Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Raspberry Sherbet

Tastes like late summer–sweet and slightly creamy! Wonderful at the end of a warm day.

Put ice cream canister in the freezer to chill.

Put 4 cups fresh raspberries, 1 1/2 cups water, and 2 cups sugar (or use a natural substitute) in a saucepan and cook, not boil, for at least 5 minutes. You want softened berries.

Puree in the blender. You may seive to remove seeds if you like. Cool.

Add 2 egg whites to puree in mixer bowl and beat until light. Fold in 1 cup of heavy whipping cream. Pour into ice cream canister. Add milk to the level needed for your individual ice cream maker.

Follow manufacturer's directions for freezing.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Clean Dishes in the Dishwasher

My dear daughter-in-law was having trouble getting clean dishes in her dishwasher. She asked me for some suggestions since her's is similar to mine. She had already seen me take the vent apart and clean the gunk out of it and had tried this.

We decided that she has extremely hard water and because she was having bits of food left on her glasses that her water was not wet enought.

First she tried running some white vinegar through to clean out the tubes and help get rid of mineral deposits. Next, she changed how she was adding the soap and dishes. No more rinsing everything off the plates. A appliance repair man had told me to not fill the main soap dispenser all the way. Only fill it about 3/4ths (even with our hard water). But to put a small amount in the pre-wash dispenser. The newer dishwashers are designed to bounce that first bit of soap around to cause a chain reaction. The bouncing bits of soap will ricochet around causing all the food to come off the dishes. She is thrilled with clean dishes coming out of her dishwasher.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Peach Sherbet

Last summer I made Raspberry Sherbet from fresh raspberries using this recipe: http://www.brm-icecream.com/rasblc.htm It was very yummy. This weekend for daughter-in-law's birthday I adapted the recipe and made Peach Sherbet using some of my home-canned peaches.

Makes almost 1 gallon

Drain a quart jar of peaches. Put in saucepan with 2 cups sugar and 1 1/2 cups of water. Cook for 5 minutes.

Puree fruit mixture in blender. Be careful the mixture is hot!

In large mixer bowl blend 1 cup heavy cream and 2 egg whites into fruit mixture.

Pour into ice cream maker. Add milk to reach the fill line. Process sherbet following the ice cream maker’s instructions.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Graham Cracker Delight

1 package marshmallows
24 graham crackers
1 1/4 cup milk
1 package Dream Whip (can you still get it? equivalent in whip cream?)
1 small can crushed pineapple (Size??)

Put marshmallows and milk in top of double boiler and melt, set off to cool.

Rolls graham crackers and put in bottom of pan, save some to sprinkle on top. (How much?)

Prepare Dream Whip according to instructions and place in refrigerator.

Drain crushed pineapple and add to cooled marshmallow mixture. Then mix in Dream Whip. Pour over graham cracker crumbs and sprinkle with reserved graham cracker crumbs on top. Chill for several hours or over-night.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Benefits of Whole Grains-other grains

The following are some notes on different types of grains than the standard hard and soft wheat.

Kamut–(Egyptian for wheat) It is a wheat and has the necessary gluten content. It is 20-40% higher in protein that whole wheat, higher in minerals, magnesium and zinc and up to 65% higher in amino acids. Texture is lighter than whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour. Many with wheat allergies can tolerate Kamut. It is the closest we probably have to the wheat of the Bible. Slightly yellowish grains are longer and larger than wheat kernels.

Spelt–Probably part of Ezekiel’s bread in Ezekiel 4:9, and has been grown up to the present. It is the dinkle of Switzerland and farro of Italy. Closer to our bread wheat in structure than Kamut. Higher in fiber that wheat and rich in essential fatty acids. The nutrients are found in the inner kernel of the grain, while wheat’s is in the bran and germ. Use less liquid or more flour in recipes.

Corn–The America’s contribution to grains. Commonly available in the following forms:
•Dent corn is field corn used for cornmeal. Most commonly degerminated. Stoneground is not degermed. (Degermed is like white flour, has lost much of its nutrients.)
•Popcorn
•Sweet corn, we eat on the cob, canned, and frozen
•Masa, parched corn with lime used in Mexican tortillas
•Blue corn (Hopi corn), sweeter and milder than yellow corn, is used in pancakes, tortillas, and corn chips.

Corn is especially high in magnesium and yellow corn is the only grain that contains Vitamin A.
Oats–Most Americans eat oats as oatmeal or in cereal for breakfast. To produce rolled oats: husked grains are partially cooked by passing them through a steam chamber, the partially cooked grains are flattened by heated rollers, the flattened grains are dried. Rolled oat flakes retain virtually all the nutritional value of the original grains. If you look at an old fashioned flake you can see the rib of the whole grain down the center of it. Quick oats are flatter than old fashioned and have been steel cut before rolling. Scotch oatmeal uses oat groats, groats are stone-cut rather than steel cut. All forms of oats provide valuable whole grain nutrition. Oats provide: high amount of grain protein and fat, rich in iron, phosphorus, inositol, grain with highest B-1, fair source of B-2 and E, and contain silicon, valuable to healthy hair, skin, eyes, and nails.

Brown Rice–is the second most used staple grain in the world. White rice is comparable to white flour, denuded of nutrients. Converted rice is a better option than white. Use brown rice.. Varieties: long grain is fluffier and has a drier texture; medium grain is simply between the long and short; short grain cooks up chewier and stickier, basmati is a long grain rice with an elegant flavor of its own, especially suited to the gourmet meal; sweet rice is very glutinous sticky rice, Japanese use for mochi.

