I pre-made my casserole for dinner later this week. You can see the cheese has not been melted.
Turkey Stroganoff
Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped 1/3 cup chopped green pepper
3/4 cup mushrooms
2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup milk
4 cups of cooked broad noodles
2 Tablespoons finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups cooked cubed turkey
1 can cream of mushroom soup
grated cheddar cheese (optional)
Method:
Sautè onion, peppers and mushrooms in butter. Combine soup, milk, sour cream, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the soup mixture to the veggies. You can add the noodles and turkey to the pan and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes (do not boil) or transfer the mixture to a casserole dish, top with grated cheddar and then bake for about 20 to 30 minutes at 375 (until heated through and cheese has melted). Serve with some parsley sprinkled on top.
By the time this got out of the oven last night, the vultures were already circling. This is a family favourite and I didn’t get my camera quick enough to snap a shot before they went in for the kill. Here is a picture of the cooked casserole or should I say, what is left of it!
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Here is another one of our favourite recipes to experience the leftovers in a different a way. This delicious meat pie recipe was given to me by a family friend several years ago. Yummy!
Margaret’s Turkey Pie
Ingredients:
2 – 9″ pie shells (bottom plus top crust)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 Tablespoon green pepper
1 can of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
2 cups of chopped turkey
3/4 cup cooked veggies (I generally use peas, carrots, beans and/or corn)
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
Method:
Sautè green pepper and onions in butter or olive oil. Add the balance of the filling ingredients. Pour into shell and top with second pastry for top crust. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes and then at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes. (Place foil or a cookie sheet below the pie plate in case it runs over.) If you want to freeze the pie, don’t bake it prior to freezing. Thaw before baking. I made my pie last night, but the picture is hardly worth posting, as I decided to freeze it and have it in a week or two. I used frozen shells, so the top crust looks a bit funny, but it will be fine once it’s cooked. Mmmm….something to look forward ~ an easy and delicious meal that is ready to go in the oven. Gotta love that!
It’s turkey left-overs this week at the Roys. Tune in everyday to find out some of our favourite post Thanksgiving recipes. This recipe was originally taken from the Winnipeg Sun. I have made it several times and we always enjoy it. This makes a great brunch dish or a main course for dinner.
Turkey Mushroom Quiche
Ingredients:
1 – 9″ baked pie shell
3/4 cup cooked turkey, chopped
1/4 cup canned mushrooms, sliced (I use fresh)
1 cup light cheddar cheese, grated
2 green onions, thinly sliced
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup 1% milk
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
Method:
Arrange turkey in a baked pie shell. Top with mushrooms, cheese and onions. Combine eggs, milk and seasonings. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with a tossed salad and buttermilk biscuits, if desired.
Makes 6 servings.
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We were out for dinner last night and took a yummy Pumpkin Cheesecake for dessert. I have made pumpkin cheesecake before, but wanted to try a new recipe. I found this recipe on-line. It was rated 5 stars and had 898 reviews/ratings, so I thought it was a pretty safe bet and it certainly did not disappoint. It was quick and easy to make, and I will definitely make it again. I used Paula Deen’s recipe, but made a variation of the crust using gingersnap cookies and added whipping cream and a homemade caramel sauce.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Crust:
I used the browneyedbaker’s crust recipe:
2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about a 14-oz package of cookies)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
I used a crust recipe from the browneyedbaker. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Double-wrap the bottom and outside of a 9-inch springform pan with heavy-duty foil. Use a food processor or blender to grind the cookies into crumbs (reserve 2 to 4 cookies for “plating” the dessert). Mix together the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of the springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling Ingredients:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Beat. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined and smooth.
Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place in oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.
*I left my pumpkin cheesecake in the fridge over night. The next day, I covered the top with whipping cream (about 1 cup in liquid form) and garnished it with a few reserved gingersnap crumbs and some nutmeg.
I used Ree Drummond’s homemade Caramel Sauce to drizzle on top ~ so delicious!
To Serve:
Break remaining cookies in quarters and stick in the top of each slice and drizzle caramel sauce on top.
