Category Archives: Musings

Food for Thought, Recipes - Miscellaneous

Stovetop Tapioca

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It is so definitely time to return to posting on this blog again. It would be ideal, of course, if I could say that I haven’t posted because of some YUGE thing that has gone on these past (many) months, but it is truthfully more honest to just say what is true: there is no one reason why I haven’t been active on the blog. Busier than ever now that I have joined the ranks of ‘retired people everywhere’, I just haven’t gotten here to get the job done.

I do intend to change this pattern of neglect, however. It is a new year, 2017, and tapioca is something I seem to crave always as a new year begins. I cannot think of any valid reason for feeling that way, but I do know it is true. Please don’t feel that cooking tapioca on the stove is too difficult; as long as you have a double-boiler, you’re all set. I used Reece’s brand of pearl tapioca and it does need to soak overnight. That isn’t any big deal, so you can start there. Gather all your ingredients, use your double-boiler, and get going on it the next day, after soaking. If all else fails, you can find a crockpot recipe.

There is a tapioca debate in our family (and maybe yours). Some folks like it well-chilled and other prefer it warm. THAT choice is up to you and your personal taste. I am a “really cold” tapioca person myself but I am just as happy to enjoy it warm if that is how it is served. Another family quirk, for me, is that I remember mama serving peaches with tapioca and that is the way I best enjoy it. There is something perfect in the way the juice from the peaches coats those transparent tapioca bubbles. It’s good enough to become a traditional New Year’s resolution: Make Tapioca Before The Week Is Out! Follow the directions on the package and be mindful that LOW HEAT means just that! Don’t allow the mixture to boil at all while cooking. Once cooked, I sat the mixing bowl on the front porch and just let it chill! Happy New Year, dear ones!

Stovetop Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients

1/2 cup Reese small pearl tapioca
2-1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

In a bowl, soak tapioca in 2 cups of room temperature water overnight. Drain water.

In double-boiler, heat milk just until no longer cold. Add salt and tapioca. Continue heating until small bubbles appear at sides of pan. Cover, turn heat to very low and cook for one hour. Make sure that mix mixture does not simmer or boil.

Separate egg whites from yolks. Beat egg yolks and sugar together until light yellow in color. Add a little of the hot mixture to the egg yolks and blend thoroughly then add the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan, stirring constantly. Place the double-boiler over medium heat and cook until the tapioca mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly fold the egg whites into the hot tapioca mixture. Stir in vanilla. Serve warm or chilled. Serves 8.

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Food for Thought

Sweet & Creamy Rice Pudding

BLOG rice pudding 2 19 16
There isn’t much I look forward to more than a creamy dessert waiting to be enjoyed and today that meant rice pudding with golden raisins. Make it early in the day and allow it to cool, on the countertop or in the fridge, and you’ll be rewarded in the evening with smiles all around.

This recipe, originally from Paula Deen, can be found in my “Missouri to Maui” cookbook. I altered the recipe only by using golden raisins instead of the dark as the golden variety always plumps better, retaining their burst of flavor. I also used short-grain rice; although the original recipe doesn’t mention what type of rice to use, I prefer short-grain sticky rice any time I’m cooking. Do use a double boiler to prepare this as the condensed milk cannot stand much heat. Don’t forget to keep an eye on it and stir frequently. Adding the vanilla after the pudding finishes cooking supplies both flavor and a hint of color to the dish.

If you’re a rice fan and a pudding person, combine those likes into a fabulous treat for yourself and those around your table. A healthy dollop of whipped cream or cool whip only adds to the fun. Enjoy!

Rice Pudding

Ingredients

½ cup uncooked rice
3 cups boiling water
½ t. salt
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
4 T (1/2 stick) butter
½ cup golden raisins
1 T. vanilla

Directions Measure rice, boiling water, and salt into top of double boiler. Cook over rapidly boiling water until rice is tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in condensed milk, butter, and raisins. Cook, stirring frequently, over boiling water until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla Serve warm or chilled. Serves 8.

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Food for Thought, Recipes - Desserts

Hot Milk Sponge Cake


hot milk sponge cake blog and FB

Today’s Hot Milk Sponge Cake turned out tasting every bit as good as it sounds! This simple and economical cake is a breeze to make and the results are nothing short of delicious. The recipe is from a baking book printed by General Foods Kitchens in 1960 and I can easily imagine this cake being tucked into someone’s lunchbox all week. It is a cake that will improve with age and so a 9×13″ pan full will go a long way for you and your family.

