Fare Exchange: Time for some clever cooking for the holidays

Jane Henegar

Good morning cooking companions. As the holidays ramp up, here are a few requests: for a sour cream coffee cake made with Splenda instead of sugar - or foolproof substitution suggestions. There is a seconded request for salmon burgers similar to the ones made at Publix, and first requests for recipes for chicken thighs made in a crockpot and for vegan soup. Finally, we'd love details of an old-fashioned Dutch apple pie with a regular pie crust on the bottom and a crumb mixture with oatmeal on top.

Kay Vanderhooft saw the coffee cake in last week's column and wondered whether she could substitute Splenda for the sugar. If you have successfully conducted this experiment, please let her know through this column.

The salmon burger request is for one that is an easy, healthful substitute for a hamburger. And R.P. has lost her family recipe for crockpot chicken thighs. She also is expecting a houseguest who is vegan and wants some recipes for a tasty vegan soup. Marcia Steele and I have been discussing via email how to make a Dutch apple pie like her mother used to make. We have some directions, but not all, so perhaps you can supply.

APPLE BUTTER

There is a lively news feed - literally about food, the sustainable kind - from Cedar Lane Farms through farmers Bryant and Claire Haynes. I had been on their email list for awhile, and just returned in time for apple butter season.

Claire, who may be reached at bryantclaire86@gmail.com, is no stranger to making food simply. The apple butter she recommends is "absolutely easy. The cooking time is very flexible, too."

Crockpot Apple Butter

7-10 cups of sliced apples (core, do not peel)

1 cup honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cloves

Cook in crockpot on low 12-15 hours. Blend with immersion blender. Fill jars and process for 5 minutes. Fills 4-5 jelly jars.

CHRISTMAS CANDY

Rose Wheeler is known around Trenton, Ga., and certainly among her six growing grandchildren, as the most generous and skilled of cooks. Here's a recipe she only makes at Christmas and shares freely.

Divinity Candy

2 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup white corn syrup

2/3 cup water

3 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Candied cherries or pecan halves to top candy pieces

Bring to boil sugar, corn syrup and water. Boil to hard ball stage. Slowly pour cooked mixture into beaten egg whites while mixer is at the highest speed. Continue to beat mixture until all glossiness is gone.

Spoon onto waxed paper using 2 spoons. You must work quickly when spooning out divinity because it sets up quickly.

Top with candied cherry or pecan half.

TORTILLA APPETIZERS

From the Marcia Steele collection (a considerable body of work) comes an appetizer just right for the season. Mrs. Steele writes, "I always made these for our neighbor's Christmas party and the first time I used prosciutto ham. Oh what a waste of money, for the flavor was lost."

Flour Tortilla Appetizers

2 large flour tortillas

Cream cheese

Thin-sliced ham

2 cups apple jelly

Red food coloring

Hot sauce or red pepper flakes

Green food coloring

Mint

Take two large tortillas and spread with cream cheese. Top with very thinly sliced ham.

Take two cups of apple jelly. In one cup, add red food coloring and your choice of hot sauce or red pepper flakes. To the other cup, add green food coloring and mint. Roll the tortillas and place each in a sealable bag. Warm the jelly and pour in the bag. Place the bags in the refrigerator to marinate at least one day to absorb the coloring. To serve, slice and arrange on a plate, preferably one suitable for the holidays.

ENGLISH MUFFIN VARIATIONS

From Judy Zehnder came two variations on the English muffin bread theme. She credits Fleischmann's Yeast Co.

Ms. Zehnder noted that Fleischmann's suggests other variations on this theme, including a rye and mustard English muffin loaf that is great for ham sandwiches, fruit and nut with cream cheese and marmalade, garlic to serve with hamburgers, stews and soups, and sour cream and chive for chicken and tuna salad sandwiches.

Whole Wheat English Muffin Loaf

4 cups unsifted white flour

2 cups unsifted whole wheat flour

2 packages dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup dried currants

2 cups milk

1/2 cup water

Cornmeal

Combine 1 cup of white flour, all of the whole wheat flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, salt, baking soda and currants. Heat milk and water until very warm (120 to 130 degrees). Add to dry ingredient mixture and beat well. Stir in remaining 3 cups of white flour to make a stiff batter.

Spoon into two 8-by-4-by-2 loaf pans that have been greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle tops with cornmeal. Cover; let rise in a warm place, free from draft, for 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from pans and cool. To serve, slice and toast.

Pecan Raisin English Muffin Loaf

6 cups unsifted flour

2 packages yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup chopped pecan pieces

1/2 cup golden seedless raisins

2 cups milk

1/2 cup water

Cornmeal

Combine 3 cups flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, salt, baking soda, pecans and raisins.

Heat milk and water until very warm (120 to 130 degrees). Add to dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in remaining flour to make a stiff batter. Spoon into two 8-by-4-by-2 loaf pans that have been greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle tops with cornmeal. Cover; let rise in a warm place, free from draft, for 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from pans and cool. To serve, slice and toast.

GLUTEN-FREE EUCHARIST

We've had a question about a foolproof communion bread recipe. That has not arrived, but A.S.H. addressed the increasingly common need for a gluten-free offering for the Eucharist. "At our church we serve gluten-free bread to everybody. We use Pamela's bread mix. The 4-pound bag is about $15 and the bread is delicious," A.S.H. says.

Last week, the man of the house returned from the grocery with two cans of corned beef hash - and a memory. On cold winter nights his mother would feed her boys canned corned beef hash with a poached egg on top. We tried it. Easy and good. So what is your simplest, most-comforting food memory? Sure do wish you'd share it.