Nourish Us

Apple, Feijoa and Ginger Crumble

2010-10-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

Martha asked me for the recipe of this dessert which accomodates both of our food needs and preferences.

Two apples, peeled and chopped
flesh of 10 feijoas scooped
two tablespoons of finely chopped crystalised ginger
two tablepooons brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Toss these ingredients in a small casserole. Then prepare the topping and sprinkle over the fruit.

Topping
3/4 cup of finely ground grain eg millet/corn/oat/rice
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1/4 cup chopped seeds eg sunflower/pumpkin
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts eg almonds/brazils/hazels
1 tsp each ground cinnmon and ginger
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup butter

Melt butter in a small pan over a low heat and stir in other ingredients. Stir over heat for a few minutes until thoroughtly mixed, then sprinke on top of fruit. Bake crumble uncovered for 30-40 minutes in 180 oven until brown and fragrant. Serve with icecream, custard or cream if desired.

Foodie Moovies and Books

2010-02-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow foodies!

I was very inspired yesterday after a culinary tour of Boulder by Culinary Connectors (Thanks Diane for the invite!!). We went to Bacaro, The Kitchen and Salt and got a behind-the-scenes tour as well as chef's choice menu of food and wine to sample. It was wonderful!

One great tidbit was finding out that the chef, Fabio at Bacaro was the inpiration for the Primo character in the amazing movie "Big Night." Finding this out made me a bit star-struck...but he was very gracious and warm to all of us food addicts.

So, after a great conversation with my friend Diane about food related media - I started mentally compiling a list of my "must see foodie tv" and "must read foodie books". So - here is what I think and I would LOVE if y'all would add to my humble list! (Please note - this is for fun - so enjoy!)

Food Books I've curled up with:

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Omnivore's Delimna by Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Liquid Jade by Beatrice Hohenegger
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermiester
Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America by Michael Ruhlman
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Eat, Pray, Love (only the Eat part qualifies...) by Elisabeth Gilbert

Movies that made me salivate:
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Mostly Martha
Big Night
Chocolat Like Water for Chocolate
Food, Inc
Waitress
The Botany of Desire
American Psycho (he talks about food a lot)
The Freshman
Goodfellas (the garlic slicing scene)
MoonstruckSideways (sorry...it has good wine)
Soylent Green (Ha...ha...)
SuperSize Me
Julie & Julia (I still need to see this...)

Stollen Time

2009-12-23T21:07:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has spent time with Martha and Norman at Christmas in the past 10 years will know that their huge plum tree is abundantly laden with beautiful and delicious red plums at exactly this time. The plums are great but they have to compete with so many other delicious and special foods that they are more decorative than eaten.

My favourite thing about Christmas has always been Martha's cooking, especially her stollen and caramel coffee cake, made only once a year. This year, since I am living in Hamilton and not just passing through on a flying visit, I asked if I could help her make the stollen. Christmas Eve was thus spent baking.

Martha uses her trusty old Joy of Cooking recipe with variations based partly on memories of Grandma Ada's version, partly on refinements developed over decades of making this annual treat.

The secret is in the butter: starting with one and a half cups creamed til light and fluffy with caster sugar. Meanwhile the yeasty base has been rising, made with blood temperature milk instead of warm water. Testing the milk's temperature with a drop on her wrist reminds Martha of Ada, not only baking but also testing baby bottles: there were a lot of babies feeding from bottles when Martha was a girl!

After the yeast base has risen, it gets punched down which is always fun. Then the butter and sugar are mixed in along with fresh high grade white flour. The dough is very soft and loose. We divided it into four balls and shaped and filled them one at a time.

There were two wreath shaped stollens, made by first brushing the rolled dough with melted butter (I told you there was a lot of butter), then sprinkling it with cinnamon sugar, then chopped nuts. One stollen had almonds and lemon zest and the other hazelnuts and orange zest along with raisins and glace cherries.

The dough is then carefully rolled into a sausage and shaped into a ring on a baking tray. We cut the ring part way through and all the way round, then turned each cut section on its side and finally decorated the top with cherries and almonds. The caramel coffee cake and rolls were made the same way except with brown sugar instead of cinnamon, and the roll was sliced apart and the rolls set into tins awash in butter and brown sugar with a decorative nut under each roll.

The shaped dough was put to rise in a hot car (there is nowhere in mum and dad's shady house that is warm enough to rise dough). When doubled, it was brushed with milk and then baked for half an hour until golden brown.

I didn't get any photos of the caramel coffee cake, but that's actually my favourite. When turned out of the pan it's presented upside down so the caramel and nuts are on top. It's irresistible!
We always have a slice (or three) of stollen on Christmas morning while opening the presents from under the tree. Thanks David, Penny and Louise for your lovely gifts. We missed you this morning.

Merry Christmas to all the Kellerman clan around the world. I hope you think of us downunder as you are sharing stollen or other traditions from Ada and Jess.

Homemade Laundry Soap

2009-09-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

Since the economy has taken it's very ugly route, we, as a family have joined efforts to save energy, money and in turn, the environment. I found this recipe for laundry detergent from another blog and tried it out myself. The results were awesome!!!

All you will need are a few easy to find ingredients.

Borax - 4lb box $2.89

Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (NOT Baking soda)- 3lb 7oz box $3.89
Fels-Naptha Soap - (3) 5 1/2 oz bars $1.29/each. Totaling $3.89

Total investment $10.67

Additional things you will need:

5-gallon bucket w/lid

Long wooden spoon

Cheese grater

Each batch makes aprox. 4-1/2 gallons @ $3.56 each and there is enough to make 3 batches (15 gallons)

Mix together the following:

2-Cups Borax

2-Cups Washing soda

1-Bar of Fels Naptha soap grated

Pour the Borax and the Washing Soda into the 5-gallon bucket. Using a cheese grater, grate the Fels Naptha soap completely on a plate. It will look exactly like cheese. Fill a minimum 2 quart saucepan about 2/3 with water and add the cheese (soap). Heat on medium until the soap has dissolved completely. DO NOT walk away from this process. I can't even imagine what burning soap smells like and for how long. Add the hot soapy solution to the powder in the 5-gallon bucket. While stirring with the wooden spoon, add about 4 1/2 gallons of hot tap water leaving 4-5" of space from the top. Stir until powder is dissolved then leave overnight. Soap will turn to gel as it cools. Leave the wooden spoon with the soap for an occasional stir.

The scent is very light. From reading about this detergent, it is like "Dreft" a very mild, hypo-alergenic soap. It does not leave any residue and my clothes have come out very clean. My whites are whiter than with store bought soap. You only need to use the same cap full as you did from previous containers. There are no suds like store bought, but you should know that suds are artificially added to commercial soaps, it doesn't do anything more but leave residue. If you like scented laundry, you can add essential oil to the detergent or fabric softener. Mix 1 tbsp of vinegar and water into a Downy Ball for the fabric softener. It actually breaks down previous soap and softener residues and leaves your towels soft and absorbent.
HAPPY LAUNDRY!

