Friend Dorothy hosted our last gathering for an afternoon of canasta fun and served this delicious Date-Walnut Tea Bread. I love date bread and so did everyone else there that afternoon. (I even brought a slice home for my husband to enjoy as Dorothy didn't want to have it tempting her after we left.)
I hope you will give it a try. You won't be sorry.
DATE-WALNUT TEA BREAD
1 8 - ounce package pitted dates
1-1/4 cups boiling water
1-1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
6 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2-1/4 cups sifted flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 9 x 5 - inch loaf pan with waxed paper.
Cut dates in small pieces into medium-size bowl; pour boiling water over; stir in sugar and butter; cool to room temperature
Stir in beaten egg and walnuts.
Sift flour, soda, and salt onto waxed paper; stir quickly into date mixture just until blended.
Pour into pan and let stand 15 minutes.
Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes or until center is firm; cool 5 minutes; turn out on wire rack; cool completely.
When I think of gumbo, I have very definite pictures in my mind. My husband loves gumbo and will often order it if it is on a menu. So I have seen lots of bowls of it. I even made gumbo once when his daddy came to visit us when we were living in Biloxi, MS. You can read about that visit on this post when I made it again and shared it here with you a couple of years ago.
I was "under the weather" most of the week last week and didn't do much cooking. (I wonder how being sick became known as under the weather?) Anyway, on Friday, I decided to cook a couple of chicken breasts in the slow cooker. I didn't know what I was going to do with them, but figured I would find something to make.
The first cookbook I picked up was one of my latest ones from the Dinner Horn Country Inn, a restaurant in the Pennsylvania style that used to be nearby back in the 80s. I found two or three different recipes that sounded good, but they all required the chicken to not be cooked first.
The second cookbook I picked up was another one of my latest finds by Abe & Edna Miller called From the Rolling Hills of Holmes County Down Home Cookin'. There is no index in the cookbook so I had to flip through each page until I came to the Main Dishes section. Imagine my surprise when I turned the page and the first recipe was called Chicken Gumbo and the second line said "4 cups cooked chicken". Well, I admit, I had to read the entire recipe before I decided to make it. I don't know if you noticed above when I said my husband loves gumbo and I made it for my husband and his daddy. Did you read between the lines and come to the conclusion that I don't like gumbo? If you did, you get a gold star.
I don't know why the dish is called Chicken Gumbo. It is not anything like gumbo, or at least the gumbo I am familiar with. That's why I added the word Amish to the post title. (Make sure you read Page 2 at the bottom.) Obviously to Abe and Edna Miller it is gumbo. One thing similar to gumbo, it makes a lot. I would definitely suggest you have company or a family with several children. We will be eating it for quite a few meals. Believe it or not, I made no substitutions this time. Well, I did put the dish back in the oven for a few minutes after I sprinkled the bread crumbs on top. (I used fresh bread to make the bread crumbs so I wanted them to harden up a bit.)
CHICKEN GUMBO
9 slices of bread, cubed and browned
4 cups cooked chicken (I used 2 chicken breasts and cut the cooked chicken in cubes.)
4 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
1 teaspoon salt
1 can cream of celery soup
9 thin slices of Velveeta cheese
bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray for easy cleanup.
Toast the bread and then cut it into cubes.
Cut the chicken into small cubes also.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk, salad dressing, chicken broth, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 teaspoon salt. (I melted the butter first. I also make my own chicken broth by dissolving one chicken bouillon cube in 1 cup hot water.)
Add the the chicken and bread cubes. Stir to distribute chicken and bread cubes with liquid.
Spread mixture in casserole.
Top with cheese slices and
then the soup. (undiluted)
Since I had only used 8 slices I decided to add one more half size in the end.
Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes.
When done, top with bread crumbs and serve.
(I put the dish back in the oven for a few minutes after sprinkling the crumbs on top.)
I make my own bread crumbs using the blender. Works really nicely.