This recipe is very rich and delicious. Start with a small piece and have a second if you dare!
This recipe was given to me by my friend Robin. It is an absolute favourite at our house. It is super easy to make and there isn’t any sugar in it. You have got to love that! The original recipe was for a “cluster”, but she modified it into a square/bark. Way less work. Surprisingly, I have tried this with peanut butter and although good, it is not as delicious as the almond butter version. I am still amazed by how much I love these, as I have always steered clear of coconut dainties. I remember my mom making Nanaimo Bars and leaving the bottom layer because I didn’t like the coconut. My mother-in-law served a version without the coconut base and I absolutely loved it, so of course I got her recipe ~ Robin Hood Nanaimo Bar mix. Too bad it has been discontinued 🙁 I am thinking my aversion to coconut was based more on the coarseness of the shredded coconut in many dainty recipes rather than the actual flavour of it. As long as the pieces are small, I love it!
Chocolate Coconut Bark Ingredients:
1 (5 oz) bag Flaked or shredded unsweetened coconut (I like to grind mine in the food processor to make them even smaller, but not necessary) ~ 5 oz = about 2 cups if you are buying bulk
2/3 cup melted coconut oil + 1 TBSP
1/2 cup almond butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to Make Chocolate Coconut Clusters:
In medium bowl, mix coconut flakes, 2/3 cup melted coconut oil, vanilla, and almond butter until well mixed.
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and dump the mixture on top. Use a fork to spread it out as best you can. Apply a second layer of wax paper on top of the mixture and use a rolling-pin to smooth it out. Peel off the top layer of wax paper.
Put the cookie sheet in the freezer until the layer harden completely.
Once the layer has hardened, melt the chocolate in a double boiler with 1 TBSP coconut oil until smooth (or microwave).
Pour the chocolate over top and quickly spread it out to cover the surface.
Place them back in the fridge/freezer to cool before eating. Store in fridge or freezer.
Place coconut, vanilla, coconut oil and almond butter in a bowl and mix.
Dump the mixture on a lined cookie sheet.
Spread the mixture out across the pan.
Place another piece of wax paper over top and thenuse a rolling pin to smooth out the surface.
Place the smoothed mixture in the freezer to cool.
Melt the chocolate with 1 T. of oil and spread on the top of cooled base. Freeze.
Remove from the freezer and break into pieces.
Serve the chocolate coconut bark cold.
Enjoy the awesome mixture of crunchy chocolate shell and the chewy coconut base!
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As a rule, I make my cakes from scratch just like my mom did when I was a kid. Occasionally, I will buy a mix, but I prefer to make them myself. I have a few recipes that are my “go to” cakes. Our family loves chocolate, so I usually make chocolate birthday cakes or cupcakes. Today I am sharing my favourite chocolate cake recipe. It is super moist and works every time. It is simple to make and super high in calories (I am guessing). Oh well, that’s what birthdays are for! This photo captures the chocolate cake with our favourite frosting. I tend to keep the cake for our “family” parties plain and simple and make the more elaborate cakes for their celebrations with friends.
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 cup of sugar
4 heaping Tablespoons of cocoa
1 cup of water
1 cup of Miracle Whip
Method:
Put the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix. In a separate bowl, whisk together the miracle whip and water until most of the lumps are removed. Add the wet ingredients into the dry mixture. Beat well. Pour into a square cake pan. Double the recipe for a 9″ X 13″ cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean.
Our Favourite Frosting
This frosting is very creamy and delicious. It is not overly sweet and although not the same, would be most similar to the icing on a Jeannie’s Bakery cake. Very yummy, but not great for decorating. I sometimes do my “crumb coat” with this and then use butter cream or fondant for decorating.
Ingredients:
1 cup of whole milk
5 Tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of butter
1 cup white sugar
Mix the milk and flour in a saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat stirring constantly to prevent the milk from scorching. Once it has thickened, set the pot directly into an ice bath to cool. (Bowl of ice with a bit of water). Continue to stir the mixture while it is cooling to prevent it from crusting over or forming lumps. Once cool, stir in the vanilla. Cream the butter and sugar in a separate bowl. Add the cooled flour mixture 1 tablespoon at a time while continuing to beat.