Colorado Bounty - Roasted Vegetable Salsa

2009-09-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

Here in Colorado, with the coming of fall, pepper roasters start showing up on roadsides and farmer's markets - and the smell in my kitchen while roasting the peppers was very similar. The smell reminds me of last fall - my first fall back in Colorado. It isn't a smell I remember from my childhood, instead it is a smell I now associate with being at the Farmer's Market and being VERY pregnant. I didn't try any peppers last year due to unfortunate heartburn.

But - this year, I decided to be brave. So I bought a couple poblanos, a handful of bell peppers and a jalapeño. I also picked up tomatoes, onion and corn. I roasting all of the veggies in the salsa - and to do this I put them on a cookie sheet in the oven. It fills the house with the delightful smell of the roadside pepper roasters - enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Salsa

3-4 Bell Peppers (whole - use different colors - I recommend Red, Green and Purple)
1-2 Jalapeño (whole)
1-2 Poblano (whole)
4-6 large Tomatoes (heirlooms are fun, remove the stem)
1-2 Corn on the cob (shucked and whole)
1 Onion - sliced in large coins (I use a large sweet onion - like Walla Walla or Vidalia)
Sea Salt
Pepper
1 Lime
Ground red pepper (to taste for spice)
Cilantro (optional)

Instructions:

Turn on the broiler on high and place a rack at the top of the oven. On a dry cookie sheet, place the peppers. Roast the peppers until the skins are black and papery on all sides. Turn the peppers often and remove them individually once roasted. (Note - you want to get the skin nice and black as it will be easier to remove)
Once peppers are all removed, put the corn, tomatoes and onion onto the cookie sheet. You can dry roast or roast with a little bit of olive oil on the skin of the onion. As it roasts, turn the corn and onions so they can roast evenly. Remove the corn when it has some black - but before it has completely blackened. Remove tomatoes oven when tomatoes are bubbly, the skin has split and it is a little black. Remove onions when they are slightly blackened at the edges.
Peppers: Once cool, remove the skins, seeds and hull of the peppers (once cool enough to handle). Roughly dice the peppers and save in a large glass bowl
Tomatoes: Once cool, remove the skins and roughly dice. Add diced tomatoes and juice into glass bowl
Onions: dice and add to the bowl
Corn: Slice the kernels off of the cob and add to the glass bowl.
Once all of the vegetables are chopped and in the bowl, stir and add sea salt and pepper to taste.
Squeeze 1/2 to 1 lime over salsa. Taste!
For a saucier salsa - puree half of the salsa and blend back into the bowl.
Add diced cilantro at the end.
Let it mellow for at least 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend
Salsa lasts for up to 2 weeks

Enjoy!

Pumpkin and mushroom soup

2009-08-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

Here in New Zealand, a cold wind has slammed the door shut on the mild false spring of recent weeks. As the storm built up, I made comfort food: my favourite pumpkin soup. This time I used half a grey skinned Crown pumpkin, bought already cut from the greengrocer. I often use butternut or buttercup pumpkins. In NZ the big orange pumpkins that Americans make into jack'o'lanterns are not so common, and I seem to remember them as not being so tasty as our little NZ varieties, but its been a long time since I was over there in pumpkin season!
Don't freak out at the whole head of garlic, once roasted it is mild, sweet and subtle; nothing like the intensity of sauteed garlic. For stock I usually use Rapunzel organic herbal stock cubes. They are delicious and don't have any of that chemical aftertaste of most stock cubes.

I'm pretty sure this is as original as one of my recipes can be. It has evolved over many years in response to my dislike for the taste of pumpkin, but respect for its affordable nutritional value.

Pumpkin and mushroom soup

half a medium size crown pumpkin, or whole butternut or buttercup
whole head of garlic
2 yellow onions, chopped pretty fine
bag of mushrooms, sliced pretty fine
1.5 litres of stock
1 teaspoon ground cumin
(other spices optional: coriander, garam masala, cinnamon or cloves,even some curry powder, can each add something lovely to this soup, )

Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and slice off the pointy end of the head of garlic so the ends of the cloves are exposed. Place pumpkin skin side down, and garlic root side down in a roasting dish and cook in a hot oven until they are soft and fragrant (about 45 minutes). Cool and then peel out of their skins (its so much easier than when they are raw). Puree in a foodprocessor til smooth.
Meanwhile, saute the onions in a soup pot with a little oil until they are soft but not brown. Add the mushrooms and saute until they are limp then add the hot stock and pureed pumpkin/garlic. Simmer until thick and silky.

Skillet Raspberry Jam

2009-08-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Look who is standing!

So - I know it's been a long time...and who knows if anyone is still checking this - but I do have plans for a comeback of Nourish Us and much more. Stay tuned.

Tonight, I'm bringing to you my favorite homemade jam - a skillet raspberry jam. It is posted in celebration of summer and my friend Erin's beautiful raspberry bushes. The recipe originated in a beautiful issue of Gourmet from August 2004. Every time I think about this recipe - my mouth instantaneously waters. I am hoping this helps to bring forth this season's raspberries in Colorado...I've been waiting for them very patiently.

A couple notes: I have found that this jam does really nicely with raspberries or blackberries. It isn't a serious canning jam. I just put the jam in a nice air-tight jar in my fridge...I have found it can stay good for up to a month- if it lasts that long. It is very tasty as a spread on toast, topping on dessert...or on a spoon.

Skillet Raspberry Jam (try also Blackberry, Strawberry or Schnazzberry)

makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 lb raspberries (4 cups)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons powdered fruit pectin (not the liquid or low-sugar pectin)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

->Mash raspberries with a fork in a large bowl
->Stir together the berries, sugar, pectin and lemon juice in a 12-in nonstick skillet. Boil the mixture and stir occassionally, until slightly thickened - about 7 minutes
->Transfer jam to a large shallow bowl and chill. Cover the surface with wax paper. Let it rest until it is softly set - about 30 minutes. (Note: Jam will set further if it is chilled longer).
->Transfer jam to a jar...and try not to eat it with a spoon out of the jar. :)

Hippy Cooking

2009-04-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

See how happy Gluten Roast can make you?

Here's a couple of odd recipes I've made this week. I improvised the rice crackers and they turned out to be very yummy. And the Non-cheesy Cheese Sauce I found in a garage sale find of a 1970s cookbook from The Farm, a hippy commune with a soya bean obsession.

Personally I try and avoid most soya bean products except miso. The research I've done into soya isn't entirely conclusive, but the indications seem to be that soya maybe implicated in some kinds of hormonal problems, such as nasty menopause and other women's health issues. I reckon better safe than sorry. Soyabeans are hidden in lots of different processed foods including lots of 'junk foods', but dodgiest form seems to be tofu and soymilk. The least troublesome is miso due to its fermentation process.

