Cardamom is the secret in these gingerbread cookies

Title: Piparkakut (Finnish Christmas Gingerbread Cookies)

Description:
My Mother says, "The aroma of these cookies baking takes me back to my childhood in Finland." We make various large to small sizes of these in heart shape and hang them in the kitchen window during Christmas. Heart is the symbol of Christmas in Finland. We also had plenty of other shapes to eat as well.

Ingredients:
3/4 c margarine or butter
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 T dark Karo syrup
1 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
1 t ground cardamom
1/2 t baking soda
2 1/2 c flour

Directions:
Cream margarine and sugar. Add egg, spices and syrup. Then add flour and soda sifted together. Form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Roll out on floured surface very thin and cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter. Bake on a very lightly greased cookie sheet about 5 min at 375 degrees. Do not overbake! Store in an airtight tin and they will keep "forever".

Wendy's Chili Recipe

My husband found this recipe and made this for us.  It does taste so much like Wendy's chili!  Give it a try!

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Ingredients:

2 pounds Ground beef
1 can (29 ounce size) tomato sauce
1 can (29 ounce size) kidney beans w/liquid
1 can (29 ounce size) pinto beans w/liquid
1 medium Onion, diced
2 Green chili, diced
1 Rib celery, diced
3 medium Tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons Cumin powder
3 tablespoons Chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
2 teaspoons Salt
2 cups Water

 

Directions:

Brown the beef and drain the fat off. Crumble the cooked beef into pea size pieces. In a large pot, combine the beef plus the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook stirring every 15 minutes for 2-3 hours.

This recipe from CDKitchen for Wendy's Chili serves/makes 8

Green Smoothies

Health Tip of the Day

"Getting Fit. . . One Step at a Time"

Green smoothies are both nutritious and
delicious.  For an easy snack or meal:
combine 2 medium mangoes, 2 bananas and
1½ cups spinach and blend well. Add pure
water if smoothie is too thick.
------------------------------------------------------
Copyright. Hilton Johnson Productions, Inc.
www.healthcoachtraining.com
------------------------------------------------------

Quick Fix Raspberry Chicken

Our recipe party theme with quick fix.  I pulled out one of my Mother's quick fix recipe cook books and found this easy chicken recipe.  The instructions 

Raspberry Chicken

To broil 5-6 inches from the flame, place chicken directly in broiler pan without the rack --

1 2.5-3 lb. cut up broiler fryer chicken OR your favorite pieces of chicken (I used chicken tenders)
vegetable oil
1 10 oz. package frozen red raspberries (*quick-thaw pouch)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat broiler.  Brush chicken with oil.  Season with some salt and pepper.  Place chicken, skin side down or remove skin, on broiler rack.  Broil 5-6 inches from heat 20 minutes or until browned; turn.  Broil 10 minutes more.  Meanwhile, thaw raspberries; drain, reserving syrup. (*I couldn't find a package with juice so I used some raspberry jam and water as the syrup).   In saucepan blend syrup into cornstarch; stir in cinnamon.  Cook and stir until bubbly.  Stir in butter and lemon juice.  Gently stir in berries and nuts.  Serve with chicken.  Makes 4 servings.  

Carrot and Rice Casserole

Tonight is Recipe Party!  I've missed the last two months and I'm determined to go this time.

Our theme is Holiday Favorites.   Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without pulla, but I've already made that for them.  And we always have rice porridge and I've already done that for them.  So, when I asked my Mother what her holiday favorite is she named this casserole.  Of course there are other casseroles and many sweets too that are traditional and favorites.  I can hardly wait to make the Joulu Torttuja (prune tarts), but since I only make those once a year, so I'm not doing them yet!  Many of you listed your favorites on my Facebook page too.  I appreciate that.  I hear I need to try and make divinity for example and other candies. 

While my family gets frozen lasagna, I'm making this carrot and rice casserole for the ladies tonight.  Well, I hope I get it done in time!  I'm way behind schedule because I'm on the computer selling Scentsy as a fundraiser for our boys's gymnastics during the holidays!  

