What to do with left-over salmon?

Who likes left-over salmon? . . . but I hate to throw it away. This recipe on page 166 of Tastes & Treasures is delicious and impressive for company. Just remember to make ahead of time to chill 6-8 hours. The flavors blend and it tastes so much better.

The recipe is a little rich for our tastes so we modified it to be a little more health conscious. Try it both ways. It's good . . .

Smoked Salmon Pate

Ingredients:

2 (7 ounce) cans smoked salmon, or 1 pound hot smoked salmon (We used the left-over salmon and cut it up fine. The potato masher worked really well to produce a fine consistency.)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted (We used about 2 tablespoons butter, melted.)

1 cup sour cream (We used Chobani low-fat sour cream.)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoon dried dill weed

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:Combine the salmon, butter, sour cream, lemon juice, dill weed, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and beat until combined. Chill, covered, for 8 to 10 hours. Bring to room temperature and garnish with lemon slices. Serve with seasoned crackers. You may store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Bread bowl dip with fresh vegies

Fast and quick, this dip was made with Knorr dry seasoning vegetable soup mix and low-fat sour cream. The presentation is fun when you scoop out the sour dough bread and fill it with the dip.


Dip ingredients: 4 ounces goat cheese crumbles
2 cup low-fat sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 small tomato chopped

Directions: Mix well and chill. Makes 2 1/2 cup dip.

Cut the bread into cubes for dipping. Add lots of fresh bite size carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, yellow, red and orange peppers. Healthy and delicious.

Since the Historical League loves history, I had to research the beginnings of this German company. www.knorr.com. Wonder if Barry Goldwater's mother ever used this seasoning in her recipe page 142 Tastes & Treasures cookbook, Jo Jo's Black Walnut Stew?


Carl Heinrich Knorr is born on May 15, at Meerdorf near Braunschweig, Germany, the son of a schoolteacher. In school, he studies commerce and afterwards he becomes a wholesaler of agricultural produce.

C. H. Knorr builds a factory in Heilbronn for the purpose of drying and grinding chicory for the coffee trade.
With the spread of industrialization, C. H. Knorr realizes the need for a quickly prepared and nutritious meal among factory workers.
He starts experimenting with drying vegetables and flavourful seasonings. In cooperation with nutritional experts, he develops a preservation process to maintain the natural values of the ingredients and their flavours and also reduce their cooking times. This knowledge is the basis for the development of the dried soups.

The KNORR Company begins packaging and selling soup mixes in food shops. Founder Carl Heinrich Knorr dies in Germany two years later.

The KNORR Company introduces the "Erbswurst", another convenience product. It is seasoned pea soup concentrate packed in a sausage casing, which can be eaten dry or, more likely, added to boiling water to make soup.
This product became very popular due to its light weight and easy preparation. By 1900, this product is available in 40 varieties.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink in this Salad. . .

Garland's Oak Creek Lodge has a refreshing Mixed Salad with Celery Seed Vinaigrette on page 43 of Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

We like salads that are creative so we often add additional ingredients. Perfect for summer meals.
Try grilled chicken breast, roasted asparagus, candied pecans sprinkled with cinnamon, blueberries, yellow baby pear tomatoes, sliced apples. What is your favorite combination for a summer salad?

Mixed Greens with Pears, Roquefort and Pecans with Celery Seed Vinaigrette from Garland’s Oak Creek Lodge page 43

Celery Seed Vinaigrette

1/3 cup raspberry white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon chopped yellow onion
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup walnut oil
1/3 cup canola oil
½ teaspoon celery seeds

Salad

1 cup pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
4 large red Bartlett pears or Anjou pears
4 quarts mixed salad greens, rinsed and spun dry
1 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese

For the Vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, onion, salt, walnut oil, canola oil and celery seeds in a 2-cup glass measure and blend until smooth. Use a hand-held blender, if desired.