Anyway, the recipe that made me shell out 50c for The Farm cookbook doesn't have any soyabeans in it. It's similar to a recipe I used to make when Louise was little and had a dairy allergy, but I lost the recipe in my travels since then. Finding it last week was like being reunited with an old friend, just when I've had to give up my love affair with sugar.

Non-Cheese Cheese Sauce (from The Farm)

1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/3 cup rice flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
2 cups water
1/4 cup margarine

Mix dry ingredients in a saucepan. Gradually add water, stirring with a whisk until a smooth paste. Place on heat and stir constasntly until it thickens and bubbles. Let it bubble for about 30 seconds then remove from heat. Whip in the margarine. Have with vegetables or pasta or spread on pizza.

Homemade Rice Cracker Recipe

1 cup rice flour
1/4 cup cold butter
3 Tbsp parmesan
1 Tbsp garlic granules
pinch salt
generous grind of pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/4 cup (rice) milk
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 200 degree. Put all the ingredients except the milk and sesame seeds into a bowl and rub or cut the butter in as though making pastry or scones. Mix in just enough rice milk (or other kind of milk) to make the dough stick into a ball but not be sticky. Roll or press out onto a greased baking sheet and sprinkle sesame seeds on top, press into the dough. Cut the dough into squares and slide apart on the sheet. Bake until golden brown and crisp.

While on the topic of anti-junk food food, check out this YouTube Chef with her Depression Era recipes. Mmm mmm.

Reunion?

2009-03-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Would anyone be interested in a:

"2010 Florida Family Reunion"?
Summer, Northern Hemishere / Winter, S-Hemi

No recipe ever calls for anger; many require regret

2009-03-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Norman launched two new books. The launch was a little party at Martha and Norman's house in Hamilton, New Zealand. I offered to help with the catering. Norman especially requested bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese and Martha filled a huge platter of these as bite-sized morsels. I wanted to make something else that would fit in with the book's themes.

One of Norman's new books is about secret Jews living in Mexico and the Southwestern US for the past four hundred years. I decided to evoke the secret Jew in Mexico theme by making chocolate hamantaschen. Hamantaschen are little pastries associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim which actually took place a couple of weeks ago. A sweet pastry is wrapped around a filling (traditionally a poppy seed mixture) in a triangular shape. Hammentaschen represent the ears, hat or pocket of Haman, the wicked villain in the story of Esther which Purim commemorates. Esther spends much of the story keeping her Judaism secret while living in the king's harem, until finally revealing her true identity to save her people from Haman's planned genocide of the Jews.

The chocolate filling in my hamantaschen represents the Mexican component of Norman's book of secret Jews. I mixed cinnamon and ground almonds with very dark chocolate, and if not for Martha's allergies I would have spiked it with a little chilli as well. To keep the traditionalists happy I also made some hamantaschen with poppy seed filling. Both flavours were gobbled up quickly!

The pastry was very fragile and difficult to roll and wrap. I got quite stressed out trying to patch together these little beasts that kept collapsing at every step. I remembered why, much as I love baking, I tend to avoid anything that involves a rolling pin.

A much easier kind of pastry to work with is filo, which somehow manages to be quite sturdy despite cooking to a delicate buttery, paperish wrapping. I made dozens of these Moroccan meat cigars which were easy to make and eat. Both the cigars and the hamantaschen recipes came from one of my favourite cookbooks: The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden.

The other book being launched didn't receive the same culinary attention, though in retrospect we should have served Eskimo pies. Penguins of Ice are Fools is a sweet funny little book of about 200 short sayings by Norman, illustrated with 4 wood prints by Martha. The sayings give more of an accessible insight into Norman's personality than is usually available in his books. They are funny, poignant, cynical and nostalgic. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a conversation with Norman, will like this book which only costs $10. Email him directly, (or contact Meliors via www.meliors.net) to buy your copy now.

"At a certain stage between stew and soup, a fork becomes anomalous.
Why not begin with a spoon."

"Old black-and-white films are like mashed potatoes on cold rainy evenings."

Cigares a la Viande (Moroccan Meat Cigars)
from Claudia Roden's The Book of Jewish Food

2 medium onions
3-4 tbsp oil (plus more to brush the filo)
500g (1lb) lean minced beef
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cinnamon
1/2 ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of cayenne (optional)
juice 1/2-1 lemon
4 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley or coriander
250g filo pastry

Fry the onions in oil til soft, add the meat, crush and brown, then add all the seasonings except the parsley. Stir well, pour in ab.out 1 cup of water, cover and cook slowly for about half an hour until tender and most of the water has evaporated, Blend in a food processor until smooth then add the parsley.
Cut the filo sheets into quarters, pile on top of each other and cover with a damp towel while you work. Brush the top piece with oil. Take a walnut size piece of meat and roll into a sausage shape. Place along the short end of the filo piece and then roll up like a cigarette, turning in the ends about a third of the way along. Continue until all the meat has filled all the filo (I found the amounts matched almost perfectly).
Brush the tops with oil and bake at 325 degrees for about 1/2 hour until golden and crispy. Serve hot.

Green Eggs???

2009-03-15T07:25:00.000-07:00

I have never in my life seen a real green egg until now. I always thought Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham" was a metaphor. On the contrary!

We were having a yard sale last weekend and someone we met told us where to get real fresh eggs. I'm thinking brown at this point. Being egg lovers, we drove about 3 miles in a direction that we have never been and purchased 3 dozen. Now when the lady opened the cartons to show us, I became very skeptical of eating what I saw. THERE WERE GREEN EGGS!

I know that most of the family is from the country and knows about the fresh eggs. I'm 38 years old and this is the part of life that I embrace, when new and exciting things are discovered. I feel like a KID seeing this for the first time. I'm all giddy! And to add to my happiness is the fact that these eggs are by far the best I have ever tasted.

I'm still skeptical about the green ham.

Banana Cake Fantasia

2009-03-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

I can't eat bananas except cooked into a cake. I don't ever buy bananas but when I live with people who bring them into the house and then let them turn black in the fruit bowl I'm quite happy to make cake! One of the secrets of good banana cake is very very ripe bananas mashed very thoroughly.

I'm not actually sure of the origins of this recipe, but it is by far the best banana cake that I have made. Probably because of the large quantity of butter. I remember visiting Grandma and Grandpa in America and being surprised that butter was not ever put on the table, just used in baking and margarine was the table spread. New Zealand being butter-land, butter was not priced as a luxury until a few years ago. Now its expensive but I'm too attached to the taste, and concerned about the nasty chemicals in margarine, to give it up.

