Serena's Snickerdoodles

I started cooking when I was pretty young thanks to good teachers in my mom and grandmothers. It wasn't long before I became pretty famous around the canyon for my snicker doodle cookies since my Papa always took them in his lunch. They quickly became favorites of his best friends, who we all considered family, as well as mine. Actually come to think of it, while a lot of people like my snicker doodles it was the Riggs Men that always asked for them the most.

Dad has been gone eleven years this July, and there was a long dry spell for anyone of my snicker doodles but i know Dad would be pissed if i quit making them so several years back I once again pulled out my old tried and true recipe since it was no longer etched in my brain. Now every time I fly home to our small town for a visit, be it two days or twenty, I have to make snicker doodles for the Riggs Boys. I had been with Boyd for four years before he ever got to taste one. He finally said how fair is it that i am married to you and haven't tried one of these cookies people fight over back home, his argument being a valid one earned him some of his first snicker doodles.

This comes up now for two reasons. One I have not made them in almost exactly a year, when I was home in Oregon last to say goodbye to my Aunt. Turned out that time Uncle Jack didnt get his cookies cause lil Jack never gave them to him. The greedy little brat just ate them all though i suppose had i left them at Uncle Jacks for lil Jack to get they might not have made it either. So I was reminded that its time to make some cookies and send out four care packages. Uncle Jack, Lil Jack, Delbert, and Randy...my Riggs Boys.

 Reason number two for this coming up now is I have been in a baking mood and sending them off to work with Boyd for the sailors in the shop. Yesterday they got chocolate chip, today was supposed to be snicker doodle. I did not have any whole eggs in the house just egg whites but i decided to give it a try anyhow. Tip alert here...DO NOT USE EGG WHITES ONLY. Needless to say they did not get cookies in the shop this morning because although the sailors would have scarfed them down im sure, i dont want them thinking that's how i make snicker doodles. What can I say, a girl has a rep to protect.

Serena's Snicker Doodles

1/2c butter softened
1/2c shortening (i use butter Crisco)
1 1/2c sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4c All Purpose Flour
2tsp cream of tartar
1tsp salt
2tbsp each of sugar and cinnamon (in small side bowl to roll the balls in)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1.  Cream butter, shorting, sugar, eggs 
2. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt
3. Roll into balls the size of your choosing
4. SECRET HINT: Dip only the top of the ball in the cinnamon and sugar then your bottom wont burn
5. Bake 8-10 mins or until set

Makes about 6 dozen depending on the size of your balls. Also if you let them cool on tin foil like i do, take them out just a min or so early because they will finish cooking on the tin foil. 

Sauerkraut....Think you don't like it? Home made will change your mind.

Many years ago I worked for this old Swiss man named Hans. I was hired to be his wife's nurse and after she died i stuck around to make sure he stayed out of trouble. He ended up being one of my closest friends and would often have me rolling in stitches at the stories he would tell. The man was a joker who thought it was funny to talk about going to the "nudily" beach on Sauvies Island where he lived, but would never actually go there because "my girlfriend is looking down at me from heaven and she will hit me with the fryin pan when i get up there". 

Hans was born and mostly raised in Switzerland. He came to the Portland Oregon area when he was a preteen and there he stayed building himself a garbage empire that he passed down to his children. One other thing he passed to them, and me as well, was how to make the best daggum sauerkraut you could imagine eating. The first year i helped him make it was filled with stories of years past. He told me that one time his father had sent him to the village for a bag of salt and a bag of sugar. Well when his father was making the kraut he grabbed the bag nearest him, which it turned out to be sugar, and wondered why the cabbage wasnt wilting like it would with salt a few days later. When he tasted it he realized he had put sugar in it and Hans got a whoopin that he never forgot. They washed the cabbage and started over with salt. Hans swears its the best saurkraut they ever made. So he told me "lil girl if you want good sauerkraut put just a few pinches of sugar in it too"  That first year we must have cut up nearly 100lbs of cabbage and put in crocks in the laundry room and then i had a few days off. When i came back the house smelled terrible and i couldn't figure out what it was as i did my cleaning. Hans watched me search and sat at the table sipping his coffee and laughing. Finally after an hour or so he said it was time to check the kraut. I pulled off the covers on the first crock and about passed out it smelled so strong. He laughed and laughed as he taught me how to skim the scum off.

Last fall was my first attempt at making it myself. As i sat cutting up the cabbage i listened to some old polka records i had, a favorite of Hans', and remembered everything he had taught me nearly a decade ago. Below is a recipe that goes back generations of the Grutter family. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does.

You can make the sauerkraut in a plastic bucket but i prefer the classic old ceramic crock. My crock is a 8 gallon. I will include after how to process it in jars for good storage or gifting but you can also leave it in the crock, skim scum off of it and eat straight from there long as you keep it cool and covered. 

Han's Sauerkraut






 25lbs of cabbage
Kosher salt

1. Cut the cabbage into long thin strips sort of like you would for coleslaw
2. Pack tightly into the crock or bucket doing a layer at a time
3. Place a handful of kosher salt on each layer mixing it in well. 
4. The cabbage should begin to sweat and produce its own water from the salt. This could take a day to do well. If by second day there is not enough water to cover the cabbage entirely make a simple brine and make sure its covered. 
5. At each layer i add just a tiny tiny pinch of sugar
6.  Once packed into your bucket or crock cover it with a clean white pillowcase or cheesecloth. Personally i think the pillowcase works best. 
7. Weigh it down with whatever you have handy. I used two gallon jugs of water on top of each other and it worked perfectly.
8. Within a week or so you should start to see some scum just skim that off every day and make sure the water is still covering the cabbage. 
9. Leave to ferment for 6-8 weeks depending on how sour you want it. 