For the salad, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Toss the pecans with the olive oil and salt in a bowl and spread on baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted. Pour 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette into a 1-quart bowl. Quarter and core one pear at a time and slice each quarter lengthwise into ¼-inch wedges into the vinaigrette. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Place the mixed salad greens in a large bowl and toss with the remaining vinaigrette. Divide among eight salad plates. Sprinkle the cheese around the salad greens. Arrange five pear wedges on each salad and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

Key Lime Pie Frozen Sandwiches

Margarita Pie from historic Rancho de la Osa on page 196 in Tastes & Treasures cookbook is a big hit with us. This recipe from Hungry Girl is very similar but with lower calorie and some different flavors. Try them both.

Key Lime Pie Frozen Sandwiches

Ingredients: 


1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt 

1 1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar 

1 tbsp. lime juice (key lime, if available) 

2 sheets (8 crackers) low-fat cinnamon graham crackers, broken into 4 squares



Directions:

To make the filling, combine yogurt, sugar, and lime juice in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Cover and place in the freezer for 25 - 30 minutes, until it reaches a soft-serve-like consistency (very thick but soft enough to stir.)


Place two graham cracker squares on a plate with the cinnamon-covered sides down. Give filling a stir and evenly distribute between the two graham cracker squares, about 1/4 cup each. Gently place another graham cracker square over each filling-topped square, cinnamon-covered sides up.



Place in the freezer until filling is firm, at least 1 hour.

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

PER SERVING (1/2 of recipe, 1 sandwich): 128 calories, 1g fat, 105mg sodium, 24g carbs, 0.5g
fiber, 16g sugars, 7g protein

Family Reunion at the Farm

Since they grow the corn, it can't get any fresher. Folks in Indiana have lots of ways to cook corn but this is the favorite . . . grilling right in the husk.

Just pull back the outer leaves, remove the silk, replace the leaves and soak in a big tub for 4-8 hours. Then place directly on the grill. Yummmm.

The cooler worked great to store the cooked corn for the large group at the reunion.

Any left over corn is wonderful for Corn Salsa, page 33 in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Corn Salsa

Ingredients:
1 or 2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and minced
1 ½ cups roasted corn (about 2 large ears)
¼ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup vegetable juice cocktail
1 tablespoon lime juice
salt to taste

Directions:
Combine the jalapeno chiles, corn, bell peppers, cilantro, onion, tomato, sugar, vegetable juice cocktail, lime juice and salt in a large bowl and toss to mix.

Makes 3 ½ cups

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate

Is there anything better? The Truffle Hill Chocolates in Excelsior, MN is a charming cottage with all handmade chocolates and sweet treats. Phoenix visitor Kathy Holcombe was delighted with the choices.

For your own home made delights, try the Chocolate Peanut Treats on page 162 Tastes & Treasures Cookbook. Margaret Baker made them for a Historical League meeting and they are every bit as good as sweets from Truffle Hill.

Chocolate Peanut Treats page 162

Ingredients

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups (12 ounces) butterscotch chips
1 (18-ounce) jar creamy peanut butter
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
¼ cup vanilla pudding and pie filling mix
2 (1-pound) packages confectioners’ sugar
1 pound salted peanuts

Directions

Combine the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a double boiler over simmering water. Cook until blended, stirring frequently. Add the peanut butter and stir until smooth. Spread half the chocolate chip mixture in a greased 10X15-inch baking pan. Chill until firm.

Bring the butter, evaporated milk and pudding mix to a boil in a saucepan. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and beat in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Spread over the chilled layer. Stir the peanuts into the remaining chocolate chip mixture and spread over the prepared layers. Chill until firm and cut into 2-inch squares.

Makes 30 (2-inch square) pieces

Walking Tacos

Perfect for neighborhood pot lucks, this dish was so-o-o popular at the "Neighborhood Night Out" in Minneapolis. Over 100 neighbors attended to enjoy friendship, food and support the event. Joined by a full-size firetruck that hosed down the kids, a police patrol car, bouncy blow-up building for kids, coloring book stations and lots and lots of bicycles, this evening was a huge success.




