can i use measurements like "a little" "a lot" "just enough" and "the right amount"??

yessum

then YES!

I've probably mentioned this before, but at the end of each recipe in my mother's Amish cookbook is says "Then cook till done"!

and excellent advice it is!

If you've ever eaten Amish food, you know they are doing something right.

do they have a particular 'style' of food? I've always just assume it was bland and simple (not showy and simple like the lifestyle they lead)

Amish food is anything but bland. There are Amish restaurants in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

what seasonings do they use?

I'll break out the Amish cookbook I got for Christmas out later, and post some recipes...

MOCK HAM LOAF 1 lb. hamburger 1 egg beaten 1/2 lb. hotdogs, ground 1 t. salt 1/4 t. pepper 1 c. cracker crumbs Mix together above ingredients, then add 1/2 of glaze to mixture and put in loaf. Add rest of glaze to top and bake in oven for 1 hour at 350. Glaze: 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup water 1 T. vinegar 1/2 T. ground mustard by Mrs. Anna W. Yoder

That's another thing--all Amish people have the same 3 surnames, Yoder, Peachey and Zook! It's interesting the publisher included cook times and temperatures. Naturally, they have neither because they don't use an electricity-powered oven. Guess they thought it would be more marketable that way.

DANDELION AND EGGS Fry dandelion greens in butter till crisp. They will turn black, but they are not burnt if you keep adding butter while frying. Also add salt, as long as you can see green they are not done frying. When they are done, put eggs on top. Cover and turn burner off. Let set till eggs are done. Serve for breakfast. by Mrs. Anna Mast

Butter? Any Amishwoman worth her salt knows lard's the best thing for frying...and baking...and cooking in general.

Lard, no thanks.

Most authentic Mexican food is prepared with lard.

Oh Lord!

That's why they roll their r's like that. 'Oh Lorrrrrrd, not larrrrd again!'

Maybe they just have a hard time getting their tongue not to stick to the roof of their mouth.

No, then it would've been: Oh Lot, not lat again!

OR: OT ToT, Tot Tat Atait!

*laugh*

�BIG SMILE�

Try it with amouth full of peanut butter. It sounds even funnier.

How do you know?

I wonder...with which peanut butter might one get the funniest sound...smooth or crunchy...? I lost my recipe for barbeque sauce...(shows you how many times I actually made it, eh?) Anyone have a recipe for a favorite one to share?

what style?

Anyone interested in great teriyaki sauce (make my own) or Hawaiian anything? or cooking with long rice (not rice at all) or "local food" in the Islands?

yes, yes, yes!

Teriyaki Sauce 1 1/2 cups shoyu (Kikkoman is best on the mainland) 1 cup sugar (crude, if you have it) 3 cloves garlic (crushed) 4 tbsp sesame seeds toasted in 1 tbsp oil several shavings of fresh ginger (keeps almost forever in freezer) 1/2 cup water fresh Coriander (Cilantro or Flat-leaf parsley) 1/4 tsp anise or fennel seeds (powder them in a little electric coffee grinder) or3 Chinese Star anise segments It is best if you can make this ahead of your using it. This is pretty strong so it will toughen thinly-sliced red meat left in it too long. It is better to thicken it with corn starch and coat the meat when it is done cooking.

couldn't you thin it with water and/or rice vinegar or fruit juice to use it as a marinade?

Yes, anything acidic would be good...You just must not have the concentrated sugar and/or salt toughening the meat.

Is the sauce recipe to be cooked, and if not, when is it to be strained and/or how long will it keep?

Another use of this sauce is in shoyu chicken. Arrange however many pieces of chicken thighs you wish to cook in a flat glass baking dish. Pour sauce straight onto the chicken to about 1/3 of the way up the thighs. Cover with foil and bake slowly for an hour or so, turning them once during the cooking. Meat should fall off the bones when done. Serve with rice and pour remainind pan juices into cup for pouring over meat and rice.

There is nothing "raw" in it. Just combine the ingredients and let it sit refrigerated to get all of the flavors blended. It will keep indefinitely. Does not mold, so it will last just about forever (or till you run out of it.) Strain the large pieces out when you have it for table use.

Thinking of how I do actually make it, I do it in a deep sauce pan so I can dissolve the sugar as it heats and makes the other spices release their oils and flavors. But, there is no need to boil or "cook" it to preserve it. Just to let everything get wonderfully flavorful.

I have been thinking about the option of juices and other flavored liquid to dilute my Teriyaki sauce. That would surely change the taste of it, so I think it had better be water. At least you will preserve the flavor. On another note more in the helpful hints category (is there one?)

