Author: fromtherecipebox11

Dalgona Coffee

To know me is to know of my deep and abiding love of coffee.  I didn’t marry a coffee man, but he’s living proof you can precipitate change in a person.  He’s as much a coffee freak as I am now.  Whether it’s the Norwegian Hygge or as our youngest called it ” the Minnesota state pastime of coffee and cookies”, we are fans.   If I don’t have coffee, I don’t turn into a jittery mess. I simply enjoy the camaraderie it brings me.

G and I start the day with coffee in bed.  Don’t hate me.  We just find it the perfect transition from night to day.  We’re old farts, so we don’t want to start moving too fast; we could hurt ourselves.  We start the day with regular coffee.  I prefer a dark roast Sumatra, courtesy of my favorite niece.  G does as well, but he puts cream in his.  I know, what a maroon.

Look at me, digressing again.  So, I often try new coffee drinks.  I’ll go with anything from an espresso martini to cold brewed coffee to this new one:  a Dalgona Coffee.  I’d not heard of it before the last month.  I guess it’s famous on Tik Tok.  As you can well imagine, I’m a huge Tik Tok fan…not!

I wasn’t able to try it immediately; I don’t keep a lot of instant coffee on hand.  It is simply not my style and it’s really no faster than my Keurig.  But good old Amazon came through for me again.  I’m such a creature of old commercials, I started humming the Folgers song right away.  Enough already.  This is a most interesting addition to our coffee repertoire.  It’s going to be a fun summertime on the deck beverage.

Combine the following ingredients in a tall metal bowl:

2 tablespoons instant coffee

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoon hot water

Whisk or beat for 3 to 5 minutes.  It will get rich and foamy.

Pour approximately 6 to 8 ounces of milk in a glass.  Add some of the foam on top and spread around.

* From the Recipe Box:

I stirred the foam into the milk a bit.  It’s what Alton recommended.

It was most interesting.  It wasn’t incredible sweet like I was expecting so I sprinkled on a smidge of sugar.

I’ll make it again, but not tomorrow.  G loved it; he’d have it tomorrow!

And next time I’ll add a lot of ice to mine and maybe a sprinkling of grated chocolate or cocoa and a wee dram of Bailey’s.

and remember:  It’s OK if you fall apart sometimes.  Tacos fall apart and we still love them.  Big kiss, Lynn

Tapioca Pudding

I’m a pudding girl.  Oh-oh, we’re back to white food as well.  Both Grandma O and my mom were big pudding makers and tapioca was an all time favorite.  They would make 2 kinds of Tapioca:  minute and bubble.  The best part about the minute is squishing it through your teeth.  You can’t do that with the bubble, but it’s fun to try,

The recipe they used was originally in Betty Crocker’s cookbook.  There’s a recipe on the side of the Minute Tapioca box, but we just never used it.  I’m sure it’s wonderful, but I can’t mess with tradition.  This was not a company dessert; this was just for the family.  In retrospect, I realize mom would whip these desserts up in mere moments and they were my favorites.  It’s what farmer’s wives and daughters did; they fed people, no questions asked.

This pudding is light and fluffy.  It says it serves 6, but that is such a lie.  I eat 2 servings just checking to see if it’s cool enough to eat.  What’s wrong with these people?  You will so enjoy this.  Sometimes we don’t need fancy.  We need comforting, especially now.  I just like a bowl of it.  G loves his with whipped cream; but then what doesn’t he like whipped cream on?  I didn’t get that whipped cream gene.  Give this a try and let me know what you think.

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils.  Remove from heat.  Cool.  Stir In:

1 teaspoon vanilla

Fold in a meringue made with :

2 egg whites

4 tablespoons sugar

Spoon into serving glasses.  Serve with whipped cream.  If desired, fold in fresh or drained canned fruit;  or pour over fruit in serving glass.

 * From the Recipe Box:

Tapioca is the thickening agent mom and Grandma used in Cherry Pie as well.

I made both Grandma’s and the tapioca box recipes today so we could have a side-by-side comparison.  The clear winner was Grandma’s.  G didn’t think he was a tapioca fan, but he was totally impressed.

The fluffy pudding on the left is Grandma’s.

I don’t use fruit in my tapioca.  I want to taste the purity of the pudding.  And, I’ve got to keep it white.  May 17th is Norwegian Constitution Day and I must be ready.

and remember:  This too shall pass.  It might pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.  Big kiss, Lynn

Crunchy French Toast

I tried a new recipe today.  I wish I was the kind of cook that could come up with my own recipes from scratch, but no, I’m not that girl.  What I can do is see something and then finagle it a bit until it’s my own.  I know this is going to come as a shock to you, but I’ve been watching a fair amount of television.  We don’t usually watch a lot of TV, but these are interesting times.  What I watch will probably surprise you:  Diners, Drive-ins and Dives; Alton Brown; The Great British Baking Show; all the David Chang shows on Netflix.  David and Alton are my new heroes since I lost Anthony Bourdain.

I seem to have lost my rule about not getting distracted.  Sorry about that.  To get back to the French toast.  Diners, etc., went to 3 different restaurants over the last few weeks where they made variations of French toast stuffed with peanut butter and jam.  That was a sign I was to try making it.  They crushed 3 different cereals:  frosted flakes, Captain Crunch and something I missed.

Since I’m still on lock down, I couldn’t run out and get just anything.  I think if I had any option, I would have gone with the frosted flakes, but corn flakes it was.  They also used a nice firm bread, but I was lacking that as well.  I used a fairly firm wheat bread.  I also would prefer crunchy peanut butter, but I’m the only fan in this house.

