Curried Pork Chops

Here is another of our family's old-fashioned pork chop recipes.

Brown pork chops on both sides in a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle both sides well with a good curry powder. Cover with a sliced onion and a chopped tart apple. Add about 1/2 cup water to the bottom of the pan.

Simmer, covered, until the chops are done, about 45 minutes, adding water if necessary to keep them from going dry.

Serve with steamed rice, chutney, chopped peanuts, and a vegetable of your choice.

Paprika Pork Chops

This is a comfort food, pure and simple. We used to serve these chops in the winter time, along with mashed potatoes and creamed corn. That doesn't sound very modern, does it?

Brown pork chops on both sides in a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and then really dust them well with lots of paprika (sweet or hot, your choice). Cover them with a sliced sweet onion, then add about a half a cup of water.

Simmer, covered, until the chops are done, about 45 minutes. Check on them from time to time, adding a bit of water if they get too dry.

Warren's Really Good Stuffed Hot Peppers

My brother-in-law, Warren, makes the best pickles and jams. Whenever Ben comes home for a visit, he checks out all the cupboards for "Warren's jars." These peppers make a wonderful appetizer.

One jar of hot cherry peppers
Provolone cheese
Prosciutto ham

Olive oil

Drain the liquid from the jar of peppers. Remove any pepper stems and shake out seeds--do not rinse them, or wash out the jar.

Roll some prosciutto around a small piece of cheese and stuff into the center of each pepper.
Place the peppers back in jar and add olive oil to the top. Screw the lid back on and keep refrigerated.

Note: The olive oil will harden in the fridge. Let it warm up a bit to room temperature before serving.

Date Nut Bread

My mother used to make date bread around Christmas time. It was wonderfully moist and dark and so good when spread with cream cheese. This version comes from my old edition of the Boston Globe Cook Book, which was given to me by my brother-in-law Warren, a printer for the Globe for many, many years.

1 (6 - 1/2 oz.) pkg. dates

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup boiling water

3/4 cups sugar

1 egg
4 tbl. softened butter

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup chopped nuts

Cut up dates, add baking soda and boiling water. Set aside to cool.

Add sugar, egg, and butter to cooled date mixture; beat well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Bake in a greased loaf pan for 55-60 minutes at 350°. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Note: I have been finding that these quick fruit and nut breads slice more easily the day after baking, although it's hard to wait that long!

Apricot-Nut Bread

1/2 cup dried apricots*

1/2 cup water

2 cups sifted flour

3 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 egg

1 cup sugar

2 tbl. melted butter

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Soak apricots in water for half an hour; drain and chop.

Sift dry ingredients together.

Beat egg, add sugar and mix well. Add butter and orange juice.

Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients; stir in apricots and nuts.

Bake in greased bread pan for 1 - 1 1/4 hours at 350°. Slice cold and spread with butter.

*But think of all the substitutions you can make--prunes, dried cranberries, raisins, etc.

Blender Soups

For some reason, I never thought of doing this. It sounds like a great way to use up leftover vegetables. I always make more than the two of us can eat, hoping that Beez will eat eat more than a single reluctant forkful. Just as he was born with refrigerator blindness (defined here, see #1) he has a genetic disability to eat vegetables with any kind of gusto.

So, finally, I have found the solution--blender soups. Mind you, this solves the leftover vegetable problem, but does not mean that anyone will eat this stuff but me.

Blender Soups

According to The Boston Globe Cook Book (mine is from 1974; later edition here): Leftover vegetables can buzzed into delicious last-minute soups. Use:

spinach

asparagus

celery

peas

to name a few. Add: Milk or water or bouillon and seasonings; heat and serve.

Date, Fig, or Prune Bars

This recipe is from The Tassajara Bread Book, by Edward Espe Brown.

...there are no mistakes. You might do it

differently next time, but that's because

you did it this way this time.

Perfect, even if you say

too much this too little that.

~Edward Espe Brown, written when he was a young Zen student.

3 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped dates, figs, or prunes

1/2 cup broken nut meats

Beat the eggs until light, then gradually blend in brown sugar. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well blended. Add the fruit and nut meats.

Pour into a greased and floured 9" x 13" pan and bake about 25 minutes at 325°.

Oriental Spice Muffins

This recipe is from The Tassajara Bread Book. Take the time to make these delicious muffins for breakfast--you will be glad you did, and your kitchen will smell wonderful.

"As the Shakers said, work is a gift to the person doing the work..." ~Edward Espe Brown, author of The Tassajara Bread Book.

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ginger

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup oil

1/4 - 1/2 cup honey or molasses

1 - 1/2 cups milk

Combine the dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Fold quickly wet and dry together, just until the flour is moistened.* Spoon into a greased muffin tin.

Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes. Makes 1 dozen.


*Lately I've been folding in a couple of cups of raisin bran cereal before spooning the batter into the tin.

Whole Wheat Muffins

These are quite light and moist--kind of surprising, considering they are made with whole wheat flour. The recipe comes from The Tassajara Bread Book. My copy was published in 1970, and I was surprised to find that it is still in print. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential cookbooks ever" (click that link to read the article). I just know that my old copy looks well-used and well-loved.

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup oil

1/4 - 1/2 cup honey or molasses

1 - 1/2 cups milk

Combine the dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Fold quickly wet and dry together, just until the flour is moistened. Spoon into a greased muffin tin.

Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes. Makes 1 dozen.