Fare Exchange: Drinking and eating — oranges, peanut butter and cheese

A glorious August morning to you all; let’s dive into the food together.

We’ve got two anonymous summertime requests: one for any pesto recipe that does not contain basil and another for okra prepared on the grill.

The third is from Betty Domal, concerning Mary Fort Roberts’ rice casserole recipe printed last week. She wrote, “The recipe makes two 9-by-13-inch casseroles. I think it could probably be halved pretty easily but was wondering about freezing one. If it can be frozen, would it be baked and frozen, or prepared and frozen, then thawed and baked when ready to use?”

We hope Mrs. Roberts’ daughter, Janet Hartman, who shared her mother’s recipe, can answer that one. And yes, you will need two packages of slivered almonds.

OJ(ULIUS)

The request for Orange Julius brought back some tasty memories, first from Big Bad John, who offered Mario Batalia’s version. The secret to this one is baking soda.

Orange Julius from Mario Batalia

3/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup ice cubes

1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine all ingredients in a blender and purée until completely smooth. The key to making this drink perfectly creamy is the baking soda because it neutralizes the acidity of the orange.

Last-nameless Judy found this recipe from the GirlGoneGrits blog, and GGG identified her version as the one she “was trained to make in the early ’80s.” Several secrets here: dry milk powder, egg white powder and crushed ice instead of cubes.

Orange Julius from the Eighties

1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (I swear this makes a difference)

1/2 cup simple syrup, recipe below (I never said this was a healthy smoothie, just a treat)

1 teaspoon dry milk powder (It seems like a little but it works)

1 teaspoon egg white powder (You can find this in your bakery aisle where the cake mixes are)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (This is the only part I differ from, because vanilla powder has to be purchased online or in a specialty bake shop.)

Add the ingredients, blending as you go, in the order listed. Now fill the rest of the blender up with crushed ice. Why crushed ice? Because it blends quicker with the powders to create that frothy lightness.

Simple Syrup

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Will keep in the refrigerator for 1 month.

– foodnetwork.com

MORE PBB

Here’s another version of peanut butter brownies, this one without chocolate. It came from Barbara Mann, who wrote, “My daughter is now 47 years old. I made these brownies for her when she was small. You can tell from the simple instructions how old it is.”

The pan size is not given, but we would guess 8-inch or 9-inch square.

Peanut Butter Brownies

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix with a spoon and bake in a greased pan 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

CHEESY DISH

Thanks to Leda McCammon for finding an easy but elegant recipe using frozen phyllo dough, butter and cheese. With those three ingredients, how could one lose? McCammon credited Paula Lambert’s Mozzarella Co. of Dallas, Texas, with this one.

“The cheese given is one of their specialty cheeses, but I suppose any queso blanco with some seasoning will do. A crumbly cheese is the required ingredient here, but if anyone has experimented with other cheese and phyllo dough, let us know how that works.”

Queso Packets

4 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

8 ounces queso blanco with chiles and epazote, crumbled

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lay a sheet of phyllo dough out on a dry work surface. Brush the dough lightly and quickly with some of the melted butter. Place a second sheet of phyllo on top of the first sheet and brush it will butter. Repeat with the remaining 2 sheets.

Cut the dough into 4-inch square pieces. Cover dough with a damp towel until ready to fill.

One by one, divide the queso blanco among the squares and fold over the sides and then the top and bottom of each square to make a little packet. Place the seam side down on a non-stick baking sheet (or alternatively, a baking sheet lined with buttered parchment paper), brush the packet with butter, make a tiny slit in the top, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pastry is light golden brown. Serve hot, straight out of the oven. These are great appetizers, especially with beer, margaritas and wines such as riesling and chenin blanc.

FIGHT INTOLERANCE

Elsie Keith knows the challenge of lactose intolerance and so has a solution for you.

“There is a product in drugstores/Wal-Mart called Lactaid. It is an enzyme in tablet form. If you chew one before eating any dairy product you can eat whatever dairy product you like. They come in little packets and I keep some in my purse for whenever I need them.

“Also, Mayfield Dairy has Nurture milk that is for lactose intolerance and is 1 percent. It is delicious and much better than skim or 2 percent. This should be a help in making smoothies.”

TASTY FIND

On a recent afternoon we ran an errand on Sand Mountain with a broad vista of beautiful clouds encircling that mountaintop. Noting the fertile farmland, we looked for a roadside vegetable stand. And such we found. Donald Holcomb was setting out fruits and vegetables from his truck at the intersection of Highways 71 and 73.

“I’ve just come back from the peach orchard down the road with these peaches, straight from the tree,” he said.

Hungry for okra, my husband was just hoping there would be a supply.

“A man just delivered this okra. Pick what you want from the box,” Holcomb said.

I was skittish about the large ones, but he pulled out his knife and proved that even the large ones were tender as can be. We bought tomatoes, too, completely forgetting about the truckload of watermelons until we were headed down the mountain. And here’s a key detail: Holcomb’s prices were good.

He’ll be there until the summer supply runs out. And we’ll be back.