When Don and I went to a local auction sale recently, community women served sandwiches and pie. I love the smell of coffee brewing, but since I tend to get wired and cannot sleep afterward, I avoid drinking too many caffeine beverages. One woman gave me a cup of her cold brew coffee, which does not seem as potent. She gave me this recipe.
Cold brew coffee
4 cups cold water 1 L
1/2 package (300 g) regular ground coffee 150 g
In a large glass bowl or large pot, put 1/2 cup (125 mL) of cold water. Pour in half a package (150 g) of regular ground coffee (not finely ground). Add the rest of the cold water. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 12 hours without stirring. Filter off the water and store the liquid in the fridge for up to two weeks.
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To make the coffee, mix about 1/3 of the volume of coffee liquid to 2/3 volume of boiling water to taste, or heat in the microwave. – B.C., Rosetown, Sask.
Christmas recipes
Last year our Christmas draw requested traditional favourite recipes from your home. We received many and now we are enjoying tasting them. The next few columns will feature many of the recipes that we have tried, or the interesting stories you have told, such as this one:
When our children were quite small, we had a larger number of turkey and ham dinners than most seasons. Several days before New Year’s, I asked what the children would like for New Year’s dinner. One wanted pizza; the other wanted potato soup. That’s exactly what we had. Even the grandparents thought it was OK. Not quite a tradition, but we still have it occasionally. – F.O., Kinsella, Alta.
Here are another three letters:
- One tradition we do is on Christmas eve. We cook a pot of rice and add milk to it. When it is ready to eat, we sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar over the rice. Then we top it off with some raisins that have been boiled in some water. Milk or cream is put on top ofeverything. That is the first course. – M.V., Claresholm, Alta.
- Kutja cooked wheat: Start with two cups (500 mL) of clean spring wheat. Soak overnight in water. If you cook it without soaking, it takes longer to cook. The next day, you can drain it. I just add water but no salt. Cook slowly until the kernels are busting openand thick, checking to be sure there is enough water because it cooks down. Drain if there is water left over. Add a little salt, some brown sugar, one cup (250 mL) honey, 1/2 cup (125 mL) walnuts, and poppy seed, raisins andcinnamon to taste. Top with cream.
- I, too, am a home economist. I graduated from the University of Alberta in 1957 and worked as an extension home economist with Alberta Agriculture from 1957-93 when I retired. Now I am teaching a food and nutrition course to mothers of a Girls and Boys Club.
I would like to submit my favourite Christmas food recipe from my grandmother, who was born in 1867. If she were alive today, she would be 136 old.
As a child, I looked forward to going to Grandma’s house for Christmas and Easter.
Dried fruit compote
2 cups dried prunes 500 mL
1 cup dried apricots 250 mL
1 cup dried peaches 250 mL
1 cup dried raisins 250 mL
and apples (mixed)
Wash fruit. Place in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Soak overnight. Cook in the same water for 30 minutes. Sauté, if desired, to reduce liquid. Serve cold. – E.Z., Two Hills, Alta.
- An old recipe is this one sent in by H.K. It was from the Foods, Nutrition and Home Management Manual, first printed in 1939, and used by the Alberta education department.
Coconut custard pie
2 eggs (beaten slightly)
Add:
1/4 cup sugar 60 mL
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 mL
Add:
2 cups hot milk 500 mL
1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1 mL
or a pinch of nutmeg
Add:
1/2 cup coconut 125 mL
Pour into baked pie shell, either pastry or graham wafer crust and bake until firm for 35-40 minutes at 325 F (160 C). – H.K., Athabasca, Alta.
Home management hints?
For the Christmas cookbook draw this year, we would like to hear some of your favourite cleaning or home management hints. Send them in with your name and address to: TEAM Resources Christmas cookbook draw, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask. S7K 2C4 or e-mail: team@producer.com.
The draw will be made Dec. 7. We will be giving away 18 cookbooks. You may be the lucky winner of: The Rest of the Best and More: Volume II from The Best of Bridge; Grandma’s Soups and Salad with Biscuits and Breads; Not Just for Vegetarians: Delicious Home-style Cooking, The Meatless Way written by Geraldine Hartman from Regina; or Atco’s 2004 A Holiday Collection cookbook.
The Atco book features recipes for beverages and hors d’oeuvres, great ideas for breakfast and brunch, and a special selection for festive dining from appetizers to desserts. There are recipes for using leftovers, a collection of main course offerings and a section on casseroles.
Salads, breads, accompaniments and vegetables are featured, as well as a miscellaneous chapter of desserts and sweets. The back of the book gives descriptions of less well-known ingredients, such as kalamata, wasabi and herbes de Provence.
The front of the book gives tips for success using these recipes and a cook’s glossary of baking and cooking terms.
I made this dip recipe to serve with celery sticks, vegetables and crackers:
Thyme scented cheese dip
8 oz. cream cheese, softened 250 g
1/4 cup sour cream 60 mL
1 teaspoon thyme, crushed 5 mL
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 mL
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground 1 mL
pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a serving dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to two days.
Calendar as gift idea
Last year my parents loved the calendar my sister-in-law and brother gave them for Christmas. It was a calendar with a picture of some of their family for each month. Graduations, weddings, artistic and sporting events are good themes. Another idea is pictures of landscapes, farming activitiesand favourite animals or pets.
Robin and Arlene Karpan have released a 2005 Great Saskatchewan Scenery & History Trivia Calendar. It was created in time for next year’s centennial. Each month features a photograph portraying the beauty of Saskatchewan – from the green rolling hills and wild badlands of the south to the pristine waterways of the north. All photographs are suitable for framing at the end of the year.
Each day brings a piece of Saskatchewan history trivia – famous events, great accomplishments, tribulations and disasters, and interesting tidbits.
It even includes the snowstorm on March 23, 1955, that many of us remember well. I was four and a half years old and remember my mother trying to get back in the house after closing the blown-open garage door. I still remember my fear as I braced myself and helped push the porch door open as she pulled from the outside.
The calendar sells for $18.95 at bookstores and gift shops, or can be ordered directly from Parkland Publishing, 866-767-7731,or go to www.producer.com and type “calendar” in the go box.
Barbara Sanderson 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.
