88-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 2, 2003 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 Kutztown reader is searching for a recipe for German Swhwartze Brod (black bread). The Baker and Mestermacher are some companies that make this naturally fermented, dark, solid bread with whole grains such as rye, sunflower, and 4-grain flours. She writes: It is a most nutritious tasting, satisfying snack with yellow butter spread on top. It’s also great for breakfast. QUESTION Anyone have a recipe for blue berry whoopie pies? Through some glitch in the system this earlier request was dropped with out a recipe being printed. Jeremie and others have requested one. QUESTION Mary Lockhard, Columbia, is looking for a recipe to make pear butter. She asks if the same ingredients are used as mak ing apple butter except for substituting pears for apples. QUESTION A Coatesville reader wants a recipe for blueberry bars like the Amish sold at Steel City Farmers Market, Coatesville. The bars were very moist and had an icing glaze over the top. QUESTION Brenda Martin, Reinholds, wants to know how to grind flax seed. QUESTION - Brenda Martin, Reinholds, wants a recipe to make soy sauce. QUESTION Nellie Ibach wants a recipe with exact amounts listed to make iced tea using regular tea bags and blue stem tea to give tea a minty flavor. QUESTION Joyce Shoemaker, Mount Joy, wants a recipe for stewed tomatoes with pep pers, onions, and parsley. She likes the stewed tomatoes served at Country Table Restaurant. QUESTION Joyce Shoemaker, Mount Joy, wants a recipe for corn fries that taste like those served at Oregon Dairy Restaurant. She writes that the corn fries look like French fries. QUESTION Recipes and ideas are needed for using all types of summer fruits and vege tables. QUESTION A reader wants recipes for dishes that work well to take to potluck dinners or covered dish events. QUESTION A reader wants recipes and ideas for quick summertime cooking. QUESTION L. Kauffman would like a pep per recipe to can sweet peppers that taste like the B&G Sandwich Toppers available at super market. She knows it has some oregano in it. ANSWER Alice Weaver wanted a recipe to make cream cheese. Thanks to Lee Laverty, Mount Joy, for sending directions. She writes: There are several methods and recipes for making cream cheese at home, but this is the best and easiest of them all. It tastes Just like cream cheese tasted when it came from the corner deli, before manufacturing companies started wrapping cream cheese in foil bricks. You need special ingredients not generally available at supermarkets. To acidify the cream, you need a starter culture and to set the curd, some cheese-making rennet. Don’t try to use junket tablets for this, the curd will be too soft. The easiest way to attain these ingredi ents is to order from New England Cheese Mak ing Supply, P.O. Box 85, Ashfield, MA 01330. The company offers culture starters to keep in the freezer and instant starters. Either way works fine. Several rennets are also available such as tablets, liquids, and even vegetarian. Liquid calf rennet is the finest type it seems to keep forever in the refrigerator and, even when old, works perfectly (use extra if really old.) How To Make Cream Choose 2 cups whole milk 2 cups heavy cream 1 ounce mesophillic starter or Vs packet in stant starter 1 drop rennet Butter muslin (N.E. Cheese Making Supply also has this) Put the milk and cream in a plastic, stain less, or crockery bowl. Add the starter and stir well. Add the drop of rennet and stir about 30 seconds. Cover with lid or plastic wrap. Set the bowl where it will stay at about 70 degrees overnight. If your house is cool, put it in the oven with the light on and this should do the trick. The next day, the mixture should be set and jiggle like milk Jell-O. Carefully pour into a but ter-muslin lined colander and allow to drain in the sink. As the whey drains off, you may want to turn the cheese onto fresh muslin so that the top drains faster. I usually flip the mass over onto a new section of muslin and reposition it in the colander. You will know when it is time to flip the cheese because the muslin will easily puli away from the firming curd mass. Allow the cheese to drain until it is fairly firm and no longer dripping, this will take a few hours, be patient. Turn it into a bowl and add salt to taste. It is ready to eat or mix with other tasty ingredients. One thing to remember when working with cheese is that it is alive. You want to be scru pulous about cleanliness, but careful not to kill the friendly bacteria that do their magic with the milk. Never get bleach near your cultures or milk, but you can use bleach to clean surfaces and utensils. Just be very careful about rinsing it all off with fresh water. Don’t use wooden spoons, they harbor wild bacteria. Stainless steel or plastic for stirring is best and stainless steel or crockery bowls. Never use aluminum or anything with cracks. Making cheese is fun and people have been making cheese for thousands of years. Maintain reasonable cleanliness and your cheese will come out fine. ANSWER A York County reader asked for a recipe for a cake called either creamsicle or dreamsicle cake. Thanks to Pat Elligson for sending one. Creamsicle Cake 1 package orange cake mix 1 small package orange Jell-0 1 smalt instant vanilla pudding 1 % cups milk 1 cup whipping cream, whipped Mix Jell-6 with 1 cup boiling water. Add Vi cup cold water. Set aside to cool. Mix cake according to directions. Bake in 9x13-inch pan. Remove cake from oven when done. Using a large meat fork, poke holes down into cake. Gently pour the Jeil-0 mixture into the cake holes, giving it time to sink in. Mix pudding mix and milk together until thickened. Spread on top of cooled cake. