WITH summer here in all its glory we think of camp meetings, traveling, vacations, picnics, and long Sabbath evenings. This usually means we need good nourishing food ready to eat at a moment's notice. Why not stock the freezer with some goodies so you are always ready?
Friends have given me recipes that have become favorites at our house. I would like to share some with you. Bertha Leiske Hempel gave us a recipe for fruit soup at the Atlantic Union Conference session a few years ago. She uses it for a quick Saturday night sup per with sandwiches or toast. It is a variation of the regular Swedish frukt suppa using dried fruits.
Fruit Soup
3 cups water or light fruit juice
4 tablespoons tapioca
1/2 cup sugar or honey or less
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cinnamon stick
Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring. Remove from heat.
Add:
3 cups frozen strawberries
1 can crushed pineapple
1 tablespoon lemon juice.
Serve warm or chilled. If chilled and you don't mind the calories add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl. Slice bananas on top.
While in College Place, Washington, attending MISSION '72 meetings, Esther Lund Smith served some good oatmeal sticks with a fruit salad for lunch. They are so nutritious that I've named them nutro-logs. They would even be a good substitute for a bowl of crunch granola on the rare occasions that one oversleeps.
Nutro-Logs
5 cups quick oats
3/4 cup dark brown sugar or date sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1/2 cup crushed sunflower seeds
1/2 cup crushed pecans
1/2 cup crushed almonds
1 cup unsweetened coconut
Mix ingredients. Add 1-1/2 cup to 2 cups water to make dough of "play-do" consistency. Roll into logs 6 inches long and about 1/2 inch in diameter. Bake at 325 for about 45 minutes. (The sugar may be omitted if you prefer an unsweetened log to eat with vegetable soup.)
A patient used to bring me a box of date-nut bars when she came for treatment. These have been a long-time favorite.
Date-Nut Bars
2 eggs, beaten until very light and lemon colored
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped nuts
Spread on a greased 7 by 11 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cut into bars.
I usually make a double batch of these brown oatmeal rolls. I roll the dough as if for a bread stick and tie it in a bow knot. Dip the top in water and then in sesame seeds for a delicious crunchy crust. Mrs. Glenn Patterson shared this recipe with me when Pastor Patterson was in Tacoma, Washington.
Brown Oatmeal Rolls
2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
3 tablespoons oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 teaspoons salt
5 to 5-1/2 cups flour (I use unbleached flour and usually substitute 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour, 1/2 cup soy flour, 1/2 cup wheat germ for part of the flour. This enriches the product. You can use all or any of these flours.)
Pour boiling water over the oats. Let cool. Add remaining ingredients, including the dissolved yeast. Knead lightly. Let rise again. Shape into rolls. Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool. Store in plastic bags in the freezer. Good for sandwiches, too.
I use oil in almost all of my cooking. Also, when I make pie crust, sweet rolls, or cookies, I add wheat germ or soy flour or both. We have become so accustomed to our highly bleached white flour that we forget that the nutritious and tasty "germ" has been removed and even enriched flours contain only four of the many ingredients known to have been removed from it in milling.
Dr. Clive McKay, of Cornell University, developed a "triple rich flour formula," which would add health-giving properties to our foods, if followed. When flour is measured to be used in bread, cookies, muffins, or cake, put in the bottom of the cup 1 tablespoon soya flour, 1 table spoon dry milk solids, and 1 tea spoon wheat germ. Then fill the cup with sifted unbleached flour.
In speaking about the use of oil in baking, perhaps you haven't had success with an oil pie crust. I use Betty Crocker's recipe and adapt it to my way of cooking. Her recipe calls for 1 cup flour plus 2 tablespoonfuls, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup oil, and 2 tablespoons water. I substitute 2 tablespoons of either soy flour or wheat germ for the extra flour. Then I mix all the ingredients and I roll them between heavy plastic. (I cut up a heavy plastic bag one large piece for the bottom and one to use on top. It does not wrinkle, slide or tear like wax paper does. I wash it each time and store for future use.)
This recipe is for a one-crust pie, which should be fitted into a pie plate, pricked, and baked at 375 for 12 to 15 minutes. The recipe should be doubled for a two-crust pie.
I enjoy making crackers, and these are crisp and good:
Crisp Crackers
3 cups quick oats
2 cups flour
1 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar (optional)
3/4 cup oil
1 cup water
Mix. Roll on two lightly greased, large (13 by 17) cooky sheets.
Sprinkle with salt. Mark in squares or diamonds. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.
I like to make and serve popcorn and as a treat make caramel corn. This is an easy recipe:
Caramel Corn
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup light karo
1 pound brown sugar
Boil until it cracks in cold water or about 272 . Pour over 2 quarts or more of popped corn to which 1 or 2 cups of nuts have been added. Stir until corn is well coated. Spread out on a cooky sheet to cool.
Do you have a good recipe for crunchy granola? This is one my sister-in-law, Beulah Carlson, gave me. It is really good and "sticks to the ribs" with no call for in-between-meal nibbling!
Crunchy Granola
10 cups oats (raw)
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup sunflower seed
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup hot water
1 cup brown sugar (or less)
1 teaspoon or more salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup oil
1/2 to 1 cup water or enough to moisten lightly
Put in a large pan. Bake at 200 for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Bake until golden brown. Store in covered container. (Serve with milk and fruit for a good breakfast.)
