"Intense love does not measure, it just gives." Mother Teresa

If it were Betty Crocker saying the quote above, it might read: "Intense love does not only measure, it levels, sifts, folds, and bakes at 350 degrees for 2 hours."

There is something to be said for the ingredient of love in homemade food. I had the pleasure of enjoying a homemade sugar cookie from a SERVE Bake Sale for Pakistan today and it was tasted even better than the purple sprinkles and buttery color seemed to be saying it would. From its fresh smell to the simple, sweet aftertaste that tickled my tongue, this cookie tasted of love. Un-preserved, never shrink-wrapped, not mass-produced love. Thank goodness for generous teachers and commuter students who bring a little bit of home to my college-kid tummy.
Another shout out goes to my Dad's scrambled eggs. Never runny, always yummy, and cooked with skill. Perfect fluff and impressive pan flipping are my Dad's key egg-cooking characteristics.

One of the best gifts I ever received was the Betty Crocker Cookie Book...
I miss looking through the pictures and recipes for inspiration or just for fun. Scanning the ingredient list to see what we have and what we need is always a hopeful and exciting task. One of my specialties is Betty Crocker's sour cream cookies, to which I like to add chopped up milk chocolate bars. For some reason, the chopped bars taste even better than regular chocolate chips for this delightful treat. Mmmm...

You know, Betty Crocker wasn't a real person. She was an imaginary spokeswoman for the Washburn Crosby Company of Minneapolis which later became part of General Mills. Majorie Child Husted is attributed with creating the figure in 1921. Her role was to give advice and tips to American women through her cookbooks and products. Her picture was created in 1936 and has changed seven times since then to appease the public's vision of a perfect home-cooking, beautifully baking, on-top-of-it-all-mother type of woman. During the twenties, Betty Crocker had a radio show and in the forties she hosted a television program. Betty Crocker would eventually become America's "2nd most popular woman (after Eleanor Roosevelt) as reported by Fortune magazine in 1945) (wikipedia). Go Betty!

I like this bio (from ilovethefingerlakes.com) of the woman who was Betty Crocker 1949 until 1964:

Adelaide Fish Hawley Cumming (1905-1998)

The General Mills Company created the character of Betty Crocker in 1948 to answer baking questions American women sent to the company by letter. General Mills hired Cumming, a radio personality and actress living in New York City, because she represented the stereotypical image of the American homemaker. From 1950-1952 Cumming appeared on the half-hour Betty Crocker Show and in 1952 on the Betty Crocker Star Matinee and Bride and Groom. She also appeared in many commericals touting cake mixes and other General Mills products. In 1964 Cumming was dropped by the company at the age of 59 for someone younger.

After receiving a Ph.D. from New York University, Cumming went on to a second career as a teacher of English as a second language.

Long live Betty Crocker! Keep on cooking those cookies :)

More info on Betty Crocker

http://www.ilovethefingerlakes.com/history/famous-people-cumming.htm

An appley tradition

Have you ever made applesauce? I mean, really made applesauce? The answer is no if you haven't done it with my Grandmother.

This weekend I had the pleasure of canning 22 quarts of homemade applesauce made from the translucent apples of my Grandma and Grandpa's trees. They had been picked just the day before and needed to be used immediately before they ripened and browned any more. The first step was to de-briuse, de-core, and de-black-spot the apples, which took quite a while considering we had a bushel and a half (1 bushel = 4 pecks or 8 dry gallons) of delicious, light green apples. The apples were dropped into big pots and cooked until they mushed against the side of the ancient, much used and loved kettles. Entire pots (think gallons and gallons of fragrant, simmering apple mush) were sent through a sieve, which my brother cranked persistantly for what seemed like hours at a time. This old, trusty contraption was quite an interesting thing and it worked very well at separating the skins and left-over cores of the apples from their soft, golden insides. This glorious mush was then returned to the stove, where my dad had the pleasure of adding simple white sugar to his heart's content. Once the sauce was sufficiently sweetened, it was put into jars using a handy funnel and scoop. The jars were sealed will wax-ringed lids and classic metal rings. It was fun to listen for the "pop" of the metal lids as they sealed and squeezed down, safe for months of shelf life.

I was surprised at how simple and fun the process was when all of us worked together. The best part was having a specific job which, once mastered, made one feel like quite a contributor to the applesauce process. My job was to scoop the steaming cooked apples into the sieve while my brother cranked and Grandpa collected the sauce. I enjoyed nibbling on the hot apple skins, which have lots of sweet flavor. We worked in my grandparent's basement, where I can only imagine how many hours have been spent canning and preserving the most beautiful fruits and vegetables. There is nothing like eating Grandma's strawberry jam on homemade bread, and Grandpa's homemade pickles simply can't be beat. Among Grandma's other delicacies are her tea ring and cinnamon buns... mmm, my mouth is watering now... I need a glass of milk.

