Date Nut Bread

I find it easiest to use kitchen scissors to “chop” the dates into pieces. You can experiment with other types of nuts—I once used hazelnuts in this recipe, and though it was good, the flavor of the nuts rather overwhelmed the dates. This bread is delicious toasted for breakfast or tea.



Carpenter's Square Quilted Wall Hanging
(stare at it: your eyes will play tricks!)

 Date Nut Bread

1 cup chopped pitted dates

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup boiling water
3 Tbs butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

In medium bowl mix dates and soda. Pour water over them and add butter. Let the mixture stand for 20 minutes. Butter a 9x5-inch pan, line bottom with parchment paper and butter paper too (the sugar in the dates is sticky—the parchment paper will prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan).

Whisk dry ingredients in large bowl. After approximately 15 minutes (depending on how quickly your oven heats), preheat oven to 350 F. Add the eggs and vanilla to dry ingredients and stir with a fork to combine. Stir in the date mixture and the chopped nuts.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for approximately 55 minutes, until tester inserted into center comes out cleanly. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes; turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Sausage and Hash Brown Casserole

This is good for breakfast but also makes a great dinner casserole. For dinner I usually add some chopped broccoli florets with the hash brown mixture, and serve with a green salad.

Sausage and Hash Brown Casserole

1 pound pork sausage

16 oz frozen hash browns, thawed

   (I use Shreds O'Brien which includes chopped red and green bell peppers)

about 3/4 of a can (10-3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup *

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1-1/2 cups (about 8 oz) cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350° F. and lightly grease a 2-quart casserole. Brown sausage over medium heat until no longer pink. While sausage is browning place hash browns in a large bowl (thaw in microwave on low power, if necessary). Add soup, sour cream, onion, salt, pepper and about 3/4 cup shredded cheese. Mix to combine, then place half of mixture in casserole dish, spread browned sausage in middle and top with the remaining potato mixture. Spread reserved cheese over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes; uncover an bake 10 minutes longer. Makes about 6 servings.

Grandma, Rick & Terri, Nahcotta, WA ca 1951

Crisp German Waffles

Packaged mixes are quick and convenient, but these "from scratch" waffles take very little more time. Beating the egg whites separately and then folding them gives these waffles a light interior texture with a crisp exterior. I like these topped with a banana which has been mashed up with honey and a little cinnamon, or smothered in sweetened strawberries and whipped cream, or ...

Rick on Dad's Harley, April 1964
South San Francisco, California

Crisp German Waffles

2  cups flour

2  Tb sugar

2  tsp baking powder

2/3  tsp. salt

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1-3/4  cup milk

5  Tbs melted butter

3  egg whites

Preheat waffle iron. Whisk the dry ingredients in large bowl.  Stir egg yolks and milk together, add to dry ingredients.  Stir in the melted butter.  Beat egg whites until stiff.  Fold into batter.  Bake in hot waffle iron until crisp and golden.

Lasagna Soup

Fall is the season of comfort food--warm, hearty fare to keep out the chill and help prepare you for Winter hibernation. This soup fits the bill and is pretty healthy too (Not counting the sausage!). The original recipe was in the December, 2005 issue of Cuisine At Home magazine, but I've modified it a bit to suit myself . The recipe can be made to suit both gluten-free and lactose-free diets.

Lasagna Soup

1 or 2 Tbs olive oil
1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Dried Italian seasoning, to taste
1 large sweet onion (usually Maui or Vidalia), chopped
2 medium carrots, shredded
2 cups mushrooms, sliced (I prefer Cremini)
2 Tbs garlic, finely minced (I usually just use the jarred stuff)
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) petite-cut tomatoes
2 cans (14.5 oz) low-sodium chicken broth *
1 cup mini-farfalle or campanelle pasta (optional: omit if you want gluten-free)
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped (preferably baby spinach)
Optional: diced mozzarella and/or Parmesan cheese

This recipe makes almost a gallon of soup, so you'll need to use a Dutch oven or a very large saucepan. Brown the sausage in the olive oil over medium-high heat, seasoning with salt, pepper and dried Italian seasoning. Add the onions and carrots and continue to sauté for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté for another 3 or 4 minutes.

