Cooking with Grandma in the Kitchen

I learned so much cooking with my Grandma in her country kitchen.  I think my love of cooking is a product of spending time with her, watching her cook, and eating her delicious dishes.  I was fortunate enough to have her in my life well into adulthood.

I have cooked my way through all of her recipes now.  Many of them are wine, pickle, and bread/roll recipes that are very labor intensive.  It's so much easier to just go to the store and buy these things, but I believe it's good to know how to make these foods yourself.

Check out the recipes here.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

A simple, but very tasty way to prepare potatoes for dinner.

3 lbs fingerling potatoes (washed, but unpeeled)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
Sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  In a bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil and thyme leaves.  Transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet in a single layer and season with ground sea salt and pepper.  Bake for 25 minutes or until tender inside while crispy outside.

This one gets a thumbs up from the whole family!

Produce Co-op -- What a Great Way to Save Money

About a year ago I read about this produce co-op and I thought it sounded like a good idea.  But . . . I was reluctant to try it out.  I didn't know anyone who had participated and I wasn't sure about the quality of the produce they would provide.  The prices were great, but I had to pay in advance and then pick it up at a particular location within a 15 minute window.  So much pressure!!! :)

I finally gave in and placed an order for the Produce Basket.  With the delivery fee and the required one time $2.00 contribution for coop bags, my total came to $24.25.  Take a look at a snapshot of the Produce Basket.

This picture doesn't begin to do justice to what was in the basket.  There were bananas, plums, nectarines, fresh ginger, cilantro, Napa cabbage, button mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce, oranges, apples, carrots, potatoes, and cauliflower.  The bag had to weigh about 30 lbs.  Amazingly, everything was very fresh and well worth the money spent.  Some weeks the bag weighs 40 lbs plus.

The co-op delivers every two weeks.  When I arrive at the pick up point, there are probably 50 people waiting in line to get their produce.  Pick up goes very quickly.  Everything is sorted into bags and boxes and our orders are labeled with our names.  I have quite a time carrying all of my purchases all the way to the car.

Check out the co-op when you have time.  Their website is www.communityhelpingscoop.com.  There are groups all over the St. Louis area.  I happen to be part of the High Ridge group.  Be sure to sign up for a group, and they will e-mail you a couple of days ahead to remind you to order, and then send you a reminder to pick up your produce on the delivery date.

Grandma's Recipes

Most of Grandma's recipes have been for what I call ordinary everyday recipes that came out of the 1940s through 1960s.  There are tools in the blogger world to look to see how many people read posts and I've definitely found a pattern.  The more exotic the recipe name, the more visits there are to that post.

There are certainly gems hidden in the posts on this page -- I've had the pleasure of discovering most of them.  It's just a shame that more people don't take the time to read back through the recipes to discover the basics.  Grandma didn't have the luxury of running to the grocery store just to pick up a forgotten item.  Her shopping was limited to one day each week -- usually Saturday.  She relied on items in her freezer, on her canning shelves, or from her garden to plan her dinners.

It couldn't have been easy.  I can't imagine not being able to just run to the store for something I need to complete dinner.  That happens to me frequently.  Grandma was a planner.  She had to think ahead -- there were no microwaves to defrost meat or other items.

We have so many luxuries when it comes to cooking compared to those who cooked years ago.  One of my resolutions for 2013 is to get my financial house in order.  To accomplish this, I'll need to review my grocery budget.  That's one area that can use an extra eye!

My Grandma's Hands

Growing up my sister and I spent time each summer with my Grandma and Grandpa on the farm.  We loved to go to the barn with Grandpa and feed the cats each evening.  We loved helping to pick veggies and berries in the garden every day.  But, most of all . . . we loved to help Grandma in the kitchen.  She made everything from scratch and everything was so good!

Looking back, I remember Grandma's hands.  Yes, they were wrinkled, but her hands were always busy and I thought they were cute.  I wanted nothing more than to be able to cook like Grandma.  Today, I look at my own hands and I see hers.  They aren't young anymore.  They are wrinkled (I call them love lines) and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Feeding my family and friends gives me the greatest pleasure in life.  My kitchen and dining room are the place we always wind up.  Three-year-old  Christian loves to help me in the kitchen already.  I can only hope that when my grandchildren are all grown up they will look back and think about Grammy's wrinkled hands and the goodies I made for them and the dishes we made together.  Is there any better legacy?  I don't think so.