FAVORITE FRUIT CAKE RECIPE 1 C. WATER 1 C. SUGAR 4 LARGE EGGS 2 C. DRIED FRUIT 1 TSP BAKING SODA 1 TSP SALT 1 C. BROWN SUGAR LEMON JUICE NUTS 1 GALLON WHISKEY Sample the whiskey to check for quality. Take a large bowl. check the whiskey again to be sure that it is of the highest quality. Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer, beat 1 cup butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add 1 tsp sugar and beat again. Make sure the whiskey is still good. Cry another tup. Turn off the mixer. Break two legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the dried fruit. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters, pry loose with a drewscriver. Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift 2 cups of salt. Or something. who cares. Check the whiskey. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add 1 tbsp of sugar or something. whatever you can find. Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out the window. Check the whiskey again. go to bed. Who the Hell likes fruitcake, anyway!?

:-)

We need to put interesting posts for the host to read later. I thought that one might just be the sort...*grin*

i LOVE fruitcake! (and I think I could decipher some semblance of order from the above!)

I think it is a fairly basic fruit cake recipe, and I happen to like them a lot, but the only whiskey I use is in the Hard Sauce to serve with it. Some day I shall have to put the recipe I have developed for Hawaiian Fruity Cake which started out as Banana Bread and I took it from there out of sheer boredom. It it the requested item I bring to all pot-luck suppers.

sounds delectable... lemme guess... bananas, pineapple, passionfruit... all the faves?

whatever is in season...guava is also good...and I have been known to put cranberry sauce in it in the absence of fresh fruit.

Banana-Pineapple Fruity-Cake 3 cups flour 2 cups sugar (crude is best but light brown will suffice - or even white) 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 3 slighly beaten eggs 2 cups mashed bananas (apple bananas are best...or slightly green regular ones) 1 cup cooking oil (I use 1 1/2 sticks margarine) 1 cup crushed pineapple ( little flat can is perfect) ******************************************** This is the basic recipe. At christmas I add whole berry canned cranberry sauce and glace' fruit. Grated apple is also good as are currants, raisins, cinnamon...use your imagination! I have even added Tang...not bad! ******************************************* In one bowl add all wet ingredients including the melted margarine and egg. Stir until mixed thoroughly. In another bowl sift dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Make a well in dry ingredients and add wet ingredients to them. combine and mix until thoroughly blended. Pour batter into greased bundt pan ( large tube pan). Bake at 350� for 65-70 minutes or until done. ********************************************* For a more festive-looking cake, before adding the batter to the pan, place nut halves and glace' fruit on the bottom of the pan in designs, then pour in the batter. Layering glace'd fruit 1/2 way through with more nuts. Add rest of batter. After cooling, invert on large plate for serving or store in enamelled pan (which is what I usually do when I make it for me.)

Does anyone want the recipe for Hawaiian Chili-pepper Water (our version of Tabasco) or Pennsylvania Dutch Souse (pickled and jellied pork shanks)? I have!

Yes!

Haupia 12oz coconut milk (not the water from cracked coconuts. This is grated fresh coconut meat squeezed through cheesecloth...or purchased in cans) 3/4 cup water 5 tbsp white sugar 5 tbsp cornstarch vanilla ---------------------------- Using a double boiler, combine ingredients and cook until thoroughly thickened. It will thicken in globs at first. Beat gently until all thickened and globs are consolidated. Increase heat and beat vigorously to keep from burning. When the coconut fat melts, it is done. Pour into greased 8" square glass baking dish. Cool. Cut into squares to serve.

Hawaiian Chili-Pepper Water Ingredients: Tiny hot chili peppers Garlic Salt Water Vinegar ---------------- Wash and chop chili peppers and garlic fine. Add salt (Sea salt is best). Add water. Boil ingredients for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer to clean glass container. Add at least 1 Tbsp white vinegar per cup of chili pepper water. Mix well and cap. Refrigerate immediately and between use. Alternative method: wash and add to container garlic and chili peppers. Add salt and marinate in white vinegar (NO water!). Refrigerate. ----------------- If I ever see this recipe with amounts of ingredients listed I will tell you. I have made it a lot, and it is about a handful of those little incendiary peppers and a few to several cloves of garlic. I tbsp of coarse salt should be sufficient. This is one of those recipes which tastes different each time you make it.

Portuguese Bean soup??? (a real good hearty soup) Korean Chicken??? Papaya Cobbler which tastes like peach??? Have those recipes, too.

yez, yez, yez...

Question: Should the Souse recipe go under pickles or here?

here... i like things simple... *smile* or wherever you want to post it!

Unless I hear otherwise, I shall put all recipes here...(hunting for it amongst the stuff I got out last night to post...)