Add all the canned ingredients and bring to a boil. Add pasta (if using), lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes (or amount of time required to cook pasta almost al dente, per package directions). Stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 or 2 minutes.

The original recipe says to ladle the soup over 1/4 cup of cubed mozzarella to give the soup that "gooey cheese element" of lasagna and further garnishes the top with grated Parmesan. I find stringy cheese in my soup unpleasant, so I leave it out—this is also a good idea for those who are lactose-intolerant. This is not a soup to be served with crushed crackers—I usually serve it with toasted slices of a crusty sourdough bread for dunking, or if I don't have any of that I top it with croutons.

*Note: leftovers are great, but if you have them and need to reheat the soup you should add some additional chicken broth, as the soup seems to get thicker when refrigerated.

Hijinks at Roads End, Lincoln City, Feb 1998
Cousin Terri, Mom, Aunt Peggy & Uncle Lee

Smoked Cheddar and Bacon Quiche

I adapted a classic Quiche Lorraine recipe to use the smoked cheddar cheese I had on hand. My brother Rick used the old "Real Men don't eat quiche" line, but then went ahead and had two pieces. Of course "Real Men" probably don't care what other people think about them, so can have all the quiche they want!

Rick with a Real Sturgeon

Smoked Cheddar and Bacon Quiche

8 to 10 slices bacon, cooked and coarsely crumbled

1-1/2 cups grated smoked cheddar cheese
  (of course I use Tillamook cheese!)

10 inch unbaked pie shell
  (I use a thawed Marie Callender’s ready-made)

Softened butter

4 eggs

Scant 2 cups cream (can substitute some milk)

3/4 tsp salt

Pinch of each: sugar, nutmeg, paprika, pepper

In a medium bowl beat together the eggs, cream and seasonings.

Sprinkle bacon over bottom of pie shell. Cover with the cheese and pour egg mixture over all.

Bake at 425° F. for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325° F and bake until custard is set, about 30 to 40 minutes longer.

Bacon, Leek and White Cheddar version: Same as above, but saute use only 5 slices of bacon, then saute cleaned and sliced leek half-moons in bacon grease until softened. Place about half the grated medium white cheddar cheese in the bottom of the pie crust, cover evenly with the bacon and leeks, then top with the remaining cheese and pour the cream mixture over and bake.

Sherrie’s Carrot Cake

This is the old fashioned favorite classic we sold at Ocean Park Crab and Seafood Market. We used the Cream Cheese frosting at the market, but I've included the recipe for a Buttermilk Glaze also (it uses up some of the remaining pint of buttermilk and is very good for a change from the frosted cake. It soaks in and gives the cake a dense moist texture).

Sherrie’s Carrot Cake



Aunt Peggy & Uncle Lee, Dec 24, 1958
(Carrot Cake would be good for a wedding cake!)



2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

3 eggs

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrots
   (about 4 med-lg)**

8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
   (about 2/3 cup)

3-1/2 oz (1-1/3 cup) flaked coconut

2 cups chopped walnuts

Stir dry ingredients together; set aside.  In large mixing bowl beat eggs.  Add oil, buttermilk, sugars and vanilla extract and mix well.  Mix in dry ingredients and blend thoroughly.  Stir in carrots, pineapple, coconut and nuts.  Pour into greased and floured 9x13 pan; bake at 350° F (dark pans 325° F) for 55 minutes.  You can make about 30 cupcakes instead—bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting--or if you prefer use the Buttermilk Glaze instead!

**Note: instead of grating the carrots, you can peel, cut off the ends, cut them into chunks and put them in the food processor with the oil and process until they are “grated.”

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

1 pound powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 to 1/2 tsp lemon juice

With mixer, cream butter and cream cheese together. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and mix until creamy.

Buttermilk Glaze

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter

1 Tb white corn syrup

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients except vanilla in saucepan; bring to boil.  Boil 5 to 6 minutes, until thick and syrupy.  Stir in vanilla. Pour over the warm cake.