Tips:
This icing is so worth the effort, but it can be a bit finicky. Follow the instructions and be sure to cool the flour mixture completely. Do not use butter that is too soft. Enjoy!
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In all honesty, this post is much more about semantics than it is about getting a great new Italian recipe.
Spaghetti and Meat Sauce Healthy Style? No Dice!
Last winter, we went through a three to four month stint in which we followed a Primal diet (very similar to eating Paleo, with a few differences). The main thing with a Primal diet is the exclusion of all grains from your diet. During that time, I had to get really creative as my family was not embracing our new lifestyle to the extent that I was. Although they adhered to the plan, they were not pleased about the absence of grains, especially pasta. Long before the Primal diet, I had tried to introduce my family to spaghetti squash as a much healthier alternative to pasta. They would have no part of it, so I would eat squash and meat sauce while the rest of the family would eat pasta. It was frustrating, but they simply did not like it.
Don’t Give Up ~ Your Family is Worth It
I am not one to give up on anything very easily. I find that with most problems, it is at the point of highest frustration that one usually gives up. However, I have often found that if I persist just beyond that point, the solution is almost always around the next bend. The key is really sticking with it long enough to reach the solution. I really wasn’t ready to give up on the idea of substituting the pasta in some of our meals. I love this quote because I find that we often have the answer already, it is just a matter of thinking “outside the box” and looking at the problem from a new perspective.
“The problems are solved, not by giving new information, but by arranging what we have known since long.”
― Ludwig Wittgenstein
Such was the case of spaghetti squash vs. pasta. In the end, I simply applied a strategy that has worked well for me in the past. I changed up what I was doing ever so slightly and re-named the dish. So instead of spaghetti squash and meat sauce, we have Italian Casserole. Same ingredients, with a different presentation and a new name!
What is Italian Casserole you may ask?
Homemade meat sauce (1 to 2 lbs of ground beef)
One cooked spaghetti squash
Mozzarella Cheese
Optional additions: parmesan cheese, butter
Cooke spaghetti squash according to the directions on the sticker. I generally poke it and microwave it for about 5 minutes before attempting to cut it in half. I then cut it in half length-wise and scrape out the seeds (similar to a pumpkin). The remaining “meat” is cooked (boiled, roasted or microwaved) until the flesh is soft and can be scraped away from the outer shell with a fork. Slide the fork down the flesh to create spaghetti like strings.
Pierce, microwave and slice.
Scrape out seeds.
Drag fork through cooked flesh to create spaghetti like strings of squash.
You can stir in some butter and parmesan cheese at this point, if you wish. Grease a 9″ X 13″ casserole dish and line it with a small amount of sauce. Spoon all of the cooked spaghetti squash onto the sauce and spread it out. Cover with all of the meat sauce and then place grated mozzarella cheese on top. Cook for about 20 minutes. You may want to broil for a minute or two at the end to brown the cheese. Finally, the most important step…..tell your family that you are having Italian Casserole for dinner. My family loves Italian Casserole, but continues to hate spaghetti squash and meat sauce. It really is all in the presentation and semantics. Ha! Ha! Mommy wins!
Variation:
Mix one cup of cottage or ricotta cheese with frozen spinach (thawed and drained) and a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Spread this layer over the squash, so it forms a middle layer between the squash and thick layer of meat sauce. Yummy and quite like lasagna. Enjoy!
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It is Sunday, the perfect day for waffles served with a white cream sauce. This recipe was given to us by a close family friend, Kirsten, and has long since been a family favourite. Thanks Kirsten!
Click the image to get the PDF version of the recipe.
Waffles with Dipping Sauce
Waffles:
5 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white flour (I use whole wheat)
2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons baking powder
Beat the eggs with an electric mixer. Add oil and beat again. Mix in salt. Mix flour, milk and baking powder together in a separate bowl. Stir into the egg mixture. Bake in a waffle iron. (It takes 4 minutes in mine, but I am sure that will vary depending on the iron.)