Potluck ingredients
1. bags of individual size Doritos
2. Crockpot of taco meat sauce
3. shredded lettuce
4. shredded cheese
5. sour cream
6. taco sauce
7. smashed avocados
8. chopped green onions
9. diced peppers
10. choppped tomatoes
11. what ever people bring to add to the taco
12. plastic forks

Directions
Open Dorito bag and add taco ingredients. Grab a fork and enjoy.

Tastes & Treasures cookbook has an authentic recipe for Navajo Taco on page 14 with more accurate ingredients. This recipe is from historic Cameron Trading Post. It is not quite as portable as Walking Tacos, but very tasty.

Wow Salad Presentation

While visiting Costa Rica and dining with friends at their home, Debbie Walker Bauer sent this salad photo. Now This is a Presentation! Love the use of flowers in the food.

Accompanied by the fabulous views, what a dinner party this makes.

"The salad is an arrangement of tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, olives, fresh peaches, red onion. It was delicious. They own a restaurant here in CR. He served stuffed pork with an amazing stuffing! mmmmm good!"

Grilled Fruit Kebobs

Grilled Juicy Fruit Kebabs & Dip

Grilling fruit was a new experience for me but fun. And if you're an old pro in the field of fruit grilling, you'll still love this recipe and the dip for the fruit.

Ingredients:
Dip
6 oz. fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp. granulated white sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract

Kebabs
1 cup 1-inch pineapple chunks (about 1/4th of a pineapple)
1 cup 1-inch mango chunks (about 1 mango)
1 cup 1-inch peach or nectarine chunks (about 2 peaches or nectarines)
1 cup 1-inch banana chunks (about 1 large banana)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for about 20 minutes to prevent burning. (4 skewers.)

Combine all ingredients for dip in a bowl. Mix until thoroughly blended and smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Skewer the fruit chunks alternately onto 4 skewers, packing the pieces together tightly. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bring a grill (or grill pan) sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add skewers, cover, and cook until fruit chunks are slightly blackened and caramelized, about 3 minutes per side. If using a grill pan, work in batches, removing pan from heat between batches to re-spray.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

PER SERVING (1/4th of recipe, 1 kebab with about 3 tbsp. dip): 135 calories, 0.5g fat, 17mg sodium, 30.5g carbs, 3g fiber, 23g sugars, 4.5g protein

Thanks to www.hungrygirl.com for grilling ideas and food statistics.

Two Sweet and Sour Apple Desserts

SWEET AND SOUR APPLE DESSERT
Here is another easy and delicious recipe from the recipe exchange, thanks to Jean Young from Newfoundland, Canada.
We found a new apple called Envy that was delicious for this recipe.

1. Mix together
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups graham wafer crumbs

2. Press in bottom of 8 x8 or 9x 9 dish

3. Mix together the following and spread over the graham wafer bottom
1 small tub sour cream
1 tin condensed milk
3 tablespoons lemon Juice

Top with 1 can of apple pie filling. Sprinkle cinnamon over top. Bake for 15 minutes at 325.
THIS CAN BE CUT IN SQUARES AND FROZEN WHEN COOLED.

A little more complicated (but delicious) apple recipe is found on page 163 Tastes & Treasures cookbook

Apple Streusel Pie

Streusel Topping

½ cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ cup chopped pecans

Apple Pie

¼ cup chopped pecans

1 unbaked (9 inch) pie shell

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

6 cups thinly sliced tart apples

2 tablespoons butter

For the topping, combine the brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a fork until crumbly. Stir in the pecans.

For the pie, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle the pecans over the bottom of the pie shell. Mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the apples to the sugar mixture and toss to coat. Mound the apple mixture in the prepared pie shell and dot with the butter. Spread the topping evenly over the top of the pie and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes longer, checking after 30 minutes and covering with foil if needed to prevent the topping from overbrowning.

