On cold winter mornings when there is time, we like to have hot cereal for breakfast – oatmeal, cream of wheat or Sunny Boy cereal. This morning, we had porridge, made with Old Fashioned Rolled Oats from Can-Oat Milling. We picked up this product at the oats conference in Winnipeg in early December.
The Flax Council of Canada’s recent newsletter has an excellent date bran muffin recipe for the days when a quick breakfast is required. For a nutritious start to the day, serve with a piece of cheese, homemade berry jam and a glass of juice.
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Date bran muffins
Filling:
- 1 cup chopped dates 250 mL
- 3/4 cup Red River cereal 175 mL
- 11/2 cups hot water 375 mL
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 125 mL
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice 5 mL
Batter:
- 11/2 cups natural bran 375 mL
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 175 mL
- 11/2 teaspoons baking soda 7 mL
- 1 teaspoon salt 5 mL
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 125 mL
- 1 cup buttermilk 250 mL
- 1 tablespoon oil 15 mL
- Filling: Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Simmer five minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Batter: Combine first four dry ingredients in large mixing bowl.
- Beat remaining ingredients together to blend. Add with date mixture to dry ingredients. Stir only until mixed. Spoon into 12 greased muffin cups.
- Bake at 375 F (190 C) for 20 to 25 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly touched.
Makes 12 muffins.
For more information about the flax council, call Barbara Metrycki, editor, 204-982-2115 or check out the website at www.flaxcouncil.ca.
Keeping white things white
Dear TEAM: I was putting the linen tablecloths away after Christmas and was wondering what tips you could give for keeping white linens white? – S.B., Provost, Alta.
Dear S.B.: In response to your letter, I went to my handy Money and Time-Saving Household Hints by the Leader-Post Carrier Foundation Inc., Fourth Printing, 1992, Centax Books, Regina, 306-359-3737. It had several suggestions for whitening whites:
- For a whiter wash, add 1/4 cup (50 mL) dishwasher detergent to a load of white wash.
- Use three tablespoons (45 mL) of peroxide or lemon juice in the wash.
- For white lace or handkerchiefs, soak 1/2 hour in sour milk and wash as usual.
- Betty Ann uses Mrs. Stewart’s liquid bluing. Mix a dash of bluing in a pint (500 mL) of water and add to the final rinse water.
Reader appreciation
Dear readers: We appreciate your letters, feedback and response to our column. This gives us an opportunity to review what we are doing and respond to reader requests. Thank you to R & S. L. who suggest adding humor to our column and also having an ongoing craft item, which may be of interest to a lot of readers in the long winter months.
If any of you have a craft item that you think our readers may enjoy, please send it to TEAM Resources at Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4.
Speaking of humor, here is a cute e-mail from my friend, Wilson, in Alberta.
“Pillsbury Doughboy – Dead at 71.
“A veteran Pillsbury spokesperson said the Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a severe yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes to the belly. He was 71.
“Doughboy was buried in a slightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out, including Mrs. Butterworth, the California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies and Captain Crunch.
“The graveside was piled high with flours as longtime friend, Aunt Jemima, delivered the eulogy. She described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.
“Doughboy rose quickly in show business but his later life was filled with many turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Still, even as a crusty old man, he was a roll model for millions.
“Doughboy is survived by his second wife, Play Dough. They have two children and one in the oven. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.”
Bun and beet recipe wanted
Dear TEAM: I lost my recipe for one or two hour buns by Copperware. I also would like to get the five winning recipes recipes from a 1957 contest by Farmer and Stockman. First prize, I think, was a mink coat and the second prize $500. The name was Beet Pickles. – M., Hudson Bay, Sask.
Dear M.: The Copperware Company can be found on the internet at www.copperware.com, where it sells kitchenware on-line. Unfortunately, the two-hour bun recipe was not there. I am substituting with the favorite bun recipe we regularly use.
I use it for both white buns and whole wheat buns, substituting the percentage of whole wheat flour as desired, usually about half and half.
Grandma’s buns
Mix together:
1/2 cup white sugar 125 mL
1/3 cup oil 75 mL
2 eggs, beaten 2
11/2 teaspoons salt 7 mL
Add: 3 cups (750 mL) warm water. Mix.
Add: 4 cups (1 L) flour and 2 tablespoons (30 mL) instant yeast. Mix.
Add: 3-4 more cups (750 mL-1L) of flour. Knead.