Gramp’s Apple Cake

Don Chisty, ca 1922

Grandpa Don Christy was a really good cook, making hearty breakfasts for the family after a morning spent digging clams on the Long Beach Peninsula. This old-fashioned Apple Cake was one of his specialties.

Gramp’s Apple Cake

4 cups peeled and diced apples
2 cups sugar

1/2 cup oil
2 well-beaten eggs

1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour 

2 tsp soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit.  Generously grease a 9x13-inch pan. Combine flour with salt, soda and spices (sift or stir together in a bowl). In a large bowl, mix apples and sugar.  Stir in oil, eggs and vanilla then mix in dry ingredients. Fold in nuts .  Pour into pan and bake for 45 minutes.  Spread topping over cake while still warm. 

Topping: 

1 stick butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk

While cake is baking, combine  in medium saucepan.  Cook for 10 minutes; let cool.  Add 1/2 cup shredded coconut.

Slug Pie (aka Earthworm Casserole)



Treeva and Teena with friend Tarry Ray
near Willapa Bay, Nahcotta, WA



Actually this is just a Tuna Melt, but when my nieces were young and I fixed them lunch I'd ask "What would you like, Slug Pie or Earthworm Casserole?" (I also told them they'd never really met their "true" Aunt Sherrie, that I was from the planet Zeckarahr and we'd done a "cultural exchange" many years ago ... of course that was true.)

Tuna Melt

1 can good-quality tuna, drained (preferably solid, water-pack)*

1 celery stalk, diced

Salt, Pepper and/or Seafood Seasoning

Mayonnaise

English Muffins, split, toasted and lightly buttered

Medium Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Mix Tuna, celery, seasonings and Mayonnaise. Spread on English Muffin halves and top with slices of cheese. Place on foil-lined pan under broiler (or in toaster oven set to broil) until heated through and cheese is bubbly. One can usually makes enough for 6 muffin halves.

*To make a "deluxe" Slug Pie, use canned Salmon

Banana Sour Cream Bread

The sour cream in this bread mellows out the banana flavor. I like slices of this toasted and spread with a little butter for a breakfast treat.

Banana Sour Cream Bread

Cousin Terri with husband Don
December, 1989

1-3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1-1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cups sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

2 very ripe med-large bananas, mashed

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease and flour a tube pan (or alternately two 5x7 inch loaf pans).

Place dry ingredients in large bowl. Shake to mix if you are using a bowl with a tight-fitting lid, otherwise whisk dry ingredients together.

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, sour cream, vanilla and mashed bananas and beat until combined. Add all but about 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Mix the walnuts with the remaining flour mixture and shake or stir until they are coated. Fold walnuts into mixture.

Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake for about 55 to 60 minutes for tube pan or 45 to 50 minutes for loaf pans.

Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake

This cake was so very popular in the 1960s. Since retro is "in" I think it is time to bring it back in to fashion. This is a fairly dense and moist cake and the broiled frosting is so good you may find it hard to resist pulling off bits and eating it like candy. I usually bake with butter, which would probably work just as well in the cake, but the original recipe calls for margarine.

Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake

2 1/4 cup boiling water

1-1/2 cup Quick Quaker oats

3/4 cup margarine

1-1/2 cup sugar

1-1/2 cup brown sugar

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

2 1/4 cup flour

1-1/2 tsp soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.  Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 2 pan.  Pour boiling water over oats and let stand while preparing the rest of the cake.

Cream margarine, sugars and vanilla until smooth.  Add eggs and mix by hand until light and airy.  Sift flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Mix oatmeal into creamed mixture, then add sifted ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes.  Spread with Nutty Coconut Frosting.

Nutty Coconut Frosting

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

1 cup brown sugar

6 Tbs milk

1 cup chopped nuts

1-1/2 cup shredded coconut

Mix butter, brown sugar and milk in small saucepan; bring to boil.  Remove from heat, add nuts and coconut.  Spread over oatmeal cake while still hot, then broil until frosting is browned and bubbly.


