General Recipes 3rd Generation

Corn Chowder

On the farm the canning and freezing season was one of the busiest times of the year for my Mom and I. One had to use every crock, pan, knife, ladle and all the canning equipment jars, lids, funnels, plastic bags, hot pot holders, and towels, hand and dish. Those green beans, peaches, pears, tomatoes, pickles, grape juice, corn and beets tasted mighty good served on a winter’s table. The tremendous satisfaction we had was seeing a row of jars sitting on the cabinet at the end of a long day canning.

For me the most dreaded canning process was handling the corn. The picking was done late evening by the men. Tubs of corn rested on the side porch. Early next morning, I would have to shuck the corn, then the silking all this done outside. The ears of corn were then taken inside to be sorted with the most perfect being set aside to freeze as roasting ears. On the wooden chopping board, I would slice the kernels from the cob to dry on cookie sheets placed in the sunshine.  More of the kernals were placed into plastic bags and cooked Into corn relish with other flavorful vegetables. The slicing was the stickiest chore of all. Just sharing this with you makes me weary and sends up memories of long gone days.In the cold winter days Mom would make Dad’s favorite dish of all, Corn Chowder. I still make this chowder in their memory back in Missouri. 

4 ears of corn

4 slices fried crumbled bacon

½ onion diced finely

1 medium potato diced

1 cup milk or half and half

2 cups chicken stock

Remove the kernels from the cob

In a medium sauce pan, saute the onion in bacon grease (or butter)

Add the diced potato, corn, milk, and chicken stock.

Bring to a simmer and cook partially covered for 30 minutes

Add dried potato flakes as needed to make a thicker chowder.

I sure remember Dad eating bowl after bowl at lunch time and then heading back out on the farm to do more harvesting.

  

As a busy teacher raising four kids, three teens and one preteen, I had little time to spend in cooking for hours and hours. My son, David’s, favorite dish was HAMBURGER STROGANOFF. So simple and yet so delicious.

In a 3 quart heavy duty skillet, brown 1 ½ pounds of hamburger

Add 1 onion chopped coarsely

Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper.

When hamburger is brown, add one can of mushroom soup

Stir in one pint of sour cream or imitation sour cream.

Serve over rice or noodles. This recipe yields four average servings.

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Artichokes

Living in Santa Cruz county area of California, my teenage sons found fun and reward in raiding the artichoke fields just like my brother raided the watermelon patches in the Midwest. Every so often I would come home from work and to find a quantity of artichokes to cook.

The easiest and fastest way to handle them was using my 4 quart pressure cooker. After washing the artichokes well and peeling away the first round of leaves, place them in the cooker with 1 cup of water and ¼ cup of vinegar. Put them on to cook for fifteen minutes. Cool cooker by running cold water over it in the sink.

Serve with melted butter with garlic or mayonaise.  Enjoy but please don’t raid any fields today as you may get caught!

No Bake Chocolate Cookies

Many times late in the evening one of my three school kids would announce “Hey Mom I have to take 2 dozen cookies to the party at school TOMORROW! I would laugh and say OK Let’s get busy making them. This is my way of sending the kid off with a container of freshly made cookies without turning on the oven.

You need:

• 2 cups white sugar
• ½ cup of milk
• 1 cube of butter

Boil for one minute and take off stove

Stir in ¾ cup of peanut butter

Add 2 cups of quick cooking oatmeal

• 3 Tablespoons cocoa
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix thoroughly

Drop batter by tablespoon onto either waxed paper or onto greased cookie or pizza pan. Leave until firm.

Package and send away with child in the morning.

Now, when putting this recipe article together, my daughter confessed that she remembers twice NEVER having a party but that she would share the cookies at lunch with her four best friends.

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For the best Strawberry Jam I ever ate and them began making for my family, I remember Ruth who gave me this terrific recipe. You see, Ruth and Carl had been married eighteen years when I met them. For their wedding present, they had been given a pair of goslings which by then had grown into a twosome of adult squabbling geese. She often gave me goose eggs which would equal 3 hen eggs and I used them for baking. But what an unusual wedding gift!

Back to the Strawberry Jam:

In a plated 4 quart pot mix 2 cups of cold water and 4 cups of sugar.

Cook until it spends a thread.

Add 4 cups strawberries, one strawberry at a time.

Cook ten minutes.

Add 4 cups sugar and

4 cups strawberries. Boil ten minutes stirring constantly.

Let stand overnight before putting into jars.

The family favorite using Strawberry Jam is adding two tablespoons to a dish of ice cream.  A treat for any time of the year!  Enjoy

Do you need more exciting recipes for the upcoming holidays?  A lot of the television chef's are offering great ideas.  Check out their books!  You will get them in time for Thanksgiving.