Foodie Pen Pal: Panic At World Market

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When I saw my friend Yinzerella’s post about her foray into the Foodie Pen Pal program I decided to follow her lead. Although having seen what she’s willing to eat, I don’t make it a habit to follow blindly along behind her or I’ll find myself eating a seafood Jell-O mousse concoction while wearing a mustard yellow polyester pantsuit.

I got matched up with Sarah, a mom from Kansas, and we swapped emails and I immediately liked her because we had similar tastes. She likes salty and sweet, and her son is a junk food freak. That pretty much sums up my pantry. So, I really wanted to be clever about this whole thing. Only when I went to the store, I panicked. It’s a rare moment when I get stage fright in a food emporium. It was like a first date and I’d forgotten to shave my legs. (No, really, I forgot.) Suddenly I was panicked that she’d think I was weird, had awful taste in food, and absolutely no imagination. And I was pretty sure she was imaging a nice girl with shaved legs shopping thoughtfully for a clever box of treats to send to her. Instead she got me. Argh! How could going to the store to shop for food I like be so damn complicated?

I was also hungry, Voracious Ravenousitis hungry, and like Samantha during her lost weekend, I started pulling stuff off the shelves into my basket. I thought “Oh, I like those, I bet Sarah will too…” and “mmmmm…. those are good too… I wonder if she has a Trader Joe’s near her? Would it be mean to get her addicted to something she can’t find locally?” And next thing I know I’ve got an enormous pile of totally unrelated items and several bottles of wine in my basket. This Pen Pal thing was definitely making me edgy and desperate for a giant glass of wine to settle my nerves and to try with the cheese and crackers I just bought. Trying to narrow it down to just a few items and keep within the $15 limit was a definite challenge. Binging and budgets don’t go together well. More about what I sent Sara in a minute…

Fabulous package I received.

Fabulous package I received.

Shortly after I posted my package to Sara I got a shiny red box in the mail from my Pen Pal Haylee from Utah. First thing out of the bag told me that she was psychic because she intuited my borderline pathological love of anything covered in cheese dust. No, seriously. I would snort this stuff if I could. She sent me Chicago Mix popcorn which is a magical mix of cheese dust popcorn and toffee popcorn. WHAT?!!! I know, right? Awesomeness. She also surprised me with a nifty new treat from the evil geniuses at Keebler. White chocolate covered, peanut butter filled, pretzel bites. My husband I devoured the little snack packs with relish. She was also kind enough to include two Utah Truffles that I’m hoarding in a place my husband will never find to treat myself to when he’s not looking. He needs to get his own Foodie Pen Pal, this isn’t a team sport in our house.

Let me just say that Haylee totally gets me, which is probably freaking her out a little right about now.

The box of binge-worthy goodies I sent

The box of binge-worthy goodies I sent

I decided to go with a few core favourites: Sea Salt Caramels, Mesquite Smoked Seasoned Almonds (addicting like crack), Hob Nob Biscuits which I became addicted to at university in London. For her son, I decided to share with him my weird taste in candy. Wait? What? You’re surprised I have weird taste? Where have you been? I like candy that I have to work at chewing. I really, really love stale Red Vines, but I thought that might be a little weirder than total strangers might be willing to work with, so I went with Wine Gums and Haribo Mega Roulettes. They are both gummy candies that I also discovered at university. They not quite as tough on your dental work as Jujubes, but they aren’t nearly as soft as gummy bears. They do a nice job of getting stuck in your teeth, and if you eat the whole bag in one sitting your jaw muscles will hurt. It’s really kinda awesome when your jaw is so tired from shoving a lot of chewy candy in your mouth. You know it is.

Because I’m a baker at heart, I included Trader Joe’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups and my favourite recipe for cookies that goes with them. Basically I’ve bastardized the old Nestle Toll House Cookie recipe replacing all the sugars with dark, dark, dark brown sugar and doubling the vanilla. Toss the peanut butter cups in, bake, and binge. They are especially awesome if you put them in the freezer and eat them frozen. Trust me. Sounds crazy, but seriously the taste is excellent.

The last little treasure I included was a small jar with a sample of my favourite salt in the world. In my house we call it Magic Salt because the smallest amount makes everything taste better. You’d be amazed what it can do to a Lean Cuisine meal. It’s an expensive Italian salt, Vignalta, that I was given as a gift years ago and would have blown my Foodie Pen Pal budget to send a whole bottle, but it was a treat I had to share with a fellow salt lover.

Nature's Macaroons
Finally, with my card I also included in my package one of my favourite recipe cards from my collection. You know, just to spread the love…

Next month, I’m going to shop with a plan, and have lunch first. So I don’t wind up embarrassing myself and everyone else shopping at the store by muttering to myself insanely while pulling all kinds of items off the shelf and screaming for Dr. Bombay.