Mom in Olympia, WA, ca 1949



PB Scotcharoos

I received this recipe from my friend (and boss) at Fort Stevens, Teri Wing. They are simple and quick to make, which is one of the reasons I used to make them to sell at Mom's store (Ocean Park Crab and Seafood). They're also pretty tasty!

PB Scotcharoos

Cousin Terri

1 cup sugar

1 cup white Karo™ Syrup

1 cup peanut butter

7 cups Special-K™ cereal

some margarine to grease pan

1/2 11-oz pkg Butterscotch Chips

about 1-1/4 cup Chocolate Chips

Stir sugar, syrup and peanut butter in a very LARGE pan over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble. Remove from heat and quickly* stir in Special-K cereal. Quickly use margarine to grease a 9x13 inch pan. Do not clean off your hands! Spread mixture into pan and use your hands to press into place.

Melt chips in bowl (I use microwave at about power 4, stirring every 1-1/2  minutes until smooth).  Spread over cereal mixture and let stand until firm.

*Note: you should measure the cereal out ahead of time so you can stir it in quickly, as the mixture becomes hard to spread as it cools. When I used to make these for Mom's store I found it easiest to measure in a 2-quart pitcher.

Number 1 Peanut Butter Cookies

Yes, the recipe is correct--there is NO flour in these cookies! For those who doubt if the recipe works let me assure you that it does. I have made these cookies for years and they were a favorite when we sold them at Mom's store (Ocean Park Crab and Seafood). I use Jif™ Peanut Butter for these cookies--I don't think the healthier organic types would work for this recipe.

I call these "Number 1" for three reasons: all the ingredients are measured in equivalents of one (so it is easy to remember), it is super quick and easy (who doesn't like that?), and because of the great peanut-butter flavor (because there is no flour or margarine/butter to dilute the PB).

Number 1 Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit.  Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper. Mix all of the above ingredients together thoroughly.  Drop by well-rounded spoonfuls 2 inches apart.  Flatten in criss-cross pattern with fork dipped in sugar (I also usually sprinkle a little extra sugar on top to make them sweet and sparkly!). 

Bake 14 to 16 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool on rack. Makes about 16 good-sized cookies.

Note: trying to double this recipe doesn't seem to work that well--maybe because it is harder to mix all the ingredients together thoroughly (dough is pretty stiff). However, it is easy enough to just measure the ingredients into the bowl a second time to make more cookies.

Dad with Mom on his left & friend Yvonne on right

Bird Nest Cookies

For some reason in my family we only seem to make these cookies around Christmas, but they are too good to be reserved for just one season. There are other similar recipes out there which call these "Jam Thumbprints" but we always called them Bird Nest Cookies. A food processor speeds the process by quickly and more finely chopping the nuts. Back in the 1960s when Mom made these cookies she used to fiddle about using a teaspoon to fill the center of the cookies with jelly. It is so much easier to just spoon the jam or jelly into a decorator's tube with a medium to large tip and pipe it into the cookies. If you don't own one, it is well worth the investment to just buy a cheap plastic one.

Rick, Sherrie, Terri 12-25-1954

Bird Nest Cookies

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 egg yolks

2 cup flour

2 egg white, slightly beaten

2+ cup very finely chopped nuts

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg yolks and mix well.  Add flour and mix.  Shape into small balls (about 1‑1/4" in diameter). Dip cookies in beaten egg white and roll in nuts to cover. Place on cookie sheet and press indentation in center. 

Bake in 350  oven for 8 minutes; remove, press center again (use end of a wooden spoon or some other implement so you don't burn your fingers) and fill with a tart jelly (currant or red raspberry).  Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Coconut & Macadamia Nut Cookies

Back in the late 1970s or early 1980s there was a fabulous cookie shop in Long Beach, Washington named "Plain Jane's" which sold huge, delcious cookies. Unfortunately Jane moved away, leaving me no recourse but to try to reinvent these soft and chewy cookies to which I had become addicted. 