I used my stand mixer to beat the eggs and finish preparing the batter. You can certainly make it using a hand mixer as well but today I was glad for the power of the stand mixer since there is a good deal of beating required. Once you add the butter and hot milk, use a spatulas or metal whisk to incorporate the liquid. The batter is thin and pours easily in typical sponge cake fashion. The hot liquids give the cake its moistness and today’s cake rose beautifully. The hot milk creates steam as the cake bakes and acts as extra leavening. Definitely use a good cake flour such as Swans Down which is what this old recipe calls for. Other than that it’s just 1-2-3 and bake!

Today I frosted this one with the Broiled Coconut Topping recommended in the recipe though this cake wouldn’t be particular about frosting; buttercream would also be good. I do like the contrast of the fluffy cake with the crunch of the toasted coconut in this frosting. However you frost it, it is a winner and will surely be enjoyed by everyone at your table.  Enjoy!

Hot Milk Sponge Cake with Broiled Coconut Topping

Ingredients

2 cups sifted Swans Down cake flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
4 eggs, unbeaten
2 cups sugar
2 t. vanilla
1 cup milk
2 T. butter

Directions Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Beat eggs in large deep bowl until very thick and light, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar. Add vanilla. Add flour to egg mixture, a small amount at a time, blending by hand or at low speed of electric mixer. Bring milk and butter just to a boil and very quickly stir into the flour mixture, blending thoroughly. Batter will be thin. Pour into a 9×13” pan which has been greased and floured on the bottom only. Bake at once for 30-35 minutes. Cool slightly, then spread with Broiled Coconut Topping.  Serve warm.

For Topping:

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1-1/2 T. milk
3/4 cup flaked coconut

Directions Cream butter and sugar together in mixing bowl. Add milk and beat until smooth. Add the coconut and stir to blend thoroughly. Spread on cake and broil for 3 minutes, turning pan as needed, until coconut is lightly toasted.

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Food for Thought, Recipes - Soups, Stews, & Chowders

Fresh Corn & Potato Chowder

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When October finally rolls around and that old chill appears n the air then I know you’re going to be thinking of chowder just like I was this week!  This recipe, from Southern Living Magazine, luckily popped up perfectly timed for my chowder craving ways recently.   I did tinker with the recipe somewhat, using heavy cream instead of half-n-half and adding pieces of sliced ham for extra flavor. The original Southern Living recipe list below is so easy to adjust for ingredients that you have on hand, or you can try it “as is”.  Either way you won’t be disappointed.

If you are adding ham, cook it with the corn when you first begin.  The potatoes and broth need only 10 minutes of simmering with the reserved corn cobs.; adding them to the broth produces that extra savory flavor which makes this dish so special. Pureeing some of the chowder  in your blender and adding it back to the pot also supplies texture before finishing with cream poured over and stirred in.  It’s a multi-layered fusion of flavor in just one pot.  Delicious!

It will definitely be worth an hour of your time to prepare the vegetables and start right in on this hearty chowder. Don’t make it early or let it sit too long; it is best served up while still warm without reheating.  Heat any leftovers slowly, adding cream, as needed.  Today it was good with the croutons I used but my guess is that a skillet full of cornbread is the best side dish for hungry appetites.   I feel sure that whatever you serve with it, or however you follow the recipe, this chowder will leave you and your friends and family satisfied and smiling!  Added bonus?  A chilly Fall evening will be immediately warmed, and welcomed! =)

Fresh Corn & Potato Chowder

Ingredients

4 T. butter
5 cups fresh corn kernels, reserve 2 cobs
3 fresh thyme springs or 1-1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 large sweet onion, diced
1-1/2 tsp. sea salt
4 cups chicken both
1 large Yukon gold potato, diced
3/4 cup half-n-half
1 cup chopped ham, optional

Directions Melt butter in a 4-qt. sauce pot over medium heat. Add corn kernels, thyme, diced onion and salt. If using chopped ham, add now. Cook, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes or until corn is tender but not browned. Stir in broth, potato, and corn cobs. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Discard cobs.

Process 1 cup of corn mixture in a blender until smooth. Return this mixture to stockpot and stir in half-n-half, and remove from heat. Serve while still very warm.

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Food for Thought

Blessings

Musing.  All about food and freshness and the smiles as people indulge themselves in that most enjoyable of activities, eating, for what is more enjoyable than being gathered around the table with folks you love absolutely?  Taking time, enjoying the food, the conversation, and the view whether from enormous windows, a small kitchen or just across the table.  In this busy world, I am rediscovering what a true luxury it is to sit, and visit, and listen.  Oh, that the world be filled with the luxury, and the necessity, of taking the time to slow down.  Today, wishing for everyone that this blessing was close at your side today.

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