Title: Porkkana Laatikko (Carrot and Rice Casserole)

Description:

This is the traditional Finnish Carrot and Rice Casserole served at Christmastime in Finland.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup uncooked rice

1 cup half and half

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons brown sugar

salt to taste

2-3 Tbs. chopped almonds

Directions:

Boil carrots in salted water until done. Drain and save the water. Remove carrots from pan and add enough water, if necessary, to make 1 1/2 cups pour rest of of liquid back into the pan and let it come to a boil. Stir in uncooked rice. Cover and steam on low for 20 minutes. Meanwhile mash cooked carrots. Add half and half, beaten egg, and brown sugar, mixing well. When rice is done, stir into carrot mixture, adding salt to taste.  Pour into a well greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

A great compliment for meat dishes, especially ham. Freezes well.

Number Of Servings: Serves 6-8.

Preparation Time: Boil carrots for 20 minutes. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Made these for Halloween breakfast this morning!
Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar

Mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Add brown sugar.  Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt.  Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake making bats, pumpkins, witch hats, jack'olanters, etc.  Use chocolate chips for eyes and teeth.  Brown on both sides and serve hot. Serve with heated cinnamon applesauce and maple syrup.  You may add whipped cream too.  Use your imagination.  Serves 6.

Mummy Dogs and Pumpkin Shakes

Last night we had a kids Halloween party and I served mummy dogs and pumpkin shakes.  Sorry no pictures -- missing camera, bummer for the holiday.

Mummy Dogs (Serves 8)
8 Hot Dogs or Veggie Dogs
1 Package breadsticks in a can
Mustard and Ketchup
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray a cookie sheet.  Pop open the can of breadsticks.  Separate them into 8 pieces.  Wrap one long piece of dough around 1 hot dog.  Leave a space for the face of the mummy.   Repeat until all 8 are wrapped.  I let each wrap their own.  Bake and when the hot dogs are cool, dot the ketchup and/or mustard with a toothpick and make eyes on the face.  Serve.


Pumpkin Shakes (Serves 2)
1/2 Cup Pumpkin (I used canned)
1 Cup Rice, Almond or Cow’s Milk
Pinch Cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1. Place all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Puree until smooth.
3. Serve.

Thanks to Weelicious for this recipe.

Unique Cake Mix Cookies

Tonight for Family Home Evening I made another cookie recipe from a cake mix.  This recipes is also credited to Stephanie Ashcraft from 101 "Things to Do with a Cake Mix"!  I promise not to make all 101 recipes and they aren't all cookies.  They are bars and mostly cakes. 

Unique Cake Mix Cookies

2 eggs

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup margarine

1/2 cup flour

1 cake mix, any flavor (I used fun flavor ORANGE today!) 

Blend eggs, honey, margarine, flour and 1/2 cake mix.  Beat until fluffly, mix in rest of cake mix.  Roll into small balls and bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.  Makes 2 dozen.

Cake Mix Cookie

I needed a fast dessert and remembered Stephanie Ashcraft's cookbook my Mother gave me entitled "101 Things to do with a Cake Mix" and pulled it out and pulled off a quick cookie in under 30 minutes!  Give it a try!

Cake Mix Cookies
1 cake mix, any flavor (I used chocolate today)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3/4 oil
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix together cake mix, brown sugar, oil and eggs.  Stir in chocolate chips after dough has formed.  Cook on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Poppy Seed Cake or Bread

We're visiting great friends this weekend and T is serving this yummy, easy cake.  I thank her for making it and sharing it.  Now I just made it as muffins as an after school snack.  Enjoy!

It's easy because it's a cake mix, with more added to make it much better.

Poppy Seed Cake or Bread

1 yellow or white cake mix

1 box instant vanilla pudding

1/2 c. oil

4 eggs

1 c. water

2 T poppy seeds

3/4 tsp. vanilla

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.  

You can use a Bundt pan, cake pan, bread pan or muffin tins.

