Mothers' recipes passed through generations

Mother's

Blueberry Buckle

"Gotta love Blueberry Buckle... it is easier then making a whole pie"

-- courtesy of Carol Junkins

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup margarine

1 egg

½ cup milk

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

2 cups blueberries

Crumb topping:

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ cup margarine

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Mix sugar, margarine and egg together. Stir in milk. In separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Mix well. Carefully fold in blueberries.

Spread in two 9x9 pans (greased) or one oblong pan. Mix together crumb topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter.

Bake for 30-45 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. Cool before cutting into squares. Makes 24 squares.

Country Biscuits

"Mom's biscuit's and gravy has always been a much loved tradition in our family."

-- courtesy of Shelia Senghas

2 cups flour

2 tsp. double-action baking powder

1 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. shortening

¾ cup milk

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. With a pastry blender, fork or clean fingers, mix in shortening. Add milk and work in quickly with a fork. The dough should not be sticky. If it is sticky incorporate a little more flour.

Lay dough on a lightly floured surface and knead about 15 to 20 times. Roll to ¾ inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter or a jar opening dipped in flour. Add a little melted shortening to the baking pan and lay the biscuit in the pan, then flip it over to lay on the other side. Place the biscuits close together for softer biscuits.

Prick each biscuit with a fork to help the steam escape and make the biscuit flaky. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Note: For crusty biscuits, do not add shortening to the pan and place space the biscuits apart from each other.

Grandmothers Chocolate Gravy

"My Grandmother use to make this every Sunday morning, if you have a sweet tooth in the morning this is great."

-- courtesy of Elwanda Whitehead

2 cups sugar

5 tbsp. cocoa, unsweetened

5 tbsp. self-rising flour

2 cups hot water or milk

Combine sugar, cocoa and flour. Add hot water or milk , Cook in heavy saucepan until it boils and thickens, serve with biscuits.

Abuelita's

Spanish Rice

"This is one of the ways my mother-in-law cooks rice. She is from Puerto Rico, her father is from Spain."

-- courtesy of Susan Feliciano

10 oz. saffron yellow rice mix

¼ cups chopped bacon or salt pork

1 tbsp. dried oregano

2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and slivered

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

2 tbsp. cider vinegar

1-2 seeded chopped tomatoes

3 cups chicken stock or water

½ cups sliced pimento-stuffed olives (optional)

In a large saucepan, cook bacon until fat is rendered. Use a bit of olive oil if necessary to crisp up the bacon or salt pork.

Stir in oregano, garlic, salt, pepper and vinegar. Cook a couple of minutes over medium heat until fragrant. Add in tomatoes and cook until their liquid is released.

Stir in the rice mix until rice is well coated, then stir in the chicken stock or water. Bring to a boil.

Stir well. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover pot and cook very slowly without lifting lid for 20 minutes. Then, remove lid, stir well and allow to cook uncovered until rice dries out slightly, stirring occasionally.

Top with sliced green olives, if desired. Another option is to stir in 1 cup peas, or chickpeas, or pigeon peas and heat through.

Spring Rolls

"My mom made this while I was growing up. She'd make big batch of it for parties, etc."

- courtesy of Darla Mays

2 lb. ground pork or chicken

½ cup chopped onions

1 tsp. sea salt

½ tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

4 egg yolks, save white for egg wash

1½ cups grated or shredded carrots

3 cups bean sprouts, must be dry

2½ oz. bean threads, also call rice noodles

1 tsp. ground ginger

½ cup soy sauce, low sodium

1 pkg. Filipino Lumpia wrappers

Soak the bean threads in water for one hour. Drain well. Cut threads into four-inch pieces. Set aside.

Preheat Hot oil in deep fryer. Mix pork, onion, salt, pepper, ginger, soy sauce, garlic and yolks together well.

Add carrots, bean sprouts, and bean threads -- mix using fork and spoon.

Place a couple of teaspoons of mixture on a wrap.

Wet the edges of wraps using egg whites mixed with water, roll them up and seal. Using the egg whites and water mixture on the edges helps to create a seal.

Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown, drain on paper towels. Serve with sauce of your choice.

NAN Dining Guide Kitchen Talk on 05/02/2014

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