The Lean Green Bean

Cheese Bake Lunch

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cheese_bake_lunch

4 slices enriched white bread
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/3 cups cottage cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk
4 medium eggs
Artificial sweetener to equal 1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
Dash of salt

ADVANCE PREPARATION: Sprinkle one side of each slice of bread with cinnamon. With rolling pin, roll bread thin, then cut into 1-inch strips. Place strips, cinnamon sides to pan, on bottom and around sides of a non-stick, 9-inch square pan, or a 9×5 inch loaf pan. (The cheese filling will fill any spaces between bread strips and will hold the cake together.) Combine cheese, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, lemon rind, sweetener, and salt in a blender container; process at high speed until mixture is smooth and creamy. Carefully spoon cheese mixture into pan. Bake at 275°F (very slow oven) for 1 hour. Turn off heat, and let stand in oven, 1 hour longer. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

FINAL PREPARATION: Turn upside down onto serving platter. Divide evenly. Makes 4 luncheon servings.

Copyright © Weight Watchers International, Inc. 1974 All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

Rip’s Tamale Pie

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rip_tamale_pie

I grew up in a household of women who really couldn’t cook. Mostly because they didn’t really eat. My grandmother, the original health nut, ate like a bird and followed a diet designed by her a Chinese nutritionist, Dr. Dong, whom she regularly flew to San Francisco to see. He cured her arthritis, but he killed any hope of my having the quintessential cookie baking grandmother. Instead I was offered carob snacks and could graze off the alfalfa sprouts growing in the fridge.

My mother, despite her early attempts to be the perfect wife and mother, making us matching outfits and crocheting my baby blankets, steadfastly refused to learn to cook. When the microwave was invented, she was relieved from her kitchen duties once and for all. We were the first family on the block to have one, which I swear was a big as a regular oven. From then on I lived on a diet of Tab, Wheat Thins, and Stouffers’ Lasagna.

Given my early influences and clear genetic predisposition, it is almost miraculous that I went to culinary school and became a chef.

Despite their epicurean inadequacies, there is one thing that they could both make, and make well. So well in fact that generations have begged for this dish to be made for every family function. I have no idea where this recipe originated, but it has been refined and handed down in my family like a treasured heirloom.

Rip’s Tamale Pie

(feeds approx. 14)

2 pounds ground beef
8 XLNT Beef Tamales
3 14oz cans can petite dice tomatoes
2 14oz can fresh sweet corn
2 large onion diced
6 cloves garlic diced
4 c cheddar cheese
2 4oz can sliced black olives
2 tbsp cumin
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook onions and garlic in olive oil until softened.
Add beef and cook through. Remove from heat.
Add corn & tomatoes. Stir to combine.
Season with cumin, salt and pepper.
Break up the tamales into small pieces. Mix in with meat and vegetables.
Mix in 1/2 of the cheese cheese.

Put in oiled casserole dish, top with remaining cheese and olives.

Let sit in fridge overnight – it’s amazing how much better it is if it
sits over night.

Bake for about 45 minutes at 350. Until cheese melts and casserole is
heated through.

Serve with warm corn tortillas.

You can also freeze the left overs and reheat in microwave.

productshot1241533021

Cook’s note:

XLNT Tamales are difficult to find outside of Southern California. They are amazingly good, but the recipe will not suffer if you use any brand of tamale, including fresh.

Tamale Pie

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tamale_pie

2 8-ounce tamales, sliced in 1/4 inch thick slices
2 tablespoons chopped green chilies
Small can chopped ripe olives
1 cup whole kernel corn, canned
1/2 cup chopped onions
3 cups chili con carne, with beans
1/2 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350°. Place a layer of tamale slices in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole. Add in layers the chiles, olives, corn, onions, chile con carne with beans and the cheese. Top with a layer of the sliced tamales. Bake 30 to 40 minutes.

Serves 4 to 5
Preparation time: 1 HR
Approximate colories per serving: 520

Suggested Menu

Tamale Pie
Green Salad with Avocado Dressing
Whipped Gelatin Parfait

From the Kitchens of Dorothy Taylor
@copy; 1973 Curtin Publications, Inc. New York, NY Printed in U.S.A.

Pineapple Fruit Whip

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pineapple_fruit_whip

1 can (20 ounces) pineapple tidbits, drained (reserved syrup)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 envelope (1 1/4 ounces) low-calorie whipped topping mix
1/2 cup cut-up dates
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 medium apple, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium bananas, cut diagonally into 1/4 inch slices
Leaf lettuce

Heat 3/4 cup of the reserved pineapple syrup, the cornstarch and ginger to boiling in 1-quart saucepan, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. cool.

Prepare topping mix as directed on package except – omit vanilla. Fold pineapple syrup mixture into topping. Fold in pineapple, dates and coconut. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Reserve 6 apple pieces, arrange remaining apple pieces and banana slices on lettuce. Top with pineapple mixture; garnish with reserved apple pieces. 6 servings.

