I am not certain where my mother found this recipe, but it was a family favorite when I was growing up. I still make a batch occasionally, and have given the recipe a few of my own twists:
This is yet another variation of the granola bar recipe I have been making every couple of weeks.
This time I added an extra 1/2 c. of coconut, and substituted one bag of Trader Joe’s dried chile spiced pineapples for the dried fruits recommended in the original recipe.
Last weekend we met with family at Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant on St. John Street for a 5:30 dinner. We arrived early, and had planned to stroll through Buckdancer’s Choice. One of us was saddened to find that Buckdancer’s closes at 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays, while the other was excited to have a bit of time to stock up on a few interesting grocery items at Makot Pech Asian Market.
This recipe was an experiment, and I have to say that we were very happy with the results. We both had seconds, which isn’t something we tend to do… I would highly recommend this recipe to anyone who likes Buffalo chicken wings!
Last week we visited the Lewiston Winter Farmers’ Market at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center. We were impressed with the wide variety of products including produce, seafood, sausage, fair trade organic coffee, farm fresh eggs, herbal products, soaps, baked goods and preserves, and several crafts tables. My favorite product was the delicious, humongous pretzel I purchased from the Pretzel Logic table.
The “plan” for this pretzel was to cut it in half, and for my husband and I each to take half of it to work on Friday to have with leftover homemade chili for lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed my half at lunch, and upon returning home I found that he had forgotten his lunch in the refrigerator at home, so my after school snack was “his” half of the pretzel… Does this make me a bad wife? I hope not! This pretzel was truly irresistible: chewy, slightly crispy on the outside (after warming in my toaster oven), and seasoned with garlic and herbs. It was an inspirational pretzel; either I need to buy another soon, or try to make my own pretzels at home. Either way, we’ll be back at the market next month!
I’m not quite sure what possessed me to purchase this product for my husband’s Christmas stocking. Had I read the ingredients and nutritional information on the label while in the store, he would not have been the laughing recipient of this fine imported product called Yan Yan.
When I bought this product, I thought it would be similar to the Pocky we both used to like when we were kids. Instead, upon opening the package, he found a strawberry frosting-like material in a little tub next to some cookie sticks which each had animal names and strange phrases on them. I guess that is why the packaging states, “Look inside for fun words.”
While this product offers little in the way of nutrition, it DOES NOT CONTAIN PIG FAT, as stated below the ingredients. Phew…
What goes better with a batch of homebrew than homemade beer bread? Aside from pizza, not much. After several trial runs, and the carb loading that resulted, I’ve created a beer bread mix that is flavorful AND fits perfectly into one large beer bottle or two standard 12 oz. beer bottles!
Our friend Robin, of Streaked Mountain Herbs and Crafts, made a delicious batch of raspberry maple syrup this year which she shared with us this holiday season.
I was impressed with the depth of maple and raspberry flavors, and surprised that it wasn’t overly sweet as compared with commercially produced fruit-flavored syrups. This amazing syrup inspired us to make buttermilk pancakes twice during our holiday vacation. (Excuse the sad looking bacon on the side, clearly not my forté.)
This product would also work wonderfully as a glaze for grilled chicken or pork, or it could be used to top cheesecake, flummery, bread pudding, or any other not-too-sweet dessert.
I have never foraged for fiddleheads on my own, but I know several people who do. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension has created a video to help correctly identify the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris). For now, I’m enjoying the batch of pickled fiddleheads my uncle gave me, but next spring I think I will try foraging for them myself.
These pickles are sour, spicy, and flavored with garlic. I have yet to find a recipe that sounds as though it would produce similar results, but if my uncle shares his recipe, with permission to publish, you may be able to find it here eventually…
Here are a few fiddlehead recipes that sound pretty good:
This year for Christmas, my parents gave me a mini popover pan, knowing that I love popovers but have not had prior success in making them myself. In an attempt to get it right this time around, I called my grandmother, Sharpie in hand, and wrote her recipe on the outside of the pan’s packaging as she recited the ingredients and methods.
