Fried Rice

2 c boiling water
1/2 t salt
1 t vinegar
1 c long grain white rice
1/2 c cooking oil
6 eggs, beaten
1 large white onion
1 bunch green onion tops
1/4-1/2 c soy sauce (depending on preference)
2 lean pork steaks, diced

I was excited to have an excuse to use my wok! I followed Lois Baxter's recipe as written for the most part. Dicing the flank steak reminded me of teriyaki steak strips we had growing up - MMM.

"Add salt, vinegar, and rice to boiling water. Cook until all water is gone (about 20 minutes); In a clean skillet [WOK!], heat the oil...Add the beaten eggs, tossing lightly until set and crumbly, BUT NOT BROWN. Add the chopped white onion and chopped green onion tops." Heck, I threw in about a cup of shredded zucchini that was leftover from the Zucchini Foo Young. I also browned the diced steak pieces. "Add the browned, diced pork steak and the soy sauce." I used 1/3 cup because that was the only measuring cup that wasn't dirty from today's cooking. "Last, add the cooked rice, toss lightly while heating for several minutes. When ready to serve, put in a large bowl and press down with a spoon. Turn upside down on a serving plate and garnish with a few chopped onion tops." I skipped the presentation and plated our dinners at the stove.

Sweet Potatoes Western

Well, this recipe of Aunt Lynn's was delightful! There are very few ingredients or instructions (or mess), it looked and smelled beautiful at every step, and it was delicious.

"Boil 4-5 large sweet potatoes in jackets for 20-30 minutes or until tender. Cool. Peel and cut crosswise in 1 inch slices. Cover bottom of greased baking dish with layer of potatoes, sprinkle lightly with salt, brown sugar, and dot with butter. Cover with a layer of very thin whole orange slices, peel and all. Continue with alternate layers of sweet potatoes, seasonings & oranges until all of the potatoes are used. Pour 1/2 cup honey over the top layer of oranges. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. (Very good-different than the usual brown sugar.)"

I used 4 smaller-size sweet potatoes and 3 oranges, but I should have used bigger or more potatoes and sliced the oranges thinner. My thick slices retained their orange color, which was beautiful, but the thin slices had that roasted look, which I really like.

Sweet Potato Balls

I started off singing the wonders of the sweet potato as I put four large sweet potatoes in the microwave to cook way back when I was boiling the cranberries for the Cranberry Jelly Salad. I ended with a cut finger, sweet potato all over my shirt, and oat bran flakes everywhere.

Once the sweet potatoes were cooked and soft, I cut them in half and scooped the 'potato' out of the eight jackets. HOT, HOT, HOT!!! But I was still singing their praises. Unlike the dreaded beet, sweet potatoes easily shed their peel! And I think sweet potatoes taste sinfully rich without adding butter, brown sugar, marshmallows or what have you. But this recipe from Aunt Martha sounded intriguing, so here we go.

"Combine mashed sweet potatoes, 2-3 T butter, seasonings (S&P, nutmeg, cinnamon), and 2-3 T packed brown sugar." I also took this opportunity to 'butter' the pan.

The next step is to form 'balls,' but I wanted to have the pineapple slices arranged in the buttered pan so I would have someplace to put them. I opened the can of pineapple slices, and my kitchen went cat-crazy! I had three furry bodies at my feet watching my every move until they realized it was a false alarm. Next, I reached into the can to start retrieving the slices one by one. On my third reach, I cut my finger on the can. GRRR. This is the second time I've cut myself while using canned ingredients. I guess I really am inexperienced. On to the 'balls.'

"Drop 1/3 - 1/2 cup mixture onto waxed paper containing crushed cereal flakes, roll into ball."

I sounds so easy. It was awful. By using my hands and a large quantity of cereal. I was eventually able to make 'balls.'

"Place potato ball on pineapple slice in buttered pan. Top with cherry.' This had sounded so fun at one time, but now I was just tired and dirty. Andy would be home in 15 minutes and I wanted to change into a clean shirt, get the oat bran flakes out of the Sunday paper, and clean up the evidence of this debacle.