PAGE 2
Later after I finished this post, I was searching for something to make for an gathering on Thursday. I picked up the What's Cooking at Moody's Diner cookbook from the Moody's Diner in Waldoboro, Maine that had its beginnings back in the 1930s. Imagine my surprise when I see a recipe called Chicken Gumbo. It was not a long recipe and I figure I ignored it because it said "gumbo". While it is different from the Miller's gumbo, it is similar enough for me to rethink my thinking. The main differences were the 9 slices of bread cubed in the Miller's recipe (not in Moody's) and 3 cans of soup - 2 cream of chicken and 1 cream of mushroom and 1 can of mushrooms in Moody's recipe that isn't in the Miller's. Even though I haven't made it, I will share Moody's Diner's recipe with you. The consistency of the dish will definitely be different.
CHICKEN GUMBO
4 chicken breasts
2 cans (10 oz.) cream of chicken soup
1-3/4 cups milk
1/2 bag seasoned breadcrumbs
1 can (10 oz) cream of mushroom soup
1 can (4 oz) mushrooms
Cook chicken until tender; remove from bone and cube. Place pieces in a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan. Heat cream of chicken soup with milk and pour over chicken. Top with breadcrumbs. Bake at 325 degrees until hot.
Combine and cook undrained mushrooms, mushroom soup and 1/2 cup of milk. Pour over chicken and serve. - Norma Moody Dion.
Well, the trees in the Northland have finally decided to get their fall colors out of storage and share them with everyone. They are definite late this year, but better late than never. You can't help but think of all the good foods that most people wait until this time of the year to serve.
I know I have already been sharing recipes with pumpkin for several weeks, but when I needed something quick to make Monday afternoon to take to Hillcrest Thrift Shop for the volunteers on Tuesday, I chose this recipe from King Arthur Flour for Pumpkin Cake Bars. Believe it or not, I only made two changes this time. The recipe called for 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour and I used 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour. It also called for 1 cup golden raisins. I didn't have any so I used dried cranberries. (Volunteer Roger commented on them - he thought they were better in the recipe.) There were only 2 pieces left when my shift was over. (I find it amusing that no one wants to take the last pieces. I just removed them from my pan and left them on a paper plate. I am sure they weren't there by the time the shop closed.)
PUMPKIN CAKE BARS with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Cake:
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1-1/3 cup flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour.)
1/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts
2/3 cup golden raisins (I used dried cranberries.)
Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat at room temperature.)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened or at room temperature
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1-1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 - inch pan.
Beat the oil and the sugars together until well blended. (I did use my electric mixer. I just moved the mixing bowl to better light to take my pictures.)
Beat in the eggs,
then the pumpkin puree.
Stir the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spice into the wet ingredients. (I mixed them together in a small bowl first.)
Stir in the flour, beating gently to combine.
Stir in nuts and
raisins/dried cranberries.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. (I did bake mine the full 25 minutes.)
Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it onto a rack to finish cooling; OR leave it in the pan which is what I did.
To make the frosting:
beat the cream cheese and butter together.
Beat in the maple syrup,
then mix in the confectioners' sugar and salt. Adjust the consistency of the frosting with additional maple syrup or confectioners' sugar, if necessary; it should be nicely spreadable. (I didn't need to do this.)
Frost the bars and
sprinkle with the toasted walnuts. Do not cut into squares until the frosting has set. (I made mine the day before and stored it covered in the refrigerator. I cut it in squares before I went to Hillcrest the next morning.)
To toast the nuts, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, just until you can start to smell them.
Let cool before using.
If you want to make the cake gluten-free, use gluten-free flour. No other additional ingredients or other changes are needed.
A substitute for pumpkin pie spice that you can make and keep on hand:
PUMPKIN PIE SPICE
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
Mix and store in an airtight container. This will make 1 tablespoon. Double or increase equally to make more.
I don't really know what this block is called. I just decided to call it Puzzle Piece Block because when it is in a quilt, it looks like a puzzle. I saw part of a quilt in some of my travels and thought I would give it a try after I got home. I didn't see the whole quilt so I am not sure how the block was arranged in the quilt, so I came up with several different options.