Greek Farmer's Market Vegetables

It's recipe party time again!  Tonight's theme is Mediterranean so we can use fresh vegetables from our garden or local Farmer's Market.  Oh, I wish I could run to *Molly Stone's or Whole Foods to buy this olive oil like I used to be able to.  I googled greek mediterranean recipes and found this I thought I'd like

Greek Farmer's Market Vegetables

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to the recipe party Thursday, so I made this for my parents and again for my own family.  They LOVED it! 

And I altered instead to this.

Preparation time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 - 1 1/2 Cup *Lykovouno olive oil
1 lb. zucchini squash
1 lb. potatoes
1 lb. eggplant or yellow squash
2 small onions
3 peppers - one green, red, and yellow

3 tomatoes
1 small bunch chopped parsley or rosemary and thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Clean and wash your vegetables and cut them into slices. Put all ingredients into a large skillet and stir and coat vegetables with olive oil and cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for approximately 1-1 1/2 hours. Serve with crumbled feta cheese.  Serves 4 to 6.

CREAM of ZUCCHINI SOUP

My Dad just said, "Not bad.   I'd better have a another cup!"  Today I am made  "Cream of Zucchini Soup" for my parents from the fresh zucchini Aunt E and Uncle R sent over from their garden.  

Just last week Aunt J and Uncle G brought over THIS zucchini soup to share with my parents. The recipe is my Mother's she has served for the last several years and shared with several women although I didn't grow up with it.  

I asked her today where she got it.  She got it from an Air Force General's wife Gloria O. on a visit to Ramstein Germany.  

CREAM of ZUCCHINI SOUP

3 lb. zucchini 
2 cans chicken broth
2 tsp. salt ½ cup water
1 tsp. onion powder 
1½ cups half & half
1 tsp. garlic powder 
Seasoned salt & pepper to taste
1/8 tsp. white pepper
Chives for garnish
 
Slice zucchini into 1" pieces. Put in a large kettle. Add salt, onion & garlic powder, white pepper, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes, stirring now and then. Blend in a blender until smooth, about 1/3 at a time.  

Place in a clean kettle. Stir in half & half. Season to taste. Heat until heated through. May be refrigerated overnight or FROZEN.  Garnish with chopped chives.

Aunt J's personal preference is to increase the spices called for.

What's Veal Mom?

Sunday we had a discussion about veal. I said it was beef, but they wanted to know why it's not dark like beef. They said it looks like pork, but doesn't taste like pork. Hmm, "What's veal Mom?"

OVEN BAKED VEAL PARMIGIANA

1 lb. thin veal cutlets
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 sm. jar spaghetti sauce
1 pkg. shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. chopped parsley

Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip each piece of veal in egg and then coat with crumb mixture. Spread onions in bottom of 9 x 12 inch Pyrex dish. Arrange veal over onions. Preheat microwave/convection oven to 300 degrees. Put dish on lowest rack and cook 12 to 15 minutes. Pour sauce over veal and sprinkle on Mozzarella. Cook 5 more minutes. Sprinkle on Parmesan and parsley; serve.

For conventional oven, bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Add sauce and cheese. Bake 5 more minutes.

French Toast Made in the Oven

I was in too much of a hurry when I made these the other morning for my fellow former student body officers, but my daughter did snap a shot of the table setting. When you need a caramel flavor and want to serve 12 pieces all at once, bake your french toast in the oven--just prepare it the night before!


OVERNIGHT OVEN FRENCH TOAST

Finally took a photo this time! 7/22/13

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn syrup
12 Texas Toast slices
1/2 cup half and half
5 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Melt together butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Grease your large cookie sheet with Pam and pour the melted butter/sugar mixture in. Place the 12 Texas Toast slices on top of the mixture. Mix together the remaining ingredients and pour them over the top. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Bake them the next morning at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Number Of Servings: 12 single servings

Preparation Time: 10 minutes the night before and 30 minutes the next morning to bake.

UPDATE 7/22/13:  Our house guest makes a quick version--on your griddle melt butter and sprinkle raw can sugar across it.  Place bread dipped in egg and cream mixture and place over sugar.  Put it on a higher heat to caramelize.  I used this when I ended up needing more for breakfast than I made the night before.