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Spread whipped cream over top of cake. Re frigerate until ready to serve. ANSWER A Lycoming reader requested a recipe to make chocolate chip mint cheesecake and other recipes for unusual cheesecake. Thanks to Brenda Martin, Reinholds, for send ing the following “yummy” recipe. Chocolate Mint Cheesecake Vi cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk I teaspoon vanilla 6-ounce chocolate crumb pie crust II -ounces cream cheese Vz teaspoon mint extract Several drops green food coloring 1 egg Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small sauce pan, melt chips with Vz cup sweetened con densed milk. Stir in vanilla. Spread on pie crust. With mixer, beat cream cheese until it is fluffy. Gradually add remaining milk, mint, and food coloring. Add egg. Beat on low just until ingre dients are combined. Place pie crust on baking sheet. Place on oven rack, carefully pour mint mixture over chocolate layer in pie crust. Bake 25 minutes until center is nearly set. Cool. Chill at least three hours. ANSWER Patty Schuler, Richland, N.J., want ed to know how to remove raspberry seeds to make seedless raspberry Jam. Thanks to sever al readers for sending advice: Shirley Orfanella, Quarryville, writes that when seeds are re moved from raspberries it is no longer Jam but jelly. She makes black raspberry jelly by follow ing the directions on the Sure Jell package. After it cooks, pour about 2 cups at a time into a fine sieve. Stir and stir and push against the sides of the sieve with a wide wooden spoon. It’s time consuming, but no seeds and people tell her that her jelly is the best. Anna Martin, Denver, who makes absolutely wonderful raspberry Jelly, writes that she fol lows the directions for Jellies printed inside boxes of Ball Fruit Pectin Jell or Sure Jell Fruit Pectin. Crush berries one layer at a time and simmer 5 minutes. Pour prepared raspberries into 3 layers of damp cheesecloth or a Jelly bag. Let it drip into a bowl until dripping stops. Press gently occasionally until dripping stops. Follows directions in recipe box. Deb Patterson, Millersville, uses a Victor!© strainer with a berry screen. She writes that the Jam is clear and tastes wonderful. The handcranked Victorio strainers are available where canning supplies are sold. Lee Laverty crushes the berries and drains and squeezes them through a cloth or cloth bag. She sends her recipe. Fresh Rod Raspberry Jam 3 cups finely mashed or sieved red raspber ries 6 cups sugar 1 package powdered fruit pectin 1 cup water Combine berries and sugar. Let stand at room temperature about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Boil pectin and water rapidly for one minute, stirring. Remove from heat. Add fruit and stir about two minutes. Pour into con tainers; cover. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. If jam does not set, refrigerate until it does. Store in freezer. Makes about 8-9 half pints. ANSWER Anna Bryan, Oxford, N.J., wanted a recipe for chicken meatballs like those served at Chinese restaurants. Thanks to Lee Laverty, Mount Joy, for sending a recipe. Chicken Meatballs 1 pound fresh ground chicken 1 egg, lightly beaten % cup crushed butter-flavored crackers V 2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese % cup chopped onion Vi teaspoon ground ginger 6 tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided I V* cups unsweetened pineapple Juice V* cup chopped green pepper 2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon cornstarch V* teaspoon onion powder In a bowl, combine chicken, egg, cracker crumbs, cheese, onion, ginger and 3 table spoons mustard. Form into 30 balls, 1 inch in diameter. Place in a greased 9x13x2-inch bak ing dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until Juices run clear. In a saucepan, combine pineapple Juice, green pep per, honey, cornstarch, and onion powder; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more; reduce heat. Stir in remaining mustard until smooth. Brush meatballs with about V* cup sauce and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Serve remaining sauce as a dip for meatballs. Yield: 2Vi dozen. Shop-2-Cook Provides Meat Recipes NICKILEFEVER Special Correspondent BUFFALO, N.Y. —According to the National Pork Board, grocery shoppers spend most of their time in the meat section. Frank and Jan Beurskens, of Buffalo N.Y., make that stay longer with Shop-to-cook, a terminal in the meat de partment where shoppers can scan beef, chicken, veal, pork, turkey or seafood and print free relevant recipes. “This is a big help for shoppers who don’t know how to cook different cuts of meat to try something new,” Jan Beurskens said. The number of recipes varies on the demand of the product, from 70 beef recipes to three for tripe and veal. The Beurskens own Agrißiz & Associates Inc., Buffalo, N.Y., and developed the kiosk to benefit shoppers, retail ers and manufacturers Mrs. Beurskens said. She said meat manufacturers benefit from this system because it moves more meat off the shelf and records how shoppers are using their product. “The system records what people are buying and we pass that information on to the manufacturer,” she said. Shop-to-Cook has been in the pilot phase since last fail with help from several sponsors. Four systems are in place at Tops Markets in Western New York. “We are due to roll out 20 more in the area in the next few months and hopefully go nationwide in th& future,” she said. Buerskens said it has been received well in the trial run. “It wasn’t marketed by the chain, and each week 3SO recipes were printed out at each store pretty consistently,” she said. The Buerskens hope to get support from meat boards and councils to get the kiosk to more stores. “We see this as a great way to connect manufacturers to the shoppers,” Mrs. Buerskens said. “It has been really rewarding to watch shoppers of all ages, men as well as women, be interested.”
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