*I am too lazy to use two bowls. I do the first three steps and then just add the flour, milk and baking powder directly into the egg mixture gradually, mixing it after each addition. This seems to work fine. I hand mix as I add the flour, so it doesn’t spray all over. I tend to do things in a bit of a rush and thus I have tried using the electric beater and had flour spray all over. Dah! As I am writing this, I am having a thought. I don’t know why I have never tried it before, but I am going to do it in my blender next time. I think that would work well and the lid would prevent it from making a big mess.
White Sauce:
3 cups of milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Whisk milk, sugar and cornstarch together in a microwave safe bowl. Cook until boiling in the microwave (but stopping at one minute intervals to stir). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. (You must add the vanilla at the end or it doesn’t seem to thicken the same). If you read between the lines, you will realize that once again, I tried to skip a step and threw everything in at the beginning and it was a “fail”. The good news is that I don’t give up easily and learn from my mistakes. I will try to save you the pain of failure.
Waffle Serving Suggestions:
We always serve the waffles with fresh or defrosted frozen berries and the white sauce. My son loves to have maple syrup with the berries and white sauce ~ it is sinful, but so delicious! Enjoy!
Side note: I can’t say how many waffles it actually makes as I never get a chance to count them. They are generally scooped up right off the iron. I only make a single batch for our family of four and it is fine. If there seems to be extra, you can either save the batter in the fridge and make fresh waffles the next morning or freeze cooked waffles and pop them in the toaster like an Eggo.
I am a very reflective person. I take pride in knowing myself well and am fortunate to have worked hard and developed some good skill areas. I am very committed to becoming good at anything I am interested in and passionate about. However, the opposite of this is also true. There are many things that interests me little and therefore I know little about and spend little time getting better at them. The list of my limitations is long, but three jump to the forefront of my mind at this moment.
Politics – I have zero interest and know nothing.
Gardening. Give me a plant and I will generally kill it. My husband continually reminds me that plants need water, but somehow I still don’t seem to get that concept. I do the planting in the spring and think I do an okay job at that, but my husband tends to the garden and waters regularly. I am not even very good at harvesting. We thought we’d try a few more veggies this year. Some have grown well, some have not. Few have been harvested at the right time. I guess it doesn’t really pay to grow your own if you don’t actually pick the lettuce when it is ready, and before the ends begin to turn curl and turn brown.
Music – I have no ear for music, can’t read a single note and get stressed out when I am asked to clap to the beat. I do like to sing and dance in the privacy of my home where I let my family’s eye rolls and criticism slide off my back. Fortunately for me, I teach 5 year olds and regardless of how bad you are ~ kindergartens generally love their teacher and think they walk on water, so we do lots of singing and dancing at school…. but you won’t catch me joining the choir!
Deviled Eggs ~ I actually didn’t know this was so close to the top of my list until yesterday. Let me explain….
The History Lesson
I love deviled eggs and my mom would often make them when I was growing up. Again, eggs were not expensive and she had all of the ingredients on hand, so they made a perfect pot-luck dish or extra side-dish when company was coming. I have made deviled eggs several times in the past and I think they tasted good. Not so good, that you won’t forget them, but good. However, I have only ever made them for my immediate family and have never really worried too much about the divots in the outsides or the presentation, it was much more about taste. Generally, I prefer to put my eggs in a pot, boil the “dickens” out of them (I think I am turning into my mom) and then mash them up for egg salad sandwiches. However, I decided that this year, I would make deviled eggs for our annual block party potluck dinner dish. I knew that peeling the eggs would be a challenge for me, so I did what any perfectionist would do, I Googled it.
Easy to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs
Evidently, I am not the only person who struggles with this task, as there were many posts about it. There were lots of tips, many of which I tried to follow. Here are some of the things I learned about boiling eggs (I seriously thought you just put them in a pot – who knew there was a specific way to do it). When I originally wrote this post, there were two sites I used as a reference: MOMables and Food.com. Since then, a more up to date and comprehensive blog post was written on My King Cook. This is a very informative article with many great references, video clips and suggestions. Everything you might want to know about eggs can be found here. I also love that they included some great egg recipes. I have recently been trying to drop a few pounds and must say….eggs are one of my best friends! Gotta love them!
