Farming, Saturday, July ?7, 2002
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 answers to
LGOOD.EPH@LNPNEWS.COM
QUESTION A Perry County reader wants a
recipe for pickle relish that tastes similar to
that served at food stands that sell hot dogs.
QUESTION Penny Haber from Bucks
County writes that for several years she has
used a Victoria Squeezo Strainer to prepare her
tomatoes for canning. She has also tried to use
it to prepare strawberries and raspberries for
jelly making but the proportions have turned
out wrong. She would appreciate if readers who
have successfully prepared fruit this way send
instructions and the proportions of sugar, fruit
pectin, and fruit they used.
QUESTION A Lebanon County reader Is
looking for a ketchup recipe that was printed
last year called “Mother-in-law’s Delicious
Ketchup.”
QUESTION A Hegins reader wants recipes
for serving turnips.
QUESTION A reader from Qreencastle
writes than many years ago her grandmother
made pan cake using corn meal. The cakes
were soft and crunchy. The reader said her ex
periments with making corn meal pan cakes
turn out thick like pancakes. She would like
thin-crunchy ones. She has tried many different
recipes with no luck. Can anyone help her?
QUESTION Karen Ramseur, Williamstown,
N.J., writes that she attended the Kutztown
Pennsylvania German Festival recently. A Penn
sylvania German cooking presentation demon
strated drying corn on a double-walled pan with
a funnel adaptor at one end to add water. She
also attended the country auction featured at
the festival and brought a vegetable dryer. Any
one have recipes to instruct her how to dry veg
etables? Karen also thanks readers who sent in
“wonderful” lemon jelly and cornbread recipes
in answer to her requests.
QUESTION A reader requests the recipe
for baked French toast made with a can of
apple pie filling. The recipe had appeared re
cently in this column, she writes, but she lost
it.
QUESTION Gail Silveira would like a recipe
for a corn, shrimp soup, which she recalls had
been printed in a previous issue. Anyone have
the recipe to which she is referring?
QUESTION Eva Burrell, Glen Gardner, N.J.,
wants to know how to make filet of beef on the
grill by using wet newspapers and encasing
meat in a paste made with kosher salt and
water. Years ago, the Burrells used this method
but can’t remember exactly how it was done or
the time required to cook per pound. This made
the best filet of beef Eva has ever tasted and
she would like to use it for several cookouts.
QUESTION Perm Freeman, Elliottsburg,
wants a recipe for black olive bread, which she
thinks is a Greek recipe. She purchased some
at the West Shore Farmers’ Market in Lemoyne.
QUESTION A Lancaster County reader
would like a recipe for watermelon wine and
other flavors.
QUESTION Dave Wilder, Gladwyne, grows
lingonberries in Berks County. He wants to
know uses for this Old World fruit. The Latin
name, Wilder writes, is Vacciniam vitis-idaea.
Native varieties are sometimes called cowberry.
QUESTION - Martha Weaver, East Earl,
would like homemade wine recipes that are
sugarless.
QUESTION Mrs. Thomas Vandzuna, Port
age, requests a recipe for sweet sausage. Her
son brought some and they love it. Their family
buys half a hog and mixes its own mix, and
would like to try sweet sausage the next time.
QUESTION Stephanie Luckenbaugh, Ab-
bottstown, requests a good recipe to make Leb
anon bologna.
QUESTION Sue Hurley, Newville, requests
recipes to make different kinds of instant pow
dered tea mixes, such as raspberry and peach.
QUESTION Rosalie Nolt wants a recipe for
New England clam chowder, similar to Friend
ly’s or Campbell’s soup.
ANSWER Stephanie Luckenbaugh, Ab
bottstown, wanted a recipe for Baby Ruth
Cookies. Thanks for Pat Elligson, Millers, Mary
land, for sending in a recipe.
Baby Ruth Cookies
Vi cup butter
% cup sugar
1 egg
Vi teaspoon vanilla
1 Va cups flour
Vi teaspoon baking soda
Vi teaspoon salt
2 Baby Ruth candy bars, chopped
Cream butter and sugar well. Add eggs and
vanilla, mix well.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and add
to creamed mixture. Stir in chopped candy
bars.
Drop by rounded teaspoon two inches apart
onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 de
grees for about 10 minutes.
Remove immediately to a wire rack to cool
Makes about four dozen.
ANSWER Terry Ulrich, Reinholds, request
ed for a baked potato soup, which she thinks
includes bacon, cheese, and chives. A reader
sent in the following:
Baked Potato Soup
% cup butter
% cup flour
7 cups milk
4 large potatoes, baked, cooled, peeled, and
cubed (about four cups)
4 green onions, sliced
12 bacon strips, fried, crumbled
I V* cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
% teaspoon salt
Vz teaspoon pepper
In a large soup kettle, melt butter, stir in
flour, and gradually add milk, stirring constantly
until thickened. Add cubed potatoes and sliced
onions. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Re
duce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add remain
ing ingredients, stirring until cheese is melted.
Serve immediately.
This is a delicious soup but rich.” For a lighter
version, cut back on the sour cream and add a
little more milk.
