A Time to Celebrate - Family

Dad making soup

October 1st marks my youngest sister's 50th birthday. She finally made it. I am long past that now and feeling great to have had a wonderful life and still able to learn so much daily. I am truly grateful for my family, and particularly my sisters (all 5 of them). We always have a wonderful time when we get together, with everyone talking, everyone laughing (which puts me in mind of the quip: "I laughed so hard the tears ran down my legs!"), lots of wine and or other drinks, and most of all the foods. We all are excellent cooks. Some of us have stronger skill sets in one area (or maybe just more patience!) than another, but we are all wonderful cooks. This stemmed from Mom, who was a very good cook, and Dad, who loved to experiment when he had time, coming up with some marvelous recipes along the way.

 
Dad loved to experiment, and was not afraid to try new things. I recall when he and Mom collaborated on a recipe for Ham Bone Soup. Dad found a recipe for "Senate Bean Soup" originally, but was not pleased with how the recipe came out, so over the years he and Mom tweaked the recipe until it came out "right." He loved to make Stewed Tomatoes, and played with that recipe right up until the end of his cooking lifetime. When we were young, Dad would sometimes make us French Omelettes, something he learned when in France during the war. Mom made dishes from her Slovakian heritage with a few other staples thrown in, all of which were just marvelous.

I guess what I am trying to say is that all of us sisters learned what good food was since birth, and we all learned to experiment. When we get together for any event there is so much wonderful food; so many wonderful flavors. Standing around eating and savoring the flavors is something my husband described for me:

"Have you ever had a meal where the visual presentation was stunning, the smells were incredible and the taste was so remarkable that you ate slowly, savoring every bite, wishing that the experience would never end?"

That is what happens when we all get together. Well, maybe not the "eating slowly" part! But it is magical. Laura, the upcoming birthday girl, makes the most wonderful truffles. I have never had the patience. Barb is always busy with job and her own family all getting together, but even as busy as she is, she always makes putting together a meal for kids, grandkids, extended family and their friends - seem easy. It is a gift, to be sure. She makes basic food taste sublime. Her "Friendship Bread" was nearly an addiction for me! I could write a short story about all the wonderful talents my sisters have in the kitchen. Please excuse if I don't get into the wonders each have created. 

So this is some background on my family and how we all got the "cooking gene", and I have taken it a step farther by bringing it all online.  I will be gone a week to celebrate Laura's 50th. In running around the house, gathering up things to pack for the trip, my husband came home with some small cukes to make into Bread and Butter Pickles. I had wanted to make them weeks ago and between one thing and another it didn't happen. Then the season for the small pickling cukes was over and I was left without being able to make these. I wanted to put a photo on my website, but had no cukes to can. I did get them made yesterday, finally, and here is a photo of the final product. 

Bread and Butter Pickles

Bread & Butter Pickles

1 quart apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
7 cups sugar
1 - 2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon allspice berries
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon whole cloves
5 pounds pickling cucumbers
3 pounds onions, sliced and quartered
Canning or Kosher salt, for sprinkling

Slice cucumbers to about ¼-inch thick and layer into a large colander, sprinkling salt all over them, layer upon layer. Set them aside to drain for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, slice the onions and set aside. In a large nonreactive enamel or stainless pot mix together the vinegar, sugar water, turmeric, mustard and celery seeds.

In a small piece of cheesecloth, place the allspice, cinnamon and cloves and tie together for easy removal later. Place into the pot. Bring the mixture to nearly boiling to dissolve the sugar. Drain the cucumbers well and add them to the pot with the onions and bring just to under a boil. Remove the little bag of whole spices. Pack the pickles and onions into hot, sterilized jars and top with lids and rings. Place the jars into a boiling water bath to cover and process for 10 minutes at 0 - 1,000 feet. Add 5 minutes for 1,000 to 3,000 feet; 5 more minutes for above 3,000 feet. 


For the next week I will be helping out at my sister Anita's house, making things to share with all of us for the birthday week. Anita has things well in hand already, but it will be a busy few days. Off I go!


