Mom's Letter . . . and Heritage Custard Pie

The hall is booked and priest too.  But I didn’t know what to do about food they charge $6. 00 a plate they sereve it and will serve the coffee a lunch later in the same money.  I think its all right I told so they are more this year but everything is up.  

About the band Matthew is looking after that he phoned him but he was not home so he will phone Matthew when he gets back. 

Diana bought me earrings to go with the dress. 

Matthew got himself 50 geese there will a lot of honking this year

Dads making a coral for them so they be fenced in.  and the chicken will be free  I got myself 10 ducks and they are a pain in neck they are big now but no feather they look ugly.  We got the floor covered in the kitchen and it’s a difference just have to sweep up I haven’t wash for three week and it looks clean.

 I am still doing Rugs but so little at time that its like stand still.

My foot ackes a lot latly I have it bandged so its better. 

Since they took Dads license away from him we haven’t been any place not even to church.  I have plant my flower seeds but it don’t rain so they just sitting in the plot it froze last night so hard that water froze about inch thick if not more,  and it suppose to freeze tonight again. 

Diana phoned yesterday.  Bill and his uncle went to the cottage but she stayed home as she had to work today and besides she had some cleaning up to do.

  I have almost finnish the list of people a lot are widows what we know so it was hard to invite a bunch of people I still got to over it and see who I mist I don’t seem to have time either I am teaching dad or looking after chickens or having a sleep as I get up at eight oclock and go to bed late so I am allways sleepy.  Dad put the garlic, onions, lettuce & radishes today May 12^th.  I will close for now as I don’t have much to write maybe next time I will be better.  Take good care of yourself and the baby will write soon 

Love Mother 

**********

*  Dad did pass his driver’s test. 

* The party Mom wrote about was their Golden Wedding Anniversary which took place in the fall.

* I was in hospital for over a month, but the baby arrived safely on May 22nd, and shortly afterwards met her grandmother.

*******


Mom always made this pie out of her head.  Fortunately, when her granddaughter grew up, she watched Granny make this pie which has always been a family favourite.  Mom always used to make it in the winter when the cows came into their milk.

MARY STADNYK’S CUSTARD PIE

1 unbaked pie crust

3 eggs

1/8 tsp salt

¼ tsp nutmeg and some more to sprinkle

1 ¼ cups milk

½ cup sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

*Preheat oven to 425.

*Roll pastry out and fit into an 8 to 9 inch pie plate.

*Mix sugar, salt, cornstarch, and ¼ tsp nutmeg together

*Beat egg slightly, just enough to mix the yolks and whites.  Add sugar mixture.

*Stir in milk until sugar crystals almost dissolve.

*Pour into pastry-lined pie plate and sprinkle with nutmeg.

*Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Then reduce heat to 350 and continue baking for 20 to 30 minutes until set. 

*Test by shaking gently and running a knife through center.  It is ready if knife comes out clean.

*Best served warm.  

Lots of Cooks . . . and BEET LEAF HOLUBTSI

The mom of one of my students once gave a big pot full of Beet Leaf Holubtsi.  I took them home and everyone loved them.  They were dense, delectable little bullets. That was the first time I ever had Beet Leaf Holubtsi. 

I can’t remember Mom ever making Beet Leaf Holubtsi, but she had a recipe and, for years, I have been planning to try it out.

Finally, I got the push I needed.  Instead of buying me one bunch of beets for borsch, Bryan picked up two big bunches . . . with leaves attached. 

Before starting, I thought it would be a good idea to get some pointers from someone who knew how to do them . . .

                                                      so I called Aline . . .

            and got extra help because she also got some input from Kacy!

            Turned out these are so easy to make that I will make a small batch any time I buy beets with the leaves still attached.

Thanks, everyone.   I made two batches: one baked open on a cookie sheet (Kacy style) and the other covered in a casserole, as in Mom's recipe.  I thought I overbaked the ones on the cookie sheet (unlike Kacy!) but my guests loved them. 

                 Diana said the Kacy style ones were the best she's ever had!

The casserole style also worked for me.   Still, my family fondly remembered the ones that were given to me twenty years ago.  So the instructions below are a result of all this information.  There's no such thing as too many cooks spoiling the soup in our family!

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BEET LEAF HOLUBTSI 

Just prepare the dough for a loaf of your favorite white bread but, after it rises, pinch off a bit to fill the beet leaves!

To make the beet leaves more pliable, dip them just for a couple of seconds in boiling water, then drain.