Use eggs that have sat in your fridge for 2 weeks or longer (evidently older eggs peel much better)
Add salt to the water (I read any where from a pinch to 1 Tablespoon)
The salt won’t affect the flavor of your eggs; it helps solidify the proteins within the egg, helping create an easier to peel egg! I have used both iodized (table) salt and Himalayan rock salt (the pink salt in my photo) and both have worked perfectly.
Add 2 teaspoons of vinegar to the water to make peeling easier
Only cook the eggs for two minutes and then remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
Give the cooked eggs an ice bath right after cooking.
My Experience
I did my research and learned all the tips to make perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs. I knew what the experts had to say and began to take action.
We go through eggs like there is no tomorrow, often as many as 36 per week, so needless to say I would never have eggs sit in my fridge for 2 weeks or more. I immediately began phoning neighbors to see if they had older eggs. We began to exchange “expiration date” information and I managed to get 30 eggs that were much older than mine. I am not sure how old, but he expiration date was August 24th and mine expired September 18th, so I thought it was a good trade.
I gently set the eggs in the bottoms of two big pots because I wasn’t sure if layering was a no, no. I covered the eggs with lukewarm water, added 1 T. of salt (I knew I would need all the help I could get) and the 2 tsp. of vinegar and set the pots on the stove to boil.
I watched the pots like a hawk and when they reached a full boil (or at least what I determined to be a full boil), I turned my timer on for 2 minutes. Evidently, the greenish-gray ring around the yolk results from over cooking. Mine always looked like that, so I thought that was normal!! Go figure?
I removed the pots from the heat and covered them with a lid. I turned the timer on for another 10 minutes. (At this point, I was already feeling a little stressed about how my eggs were going to turn out, but I knew I was doing everything the experts told me).
After 10 minutes, I removed the eggs and rinsed them in very cold water and then transferred them to an ice bath which was made up of very cold water and several cups of ice cubes. You were to let them sit in the bath for 5 minutes.
Peel the eggs.
The 6th Step Nightmare
I must say, this was one of the hardest tasks I have had to endure. No kidding. It was like I was trying to win some kind of internal battle between two drastically different personality traits.
Although I have never been diagnosed, I believe that I have Attention Deficit Disorder and that I come by it honestly. If you have ever met my father, you would know what I am talking about. He has two speeds “go” and “sleep”. He is 77 and literally only stops to sleep (any time, any place). He can’t even stand still without jiggling the change in his pocket. For the most part, I have complete control over this and have strategies that help me cope. I do things like make lists to keep me organized and take notes when listening to a speaker (to keep me engaged). However, the battle that ensued between my ADD and my perfectionist trait was one for the record books.
Let’s just say peeling the perfect eggs takes PATIENCE beyond anything I could ever imagine. I am tensing up just thinking about what I endured peeling those 30 eggs last night. I am all about problem solving and strategy, so I wanted to try out one of the tips I learned on the first egg. The poster said to crack the egg and gently roll it on the counter to create breakage all around the egg. This would help you to get the holy grail of boiled eggs ~ the membrane. I tried it out on the first egg and immediately broke it right in half. Ugh! I guess she meant really gently.This was not the start I was hoping for. As I went through the eggs one by one, I tried different strategies ~ like did it work better when I started breaking off the shell on the side, top or bottom of the egg. Should I use the end of my thumb or the side? Do I try for the big piece or the little tiny time-consuming crumbles of shell? I set out determined to peel each and every egg to sheer perfection, but this was to no avail. For some eggs, I made a flaw in the white flesh with the first pull of the shell. Can you imagine the torment of having to continue to peel an egg slowly and carefully when I knew it is already damaged goods and less than perfect. By the second divot in an egg, my legs were squirming and I was tense all over. I was generally able to work slowly and carefully until the moment when the perfect exterior became flawed and I had to settle for less than perfect and yet continue to finish the task with a steady hand and patience. This was so beyond my scope of management. When creating a card or a project, I just scrap it and start over, but the reality was that there were no more old eggs to boil. I had to salvage and use what I had. No repair job, no re-do, no make-over. It was killing me. I was catching my self shifting my weight from one foot to the other, clearly agitated and using self-talk to make it through. “I can do this.” “How hard can this be?” “The next one will be better.” “Take your time.” “Careful now, just slow down.” I felt like some kind of a nut case on the brink of losing it. Never before have these two elements of my personality battled it out in such a way.
