by Krista | Dec 10, 2009 | Plucky Thursday
As Mums and I were chit-chatting the other day, we discovered that we were both craving the same cookie: thin, tender oatmeal sandwiched with sticky date filling.
It’s a cookie that harks back to my childhood in Canada when church and school potluck dessert tables always seemed to feature a bar version called “matrimonial cakes.” How I loved sinking my teeth into the chewy cookie, dense with oats and brown sugar, and discovering that little burst of sweet date filling. Mmm!
What I did not know was that these tasty little morsels were shortened not simply by butter, shortening or even oil, but by bacon grease!! Or, as Mums dubbed it: “pig butter.” 🙂
I admit I was skeptical but thought, heck, if I can eat rancid tomatoes in Russia or boiled pig trotter in Portugal, surely I can handle a little pig butter in my oatmeal cookie. Yipes!
So we hauled out an old Mennonite cookbook Mums has had for as long as I can remember, and thumbed through the spattered pages until we found her favorite recipe. We assembled oats, brown sugar and lovely plump dates.
And, yep, “pig butter.”
As we sifted, stirred and blended, Pa kept us fortified with snacks. 🙂
The batter came together beautifully and while it chilled in the fridge for a few hours we went for a drive to a nearby park, delighting in the sunshine while we stayed toasty warm inside the car.
Traditionally the cookies are cut into circles and sandwiched together, but Mums decided to cut a hole out of the top of each cookie so we could see the filling. I think it was a grand idea. 🙂
Today I popped in for tea and a visit with Mums and Pa, and she served our cookies with Parisian Hot Chocolate. (She sure knows how to cheer a daughters heart!) They tasted every bit as good as I remembered: moist, chewy with just the right bit of sweet. I guess those Mennonite ladies knew what they were doing when they thought bacon grease would be the perfect addition to cookies. 🙂
Date-Filled Oatmeal Cookies (From
The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes)
Cookie Ingredients:
1/2 cup bacon grease
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup boiling water
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift, then measure flour, add salt, sift again.
- Cream bacon fat and butter together. Gradually add brown sugar and vanilla.
- Dissolve soda in boiling water and add to creamed mixture.
- Add flour mixture and rolled oats, stirring until well blended.
- Roll dough thin on lightly floured board and cut with floured 2″ cookie cutter. With half of the cookies, use small heart, star or tree shaped cookie cutter in center of circle and remove piece
- Place on greased cookie sheets and bake 20 minutes or until brown.
- Cool and spread whole circle with date filling (see below) and top with cut-out cookie so date filling shows through the hole.
Date Filling Ingredients:
2 cups chopped dates
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp lemon or orange zest
Directions:
- Combine in saucepan and cook over medium heat until mixture is thick and dates are tender.
- Cool, then use to fill cookies.
by Krista | Dec 9, 2009 | Winter
The honey mead fizzed and bubbled, little pieces of oak bobbing to the surface as it brewed in the darkened closet. We had made the mead ourselves, mixing purified water with glistening ribbons of honey and yeast, watching excitedly as it fermented, waiting impatiently for the weeks to pass quickly so we could taste then bottle it.
It was our first attempt at home brewing in the CEG (Culinary Experimentation Group), and when bottling day arrived everyone was in high spirits. We took turns sanitizing, pouring and corking, and were pleased as punch to see the glistening bottles lined up on the counter.
After so much hard work we were ravenously hungry so while the guys cleaned up all the brewing gear, Kat and I dashed off to the store to pick up last minute fixings for dinner.
We decided our dinner party needed flowers so when we spotted these beauties we snatched them right up!
Simple but nourishing was our mantra for the meal, and we found plenty to fit the bill. I diced red potatoes and garlic while Toby chopped fresh dill, then we combined the lot with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted them until crisp and browned.
Kat made scrumptious sauteed kale with caramelized onions and niblets of garlic.
Darren prepped onions and asparagus wrapped with thick sliced bacon for the grill, and Cameron smoked salmon and chicken to perfection.