To preserve the Kraut in Jars.

1. Heat the sauerkraut on the stove
2. Pack into hot clean jars
3. Fill with enough hot water to cover the cabbage
4. Process in a hot water bath for 15mins for pints 25mins for quarts 

Not my Mama's Chicken and Dumplings

Well today I got an email from my friend asking for my Chicken and Dumplings recipe so I decided I would post it here for y'all and then send to her. Anybody who knows me knows I do not watch to much television but I am addicted to the food network and the cooking channel. One of the cooks I enjoy watching is Paula Deen but her stuff is so loaded with fat I cant bring myself to eat much of what she makes. Her son Bobby or is it Jamie anyhow one of them has a show now of his own that is called "Not my Mama's Cooking" So in the spirit of the Deen Boy i figured i would share my "Not my Mama's Chicken and Dumplings" because although my moms are the best they are also full of fat, mine adds a lil herbs and cuts quite a bit of fat though I dont know exactly how much. Also if you know me then you know full well that i do not measure anything so its a bit of a taste and see how you like it sort of recipe.

So without further ado....here is Serena's not my mama's chicken and dumplings.

1. Purchase one full chicken
2. Pull out any giblets that are inside and put in a pot big enough to cover it with water.
3. Add a few pinches of salt and pepper to the water. Maybe three pinches of each. Also add about three or four sprigs of fresh Rosemary.
4. Boil the chicken until it is completely done
5. Remove chicken from the pot and shred into small pieces.
6. Remove the rosemary from the pot of stock.
7. Skim any fat from the top of your stock
8. Add a can of cream of chicken soup. (if its a big pot your making use the big can of soup) I use the non fat or low fat type but you could go all out fat if thats your style too.
9. Slowly bring to a boil once more and add your dumplings.
10. Boil with the dumplings until the dumplings are no longer doughy

Dumplings

In our family we use two different type of dumplings. One we will call rubber dumpling and one that is more like a biscuit. For those that want quick cheats go with bisquick for the biscuit type dumpling. They are fluffy and fast.

Rubber Dumpling

1. Mix 2c flour, a pinch of salt, 2tbsp of veggie oil to form a dough....roll out (if you want i dont) and cut into small strips and drop in the broth with the chicken.

Biscuit Dumpling

1. Combine 2c flour, 2 TBSP Baking Powder, 1 Pinch salt, 3TBSP shortening.
2. Cut all ingredients together until the fat is cut into the flour almost like small sand.
3. Add small bits of cold water at a time just enough to get the dough moist.
4. Drop by rounded spoonfuls into the boiling soup. 
5. Cook until fluffy and done.


Hope you enjoy this recipe. Like i said in our house we add both kind of dumplings but you can pick one or both. You also have control over the amount of fat that goes into your recipe. Don't like rosemary? Don't add it. That's the beauty of a recipe like this you are in control. You could also forgo dumplings all together and go with noodles. If you want a chicken noodle soup this same recipe would work beautifully, just leave out the cream of chicken (if ya want) and add some onion, celery and carrots.

Give it a try and let me know what Y'all think about it. Sorry for no photo attached to this one. Haven't made them in a little while and all the pictures i found online had other things added to them that i would never add to my chicken and dumplings, call me a snob or a purist its just how i am. Somethings just gotta stay traditional.

Green Tomato Sauce

Good morning Home Canners....

Late last summer we were expecting a hurricane here in Connecticut and I had tomato bushes bursting with green tomatoes, that had the hurricane really hit, would not have survived. So in my hurricane prepping I picked nearly two bags full of green tomatoes. As they sat on my counter for the week until our power was restored, i tried to think about what i was going to do with all these unripe tomatoes.

Most every recipe i found for green tomatoes was either fried green tomatoes or a green tomato relish. Well one can only eat so many friend green tomatoes and im not a fan of relish. I decided that what would be most likely to be used in my household was a sauce. And so my green tomato sauce was born and became an instant hit with family and friends. I have never been one for exact measuring because at the end of the day you work with what you have got but below you will find a skeleton recipe and a how to preserve it guide.

Serenas Green Tomato Sauce

-Several Pounds of Green Tomatoes
- Salt, Pepper, Garlic, and Onion Powder to taste

-Cook down the tomatoes with as little of water as possible just enough to make sure they aren't burning to the bottom of the pan. Maybe a cup or two.
-As they cook the tomatoes will begin to form more and more juice. While the flesh is still slightly firm take by scoop full and puree in blender or food processor.Do this with the entire pot and reheat on the stove.

-While the tomatoes are cooking prepare your jars for processing by washing them with hot soapy water
-Get the lids and screw tops in hot water leaving them there till needed

-Ladle hot tomato mixture into hot jars leaving about 1/2in of headspace
-Place the lid on top making sure the rim is clear of debris.
-Lightly screw on the twist top.
-Finally place jars in pot of boiling water with lid. (Enough to cover the top of jars)
- Process pints for 30mins and Quarts for 45mins

-Remove jars from the hot water bath
-You will hear a popping noise as the lids seal. This can take a lil while. If after an hour you can press the button on a jar it is not sealed. You must reprocess this jar of sauce.

What do you use green tomato sauce for? Just about anything you would use red tomato sauce for. Below are some things I myself, or other friends have done with it.

1. Pour over pasta
2. Use as a base for chili
3. Drink it as a soup itself

4. Use as a base for salsa verde instead of tomatillos.