The Not-So “A-peeling” Results
Not one perfectly peeled egg. Despite my research, precision in following the directions and formidable attempt at peeling slowly and carefully not one egg survived unscathed. There were many that made it up until the final shell was being removed. The roller coaster of hope and failure was one I won’t be riding again for a long time. (And yet, deep down there is still a battle waiting to be won – someday, I will be able to peel an egg without error, but not today). I can’t say the tips didn’t work, I truly believe this is my own challenge, so don’t disregard the tips, they just didn’t help me.
The Devilled Egg Recipe
Whenever my mom made devilled eggs, she just tossed in some mayo and green onion, salt and pepper and sprinkled them with paprika. No recipe, she just went by eye and taste. I have always done the same, but because I am taking these eggs to the potluck. I decided to actually follow a recipe. I decided to go with a recipe that had a 5 star rating from 126 reviews. Pretty good odds, I think. It is called Kittencal’s Best Deviled Eggs from food.com. The recipe calls for mayo, milk, parsley, chives, mustard powder, dill, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Sounds good and great reviews. This part of the dish is easy. Mix the egg mixture and pipe them into the whites. I am hoping to make them look good enough that people won’t even notice how I butchered the eggs when peeling. (By the way, the yolks did cook perfectly with no greenish-gray ring around the outside).
I don’t actually remember my mom ever fighting with boiled eggs. I don’t know if she had this little system licked and never had a problem, or if she was less of a perfectionist and really didn’t care if the eggs were perfect. Either way they always tasted great, and I guess the look really didn’t matter, as I for one don’t remember if the whites were perfect or not. I must say that this was a pretty humbling experience. In general, I produce a pretty good product. I am not saying that I have never had a desert that didn’t set properly or a roast that over cooked because I have, but in general, when I make or do something I do it pretty well. This result is so sub standard for me and the incredible stress it brought really caught me off guard. I have decorated cakes that have required supreme patience and a very steady hand. No problem! I would never have thought that peeling eggs would be so hard for me. What an eye-opener! The next time I eat someone else’s devilled eggs, I will have a new respect and appreciation for the chef that prepared them. It’s painful! I will take cake decorating over egg peeling any day!
I think the egg filling tastes okay, but the recipe says to let the flavours blend for several hours, so we’ll have to wait and see. From the top, they don’t look so bad ~ the deep dish helps hide the utter mess below. Over all this was somewhere between an epic fail and a slim pass. Hopefully they taste great!
My parents did not have much money when I was growing up, but my mom had the purist “servant” attitude around. She had no money to give, but instead offered her time and energy for helping others in need. Our most valuable non-renewable resource, time, is what she gave freely to others. She offered her time in many ways, and never as the “Chair” of a committee or the coach of a sports team. She was the one who was always behind the scenes doing the grunt work, with little or no recognition and of course, expecting none. She would be the one cleaning the old house or scouring the new home when a family member or friends were moving. No job was too dirty or disgusting for her and she could fix almost anything! (I don’t hold a candle to my mom in this department, but what I learned, I learned from her and my husband, not my dad. My mom taught him which end of the hammer to use!) Her “gifts” to others were often very subtle ~ listening to a friend in need for hours on end, helping others with house cleaning (seems funny as ours was usually a mess) or other home repairs and providing home-baked goods for any one going through a tough time. She volunteered many hours at church and loved to counsel those in need. She had a very giving spirit and gave with the only means she had ~ time and effort. When she died, we were flooded with stories of how my mom had touched the lives of others through her kindness and selflessness. There were many stories from people we didn’t even know and who were virtual strangers to my mom as well. Bottom line, she always made time for others. I so wish I could be more like her.
