Spring Recipes: Lovely Desserts

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter tomorrow. My son is home from college and we're hanging out at home, watching Mary Poppins after breakfast and having an egg hunt after dinner. The weather was lovely today, and hopefully will be tomorrow as well. Today I'm sharing several dessert recipes that can be served after Sunday dinner, or with afternoon tea.

Pineapple Banana Cake

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups mashed bananas

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a Bundt pan. Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) until combined. Make a well in the center and add eggs, pineapple, oil, vanilla and bananas. Stir batter with a large spoon, mixing well. Some lumps will remain; do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about 65-75 minutes). Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes before removing cake from pan.

Frosting: Frost with a vanilla frosting, or sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. A light glaze is also nice.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
8 maraschino cherries
1 (16 oz.) can pineapple slices
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Heat butter, sugar, and ginger until thick. Put into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Place pineapple slices on top of the brown sugar mixture; put one cherry inside each of the pineapple centers. Set aside.

CAKE:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon or almond extract
1/2 cup milk

Cream the butter with sugar. Beat the egg yolks and add to sugar mixture. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add alternately with milk to the sugar mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff (but not dry) and fold into batter. Pour over the pineapples. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes or until done. Cool 5 minutes. Turn upside-down onto a serving plate or tray to serve.

Pistachio Cake

Ingredients:
1 devil's food cake mix
2 small pkgs. pistachio instant pudding
1 large container Cool Whip

Mix cake according to directions on box. Bake per instructions for a 9x13 pan. Cool completely. Mix together the container of Cool Whip and the 2 small packages pistachio instant pudding mix. Do not add water or any other ingredients except the whipped topping and pudding. Frost the cooled cake. Sprinkle with crushed pistachio nuts, colored sprinkles, or coconut.

Optional: We've always used Devil's Food cake mix for this dessert, but you can also use white or yellow cake mix if you wish.

Lemon Cake

Ingredients:
1 box white or yellow cake mix
1 small box instant lemon pudding
1/2 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
5 large eggs
Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix all dry ingredients together. Stir in water and lemon juice. Beat in one egg at a time, afterwards beating the entire mixture for 2 minutes. Pour into Bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes. When cool, drizzle glaze over cake.

To Make Glaze:
Place 2 cups powdered sugar in medium mixing bowl. Whisk in melted butter and lemon juice. Drizzle over cake and cool.

Happy Easter! ~Brenda

Easter Recipes: Spring Side Dishes

As with all holidays, each family has their special Easter dinner dishes. Our family table is never without ham, rolls, and potatoes, but I tend to mix it up as far as the other dishes. My grandmother was Polish and she often fixed kielbasa along with the ham, which I tend to do to if I can get into the city to a meat market. Today I have a few recipes that would be wonderful with Easter dinner if you want to mix it up this year too.

New Potato Fennel Salad

Ingredients:
10 small new red potatoes, sliced
4 eggs, hard-cooked
1/2 c. sliced celery
1/2 c. chopped fennel bulb
1/4 c. thinly sliced sweet onion
DRESSING:
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. spicy mustard
1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. ground pepper

In large pan, cook the sliced potatoes in boiling water until JUST tender; drain well. Chop the boiled eggs. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, eggs, celery, fennel and onion. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients; whisk well. Spoon dressing over salad; toss gently. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours.

Note: What I do with the onion is slice it very thin, then cut those slices in quarters. You can also dice the onion.

Dilled Cheddar and Pea Salad

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen green peas
1 c. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp. snipped fresh dill weed

Rinse frozen peas under running cold water to thaw slightly; drain well. Toss the pea, cheese, celery, mayonnaise and dill. Chill until ready to serve.

Notes: I also like adding 5 or 6 diced radishes to this. The cheese should be the regular shredded cheese NOT the finely shredded. You can also dice a block of Cheddar with a sharp knife if you wish. Fresh dill makes all the difference in this salad.

Feta Couscous Salad

Ingredients:
1 c. plus 2 tbsp. chicken or vegetable stock
3/4 c. quick cooking couscous
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded & chopped
3 oz. crumbled feta cheese
1/4 c. minced watercress
3 tbsp. minced green onion
5 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt
ground black pepper

Bring the stock to boil in a small pan. Mix in the couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Cool to room temperature. Add the couscous to a large bowl. Mix in the tomato, feta, watercress and green onion. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the oil, lemon, a dash or two of salt and a generous amount of pepper. Gently mix into salad.

Scalloped Potatoes and Onions

Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled & sliced
2 sweet onions, thinly sliced then halved
6 slices sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
6 slices bacon

In a medium pan combine the onions, soup, milk, salt, and pepper together and heat on medium low until warmed. Arrange 1/3 of the potato slices in the bottom of a greased 2 1/2 quart casserole. Top with 1/3 of the sauce, then the cheese. Continue layering. Lastly, place the strips of bacon across the top. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Notes: This recipe can be varied by using regular white or yellow onions, a different type of cheese or shredded instead of sliced.

On OFL we have a nice article on Polish Easter traditions:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/anna.html

~Brenda

Spring Recipes: Asparagus

One of my favorite spring vegetables is asparagus, especially when it's fresh and thin in size. It's still tasty even when fairly thick, as long as the tough ends are cut off before cooking. Those ends can be used in making stock for a little extra flavor. All of the recipes below use fresh asparagus, which should be washed and the ends trimmed or snapped off before cooking. Any of these dishes would be lovely with Easter or Sunday dinner.