Nieces Teena & Treeva, June 1979
on Carousel in Long Beach, WA

Coconut & Macadamia Nut Cookies

1 cup butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1‑1/3 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1‑1/2 tsp vanilla

2/3 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp Brandy
(optional; can also use Frangelico or Rum)

2 cups flour (can include some Oat flour)

1‑1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

7 oz flaked coconut

1 cup macadamia nuts , coarsely chopped

Cream softened margarine together with sugars.  Add eggs, beating well after each.  Add vanilla, lemon juice & brandy. Mix flour, baking soda and salt together; stir into butter mixture. Add coconut and nuts to dough.  Chill for about 1 hour. 

Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit.  Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.

Drop by heaping soup spoonfuls onto cookie sheet to make large cookies.  Bake 14 to 16 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Hazelnut Balls

These cookies are quite similar to Russian Tea Cakes (aka Mexican Wedding Cakes), but with the more distinctive flavor of hazelnuts.

Uncle Lee and Aunt Peggy
South San Francisco, Jan 1959

Hazelnut Balls

1-1/2 cups hazelnuts

1 cup sifted flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Powdered sugar, to coat

Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.  Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.

Blender-grind hazelnuts until very fine; combine with flour and salt and set aside.  Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together. Add flour mixture and stir until combined.  Refrigerate dough at least one-half hour.  Form dough into 1-inch balls and place one inch apart on cookie sheet.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until set but not brown.  Cool partially on wire rack and roll in powdered sugar while still warm.  Re-roll in sugar just before serving.  Makes 24.

$3,000,000 Cheesecake

For those people who don't have large families and don't want to make a "whole cheesecake," this recipe is just as good but only half the size of the $6 million dollar cheesecake. It is baked in a 10-inch pie plate.


$3,000,000 Cheesecake

CRUST:

6 Tbs Butter

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

FILLING:

1 lb. Cream cheese (preferably Philadelphia brand)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

TOPPING:

1/2 pint sour cream

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp lemon juice

Melt butter, mix together with remaining crust ingredients in 10" glass pie pan (I usually just nuke the butter on a low setting in the pan and then add remaining crust ingredients). Press to form crust.  Mix filling ingredients until smooth, pour into crust.  Place in cold oven.  Turn to 350° degrees.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Mix topping ingredients together, pour over cake and bake for an additional 8 minutes.  Cool at room temperature for about one hour, then chill for at least four hours before serving.  Can be topped with cherry, strawberry, etc. toppings.

Note:  for ease in serving, dip bottom of pie plate in hot water for about 15 seconds so crust doesn't stick to pan, then cut and serve.

My nieces Treeva and Teena at Indian Beach, Ecola State Park

$6,000,000 Cheesecake

This makes a rich and creamy cheesecake.  I received it in the 1970s from a friend who got it from a cook at a restaurant in Eugene, Oregon.  Mom made this for many years for the Frank Glenn's Ark restaurant in Nahcotta, Washington, and later at her own market (Ocean Park Crab and Seafood--so naturally we had to have desserts too!).

$6,000,000 Cheesecake

CRUST:

3/4 cup butter

2-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

FILLING:

2 lb. Cream cheese (preferably Philadelphia brand)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2  tsp almond extract

TOPPING:

1 pint sour cream

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Melt butter, mix together with remaining crust ingredients and press in bottom and up sides of 9-inch spring form pan.  Mix filling ingredients until smooth, pour into crust.  Place in cold oven.  Turn to 350° F.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Mix topping ingredients together, pour over cake and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Cool at room temperature for about one hour, then chill for at least four hours before serving.  I prefer my cheesecake "unadulterated" but it can be topped with fruit toppings such as sweetened strawberries or a cherry topping.

My niece Treeva, who requested this recipe for the blog

Notes: I usually prepare pan by cutting a cardboard circle for the bottom, then smoothly covering that with foil and placing it in the bottom of the pan. Also, to avoid any of the butter melting out and leaking on the bottom of the oven, wrap the bottom exterior  of the pan with foil.