Fare Exchange: Preparing fruity, spiced pork and marinated vegetables

Good morning, Fare Exchangers. Today's requests are varied, from cake to tea. Do you have a recipe for Watergate Cake, Watergate Salad and for brewing kombucha tea?

Times Free Press reporter Clint Cooper wrote on behalf of a reader "who wanted to know if I had a recipe for Watergate Cake. I told her I had heard of Watergate Salad and thought I'd heard of Watergate Cake but didn't have a recipe. Perhaps you can ask readers."

And so, just for fun, we will ask for both cake and salad and, for that matter, any other Watergate recipe you can recommend.

Health Nut has been reading about a balanced acid/alkaline diet and, as part of that, read a recommendation for "a daily dose of fermented kombucha tea and unsulfured molasses. Where do I purchase, and how do I prepare, kombucha tea in this way?"

Jessica Stamper spoke with enthusiasm on the subject of pork tenderloin in the crockpot. Here is the recipe that works for her. She reported that "pork tenderloin is perfect for the crockpot. This recipe is perfect to slice and serve over rice. It makes a nice sauce, and leftovers make a delicious sandwich when reheated with provolone cheese on a sub roll."

Fruity Spiced Pork Tenderloin

1 to 2 pound pork tenderloin

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder to taste

Crushed red pepper to taste

1 small jar apricot or peach preserves or marmalade

1/4 cup soy sauce

Season both sides of pork with salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper. Place tenderloin in crockpot, fat side up. Pour fruit marmalade over pork. Add soy sauce. If bottom of crockpot is not covered in liquid, add a little water to completely cover the bottom.

Cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

An anonymous Exchanger found very similar recipes for whipping cream and preparing meringue, printed recently in a magazine.

Perfect Whipped Cream: The key to whipped cream is to keep everything cold. Always start with cold cream and chill the bowl and the beater. Then start beating gently. "People think you need to beat the cream to death, but you want to start slow." When the cream just starts to thicken, that's when you add the sugar. Watch closely as you continue to whip. You don't want peaks that stand up and salute you. They should start a big droopy and then get just firm enough to stand up. It's always better to under-whip than to over-whip.

The Magic of Meringue: Start slowly when making meringue. You'll see the mixture go from clear to foamy, then just star to turn opaque. When you see that change, that's the time to add the sugar and turn up the speed. Add sugar gradually and keep a watchful eye. When you think it needs a minute more, it doesn't. Once it holds stand-up stiff peaks (no folding over at the top), stop. The meringue should always have a shine. If it starts to lose its sheen, you've gone too far.

The question about the diet proposed in the documentary "Forks Over Knives" brought a most instructive response from Lil Yarosh.

Forks Over Knives Menu Training: Our IN Step 4 Life committee sponsored a showing of the documentary at one of the venues in Collegedale. As a follow-up, we are conducting monthly Dinner with the Doctor events. We provide a full vegetarian meal geared toward dishes and recipes that will be a gateway to healthier dietary choices. This is followed by a physician presentation, giving practical tools for restoring health along with inspiration for re-energizing one's life.

Recipe packets for the evening's dinner are distributed and an opportunity is given to check blood pressure, weight and body mass index (BMI).

Seating is limited to 100 diners so reservations are required. Call 423-315-1950. The cost is $5 per person. These events are scheduled for the second Monday of every month from 6 to 8 p.m. and take place at the Collegedale Church at 4829 College Drive East. The topic for March 11 is "Dealing with Weighty Matters: Discover the Keys to Successful Lifetime Weight Management" and how you can feel full and energetic. Our website is www.instep4life.com.

Up next is last-nameless Barbara with two salads full of beans, salads that will keep well.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

1 (16-ounce) can French green beans, drained

1 (16-ounce) can corn, drained

1 (16-ounce) can green peas, drained

1 small chopped onion

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 red or green pepper, chopped

1 cup sugar (or a little less)

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Boil sugar, vinegar, and oil. Pour over vegetables while marinade is hot and chill.

Old Fashioned Bean Salad

1 (16-ounce) can wax beans, drained

1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans, drained

1 (16-ounce) can green beans, drained

1/2 cup sliced onion rings

1/2 cup sliced green pepper

1/2 cup vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix wax beans, kidney beans, green beans, onion rings and green pepper in a large bowl. In a saucepan over medium heat, heat vinegar and sugar until sugar melts. Cool. Add salt and pepper to taste and pour over salad. Chill.

And what would a wintry Fare Exchange be without one more nod to the Southern favorite, chicken and dumplings? Elsie Keith of LaFayette wrote a most convincing recommendation for her recipe. She has tried most of the chicken and dumplings recipes given in Fare Exchange through the years, finding this her favorite.

"This recipe got me a proposal with my husband standing there, and another elderly gentleman teared up when he said they were like his mother's. When I take them to church suppers, I never have any leftovers."

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken

1 chicken or chicken breast, or use 1/2 cooked chicken

Canned broth if needed to supplement

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare chicken and cool. Pick meat off the bones and cut in chunks.

Strain the broth and put in a put, adding canned broth if necessary, butter or margarine, salt and pepper.

Bring broth to boil when you are ready to add dumplings.

Dumplings

2 cups Bisquick

1/4 cup chicken broth (too much broth will make dumplings fall apart)

Water

Mix up the above, adding just enough water to make a soft dough.

Roll out very, very thin (these are "slick-ums"), cut in strips and then tear into squares and drop in the boiling broth. Add cooked chicken chunks. When all dumplings have been put in the pot, turn off the heat, cover and let them 'ripen' for at least 40 minutes. If they become dry, just add more broth. DO NOT STIR. If they are not hot enough when meal is ready, just warm them up slowly. This will serve 4-5 and can easily be multiplied if more are needed.