The Sunday Recipe: Simple Waldorf Salad

May 23, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
Tags: , ,

Simple Waldorf Salad

This is a basic recipe based on the old Betty Crocker one. I remember having Waldorf salad as a side dish on special occasions as a kid. It was one of my favorites. It has probably gone out of fashion but I think it’s time to revive it in my house. The Betty Crocker recipe calls for serving it on lettuce, but I like to just use it as a fruit side dish or snack.

The basis for this dish is simply apples, celery, and pecans with a dressing of prepared mayo, lemon, and milk. I was going to use Granny Smith apples because we used tart Northern Spy apples when I was growing up, but it called for red apples and I happened to have some Snapdragon on hand so I used that. I almost added two chopped Granny Smith because I tend to like things lightly dressed and this made a lot of dressing, but I just went with it for this time.

I toast my pecans for things like this in the toaster oven. I use the lightest setting and make sure the pecans are whole and ridges up. You can also toast them in a hot pan on the stove for just a few minutes, moving them around with a spoon to keep them from burning. Or, you could just use them as is.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup mayonnaise (I prefer Hellman’s vegan mayonnaise or Just Mayo, which are both egg free.)
  • 1 tablespoon almond milk (or whatever milk you prefer.)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup pecan halves (I measured 1 ½ ounces or 44 grams, then toasted them.)
  • 2 stalks of celery, cleaned and diced
  • 2 red apples

Directions

  1. Toast your pecans however you like then set aside to cool.
  2. Mix together the mayonnaise, milk, and lemon juice in a small dish.
  3. Dice the celery and place in a medium bowl.
  4. Break or chop the pecan halves. I like to have fairly large chunks so I usually break or chop a pecan down the middle then each half into 3 pieces. Dump in with the celery.
  5. Stir in the dressing.
  6. Core, and dice apples. I like to cut the apple in half down the middle, notch each end to take out a little triangle and then use the tip of my knife to take the very center, where the seeds are, out. Lay the cut side down on the cutting board and cut from top to bottom down the center. Then cut each of those quarters you created in half lengthwise. Now you can slice across all four sections, making nice quarter inch bite size pieces. Mix the apple into the dressing as you finish each half apple, to prevent browning.
  7. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Leave a Comment

The Sunday Recipe: Pumpkin Butter

November 1, 2020 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
Tags: , , , ,

I decided I wanted to make pumpkin macarons one day and the best recipe I found recommended making pumpkin butter to go inside them. Since we have several pie pumpkins, this seemed like a perfect use of some. I wanted a slow cooker recipe. This recipe was adapted from a recipe on Allrecipes by Allyk. I used maple syrup, added cider, and changed up the spices. The original is at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/215317/slow-cooker-pumpkin-butter/

Pumpkin Butter

Ingredients

  • 2 – 2 pound pie pumpkins, peeled, seeded, and diced. (Or similar, this is what we had.)
  • ¾ cup maple syrup
  • ¼ cup apple cider
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Place the pumpkin in the crockpot with the cider.
  2. Pour maple syrup over pumpkin.
  3. Combine spices and sprinkle over pumpkin.
  4. Put lid on and set slow cooker for low.
  5. Allow to cook for 9 hours, overnight is a good time.
  6. Stir, and prop the lid open.
  7. Allow to cook until excess moisture is removed,  about 3 hours.
  8. Cool and enjoy or freeze.

1 Comment

The Sunday Recipe: Salsa

October 25, 2020 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
Tags: , , , ,

This recipe is adapted from one in an old copy of Country Woman magazine that my grandmother had kept. It was submitted by “Diana Murphy of Black Earth, Wisconsin” and printed in the November/December 1999 issue. I changed up the amount of onions, type of peppers, and reduced the amount of tomato paste.

Note: When chopping hot peppers, like jalapeno, it is wise to use gloves, but if your hands are in good shape, no cuts, and you can remember NOT to touch your face, you should be fine.

The first time I made this recipe, I left the seeds from ONE jalapeno in and it gave the salsa a nice heat that crept up on you. This time I seeded the peppers but didn’t worry if a few seeds got in, for a nice, mild, sweet, salsa.

Originally, I also used Poblano peppers instead of bell peppers. This time the grocery store only had the Italian equivalent so I used those. Substitutions are a good thing, especially when someone in the family is allergic to bell peppers.

This made me about 9 pints of salsa. A great recipe for gift giving!

Salsa

Ingredients

  • 18 cups quartered peeled fresh tomatoes (60 to 80 Roma tomatoes, depending on size.)
  • 4 Large onions, chopped
  • 4 good size Poblano chile peppers, seeded and chopped.
  • 9 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 6 sweet banana peppers chopped
  • 2 cups vinegar
  • ¼ cup sea salt
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 can of tomato paste

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large kettle and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring once every five minutes.
  2. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for two hours. Stir occasionally.
  3. Jar or cool and freeze.

Leave a Comment

The Sunday Recipe: Green Tomato Mincemeat

October 11, 2020 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
Tags: , , , , , ,

My husband grew a bumper crop of Roma tomatoes this year. I’ve made several batches of marinara sauce, chili sauce, and one HUGE batch of salsa. Some of the tomatoes didn’t quite have time to ripen though so I’ve used an old favorite recipe to preserve them — Green Tomato Mincemeat. I’ve adapted this recipe for a more paleo version from the Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook of 1937. It’s simple but amazingly delicious.

In the past I’ve used either olive oil or butter, and either vinegar or lemon juice. This time I replaced the sugar with maple syrup, which allows me to use ¾ of the sugar content and still retain the tangy sweetness.

I prefer Granny Smith apples, but I’m sure any good cooking apple would work. I made a double batch the first time with vinegar, instead of lemon juice, and it tasted great. Today I made a triple batch and used lemon juice.

Green Tomato Mincemeat

Ingredients

  • 2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples
  • 2 cups chopped green tomatoes
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup dark raisins
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon mace (nutmeg is an acceptable substitute)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • ½ tablespoon tapioca flour or cornstarch (optional)
  • ¼ cup butter

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a large pot, except butter and tapioca (or corn) starch.
  2. Bring to a boil gradually over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
  3. Simmer about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
  4. Stir together tapioca flour or cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water and stir into the sauce.
  5. Simmer another 15 minutes.
  6. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
  7. Cool and use, or pour into freezer containers to store in the freezer.

1 Comment