kit introduced me to her favorite Chinese bakeries, The Golden Gate, on Grant Street. Kit’s favorite was the dan tats (egg custard tarts) mine was the Gai Mei Bao (cocktail buns.) I have been told the bakery is no long there, what a shame. To buy the buns or custard pies, you stood in a line that always went out of the door and halfway down the block, they were that good!

 For the past seven years, I have been looking for a recipe for the cocktail buns that came close the ones from the bakery. The cocktail bun is a sweet yeast dough formed into a four to five inche long bread stick. It is called a cocktail bun, because the translation is chicken tail bun. There is a creamy, pale yellow filling inside, kind of like a Twinkie. If you did not know what the filling was, you would not know it was coconut. I have taken a few recipes to get the filling where I remember it.

The dough recipe comes from about dot com, and does not have the egg wash top on it. I think the egg wash makes a big difference. Prior to baking, beat one egg, brush the egg onto the dough to them glaze them before baking. You can also sprinkle sesame seeds on top of you like

 I hope you enjoy them!

For the dough:

·         1/3 cup (75 ml) very warm water

·         1 teaspoon (5 ml) granulated sugar

·         2 teaspoons (10 ml) active dry yeast

·         1/3 cup (75 ml) granulated sugar

·         1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt

·         3 tablespoons (50 ml) cooking oil

·         1/4 cup (60 ml) boiling water

·         1 large egg, fork-beaten

·         Approximately 2 1/4 cups (550 ml) white bread flour

1. Stir warm water and first amount of sugar in small dish until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over top. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast.
2. Stir second amount of sugar, salt and cooking oil in large bowl. Add boiling water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in egg and yeast mixture.
3. Slowly work in enough flour until soft dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place dough in large greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with greased waxed paper and tea towel. Let stand in oven with light on and door closed for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down. Cover. Let rest for 5 minutes. Shape into 12 inch (30 cm) log. Cut into 12 pieces. Fill, shape and bake buns according to desired recipes. Makes 12 buns.

For the filling,

½ cup of white sugar

2/3 cup flour

½ stick of butter, softened

2 egg yokes,

2/3 cup coconut, finely shredded

Mix all ingredients together with a mixer until light and fluffy

Spoon filling into dough

Let rise one hour

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

For a glossy coating, beat 1 egg in a bowl, and brush each bun with a little beaten egg. Sprinkle each bun with a few sesame seeds.

Bake in the preheated oven until the buns are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Ron’s Cajun Meatball Stew

This sounds strange, but it taste so good. You will need roux for this recipe. If you are not blessed to have a store where you can purchase it you will need to make it or order it from the Cajun Supermarket .
Roux is a simple recipe of fat and flour. The best roux comes from a meat fat such as drippings from sausage, but if need be, you can use butter, vegetable oil, or shortening. Roux is used as a thickener, a light roux will thicken more than a dark roux.
To make a roux you will need ½ cup of fat, melted in a heavy skillet over low heat.
Slowly add in ½ cup of flour. Make sure you stir and do not stop until you reach the color you desire.
Remove from heat stir until cooled.
If your roux has black bits, it is burnt start over. Roux can be made ahead of time and stored in your refrigerator.

Meatball Stew:
Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
5 green onion, tails, chopped
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
1 teaspoons of Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
8 cups of water / half gallon
4 cups of cooked white rice
1 bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
Directions:
In a large bowl mix eggs, ½ of the onion, crushed Ritz crackers, 2 teaspoons of Tony Chachere’s and ground beef together until well blended
Form meat mixture into 2-inch meatballs
In a large soup pot, bring water to boil over medium heat
Add 1 tablespoon of Roux at time; stir until dissolved. Make sure the Roux does not sit on the bottom of the pot. When the Roux is completely dissolved you should have a nice dark sauce. If need be lower heat to prevent boil over
Reduce heat to a simmer and add all ingredients except meatballs and rice. Stir well to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Gently add meatballs and cook for ten minutes. Give a light stir to make sure there is not sticking.
Partially cover pot and simmer for half hour.
Spoon over cooked white rice and serve with cornbread.

Bratwurst Chowder...