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Happy Easter, However one Celebrates

We are going to be with family for Easter dinner tomorrow. Every family has its own special Easter foods. My background being Slovak and Serbian had us enjoying ham, kielbasa or other smoked sausage, sirets, beets with horseradish and Pascha bread. My parents and grandparents are long gone now, and my husband's family celebrate with some other foods to accompany their Easter ham. Here is my recipe for Beets with Horseradish:

Beets with Horseradish

Beets with Horseradish

This combination has been a favored condiment to go with Easter ham (or for me, any time we have ham). It was traditional from my Serbian grandmother, and has remained so with me. I have seen it possibly called Hren, Ren, Chrin and many other things, I do not recall ever hearing it called anything but Beets with Horseradish in our household. This was served as a condiment in my family, to be eaten next to the ham, Sirets, and kielbasa with the Pascha bread. Alternatively, we put it on the ham in a sandwich, which is my favorite usage.

Amount is flexible, make as much as desired

1 (1-lb) can or jar beets, well drained
1 small jar horseradish, start with 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon sugar

Using a rotary grater (mouli) or hand grater with small holes, shred the beets into a bowl. Add in horseradish, to taste. Use one teaspoon, one tablespoon, or however much to make is as hot as you will enjoy. Add in the sugar, to taste. Pack into jars for use over Easter with the ham.


NOTES: If the beets are pickled, meaning they already have sugar added, the added sugar is not necessary in this recipe.


Silk Dyed Eggs

However it is celebrated, one never forgets their roots, and it is always good to have some of those comforting things amid all the rest. I made my beets with horseradish. Just cannot live without that when it comes to ham. I made my Pascha loaf to take to my sister-in-law. I don't bother making lots of Easter eggs. I do not have any small children around to have Easter egg hunts. I did, however, make some silk dyed eggs after watching The Chew on TV the other day. They turned out really lovely, and they can be decorations at any time of the year.

Pascha Bread (Mom's Bread Updated)


As my contribution to the Easter dinner tomorrow I was asked to make Hot Cross Buns. Though I have been making bread for over 40 years now, Hot Cross Buns are one iteration I had not made before. I used the recipe from my husband's grandmother. It is very similar to the recipe for my Mom and Grandma's Pascha bread, but I decided to follow the Hot Cross Buns recipe as it was written. They look wonderful, so I imagine they will taste great, too.


Hot Cross Buns

Since neither my husband nor I need extra sweets around the house, I have long since stopped buying Easter candies. However, for the sake of recipes to go in my website or blog, I have been wanting to make Brigadeiros, a Brazilian Truffle, for a long while. I made them yesterday, and they are as good as I recalled, though it has been a long time since I made my recipe last, 

Brigadeiros

Brigadeiros

These Brazilian truffles are about as quick as is possible for a caramel type candy. Traditionally rolled in chocolate sprinkles, they may be rolled into any coating desired. I used chopped pecans for some here. These are my token Easter candies this year.

Makes about 15 - 20 truffles

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon butter
sprinkles or other for coating

Mix ion a medium saucepan the milk, cocoa and butter. Bring to a boil, stirring vigorously so it does not stick to the pan. Continue stirring constantly for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the pan and clumps around the spoon.

Allow to cool slightly and scoop out balls about 1 inch in diameter. With buttered hands, roll the mixture into a neat ball and roll into the coating of your choice.

The other thing I made to take to Easter dinner is a lemon meringue pie. Last year I was asked to bring a lemon meringue pie and a coconut cream pie. Both were hideous messes. Both the fillings turned out hopelessly runny. I tried to make an Italian Meringue and failed at that. I tried making a stabilized whipped cream and ruined that. Alas. No matter how good a baker I am, and I pride myself on my baking, those two types of pies are not ones I have ever really made. I recall living in Guatemala, once making a lemon meringue pie. I used an old fashioned egg beater to whip the meringue. I like lemon meringue pie, though I am not wild about meringue, itself. I cannot recall how it turned out, overall. I love coconut cream pie, but as luck has it, my husband does not like coconut, so I have not made one of those. In the course of this last year, I found Rose Levy Berenbaum's Lemon Curd recipe. It comes out beautifully firm, so I used that as the filling for this year's pie. I also found references to making a meringue with cooked cornstarch to stabilize it. The pie looks good. Tomorrow I will find out how these things came out!

For now, I am sharing photos of some of the things I made, and hope all of you have wonderful foods to share this Easter 2013.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.