I feel quite blessed to have been a small part of Grandma's great work. My grandmother has spent years working hard to bring truly good food to her family, neighbors, church, and who knows how many more people. She is amazingly generous and does none of this work for herself, for she insists upon giving away the "fruits" of her labor. I only hope my life can be as marked by love, faith, and family as hers is. Perhaps I'll have to plant an apple tree in my backyard so I can carry on the applesauce tradition!

P.S. Nutrition note: Use applesauce in exchange for vegetable or canola oil in baking mixes or recipes. The results are similar texture, less fat and even more flavor!

Love that lycopene

I have decided it is officially my favorite time of the year. Why? Because the tomatoes are ripening in my neighbor's garden! Tomatoes are my FAVORITE food and they are truly the best when picked right off the plant... warmed by the sun, the skin breaks under your teeth and a flood of sweet, slightly tangy juice gushes out, revealing the soft insides... Ah, the taste of summer...

Another reason tomatoes are so perfect is that they are so darn good for us! The little labels you find on ketchup bottles saying "cancer-fighting antioxidants" aren't lying; the carotenoid called lycopene as well as the levels of vitamins A, C, K (and a whole schlew of other good stuff) in tomatoes have been found to reduce one's risk of colon, pancreatic, and prostate cancer. Tomatoes also help to prevent cardiovascular disease, improve cholesterol levels, reduce inflammatory and blood-clotting tendencies, and make people happy! (I'm not even kidding-- eating a diet full of vegetables and fruits has been proven to lower stress).

Tomatoes are extremely versatile, which is another reason I love them! They come in many sizes and colors, so they are beautiful as well. Tomatoes are my culinary dream, and these are some things I love to do with them:

1. Tomato sauce: Easy, delicious, and good on anything. Try making your own marinara by sauteing onion and garlic in olive oil, adding a whole bunch of chopped tomatoes (leave the skins on for the best taste and nutritional burst) and your favorite herbs such as oregano, basil, rosemary, or whatever inspires you. Feel free to add more to the saute, such as olives or mushrooms.

2. Caprese salad: This is Italian for big, fat tomato slices topped with mozzarella cheese (fresh- not that pasteurized stuff), drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with fresh basil and other herbs. Mmmmm.

3. Fattoush: A Mediterranean salad which is a mix of pita bread, lemon juice, olive oil, and largely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and an assortment of other delicious, fresh produce.

**By the way, the lycopene in tomatoes is absorbed even better by your body when it is eaten with some sort of healthy fat, as in olive oil or avocados. Cooking tomatoes has also been shown to draw out more nutrients, and for some reason, the combination of broccoli and tomatoes is a hearthealth boosting super star team!

4. Gazpacho: A Spanish soup, served cold, which has a base of tomatoes mixed with stale bread, green peppers, cucumber, olive oil, garlic, wine vinegar and salt. Try making your own for an exotic culinary adventure!

5. Salsa: You know what this is, but have you ever made it yourself? The best salsa I have ever had was a home-made (plus the sodium levels weren't through the roof).

6. Tomato bread pudding; My mom has this awesome dessert recipe. It is such a surprise to have a tomato tang in a dessert!


Along with these dandy delights, there are some tomato treasures I still want to try making myself:

1. Bruschetta: A tomato spread on crusty baguettes. This just screams "fancy"

2. A tomato tart of some sort: Perhaps one with cheese and fennel (another thing I've been meaning to try my hand at).

3. Roasted red pepper soup: Doesn't that just sound delicious?

Curry: An Indian dish I have yet to try. About time, I think.


This summer, please, please, please, pick and eat a tomato for me!

For all the good stuff about the good stuff in tomatoes, check out the WHFoods website at http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=44

The batter is the best part

Attention all cookie dough lovers! This is a future nutritionist speaking, telling you that you can actually eat raw batter... the trick is to use a ground flaxseed as an egg substitute. One tablespoon of ground flaxseed mixed with three tablespoons of water, allowed to set for a couple of minutes, is the equivalent of one large egg. The flaxseed has a delightful nutty flavor that is not strong enough to distract from the intended flavor of the batter. On top of that, it contains Omega-3 fatty acids similar to those in fish, which are good for the heart. The dough can certainly be baked and the results are just as though eggs had been used in the mixture. I have tried this with a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe and the results were delicious!
This will not work, however, if other ingredients in the batter need to be kept cold or cooked in order to be consumed. Be aware of food hazards! However, if everything in the recipe comes from the cupboard, you will probably be just fine.

Enjoy licking the spoon- free from the fear of salmonella!