If I said bratwurst or brats would you, think of beer and grilling or something else. Did you know translated from German bratwurst means fried sausage? I like to use Johnsonville brand when I cook brats.

Recently, I came across the recipe below for a chowder using brats. Many of us have heard of and eaten chowders, such as corn, New England or Manhattan clam. So do you know the difference between chowder and soup? Chowder is a seafood or vegetable stew that traditionally based of potatoes, milk or cream, and onions.  

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup onions, diced

¾ cup carrots, diced

¼ cup celery diced

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups red potatoes, diced

1 ½ cups of milk or cream

3 Tablespoons flour

½ cup cheddar, grated

¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 pound of bratwurst, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large stock or soup pot, heat oil

Sauté onions, celery, and carrots until onions are translucent over medium heat

Add broth and potatoes and bring to boil

When potatoes are fork tender, reduce heat

In a separate bowl combine flour and milk, stir until flour has been dissolved

Slowly add milk mixture to soup pot, stir constantly until combined

Add in chesses and when melted add bratwurst, cook for ten minutes or until brats are hot.

Rum or Bourbon Balls…

 The trick to these cookies is to store them in a metal tin. I have made them and stored them in plastic and they do not get strong. I like to make mine the weekend after Thanksgiving and let them age for three weeks.

 One year while working in probation, I gave each one of my officemates a rum ball. I strongly suggested they not eat it at work and drink a coke while eating it. One of the younger officers, left early to start his Christmas holiday. About three minutes after he left the building, he called me and wanted to know if he needed to come back in for a breathalyzer test. Silly kids, they never follow directions!

I have made this with rum and bourbon, for one coworker I used white chocolate, Kahlua, and deleted the pecans. Those turned our ok, but did not age very well.

You can roll each ball in either powdered or granular sugar I prefer powder sugar.

Ingredients:

1 box of vanilla wafers or 2 1/2 cups of wafers

2 Tablespoons of Cocoa, I use Hershey’s

1 ¼ cup of powdered sugar

½ cup of Bourbon or Rum

2 Tablespoons of white corn syrup, I use Karo

1 cup of chopped pecans

Directions:

Crush wafers, I prefer to run them in the food processor,

Add pecans to wafers and set aside

In a mixing bowl, stir the rum and syrup together

Combine rum mix with the wafer mix, and then form into small balls (I use a measuring tablespoon)

Roll balls in either powdered or granular sugar.

Place in a cookie tin for at least one week, store in a cool dark cabinet or pantry shelf.

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2.      4

For My Dad…

As a child it was easy to please my dad; polish his work shoes, or make him oatmeal cookies. When I was sixteen and worked for Baskin Robbins, I got him hooked on mixing two parts fudge royal to one part peppermint ice cream. To this day, I can't mix chocolate and peppermint ice cream without thinking about him.

While most do not consider the soundtrack to Phantom of the Opera, Christmas carols, in my house it is. Every year, it is in the playlist with “I’ll be home for Christmas.” Daddy, gave my husband and I tickets to see Phantom for Christmas. It was a bittersweet time; we were married a few weeks before and it was to be my last Christmas in California. The naval base in Alameda was closing, and we were being transferred to Corpus Christi, Texas in two short months.

One of our favorite songs is “The Cat’s in Cradle” by Harry Chapin. Funny as a child how the lyrics were just words. As an adult, I truly understood why my dad never had enough time to spread between his three kids. At times, he had to work so much, it felt we were strangers living in the same house. The times with scouts, camping, or at the shooting range were precious bits of his time I will always cherish.

Today is my dad turns 71 years old. Happy Birthday Daddy, I love you!

From Quaker Oats webpage…

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients

·          

·         1/2  cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened

·         3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar

·         1/2  cup granulated sugar

·         2  eggs

·         1  teaspoon vanilla

·         1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour

·         1  teaspoon baking soda

·         1  teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1/2  teaspoon salt (optional)

·         3  cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

·         1  cup raisins

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

·         Prep Time: 20 min

·         Cook Time Time: 08 min

Dressing or Stuffing, which do you prefer?

While the ingredients are similar here is another case interchangeable words like yam and sweet potatoes.  So what is the difference?

Dressing is used to dress up a platter and cooked in a pan.

