Comfort
Foods
January
is a month for home style comfort foods, with the cold nasty weather, we
take comfort in those warm hearty foods that we grew up with. Many
are exceedingly simple so if you already now these recipes ship to the
next month.
New
Years Black eyed peas
In
New Orleans they say that if you start the new year with black eyed peas
it will bring you luck all year, so lets start there.
1 pound
of dried black eyed peas
1 ham
hock
1 teaspoon
thyme
1 teaspoon
sage
1/4
teaspoon red pepper
1 Tablespoon
lemon juice
a couple
of fresh okra
salt
to taste
wash
dried peas and soak overnight
Place
ham hock and peas in a large kettle
with
enough water ( or chicken stock) to cover well
add
herbs and okra
cook
slowly several hours until beans tender
Keep
enough water in kettle to keep from sticking
and
stir occasionally.
Serve
as a one dish meal with new green onions & cornbread.
Mama's
Corn bread
1/2
cup butter melted in an iron skillet.
1 cup
mill ground cornmeal
1 cup
flour
1 T.
baking powder
1/2
t. salt
1 can
cream corn
1/4
cup milk
1 beaten
egg
3 peeled
green chilies chopped
melt
butter in skillet and turn skillet so all surfaces are covered with melted
butter. Pour remainder in bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir till
just moistened and pour back in skillet. Bake in a 425o oven
until it's right, about 20 minutes.
Beef
Stew
about
3 pounds chuck roast
cut
into bite sized pieces, remove most of fat and connective tissue.
brown
in large, heavy stew pot.
1 large
onion cut in eighths
3 stalks
celery cut into 1/4" slices
4-5
carrots cut into slices
3 potatoes
pealed and cut into bite sized pieces
7 cups
beef broth
1 cup
red wine
2 bay
leaves
4 clove
garlic crushed
1/4
teaspoon rosemary crushed between your hands
1/2
teaspoon each fennel seeds, basil and thyme
salt
& pepper to taste
1 can
(14.5 oz) tomatoes
Add
all ingredients except potatoes to stew pot with meat.
Simmer
several hours until nearly done.
Add
potatoes last 20 minutes.
Other
vegetables can be added to this stew such as peas, green beans, corn etc.
The above recipe is the basic one. Don't hesitate to experiment and add
what you have.
Serve
with salad and garlic bread
My
best Apple Pie
6 cups
thinly sliced tart Apples (I like Granny Smith's)
3/4
cup sugar
2 Tablespoons
all purpose flour
3/4
teaspoon cinnamon
1/4
teaspoon nutmeg
1/2
teaspoon salt
1/8
teaspoon ground cloves
1 Tablespoon
lemon juice
mix
flour, sugar and spices. pour over apples and lemon juice and toss till
apples well covered with mixture. Fill 9" pie shell cover with
second crust. Seal edges, and cut several large slits in top crust. Bake
in 425o oven about 40 to 45 minutes. If edges are browning too fast cover
with foil.
Navy
Bean Soup
1 pound
white pea beans washed and soaked overnight
1 ham
hock
1 cup
each of celery, onions and carrots chopped fine
1/2
teaspoon each thyme, pepper, and garlic powder
water
or chicken stock to cover
cook
slowly and thin to soup consistency wanted
Rice
Pudding
1 cup
cooked rice
2 1/2
cup scalded milk
3
eggs
3/4
cup sugar
1/2
tsp. nutmeg
3/4
tsp. cinnamon
1/2
tsp. salt
1 cup
raisins
Place
in casserole dish and then place in a larger dish with about an inch of
water.
cook
in slow oven 325o for about 1 hour until knife comes out clean
another
great bean dish Boston
Baked Beans can be found on
Barbara's
Kitchen for May.