©1975 by General Mills, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

Rhubarb Whip

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rhubarb_whip

1 1/2 pounds rhubarb
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt

Wash and dice rhubarb. Place in a saucepan with water and sugar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 12 to 15 minutes, or until rhubarb is tender. Remove from heat. Meanwhile, whip egg whites with salt until stiff but not dry; fold into rhubarb and chill. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Coffee Delight

1/2 pound marshmallows
1 cup hot, strong coffee
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
Nutmeg

Put marshmallows and coffee in the top of a double boiler. Stir over hot water just until marshmallows are melted. Cool mixture thoroughly. Fold in whipped cream. Turn into sherbet glasses; chill well. Sprinkle with nutmeg just before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Published by – COOKINDEX- Division of H.S. Stuttman Co., Inc. New York ©Copyright 1958 Tested Recipe Institute, Inc. New York

Prune Whip II

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prunewhip_final

1 pkg (12oz) pitted prunes
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 egg whites
Dash salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
Whipped cream or Custard Sauce (below)

1. Cook prunes as package label directs. Drain prunes, reserving liquid. Remove 1/2 cup cooked prunes for later.
2. Purée remaining prunes in blender or food mill with 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Add lemon juice. Let cool.
3. With mixer at high speed, beat egg whites with salt until frothy. Gradually beat in sugar; beat until stiff peaks form.
4. Add purée of prunes, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well. Beat at high speed, 2 minutes.
5. Chop remaining prunes and fold into mixture along with 1/4 cup crea, whipped. Turn into 6 or 8 sherbert dishes.
6. Refrigerate. Garnish each with a little whipped cream, if desired, or serve with Custard Sauce.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Custard Sauce

1 cup milk
2 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
Dash salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat milk in top of double boiler, over direct heat, until bubbles form around edge of pan.
2. In small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks with sugar and salt. Gradually add hot milk, beating constantly. Return to double boiler. Cook over hot, not boiling, water until thin coating forms on metal spoon – 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Strain into small bowl. Refrigerate, covered, until well chilled.

©Copyright 1973 by The McCall Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

Prune Whip

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prune_whip

Prune Whip

2 egg whites
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups pureed, cooked prunes
1 tsp. vanilla

Whip egg whites with salt until very foamy. Gradually add and beat in sugar, a tablespoon at a time; continue to beat until egg whites form soft shiny peaks. Combine remaining ingredients; fold into egg whites. Spoon whip into dishes; chill. Serve with Soft Custard and garnish with maraschino cherries, if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Baked Prune Whip

Prepare Prune Whip as directed, above. Turn mixture into a greased baking dish. Set in a pan of hot water; bake in a low oven, 300°. 25 minutes, or until a sliver knife inserted in whip comes out clean. Serve as above. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Plum Duff

3 cups pitted, fresh, or drained canned plums
1/2 cup sugar
Butter or margarine
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk

Arrange plums in a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with the 1/2 cup sugar and dot with butter. Sift together flour and next 3 ingredients; cut in shortening, using 2 knives. Combine egg and milk. Stir into flour mixture; blend well. Spread mixture evenly over plums. Bake in a moderately hot oven, 375°, 40minutes or until brown. Serve warm with cream, if desired. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Published by – COOKINDEX_ Division of H.S. Struttman Co., Inc., New York © Copyright 1958 Tested Recipe Institute, Inc. New York

Billi-B Chowder

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billi_b_chowder

4 ounces sliced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cups clam juice
1 cup parsley sprigs
1/2 cup water
2 packets onion broth mix or 2 onion bouillon cubes
2 packets instant chicken broth and seasoning mix or 2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 small bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 pounds cooked shelled mussels
1/2 cup evaporated skimmed milk
1 tablespoon sherry extract
2 teaspoons imitation butter flavoring

In a non-stick skillet, cook onions and garlic in soy sauce for 5 minutes, or until onion is tender but still crisp. Transfer to large saucepan. Add clam juice, parsley sprigs, water, broth mixes, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover, and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Add mussels, milk, sherry extract, and imitation butter flavoring; heat thoroughly. Divide evenly. Makes 4 dinner servings.

Copyright © Weight Watchers International, Inc. 1974. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

Peanut Butter Shortcake

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peanut_butter_shortcake

1 1/2 cups packaged biscuit mix
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
Butter or margarine
Honey

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease 8-inch, square baking pan.

2. In medium bowl, combine biscuit mix and sugar; mix well. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in peanut butter until mixture is coarse and crumbly.

3. Stir in 1/2 cup milk until well blended. Add remaining milk and egg; beat about 2 minutes.

4. With rubber scraper, spread mixture evenly in prepared pan.

5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until shortcake is golden brown and cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

6. Cut shortcake into 9 squares. Split and butter while warm. Serve with honey.

Makes 9 squares.

Jelly and Cream Cheese Hearts


20 slices white bread
3 pkg (3-oz size) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup black-raspberry or currant jelly
Milk

Using 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut heart shapes from bread slices. Spread hearts with some of cream cheese. Using for, beat jelly well. Spread over cream cheese. Beat just enough milk into remaining cream cheese to make it creamy and smooth. Place in pastry bag with number 30 rosette tip. Pipe decorative edge around each heart. Makes 20 sandwiches.

© Copyright 1973 by The McCall Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.