Asparagus Salad

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh asparagus, cut into pieces
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 c. red onion, very thinly sliced
1 hard boiled egg, finely chopped
1/4 c. Italian dressing

Cook the asparagus until just tender, 6-8 minutes. Drain and cool. Combine remaining ingredients. Add the asparagus. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. 4 to 6 servings.

Note: I also like sprinkling with Parmesan or Feta cheese before serving.

Italian Style Asparagus

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds asparagus
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. grated lemon zest

Cook the asparagus until just tender in boiling, salted water. Drain. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is softened, about 1-2 minutes. Add drained asparagus, cook, stirring until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to serving dish, sprinkle with zest.

Pasta with Asparagus and Feta

Ingredients:
8 oz. pasta, spaghetti or other type
1/2 lb. fresh asparagus
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tomato, diced
4 oz. feta cheese
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried

Cook pasta according to package directions. Steam asparagus until just tender; cut into pieces. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add oil and tomato and heat gently until heated through. Add cheese and oregano and heat gently to heat. Toss lightly. Makes four servings.

Garlic Butter Asparagus

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh asparagus
1/4 c. butter, cut into pieces
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced finely
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese

Boil asparagus until just tender, after trimming ends. In large skillet, melt the butter, add the garlic and sauté until softened. Add the asparagus; and stir in while heating through. Season with salt and pepper. Place on a platter, then squeeze with lemon. Sprinkle generously with cheese.

On OFL I have a menu for a spring luncheon:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/luncheon.html

~Brenda

Old Fashioned Spring Greens Recipes

Today I'm sharing tips and recipes for spring greens that I found in my ragged copy of The 20th Century Cookbook. The first recipes are for watercress which can be easily grown or bought in the produce section. The next one is for Dandelion Greens, which sometimes you can find in the store too. If you do use wild dandelions be sure they haven't been sprayed. I was reminded as I typed out the text from the book, how much I enjoy the language differences in old cookbooks from how we write and speak today.

Stewed Watercress
Lay the cresses in strong salt and water, pick and wash them well, and stew in water until tender; drain and chop them, return to the stew pan, with a lump of butter, some salt and pepper, and let get thoroughly hot. Just before serving squeeze in a little lemon juice. Serve with fried sippets of bread. These are very nice with boiled chickens.

Fresh Watercress
Wash very carefully, shake dry, heap on a pretty dish. To be eaten with salt, as each person likes.

Grandmother's Dandelion Greens
When thoroughly cleansed boil in plenty of salted water till tender, drain and press till very dry, and chop in a chopping bowl moderately fine. Take a large bunch of garden sorrel, wash, drain thoroughly, and chop quite fine. There should be about one-third as much chopped sorrel as dandelion. Into a deep saucepan put a heaping tablespoonful of butter for each cupful of the sorrel. When quite hot add the sorrel and stir over a moderate fire till it has turned brown. Now add the dandelion, stir till boiling hot, remove from the fire and add 1 beaten egg for each pint of greens and serve. The eggs may be entirely omitted without spoiling the dish. More or less sorrel may be used, according to taste, no vinegar being eaten with the greens. The wild sorrel is equally as good, but, being very small, requires considerable time to gather and prepare.

Greens
One peck of greens is sufficient for a family of six. Dandelions, cow-slips, yellow dock(the long narrow leaf), mustard, turnip tops, cabbage sprout, lambs' quarters, etc. Separate or mixed. Examine very carefully. Rinse in several waters until they are entirely free from sand and insects. If the last water be well salted it will aid in freeing from insect life, especially if they are allowed to stand in it awhile. Cook in plenty of boiling salted water. Cut away all the tough leaves and stalks before cooking. Drain in a colander, chop a little, return to the fire in a saucepan, and season with butter and pepper. This dries them a little. Serve hot. Send vinegar around with them. Garnish with slices of hard boiled egg.

Brenda's Notes
I have to mention I love this wording: Send vinegar around with them.

I also wanted to make note of using wild greens of any type. Please be sure you KNOW it's the correct plant. The library should have an identification book of some type, or even better would be to find someone local who knows plants to identify them if you aren't sure. Only pick where pesticides or fertilizer is NOT used. Greens are really easy to grow, even in containers, and seeds should be in the store to choose from if you want to try growing your own.

On OFL we have an article I wrote on sorrel that includes recipes:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/sorrel.html

~Brenda

Spring Vegetable Recipes

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today I wanted to share a bit more on spring vegetables. I'm also wrote an article for OFL on growing peas in the garden, which you can read here: http://oldfashionedliving.com/The-Spring-Garden:-Growing-Peas.html

I have spring flowers and vegetables on my mind since this week it was sunny and between 50 and 65 degrees F. each day. I've been looking through more of my older cookbooks this week for vegetable recipes. The Good Housekeeping Cook Book (1944) had this beet recipe to try this season.

Young Beets With Greens

Wash, then cook very young beets and greens together until tender in 1/2 inch boiling salted water for about 25 minutes. Remove the beets and skin. Chop the greens, season with salt, pepper and melted butter or margarine and heat. Serve together.

Notes: Beets and their leaves can also be used in salads when they are very young. Take advantage of these tender greens before they grow too large. The young beets can be shredded or sliced thinly to use in coleslaw or salad recipes. Try adding them to layered salads. In Australia they also put shredded beets on burgers as a topping.

This is a recipe for a simple salad I've made often to go with dinner.

Simple Spring Salad

Ingredients:
10 ounce bag of mixed salad with spinach
2 cups sugar snap peas
2 cups strawberries
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup walnuts, almonds or pecans

Dressings: Blue cheese, French or Ranch

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently. Serve the dressing on the side.

~Brenda