It was still warm enough to sit outside that night, so we ate under the stars, the wind sighing through the trees as we visited. While the others finished up, I nipped back inside to roast some figs and top them with a luscious mascarpone brandy sauce dusted with cinnamon.
Twas a fine way to end a hard day of labor. 🙂
Roasted Figs with Mascarpone Brandy SauceIngredients:
1 basket fresh figs, stemmed, washed and halved
1 tub mascarpone cheese, softened
2-3 Tbsp brandy
1 tsp honey
Cinnamon for dusting
Directions:
- Arrange figs on baking sheet and roast at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Blend mascarpone with brandy and honey until smooth.
- When figs are done, let them cool for 1 minute before arranging on dishes.
- Spoon mascarpone brandy sauce over warm figs, dust with cinnamon and serve immediately.
by Krista | Dec 8, 2009 | Winter
An icy wind is rattling my window this morning, ready to blast me in the face and toss my hair frantically the moment I step out the door.
It reminds me a of a particularly cold, blustery day in Paris when all I wanted was a cup of something warm to wrap my fingers around.
I chose a marvelous quiche chock full of spinach, cheese and roasted chicken, and a piping hot cup of chocolat chaud – real hot chocolate with melted chocolate and foamy steamed milk. Delectable on such a cold morning. Amy found a marvy looking sandwich – smoked salmon, cream cheese and thinly sliced cucumber on a fresh baguette – and a hot cup of tea with milk. We found the perfect perch on wooden bar stools overlooking the street and had our morning dose of people-watching while we visited away and made plans for the day.
Parisian hot chocolate is so different than the lovely little packets of powder and petrified marshmallows we dump into styrofoam cups over here. Those packets are splendid in their own way. Many a camping trip, ski outing and caroling jaunt has been made bearable and delightful by their presence.
Parisian hot chocolate is made with real, dark chocolate, chopped into tiny bits that melt easily into the hot milk. It is served unsweetened and I like that. The steaming beverage is pure chocolatey, milky goodness accompanied by narrow little red envelopes of sugar for each person to sweeten to taste.
Once fortified and warmed by our bevvies and food, Amy and I bundled up again and walked to the Palais Royale to relive scenes from our beloved Audrey Hepburn movie, Charade.
They even had a little black dress exhibition!
I have a stack of dark chocolate I’ve been hoarding in my pantry. This afternoon I’ll be chopping, stirring and sipping while I dream of
Paris.
Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups half and half, cream, coconut milk, or milk
Directions:
- Place chocolate in a small saucepan.
- Pour boiling water over chocolate in a steady stream, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Add milk and stir until well-blended.
- Whisk continuously over medium heat, until hot. DO NOT LET BOIL or chocolate will become grainy.
- Serve immediately or cool then reheat when ready to serve.
by Krista | Dec 7, 2009 | Bootstrap Monday
Every once in a while I crave a good split pea soup. It always brings back memories of frosty winter afternoons spent at my Grandma Robert’s house in Three Hills, Alberta. Her soup was nothing like the musty, pale sludge that comes from cans and chain restaurants. Nope, her split pea soup was thick and savory with strong ham flavor, a gorgeous vibrant green that beckoned tasting.
A week ago I looked my dwindling finances square in the eye and embarked on an Eat As Cheaply And Deliciously As You Can campaign. As I contemplated recipes and eyed my pantry contents, soup seemed to be the most economical route for menu planning. First I made a lovely Chicken Soup with Cilantro and Lime then tackled a hearty split pea.
There’s something quite soothing to me about rinsing and sorting dried peas and beans. Perhaps it’s reminiscent of playing with pebbles at the ocean’s edge, the hard legumes made smooth and slippery by the water, cascading through my fingers in a pleasing fashion. Whatever the reason, I like it. 🙂
After the peas were rinsed, I left them to dry in a colander while I chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic. I sauteed the onions until they were transparent, then added the rest of the vegetables, split peas and bay leaves, and covered the whole lot with chicken broth. While this simmered, I got out the prosciutto, chopped it into bite-sized pieces and fried them until they were nearly crispy.