For an everyday cake, rather than a celebration one, I just sieve icing sugar on top instead of making icing/frosting. I think it actually looks more enticing than an iced cake, promising delicacy and fluff. It also reminds me of this super-sweet art installation I saw at a festival in Melbourne in January this year.

Best Banana Cake

This cake is perfect for making in a food processor. Make sure you cream the butter and sugar until they really are creamy, not just combined. The smoother those first ingredients are, the better the cake will taste.

Cream together:

250g (1 cup) butter
1 1/2 cup sugar (scant)

Beat in gradually:

4 eggs
4 mashed bananas

Mix in a cup:

2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp milk

Sift:

2 tsp baking powder
450g flour

Add to the creamed mix, alternating wet and dry.

Finally add:

1 tsp vanilla

Pour into a cake pan and bake about 1 hour at 180/350 degrees, until brown and springy on top, and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

This porridge is j..u..s..t right!

2009-02-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

Thank you Amy for this picture

I wish I had more memories of Grandma and Grandpa when I was growing up. The few that are alive with me today are very dear and I remember them as if they were yesterday. One very vivid memory in Grandma’s kitchen (where else) was at a family reunion.

Probably within days of this picture when I was nine or so years old I had woken up before anyone else and made my way to the kitchen. Happy to find Grandpa playing solitaire at the table, I sat down next to him and watched quietly as he won his game. I said to him “Your cheating, Grandpa” then he said, “Go get some oatmeal!” Until this day, I win every game of solitaire I play.

From what I remember, Grandpa would get up early before anyone and make a pot of oatmeal. As we woke and made our own way into the kitchen, the oatmeal was waiting to be consumed. If I have misinterpreted my memory, please let me know.

I like my oatmeal on the clumpy and sticky side. It is often very difficult to achieve this texture unless the pot sits for a while and who has the time to wait? Occasionally I will eat out at Mimi’s Café where they have perfected the art of oatmeal. For anyone who does not know Mimi’s, the theme is a French Quarter New Orleans setting with French style art, music, instruments and jazz. A very fun and delicious place to eat. They serve an enormous portion of buckwheat oatmeal with sides of brown sugar, raisins, granola and milk. I like mine with the above except the granola.

Today I have made a pot of this Kellerman concoction and it is as good as I remember in Grandma’s kitchen.

I miss them.

Lev Gonick Fudge

2009-02-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

Ethereal shoe leather

When I was little I thought Lev Gonick Fudge was a standard flavour like Russian or Whiskey Fudge. There were certainly lots of things that we ate at home that no-one else seemed to have heard of, but which I understood to be due to cultural differences between New Zealand and America.

I was quite old when I realised that, really, even in America no-one knew about Lev Gonick Fudge. That's because Lev Gonick was not actually a culturally exotic flavour but the name of the teenage boy who developed the recipe, one of my babysitters in Canada, where I lived until I was three.

This is such a simple recipe that I learned to make it when I was about 5 years old. It's also delicious, and quite robust, surviving pretty much any variation you can throw at it. But don't bake it too long, which is what I did yesterday, or goes rather on the tough end of the chewy spectrum. It's still yummy, but you have to work quite hard at it, and with fragile teeth like mine, that's not the kind of workout you necessarily need.

This week I've moved into a new share house, so a new kitchen with a bulging pantry of exotic delights and redundancies. I was determined to make Lev Gonick Fudge with whatever was available so used the following substitutions for the fudge pictured above:

instead of vanilla I used almond marzipan flavouring
instead of brown sugar I used up the last of a jar of sticky raw sugar, and topped it up to a cup with castor sugar
instead of walnuts I used half a bag of slivered almonds of indeterminate age

The resulting version of Lev Gonick has a heavenly, ethereal quality from the marzipan flavouring. It smells divine but tastes delicately (rather than intensely) of marzipan which is a bit at odds with the shoe leather texture.

Here is the original recipe copied from my old recipe book, recently unearthed from storage with glad cries. It's an ideal sweet to make when you are craving brownies but want to bake with cocoa instead of solid chocolate.

Lev Gonick Fudge

Combine:

1/2 cup melted butter
2 tbsp cocoa (heaped)

Mix in a medium sized bowl:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup plain flour
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup walnuts

Add the cocoa mix to the rest of the ingredients, mix well.
Bake in an 8" pan at 350 degrees for 25 mins (or just until firm).
Ice as soon as removed from the oven.

For the icing combine:
2 tbsp butter
1 1/4cup icing sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp hot water
When smooth and glossy spread over hot fudge.

Wait until cool and firm before eating (if you can resist that long).

I find my favourite recipes by turning to the pages stained cocoa.

The little red hens are: Kimberly,Meliors, Martha, Judy and Loretta

2009-02-11T23:53:00.000-08:00

I have spoken with many of my lovely aunties and mother and cousins. They all are looking on Nourish us frequently looking for a treat or a story. They all have many stories to share and I have offered to post for the feint of heart. So bring me your stories ladies and I will post them. Betty, Edwina, and Jessie. I will accept hand written scraps of paper, emails or whatever you can send. Lets keep this beautiful site alive.

Thanks to Kimberly, Meliors, Loretta, Judy and Martha for all your wonderful stories and please keep them coming. They are more special than you could possibly know.

To my aunties and my uncle you are my first village. You all had a big part in me being who I am. I was with grandma and grandpa a lot growing up an was blessed with their love and was in the mix of whatever they had going on whether it be cooking or driving around on the emergency break picking up 4 carloads of people that needed a ride to church. They took me to church camp and on family adventures.

You are such a beautiful and diverse group of siblings. You all have a different story but it all seems to come back to love and grace no matter the path that you all have taken. We have a common thread, all of us. We saw love up close and with all the flaws we witnessed and were given unconditional love. Wow I am lucky!

I am getting to know my cousins more and more and they too are part of that legacy. We all seem to have some of the optimism that grandma served warm in her kitchen. We also have the strength she had to get done today what must be done no matter how she felt. She was no quitter and neither are we.

I remember having extreme discomfort in my sciatica during a pregnancy and was walking like a wounded duck. She said "Amy stand up straight and walk like it doesn't hurt and it will hurt less." she was right. She told me she always stood tall when she was carrying a child. She believed smiling could make you feel better and it does. Life was not easy for her but you never knew it by her smile.

I miss her everyday and you my dear family are my link to her and my larger than life grandpa. So lets continue sharing and remember the blessings. There were so many. So lets help with this feast of the heart.

Good Garlic

2009-01-31T11:40:00.000-08:00

In my current research into happiness, I came across a reference to this study which found that adding garlic bread to a family meal decreased the number of negative interactions by 22.7% and increased the number of pleasant interactions by 7.4%. Apparently it's the garlic, not the bread that has the positive effect, and even the smell of cooked garlic is enough to improve family interactions!

