Kale and apple salad

I never did post cookie recipes but since the cookies I like best are now all eaten, I thought I would post this salad I just made. We had a lovely kale salad on Christmas Eve made by my sister in law so this inspired me to try more kale salads rather than always cooking it. This is a variation on a number of recipes I looked at online.

Dressing
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. olive oil
1 t. honey
Small clove garlic, minced or pressed
Salt to taste

Salad
Kale, half a bunch, de-stemmed and shredded or sliced thinly
One medium apple, cored and chopped
1/2 c. walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 oz. cheddar cheese, diced finely
Grated Parmesan to taste

Pour the dressing over the kale in a large bowl and work it all together with tongs. Add the other ingredients and work through again. Phil and I had this for lunch and this is what is left.

Sweet Potato Bake

6 medium sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (3 or 4 cups)
1/2 cup milk, or 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup orange juice
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Beat together just until well blended.
Pour in 2-quart casserole dish.

Bake @ 350 degrees until hot through, about 45 minutes if potatoes were cold when put in dish, or 25 minutes if they were hot. Sprinkle 2 cups mini marshmallows over casserole about 5 minutes before oven time is up. 

If preferred, mix the following together until crumbly and sprinkle over casserole before baking:
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup chopped pecans

From Mennonite Country Style Recipes cookbook

I am cooking a lot of food for a lot of people at Thanksgiving this year. I ended up tripling the recipe! I am looking so forward to every person in the Swartley family being here for a few hours plus some friends. My goal this year is to do as much food prep ahead of time as possible so that I can enjoy the day with the family. Today the sweet potatoes are done and ready for the freezer for a couple days. It may not be as good at my grandmother's or my mother's as they would prepare their meal on the same day it is enjoyed. Hopefully all will enjoy, eat plenty, and be thankful.

Louisa Oyer

PUMPKIN SCONES
Prep:  25 min; Bake 15 min; Oven 400 F

from Ron Guengerich

3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
Ground white pepper or black pepper
2 tsp. chili flavor oil
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Milk
3-4 T. pepitas

1.  Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.  In a large bowl combine the pumpkin puree, Parmesan, melted butter, egg, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and chili oil.  Stir well to mix.
2.  In another bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  Fold into pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined into a dough.
3.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Pat to 1-inch thick oval.
4.  Cut dough into scones using a round 2 inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour.  Place scones 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Reform dough and repeat.  You should get 12 scones.
5.  Brush tops of scones with milk to glaze.  Sprinkle pepitas on top.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.  Cool slightly.  Eat warm with butter if desired.  Makes 6 servings + leftovers.

Eggnog, posted from Aunt Ruth

Neal's Eggnog

Neal Freedman was the wife of Dr. David Noel Freedman, one of Ron's major professors at The University of Michigan.  After she shared this recipe with me, we found the same recipe in the Detroit News; they called it the White House Eggnog recipe.  They reported in that article that because of the significant amount of alcohol in this recipe, it will keep in the back of your refrigerator for a long time; the alcohol acts as a preservative.  We have indeed kept this for months, and sip it periodically throughout the year.  Hmmm,  I think I still have about a quart in the refrigerator.  Time for an autumn sip, perhaps in honor of Phil Hertzler and his love of grading student essays.

Ingredients:*

12 eggs, separated

2 lb. sugar (4 c.)

3 c. bourbon

1 c. brandy

1 1/2 c. rum

2 qt. heavy cream

1 qt. light cream OR 1 pt. heavy cream and 1 pt. milk, OR use 2 qt. half and half

Put egg yolks in a large bowl.  Put the separated egg whites in a separate bowl and refrigerate until ready to whip them to perfection.  With electric mixer beat egg yolks till light colored; blend in sugar.  With mixer running, very slowly dribble the whiskey (bourbon) into the egg yolk mixture.¹  Cover and set this aside for at least 2 hours, or overnight.  I do this in a very large stainless still mixing bowl, and if it is very cold outside, I just set it out on my deck, because I usually don't have room in the refrigerator for this.

When close to serving time, mix in the rum and brandy.  Stir in the cream/milk, whatever blends you choose to use.² Then beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in to the mixture.  sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg.  Serve and enjoy.

¹You can cut back on the alcohol.  In fact, I usually use about 2 c. of bourbon for a whole recipe, and 1 c. of rum.  A little of this eggnog goes a LONG way.  It goes down smoothly,  and tastes like some more!  And I am always conscious of the drivers leaving my home after having consumed this wonderful beverage.

²You may be inclined to go cheap and use less heavy cream and more milk, but DON'T.  This is a very rich, smooth, creamy beverage, and by cutting corners on the cream you cut corners on the wonder of this eggnog. I do usually use Half and Half for the light cream.

*This recipe is easily divided into 1/2 or 1/3 or even 1/4 if you are having just a small party and don't want any left over.  However, these leftovers are great.

Valentine Cookies

Valentine cookies I made this year using the Sugar Cookie recipe I put in the cookbook. My mentee from church came over and helped decorate them.  This is from the Mennonite Country Style Recipe cookbook.

1 c. butter

2 c. sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp. lemon flavoring (I use a couple drops (to taste) Lemon Oil)

5 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. salt

1 c. sour cream or thick sour milk (I use sour cream)

Cream shortening & sugar together thoroughly.  Add eggs & lemon flavoring, beating until fluffy.  Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream or milk.  Mix together.  Chill dough in refrigerator overnight.  Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness & cut into desired shapes.  Place on greased baking sheet (I don’t grease it & it works fine).  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.  Do not over-bake!  Cool and frost.  Yield:  8 or 9 dozen

Frosting:

1/2 c. butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. lemon flavoring (again I use a couple drops of Lemon Oil, to taste)

Approximately 6 T. milk

Heat butter just until softened & beginning to melt.  Do not overheat. Beat until smooth. Color as desired.

Rustic torte with greens on a snowy Michigan evening

I'll start this blog with a recipe by Italian American chef Mario Batali. Representative of the cultural diversity in the tastebuds of this family, if not the Swiss German or Mennonite background of the grandparents.

I had packs of frozen kale left over from our summer CSA bin. I've been puttering around all day, feeling the need to bake something since the weather forecast was dire -- heavy snow.  So I scouted online for a recipe similar to a gratin or something savory and pie-like, appropriate for a snowy evening.  This popped up:  Swiss Chard Tart.  Close enough!  The chard would no doubt be a tad less distinct in flavor, but the kale worked well.  Maybe 3/4 cup bread crumbs would be sufficient too.  A half cup "dusted" on top was a little too dusty.  But the crust is a miracle of simplicity. The flavor is savory and nutty, and just what I was hoping for.  I paired this with pan-fried thin pork chops. Rustic and simple and very tasty as we watched the snow fall outside.