Thanks again to Passionate Vegetarian and Crescent Dragonwagon* for another excellent meal. I made the Pasta with Pumpkin recipe last night and it was well-received. All sorts of nice beta-carotene vitamins, a bit of a different quick and easy recipe.
Here is what you do: Start some water on to boil and then toss your fettucine noodles in it while you peel a small pumpkin. Yes…a SMALL pumpkin…1-2 lb. This is the hardest part. (Does anyone have pumpkin peeling tips by the way?)  Slice it in long narrow strips. I think the recipe said 1/3 inch strips. I used the mandolin on the thick slice which is probably much thinner than that. I don’t know. Saute the strips for a few minutes. Then toss some garlic in…I used about 1 1/2 tsps of the chopped “jar” garlic. Stick a lid on the pan, I tossed a bit of water in it from the boiling noodles too. Cook for about 5 minutes until pumpkin is tender. (and your noodles should be done by this point as well) Drain the noodles. Dump them back in the pot you boiled them in. Mix in pumpkin and some fresh grated parmesan. (yes, use fresh grated this time–by the way I found quite the deal on inexpensive parmesan at a grocery store that focuses on mainly imported foods from Europe)  Add some salt and pepper.  Serve. That is it.  Super quick, simple and a nice change of pace.

Note: this is very, very filling.

*By the way, if you are at all a corn bread fan or corn fritter fan or anything with corn meal–the Cornbread Gospels ROCKS-she sent me a copy and I am definitely going to talk more about it–though I would have even if I bought it.

These are quick and easy. They are delightful…and a perfect way to look like you were paying attention when you signed up to bring a cookie to the church social hour or the PTA coffee. They will be comforting…but a wee bit different… a wee bit trendy…they are so retro they are back. Parchment paper or waxed paper will make this easier, but don’t worry if you don’t have any on hand.

Pecan Confections

Beat 1 egg white to a stiff froth. Add gradually 1 cup brown sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon flour and 1/8 tsp salt. Fold in 1 cup chopped pecans. Drop by teaspoons on greased cookie sheet. Bake in slow oven, 300 F., for 15 min. Cool a little before removing from cookie sheet. Makes 2 dozen.

As I have mentioned before, I seem to be the family holder of recipes. I do have my great-grandmother’s recipe cards. I did jot down a few important recipes over the phone in the 20 or so years I have not lived with my mom. Now, I do get the occasional call for a recipe or an email.

My sister wrote one such email the other day asking after the recipe box. She needs a number of recipes. The following is one of them. Now, here is the thing.

This IS the right recipe and it does work…except when it doesn’t. I am not sure why–magic? timing? witchcraft?. And of course, none of us who have sat through a long meal with Nini presiding in hopes of getting a slice of her caramel cake at the end will ever be quite satisfied with it. The frosting really is the important part, but if you need to know…it goes on a basic 1-2-3-4 cake.

Caramel Frosting

2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar (melted)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt

Put the 2 cups sugar, salt and 3/4 milk in saucepan, stir until well-mixed and bring to a boil. In another dry pan, but the 1/2 cup sugar and melt while the other mixture is coming to the boiling point. When a golden brown, add to first mixture (take off fire while adding). Cook to soft ball stage, add butter and vanilla. Cool and beat until thick enough to use.

We have an abundance of apples. From the scene at the farmer’s market this week, we aren’t the only ones. There are few things better in the fall for using up apples than an apple cake. Here is a family favorite.

Apple Cake

2 qts chopped apples in 2 qt baking dish

Cream together 1 stick butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 egg.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbs. baking powder. Combine with creamed ingredients. Pour batter over apples.
Top with 3/4 cup of sugar mixed with cinnamon. Bake 45 min at 375 F.

My kids like plain steamed broccoli. I know. Strange children. However, tonight we are having broccoli casserole. This violates their sensibility but some day I hope to bring them over to the casserole dark side.

This is from my grandmother’s recipe box. Yes, you can cut the mayo down and the eggs. I use only 1 can of cream of mushroom and skip the butter topping. Somehow I feel a little virtuous doing these things…but on the other hand Nini’s tasted better.

Broccoli Casserole

2 cups chopped broccoli
1 onion, chopped
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
4 eggs
2 small cans mushroom soup
salt and pepper

Mix and cook at 350 until bubbles. Top with butter and bread crumbs. Brown 5-10 min.

Recipe card collections from publishers tend to be as fascinating and sometimes horrifying as the recipe cards handwritten by someone’s grandmother. Some stuff is to die for good and others frightening. This 1973 recipe card from McCall’s is not quite either. It is amusing in a “this recipe comes from our newest state” sort of way. It also makes me glad that food photography is not my thing. I know that in a decade or two, the food pictures will seem as outdated and quaint.

Onward with the recipe–frugal…only 2 legs, 2 breasts to serve 4 people….a bit sweet but you can cut the sugar a bit. It won’t glaze as nicely but unless you seriously like your chicken sweet…a good idea.

Chicken Waikiki Beach

2 whole chicken legs and 2 whole chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup salad oil or shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Sauce
1 can (1 lb 4 oz) sliced pineapple
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 large green pepper, cut crosswise in 1/4 inch circles

Wash chicken: pat dry with paper towels. Coat chicken with flour.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time and brown on all sides. Remove as browned to shallow roasting pan, arranging pieces skin side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350F.
Make sauce: Drain pineapple, pouring syrup into 2 cup measure. Add water to make 1 1/4 cups. In medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, pineapple syrup, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and bouillion cube. Bring to boiling stirring constantly. Boil 2 minutes, pour over chicken.

Bake uncovered 30 minutes. Add pineapple and green pepper. Bake 30 minutes longer or until tender. Serve with rice. Makes 4 servings.

The “big kids” are coming for their mother’s birthday. Two of them anyway. Of course, this has kicked me into feed them well before they go away again to their apartments not filled with mommy love foods.  Girl child anticipated this and has put in her requests for things I should make while she is here. They are hashbrown casserole and my specialty. sigh. Thousands of meals I make and these are the two that my children think of when it comes down to what mommy cooks. There is also the eggs Benedict that a subset of the children think deserves to be served at every notable occasion.

I sigh…but know these are the dishes I will make this weekend. Then while thinking on it I realized that my mother faced the same thing. When I came home after living on my own, I requested things like scrapple, grits with tomato gravy, pancakes (though she nearly always burned a number of them), and aye, my mother’s eggs Benedict. I wanted her ham, her potato salad, a few stuffed eggs and some angel biscuits. Maybe, if I was there long enough, her pan fried hamburgers-simple lumpy things that I hated as a child because they weren’t like the ones on tv or magazines.
What did you want to eat when you went “home” after you moved away?