When Louise was about 7, we were living on an organic garlic farm in upstate New York. That's where I learned to roast whole bulbs of garlic. We would slice off the stem end, and place the root end down in a generously oiled roasting dish, rubbing oil over the whole bulb. When roasted until soft and beige (not brown and hard), everyone would get their own head of garlic. We would squeeze each clove out of its skin, the flesh as soft as warm butter. This is delicious spread on bread or mixed in with other roast vegetables as a condiment. Roasted garlic is creamy and mild, without any of the sharpness of raw or lightly cooked cloves.

When I don't know what exactly I'm making for dinner, its usually a safe bet to start by sauteing some chopped onion and garlic, then adding whatever I can find in the fridge. Some of my favourite ways to get the aroma and taste of garlic going include:

Sliced garlic and chunks of zucchini sauteed in butter or olive oil until the garlic and the corners of the zuccini just start to caramalise and turn brown. Sometimes I'll add tomatoes and fresh basil.
Chopped garlic and sliced mushrooms sauteed slowly in butter or olive oil until the mushrooms are very very soft and the garlic has kind of melted into the mushroom juice. This is good with lots of finely chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon or a dollop of wholegrain mustard.
Chopped garlic and onion sauteed til soft (starting with the onions and adding the garlic towards the end so it doesn't burn and become bitter). Then when the onion/garlic is cooled down I mix in lean minced organic beef, a free range egg, soft bread crumbs and whatever vegetables, herbs and spices I feel like (today it's lots of cumin and and a little cinnamon). I enjoy squooshing the mixture in my hands like playdough, and then shaping into little balls which I bake on a rack in the oven until brown. The cooked meatballs sit in a box in the fridge and get added to spaghetti sauce, cooked vegetables, sandwiches, even salad as I feel like it. When Louise left home and I was only cooking for myself, I stopped cooking very often. This is one of the things I try and make once a week so that I have some proper food to graze on even when I'm not making a whole meal.

Jess comes home from work

2009-01-21T23:47:00.000-08:00

When we were young children we took it for granted and didn't much notice it. Finally after three years at university, I came home during the summer that I became engaged to read Proust and only then did it strike me how very much in love our parents were. And by then I knew it wasn't the usual way married couples behaved.

One afternoon I was hanging out in the kitchen. Mom had started dinner. I noticed her cheeks were pink, her eyes were sparkling and she had a little smile. She was close to the door when Dad came home from work. He took her in his arms, leaned her backwards, and gave her a long, passionate kiss. Coming out of it, they both were smiling. He took his uniform jacket off, put a large bath towel around his waist and they went into the kitchen togetherto finish dinner in perfect harmony. I realised that was the way he had always come home before we lived in Japan which was a year when everything was different.

Their teamwork was so smooth that there was little room for us. As children we were given tasks like putting the applesauce through the food mill. We set the table and unset it and did the dishes but did little cooking. The cooking they did together was a public demonstration of their love for each other. As well, Dad's need to feed people with delicious food was his most open expression of love for others.

I should now describe the applesauce. Wash unpeeled apples, roughly cut up boil up skin, seeds, cores and all together. Put through a foodmill which lets the applesauce pass through and sieves out the skins, cores, and seeds. Cooked this way the spplesauce is a warm, pinky brown. While it is still warm, flavour the applesauce with sugar, butter,cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Strangely this wasn't dessert. It was put on the table with cottage cheese, pickles and olives, bread and butter as a side dish in an ordinary meal in addition to the main components of meat, a green and a yellow vegetable and a starch. Then there was a dessert: cake or pie or pudding. Remember the punch made with Coolaid and fruitjuice. My favourite was grape Coolaid and pineapple juice. Does anyone still make punch the way we used to? I serve the applesauce for dessert with a lttle cream or ice cream.

Now I will tell you why the Kellerman kids happlily ate their spinach when other kids hated it. They never served canned spinach, only fresh or frozen. Boil a couple of eggs. fry up some diced bacon, briefly cook the spinach, drain the liquid, stir through the crspy bacon and a little of the bacon fat, salt and pepper, slice the eggs and arange on the top of the spinach. Very beautiful and tasty too. Not so often we had creamed spinach and it was just as good.

Now I challenge Edwina to post the browned butter carrots and Judy to post the perfect gravey.

Betty and Jessie, Jeannie and Will what were the everyday foods that you liked best? Do you still make them? Did you teach your children?

Give me pies, give me sweet little pies: Fudge Pie (Part 2)

2009-01-20T20:43:00.001-08:00

This pie is from the other side of my family - the Southern side.

In both name and location - my sweet Southern aunties have tasty many goodies!! My auntie Valerie (Southern) Fulkerson shared this recipe with my mom Judy back in 1995. It has since become a favorite of my brother Jeffrey, my mom and myself as well as my cousin Amy and, well, anyone who tries this pie! The pie is very tasty and sinful. It is good "naked" or with a meringue on top. Whipped cream or ice cream will do in a pinch. :) Enjoy!

Fudge Pie

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons flour
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 tablespoons cocoa
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks – beaten
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pastry shell, baked (regular or graham crust)

Directions:

Mix flour, sugar, cornstarch and cocoa in a medium saucepan.
Gradually stir in milk. Cook over moderate heat until mixture thickens and boils. Boil 1 minute.
Stir half of hot mixture into beaten yolks. Add the yolk mixture back to the boiling mixture.
Stirring constantly add butter and vanilla.
Boil and stir constantly until very thick. Remove from heat.
Pour into pre-baked crust
ENJOY!

(Kimberly & Amy enjoying Auntie Valerie's Fudge Pie, January 2009)

Playing with the Devil

2009-01-17T10:14:00.000-08:00

I flew back to New Zealand a few days ago, after nine months of living in Australia. Mostly I was living places where it was impossible, or almost impossible, to bake (which shouldn't lead you to assume that Australia is without ovens, just that I was living a bit rough). Starting this blog was like paying attention to an itch I couldn't scratch, so when I got to Hamilton I asked Martha and Norman if I could bake a cake at their house.

Martha keeps a copy of the Devil's Food Cake recipe on the pantry door

I wanted to try making the Devil's Food Cake with the controversial substitution of buttermilk for sour milk, and mum suggested I make cup cakes to make the result easier to freeze or give away. Given the general lack of enthusiasm for cake eating among most of the people around me in Hamilton (Norman made a face like I was forcing him to eat worms), combined with the chocolate alternatives available everywhere I go (chocolate mousse, chocolate macaroons, chocolate bars etc etc) this seemed like a smart move.

I was very excited to use the big enamel bowl in which the batter is always mixed in Martha's kitchen. It has a groovy '60's sunflower pattern and really high sides so the batter doesn't slop even after you pour in the hot water at the end. As a child I learned to bake using that bowl (which was also our big salad bowl for years and years). It was a wedding present to Martha and Norman in 1965 and is still going as strong as their marriage, if a little chipped and scratched- the bowl, not the marriage!