Grandma's Baked Eggs for Breakfast

My Father was raised on a farm/ranch. They had lots of chickens and cows, so there was an abundance of milk, cream, cheese and eggs. My Grandmother used to make these baked eggs. This dish is fine for luncheon as well as for breakfast, nicely taking place of meat. My Grandma was not much of a meat eater, so she enjoyed these very much. Here is her recipe taken from her pocket note book.

BAKED EGGS FOR BREAKFAST

Place in a baking dish a cup of cream.
Break the eggs into this, keeping them whole.
Sprinkle with salt & pepper and over the top some cream cheese.
Use about 1/2 cup of cheese to six eggs.
Bake about 20 minutes in the oven.

I also served these at our reunion (then left for a tour of what's new on and near campus), since I could bake both these and the french toast.

Huckleberry Shake in the Magic Bullet

My parents have a "Magic Bullet" that makes individual sized shakes and purees most anything. After our lunch today, my husband and Dad made Huckleberry Shakes for us.

Huckleberry Shakes
2 scoops of ice cream
enough milk to go 3/4 of the way up to top
Since we had huckleberry ice cream, they just added 1 tsp huckleberries. If you have vanilla, you'll want to add more.
2 tsp. sugar or sweetener of your choice

Tin Can Ice Cream & The Ice Cream Truck

Our children love it when the Ice Cream Truck stops by. Here they are buying ice cream from him just a few days ago.

And then the youth in the ward, in honor of pioneer day, were on the edge of the street briskly rolling back and forth tin can ice cream. when the ice cream truck drove by! lol

We stopped him and asked him if he wanted to buy any ice cream. He paused for a picture with us. A few minutes later our boys found him and bought ice cream from him and tasted the tin can ice cream.

If you want to try TIN CAN ICE CREAM you'll find the recipe below.

Kid's Tin Can Ice Cream

1 #10 clean cannery can

1 1 lb. clean can

duct tape

2 or more kids

Ingredients:

1 c. milk

1 c. whipping cream

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg (optional)

fruit, smashed, chocolate, etc.

rock salt

ice (crushed or small cubes)

Pour all food ingredients into 1-pound can.

Duct tape lid on securely.

Place inside 3 lb. (#10 size) can

Layer ice and rock salt around sides of small can.

Duct tape lid on.

Roll briskly on hard ground for 10 minutes - cement works best.

Open lid and drain ice water. Open smaller can and stir, scraping sides well.

Retape. Re-pack big can with ice and salt.

Re-tape and roll again.

Makes about 3 cups of ice cream.

Hubby Makes Round Steak into Filet Mignon

My husband says you can make the toughest round steak into steak with the tenderness and moistness of Filet Mignon by marinating for a couple days using vinegar and oil. He grilled it to go with our peas and potatoes. Here's how he did it . . .

1/3 cup balsamic vineger

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup olive or canola oil

2 Tbs. Montreal Steak seasoning

6-10 small "mock" filet minon steaks (made from inexpensive round steak)

Mix all in a sturdy gallon-size zip lock bag. Let it marinate for 2 days, in the fridge, turning the bag over and massaging the contents a little twice a day.

(The acid in the vinegar will tenderize the meat by breaking up the longer meat fibers, and the oil helps bring moistness to the meat that is far healthier than the high saturated fat in the animal-fat-marbling found in meat selected for it's natural (fat) moistness and tenderness.)

Then sear on high heat grill for a couple of minutes each side before finishing the grilling as you typically would.

The slightly tangier result in the meat is very popular with our kids, who do not care for the sweetness of nearly all BBQ sauces.

Enjoy!

Creamed Peas & New Potatoes

Friday, we went to the local Farmer's Market and some of our purchases included new red potatoes and fresh green peas. I found this recipe to make them creamed. Although everyone else liked them, our youngest, not a fan of peas, asked in disgust, "Why are you putting that on your blog? I thought you only put good stuff on there like pulla, lattyja, Grandma's rolls, and karjalan piirakka!" lol

Well, if you dare favor the opinion of the rest of us, try this recipe with your new peas and potatoes or share your favorite version that the biggest pea avoider would like. He did manage to get 8 peas down when his brother told him he had to eat them or get none of the brownies he just made for desert. lol That same son said, "Oh, I just love these new peas and potatoes!"