Thanksgivings Past

Growing up, I think my Thanksgiving holidays were like lots of others -- we had more than one family meal to fit in.  My mom's side of the family was rather large.  She came from a family of seven children.  My dad was an only child.  Dinners were a bit different.  We loved spending time with cousins, aunts and uncles with one family and we loved being the center of attention with the other.  It was a great mix!  My childhood holidays were great!  I hope my grandchildren will remember theirs just as fondly.

My Grandma Mohr had a huge group of people to cook for.  I can't begin to imagine how much food had to be prepared for all of us.  Plum Pudding was always the perfect finish to our holiday meal.  Yummy!  I need to learn how to make that.  My Grandma Kruse had a smaller group to cook for and always went all out!  Cinnamon Rolls would start the day and Sweet Potato Pie would end dinner.  My sister, Kim, would refuse to eat the pie because it wasn't pumpkin.  It really did taste the same.

I hope one day my kids and grandkids will look back and remember a favorite recipe from our Thanksgiving dinner.

Dinner Rolls

8 oz warm whole milk (100 degrees)
1/3 cup sugar
1 pkg active dry yeast
15 oz all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
2 egg yolks
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 stick of butter (6 Tbsp at room temp and 2 Tbsp chilled and cut into 16 small cubes)

Butter a sheet pan and set aside.

Place the milk, sugar, yeast, flour, egg yolks, and salt in a bowl.  Stir and then work with hands to combine.  When well mixed, let dough rest for 15 minutes.

Add 2 oz of the room temp butter and mix dough well.  Work dough until it pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll and shape with hands to form a large ball.  Return dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm, dry place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Remove the dough from the bowl and roll into a 16 x 3" long log.  Use a bench knife to cut the dough into 1 3/4 oz portions, about 16 rolls.  Using your loosely cupped hand, roll each portion on the counter until they tighten into small balls.  Working 1 at a time, use a rolling pin to roll each small ball into a 3" circle or oval.  Use the side of your hand or a small dowel to make an indentation across the middle of the circle.  Place a small pat of chilled butter into the center of the indentation, then fold in half and gently press to seal the edges.  Place the rolls, top-side down onto the prepared sheet pan, spacing them evenly.  Melt the remaining 1 oz butter and brush the tops of the rolls.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, dry place to rise until doubled in size, 30 - 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 8 - 10 minutes.  Rotate the pan halfway through baking.

Remove the pan to a cooling rack and cool for 2 - 3 minutes before serving.

Rice Pilaf

1 stalk celery (diced)
1/4 cup fresh mushrooms (chopped)
1/4 cup white onion (diced)
1 Tbsp butter
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
2 cups white rice

Saute vegetables in butter until tender.

Combine chicken stock, water, bay leaves and salt.  Bring to a boil.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place the rice in deep baking dish.  Mix with vegetables and liquid mixture; stir well.  Cover pan with foil.  Bake 1 hour.

Savory Zucchini Muffins

The end of the summer garden has produced far more zucchini than anyone can possible use.  Grandma found a creative way to use up some of the extra zucchini by using it as a healthy ingredient in muffins.  These are delicious and are sure to become a family favorite.  They're easy too!

1 1/4 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Italian Herb Seasoning or dried Thyme

1 cup shredded zucchini (1 medium sized zucchini)

1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

Combine all of the dry ingredients and stir to mix.  Add your liquid ingredients one at a time and then mix just until all ingredients are combined.  Stir in the zucchini and gently stir.

Spoon into 12 muffin cups (fill about 1/2 full).  Sprinkle with a dusting of grated Parmesan Cheese.  Bake @ 425 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.

Don't let the sugar fool you - these are not sweet muffins.  They are a perfect compliment to a soup dinner -- Tomato Soup, Potato Soup, Corn Chowder, or Beef Stew.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Apples

This is one of those perfect fall dishes that Grandma could prepare using fall produce.  It's the perfect casserole for cool fall nights.

4 sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into 1/2" slices)
2 large apples (peeled and sliced)
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup light Karo syrup
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water.  Stir in salt and bring to a boil over high heat.  Boil for 10 minutes until potatoes are just tender.  Drain.

Place sweet potatoes in the bottom of an ungreased 13 x 9" baking dish.  Top with sliced apples.  Drizzle apples with corn syrup and then sprinkle with brown sugar.  Dot with the butter and top with the finely chopped pecans.

Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.