This is good for pot-luck suppers or picnics. Make ahead and store in refrigerator in glass baking dish. Serve cold or hot. Korean Chicken Using 2 pounds of chicken thighs Mince - 1 stalk green onion 2 cloves garlic 1 small slice peeled fresh ginger Mix with - 1/3 cup shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) 1 teasp Sesame seeds toasted 1/8 teasp black pepper 1 teasp Sesame oil Marinate chicken for a few hours or overnight. Cook in mixture and serve.

This is a grey jellied cold salad item served plain on lettuce of Pennsylvania Dutch origin. I was my Mother's recipe. Souse 3 fresh pork shanks (as meaty as possible) 10 whole black peppercorns 1 whole bay leaf 1 teasp salt 1 quart water (1/3 cup vinegar) -------------------------------- Boil ingredients (minus vinegar) until meat falls off bones. (1 1/2 - 2 hours) Cut meat into small pieces discarding the bones and skin. Strain juice. Add 1/3 cup vinegar and water if necessary (taste it to be sure it is not too watery or too sour.) Regrigerate. ---------------------------- To serve, remove the lard which has formed on the surface of just the part you wish to serve right then. Slice into 1/2" thick slices and arrange on lettuce.

Honey-Glazed Stilton Potatoes 4 large baking potatoes 2 oz/60 g butter freshly ground black pepper 4 oz/ 110 g Blue Stilton, thinly sliced 1-2 tablespoons honey Scrub and dry the potatoes, and prick them all over. Bake towards the top of a preheated oven at 200�C/400�F/Mark6, until they feel soft when squeezed slightly. Cooking time will depend on the size and thickness of the potato. When cooked, remove the potatoes from the oven and cut a slice from the broadest surface of each one. Scoop the soft flesh out into a bowl, keeping the skins intact. Mix in the butter with a fork, and pepper to taste. Spoon back into the potatoe skins and smooth the surface , leavin enough room to lay thin slices of stilton on top. Trickle honey over the cheese and put under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes for the honey and the cheese to melt and bubble. Serve immediatly. Serves 4 Frances Bissell, The Times Cookbook, London 1993

Wow, I've never heard of that. And it looks pretty easy, so I'm defenitely going to try it. HONEY potatoes - yum yum!!!

Don't suppose anyone has a chocolate potatoe recipe?

I think mine says boil the potatoes, serve them to the rest of your guests and you hide in the kitchen and eat the chocolate. no?!

Ooh, Marcia, you're so GOOD at putting ideas into people's heads!

...especially the non-constructive sort...*lol*

It's the only sort I would allow into my head...

You're my kinda gal...!

cool and edgy, right?

Hey, all you marvels of nature, cool & edgy and fiery-temperamental folks, What about yam-recipes? See new topic!

Do you mean without marshmallows? You want salty ones of those, too?

And what the heck does he mean by 'fiery-temperamental'?! Marcia, have you got a side I've never noticed?? Marshmellows!!!! �marching forward, singing the National Munchkin Anthem�

My Dear...Only when properly enraged or aroused does anyone see that side of me. I thought I had kept it pretty well hidden...*sigh* Pass the mushmmellers.

Here ya go. Want me to give you a few lessons on how to be mild tempered and diplomatic? �virginal smile�

sitting at the feet of my mentor and waiting pearls of wisdom to fall from her lips...I am all absorbant!

Unfolding two months of sitting at the feet of Ree can be a lonely business...hungry, as well. I offer a traditional British vegetarian dish: MUSHY PEAS (this is Anne Hale's recipe) Buy 1 lb of dried peas, must be green, by the way. Soak overnight with pinch of salt and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda. Next morning rinse throughly with cold water, empty out all water by using colandar and place peas into a muslin bag - then cook until soft and mushy. Its not that hard - but you can only obtain the muslin bags in U.K. not here in Oz. So, rather than make one up for myself, I am lazy and buy them in a tin. Anne

Where is Riette, anyway??

I guess, back at school...

with two munchkins I figured she'd be overwhelmed by the holiday season... how 'bout you Autumn... overwhelmed yet??

Actually, this is a pretty peaceful year for us. With the homeschooling we got a lot of family stuff done early on, rather than trying to cram it all in during the evenings (like last year). My girls only get 3 things each anyway (hey, it was good enough for Jesus), so most of the shopping is for extended family/friends.

I like that, Autumn...those three gifts. Mine got about the same and we still do it that way.

Now I'm just trying to get this f*#@&$% easy-bake oven up and running!!!

I trying to get this f*#@&$% nameserver back to normal. http://206.97.234.70/dns and http://206.97.234.70 folks! Write those ip addresses down and use them to get in.

...But neither of them worked for me...

Spinach dip recipe already here - http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/food/42.81