Seven Layered Salad

When company was coming, our mother would occasionally make this salad for a special dinner. This is an excellent salad for a buffet or barbecue and should be made a day ahead. My sister-in-law took my cookbook, ‘From Oma’s Kitchen’, to the Mennonite village of Waltheim in Russia. The women there made the salad from the picture displayed because they could not read English. It was a real hit.

3 cups/750 ml shredded iceberg lettuce (Washed and chilled)

3 green onions (chopped)

1 medium zucchini (thinly sliced)

2 carrots (shredded)

2 cups/500 ml sliced mushrooms

1 cup/250 ml chopped celery

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 cup/250 ml shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup/125 ml bacon bits

1 green onion (chopped)

Dressing:

1 cup/250 ml creamed cottage cheese

½ cup/125 ml sour cream

4 Tbsp/60 ml salad dressing

½ tsp/2 ml salt

1 tsp/5 ml prepared mustard

1 Tbsp/15 ml lemon juice

Prepare all ingredients. Layer the first seven ingredients in a clear, straight - sided large glass bowl, in the order that they appear in the recipe. Mix ingredients for the dressing and cover the salad ingredients. Garnish with the cheese, bacon, and one green onion. Refrigerate overnight – or at least 4 hours. Serves 8 - 10 people Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

Thank you to those of you who have sent recipes for my book--Quick Loaves. I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks and would like to pass it on to you. This is light, garden-fresh bread made of zucchini which is tender and moist, a great addition to any meal or luncheon. The recipe is simple to make and lists nutritious ingredients of which zucchini is now
available in stores all year round. 3 eggs
2 cups/500 ml zucchini, finely shredded
1 cup/250 ml vegetable oil
1 cup/250 ml applesauce or pineapple, crushed and drained
2 tsp. /10 ml vanilla
3 cups/750 ml all-purpose flour
2 cups/500 ml sugar
2 tsp./10 ml baking soda
1 tsp./5 ml cinnamon
1 tsp./5 ml salt
1 tsp./5 ml nutmeg
½ tsp./2 ml baking powder
1 cup/250 ml nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease two large or four small loaf pans with oil.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, zucchini, oil, pineapple or applesauce and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine the day ingredients; stir into the egg mixture just until moistened. Fold in the chopped nuts. Scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Let rest and cool completely before cutting or freezing for future use. Enjoy!

Flax Banana Bread

I am currently working on a new project—a series of small recipe books, each one focusing on a different category of recipes. For the first one, I am focusing on tea loaves and dessert breads—like date loaf and lemon bread. Other books in this series will feature recipes/categories like: soups, cookies, yeast breads, cakes & cupcakes, and so on.

This banana bread (submitted by Flora Maccarthy) does not only taste good but it also has extra nutrients which will benefit us. Flax seed is a good source of: Omega 3, 6 and 9, essential fatty acids and high in dietary fibre. You can bake this loaf in a large loaf pan or in four small pans. I added the buttermilk to moisten the batter.

1¾ cups/425 ml all-purpose flour

¾ cup/175 ml flaxseed, ground

¾ cup/175 ml sugar

1 tsp./5 ml baking powder

½ tsp./2 ml baking soda

½ tsp./2 ml salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup/75 ml vegetable oil

3/4 cup/175 ml buttermilk

1 cup/250 ml ripe banana, mashed

Topping:

½ cup/125 ml nuts, chopped

¼ cup/60 ml brown sugar

½ tsp./2 ml cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease loaf pans.

In a small bowl, combine flour, flaxseed, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, beat eggs, oil and buttermilk together. Add dry ingredients and mashed banana to egg mixture stirring just until combined. Do not over mix. Scoop the batter into prepared pans. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter. Pat down gently.

Bake for 55-60 minutes for large loaf pan and 35 minutes for four small ones. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. These loaves freeze well. Enjoy!

Raspberry Jelly

This is the time of year when I clean out my freezer ahead of the coming fruit season. I use up any frozen fruit from last year, to make room for the fresh strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, plums and apricots that I will pick and freeze during the summer. I find that it is most convenient for me to freeze the berries in bags, and then make my jam fresh during the winter, as we need it.

Recently I found some raspberries in my freezer and decided to make jelly to share with my family and to give away as gifts to friends.

I poured about five cups of raspberries into a large pot (10 inches/25 cm diameter), added about an inch/2.5 cm of water to the pot and set the pot to boil. After boiling a minute, I set the pot to cool. Then, when the mixture was cooled, I prepared a jelly bag out of three layers of cheese cloth. I laid the layers of cloth into a large bowl, poured the fruit mixture into the bowl, pulled all the ends together, tied a knot with cotton string and hung the fruit to drip into the large bowl overnight. I did not squeeze the cheesecloth bag­—to keep the juice clear and bright.

