83-lancaster Fanning, Saturday, September 30, 2000
If you are looking for a recipe but can’t find it, send
your recipe request to Lou Ann Good, Cook’s Question
Comer, 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
Notice: Several readers write that they have
problems accessing this address. The common
mistake is that readers are substituting an “i”
for the lowercase “I (L)” needed in two places.
If you are having problems reaching this ad
dress, please check to make sure you are typ
ing an “I (L)” in both places and not an “i.”
QUESTION - Marsha Wagner, Mount Wolf,
wants a recipe for the “Snickers” dessert
served at Shady Maple Smorgasbord.
QUESTION - Helen Kofron, Claymont, Del.,
wants a recipe for ground beef barbecue that
tastes like that served at Shady Maple patio.
QUESTION - Pat Elligson, Millers, Md.,
wants a recipe for Sweet and Sour Cucumber
Salad that tastes like that served at the Colum
bia Family Restaurant, Columbia. The salad has
a clear, slightly syrupy dressing and is deli
cious.
QUESTION - Pat Elligson, Millers, Md.,
wants a recipe for Devil’s Food Tunnel Cake
with a creamy white filling baked in the center.
It is baked in a tube or a bundt pan. Pat recalls
that there used to be a cake mix for this but
she hasn’t seen it for a long time. She prefers
to make it from scratch.
QUESTION L. Groff, Denver, wants a reci
pe for pie made with ground cherries, which
she is now harvesting.
QUESTION Donna Balascad writes that
she tasted a wonderful mint tea at the Hay
Creek Fall Festival. The tea was yellow and
looked like lemonade. Donna has a garden
filled with mint and doesn’t know what to do
with it. Anyone able to help her?
QUESTION Harry is looking for an apple
dumpling recipe in which the apples are not
baked but boiled or steamed.
QUESTION A reader requested an old rec
ipe for clear bean soup made with fresh pork.
QUESTION - W. Elicker, Dillsburg, wants an
old-time recipe for sour pickles.
QUESTION - Elaine Fyock, Windber, is
looking for a cookie recipe called Cow Patties.
She also wants other dessert and snack reci
pes with a cute farm title.
QUESTION - Mary Gothel, Millerstown,
wants a listing of cholesterol counts in all
meats, especially venison.
QUESTION Elam Lapp, Myerstown, wants
a recipe for making homemade hard cheese
similar to farmers’ cheese by using Jersey cow
milk.
QUESTION Durwood Tuttle, Knoxville,
makes sweet pickles in a crock that he stores
in a cellar. About three weeks ago, a gray fuzzy
mold formed all over the crock. He washed the
crock thoroughly with bleach water but it
doesn’t keep the mold from forming again. Any
help would be appreciated.
QUESTION A reader wants to know why
there are strings and other sediments that at
tach to mixer beaters while mashing potatoes.
Is it the potato variety used, the speed used to
mash the potatoes or some other reason?
QUESTION - Charles Cramer, New Market,
Md., would like a copy of the “Lancaster Level
Flo Cookbook (Recipes From the Land of the
Pennsylvania Dutch).” His family enjoyed a rec
ipe that they believe was originally published in
this 1970’s cookbook. The potato salad recipe
had a delicious salad dressing.
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.
ANSWER Several months ago Michael
Brennan, Wilkes Barre, was at an auction in
Graft’s
Question
Comer
Sullivan County where he ate chicken noodle
soup and beef vegetable soup. He requested
both recipes. Thanks to Debbie Reynolds,
Wrightsville, for sending more recipes.
Noodle Soup
1 whole chicken, cut in pieces
1 can chicken broth
2 sprigs fresh parsley or 3 tablespoons diced
16-ounce package noodles
Cook chicken in a Dutch oven or soup pot
with water to cover. Cook until chicken is soft
and no blood returns when poked with a fork.
Remove chicken, cool slightly, remove meat,
and cut to bite-sized pieces.
Add to broth with salt and pepper. Add
chicken broth and bring to a boil, add noodles.
Cook until noodles are soft. Add parsley. Tur
key can be substituted for chicken.
Vegetable Soup
1 beef skin bone with meat
1 pound beef roast
1 can beef broth
1 pint jar canned tomatoes or crushed toma
toes
2 pound bag frozen vegetables
Vfe small head cabbage, cut into bite-sized
pieces
Place bone and roast in Dutch oven or large
soup pot. Cover with water and season with
salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees until
meat is tender.
Remove bone and roast. Shred or cut meat
into bite-sized pieces.
Add to broth along with canned beef broth.
Add tomatoes, vegetables and cabbage. Cover
and simmer, until vegetables and cabbage are
cooked thoroughly.
ANSWER - Cecile Battle, Oxford, N.Y.,
wanted recipes using canned baby food.
Thanks to a reader for sending a recipe using
baby food carrots, which is much easier and
quicker than grating carrots.
Pineapple Carrot Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 Vi cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 6-ounce Jars carrot baby food
8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
Vi cup chopped walnuts
Frosting:
8-ounces cream cheese, softened
Vi cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3% cups confectioners’ sugar
Additional chopped walnuts, optional
In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
Add the oil, eggs, and baby food; mix on low
speed until well blended. Stir in pineapple and
nuts. Pour into two-greased and floured 9-inch
round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees for
35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near
center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes be
fore removing from pans to wire racks to cool
completely. For frosting, in a mixing bowl, beat
cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in
vanilla and confectioners’ sugar until mixture
reaches spreading consistency. Spread be
tween layers and over top and sides of cake.