This block is so easy to make and uses only 2 blocks of one print/fabric and one block of another (I chose to use a solid).
I used cut 5 - inch squares - 2 prints and one solid. For the whole quilt I kept the same solid throughout the quilt top.
To make the block, you simply sew the three squares together with the solid square in the center using a quarter inch seam. Because my solid was so dark, I pressed the seams to the center.
Now you are going to cut the strip in half horizontally (2-1/2 inches). (I place a piece of tape on the ruler marking 2-1/2 inches to speed up the cutting process.)
Then I cut down the center of the solid square vertically (2-1/4 inches here since you have used 1/2 inch total in the side seams).
Once you have made these two cuts it is just a matter of reversing the bottom two quarters and placing them all together like the picture below shows.
If you are using a directional print, place the top right quarter piece under the top left one and the repeat with the bottom two quarters. The prints will be going the same way.
The block is easy to sew together with quarter inch seams because you have no seams to match when sewing the four pieces together.
Once you have all of the blocks made and ready to sew them together, you only have to "nest" at the smaller solid squares. Since you always pressed the seams toward the solid square, this "nesting" is made easy.
I made my lap throw using six different prints and the same solid. I placed six blocks across and six blocks down for a total of 36 blocks. Since I used six different prints, I only needed twelve (12) five - inch blocks of each print and thirty - six (36) five - inch blocks of the solid. That means you can probably use your "stash" for the prints and maybe even a solid. You will need 25 inches of 42 - inch wide fabric or 3/4 yard for the solid. If you don't have a "stash", you will need 15 inches of 42 - inch wide fabric or 1/2 yard. (I was fortunate and had the blocks in our "stash" at the church.) The finished block size (in quilt) is 6-1/2 x 8 - inches. Finished throw was 39 1/4 x 46 1/4.
I came up with three different designs - one random (it looks the most like a jigsaw puzzle), one diagonal, and one with columns.
I liked all three of the designs, but ended up making the lap throw with the diagonal lines because it was the one on my design wall last. (I know, I was just being lazy that day.)
I think the random arrangement would be pretty made as a scrappy quilt and make each block using different prints from your stash or leftover projects. You could then call it your Crazy Puzzle Quilt.
Here is the finished throw. It will be added to the other lap throws made for my church's Blankets of Hope.
A couple of years ago I added my dentist and his staff to my list of people that I could make and take my treats to so I didn't have to eat them all myself. Going to the dentist is not one of my favorite places to go, but I do really like Dr. G. and his staff. The first time I took something I told him it was a bribe so he wouldn't hurt me. Once when he told me I needed to have a tooth crowned, I told him I would bring them treats whenever they wanted them, he didn't have to create reasons for me to come back. He laughed.
Having my six-month cleaning appointment first thing Monday morning, I spent part of Sunday afternoon making these delicious brownies from Betty Crocker. I basically followed the recipe except I substituted walnuts for the pecans, but only because I didn't have any pecans. I also didn't have any milk chocolate chips because I rarely buy them. I usually use 60% cacao chips. This time I used a mixture of semi-sweet, white, and peanut butter or butterscotch chips that Friend Elaine who also volunteers at Hillcrest Thrift Shop brought one day for other volunteers to take. The last change I made wasn't really much of a change - I just used organic unsweetened coconut for the coconut.
LOADED GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE MIX BROWNIES
1 box German chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (I used a mixture of chips)
1 cup flaked coconut (I used unsweetened coconut)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of a 9 - or 10 - inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir cake mix, melted butter, egg, milk, and pecans until combined.
Fold in chocolate chips and coconut.
(Batter will be thick.) Lightly and evenly press batter in pan.
(When I am working with thicker batter, I will drop spoonfuls of batter in pan leaving some in bowl. I spread the batter out evenly
and then add the last bit in the thinner places.)
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack,
about 2 hours....