ANSWER A Dauphin County reader wants
to know how to make ketchup that tastes like
the Heinz brand. Thanks to a reader for sending
in the following recipe.
Homemade Ketchup
Vx bushel tomatoes
6 large onions
8 cups sugar
6 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Vx cups vinegar
Cook tomatoes until soft and Juicy. Drain
through a cheesecloth for two hours. Mean
while, cut up onions and cook until soft. Put on
ions through the blender, then into a large ket
tle to cook the ketchup.
Add tomato pulp (discard drained juice). Boil
onions and pulp 10 minutes, stirring occasion
ally. Add remaining ingredients, stirring well,
and bring to a good boil. Ladle boiling hot into
sterilized jars and cap. Or process in water
bath or pressure cooking according to direc
tions. Delicious!
ANSWER Patricia Pfleegor, Milton, re
quested a recipe for Burnt Sugar Cake. Thanks
to Arvilla Keeny, New Freedom, for sending the
following recipe.
Bumt Sugar Cake
1 % cups sugar
V« cup boiling water
% cup shortening
3 eggs, separated
2% cups cake flour (may use 2V« cups all
purpose flour and Va cup com starch sifted
together four times)
Va teaspoon salt
2Va teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Melt Va cup sugar in a heavy saucepan. Add
boiling water and stir well. Set aside to cool.
Cream shortening, add remaining sugar
gradually (IV4 cups). Add beat egg yolks and
mix thoroughly. Sift flour, measure and sift with
salt and baking powder. Add dry ingredients al
ternately with milk. Beat thoroughly after each
addition. Add vanilla and burnt sugar mixture.
Blend well. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.
Pour into greased layer pans. Bake at 350 de-
grees 25*30 minutes. Makes two 9-inch layers.
ANSWER Thanks to the reader who sent in
this recipe in answer to a Pine Grove reader’s
request for soft pretzel recipes.
Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzels
% cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
Va cup brown sugar
V 2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 % cup bread flour
Dissolve yeast in water. Add the remaining
ingredients and knead well. Let rise 15 min
utes. Roll in pretzel shapes and dip In baking
soda water (Vi cup hot water and 2 tablespoons
baking soda). Sprinkle with pretzel salt, place
on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 550 degrees
for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Brush with melted butter, roll in cinnamon
sugar mixture: 2 cups sugar mixed with 2 table
spoons cinnamon.
Yield: 12 pretzels. Note: Leftover cinnamon
mixture keeps well In airtight container.
Thanks to another reader for sending in a
recipe that her family thinks results in pretzels
that taste like Aunt Aimie’s.
Delicious Soft Pretzels
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
3 cups Occident flour
Measure water and yeast into a bowl, stir
until dissolved; add sugar, salt, and butter. Add
2 cups flour, beat well. Add remaining cup of
flour until a stiff dough results. Knead 5 min
utes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a
greased bowl; grease top and let rise approxi
mately 40 minutes. Divide dough in half and
each half into six parts. Roll each piece into a
rope, about 20-inches long. Shape into a pret
zel, place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise 5
minutes. Dip pretzels quickly into a boiling bak
ing soda solution: 1 pint water and 2 teaspoons
baking soda. Sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake at
375 degrees for 15 minutes. Dip into butter as
soon as removed from oven. Sprinkle with cin
namon, sour cream, and onion powder or what
ever you desire.
ANSWER Thanks to Lydia Sheaffer, Sher
mas Dale, for sending in a two different meth
ods to make sauerkraut.
Homemade Sauerkraut To Can
% cup salt
4-6 large heads cabbage to make 8-quarts
shredded cabbage
4 quarts boiling water
Mix Vi cup salt with shredded cabbage in
large container. Pour boiling water over cab
bage. Pack into three one-gallon crocks. Cover
with clean white cloths and a saucer. Let stand
one month in cool place.
Pack into 8 hot sterilized Jars and seal. Boil
one hour in boiling water canner. Let Jars set in
canner until water becomes cool. Store Jars in
cool place. Makes 8 quarts.
Another method is to pack shredded cabbage
loosely into Jars. Put 1 tablespoon salt in each
Jar. Cover with boiling water. Seal and let stand
six weeks in copl place before using. Makes 8
quarts.
ANSWER Thanks to Sally Ann Stoitzfus,
Gap, for sending in a Bisquick mix recipe with
several recipes to use it.
Bisquick Mix
5 pounds flour
% cup baking powder
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
2 pounds shortening
Vi cup sugar
3 tablespoons salt
Mix dry ingredients well. Cut in shortening to
make fine crumbs. Use as you would any Bisq
uick. Keeps well in tightly-covered container.
3 cups mix
1 egg
1% cups milk
Mix together and fry in skillet until done.
Pizza Crust
2% cups mix
V 2 cup water
Mix together mix and water. Form into pizza
crust. Top with favorite sauce, cheese, and top
pings. Bake in 425-degree oven until done.
3 cups mix
% cup milk
Mix together ingredients and bake in 350 de
gree oven until done.
3 cups mix
1 egg
1 cup milk
Mix together ingredients and press mixture
into cake pan or form into individual short
cakes. Bake in 425 degree oven for 7-10 min
utes.
Pancakes
Biscuits
Shortcake