Welcome to my Kitchen

Barb Walter of Grannie Barbar’s Cookies and Breads is always testing new recipes to add to her baked goods selection, and often the Sunday Morning Coffee Hour partakers benefit from her experiments. Kyle Tebow suggested I get the recipe and include it here. Barb says this one won’t appear on her baked goods table, as it does not present well as a wrapped cookie, but it is a very tasty, little bit chewy, cookie. Though I have cut the recipe in half, this still makes a huge batch of cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

3 cups firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups pastry flour

3 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1-2 cups chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together at medium speed. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and stir into creamed mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 305-320 degrees. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, on prepared baking sheets. Bake 12 minutes (Do Not Over bake). Let stand 1 minute before removing from parchment. Cool completely on wire racks. Yield: about 6 dozen 3-inch cookies.

Note: Barb did not give specific mixing instructions, but I chilled the dough one hour before baking. 320 degrees worked fine for my oven. Barb finished each cooled cookie with a swirl of chocolate.

Barb also shared a recipe for Fruit Cobbler. She got the recipe from Lois Wraspir, who had received it from Joyce Wraspir. It is also recorded in the green, Hospital Auxiliary, Staff of Life Cookbook. Barb states it is perfect for peaches, cherries and plums.

Fruit Cobbler

Cobbler:

1 cup milk

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup Wesson oil (vegetable oil)

2 heaping cups pancake flour (mix)

4 cups fruit, any kind

Topping:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

Preheat over to 345 degrees. Combine milk and 1 cup granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir in eggs and Wesson oil. Add pancake flour and stir until blended. Spread in a 9x12 inch baking pan. Cover with your choice of fruit.

Combine remaining sugar and water, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Gently pour over fruit. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown and fruit is bubbly. Yield: 12-15 servings.

Note: do not use baking mix, it has a higher fat content and won’t set up as nicely.

Cowboy Marinade was presented in the latest Heinz e-zine and you can find more savory marinade recipes at http://www.heinzcookbook.com. This one was recommended for those who like to barbeque game meat.

Cowboy Marinade

1/2 cup Lea & Perrin’s, The Original Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 cup Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 pounds hanger steak, or other meat of your choice.

In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients except for steak. Place steak ( or your favorite cut of meat or poultry) in marinade and turn until well coated. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Remove steak from refrigerator, reserving marinade. Cook steak to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, basting frequently with reserved marinade for the first 5 to 10 minutes. Discard any remaining marinade. Cooking may be done on a barbeque grill or under the oven broiler. Yield: 4 servings.

Note: marinate up to 24 hours for tougher cuts, or game meat. I pour the marinade into a quart zip closure bag and add the meat. Turn the bag over often and enjoy easy, mess free, marinating.

Tomatoes are beginning to ripen, well, show a little color. There is no end to the number of sauces and salads you can make, but here is a dehydrator recipe to try. Tomato Chips! make a tangy, fat free snack or garnish. Flavored with basil and coarse salt, you can vary the seasonings to create a variety of colorful and nutritious chips. Roma tomatoes are recommended, but any meaty style tomato will work.

I found this recipe in the Southern Plate e-zine. You can find many other tomato recipes at http://www.southernplate.com.

Tomato Chips!

Roma tomatoes

kosher or sea salt

dried basil

Cut tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange on dehydrator trays.

Sprinkle very lightly with salt and basil. Drying intensifies the flavors.

Dry on vegetable setting for 8 to 10 hours, or until crispy. Store tomato chips in air tight containers, if, you can ever get ahead of the popular demand.

Note: dried dill, tarragon and parsley would be other good herb combinations to try along with flavored salts.

Hot weather cooking tips:

Use your slow cooker to reduce heat in the kitchen, or move the slow cooker to a safe out door location.

Use your outdoor grill for other cooking besides barbeque.

Gather a repertoire of main dish salads and do any prep-cooking such as pasta in the early morning while it is still cool outside.

Share your best hot weather cooking tips and recipes by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa WA, 99159, email them to therecord@odessa office.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in the Odessa Record office. Lost a recipe you cut out or want to peruse recipes in past columns? Visit The Odessa Record website, http://www.odessarecord.com and type Welcome to My Kitchen in the search box. Trim spent flowers to promote new buds and continued flowering on annuals and most perennials.