The strangest thing has happened since we have moved. The dozen eggs we routinely bought every few weeks…just sits. We are childfree except when the younger kids are here and one of them is strongly anti-egg. The girl child who made scrambled eggs on a regular basis–has her own place now. I can’t seem to remember to boil eggs for egg salad so it is cold by lunch time. In any case, we have a dozen eggs that has not moved since it came to this house. Maybe deviled eggs will break the eggs back in.

I am considering these, because one of the kids LOVES cheese nips. LOVES them. I will use less mayo though…but do note the interesting method with the breading of one end of the egg.

Cheese Deviled Eggs

6 hard-cooked eggs
1 tsp mustard
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c. finely crushed cheese crackers
1/2 c. mayonnaise
paprika

Halve eggs lengthwise; remove yolks. Press yolks through a fine sieve; (oh just smush them with a fork); add mustard, parsley, salt, pepper, and 1/2 of the crumbs and mayonnaise. Refill centers of whites with yolk mixture; press two halves together.. Dip one end of each egg into remaining mayonnaise and into crumbs. Sprinkle with paprika. Yield: 6 servings. From Favorite Salad Recipes of America.

Marzipan is hot these days. After years of being a creepy, foreign seeming thing (though my father loved it and my mother made real marzipan for him every other year or so), marzipan is popping up all over…even in some of our new grocery stores.
This recipe though is from long ago and is an easy-to-make marzipan that doesn’t require almond paste! If you are making this mainly for the pretty decoration and don’t like the heavy almond flavor you can even cut down or eliminate the almond extract or use vanilla instead. (oh the Marzipan purists will be horrified)

Marzipan

1 package Baker’s fine grated coconut
1 package (3 oz) Jell-0 Gelatin (any fruit flavor)
1 cup grated blanched almonds
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Thoroughly mix all ingredients. Shape as small fruits, vegetables, hearts, Easter eggs or other forms. If desired, use food coloring to paint details on fruit and add stems of whole cloves or angelica. Chill until dry. Store, covered, at room temperature. Makes 2 to 3 dozen candies. From Joys of Jell-0, ~1960

For fruits use:

strawberry – strawberry gelatin
bananas, pears, lemons-lemon gelatin
green apples, leaves-green gelatin (err lemon-lime/lime)
oranges-orange gelatin
Cherries-cherry or black cherry gelatin

Yes, I did make a menu…well really a fake flexi-menu. I made a hashbrown casserole on Sunday. I created a rice salad with garbanzo beans on the fly on Sunday as well. I also baked a chicken, made a cucumber salad (but not this cucumber salad) and a tomato salad. Oh, roasted potatoes too. This will last us until pay day as lunches/dinners with bits and pieces of cheese, bread, crackers, etc.

Ok, I will tell you how to make the cucumber salad I grew up requesting:

Grab a few cucumbers, I use pickling cucumbers because I like them better, but you can use salad cucumbers. I don’t mind. I did peel them this week, but sometimes just score them for prettiness or leave the skins on for laziness. Slice them thin. Add some thin slices of onion, probably a one slice of onion to 2 parts cucumber ratio. Sprinkle with salt (I sort of over salted this week, oops.) and some dill. Then add a dollop of sour cream. NOT TOO MUCH, just barely enough to touch each cucumber. Why? Because then magic happens. You throw the salad in the fridge for an hour or two or overnight and the cucumbers sweat like crazy leaving you with a thin creamy dressing. You can adjust the salt/dill/add a bit of sugar/vinegar/whatever tickles your fancy just before serving. Though now that I think about it, if you think you might want a bit of sugar in it, do it when you add salt and dill before refrigerating.

Super simple and with a plate of sun ripened tomatoes on the side, you convince me it is  summer in the dead of winter.

We are broke. Really, really, really broke. Moving is expensive and so is setting up house. (and kids in college, and kids who aren’t in college) I know we aren’t the only ones and I know there are folks out there much worse off. It will get better for us (and hopefully for everyone else). Just right now, the bills are flying in and there is no money to fly them out. I hate that. It has hit the point where I am rummaging my brain for the filling, thrifty meals that I do know how to make. Unfortunately, bills just cause the specter of Spam and Macaroni and Cheese to rise up in my brain…my mother’s special version. (substitute mayo for the margarine, add a tablespoon or so of yellow mustard)

Now, this is not the reality in our house. A good friend sent us a 50 buck Trader Joe’s gift card as a thank you and housewarming present, so we are eating pretty fancy bits and pieces. The farmer’s market has some good deals.