Sadly, 14 1/2 years ago, my mom passed away. She had been sick for a few months and although there is never enough time, I tried to think of all the questions I had and advice I might need. We spent many hours talking and we both tried to make sure that there was nothing left unsaid. I think we did a pretty good job, except for one thing ….. my mom’s Matrimonial Cake Recipe!!
Mission Impossible!
During the months that mom was sick, she walked me through the steps for making her delicious borscht and Christmas Cake (it is actually good too and I am not a big fan). I really tried to think of everything, but some how, her Matrimonial Cake Recipe did not come up in our conversations. I really can’t believe that I never thought of it as it was like her signature dish. She delivered more Matrimonial Cake to people in need and potluck dinners than I could venture to guess. It was kind of like “have cake will travel“. Her matrimonial cake was delicious and because it was inexpensive to make, this was a natural choice. Needless to say, dates were a staple in our pantry.
Since she passed, I have tasted many “date squares” trying to find a taste the replicated my mother’s. I scoured through the chicken scratch in her recipe books, but came up empty. I suppose that she made it so often, she never really needed a recipe and therefore I didn’t know its origin. I asked her sister, Lynn, shortly after she died, as I thought it might have been a family recipe, but she wasn’t sure what recipe mom had used. I did recall my mom saying something about the lemon juice being the key, but have never felt like I found the correct recipe. Last winter, I was in a local bakery and purchased some Matrimonial Cake, after sharing my story of how I was searching for this recipe. The owner of the bakery told me that her Matrimonial Cake was her mother’s recipe and was taken from an early edition (1946 or something) of the Five Roses Flour Cookbook. She also said that people travel across the city specifically for her date squares and that perhaps it was the same recipe. I bought the squares and they were indeed delicious and I was almost certain I had found the origin of the recipe, but was now on a hunt for an early edition of the cookbook. Several weeks later, my Grandma passed away and I got talking to another sister of my mom’s, my Auntie Joan. She lives in Alberta, so I had never asked her about the recipe before, but she said she did in fact have a family recipe that mom might have used. I had two great leads, but still no recipe in hand.
Mission Accomplished
Just before we left on holidays, I was able to find a 1938 edition of the Five Roses Flour Cookbook in a local antique store and it did in fact have a recipe for “Date Shortbread” (Matrimony Cake) and a separate recipe for the Date Filling. I read over the recipe and it called for lemon juice, so I was pretty sure I found the source of her delicious cake. I bought the book for $8 and returned home excited. I knew I wouldn’t have time to test the recipe out before we left for holidays, but was looking forward to giving it a try when we got home. When we arrived home from our vacation, I began the daunting task of going through the many emails in our “in box” and I was so excited to find an email from my Auntie Joan, complete with the recipe she had promised. Thanks Auntie!! I compared the two recipes and found that the only difference was that my Aunt’s called for a pinch of salt and the cookbook said to add 1/4 teaspoon. I organized the ingredients and made a batch last night.
My kids had never tried Matrimonial Cake before as they always thought it looked gross and would opt for something different on the dainty trays or at the bakery counter. I wasn’t sure if it would pass the kid test or if they would even try it. The recipe is simple and the cake turned out really well. It didn’t cut perfectly, but I am sure that I can take responsibility for that as I was unable to restrain myself long enough to let it cool completely. We each had a piece (or two), warm, shortly after being removed from the oven. Mmmm good! (When completely cooled it cut fine.) The whole family loved it and now “Grandma Ruth’s” recipe can be passed on for future generations to enjoy. My dad popped over for a visit this morning and luckily there were still a few (and I mean very few) pieces left and he got to try it out as well. He agreed it was as good as mom’s and took a copy of the recipe for himself.
Grandma Ruth’s Best Ever Matrimonial Cake
This recipe is my Aunt’s Recipe, but I am pretty sure it was originally taken from A Guide to Good Cooking Five Roses Flour (1938).
*Use a pan that is approximately 8 X 14″ in size. (I wouldn’t go larger, but smaller will just make the layers thicker!)
Grandma Ruth’s Matrimonial Cake
The Moral of the Story:
Never give up!
I hope you enjoy this cake as much as we have over the years!
Cindy
