Welcome to Fare Exchange, fine friends. Please help us if you can with the following requests.
* Today's first requester has been salmon shopping, and needs your support, as wild salmon can be costly. "Is there a wild fish as good for you as salmon?" asks our correspondent, who would appreciate advice on where to buy wild salmon and how to prepare it in ways that will stretch it, and other suggestions for buying and preparing less expensive but equally helpful fish.
* Yeast of the Ridge needs a simple recipe for easy whole-wheat yeast bread, as well as a dense nut crust perfect for the bite-size tarts served recently by Lee Towery Catering.
Marlene Keaton has been cleaning out her cabinets and pantry. "I have been particularly paying attention to any canned foods' expiration dates. Are those foods safe to use for any length of time after that date? The cans are not damaged in any way."
Ferris Robinson answered the request for slow-cooker recipes in a most original way, although the original is from her brother-in-law Mike, "a great cook."
She said, "I usually serve his recipe over rice, but the last time I just put whole scrubbed sweet potatoes in the Crock Pot at the same time and kind of used them instead."
Brother Mike's Low-Key Cuban Pork
1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat
2 (1-pound) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 large onions, quartered
4 small sweet potatoes
1/4 cup balsamic or red wine vinegar, or a combination of the two
Cumin, to taste (generous sprinkles)
Cavender's Greek Seasoning, to taste (generous sprinkles)
Put pork, black beans, onions and sweet potatoes in the slow cooker. Sprinkle with vinegar and spices, and cook all day on low. Serve over rice if desired, with dollops of sour cream and a slice of avocado if you want. Serves about 4, is packed with fiber and low in fat.
Thayer Weise titles this well-praised recipe with a cook's favorite phrase, "no fail."
Thayer's No-Fail Pie Crust
4 cups unsifted flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
13/4 cups Crisco
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 large egg
Put flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl, and mix with a fork.
Add shortening, and mix until crumbly.
In a small bowl beat together 1/2 cup water, vinegar and the egg.
Combine the 2 mixtures and stir until all ingredients are moistened. Divide dough into several portions and shape into a flat patty. Roll out desired amount.
Put leftovers in a plastic bag and freeze.
Mixture may be prepared ahead and frozen. You can handle or knead this crust, and it will never toughen.
There's no one to thank for the crisp page that arrived this week, bearing two typewritten but unattributed chili recipes: chicken and beef, small scale and large.
White Chili
1 package ground turkey breast (1 pound or more)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons oil
1 large (15-ounce) can chopped tomatoes with juice
1 (11.5-ounce) can V8 juice
1 (15-ounce) can Great Northern beans
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Brown turkey, onion and oil together in a skillet. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes.
Slow-Cooker Beef Chili for a Crowd
8 pounds ground beef
8 (1-pound) cans tomatoes
8 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
6 to 8 tablespoons hot or regular chili powder
12 (1-pound) cans chili beans
8 large onions, chopped
8 medium green peppers, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon paprika
8 bay leaves
Sugar (optional)
Mix all ingredients together and cook in a slow cooker for 6 to 8 hours. Recipe may be cut down to fit a family.
As promised, and with gratitude for four contributions, here is the second installment of simple, sensible food stuff.
Kitchen Sense
* Mary Zelle offers this advice on chicken broth: "I never make mine with whole chicken. Anytime we have poultry from any source (KFC, rotisserie, whatever) I boil down the bones, skin and all, before throwing them away. I strain the broth to remove all solids, except for maybe some bits of meat, then refrigerate it overnight so that the fat will rise to the top. I skim this off and discard it. Then I freeze the broth in quart zipper bags for the next need. No additional cost, very little effort, and always there when you need it."
* Leave it to Debbie Pataky of Lookout Mountain to give us an easy way to thicken soup without flour. She wrote: "I use instant potatoes to thicken soup. It works great."
* Here's a shopping tip from recipe contributor Thayer Weise. "Premade crepes may be bought at The Fresh Market on Gunbarrel Road in the frozen-food case."
* Marlene Keaton had a clever idea. "The last couple of years I have been dating any cans or boxes that are newly purchased with a marking pen. This, I find, alerts me to more easily check the expiration date when I take them out to use."
Thanks for your creativity, all of you, and your kindness in sharing with the rest of us.
To Reach Us
Fare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send.
* Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750.
* Email: janehenegar@gmail.com.
* Fax: 423-668-5092.