I am working on a plan though. Really. I am going to sit down and work out a menu and get back in my pre-move habits. Tomorrow! Really. Hold me to it.

In the meantime, I rummaged through my grandmother’s recipe box for ideas on what to post here tonight. This recipe won’t fly with my tight budget now that I live in the north. However, down south, where pecans are cheap (or free!) this makes a good substitute for hamburgers, veggie burgers or crab/fish cakes. I tend to add some Old Bay (1/2 the salt, 1/2 Old Bay) if I am pretending they are crabcakes.

Pecanburgers

1 1/2 cups ground pecans
1 egg, well-beaten
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
1 cup milk
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 teaspoon onion, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Mix together pecans, soft bread crumbs, well beaten egg, minced onion, minced parsley, salt and milk. Chill for two hours. Drop spoonfuls into hot fat in skillet. Brown about 5 minutes on each side. (You can broil if you prefer) Serve with hot mushroom sauce (my grandmother generally did a diluted, then thickened cream of mushroom for this…I skip this and serve them ala crabcakes or veggie burgers)

I have to confess something…if I use the word surprise to describe any recipe…my children automatically beg to eat out or are suddenly struck by stomach aches. Why? I have no idea.

Allergy to the word surprise? Who knows. I, however, love a little surprise in my dinner.

This recipe seems like it will do the trick. Will renaming it coax children to eat it? Or will it suffer the fate of the Asparagus Jell-0?

From Joys of Jell-0, early 1960s I think by the look of it.
Note the fabulous economy of using the can from the tomatoes for the mold. Imagine the surprise the kids will have when I unmold a Jell-0 salad from a pineapple can!!!! They like pineapple! and tomatoes! and Jell-0! How could I go wrong?

Ok…so maybe they are not so keen on the surprise or the three combined.

Tomato Surprise

A can of flavorful stewed tomatoes becomes a tempting mold

1 can stewed tomatoes
1 3 oz package Jell-o lemon, strawberry or mixed fruit gelatin
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon vinegar

Pour tomatoes into saucepan, saving can to use as mold. Bring tomatoes to a boil, add Jell-o and salt, stirring until dissolved. Add vinegar. Pour into can. Chill until firm. To unmold, puncture bottom of can before dipping into warm water. Serve with mayonnaise, if desired. Makes about 2 cups, or 4 side salads, OR 6 relish servings.

If you increase the vinegar to 1 1/2 tablespoons and add a can of drained crushed pineapple, and a smidge of allspice, you can make Tomato Pineapple Surprise. You need to use both your tomato can and your pineapple can for molds in that case.

My memories of Gourmet magazine come from…9th grade Home Ec. We had an assignment where we went through old Gourmet magazines and found a recipe to try at home. Tonight…look at what I discovered… Food Flashes…retro Gourmet Magazine columns.

This recipe is for Mochamomma. You see, she expressed a certain fondness on Twitter the other day for Curried Chicken Salad. I had to point out that I make a great curried chicken salad…without the chicken.

I in the beginning used the Yves unbreaded chickn patties for this vegetarian variation on my mother’s curried chicken salad. Then I moved to using tofu…experimented a bit with chicken flavored seitan. Denise loves any version and tofu is easier to get. I am particularly fond of using the Marjon brand of firm tofu but I haven’t found it here since we moved.

The recipe is rough because, well, I do it out of my head. It is based on the Bird of Paradise salad in Joy of Cooking.

Take one block of well-drained tofu or chicken substitute of your choice (or chicken…about 2-3 cups). Dice it up. Add one chopped apple. I use granny smith usually. You can also halve 1/2 to 1 cup of grapes to add in. (a mixture of green and red is nice). If you are into some crunch, chop a stalk of celery and throw in.  Stir it together. Throw some curry powder and salt on top. 1-2 teaspoons curry powder. 1 tsp salt or salt to taste. Add JUST enough mayo for it all to stick together. At this point, it is best to throw it in the fridge for a couple hours, overnight or however long you can wait.  Just before serving, stir in about a cup of cashews.

This is way easy. Fabulous served with French bread or the bread of your choice.