"Heat 20 minutes in 350 degree oven."

They were WONDERFUL, but it's too soon to say whether it was worth it!

Potatoes Romanoff

Might as well make another recipe that needs to sit overnight. This one is from my cousin Susan. I only made half the recipe, because I had three large potatoes on hand, but not six.

"Cook the potatoes until fork tender (in jackets)." I did this in the microwave to move things along. "Cool, Peel then shred into large bowl." Then I stirred in 1 cup sour cream, some chopped green onions, about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese, and S&P. I then put this in a sprayed, not buttered, casserole. (It was getting late; I was tired.) I topped with more cheese and sprinkled with paprika. "Cover, refrigerate several hours or overnight. (continued)"

The End. There are no further instructions.

WHA????????????? I guess I'm on my own.

I used my best analytical skills to figure out what to do: The potatoes are fully cooked, but why would I put these in a casserole if not to bake? This sounds similar to the Make Ahead Potato Casserole from a few days ago, which was moderate heat. I probably need to cook it until the cheese on top melts.

Into the refrigerator for the night....

Copper Coins

This is a delayed gratification recipe because it needs to marinate in the refrigerator for 12 hours. I did the work last night. This recipe is from Stephanie Cross, on the Cleve Cross side

Boil 6 cups sliced carrots for 10 minutes. I sliced the carrots into sticks, not realizing until way too late that, of course, they should be 'coins.' Drain & cool them. Then combine the carrots with a thinly sliced onion and green pepper, a can of tomato soup, 1 t dry mustard, 1 t salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1 t celery salt, 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup vinegar, 3/4 c sugar, 1 t basil, and 1 t worcestershire sauce. I used a yellow pepper instead of a green one, and I used quite a bit of whole gain mustard instead of the spice. I cringed when I put that much sugar in a vegetable dish. Oh, well, by now I trust these recipes.

Into the refrigerator for 12 hours....

Harvard Beets

Love the Beet; Hate the inevitable mess from dealing with this very pink vegetable. This recipe is from Pearl Cross Belles, of the Jesse A. Cross line.

1/2 cup vinegar
1/3 beet liquid
1 T cornstarch
1 t salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 T butter
3 cup cooked & sliced beets

Obviously, the dreaded beets needed to be dealt with first. Chop the ends off. Cook them. They seem to take forever, but I can see that the 'beet liquid' will be beautiful. Now the part I hate, hate, hate - try to get the skin off. I did my best. Slice them. Done. Let's move on to better things.

"Combine vinegar, beet liquid, cornstarch, salt and sugar. Cook over medium heat until clear and thickened, stirring constantly. Add butter and sliced beets. Simmer 5 minutes. "

They simmered much longer, probably about 45 minutes, until we were ready for dinner. And they were wonderful -- exceeded my expectations.

This is a lovely deep pink dish - perfect for Valentine' Day if anyone is in to that type of thing.

Green Beans With Mushroom Soup

Here's a second green bean recipe. Yesterday I assumed both were from Aunt Martha, but I guess I really don't know about this one.

"Layer green beans in a casserole dish with a layer of beans, a layer of thinly sliced onions and then cream of mushroom soup. Continue layering until the casserole dish is full, using the soup as top layer."

Simple. I steamed the green beans first, then put them in a pan, sprinkled on some diced onion, and covered with mushroom soup. Then I heated the entire dish in the oven.

When I read this recipe I thought it sounded awful, but Andy and I agreed that it was very tasty.

When I was proofreading, I noticed I had titled this one Green Beans with Mushroom Sauce originally. I think that would be an OK name for this dish!

Green Beans Almondine

This is the first of two green bean recipes from Aunt Martha.

• Cook green beans.


• Toss them with a dab of butter and some slivered almonds.

This was a nice side dish with our lunch.