Place a piece of dough the size of a walnut in a wilted leaf and roll it up.

Put the rolls in a greased casserole.  Dot them with butter and cover the casserole. 

Now here comes a choice between (a) and (b):

(a)             If you like fat, fluffy holubtsi, let the rolls rise for half an hour before baking.

(b)             If you like more solid, chewy holubtsi, don’t let them rise.  Bake them right away!

Bake in oven (350 degrees) for one-half hour. 

(If you prefer to do them uncovered on a cookie sheet, test them after 20 minutes.)

Re-heat in Cream-Dill Sauce.

**********

CREAM DILL SAUCE

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp butter

1 cup cream

Dill (chopped fresh or dry dillweed)

Brown the onion a little in the butter in a large frying pan.  Add baked holubtsi and pour cream around them.  

Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with dill and serve. 

To Die For . . . INDIAN CHICKEN TIKKA

There are layers upon layers of cultures in India.  Tughluqabad, on the outskirts of the capital city, is a ruined fortress which was once the third incarnation of Delhi.

There’s a story that while this fortress was being built a saint cursed the Tughluq ruler.  He prophesied that the castle would one day be an empty shell where the only people would be shepherds grazing their animals.

Irresistible, right? my friend, Gale, and I agreed.

As we approached the massive beige walls of the ruin, the castle appeared to drift through the pale blue sky.  A young Indian man introduced himself to us as the chowkedar of the place and warned us to avoid the north part of it.  “This place very bad, Memsahibs.  It HAUNTED by cobras!”

At the top, there were no other people anywhere in sight so Gale and I both felt a little spooked.  Apprehension metamorphosed into elation the instant we spotted two baby Rhesus monkeys.

Gale attempted to lure them by offering them mints while I worked on getting a good angle for a close-up picture.  The cute little things seemed only a bit shy and were chirping at us, or so we thought, but then a group of large adult monkeys loped over the crest of the rise.

They were like baboons and almost as tall as me.  I moved forward to photograph them as well, but then their leader, the largest dun-colored beast, bared his long yellow teeth and growled.  Instantly, the other snarled as well and moved into a half-circle formation, cutting me off from the only path down.  Behind me was a long, sheer drop off the castle wall.  The ground all around me was broken and rough. 

Suddenly, I remembered being warned, “Don’t go near Rhesus monkeys.  Many of them have rabies.”

Outside the monkey barrier I could see Gale who had prudently fled the moment the large monkeys appeared.

Now, the monkey leader coughed and came at me.  The rest of the monkeys closed in, too.  I swung my shoulder bag at them and screeched.  They stopped . . . momentarily.

The leader growled again, signaling another snarling half-charge.  Stumbling against rocks, all too aware of that horrible precipice behind me, I backed away, swinging my bag at the ferocious creatures.

Suddenly, a little Indian boy, about nine years old, came flying to my rescue, shouting and throwing stones at the monkeys.  While they were distracted and snarling at him, I made a mad dash forward past one flank of the monkey circle.

As soon as I had escaped, the monkeys calmed down and focused their attention on the two babies.  Although Gale and I were only a few yards away, they now ignored us completely.

The rest of their tribe joined them and a female, excited perhaps by the bravery the males had displayed in protecting the species against a camera-toting human, stood up in front of a male and flashed her bright scarlet rear end.  He took immediate action.

The little Indian boy, dressed in patterned cotton pajamas, ran up to Gale and me with a group of small friends.  Gale rewarded them with all the spare change she had while I had not the presence of mind to do anything but thank them over and over again.

my friends, Yvonne and Gale (sunglasses)

*******

CHICKEN TIKKA  (4 servings)

Marinade:

1 cup plain yogurt

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne

2 tsp black pepper

½ tsp ground red chili pepper

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

½ tsp salt

Breast of one chicken

Sauce:

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garam masala

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

1 large clove garlic, minced

213 ml can tomato sauce

1 cup half-and-half cream

Parsley for garnish

Cook the chicken:

*Combine ingredients for marinade.

*Remove skin and cut chicken breast into bite sized pieces.

*Marinate in fridge for an hour or more.

*Thread chicken pieces onto skewers.

*Broil for 5 minutes.  Turn and broil 5 more minutes.  Set aside.

Prepare the sauce:

*  Stir together coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala, and salt in small bowl.  Set by stove.

* Cook garlic in butter over low heat for 1 minute.

*Stir in spices.  Cook 1 minute.

*Stir in tomato sauce and cream.