Stuffing is stuffed inside usually of a foul.

I love dressing. Stuffing can be a bit tricky. If the cook is new or I do not know them that well, I tend to stay away from the stuffing. I know that is not fair or nice, since anyone can make a mistake.  Stuffing inside of a bird, if not cooked correctly can lead to Salmonella. Salmonella and E Coli are both food poisoning diseases you can get if your cook is not diligent cooking their holiday meal.

E Coli and Salmonella can be caught by consuming under cooked meat. The best way to know if you meat is cooked to the correct temperature is use a thermometer. Your turkey needs to be cooked to 165 degrees; the stuffing should also be cooked to 165 degrees.

 Here is where for stuffing it gets tricky! Most people will check the turkey temperature, see 165 degrees, and call it done. You cannot pull out a stuffed turkey without testing the temperature of the stuffing. If you do, you will have under cooked stuffing and could sicken everyone who eats it. What you have to do is get your thermometer into the stuffing and take a temperature reading. This means you might have to pull some of the stuffing out of the bird to get to the middle. If it is not reached 165 degrees inside just replace, the stuffing you moved and cook longer.

Our neighbor in Virginia, Cheryl, would always make two kinds of dressing, or what she called with or without. For the holidays, she would make corn and oysters along with oyster dressing, for her husband Victor. Victor was the only one who ate these dishes, I am not sure who was happier when he found out I loved to eat them too.

Oyster Dressing

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 cup chopped onion

2 green onions, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

4 cups crumbled cornbread

2 cups soft bread crumbs

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

salt and pepper, to taste

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 pint shucked oysters, reserve 1/2 cup liquid

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°

Combine cornbread and bread crumbs in a large bowl

In a large skillet over medium heat sauté onions and celery in the2 tablespoons butter until tender, not browned.

 Add sautéed onions, salt, pepper, and parsley to bowl of bread

Add beaten eggs and moisten with the oyster liquid until moist but not soggy

Gently fold in the oysters.

Turn dressing into a large lightly buttered rectangular baking pan.

Chop remaining butter into small chunks and place on top of dressing

 Bake about 45 minutes, until golden brown.

Ritz Cracker Dressing

Ingredients:

1 pound Ritz crackers, crushed
3 Tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
2 medium onions, diced

5 stalks of celery

1 pound of ground pork

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
3 eggs
1 can vegetable broth
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In large bowl add crushed crackers and set aside

Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving liquid, and mix into the bowl with cracker crumbs.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, slowly cook and stir the onion and celery in 3 tablespoons of the reserved sausage liquid until soft.

Mix the onion and celery into the cracker crumb and sausage mixture

Add seasonings, eggs and broth

Put mixture into a well-greased baking pan.

Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.

Lisa's Orange Cake

My Aunt Jackie gave me this recipe; she got it from my Cousin Lisa. The recipe is written using low or no fat ingredients. You can use full fat or full calorie ingredients but it would a waste, this cake is full of flavor as written. If you like chocolate orange flavor, you could substitute the yellow cake out for a chocolate one!

Ingredients:

 1 box yellow or white cake mix

 2 boxes of sugar-free vanilla pudding (instant)

 2 cans of mandarin oranges can size 11 oz., drained

 Sunkist diet orange drink

2 tubs of frozen Cool-whip topping, light

 Orange flavoring/ extract

 Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F

Prepare a 13x9 cake pan per the box cake directions

In a large bowl add cake mix, one box of pudding and one can of oranges (mixer will break up oranges) one tablespoon of orange flavoring/extract and one cup of orange drink.

 Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, check center with toothpick

Completely cool cake.

 Mix partial thawed topping with 1 box of pudding and one tablespoon of orange flavor/extract. Spread on cake and place drained oranges on top.

This would be great to make the day before an event; it gets better the longer it sits.

 Keep refrigerated

Macaroni and Cheese

I have two different recipes for you. One is supper quick, the other takes a bit more time since it is baked. I prefer the baked method myself, like most; my son likes the “fast food” version out of the box. Either way mac-n-cheese, is one of these dishes that is great plain or you can embellish it with different cheeses, jalapeños, bacon or other add ins to enhance the flavor.

