It is the time of year when we put away outdoor furniture, toys and
ornaments. At our house it means straightening the mess so you can add more to it.
My sister-in-law and her family are busy cleaning and packing to move to Qatar. Her repeated comment is, “how did we acquire so much stuff?” Now that their cleaning is almost complete, she is feeling good. It inspired us to clean our own outdoor buildings. Once we got started, it became almost refreshing. Two loads have left our yard, and there are still more piles. It feels good to be that much closer to organized. I think the cleaning experience has taught an important lesson of “always clean and organize like you are moving.” You keep only what is important.
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Cabbage soup
Dear TEAM: I’m looking for a cabbage soup recipe. Coming home from Saskatoon we stopped off at a cafe just east of Wynyard, Sask. I think it was called Shanty Inn. They served the best cabbage soup I’ve ever tasted. Has anyone got a recipe you’d like to share? – via internet.
Dear reader: This must be your lucky day. I was able to talk to Ken and Elaine Moore, owners of the Shanty Inn, about their homemade cabbage soup. They were also kind enough to share their recipe:
2 large onions chopped
medium to fine
6 stalks of celery
8 cups chicken stock 2 L
1 head of cabbage, chopped 1/2 cup flour 125 mL
8 cups milk 2 L
Combine onion, celery and chicken stock in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for
approximately 30 minutes.
In the meantime, in a skillet, fry cabbage in a bit of butter or margarine until lightly browned. Add the flour to the cabbage. Stir well.
Add cabbage mixture to the broth mixture. Combine with a good whisk or wooden spoon. Add the milk and stir. Heat and simmer for at least one hour. Serves 20.
The owners of the Shanty Inn pride themselves on offering
homemade food. Besides soups, other specialties include a well known sauce to complete a steak.
Next time you are travelling on Highway 16, just east of Wynyard, stop in and give the Shanty Inn
a try.
Chicken marinade
This marinade is so good sliced on a salad, grilled with rice or on a slice of bread for a delicious sandwich.
2 cloves of garlic, 30 mL
chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, 30 mL
chopped
2 tablespoons soy 30 mL
sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice 60 mL
1 teaspoon Tabasco 5 mL
sauce
1 tablespoon wine 15 mL
vinegar
1/4 cup olive or canola oil 60 mL
1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 mL
Mix the above ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Pour into a pan and place chicken pieces in to marinate for a minimum of two hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
To cook, place on a heated grill and cook thoroughly. You can also cut up the chicken and place pieces on a skewer with vegetables if desired. Cooking in the oven at 350 F (180 C) for one hour is also an option. Serve hot with a dinner meal or cool it and serve on bread with soup.
Syrup query
Dear TEAM: I would like to make candy apples this fall. Do you have a recipe? Do I use light or dark corn syrup? – via internet.
Dear reader: This sounds like a great autumn project that everyone will enjoy. I answered your question by digging out my Bee Hive golden corn syrup and my Crown Lily White corn syrup and reading the labels.
For information on the products I was referred to www.karosyrup.com to answer your questions. Here is the reply:
- Can light and dark corn syrups be interchanged in recipes?
Yes. Light and dark corn syrups perform similarly in recipes and can usually be used interchangeably. Recipes usually specify which type to use but the choice may be guided by personal preference. Typically, light corn syrup is used when a delicately sweet flavour is desired, such as in fruit sauces and jams.
Light corn syrup is made with real vanilla. Dark corn syrup is made with refiners’ syrup, a type of molasses. With its more robust flavour and colour, it is ideal for many baked goods.
- Can corn syrup be substituted for brown sugar or granulated sugar in recipes?
Although corn syrup and granulated sugars are both sweeteners, it is not possible to use them interchangeably in recipes. Because corn syrup is a liquid, it cannot be substituted for granulated sugar without adjusting other ingredients, particularly in baked goods.
For best results, follow recipes developed especially for corn syrup. In sugar-sweetened beverages, however, it’s easy to experiment with corn syrup as a blending substitute.
- Can corn syrup be substituted for honey or molasses?
An equal amount of corn syrup can be substituted for honey or molasses in most recipes, and when used as a topping. Recipes using corn syrup will be less sweet, and the finished products will have different flavour characteristics.
Here is a recipe for candy apples.
Candied apples
6 red apples
6 wooden skewers
1 cup sugar 250 mL
1 cup light corn syrup 250 mL
1/2 cup water 125 mL
few drops red food colouring few drops cinnamon or
peppermint flavouring
Wash and dry apples; remove stems. Insert skewers in stem end of apples.
Combine sugar, syrup, water and red food colouring in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils. Continue cooking while stirring to soft crack stage (280 F/138 C) or until a small amount of the mixture separates into threads in cold water. If you overcook the mixture there will be crystal like particles in your sauce.
Remove from heat; add flavouring and stir only enough to mix. To keep syrup from thickening, place pan over boiling water immediately.
Hold each apple by skewer end and dip in syrup. Remove quickly and twirl around so syrup spreads smoothly over apple. Place on wire rack over wax paper to cool.
Another snack
The following recipe sure hit the spot during a hike last summer.
Fruit and cereal squares
2 cups rice cereal 500 mL
1/2 cup rolled oats 125 mL
1/4 cup each chopped 60 mL
dried cranberries and
apricots, sunflower seeds
1/2 cup white corn syrup 125 mL
1/3 cup packed brown 75 mL
sugar
1 tablespoon butter or 15 mL
margarine
In a large bowl combine cereal, oats, cranberries, apricots and seeds.
In a saucepan combine syrup, sugar and butter, and then cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Pour over cereal mixture and mix well. Press firmly into a greased eight inch (20 cm) square pan. Cool and cut into squares.
Jodie Mirosovsky is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@ producer.com.
