Uh, I’m Gonna Say … Waffles??

Again, I chose another recipe blindly. And another – one of many, it seems – that has neither a name nor instructions listed. Only a list of ingredients. I could tell it was some kind of baked item. Perhaps biscuits, I thought … but the ratio of wet to dry ingredients wasn’t right. And it wasn’t cake or cookies either because it only called for a tablespoon of sugar (at least that’s what I think the recipe meant). The amount of baking powder told me it was something that was meant to rise a lot, but it had too many eggs to be pancakes. That leaves … waffles. At least, that’s how I decided to interpret the recipe. That was just fine by me, because I love waffles!

As much as I love waffles, however, the absolute BEST thing about this particular recipe is that it was written on the back of an envelope addressed to my father’s sister, the original 2¢ stamp still on the front, and a postmark dated 1963. To me, this was more than just a recipe – it’s a piece of my family history.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp margarine
• ½ Tbsp sugar

Since 3 cups of flour sounds like A LOT, I decided to cut the recipe in half. I mixed all the ingredients together as I would a regular waffle recipe. I remained true to the recipe with the small exception of adding a little salt.

What I ended up with was very thick batter – almost what I would expect for making muffins.

I thought I must have interpreted the recipe wrong, so I took a good long look at it again. And then I saw it – right at the very top was what looked to be a faint impression of the word “waffles” that had been almost completely worn away. I had gotten it right, and regardless how the waffles actually turned out, this was turning into quite a find!

I went ahead and put the waffle batter into my Belgium waffle maker and cooked for 4 minutes.

I wanted to taste the waffle right away, but anyone who knows Russian Mennonite waffles, knows they always come with “White Sauce”. I looked through Grandma’s recipe box for such a recipe but found nothing, so I used my own.

(White Sauce, for those uninitiated, is a homemade warm vanilla pudding that’s served over waffles. There are several versions out there, but mine is adapted from the Mennonite Treasury of Recipes)

WHITE SAUCE FOR WAFFLES:

• ¼ cup waffle batter
• 1 Tbsp flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 cups milk

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Let it come to a boil and take off heat. Serve sauce over waffles.

In the end, the waffles themselves weren’t great (I actually prefer my own recipe over this one). But what an amazing discovery the written recipe was in itself. I’ll definitely treasure this one!

 

Meatloaf and Chili Con Carny … I think

Choosing a recipe sometimes seems like so much pressure, so this time I closed my eyes and let my fingers decide what to make.  What I came up with was two separate recipes (I think) that Grandma had written on a notepad.  The top recipe was untitled, and though the mention of tomatoes initially threw me off, I eventually guessed from the rest of the ingredients that it was meatloaf.  The other recipe was a little harder to figure out, partly because of disintegration in the paper quality where the title seemed to be.  My best guess was Chili Con Carny.  Grandma’s handwriting makes it look like the last word is Earni, doesn’t it?  But that’s Grandma for you .

Ingredients

MEATLOAF

Ingredients on the actual recipe:

• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 egg
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 onion
• salt, 1 level T
• pepper, a little bit
• some tomatoes if needed

Color isn’t great, but you get the idea.

I bought a couple of crusty rolls – similar to what I imagined Grandma would have had on hand.    I cut the buns into small cubes and put them in a slow oven (about 250°F) for about an hour to dry them out. I then broke the cubes of bread into small crumbs and measured out 1 cup.

Admittedly, the salt and pepper threw me for a loop.  Because of the German-influenced backwards grammar that Grandma used, it looked to me like she meant salt and 1 level Tbsp pepper.  I thought that Grandma must have meant 1 teaspoon pepper – certainly not a whole tablespoon (even a level tsp would be spicy)!  It was only AFTER putting the meatloaf in the oven that I realized Grandma must have meant a Tbsp salt and some pepper.  Being someone who doesn’t like my food too salty, I’m glad I made the mistake I did.

I used canned tomatoes because I figured that would most likely have been what Grandma would have used.  It still seemed strange to me, but I went ahead and put about 3 heaping spoonfuls of diced tomatoes into the meatloaf mixture.  I mixed  all the ingredients together and put it into a foil lined loaf pan.

Although Grandma’s recipe didn’t call for a glaze, I made one for the meatloaf anyway.  I mixed together 3 Tbsp each: ketchup, yellow mustard, and brown sugar.  I put this glaze on the meatloaf when it was nearly done and put the broiler on to caramelize it (about 10 minutes).

For all the concerns I had about the recipe and how it would turn out, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the meatloaf tasted.  In fact, it was gobbled up by my family before I ever had a chance to take any pictures of the finished product.  And though it was a little spicy, it had a great flavor.  Definitely a keeper, and something I’ll make again!

CHILI CON CARNY

This wasn’t so much a recipe as it was a group of cryptically abbreviated directions.  Here’s the ingredients I used:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, diced (the recipe doesn’t say anything about onions, but I guessed that onions go without saying when frying ground beef)
• 1 tin pork and beans
• 1 tin tomato soup
• 1 tsp chili powder

I sauteed the onions and browned the ground beef in a large skillet (I drained the ground beef once cooked, even though the recipe doesn’t include this instruction).   I then stirred in the chili powder and added the beans and soup.  It didn’t actually look all that bad.  And once I started eating it, I realized it didn’t taste bad at all either!  I had my serving with a bun, but you could easily serve this over rice or pasta as well.

Again – pleasantly surprised.  Who knew??