Mom’s Mac-N-Cheese

1 8-10 oz package elbow macaroni
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter
1.4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven 375
Cook macaroni as package label directs; drain
In a 1 1/2 quart shallow baking dish alternate macaroni and 1 1/2 cups cheese (2 layers) set aside.

Sauce

Melt butter in medium saucepan remove from heat blend in flour gradually stir in milk, then seasonings.  Bring to boil stirring and boil 1 minute.  Pour sauce over macaroni and cheese top with remaining cheese.
Bake 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

Joe’s Hot Mac-N-Cheese

Makes 4 servings

1 cup elbow macaroni
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp seeded, diced jalapeño
2 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 oz. sharp Cheddar, shredded (3/4 cup)
2 oz. American cheese, shredded (3/4 cup)
salt to taste

Cook macaroni in pot of boiling salted water according to package directions, drain.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add jalapeno and garlic; cook until tender, about 3 minutes
Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute.  Whisk in milk to incorporate, stir in Cheddar and American cheese
Cook sauce, stirring frequently until thick and cheese is melted.  Stir in cooked macaroni, season with salt.

Biscuits and gravy…

A true Southern American breakfast is biscuits and gravy. My Grandmother would make fried apples, grits and scrambled eggs to complete the entire rib sticking meal.

The gravy is not just any gravy. This is sausage gravy, or what some people consider white gravy. The mystery to good sausage gravy is the sausage. Do not use sausage, which you do not like the taste of. Also do not use a maple flavored sausage, unless you want maple flavored gravy.  I use a spicy sausage which gives a little heat to gravy and extra seasoning. I would also suggest not using link sausage, you will get more flavor from patty or ground sausage.

To make the gravy you need to cook 1 pound of sausage. I prefer to cook ours in small patties, others like to cook it like browning ground beef. Since I use a pan that has raised slots in it, I will remove the cooked sausage from the pan and reserve for later. I then pour the remaining contents (make sure you scrape all the little bits from the bottom) to a big sauce pan/skillet. Warm grease and add ¼ cup of white flour. Stir until flour dissolved and there are no clumps of flour; bring your grease and flour mix to a boil. Slowly, dribble in 2 cups of milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste, gravy will thicken as it cools.

Biscuits and rolls are not the same thing. Rolls are yeast based and are meant to rise, and be light weight. Biscuits have no yeast and are suppose to be fluffy, filling (heavy) and great for sopping up liquids on your plate.

I like to use club soda in my biscuits, so they will pop up and rise a bit. The recipe I use should have buttermilk in it; most of us do not have buttermilk in our homes. Instead of going out to buy some for this recipe add ¼ teaspoon of white vinegar to your regular white milk.

This recipe will make about 18 biscuits, since there are only four of us. I will cut out all biscuits and cook what I need. I will then place the remaining uncooked biscuits on a sheet of wax paper, before placing in a freezer safe bag. When I need or want biscuits, I will cook what I need. Place biscuit on  greased pan, frozen and cook for 18-20 minutes.

You will need the following ingredients:

5 cups of Bisquick

¼ cup club soda

½ cup of butter

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, knead dough by until smooth

Flour a cutting board and roll dough out until ¾ inch thick.

Cut dough into 18 circles. I use a doughnut cutter with the center hole removed; a drinking glass makes a great cutter as well.

Place on greased baking pan and cook for 15-18 minutes.

Kathie's Special Peanut Brittle

Peanut Brittle, either you hate it or love it. Like Opera, there is no in between.

Personally, I love it. I do not make much candy, mainly because I do not have the patience for the candy to reach hard crack. I will keep bumping the temperature until I heats quickly, and if you make candy you know, this cannot be done.

Below is a recipe from a dear friend of mine, her peanut brittle is addictive... you have been warned!

o    KATHIE'S SPECIAL PEANUT BRITTLE

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 cup butter
2 cups peanuts (or any other kind of nut)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Butter 2 large baking sheets (I use the disposable kind); set aside. Butter sides of heavy 3-quart saucepan (I use the pot from a pressure cooker and find this to be the best). In pan combine sugar, corn syrup, butter and 1/2 cup water. Cook over medium-high heat to boiling, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Avoid splashing mixture on sides of pan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, till candy thermometer registers 275 degrees, soft-crack stage (20 to 25 minutes). Add nuts. Continue cooking, stirring frequently (can scorch easily) till thermometer registers 295 degrees, hard-crack stage (7 to 10 minutes).