Let rise 15 minutes. Knead again. Let rise 15 minutes. Knead. Let rise 15 minutes. Knead and form into rolls. Place in bun pan, and let rise one hour. Bake in 375 F (190 C) oven for approximately 20 minutes.
Does anyone have the Farmer and Stockman beet pickle recipe?
I am substituting a fairly recent recipe from the cookbook Put A Lid On It by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard, published by Macmillan Canada, Toronto, 1997.
Easy spiced pickled beets
10-15 fresh beets 10-15
2 cups granulated sugar 500 mL
2 cups white vinegar 500 mL
1Ú3 cup water 75 mL
16 whole cloves 16
8 whole allspice berries 8
2 cinnamon sticks 2
2 teaspoons pickling salt 10 mL
Trim beets, leaving one inch (2.5 cm) of stem and tap root attached. Place beets in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 to 45 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water. Remove skins and cut beets into large pieces.
Combine sugar, vinegar and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.
Put four pint (500 mL) jars in the canner and heat to sterilize. Remove jars canner and place four whole cloves, two allspice berries, half a cinnamon stick and 1Ú2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt in each jar. Pack beet pieces into jars.
Pour hot liquid over beets to within 1Ú2 inch (one cm) of rim (headspace). Process for 30 minutes for pint (500 mL) jars and 35 minutes for quart (one L) jars.
For an interesting variation, add 1Ú4 teaspoon (one mL) hot pepper flakes to each jar.
Reader requests
Dear TEAM: Are lamp oil and kerosene the same thing? We recently purchased kerosene and the smell is horrible. Also, do you remember the Hoover washer and dryer combination? This was a small unit, taking up little space. I’d like to know if that unit is still available. – C.F. , Raymore, Sask.
Dear C.F.: Lamp oil and kerosene are not the same thing. I have purchased both lamp oil and fondue oil and have found that both have a more pleasant smell than kerosene.
Fondue oil is a methyl alcohol and lamp oil is more of a mineral spirit. Scented lamp oils can be found at many gift shops and hardware stores. Our local grocery store has both lamp oil and fondue oil. You probably will be much happier with one of these products.
I do remember the Hoover washer and dryer combination. I checked with Saskatchewan appliance dealers and also on the internet. It appears that Hoover no longer makes it.
One dealer said the last thing he remembers Hoover making in this line was a washer-spin dryer years ago. The company still exists, but it makes vacuum cleaners.
The internet (hoover.com) suggests that Hoover is a division of Maytag. I called Maytag dealers and discovered that Maytag offers a stacker unit in both front-loading and top-loading models. They are about 69 centimetres wide and deep and 184-190 cm high.
Companies such as Frigidaire and Whirlpool also offer stacking units.
Crochet pattern
Dear TEAM: Thank you for printing my request for the pineapple pincushion pattern, and thank you to the many people for the wonderful response. My friend, Fran, has crocheted one side of the pattern you printed. She just called to tell me the pattern is larger than the pincushion size she made in home economics class so long ago. Fran suggests the difference in size could be right at the beginning. After joining 15 single crochets into a circle, crochet two rows of treble crochet, instead of three rows of treble crochet, as printed. The pincushion would then be approximately five x five inches (13 x 13 cm). Thank you. – S. B., Thorsby, Alta.
Could readers help S.B. find a smaller pattern?
Meanwhile, here is another crochet craft. After crocheting the base afghan, weave through the rows to create an interesting pattern. The beauty of this pattern is that you can start with a one-color neutral base and choose contrasting colors for the weaving. If you get tired of the color or wish to change it to match a different color scheme or room, you can pull out the threads, re-weave, and have a new look with the same neutral base afghan.
- Chain 216.
- Double crochet in the fourth chain from hook, o , chain one, skip one chain, double crochet in next chain.
- Repeat from o 108 double crochets.
- Chain four, turn double crochet in top of each double crochet of previous row, chain one in between each double crochet.
- Follow this pattern, using eight rows of beige, four rows rose, six rows grey, two rows green, repeated five times to give 100 rows. (You can use whatever colors you want to use, and vary the size.)
- Woven part: Start the woven part when the background frame is made. Cut the yarn about 15 cm longer than the length of the finished blanket. This will form the fringe at the end.
Weave two threads through each row of double crochet. Follow the same color combination as for crocheted pattern, giving eight rows beige, four rose, six grey and two green for a plaid effect. Alternate each row, weaving over the first chain, under the next, and so on.
For the next row, start under the first chain, over the second chain, and so on. Those ends could be tied together to form a knot in the fringe so they won’t slide out.