I followed the Certo recipe instructions and made two batches. Each batch required 4 cups/1 liter juice, 1 box of Certo crystals, and 5 ½ cups/1.375 L granulated sugar. This yielded approximately 7 cups/1.75 L jelly.

The Certo instructions told me to bring the juice with the Certo powder to a rolling boil, then add the sugar and bring this mixture to another rolling boil—letting this boil exactly one minute. The small jelly jars must be sterilized and dried thoroughly. I used new lids which were immersed in a small bowl of boiling water; then dried so there was no moisture on them. I poured the hot jelly into the prepared jars and screwed on the lids until they were tight. As the jars cooled they were sealed.

Enjoy your jelly and share it with friends. The beautiful, bright red raspberry jelly makes a great gift, since everyone appreciates the sweet, tangy flavour as well as the colour of this jelly.

Banana Nut Bread

Banana bread is always a favorite of our family. Bananas are available all year round, and an excellent source of potassium in your diet. I use four small loaf pans instead of two large ones because these small loaves are an excellent gift for my friends who don’t bake. Some bakers freeze bananas before mashing them for loaves. If your bananas get too ripe before you can eat them, place them in a plastic bag and place them in the freezer. Use ripe bananas for an intense flavor in this loaf.

¾ cup/ 175ml butter, softened

2 ¼ cup/ 560ml sugar

3 eggs

1 ½ cups/ 375ml mashed ripe banana (3-4 medium)

2 tsp/ 10ml vanilla

3 cups/ 750ml all-purpose flour

2 tsp/ 10ml baking powder

1 tsp/ 5ml salt

¾ cup/ 175ml buttermilk or soured milk

1 cup/ 250ml chopped pecans and/or chocolate chips

Icing- 1 ½ cups/ 375ml icing sugar

1-2 tbsp/ 15-30ml milk or lemon juice

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Blend in banana and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter/sugar mixture, alternately with buttermilk, just to combine. Fold in pecans and/or chocolate chips.

Pour into four small greased loaf pans. Bake @ 350F/ 180C for 40 to 50 min. or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing for pans to cool.

Combine icing and drizzle over warm loaves. Sprinkle with more chopped pecans if desired. Enjoy!

Favorite Easter Paska

Traditionally, my Oma, Mother and Aunties would make Paska every year for Easter. I have continued making this Easter bread and experimented with many recipes to find my favorite. Most good recipes are large and yield a large number of loaves; this gives me the opportunity to share them with many friends who don’t bake with yeast. This recipe is not in my cookbook From Oma’s Kitchen.

4 Tbsp / 60 ml granular yeast

1 cup / 250 ml warm water

2 tsp / 10 ml sugar

15 eggs, at room temperature

4 cups / 1 L sugar

1 cup / 250 ml butter, melted

3 cups / 750 ml milk, warm (half - potato water if available)

Zest and juice from 1 orange and 1 lemon.

12 drops lemon oil (optional)

1 Tbsp / 15 ml salt

20 cups / 5 L all-purpose flour

Combine first three ingredients and set aside to soften. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy, gradually add sugar. Add melted butter, warmed milk, citrus zest and juice, salt and lemon oil when available.

Place 5 cups / 1.250 L flour in a very large mixing bowl. Make a well in flour and pour egg mixture onto flour. Add yeast mixture and beat together with a wooden spoon. Add 5 cups / 1.250 ml flour three times to make soft dough. (total 20 cups / 5 L) Set aside to rest for 20- 30 minutes.

Knead dough to make it smooth. Place dough in a large bowl, cover and let rise to double in a warm place. Punch down and let rise again.

Shape into balls or place into Bundt pans; let rise to double and bake.

Bake @ 325F/ 160C for approximately 40 minutes. Allow to cool on cooling racks. Ice when still slightly warm.

Drizzle with soft icing made with icing sugar and orange juice and decorate with colored sprinkles. Enjoy! Loaves can be frozen with or without icing.

Makes 10 loaves.

White Bread ( Bulki )

2 Tbsp. / 30 ml Yeast

½ cup / 125 ml warm water

2 Tbsp. / 30 ml Sugar

2 Tbsp. / 30 ml Salt

2 Tbsp. / 30 ml Butter

2 cups / 500 ml potato water

1 1/2 cups / 375 ml water

1 Tbsp. / 15 ml lemon juice.

10 - 12 cups / 2.5-3 L all-purpose flour

Add yeast to warm water where sugar has been added. Set aside 10 min. Combine potato water with reg. Water to make warm liquid. Add yeast salt and butter. Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Let rise 15 - 20 min. and knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double. Divide into 4, shape each section and put into loaf pans. Let rise until light. Bake 425 F for 10 min., turn oven down to 375 F for 25 min.