Welcome to Fare Exchange and an assortment of requests from A.E., just returned from an out-of-state trip that included "delicious food and good food conversations. I came back with my list of recipes needed: fat-free sweetened condensed milk, a Mexican drink called horchata, lactation cookies for nursing mothers and lamb meatballs served with Greek yogurt."
CHICKEN PARM
A visit to the Clay Pot in Riverview usually ends in a discussion of food as well as flowers, and this time it was a chicken recipe, perfect for our current conversation thread, straight from Joe Jumper's blog. He wrote, "This is one of my favorite chicken dishes to make. It is easy and tastes great."
Low-Carb Parmesan Chicken
8 to 10 chicken tenders
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
2 packages dried Italian dressing mix
Bottled Italian salad dressing
Heat oven at 350 degrees. Clean chicken, and put in water. Mix Parmesan cheese and dried Italian dressing in a Ziploc bag. Coat chicken strips in dried mixture, and place in greased casserole dish. Add bottled Italian dressing on top of chicken, and bake for 45 minutes.
BOLD BEANS
From Soddy-Daisy Dan Cobb wrote, "It seems for the past few weeks, you requested recipes that squarely hit the favorite tab in my recipe box. Let's see if this one is sufficient for bold dried beans. I'm a big fan of dried beans because they are cheap, easy and moderately healthy. This one is pretty good, and it takes just a few minutes to prepare. The only thing to remember is to soak the beans the night before."
Black Beans That Zing
16 ounces dried black beans
3 to 4 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups chicken broth (I make my own using Better Than Bouillon)
Soak beans overnight, or at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse beans.
Fry bacon pieces in Dutch oven until crisp, and remove.
Pour off all but about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons bacon grease. Sauté onions and carrots about 2 minutes in grease, then add bay leaves, cumin, salt and pepper, along with broth, soaked beans and cooked bacon.
Cover and bring to a slight boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, covered, adding more broth if necessary. Uncover and cook about 15 minutes more.
Remove bay leaves, and enjoy your beans.
Variation: You may add one whole jalapeno or serrano pepper before boiling; remove when done.
TWO FOLLOW-UPS
- Lisa Miller reported that the cookbook "More With Less" by Doris Janzen Longacre "is available on Amazon either new or used. Used is a fantastic way to get so many amazing cookbooks."
Amazon described the book as "Herald Press' all-time best-selling cookbook, helping thousands of families establish a climate of joy and concern for others at mealtime. The late author's introductory chapters have been edited and revised for today's cooks. But the message has changed little from the one that Doris Janzen Longacre promoted in 1976, when the first edition of this cookbook was released. She was ahead of her time in advocating for people to eat more whole grains and more vegetables and fruits, with less meat, saturated fat and sugars."
That just may convince you to place your order.
- Do remember that the Best Pie competition is always open. Please send your nominations.
PROPOSAL PIE
I sampled a pecan pie that was part of a certain family's history. The cook was dating a widower and had to ease her way into his only daughter's favor. On the night she first served her pie, heavy with Texas pecans and encased in a homemade crust, he smiled and said, "I want my daughter to taste this."
To himself he said, "I think I just might marry her."
So he did. And now, three years into that marriage, sometimes he has pecan pie for breakfast.
This is the second pie in an anonymous sender's sheaf of cookbook pages.
Frozen Chocolate Rum Pie
Crust:
1 package (11 1/4-ounce) pie crust mix
1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, coarsely grated
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 (9-inch) pie plates with foil, letting foil rise 1/4 inch above rim of plates to contain the generous filling. Combine pie crust mix, nuts, brown sugar and chocolate; stir in 2 tablespoons water and the vanilla extract. Press into foil-lined plates. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned, and cool completely on wire racks.
Filling:
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2/3 cup light or golden rum
4 cups heavy cream (you may use Cool Whip; measure carefully as Cool Whip is prewhipped)
1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
Garnish (optional):
Whipped cream
Chocolate curls
In large bowl, beat eggs with granulated sugar and salt until they are well combined. Set bowl over a pan of boiling water; continue beating at high speed until mixture is very thick, 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove bowl from water; cool in the refrigerator, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Soften gelatin in rum. Dissolve over hot water; cool to room temperature.
Gradually beat gelatin into cooled egg mixture until well blended. Chill briefly. Whip cream with confectioners sugar just until stiff; fold in egg-gelatin mixture until well combined. Refrigerate until mixture is stiff enough to mound into the pie shells. Freeze until firm, 4 to 5 hours. Before serving, garnish and let stand at room temperature about 10 minutes or until soft enough to cut. Garnish if desired.
DAIRY-FREE DESSERT
Isabella Simpson grew up with an easy dessert that her family has just revived, Dole Whip.
Dole Whip
This dairy-free dessert has only five ingredients and takes minutes to prepare. For best results, freeze fruit in airtight containers. It makes 2 servings, 120 calories each.
1 cup ripe pineapple, chopped and frozen
1 ripe banana, peeled and frozen
2 1/2 teaspoons powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 teaspoon lime juice
Fresh pineapple for garnish
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Cover; blend until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish with fresh pineapple. Serve immediately.
We end today, then, on a light note. Thank you for coming, and please come again.
REQUESTS
- Fat-free sweetened condensed milk
- Horchata (a Mexican drink)
- Lactation cookies
- Lamb meatballs with Greek yogurt
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 and know we cannot test the recipes printed here.
Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
Email: chattfare@gmail.com
Jane Henegar