Serves 6 to 8

Sharp Knives are the Best

Nothing like chopping with a newly sharpened knife. Don't put this off. Just sharpen it. Either do it yourself or take it to someone. You will be so much happier.

Now I can make recipes from Tastes & Treasures with ease.

Margarita Pie topic on talk radio

The interview with www.blogtalkradio.com/big-blend-radio/2011/07/23/food-history-travel was fun with lots of interest in Margarita Pie and Rancho de la Osa in Sasabe. The hosts did not know the Jesuit mission built in the late 1600 at Rancho de la Osa is the oldest building still in use in AZ. I was nervous about the interview since they know lots of history, so I felt good when I could give them some new information.

The interview was to promote Tastes & Treasures cookbook and Arizona Recollections and Reflections An Arizona Historymakers Centennial Commemoration book.

H. Alan Day, co-author of "Lazy B" with his sister Sandra Day O'Connor, preceded me on the talk show. He is such an interesting speaker. Both he and Sandra talked at a Historical League meeting a few years ago and it was fascinating. His passion now is rescueing wild horses and he tells us about this in his new book.

For all you foodies, here is the sought-after Margarita Pie recipe. Easy to fix and looks so impressive.

MARGARITA PIE

Pretzel Crust

1 1/2 cups finely crushed pretzels

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Pie

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1(14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons gold tequila

2 tablespoons Triple Sec

2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

Green food coloring (optional)

For the crust, pulse the pretzels and sugar in a food processor several times to combine. Add the butter in a steady stream and process until well mixed. Press over the bottom and up the side of a 9 inch pie plate sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

For the pie, combine the lime juice, condensed milk, tequila and Triple Sec in a bowl and mix well. Fold in the whipped cream. Tint with green food coloring, if you desire a deeper color. Spoon into the crust. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 4 hours or up to 1 week. Garnish with additional whipped cream and lime slices.

Note: Do not use fat-free or low-fat pretzels in the crust or the crust will not hold together when cutting. You may substitute graham crackers for the pretzels.

We added green coloring but swirled it (not mixed it in uniformly) so it gave a marbled look.

Serves 6 to 8

Fresh Peaches and Blueberries Inspire Me

With a peach tree growing in my daughter's backyard, we feel the need to create a peach dish. This is a good one from www.hungrygirl.com. Of course, fresh fruit in the summer is always inspirational. Try the delicious Apple Streusel Pie from Tastes & Treasures, page 163.

Blueberry Peach Custard Pie

1 cup sugar
¾ cup skim milk
¾ cup (6 oz) non-fat plain Greek style yogurt
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon almond extract
Pinch of salt
1 store-bought, refrigerated pie crust
1 cup blueberries
1 cup peeled, sliced peaches

Position a rack in lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9 inch pie pan with cooking spray.

To make the filling: In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, milk, yogurt, eggs, flour, cornstarch, almond extract and salt. Whisk until smooth. Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll a sheet of piecrust into a 12-inch circle. Place the crust in the pie pan and trim so it overhangs evenly by about 1 inch. Fold the edges under he crimp or flute the edge with your fingers or a fork. Place the pie pan on a baking sheet.

Arrange peaches in the bottom of the crust and top with the blueberries in an even layer. Pour the filling on top (the fruit will float but this won’t affect the final results). Bake for 25 minutes.

After the pie has baked for 25 minutes and the filling is beginning to set, remove from oven and cover the edges of the crust with foil to help prevent over browning. Reduce heat to 350 and return the pie to the oven.

Bake until a knife inserted at the center of the pie comes out clean, an additional 20 to 25 minutes. (The pie may puff up quite a bit but will settle during cooling.) Let cool for 1 ½ hours. Serve warm or refrigerate.

Serves 10.

Nutritional facts per serving: 200 calories, 6 g fat, 41 mg cholesterol, 34 g carbohydrates, 4 g protein 1 g fiber, 163 mg sodium