Recipes that appear in Idea Alley have not been tested by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
"I've had this cookbook since 1975 and I'm just now trying this recipe," writes Jenny Ann Boyer of Presbyterian Potpourri, published by First Presbyterian Church in Houston. "It ranks right up there with the pecan cobbler."
Alley Kats may remember Boyer shared a recipe for pecan cobbler last year that has been deemed the best ever by everyone who has tried it.
Jewish Coffee Cake
1 package yellow cake mix (size not given)
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 pint sour cream
1 package instant vanilla pudding (size not given)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
6 tablespoons margarine
1 1/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup pecans, toasted
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, oil, sour cream, pudding mix and vanilla. Beat well. Batter will be stiff. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.
In a small bowl, combine the margarine, sugar and nuts and mix well.
Scatter half of the topping over the batter. Top with remaining batter, then sprinkle with the remaining topping. Bake 1 hour or until done.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Boyer also shares a recipe for a soup chock-full of fresh vegetables. She credits the recipe to Warren Faupel.
It calls for chicken broth, but you could easily use vegetable stock to make it vegetarian.
Fresh Vegetable Soup
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons margarine
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1 pound fresh tomatoes, chopped fine OR 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
About 1 cup corn kernels
About 1 cup baby lima beans
Salt and ground black pepper
Dried oregano, to taste
Ground bay leaf
Parsley
In a soup pot, saute onion in margarine until softened. Add chicken broth and water. Add tomatoes, carrot, celery, corn and beans. Bring to a boil. Season with about 1/3 teaspoon EACH salt, pepper and oregano and a dash of bay leaves and parsley. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper.
REQUESTS
• "When I was growing up in the 1960s, I used to buy frozen, ready-to-bake chocolate chip cookie dough. Each piece of dough was about half-dollar size. They were in a rectangular box with six rows of four cookies. The rows were separated with sheets of wax paper. They were the very best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had!
"It has been a very long time since I have seen these in a store. I do not remember the brand name, but I would love to know if you or any of your readers know if these are still available anywhere," David Tullis writes.
• Mounds brownies for Alyson Hoge. The brownies have coconut swirl running through them like you'd find in a marbled Bundt cake.
Send recipe contributions, requests and culinary questions to Kelly Brant, Idea Alley, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203; email:
Please include a daytime phone number.
Food on 05/24/2017