As a flour, rice lacks gluten so it is not a good baker. It is slightly grainy in texture and can add crispness to crackers and cookies, lighten yeast bread when added to wheat and makes a good thickener in place of white flour.

In America rice is heavily sprayed, second only to cotton. Seriously consider using organically certified or certified chemical free rice.

Barley–genus, Hordeum
•Pearl Barley–hull and two hard outer layers of the grain are removed. For soups and casseroles, pearl barley is the most palatable form. Nutritionally in the same class as white flour and white rice.
•Whole hulled barley–only the inedible hull and one hard outer layer has been removed leaving most of the nutritional value intact. Makes a good breakfast cereal, use in place of wheat in quick breads, lighten baked goods by replacing 2 tablespoons of each cup of wheat flour with 2 tablespoons of barley flour. High in lysine. It is a non-gas forming grain that is easy to digest. I’ve included a recipe to cook with rice to make pilaf. Exchange equal amounts barley and hard wheat for rice.

Rye–commercial loaves are usually combinations of white flour and light or dark rye flour. Light rye flour is like white flour, denuded of nutrients. An all rye yeast bread loaf makes a very heavy, dense loaf. It is a low-gluten grain. Use in combination with whole wheat flour. Some people don’t care for rye, because of the flavor–often mistakenly, it is the flavor of caraway seed that is added to rye bread.

Millet–little yellow birdseed. It was a staple in China before rice. Millet is actually any of a wide variety of small-seeded hay or cereal grasses. Gluten-free grain and almost no one is allergic to it. Contains a balance of amino acids, more iron and vitamins than any other cereal. In baking use with other grains. Up to 1/5 the amount of wheat flour can be replaced with millet flour successfully. It will seem dry in quick breads alone. You may include a tablespoon or two whole in yeast breads for texture.

Wild Rice–is really an aquatic grass native to northeastern North America. Use in place or with brown rice. There is enough proteins, carbohydrates, and nutrients to sustain a long and healthy life supplemented with little other food. Currently is very expensive. You can mix with other rices.

Triticale–first raised in Sweden in the 1930’s, is the blending of two different grains, wheat and rye. Combines the higher gluten and protein of wheat with the high lysine content of rye. The gluten is soft, necessitating gentle kneading and only one rising of the dough. Using one part triticale to 2 parts of wheat will help. Included flaked in 5/7-grain flaked cereal.

Quinoa (KEEN-wah)–Staple grain from Andes in South America. Cooks quickly. Delicate flavor and gourmet look. Gluten-free. Has high protein and lysine content, making for a more complete amino protein, one of the most nutritious grains. Rinse for 1-2 minutes and then soak overnight, drain, and rinse for 1 minute again. Use in blender waffles/pancakes.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Benefits of Whole Grains-Gluten

Kernel = Berries. How whole grain flours act in baking depends mostly on their gluten content.

GLUTEN-FREE
brown rice
corn
millet
amaranth
quinoa
sorghum

LOW GLUTEN
barley
oats
rye
buckwehat
triticale
teff
soft wheat

HIGH GLUTEN
hard wheat
Kamut
Spelt

High gluten grains are best for yeast bread. The gluten, a protein part of the grain, should be developed as it is kneaded. It will look like stretch marks–elasticity must be developed for a good loaf of bread. The elastic fibers trap the gas formed by the yeast and gives the bread its rise and lightness of texture. A mix may be used of 1/4 other flour with high gluten flour. (Of 6 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups may be other.) Add the other flours at the end of kneading. It will effect the loaf.

For quick breads without yeast, such as muffins, pancakes, waffles, biscuits, etc. low-gluten grains and lower-gluten whole wheat pastry flour generally work well. In recipes where baking soda, baking powder, and air from egg whites are used for leavening, the gluten elasticity if developed will actually toughen the texture of the baked goods. Kamut and Spelt don’t seem to have this problem.

With a sturdy blender, one that excels at crushing ice, you can “grind” rolled oats, tiny grains, and crack whole grains for hot cereal.

Wheat–At least 30,000 varieties of wheat have been developed. Genus Triticum. For baking purposes we will concern ourselves with four kinds.

Hard–Hard winter red wheat, known also as Bronze Chief, was developed in Canada, and is one of the finest wheat because of its high protein/gluten content for yeast bread baking. This is what I use for my sandwich bread and sometimes french bread. It gives the red-brown color associated with wheat bread. Many store bought breads are colored to fool the consumer.

Gold, commonly called Prairie Gold, Golden 86, is a hard wheat that gives a much lighter color. I use it in buns, rolls, french bread, and for pizza. It will work in quick breads, muffins, and desserts that do not use yeast. It will not give as light of a texture as Pastry wheat.

Pastry–comes from soft wheat. It is both lower in protein and gluten than the hard bread flours. This makes a lighter textured quick bread and dessert flour. The banana bread, muffins were made with this. The Chocolate Beet Cake I brought to the pot-luck at church last Sunday I used 1/2 pastry wheat with a little barley and 1/2 unbleached flour.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Grandma's Peanut Brittle



2 cups sugar
1 cup white syrup (light corn syrup??)
2 cups raw peanuts
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Then add sugar and white syrup. Stir until dissolved and boil until it will spin a thread. (Check temp****)
Now add peanuts and cook slowly over a low fire until it turns a golden brown. Take from fire and add butter, soda, and vanilla. Stir quickly. Spread on 2 large cookie sheets that have been well buttered. Place in cold area.