I can't say I was very impressed with the buttermilk version of the cake, which seems to me a less moist than the sour milk version, possibly with a finer crumb. Also the colour wasn't the rich reddish almost-black brown I remember. So, these buttermilk ones were a bit bland in colour, texture and taste. I'm going back to sour milk for sure next time.

A few years ago, I learned that using less sugar will stop the top of the cake from cracking in the oven, so I always use 1 1/2 cups instead of the 2 called for in the recipe. So these cupcakes have lovely smooth tops.

If you haven't checked back on my original Devil's Food recipe post, Martha added a detailed historical caption to the photo of grandma Ada and there's been a lively debate in the comments section. Worth a look if you are interested.

Kellerman Birthday Cakes

2009-01-15T22:03:00.000-08:00

This memory is of a history of birthday cakes but, please,everyone add to this because my memory is not complete. Most of my memories of Kellerman family life end with Japan because that is when I started university and left home and only came back as a visitor.

When we were very small, at Scott Base, and quite young, at Paxton Illinois I remember Ada Ruth making rainbow cakes. There would be yellow, pink and blue layers which she put togeter with filling and then covered the whole cake with fluffy white frosting.* In Paxton we had a drafty old house with a coal furnace. One year the furnace blew up and coal dust sprinkled all over the colored layers cooling on the counter top. We were too poor to make another cake so mom vacuumed the coal dust off and covered it with a thick layer of frosting, No one at the party noticed.

Before Mom started making the Devils food cake, she made a rich chocolate cake which started with creaming the butter and sugar until fluffy. It may have been made with melted cooking chocolate rather than cocoa. I have a tactile memory of creaming the butter and sugar between my fingers squishing away until it was light and fluffy. When mom scraped the gritty mixture off my fingers with a spatula it wasn't such a nice feeling.

Mom got the recipe for devils food cake from her mom, Edna Taylor, in the mid fifties. Grandma Taylor learned to decorate elaborate cakes in California. One cake that I remember is that the cake was baked in a bowl and then turned over and a small doll was inserted to make a skirt and layers of ruffles were piped on. The devils food cake is sturdy and flexible enough for many variations. One birthday variation I remember is that the caked, baked in a sheet, was covered with a layer of marshmellow and a layer of fudge over that. For about a year many of us asked for that one before it seemed too disgustingly sweet.

At Camp Tadmor, where my parents met. and where the family lived after WW II and Jessie was born, later on we learned another recipe from Hulda Thorpe. Cherry Delight, a gooey sweetness made with cans of cherries. Does anyone have this recipe? that was a favourite birthday treat.

Sometimes we asked for marble cake, or angel cake, or golden layer cake. As a teenager, I always wanted lemon meringue pie. (Editor's Note: See the Lemon Meringe Pie post for the recipe!)

Everyone out there, why don't you post your favourite birthday cake?

Give me pie, give me sweet little pies: Lemon Meringue (Part 1)

2009-01-11T14:21:00.000-08:00

Amy's recent visit to Kimberly's house inspired a ton of baking and eating. Amy brought many lemons - so we decided to make lemonaide, lemon meringue pie, avglomeno soup and lemon bars. Lemon must have been in the air - as Martha decided to post a lemon meringue pie at the same time! We used the original recipe from the Original Betty Crocker Cookbook, a recipe Ada Ruth used, but had we only had this recipe as well we could have made both versions!!

Lemon Meringue Pie

Prepare a baked pie shell.

Combine in the top of a double boiler:

1 cup sugar

5-6tablesp0ons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

Add very gradually:

2 cups water or milk

Stir and cook these ingredients over (not in) hot water for about 8 to 12 minutes until the mixture thickens. Cover and cook for 10 minutes more. Stir occasionally. Remove the mixture from the heat.

pour a little of it over

3 beaten egg yolks

Beat this and return it to the mixture in the double boiler. Cook and stir gently, stillover boiling water, ab out 5 minutes more. Remove from heat.

Beat in:

3 Tablespoons butter

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

Note: If you want a more lemony flavor add more rind--not more juice. Cool the custard by stirring very, very gently to relase any steam whch might thin the filling. Pour it cool into the cold pie shell

Cover with a meringue made with the 3 egg whites.

Meringue

Preheat oven to 325 -350 degrees

Whip until they are frothy:

3 egg whites

Add:

1/4 cream

Marshmallow Interlude

2009-01-04T18:25:00.000-08:00

There is a TV series on the Food Network called "Good Eats." I really like this show - mostly because it does a great job of describing the science and history behind recipies and how food works. So....there was a show that inspired me to make a basic pantry staple - something I'd never considered making before - marshmallows!! I have since talked about them to quite a few people...and shared them with anyone who visits us. They are goooood.

It wasn't very difficult and the result is VERY tasty. (It was worth the 15 minutes of noise from the KitchenAide and the strange gelatin smell...) I'm considering a batch with peppermint flavoring for use in hot chocolate...mmmmm. And when I think about color and cutting out shapes - possibilities are endless!

Here is the recipe - but if you see above I have linked to the original recipe on Foodtv.com. I have included my personal modifications below. Let me know if you try this out! (It is messy...just be forewarned) Enjoy!

Homemade Marshmallows

3 packages unflavored gelatin 1 cup ice cold water, divided 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup light corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch Nonstick spray

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, spread this mixture with a lightly oiled spatula and spread evenly in the pan (Kimberly's Note: This will be messy and sticky - and I found it easiest to spread as much as I could, then I poured the remaining confectioners' sugar mixture over the marshmellows and spread to the edges.) Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight. (Kimberly's Note: I let this sit for about 6 hours before cutting.)

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. (Kimberly's Note: I made more confectioners' sugar mixture. I put it into a ziploc bag and put cut marshmellows into the bag and shook so the marshmallows wouldn't stick to one another.). Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Pork Chops Royal

2008-12-31T17:49:00.000-08:00

Jess, Dad, owned a restaurant, The Treble Clef, in St. Louis as a young man. He was also the chef and, from what I remember, he was very inventive. I believe it was at this restaurant that he invented Pork Chops Royal. My guess as to the year is 1938 or so, maybe someone out there can give me a more accurate date. I believe this picture was taken before Mom and Dad got married, once again corrections are encouraged. This holds 2 recipes, the first is the original recipe by Jess, and the second is an updated, easier, and dare I say, tastier version by Amy Kellerman Armstrong.