CREAMED PEAS & NEW POTATOES

from COOKS.COM

---

1 lb. whole tiny new potatoes
1 1/2 c. shelled peas or loose-pack frozen peas
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
1 c. milk

Scrub potatoes; cut any large potatoes in half. If desired, remove a narrow strip of peel from around the center of each potato. In a medium saucepan cook potatoes in a small amount of boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Add peas and cook 5 to 10 minutes more or until tender. Drain.In a medium saucepan cook onion in butter until tender but not brown. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Stir in potatoes and peas; heat through. Season to taste. Serves 4.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: Scrub potatoes; cut any large potatoes in half. Remove a narrow strip of peel from around the center of each potato. In a 2 quart casserole combine potatoes and 2 tablespoons water. Microwave, covered, on 100% power (high) for 8 minutes. Stir in peas. Cook, covered, on high for 4 to 6 minutes more or until vegetables are tender. Drain. Continue as above.

I must say I was surprised when I couldn't find a creamed peas and potatoes recipe in the Betty Crocker or any other standard cookbooks.

Non peanut butter no-bake cookies

From dianaskitchen.com we found this non peanut butter No-Bake Cookies recipe.

No-Bake Cookies

These favorite no-bake cookies are made with cocoa, coconut, and oats

* 1/2 cup butter

* 1/2 cup milk

* 2 cups sugar

* 3 cups quick-cooking oats

* 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

* 1/2 cup coconut

In a large saucepan, combine butter, milk and sugar; bring to a rolling boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Continue boiling for 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in oats, cocoa, and coconut. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper.

Makes about 36 yummy no-bake cookies.

OR

with peanut butter and no coconut try

No Bake Cookies

2 c sugar

1/2 c milk

1 cube butter

1/4 c cocoa

1/2 c peanut butter

3 c. oatmeal

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, 1/4 c. of the milk, butter and cocoa and bring to boil. Boil for 1.5 minutes. While hot add peanut butter, oatmeal and vanilla. Add up to the rest of the milk as needed. Drop on waxed paper or lightly buttered an until cool.

Sarah's Impossible-to-Mess-Up-Lasagna

Most of our children really like lasagna and request it much more often than I make it.  Then I remembered that Sarah had shared her easy version of lasagna in our recipe exchange.  We like it and it IS so easy! Our sons are just returning from the Father Son's Camp Out and are hungry, so I'm glad it's ready to come out of the oven!   I hope you enjoy it sometime soon too.  

Sarah's Impossible-to-Mess-Up-Lasagna

Cook one package of lasagna noodles according to package directions (adding a small amount of olive oil to your boiling water will make the pasta easier to work with later).  

Drain hot water and allow noodles to cool. (I usually run pour cold water over them and then leave a little water over them so they don't stick together)

In a large skillet, cook 1 lb of hamburger or turkey burger and drain it.

Add 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce,

Add 3-4 oz. of sour cream,

Add 3-4 oz. of cottage cheese,

Add 8 ounces shredded cheese of your choice,

Spread a small amount of sauce across the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Alternately layer noodles and 1/3 of sauce in three layers and top with more cheese.

Cook for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. You can put the oven on broil for the last 3-4 minutes, to bubble and brown the cheese.

If you're doubling or tripling the recipe, you can easily make THREE 9x13 pans with 2 packages of 16 ounce lasagna noodles.

You can also stretch the sauce by just adding another jar of spaghetti sauce, but not adding more meat.

Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes

My cousin Janis put this recipe in our family cookbook years ago and I just tried them for the first time this morning.  Even though they are thinner than usual, we really liked the taste!  I also like that I can make whole wheat pancakes so easily and quickly with little mess and no stirring.  A bonus is that since you make them in the blender, or in our case the Vitamix, you just pour the batter onto the hot griddle.  

It took my Mother awhile to get used to sweet (maple syrup) on bread (pancakes) when she moved to the U.S.  Now she eats them with an egg on top with maple syrup on it as does most of the rest of our family. It's taken my husband some time to yet used to this taste!  