4 slices of bread

creamy peanut butter

your favorite jam

3 to 4 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar

1 to 2 cups corn flakes or frosted flakes

Mix the eggs, sugar and milk.

Make a p,b, and j and sandwich it together.  Dip it in the milk mixture.  Cook it on a low medium.

 * From the Recipe Box:

I will make these again, but I will use frosted flakes or maybe Corn Pops.  I lusted for those when I was a kid.   I don’t know if I will fill them with peanut butter and jam.  I might use cream cheese and jam.  My mom used to love sharp Tillamook cheese with jam on toast.  That’s sounding really interesting.  Or how about an Elvis:  bananas and peanut butter.  The possibilities are endless.

They were heavy and very substantial.  Interesting concept though.

and remember what my Sci-Fi hero Neil Gaiman said:  Fairy takes are more than true:  not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us the dragons can be beaten.  Big kiss, Lynn

Raspberry Muffins

I do love a good muffin.  C the MP was up yesterday with a “Care” package that included raspberries, blueberries and rhubarb.  He knows how much I love my fruit.  After eating almost all of the raspberries plain, I thought it would be nice if I shared a few with G via a muffin.  I’m so good about sharing.

I remember this recipe from when I was a kid.  My mom’s mom and my dad’s mom lived together in this big old house in Portland.  I had many a grand adventure going to stay with them.  They would make wonderful delicacies for “us girls”.  I had cantaloupe filled with ice cream, ribbon candy, baked cheese and more.  Things that have forever stayed in my memory.

The bread basket was my favorite.  There would be Flat Bread, different muffins, Rye bread (still my favorite), lefse, krumkake.  The woman knew how to bake.  She had a tiny little kitchen and still managed to bake everyday and everybody stopped by to share in the bounty.

1 1/2 cups flour (2 cups)

1/2 sup sugar (1/4 cup)

2 teaspoons baking powder (3 teaspoons)

1/4 cup shortening

1 egg

1/2 cup milk (1 cup)

Mix together the dry ingredients with a blending fork or a pastry blender.  Then stir in the wet ingredients  just until the ingredients are blended.  At the last, blend in 1 cup raspberries.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.   Bake until golden brown.

This is Grandma’s sweet version.  In the parentheses are the changes she would make for “plain”.  A plain muffin would have Wheaties or whole wheat in it.  I always loved the pop of color the raspberries provided.  She rarely added a streusel topping.  Occasionally there would be a sprinkle of sugar, but she was a firm believer in the beauty of the raspberry.  I may have gotten my love of raspberries from her.

* From the Recipe Box:
Grandma also had this wooden handled pastry cutter that I was lucky enough to grab.  I don’t care how bent and disfigured it gets.  Closing it in the drawer simply adds to the cutting ability.
and remember:  If you boil a funny bone, does it become a laughing stock?  Big kiss, Lynn

 

Life Advice

 

And remember this from Esquire’s interview of Valerie Jarrett, Senior White House Advisor to President Obama:

If somebody’s trying to get you angry, the calmer you get, the angrier they’ll get.

Just because you’re nervous doesn’t mean you have to look nervous. Nobody can look inside you. Project what you want to project.

You can’t expect people to put your friendship on hold because you’re in a demanding job. Friends require investment. Like a garden, you have to water them. If you don’t, they dry up.

You have to look at people in order to be able to read them.

Anytime I was hesitant about taking a chance, my grandmother would say, “Valerie, put yourself in the path of lightning.

Big kiss, Lynn

Custard Pie

It must be pie week.  When I was a kid, my mom’s favorite dessert was custard pie.  I thought she was such a maroon.  What I’ve since discovered is the joy of simplicity.  It will never be my favorite dessert, but when I want something smooth, something refreshing, something light, I often turn to Custard Pie.  The old broad was pretty smart after all.

Of course, I think it helps to really love eggs.  Basically, this is an egg pudding.  And as I told you, Norwegians love white food and it doesn’t get much whiter than custard.

Beat slightly with a rotary beater ….. 4 eggs

Then beat in ………………………………………. 2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 2/3 cup milk (with part cream if you want it really rich)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pour into a pastry-lined pie pan.

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Bake pie for 15 minutes.  Then turn oven down to 350 degrees to finish baking.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes total.  It can be baked at 425 degrees for the same amount of time.

Bake just until a silver knife inserted into side of filling comes out clean.  The center may still look a bit soft but it will set later.

The crust on this pie can stay almost raw.  One way around that is to bake the crust and the filling separately.  Pour the filling directly into a well greased pie pan the same size as the one in which the crust is baked.  Set the pan in a shallow pan of hot water.  Bake just like the other pie instructions.  When lukewarm, slip the baked filling into the cooled baked pie shell.  Allow to settle a few minutes before serving.  It will look like it was baked in the shell only the bottom will be well cooked.

 * From the Recipe Box:

I actually like baking it in a pie pan without the crust.  I do that with pumpkin pie filling as well.  I don’t need a crust; it’s not my favorite.

I’ll bake it in custard cups or ramekins as well.

I also think the filling needs a strain before baking.

Too long baking makes the custard “watery”.

Thinking of you this Mother’s Day mom.  Until I was 12, I had strep throats at least monthly and custard saved my life.  Thank god for mom’s custard and pear baby food.  It’s a long story for another day.

Sorry about the picture quality, but the pie was gone before retakes were possible.

and remember:   Yes, you are the fairest of them all.  Big kiss, Lynn