Pork Chops Royal
Jess Kellerman, 1930’s

Preheat oven to 350˚F

6 – 8 pork chops or pork steaks
Brown sugar
Ketchup
1 lemon, sliced in thin slices

Place pork chops in pan large enough to hold the meat in a single layer
9 X 13 or 11 X 15 pan
Sprinkle lightly with the brown sugar
Pour ketchup over top – cover sparingly
Place one thin slice of lemon on each pork chop

Bake at 350˚F for 30 to 40 minutes, until all pink is gone from meat

This looks pretty when served with the lemon slice and red sauce

Recipe invented by Jess Kellerman in the 1930’s

Pork Chops Royal, Updated
Amy Kellerman Armstrong, 1990’s

Preheat oven to 350˚F

6 – 8 pork chops, or pork steaks

Mix Together:
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup ketchup
Squirt of yellow mustard
2 teaspoons dried onion
Juice from 1 lemon

Place pork chops in pan large enough to hold the meat in a single layer
9 X 13 or 11 X 15 pan
Spread sauce over meat
Bake at 350˚F for 30 to 40 minutes, until all pink is gone from meat
Serve with thin slices of lemon to decorate

Recipe invented by Jess Kellerman in the 1930’s and revised by Amy Kellerman Armstrong in the 1990’s

Seven Layer Salad

2008-12-29T17:44:00.000-08:00

This recipe came from Mom's (Ada Ruth) oldest sister, Valeria Blake. In the spring of 1974 I took Mon and Dad back to Missouri to visit friends and family. We stayed at Uncle Tony and Aunt' Sis's cabin on the Mermac River. Aunt Sis decided to have a mini pot luck gathering and she made this salad. It was the first time I had tasted a salad like this and immediately fell in love with it. You can make all kinds of substitutions for the vegetables, adding and subtracting what you like best.

Seven Layer Salad

1 head of lettuce finely chopped
1 package of frozen peas
1 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 green onion, chopped

Layer in order in a 9X13 pan or salad bowl

Mix together:
1 pint Best Foods Mayonaise
1-2 Tablespoons sugar

Spread evenly over vegetables, making a smooth frosting

Sprinkle with:
1/2 cup cheese, grated
8 slices of bacon, crisp -crumbled
or
6-8 ounces of ham, diced

Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving

Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

2008-12-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

Jess and Ada Ruth get a crock pot for Christmas

Every Kellerman must remember Mom and Dad's Vegetable Beef Barley Soup! I remember one time they were making a pot of soup, Mom had started it and Dad thought she hadn't put in the barley, so he added more. That was Barley Beef Vegetable soup. Mom was a little upset with Dad for his "help".

Terry and I had moved to Utah in the fall of 1976. I started craving this soup, but had no idea how to make it so it would taste like home. I called Mom and Dad on the phone, they were both on a phone, and had them give me the recipe. I don't make it too often, but when I do I make a BIG pot so I have plenty to freeze.

Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

Soup bones - get some with meat on them

3 quarts of water

onions - dried - Tablespoon or so

1/2 cup barley - or so

Put into a large stock pot and bring to a boil

Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour - or so

Add:

frozen vegetables - Use your favorite combination

I like: 1 bag mixed vegetables

1 bag corn

1 bag green beans

1 can whole tomatoes - or 1 can tomato paste - or 1 can tomato juice

Cook until vegetables are done and barley is tender

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

2008-12-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

Judy, at work, wasn't she cute? And young!!!

This recipe is from Ada Ruth Kellerman. Mom was given this recipe to bring to a Mother Daughter banquet at her church, Evangelical Free, in Tempe, Arizona, May, 1974. All the women bringing the main dish used the same recipe. It was interesting to see how different each casserole looked. Needless to say, Ada Ruth's, Mom, looked the most appetizing and tasted great.

I was an operating room nurse at Dessert Samaritan Hospital, about 1/2 mile as the crow flies from Mom and Dad's house. On more than one occasion I would call Mom in the middle of the morning and ask if she could bring me the casserole. She always said yes. One time my uncle had to take her to the store to get a chicken to stew so she could make the casserole. Talk about fresh!!! All the nurses, and a few lucky doctors, loved this casserole.

I have given this recipe to many friends over the years, it quickly became a favorite to all of them, the fact that it is easy to make is a real plus.

Now I often get a rotesserie chicken in the deli to make the recipe even easier.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

1 whole chicken – boiled, boned and chopped (or get a chicken at the Deli)
1 small ca of chopped green chilies
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
½ pint sour cream
3 – 4 green onions, chopped
6 oz Doritos, crushed
½ lb cheddar cheese, grated

Place crushed Doritos in bottom of 9 x 13 casserole dish
Combine the rest of the ingredients, except cheese
Mix well
Pour over Doritos crust
Top with grated cheese

Bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes or until casserole is bubbly hot

Let rest for 10 minutes before serving
Serves 6 or so

Delicious recipe
Freezes well, leave cheese off until ready to use
Recipe doubles or triples very well

Christmas Stollen

2008-12-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

Every Saturday morning, while Jess supervised the cleaning chores we all were assigned, Ada Ruth would set a big bowl of yeast dough to raise. She did not seem to measure, but the bowl itself and the feel of the dough told her she had the right amount of yeast flour, eggs, milk and butter. For she wasn't making daily bread but the dough for sweet rolls, coffee cakes, caramel rolls. Every Saturday morning airmen would come to the house just about the time rolls were coming from the oven, the smells of cleaning products wiped out by cinnamon, hot raisins, lemon glaze and the heavenly smell of rich yeast bread. Not only sweet, rolls, but cakes, and pies were made every Saturday morning.

But for Christmas, stollen was made. The dough was richer and filled with candied fruit. Ada would roll a portion of the dough into a square, spread it with melted butter, sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar, raisins, dried fruit and roll into a long pinwheel. Then Ada would form it into a circle and carefully slash only part way into the ring. Each segment would be turned on its side, the top decorated with perfect half pecans or walnuts and green and red glace cherries and left to rise again and then baked until golden. Finally the top would be glazed with lemon jice and powdered sugar glaze while the stollen was still hot. A perfectly beautiful flower or a wreath for Christmas breakfast.

Every Christmas I make stollen for my family and special friends. I use the recipe that Ada used throughout my childhood. When she went to Arizona she learned a great many shortcuts but they weren't part of my memories, so I use the one that I watched her make. Only I have to measure the ingredients.

Christmas Stollen

Have all ingredients at about 75 degrees

Sift before measuring 6 to 8 cups of all-purpose flour (or bread flour).

Crumble 1 1/2 to 2 caakes of compressed yeast

or 3 tablespoons of dried yeast into 1 1/2 cups 85 degree scalded, cooled milk until dissolved. Add one cup of the sifted flour. Let this sponge rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk.

While it is rising sift your sugar.

Beat until soft 1 1/2 cups butter. Add the sugar gradually as you beat the butter. until it is light and creamy. Beat in one at a time 3 eggs

Add

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Add the raised sponge and the five cups flour and knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Add the larger amount of flour if it is too soft and sticky. Let it rise until almost double in bulk.

While it is rising prepare your fillings.

