Sasanka's Secrets

2009-11-20T01:19:00.000-08:00

What can i say, I love Pumpkin Pie and whipped cream on top. It reminds me of cotton picking season on the farm, my dad would always be on the cotton picker and we would have to call him in for our Thanksgiving meal then off again to the fields. My mom's pies were always the best out of her sisters and people tell me i've picked up her knack..Hope you enjoy this recipe. Living far away from California now I long for those days, and i;ve decided whenever i want to feel close to home i make a pumpkin pie and it isnt for any special day but celebration of my taste buds whenever i like...I see a pumpkin and i see pie... Here's my secret recipe

Susan's Simple Apple Pie

2009-11-18T21:07:00.000-08:00

Well I told you I would share my simple apple pie recipe, so here it is. Sometimes I change it around with more apples or I add peaches or cherries depending on what is in season. To make this pie more Diabetic friendly, I add more cinnamon and I do not add any sugar at all. This recipe is perfect for making these modifications and that’s why this particular recipe of mine is always on the “want list” of my friends and family (especially my father-in-law). WOW it seems that after all these years, my “secrets” are starting to be revealed. I just hope it doesn’t backfire on me. I hope you enjoy this as much as everyone who has ever eaten my pies!

Well, I hope you enjoy this recipe of mine. The first time I made this recipe, my Grandfather C. gave me some fresh picked apples out of his fruit orchard and asked me to make him a pie, I was 8. I made it for my grandfather and it was bulging in all different directions and he said it was the best ever. Then he gave me some of his million dollar peaches and asked for, well you’ll have to wait for that one. Enjoy.

Susan’s Apple Pie

Make a pastry for two-crust pie which recipe as follows,

Susan’s Two Crust Pastry Recipe

· 2 cups all purpose flour

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 2/3 shortening

· 5 to 7 Tablespoons cold water or milk

In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Using a fork, cut shortening into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Than slowly add water to the mixture using your fork lightly after each each tablespoon until mixture is moist enough to form a ball. (I always use 7 Tbsn). Shape into 2 balls and roll out in between two pieces of wax paper, judging the size of your pie plate to overlap the sides. Set aside and don’t roll out second crust which is for the top until you mixed your fruit and put into your prepared bottom crust.

next is my pie filling recipe, but preheat oven first to 425 degrees (very important, always preheat)

Susan” Apple Pie Filling

FILLING

6-7 cups peeled, thinly sliced apples

¼ to ½ cup of sugar or none at all or use honey, brown sugar or agave, be creative

2 tablespoons flour (use whole meal or spelt flour for diabetics) or all purpose white

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1/8-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 Tablespoon lemon juice- keeps the apples from not going brownish

In a large bowl, combine all the filling ingredients, and mix lightly. Put into pastry lined pie plate and roll out your second crust and put on top. Fold edges of top pastry under the bottom pastry. Press together to seal. Cut slits on top of pastry in a few spots. Then I pull out some foil, enough to cover the whole top of the pie and under bottom and put in oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until pie is tender and golden brown, and I take off the foil for the last 15 minutes or so of baking. Then pull out and let it rest on a cooling rack, and let cool. This pie can be served warm but not hot or chilled and is excellent with ice cream “a la mode”.

Buttermilk Crusted Chicken

2009-11-18T00:48:00.000-08:00

One of my fondest memories growing up on the farm besides watermelon and of course, my favorite seedless Thompson grapes is buttermilk crusted chicken. I grew up on a cotton farm in the San Joaquin Valley, California which was the best time of my life.....I suppose because my grandparents were still alive and my dad, and my mom was always happy cooking with her mom and sisters teaching us..We were as we call a multi lingual family with recipes and ideas from of course California, but also Russia and Mexico and the languages with them and the finest of the finest recipes of everything. Here’s one my mom would make, hope you enjoy this one, because as I’m typing I’m crying thinking of those days...

This is probably the beginning of a reservoir full of tears minus the tadpoles.

Buttermilk Crusted Chicken
Ingredients-
2 chickens, cut into pieces
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups finely chopped fresh parsley
5-6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup very finely minced ginger
1 Tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons crushed chili flake
3 cups all purpose flour
around 2 cups cooking oil

Advance Preparation:
Rinse the chicken pieces with cold water, then pat dry.
In a bowl large enough to hold the chicken, combine the buttermilk,
parsley, garlic, ginger, salt, and chili flakes. Stir well. Add the chicken
to the bowl and stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least
8 hours or overnight.

After marinating the chicken, place the white flour in a large bowl.
Season the flour with a salt. Dip the chicken pieces, one at a time,
into the flour, then shake off the excess flour, and place the chicken
on a wire rack. Refrigerate the chicken on the wire rack for at least
45 minutes or up to 8 hours. Set aside the oil....