Try it, you may like it too.

Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 c. whole wheat (the kernels) 

1 c. water or milk

Add and blend 4 minutes more (less for vitamix):

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. milk

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

Fire Bread

Each year the Mountain Man Rendezvous we attend, we hope they will serve "Fire Bread", then name youngest dubbed it when he saw it being made over the campfire there. They ran out of it this year before we tasted it, so we had to make some at home. We ate Hawthorne berry and Elderberry jam on them made my the Mountain Man Leprechaun.

I searched the internet for an authentic recipe and chose this one to try.

NATIVE AMERICAN FRY BREAD RECIPES

4 cups flour

2 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shortening (I used oil)

1 cup warm water

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add in the shortening and water. Add only enough water to make dough stick together. Knead dough until smooth, make into fist-sized balls. Cover them with a towel for 10 minutes then pat them out into circles about the size of a pancake. Fry in hot cooking oil in cast iron skillet until brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels, serve with jam.

Hannele's Berry Pie (Marjapiiras)

My cousin in Finland gave my Mother this recipe.  Pie crusts are very different over there, as you can tell from my previous post.  You could use the same blueberry filling from the previous post or use this yummy rhubarb & strawberry one below.  The Finns use less sugar, so adjust according to your tastebuds:)

Hannele's Berry Pie (Marjapiiras)

1 cup melted margarine

1.5 cups sugar

3 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

*2 eggs

*Before putting in the eggs, take out about 3/4-1 cup of the mix for crumbs to be sprinkled on top.

Cut up rhubarb and slice strawberries. Sprinkle with sugar. May use raspberries or blueberries too.

Pour batter into 2 greased quiche pans. Sprinkle fruit or berries over batter. Sprinkle with sugar and crumbs.  

Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes.

Mustikka Piirakka is Blueberry Pie Finnish Style

Oma means my own in Finnish.  This is one of those recipes my Mother had to make up when she came from Finland.  Blueberries are plentiful in August in Finland and grow well along the bushes nearby the also plentiful granite.  It's a wonderful thing to pick blueberries there. Well, it's not August and we didn't have blueberries on the ranch, but yet she craved that taste.  Here is her recipe. Again, I'm making this now because she was wishing she could make some.

Mustikka Piirakka

1 can Wyman's blueberries, with juice

1 reg. size cool whil carton full of frozen blueberries (or huckleberries)

1/3 c. potato starch, scant

1 c sugar

Put berries and sugar in a kettle and let them boil gently for 5-10 minutes.  Let it come to a boil.  In a little bit of cold water, dissolve potato starch.  Add to berries.  Stir well until thick.  let cool.  Spread this on pulla dough crust or another Finnish pie crust. 

Raijan Rahka Piirakka

1 T dry yeast

1/4 c. warm water

1 c. milk, scalded and cooled

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs, well beaten

4.5 - 5 c. flour

1/2 c. melted margarine

1 egg, for basting

cheese filling (see below)

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, salt, sugar and eggs. Add 2 cups flour to yeast mixture; beat until smooth. Add melted margarine, stirring to mix well. Add remaining flour gradually, beating to keep dough smooth. After added all the flour and the dough is stiff, cover and let rest 15 minutes. Knead until smooth. Place in lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubles (1 to 1.5 hours).

Pinch off balls of dough about 2 inches in diameter and place on a greased cookie sheet, leaving at least 3 inches in between the balls. Let raise until puffy, about 10 minutes, in a warm place. Flatten each ball of dough with fingers to about 3/8 inch thick. Let raise again until puffy, about 10 minutes; flatten centers of rounds, leaving edges slightly higher to hold in the filling. Brush with beaten egg and spoon 2 or 3 Tbs. of the filling into center of each round.

Bake in 375 degreen oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until filling is set and crust is golden brown. Cool and served plain or with a little red jam spread on top. (Sometimes I add a few raisins to the cheese filling before baking, as is customary in Finland.)