 

Grandma Reimer’s Easter Cookies

Not the original, but close.

 

Grandma Reimer used to make these Easter cookies every year and although they’re not the sweetest or most visually stunning (though few of her recipes are anyway, lol), they were always a great treat at Easter.  Grandma gave me the original recipe at my request about 17 years ago.  She was getting on in years and wasn’t as active in the kitchen as she used to be, so I wanted to carry on the tradition for her.  After all, this was a dearly treasured recipe that my family brought over with them from Russia when Mennonites immigrated Canada in the early 1900′s … SOMEONE needed to continue making the cookies, and it might as well be me.  I tried to find Grandma’s original copy, but haven’t been successful.  At least I have it written in my own book of favorite recipes.

The first time I made these cookies, I merely skimmed over the recipe before starting and thought a HUGE Tupperware bowl would be more than big enough.  Had I taken the time to look at the recipe closely, I would have saw it called for 4 cups cream, 20 eggs and 22 cups flour.  I ended up with just the liquid ingredients filling my extremely large bowl right to the brim.  Thankfully, we had an extra bowl that same size and so I was able to pour half the liquid in there and the cookies were saved.  But you can imagine just how many we ended up with.  After that, I cut the recipe down by 3/4 and it still gives more than enough for my family to enjoy.

 

cream butter and sugar together

 

 

The cookie cutter I use is my grandmother’s that she used every year for this recipe.  It’s the only one of her antique cookie cutters that I managed to snag when she moved out of her apartment, and so is very special to me.  It’s become a way I can truly connect with her every Easter.

 

egg wash

 

 

Yield: 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup softened butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream (I used 18% because I couldn’t justify using butter AND whipping cream)
• 5 eggs (I used large eggs)
• 3 Tbsp pure lemon extract (NOT juice –  you can find this in the grocery store by the Vanilla extract)
• 5 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cup baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together.

Slowly beat in cream and lemon extract.

Beat in 5 eggs, one at a time.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and stir with a sturdy spoon until well combined.  Dough will be quite soft – almost like a drop cookie.

Roll out dough on a well floured surface and cut out in round (or any other shape you like) cookie cutter and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Beat egg (yolk and white) in a small bowl and brush egg wash over cookies.

Bake cookies for 11 minutes or until just barely turning brown on bottom of cookie.  Be sure not to over bake.

 

 

Paska – Russian Mennonite Easter Bread

I’m finally getting back to to Grandma’s Old Wooden Recipe Box.  But for this post (and in honor of Easter), I`m blogging about a recipe I got from my mum many years ago; one that`s been passed down from generation to generation.

I grew up with my mum making Paska every Easter.  I would watch as she mixed the ingredients together and then got my dad to knead the dough (arthritis in her hands made that part too difficult for her).  It was a yearly ritual that signaled the end of a cold dark winter and the hope of long summer days to come.  Oh, how I loved it when she made her Easter bread.

The first year I lived on my own, I wanted to continue that tradition.  I had made bread before, and so was quite confident it would be a wonderful success.  “What could go wrong” I thought.  Well, nothing … until I put the dough in a warm spot to rise.  I waited.  And waited.  And then I waited some more.  There was simply nothing happening – even after twice the amount of time it takes normally takes.  I was so disappointed.  I knew the yeast I had used was at least a year old and figured that must have been the problem.  So at the end of a long and disappointing day in the kitchen, I threw the dough into the garbage and went to bed … heartbroken.

I’ve always believed that good night’s sleep does wonders for perspective.  I woke up the next morning and as I began to make breakfast I opened the cupboard under the sink to throw something away.  I started closing the cupboard door and stopped.  Something had caught my attention.  A massive kind of blob was oozing out of the garbage can.  Yes … the bread dough I had thrown out the night before had not only risen, but was taking over the space underneath my kitchen sink.  I giggled to myself and immediately called my mum.

We both had a good laugh and figured that the acid in the lemon juice slowed down the rising process.  I was so relieved – I hadn’t done anything wrong afterall!  Well, aside from throwing my bread dough in the trash, that is.

Since then, I’ve let my Paska rise at least 5 hours.  And it’s worked out every time.

This is my own special book that I`ve written my own favorite recipes in.

Ingredients:

• 5-7 cups flour
• 2 packages quick rise yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 4-6 eggs (depending how large they are – we always used 4 double yolkers)
• juice and zest of 1/2 an orange and 1/2 a lemon
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup oil
• 3/4 cup scalded milk

Beat eggs well, add sugar gradually and beat until disolved.  Add juice and zest to egg mixture.  Set aside and let come to room temperature.

In a large bowl, mix 3/4 cup flour, salt and yeast.  Add scalded milk (cool enough to stick your finger in it, but hot enough that you don’t want to keep it there) and oil.  Beat with mixer for 1 minute.  Add egg mixture and beat for another 3 minutes.

Stir in flour until you can’t stir anymore.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, adding flour as you need it.

As you can see, I no longer have trouble getting the dough to rise, lol

Let rise until double.  Shape into loaves and let rest for 10 minutes.

You'll notice that I've got one of the loaves in a coffee can. My mum tells stories of how her mother would bake all the paska in tins like this.

Place in pans and let rise until double again (about an hour and a quarter).  Bake at 325 for 30-35 minutes (cover with tin foil for first 20 minutes).

Traditional Paska is always decorated with a simple icing and sprinkles. But in our house, we prefer to spread the icing on toasted slices. Either way, it doesn't get any better than this!