When the peas were soft, I added the prosciutto and hot milk, stirring until thoroughly mixed in.
Working in batches I blended the soup, leaving about 1/3 not blended because I like my pea soup a bit chunky.
Split Pea Soup with Prosciutto
Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon bacon fat
2 medium carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
16 ounce package dried split peas
8 cups chicken broth
1 package prosciutto, diced and fried until almost crisp
1 cup hot milk
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, heat bacon grease and fry onions, carrots, and celery until soft.
- Add the garlic, bay leaf, and split peas and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add the broth and prosciutto, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or more, until the peas are tender.
- Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Remove bay leaves and discard.
- Add the milk and, using a hand-held blender or potato masher, process until smooth. I like mine a bit chunky, so I only puree two-thirds of the mixture.
by Krista | Dec 4, 2009 | Fabulous Friday
As a young woman my Grandma, Ruth Bjorn, boarded a ship in Copenhagen, Denmark to start a new life in Canada with her husband Alfred and four children. She left behind parents, 12 siblings and innumerable friends and relations and didn’t speak a lick of English.
Their Canadian life began in a tiny logging community in northern British Columbia, a place called Crescent Spur. They were befriended by a couple of Swedish families and others who worked at the lumber mill, strangers who became friends, helping the immigrant family learn English and the customs of their new homeland.
It was not an easy life with long, cold winters and a train the only way in and out of town. Grandpa worked long hours at the mill and out in the woods while Grandma ran the house, looked after six children and cooked for her family and the strays that always made their way into her kitchen.
When I was little my Dad, aunts and uncles would tell us stories of hockey games on the frozen river, the library that mailed them books to read, and the time my aunt requested a pound of Danish blue cheese for her birthday, took it to bed and had the entire thing eaten by morning.
My earliest memories of Grandma are in her warm kitchen. They had a huge dining room table with a low shelf suspended between the legs. I would sit on that shelf for hours, hidden by the table cloth, listening to Grandma and the aunts talking in the kitchen or the grownups chatting around the table with their mugs of coffee.
Grandma didn’t just cook good food, she made it beautiful! No dish ever reached the table without a garnish of some kind. Parsley sprinkled over boiled potatoes or mandarin orange segments artfully arranged atop a jello salad.
Grandma is in her 80’s now. We have lost part of her to dementia, but we still have HER, and for that we are immensely grateful. She still cooks nearly every day, and always, ALWAYS has homemade cookies ready for whoever might drop by. She makes them in batches and freezes them in empty plastic ice cream buckets, ready to be served with her ever-present, ever-hot pot of coffee.
Last weekend one of my brothers was home so we went up to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for a visit. They greeted us with hugs and beaming smiles of welcome then ushered us to the table, draped with Danish linens and set with small plates and coffee mugs ready for filling.
There in the middle was a plate of Danish Krum Kager, beautiful, delicate cookies made in a special press that imprints the dough with swirling, flowery patterns. Crisp, thin and delicious with a hint of spices and citrus, they are a wonderful accompaniment to strong coffee with cream.
I’ll share two different Krum Kager recipes with you today, both of them made with a Krumkake Iron.
The first one is made with sweet cream, lemon zest, cinnamon and cardamom. The second is a bit richer with whipping cream, buttermilk and nutmeg.
Both of them are delicious and freeze beautifully. If you like, while they’re still warm drape them over a dowel to form a cone or taco shape, then fill with sweetened whipped cream and dust with cinnamon, nutmeg or cardamom.
Krum Kager II
(From Julia Peterson Tufford’s Original Scandinavian Recipes)
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
4 cups flour
1 cup sweet cream
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp cinnamon
10 crushed cardamom seeds
Cream butter and sugar, add well-beaten eggs and then the rest of the ingredients. Bake in Krumkake iron until golden brown.
Krum Kaka III
(From Julia Peterson Tufford’s Original Scandinavian Recipes)
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 cup melted butter
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Beat eggs well. Add sugar and butter. Fold in whipped cream. Add buttermilk and flour alternately. Mix in soda, vanilla and nutmeg. Bake in Krumkake iron until golden brown.
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