A member of a certain Fox family sent a recipe for the use of baby-food plums, along with another one for some tasty tea. The Foxes got these recipes appropriately from the Wild Plum Tea Room in Gatlinburg, Tenn., and said they are delicious. Those of you who have experimented with different flavors of baby food, please pass on your suggestions for variations to the rest of us.
Wild Plum Muffins
2 cups self-rising flour or 2 cups regular flour combined with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon soda
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons allspice
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 small jars plum baby food
1 cup crushed walnuts
Stir together self-rising flour (or flour-salt-soda mixture), sugar and allspice. Add eggs, oil and baby food. Stir until well mixed. Add walnuts. Spray mini-muffin pans with Pam. Fill pans with batter and bake at 350 F for 10 minutes. Yield: 24 regular-size muffins.
Wild Plum Tea
4 family-size tea bags
2 quarts water
2 cups sugar
2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
Cold water
In a 1-gallon pitcher, steep tea bags in 1 quart hot water. Mix the remaining quart of water and sugar; heat over high heat until sugar is dissolved. Pour over tea and water in pitcher. Steep 15 minutes. Strain out tea bags, add orange juice and lemon juice and enough cold water to make 1 gallon.
The most gracious of plenties came in the mail this week from Sue Mickel, who is especially interested in helping beginner cooks. Ms. Mickel has been making this cake for more than 30 years; it came from a Texan, an 80-something man whom she knew only as Mr. Holder.
Sweet Potato Crown Cake
2 cups sifted flour
11/4 teaspoons soda
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
11/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups sugar
11/4 cups Wesson oil
4 whole eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes or a (16-ounce) can Sugary Sam sweet potatoes
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Frosting:
1/2 stick butter or margarine
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans
In a bowl sift flour together with soda, cloves, nutmeg, salt and cinnamon. In a separate mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil; mix thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time, mix, then add vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients and mashed sweet potatoes and pecans; mix.
Bake in a greased and floured tube or Bundt pan for 1 hour and 15 minutes in a preheated 350 F oven. Invert on plate to cool.
For frosting: Mix together butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and pecans. If too thick to spread, use a small amount of cream to thin. Spread on top of cake.
The following recipe may look complicated, but its creator, Carli Snyder, promises it's easy. She included it in a collection of recipes for people in her church, Rock Creek Fellowship, to use to prepare meals for families who might need them.
Super-Easy Homemade Lasagna
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion
3 to 4 large cloves garlic, minced
11/2 pounds ground beef, about 80 percent lean
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
11/2 tablespoons dried oregano
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley (flat leaf)
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
15 ounces part skim ricotta cheese
4 ounces feta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 extra large egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces part-skim mozzarella (low moisture), grated
1/2 pound lasagna noodles, uncooked
Heat oven to 350 F. Add olive oil and onions to a large stock pot and cook over medium/low heat for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds or so. Add ground beef and cook through. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, red wine, red pepper flakes, parsley, 11/2 teaspoons salt and pepper. Cover and simmer on low for about 30 minutes.
In the meantime, stir together ricotta, feta, Parmesan, egg and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside. Grate mozzarella and set aside.
Spray a 9- by 13-inch dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread a third of the sauce in the bottom of the dish. Add a single layer of noodles (uncooked). Add half of the ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodles. Continue layering sauce, noodles, ricotta, sauce.
Spray the underside of a sheet of aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray and cover dish tightly. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil; top with grated mozzarella, and bake another 15 minutes, or until brown and bubbly.
Note: This may be made the day before taking it to someone. It's really better that way. If so, just bake for 45 minutes, top with mozzarella and don't finish baking. The recipients can bake another 15 to 20 minutes and they will have a nice, hot lasagna. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.
Make it a meal: Grab a loaf of Niedlov's ciabatta, a bag of baby lettuces and a bottle of champagne vinaigrette.
Until next week ...