88-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 5, 2000 If you are looking for a recipe but can't find it, send your recipe request to Lou Ann Good, Cook's Question Corner, in care of Lancaster Farming, P.O. Box 609, Ephrata, PA 17522. There’s no need to send a self-ad dressed stamped envelope. If we receive an answer to your question, we will publish it as soon as possible. Check your recipe to make sure you copy the right amounts and complete instructions for making the reci pe. Sometimes we receive numerous answers to the same request, but cannot print each one. Answers to recipe requests should be sent to the same address. You may also e-mail questions and an swers to lgood.eph@lnpnews.com QUESTION Eleanor Kisner, Muncy, wants zucchini recipes for casseroles. QUESTION Several months ago Michael Brennan, Wilkes Barre, was at an auction in Sullivan County where he ate chicken noodle soup. He writes that it was delicious and look ed to be only noodles and chicken. He believes the people at the food stand were from Berks County and were also selling beef vegetable soup. Brennan would like both recipes. QUESTION - Michael Brennan, Wilkes Barre, would like a recipe for what he calls brown basmati long-grain rice. Perhaps the word is misspelled as I have never heard of it before. Does anyone know to what he is refer ring? QUESTION A reader is looking for recipes for hot pepper jam and for sweet pepper jam that tastes similiar to that made by Kitchen Kettle. QUESTION A reader would like a recipe to make a baking mix similiar to Bisquick, which she can use in recipes calling for Bisquick. QUESTION A reader wants recipes for breads, cakes, etc., using whole grains. She’d like to cook and bake more healthful foods. Anyone have some ideas and recipes to share? QUESTION Betty Jakum, Littlestown, wants a recipe for cabbage-noodle salad that is served cold similar to potato salad or coleslaw. It is sold at the Allentown Farmers Market. QUESTION Bonnie Reese, Wellsboro, writes that a few years ago, she clipped a won derful recipe for vegetable pizza from this paper. The recipe had a crust that tasted simi lar to crescent roll refrigerated dough. She lost the recipe and asked if anyone else clipped it and could send it in to be reprinted. QUESTION Bonnie Reese, Wellsboro, wants a recipe for cheesecake that tastes like that served in restaurants. The cheesecakes are about 10-inches in diameter and 4-inches in depth. QUESTION A Newburg reader would like recipes for jams and jellies or fruit spreads without sugar or artificial sweetener. She’d like recipes that taste similar to brands such as Po laner’s All Fruit, Spreadable Fruit, or Smucker’s Simply 100% Fruit. QUESTION A reader is looking for a recipe for soft and high oatmeal whoopie pies. The recipe that she has is flat and hard. QUESTION Sylvia Allgyer, Christiana, would like a recipe for sourdough seven grain bread. QUESTION Eva Mae Oberholtzer, Ephrata, would like recipes to make goat cheeses and soaps. She writes that Michelle Good, Beaver town, had sent in a dairy contest recipe for a goat milk pudding and Eva Mae asks if she would send in more recipes using goat’s milk. Do-It-Yourself Frozen Fruit Is Cheap, Easy Readers ask, “Can I freeze fruit myself and get the same quality?" It won’t hurt to try. Frozen-fruit manufacturers have the advantage of quick-freezing methods and equipment, which decrease the effects of ice crystals on fruit. Keeping your freezer set at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower will help. Also, limit the amount of fruit you freeze within the same 24-hour period to 2 to 3 pounds per cubic foot of storage space. Trying to freeze more than that at once will affect the temperature of the freezer too much, slow ing the freezing process and decreasing the quality of the fruit. Still, freezing fruit is a great way to allow yourself to Cook’s Question Corner QUESTION Shirley Schwoerer, Wysox, wants to know where to buy vanilla beans in bulk other than in a health food store. QUESTION Like many of our readers, Bonnie Koons, Harrisburg, writes that she loves B section and all the recipes she tries from it are great. She wants a recipe for cheesecake cookies, which have a snickerdoo dle recipe base, cheesy center, and a cherry on top. QUESTION It’s canning season, writes C. Alleman, Hummelstown. She wants recipes for pepper cabbage and pickled vegetables. Any helpful hints will be appreciated by Carol, who writes that she grabs the paper to read “Cook’s Corner” first. She loves cooking and collects cookbooks and recipes, which she uses. QUESTION Shirley Miller, Nazareth, would like to find a recipe or booklet about potato flour. QUESTION Summertime brings lots of re unions and gatherings where participants are asked to bring a hot and cold dish. Several readers have requested recipes to take to these events. Send your favorite recipe and any hints to ease the time crunch working mothers face when these events are held in the evening. QUESTION Shirley Schwoerer, Wysox, re quests a recipe for canned pickled sausages or ring bologna. QUESTION Ruth Erb, Beavertown, wants a recipe called Ann-Margaret’s Favorite Choco late Cake. QUESTION Steven Skramko, Richfield Springs, N.Y., would like a recipe to make Shoe Top cookies, which look like leather used for repairing shoes. He writes the recipe is from 60 years ago. ANSWER C. Martin, Benton, wanted a rec ipe for hash brown casserole that tastes like the side dish served at Cracker Barrel Restau rants. Thanks to Jean Chubb and Walter Burl ing for e-mailing the same recipe but with a different title. Durling writes that his was print ed as a Copykat Recipe called the Cracker Bar rel Old Country Store Hash Brown Casserole. Old Country Store Hash Brown Casserole 2 pounds frozen hash browns 16-ounces sour