*Take off heat and set aside until just before serving.

SERVING TIME:

*Add chicken pieces to sauce and cook on medium heat just until hot.

*Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Serve with plain basmati rice and raita.

 

YUM!

A-HIKING she does go . . . and Pizza MARGHERITA

LATEST ADVENTURE:  VEDDER MOUNTAIN TRAIL:   11 km and 575 m elevation

ESSENTIAL:  Pack water and a lunch – a Pizza Margherita is PERFECT.

Thin & Crispy Crust Pizza Dough

          From all the best pizzas by Joie Warner

1 envelope dry yeast (2 ½ tsp)

¼ tsp sugar

¾ cup lukewarm water

2 ½ cups flour

½ tsp salt

1 large egg

Olive oil

Canola oil

·        Stir yeast and sugar into water.  Let stand 5 – 7 minutes.

·        Meanwhile, start oven preheating to 350 but turn off after one minute.

·        Stir flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl.

·        Lightly beat the egg.  Stir in the yeast mixture.

·        Add yeast mixture to flour and knead.

·        Lightly brush the mixing bowl with olive oil.  Turn dough around in it to oil all over.

·        Cover with tea towel and let rise in oven for one hour.

·        Brush the pizza pan with canola oil.

·        Turn dough out onto pizza pan and pat out to fill the pan.

TO COOK:

·        Preheat oven to 500. 

THE TOPPING:

½ cup grated fontina cheese = 4 ounces

¼ cup grated provolone cheese

½ cup grated mozzarella

1 ripe medium tomato: sliced very thinly

Shredded fresh basil leaves:  about ½ cup

*Spread cheeses over a thin crust dough.

*Top with sliced tomatoes and half the basil leaves.

*Bake at 500 for 13 to 15 minutes.  Dough should be golden brown at edges and cheese should be flecked with golden-brown spots.

Sprinkle with remaining basil leaves.

CAMPING DREAMS . . . and HAPPY HOUR CHERRY TOMATOES

Already, Bryan and I have been out looking at new camping equipment . . .  and I am ALWAYS looking for recipes that will work at a campsite.

HAPPY HOUR TOMATOES & OLIVES

2 cups cherry tomatoes

1 cup Kalamata olives

1 lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves

¼ tsp crushed chilies (hot red pepper flakes)

½  tbsp chopped fresh herbs: choose from thyme, rosemary, or

 parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

1.     Cut tomatoes in half and put in small pyrex dish that has a lid.

2.    Remove pits from olives and add to tomatoes.

3.    Zest the lemon and add to tomatoes.  (Or you can thinly peel the lemon and chop the peel finely.)

4.    Mince the garlic and add.

5.    Sprinkle on the chili flakes and herbs.

6.    Stir all with the olive oil.

7.    Cover and let marinate at room temperature for several hours.

·        Thank you CHATELAINE MAGAZINE, Aug 2000.

P.S.  If Vesper isn’t dreaming about camping, she soon will be :)

Conversations with Maybelle and IRISH BOXTY BREAD !!!!

"You're making me wear Vesper's old jacket? This is so not cool."

"Now what's the problem?"

"I brought you the ball; so throw it!"

"Come on; I haven't got all day."

"No, I don't want to sit down first."

"Alright, already, I'm sitting."

"Now I have to listen to stories about Vesper?"

                                                                        ********

IRISH BOXTY BREAD

from BRITISH COOKERY, edited by Lizzie Boyd

1 lb mashed potatoes

1 lb peeled potatoes

1 ¾ cups flour

2 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

⅛ tsp pepper

4 ounces melted butter

• Boil and mash one pound of potatoes.
• drape the inside of a large bowl with a clean cloth.
• Half-fill the bowl with cold water.
• grease a baking sheet.
• Melt the butter and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350.
• Peel one pound of potatoes and finely grate them onto the cloth in the bowl of water.
• Wring the potatoes out and mix into the mashed potatoes.
• the starch will settle to the bottom of the bowl of water.  Pour off the water.  Stir the starch into the potatoes.
• Add flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and melted butter.  Mix thoroughly.  
  

  
• Lightly flour a counter.  Roll into two large circles.  
• Set on greased baking sheet.  Mark each round into quarters.

• Bake 45 to 55 minutes.  (They will still be soft inside at 55 minutes -- they’re actually big potato pancakes.)
• Serve hot with butter.  Split them in half or just butter the top.  

We thought we’d just make these once for the experience but we actually REALLY LIKED them.  

So did Kepler!