Candied fruit with chopped pecans or

Chopped hazelnut with grated orange peel and cinnamon or

Chopped almonds with cherry preserves or

Poppy seeds ground with raisins, sugar, sour cream and cinnamon

Variations are part of the fun.

Toss the raised dough onto a floured board. I divide it into three parts and prepare each portion a different way. Usually I make a stollen, a caramel coffee cake, and a braided apple and raisin loaf. the braided loaf, alled Vanocka is supposed to represent the swaddled Christ Child.

I used the measurements from the stollen recipe in the Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer et al, but modify the procedure to do it as my mother did.

Pantry Shelf Refrigerator Rolls (aka SweetRolls, Parker House Rolls, Crazy Carmel Rolls)

2008-12-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

This is one of the classic Kellerman recipes and a versatile one at that.

This is from Ada Ruth's kitchen and was perfected over time and many, many bakings. Ada Ruth found this recipe in a local newspaper in the mid 1960's. It replaced another yeast-dough recipe she used because she and Grandpa Jess liked how easy it was to make, that it used potato flakes and it tasted better! For me personally, this is my mom Judy's specialty. It really doesn't feel like a holiday if we don't have her carmel rolls, sweet rolls and parker house rolls - all made from the same dough. I was lucky enough to learn how to make this from my grandma Ada Ruth in my teens. However, I've only made it a couple times because it is difficult to do it bette than my mom. (note: For a yeast dough it is very easy!)

PANTRY SHELF REFRIGERATOR ROLLS

1 ½ cups dry instant potatoes 3 eggs

½ cup dry powdered milk 2 packages active dry yeast

¾ cup sugar 2 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt 5 or 6 cups all purpose flour

¾ cup salad oil

3 cups very hot tap water

In a large mixing bowl stir together the potato flakes, powdered milk, sugar, salt and oil.

Pour in the hot water and stir well.

Beat in eggs.

When cooled to lukewarm, add yeast and 2 cups of flour.

Beat for 5 minutes with electric mixer.

Let the sponge set until quite light and bubbly, about 1 hour in a warm place.

Stir in about 51/2 to 6 cups flour. Avoid adding too much flour; keep dough on the soft side.

Turn out dough onto a floured board and knead lightly until dough is smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly greased (buttered) bowl, turning once to grease surface.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down.

At this point, dough may be refrigerated for later use.

Recipe makes 6 dozen dinner rolls, or 3 dozen dinner rolls and 2 ½ dozen cinnamon rolls.

To make, simply shape, let double, bake in well greased pans for 12 to 15 minutes at 400˚F.

Parker House Rolls

Take ½ of the prepared dough and roll to slightly less than ½″ thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter, brush with melted butter and fold in half. Place in well greased pan 1/2″ apart and cover with plastic. Let double. Bake 12 to 15 minutes at 400˚F until golden. Remove from oven and brush with butter.

Cinnamon Milk Buns

Take ½ of the prepared dough and roll into a rectangle, 15″ x 9″ x 1/3″ thick (approximately). Spread with 2 tablespoons softened butter and sprinkle with ½ cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Roll into a long roll, starting on the long side, as for a jelly roll. Cut roll into 1″ slices. Place, do not crowd, in a 13″ x 9″ greased pan*. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes at 375˚F.

For a stickier and softer bun try pouring over ½ cup evaporated milk just before putting in oven.
*For Carmel rolls, pour ½ cup melted butter into bottom of pan, (cast iron skillet is good) to cover bottom, sprinkle with light brown sugar to cover butter lightly. Place cinnamon rolls on top and continue as above
Turn out on lined tray, carmel topping will be on top.

Frost the rolls while warm with a thin confectioners’ sugar frosting dribbled over the tops of the rolls.

You may add pecans bits, raisins or red and green cherries for the holidays, or a brown sugar glaze for variety. This dough is also excellent for coffee rolls or coffee cake.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-23T22:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas dinner with Ada and Jess

One of the important ways that families can stay connected is by sitting around the table enjoying good food, sharing memories and laughter. We two cousins, Kimberly Kay and Meliors, have set up this website as a way for our far-flung family to share some of the pleasures of food and fellowship with eachother. Whether we are cooking in New Zealand or eating in New York; sharing meals with an extended family in Arizona or snacking in solitude in Florida, we can use this blog as a fun and delicious way to stay connected.

The theme is food and fellowship. We want you to contribute blog posts here: recipes, photos, memories, stories, songs and jokes from the Kellerman table and from other family tables you have enjoyed. Even if you never shared a meal with Jess and Ada Ruth, or your relationship to the Kellermans is but a distant twiglet on the family tree, we would love to have you join this party.

Don't be shy, if you have never blogged before, this will be an easy way to try it out. If we already have your email address you should be set up to post to this blog. You just have to log in at www.blogger.com. If its not working, just email Kimberly or Meliors and we'll gladly help you get started.

So, please, get out your handwritten recipe books and share a dish, with a photo or memory.

Ada's Devil's Food Cake

2008-12-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

Grandma Ada Ruth gave this Devil's Food Cake recipe to Martha, who made it as her signature cake through most of my life. It is one of my most valued family heirlooms. I don't know where Ada got this recipe, does anyone else? Does anyone remember her baking this one?

This cake is virtually fool proof, responds well to an apparent infinite number of variations, stays moist for over a week if not entirely consumed sooner and is super easy to make. The secret is the sour milk (1 tbsp of vinegar in a cup then fill it up with milk and leave in a warm place til it starts looking like runny yoghurt) and I suspect this is responsible for the slightly reddish tone of the dark chocolate and the amazing, unique smell when you stir in a cup of hot water right at the end.

The cake is so moist it is delicious without being iced/frosted: just a sprinkle of icing/confectioners sugar makes it look elegant. And a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla icecream on the side for extra indulgence. However, any good chocolate icing turns this into a special occasion cake.

Extra-sinful variations I have tried and enjoyed have included:
- stirring cherries into the batter at the end
- replacing vanilla with brandy
- making in a bundt (tube) pan, or as cupcakes, and then hollowing out the middle and filling with chocolate mousse (there are still people who remember that version fondly from some 20 years ago!)

Grandma Ada Ruth's Devil's Food Cake

3 cups plain flour
2 cups white sugar*
6 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup sour milk
1 cup cooking oil
1 tsp vanilla

Sift the dry ingredients into a big bowl.
Mix the wet ingredients together.
Stir wet into dry until completely combined.
Stir in 1 cup of hot water.
Bake at 190/375 degrees until the top springs back (about one hour).

*I use half a cup less which stops the top of the cake from cracking, and is still sweet enough for my taste.

This portrait of Ada Ruth Taylor was sent to Jess when he was in France. At the same time portraits of ther first two babies ,Ruth Jean and Martha Taylor, and her Mother-in- law were taken and they were combined on a single card , small enough to fit in a breast pocket. I seem to remember the card said, ' Greetings from Home'