cream 1 can cream of chicken soup Vs cup butter V 2 cup chopped onion 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese (sharp pre ferred) Place potatoes in a greased 9x13-inch pan. Season with salt and pepper. In a bowl add onion, sour cream, and soup. Mix together and pour mixture over potatoes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until hot and cheese begins to melt. Here are two more versions of the recipe from Rachel Click, New Holland. Tater Tot Casserole 1 bag tater tots 1 pound frozen peas 3 pounds ground beef 2 cans cream of mushroom soup Salt and pepper to taste 1 large onion 2 cups grated cheese Brown ground beef with onions. Put on bot tom of casserole dish. Put peas on top of ground beef. Pour mushroom soup on top of peas, then tater tops. Top with cheese. Bake IV2 hours at 350 degrees. Hash Brown Casserole 2 pounds hash brown potatoes 1 cup grated cheese 2 cups sour cream 1 can cream of chicken soup Va cup onion, chopped fine 2 teaspoons parsley flakes Vi. teaspoon salt Vb teaspoon black pepper Dash cayenne pepper Topping: savor the tastes of summer months down the road. Freez ing berries, melons, grapes and apples is easy. Here are some tips: Fully ripe fresh fruits can lose quality quickly, so freeze as soon as possible after harvesting. Use only packaging materials that are designed for freezer use. Other types of containers may allow too much air to reach the fruit and cause freezer burn. Generally, wash fruit before freezing by rinsing sev eral times in cold water. Don’t let fruit soak. However, blueberries might end up with tough skins if washed be fore freezing. Light-colored fruits, like apples, peaches and nec- 2 cups crushed corn flakes V* cup melted butter Optional to add: V* cup chopped celery V* cup grated carrots % cup chopped green peppers V* cup purple cabbage Va cup grated turnips Mix the casserole ingredients and put into a greased baking dish. Crush the corn flakes and mix with melted butter. Spread evenly over casserole. Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees. ANSWER Herman Bean, Easton, writes that he is 78 years old. He remembers his grandmother made molasses cookies when he was a small boy. His mother still made them at 95 years of age but died 10 years ago and took the recipe with her. The dough was cut with flower or boy and girl-shaped cookie cutters. When baked, the cookies were about an inch thick, 4-inches high, and 2- or 3-inches wide. They were sort of a grayish color, soft, and had to be put into a can for a couple of days before eating. Bean said, he believes the cookies are a “Dutch favorite.” Thanks to Nancy Kramer, Lebanon, for sending her recipe, which said is very old recipe. The original recipe called for lard but Nancy uses Crisco instead and the cookies turn out fine. Soft Cut-Out Molasses Cookies 1 cup green label New Orleans molasses (Brer Rabbit) 1 cup brown sugar 3 /« cup shortening 1 cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon baking soda 5 cups flour Vz teaspoon cinnamon Vz teaspoon allspice Vs teaspoon cloves Cream sugar and shortening. Add molasses. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk and add al ternately with dry ingredients. Mix well. Roll out on floured board and cut with large cookie cutters. Sprinkle with granulated sugar or brush with egg wash (beaten raw egg) before baking. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 min utes. ATTENTION - Fred Best, Wilmington, Del., writes that he tried a rice pudding recipe sent in by Arlene Hershey, Oxford. He ended up with rice soup. He checked the recipe against over rice pudding recipes and compared the ratio of liquid volume to the uncooked rice in each rec ipe. The volume ratio from Arlene’s recipe is 11:1 compared to others that varied from 4.5:1 to a high of 8:1. He adjusted Arlene’s recipe to a 6:1 ratio and ended up with delicious rice pudding. Thanks to Fred’s scientific sleuthing. Perhaps this will help other readers. ANSWER Dawn Black, Chambersburg, wanted a recipe for butter pecan ice cream, which had been printed several years.ago in this paper. Thanks to Brenda Cleland, Carlisle, for sending this recipe that she had clipped. Butter Pecan Ice Cream Va cup butter 2 cups chopped pecans 7 cups milk, divided 14-ounces sweetened condensed milk 2 cups sugar 6 large eggs, lightly beaten 5.1-ounce package vanilla instant pudding mix 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Melt butter in large saucepan over medium high heat; add chopped pecans, and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Drain and set aside. Combine 1 cup milk, 1 can sweetened con densed milk, 2 cups sugar, six beaten eggs in the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until mixture coats back of spoon. Cool. Stir in remaining 6 cups milk, pudding mix, and vanilla; add pecans, stirring well. Pour mixture into a 5-quart freezer con tainer, hand turned or electric. Freeze accord ing to manufacturer’s instructions. Pack freezer with additional ice and rock salt. Let stand one hour before serving. Yield: 1 gallon. tarines, might benefit from being treated with ascorbic acid to prevent darkening. When you’re ready to eat the fruit you’ve frozen, let it thaw in its package in the refrigerator, in a pan of cool water, or on the “defrost” setting in the microwave. It’s usually best to serve it with a few ice crystals completely thawed fruits are often limp or mushy. Freezing fruit in sugar or syrup will add calories, but will also help the fruit retain flavor, color and shape. For more information, see the Ohio State University fact sheet, “Freezing Fruits,” on the Internet at http:// ohioline.ag.ohio-state.edu/hyg-fact/SOOO/S349.html, or contact your county Extension office for a paper copy.
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