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the salsa. Stir well
and, if not using within a few hours, cover and refrigerate

FINAL COOKING STEPS:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees to keep the cooked pieces of chicken
warm, Place the oil in a 14-inch saute' pan over medium-high heat
and heat the oil to 365 degrees or until bubbles surround the end
of your wooden spoon when its dipped into the oil. Place half the
chicken, skin side down, in the hot oil. Regulate the heat so that
the oil is constantly bubbling but never smoking, fry the chicken
until golden on one side, about 10 minutes. Turn the pieces and
cook until golden on the other side, about 10 more minutes. Turn
the pieces about once more for about 5 minutes. Drain chicken on
a wire rack and yum your ready to serve with your salsa and whatever
else you like. I use a vegetable in season and steam, like broccoli or
spinach and I love mashed sweet potatoes for the side or just mashed
potatoes. Enjoy!

Salsa:

1/2 nearly ripe papaya, peeled, seeded & chopped
2 mangoes peeled, seeded & chopped
2 ripe kiwi, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup fresh pineapple, peeled & chopped (I use canned if can't get fresh)

1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley (you could use both depending on your taste buds)

1 Serrano chili, very finely minced (including the seeds)

2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1 Tablespoon packed light brown sugar

And then for desert how about an apple pie????

I’ll post a easy awesome recipe that I started with one I was 8 years old…… see you soon!

2009-11-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

I was looking at my friends website EAT @ COOL the other day and found a recipe that brings back memories of my childhood. Perfect for a hot summers day "Cold Cucumber Soup".

Although i have myself used this recipe, I tend to reduce the Garlic and substitute the yogurt with buttermilk. I then add in chopped tomatoes as well. You really can adapt this recipe anyway your heart (taste buds) desire.

Aj's Cold Cucumber Soup

INGREDIENTS:

6 good size cucumbers

9 cloves garlic - crushed
3 hard boiled eggs.
2 sprigs (about 1/3 cup or 75 ml) fresh Parsley
1 sprig (about 1/4 cup or 60 ml) fresh dill, or dried dill
Splash of ground mild Paprika
5 cups (2500 ml) plain yoghurt or Greek style yoghurt
Salt & Fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/2 litre of crushed ice (or cubes)

METHOD:

Wash, and grate the whole cucumber, sprinkle with salt, and let stand 10 minutes. Squeeze to remove liquid, put into large mixing bowl, Add crushed garlic, finely chopped parsley, finely chopped Dill, and a splash of paprika. Dice eggs, (with or without yoke - it is up to you) and add to bowl.
Add yoghurt, Taste, add salt and pepper to taste. Put in crushed ice (or prepare in advance and place in the fridge for a few hours), and serve. Garnish with a fresh sprig of Parsley. Keep cold if serving later

Thanks for the memory Aj. http://eat.cool.net.au

Sloppy Joes from scratch!

2009-11-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

For years i have heard people talking about how they use a pack mix for making sloppy joes because they don't know how to make the seasoning from scratch. I have been asked by many people how to do it, so here it is. I Hope you enjoy it. Please leave feedback if you like this recipe.

Sloppy Joes

1 lb lean beef mince

1/3 cup chopped celery

1/2 cupchopped bell pepper (capsicum)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup tomato paste or ketchup (depends on the flavor you want)

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tspn dry mustard

1/4 tspn salt

1/8 tspn pepper

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

6 sandwich buns

On medium/high heat in a suitably sized skillet, brown the beef mince. Then add the bell pepper and onion. Drain off any residual juices once onion becomes translucent. Add remaining ingredients (except for the buns of course) and cover with a lid and simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. When ready, serve in sandwich buns. (we sometimes substitute the buns with wholemeal or even sourdough bread, thickly sliced. This also stretches the recipe to serve up to 8 people.

A side salad is always nice with this recipe too.

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OK let's get started!

2009-11-10T21:46:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.

Just new to this Blogger World and I would like to learn more and more about the internet and it's communication and networking possibilities!

My husband always told me that I have the "gift of the gab", so, I thought I would start to share with everyone a lot about myself and the things I like.

One of my favorite things lately has been working with the Greenteam Recycling crew at events in Western Australia. What we did was collect recyclable stuff from patrons and grounds at these festivals and events. It helps us all to reduce litter AND our impact on the environment, so if you're into that sort of thing and you're in the area please stop in and see how we're doing!

On the last event which was at One Movement for Music -Perth (on the shore of the Swan River under the "citycape"). It was great to meet and make new friends.

Talk more soon.

Welcome

2009-11-10T21:18:00.001-08:00

Hi, I am new to this and just learning!

I will be posting information about my recipes (everybody wants me to share) i have even been threatened to within an inch of my life to share :) so I guess now is the time. keep an eye out for these as they certainly are mouthwatering and scrumptious!