Remove from heat; remove thermometer. Quickly sprinkle soda over mixture, stir constantly. (Batter will rise like crazy). Immediately pour onto prepared baking sheets. If desired, pull candy with forks as it cools. Cool; break into pieces. Store tightly covered. Makes about 2 1/4 pounds.

The Original Hot Pockets...

Since I married a Sailor, I have lived all over the United States. Northern California though will always be home. Where I was raised, it was the perfect spot geographically to live. Within a span of three hours, I could change my view of the world.

The shortest destination was the Sacramento- San Joaquin River Delta; farthest away was the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. Want to escape to the romance of Tuscany, a short drive to the Napa Valley with a little imagination and you are there. Want the bustle of a large city or feel like escaping into Italy, China, or even Japan? San Francisco is where you have to go!

 To quote the movie, A River Runs Through it, “Water sooths my soul.” I prefer the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean, or the snowmelt on the Yuba River in Nevada County. There is nothing more soothing than lying on slab of granite, warmed by the sun and listening to the Yuba dance its way to the Pacific. 

Taylor sitting on the Manskip with Uncle Doug



If you are on the South Fork of the Yuba, you should pan for gold. This is gold country and Coloma, where the Gold Rush started is an hour away. 





http://www.empiremine.org/photos.html



Grass Valley had two of the riches gold mines in the state, the Empire and North Star mines. The Empire mine was the deepest and largest mine, extracting gold out of quartz. This type of mining attracted the tin miners from Cornwall, England, they had the technology and skills to make the Empire successful.







Kids with Daddy, Grandpa and Uncle Doug





With the miners came Cornish culture, these influences are still celebrated today. In Grass Valley, California, every Friday after Thanksgiving through December 17, the city has Cornish Christmas. Among the festivities is the Cornish Gold Miner Choir. Some of the current choir members are descendants of the original Cornish gold miners.



Empire Mine State Park, Grass Valley, CA



Grass Valley also celebrates St Piran’s Day, which is held in the spring. St Piran’s Day is the day to celebrate the Patron Saint of Cornwall, the patron saint of tin miners. On this day, Grass Valley holds the Pastie (Pass-TEE) Olympics. The games are centered on Cornish foods; one game is the Pastie shot put.

The Cornish miners, brought with them Pastie’s. Pastie’s are the original “Hot Pocket” we know today. The miners need easily portable, filling meat and potato meals, that could be warmed while working in the cool, dampness of the mine. The miners would warm their Pastie atop of a candle and then enjoy their meal.



Aunt Mo, and the kids



You can try a traditional Pastie at Marshall’s. Marshall’s has been in the same location on Mill Street for 43 years. If you live in the Bay Area and travel to Lake Tahoe or Reno, you have to stop and get lunch, forget the fast food chains. You will start to crave these flakey, little gems. I would even say on your way back down the mountain, you will stop and get a few dozen to take home with you.

My Aunt and Uncle have lived in Grass Valley, for over 30 years and I always enjoyed my visits in Nevada County. My cousin, Tamara has entered her Vegetarian recipe in the Pastie making contests. Since I now live in North Carolina, and have not been home in eight years, she was sweet enough to send me her recipe to share with you. I hope you enjoy it!

Tamara’s Vegetarian Pastie

Ingredients:

I use a basic Pie Crust recipe from Betty Crocker

Quantities are based on personal preference

3 – 4 medium size zucchini

1 – 2 carrots

½ or more or less Yellow onion, shredded or if you have a Cuisinart use the shredder on that

2 or 3 medium size potatoes, I slice thick about ¼” or more

Directions:

Mix all the above together, I only season with salt and pepper

Roll out pie crust about 7” round, butter crust, layer potatoes and veggie mixture on HALF the crust.

Fold crust over and roll to seal the edge.

These can be made smaller if wanted.

Cook in 350 degree oven until golden brown. Serve hot, with catsup, malt vinegar or? (Kyrie enjoys soy sauce on hers)