Garnish with nuts if desired. Store in the refrig
erator. Yield 12 servings. Eat and enjoyl
ANSWER Gloria Bollinger, Keyman, Md.,
wanted recipes to make watermelon pickles,
one using sugar and one sugar-free. Thanks to
an anonymous reader for sending both ver
sions.
Pickled Watermelon (Russian) Without Sugar
5 pounds watermelon rind
3 tablespoons salt
1 large bunch dill
3 cups water
V* cup vinegar
Para watermelon and slice; sprinkle each
slice on both sides with salt. Let stand for
three hours. Pack rind in Jars or crocks and
place a bunch of dill on top of each. Combine
water and vinegar and pour over brine. Let
stand at least three days before serving.
Pickled Watermelon
5 pounds watermelon rind
2Va pounds sugar
2 cups vinegar
2 cups water
Vi teaspoon oil of cloves
Vi teaspoon oil of cinnamon
Pare the watermelon and cut rind into two
pieces. Mix Vi cup salt with 2 quarts water and
soak rind overnight. Drain and rinse with clear
water. Drain again. Cook in fresh water until
tender. Drain. Combine sugar, vinegar, water
and spices. Bring the syrup to a boil and pour it
over the rind. Let stand overnight. In the morn
ing, drain off the syrup and cook it several min
utes. Repeat for three days. On the third day,
cook rind and syrup together for three minutes.
The fruit remains clear if the oil of spices are
used. Makes six pints.
ANSWER Betsy Rust, Hamburg, N.J.,
wanted a recipe for plum pierogles. Thanks to
Verna Guzel, Canonsburg, who sent a recipe
that she hopes is what Betsy wants.
Plum Dumplings
2 pounds potatoes, cooked, mashed
IVi cups flour
2 eggs
% teaspoon salt
2 pounds pitted Italian plums
4 tablespoons butter
1 Vi cups very fine bread crumbs
Cube sugar
Knead together potatoes and flour. Make
well in center and add eggs and salt. Mix.
Knead until soft dough is formed. Roll dough
on pastry cloth to Vi-inch thickness. Cut into
2-inch squares. Put plum with cube of sugar in
center of square of dough and wrap dough
around plum.
Cook dumplings in a large kettle off simmer
ing water for 30 minutes or until they rise to
surface. Remove with a slotted spoon. Melt
butter in skillet and saute crumbs for 3 or 4
minutes until lightly brown. Pour over dump
lings. Makes six servings. Take caution to pre
vent them from sticking at bottom of pan.
ANSWER Bonnie Koons, Harrisburg,
wanted a recipe for cheesecake cookies, which
have a snickerdoodle recipe base, cheesy cen
ter, and a cherry on top. Thanks to Rhonda
McDonald, Canonsburg, for sending a recipe.
Cream Cheese Cookies
1 cup butter
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
2 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon Juice
% cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can pie filling
Vanilla wafers (Sunshine)
Place paper liners in mini muffin pans. Place
vanilla wafer on bottom. Mix together all ingre
dients excluding pie filling and wafers. Place 1
tablespoon mixture on top of wafer. Bake for
12-15 minutes. Place pie filling on top. Makes
about 5 dozen.
ANSWER - Thanks to Mrs. Edward Martin,
Alta Vista, lowa, for sending several recipes
using whole grains, which had been requested
by a reader. She writes that you can substitute
freshly ground whole wheat flour in many cake
and cookie recipes; however, you need to ex
periment because the baked goods are a bit
more crumbly. Note: she specifies freshly
ground whole wheat, you can not purchase
store-bought and expect the same results. For
best results, beat the batter extensively to acti
vate the gluten in the flour.
Farmhouse Oatmeal Cookies
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 % cups packed brown sugar
V* cup molasses
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon baking soda
% cup. butter
2 eggs
Vh cups oatmeal
1 cup chopped walnuts
Mix together butter, sugar, and molasses,
add the eggs and beat well. Add flour, baking
powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and oatmeal.
Add walnuts and raisins at the end. Bake at
325 degrees until done.
Whole Wheat Bread
3Vz cups water
2 tablespoons yeast
% cup vegetable oil
!A cup hohey
2 tablespoons lecithin
2 tablespoons gluten
1 agg
1 tablespoon salt
10-12 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
Use very warm but not hot water. Add oil,
honey, salt, and yeast. Allow to stand until
yeast is dissolved, then add egg, lecithin, glu
ten, and 5 cups flour. Mix well, let rise 30 min
utes in a warm place. Mix in the remaining
flour, one cup at a time, mixing well. Put In a
warm place to rise, kneading every 15 minutes
for one hour. The fourth time, shape Into
loaves and put in pans. Let rise again. Bake at
325 degrees approximately 30 minutes. Makes
three large or four small loaves.
Big Moist Chocolate Cake
2% cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
Mix together and add:
3 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
1 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1 /4 cups hot water
Bake at 360 degrees for 45-50 minutes.