These freeze well. Thaw out and serve. You may also reheat in a 375 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Cheese filling:

2 eggs

1/3-1/2 c sugar

1/2 c sour cream

8 oz. package softened cream cheese,

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. lemon peel

In a small bowl with our electric beaters, combine the eggs, sugar, sour cream, cream cheese, lemon juice and lemon peel, beating until thick and smooth. Fills 20 to 24 buns.

These savory cheese buns originated in eastern Finland, but anymore they are available in even the smallest towns. usually can be found at the outdoor markets (toris).

OR you can use this other type of crust, her sister's recipe. 

Rahkapiirakka Crust

150 gr. voita 1 1/3 cubes butter
1 dl. sokeria 3/4 c sugar
1 kanamuna 1 egg
4 dl vehnäjauhoja 3 cups flour
1 tl. levinjauhetta 1 tsp. baking powder

Mix the ingredients above together and press it into a lightly sprayed round quiche pan, including up the sides, to form the crust. Now make the filling below.

Jim's Crepes

Our sons just returned yesterday from a Scouts camp out where one of the breakfast items was made by one of their friend's Dad. Today our son made "Jim's Crepes" because he was hungry before lunch was ready and he could easily remember the recipe. He said, "You just double it"!

Jim's Crepes 1 cup flour 2 cups milk 4 eggs 1 tsp. sugar (optional) dash of salt (optional)

Serve with strawberry jam and whipped cream or syrup.

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Tonight is our Recipe Exchange and we are to bring Hors d'Oeuvres.

Well, when my Mother served Hors d'Oeuvres at the Embassy, if she didn't serve this appetizer, one diplomat would say to her, "Nope I came for nothing"!  What was it he wanted?  It was a date wrapped in bacon!  She also wrapped chicken livers in bacon.

Bacon Wrapped Dates

Ingredients:
bacon
pitless dates
paprika
toothpicks

Directions:
Line up 1/2 strips of bacon on a cookie sheet.
Sprinkle paprika on them. 
Bake, then wrap a bacon strip around a pitless date and secure with a toothpick. 
Serve with a spicy dipping sauce. 

Fruit and Cheese Sticks

This is such an easy appetizer for your kids to make for their own party. 

Fruit and Cheese Sticks

Ingredients:
cheese, cubed 
grapes 
toothpicks

Place a piece of cheese and a grape on a toothpick.

Rosettes

My Mother has requested Rosettes for her birthday since it's so close to May Day.  In Finland, rosettes may be served at May Day (Vappu) celebrations as an alternative to funnel cakes (tippaleipä).  They are traditionally made during Christmas time in Scandanavia.  Rosettes are a thin, cookie-like deep-fried pastry of Scandinavian origin. Rosettes are made using intricately designed irons. The iron is heated to a very high temperature in oil, dipped into the batter, then re-immersed in the hot oil to create a crisp shell around the metal. The iron is immediately removed and the rosette is separated from the iron. Usually, the edges of the rosette are dipped into frosting or sugar. Rosette recipes are popular in the United States among families with Scandinavian ancestry. 

Her Finnish friend sent me this recipe which I am translating from Finnish to English and converting from metrics too. 

ROSETIT 30 kpl (makes 30)

2 eggs 2 munaa
2 tsp. sugar 2 tl sokeria
1/2 tsp. salt 0,5 tl suolaa
0.63 cups milk 1,5 dl maitoa
0.63 cups flour 1,5 dl vehnajauhoja

Beat the eggs, salt and sugar;  add milk and flour. Batter will look thin.  Heat 1 quart oil to 350 degrees in a 2 quart pan.   Put the rosette iron in to heat up.  Quickly dot the iron onto a paper towel to remove excess oil.  Now dip the rosette iron into the dough careful not to get it on the top of the iron then turn it upside down for a second.  Next immerse the iron into the hot oil and fry until a light golden brown.  I count to about 55-60 with each one.  Remove from oil and gently remove from iron.  Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar.  These are not very sweet.  Another day I'll make a batch where I add some vanilla sugar and another where I add cardamom to taste test the difference. 

As I made fried these, my husband exclaimed that he remembers Rosettes.  His DODDs principal's Icelandic wife served them to his family at Christmastime when they lived in Iceland!