Apricot Nut Loaf

Apricot Nut Loaf

Dorcas Annette Walker

After us children were grown and my father died my mother seldom cooked. Working full time it was more convenient for her to eat at the hospital dining hall. On the rare occasions when she had company my mother ate at a restaurant. So I was quite intrigued when chatting with my mother during one of our weekly telephone calls to hear that she was seriously considering entering a cooking contest sponsored by the Bran Bud Cereal company. My mother loved apricots so she wanted to use them with the cereal to make some kind of a nut loaf. Since I cooked and baked all the time my mother asked my opinion what ingredients I thought would work best together. Suddenly I found myself being the one to encourage and bolster my mother’s self esteem like she had done so many times for me.

Several months later my mother called me all excited. She had won first place with her Apricot Nut Loaf entry! It was the only time my mother ever entered a contest. Her winning recipe lay forgotten as the years passed with only a mention now and then about our mother’s one spot of fame. As I was browsing through my recipes I came upon her Apricot Nut Loaf recipe and decided to feature it this month in honor of my mother.

Relative to peaches apricots are one of the first signs of summer. Apricots grow golden orange skins with the fruit having a faint tart taste between a plum and a peach on small trees from May through August. In the winter apricots are imported from South America so are available fresh year round. Buy slightly soft apricots as tree-ripened fruits taste best. Apricots are an excellent source of vitamin A and C, potassium, and dietary fiber. Nutrients in apricots help protect the heart and eyes and its fiber prevents constipation and digestive conditions.

Some say that apricots originally came from China spreading through Central Asia to Korea and Japan while other believe that apricots were first cultivated in India about 3000 BC. The first apricot tree arrived in Virginia in 1720, but the appearance of apricot trees in the United States didn’t become known until 1792 from seedlings carried to the west coast at Spanish missions in California. Today apricots are primarily grown in California with some in Washington and Utah.

My mother’s Apricot Nut Loaf is packed full of healthful ingredients with a fruity flavor. Her Apricot Nut Loaf makes a solid dense like bread with a nutty crunchy texture ideal as a healthy snack with a cup of coffee or tea. Variations of this recipe could be made with dried or fresh apricots- just add more sugar- and other fruits or substitute the sugar with honey. Preparation time for the Apricot Nut Loaf only takes ten minutes (not counting baking time) and this recipe makes one large loaf.

Apricot Nut Loaf

In a medium size bowl beat together:
½ c sugar
2 eggs
1/3 c cooking oil
1 c apricot jam
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla

Add:
2½ c self-rising flour
1 c Bran Bud Cereal

Mix well and then fold in:
1 c chopped pecans
Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes at 350º. Turn out on a rack and let cool then store the loaf in a closed container. Slice and enjoy with your favorite beverage!

Weekly tip: When baking nut or fruit loaves double the recipe and make two. You can always store the extra loaf or half a loaf in the freezer for a readymade snack!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Nutty Cinnamon Rolls

Nutty Cinnamon Rolls

Dorcas Annette Walker

Motherhood is filled with stress juggling multiple tasks. Just ask any mother. Today we are bombarded with articles touting the importance of setting aside time to exercise to lower one’s heart rate and relieve stress, not to mention the flood of advertisements on a daily basis claiming that a certain machine is the best way to exercise. In my grandmother’s day a mother got plenty of physical exercise without using a tread mill or exercise machine. Weeding a large vegetable garden and flowerbeds, putting up produce for winter, washing clothes by hand, and cooking meals from scratch gave women lots of exercise.

Bread making was a known stress reducer. You could punch, pull, and slap the dough around to your heart’s content as the more the dough was kneaded the lighter the bread would be. Not only would women feel better after a session of working warm dough between her fingers, but her family got to enjoy fresh hot bread. The day would finish with satisfaction knowing that she was providing for her family’s basic necessities. Talk about an unbeatable combination. I don’t know of a nerve pill or exercise machine that can give those results. Maybe it would be smarter if women went back to making up a batch of bread each week.

Today there are zillions of recipes and methods on how to make bread varying from the old-fashion day-long bread, using frozen dough, or a bread machine. The one thing all bread recipes have in common is the guarantee of having your house filled with a heavenly aroma of baking bread and finishing with a mouth-watering culinary treat. A woman can’t go wrong making a bread product. Included within the assortments of bread recipes is a variety of rolls ranging from plain dinner rolls to elaborate dessert buns.

My Nutty Cinnamon Rolls are an easy version of the old-fashion cinnamon rolls perfect for a snack or with a brunch eaten either hot or cold. You can quickly mix up a batch of these rolls and let them rise while doing something else around the house. These Nutty Cinnamon Rolls have a soft velvety texture from using a cake mix, yet they still have the homemade yeast flavor. For a different flavor try a cream cheese or chocolate frosting. You can also substitute the nuts with dried fruit. My Nutty Cinnamon Rolls take only fifteen minutes to prepare (not counting rising or baking time) and this recipe makes two dozen cinnamon rolls.

Nutty Cinnamon Rolls

In a large bowl mix together:
4 c self-rising flour
2 pkg yeast
1 white cake mix
2 c warm water
Pour the dough out on a floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes until the dough is smooth.

Then roll and shape into a rectangle and spread on:
½ c shortening
3 c brown sugar
1 c chopped nuts (your choice)
Roll up the dough lengthwise and with a sharp knife cut into one inch pieces. Place dough rounds flat on a cooking sheet and let rise until double. Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Let the rolls cool for five minutes and then frost with a vanilla flavored icing. Garnish with cinnamon!

Weekly tip: For no clean-up baking trays first line the trays with parchment or wax paper. The baked goodies won’t burn and you always end up with a clean tray!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

A La Golden Rod

A La Golden Rod

Dorcas Annette Walker

I have been blessed with many memories of my mother that lives on even though my mother has been gone for almost sixteen years. One childhood memory I cherish is the rare times my mother made her favorite dish, A La Golden Rod. Every time I make A La Golden Rod I remember my mother. Both my children loved when I made A La Golden Rod as I would tell them stories about their grandma. Today I try to live up to the wonderful legacy that my mother left to pass it along to my daughter and granddaughter. I hope that your Mother’s Day will be filled with making or enjoying lots of memories.

Any beauty or sweetness that I have I owe to my mother, who believed that I could do or become anything that I wanted to be. My first book published, To Say Good-bye, is about my mother. You can find it on my website at: http://www.dorcasannettewalker.com/ I’m still awed by the strength and sacrifice my mother possessed in order to support her family, keep food on the table, and clothes on our body while somehow managing to give us children a private education. My mother was very talented and yet she stifled her desires and dreams to keep our family secure, take care of a disabled husband, and work fulltime. Her loving personality brightened the lives of her patients and coworkers. Everyone that met my mother fell in love with her.

Though never formally trained, my mother could draw and sketch. I remember early years when church services seemed to last forever and us children would become restless, my mother would take out her pen and a small piece of paper and draw pictures for us. We’d become so enthralled over seeing a blank piece of paper come to life that we’d hate when church was over. My sister, Lois, inherited my mother’s artistic gene and is a talented artist today. In college my mother wrote a couple of poems that were published and once a newspaper article. I like to think that I have inherited a small portion of my mother’s gift for putting words together.

Our mother had a knack of sending special cards. I’ve made books out of all the cards she sent me and placemats out of the cards she saved. Each year my sister and I have a tradition. We browse through all the Mother’s Day cards until we find one like our mother would send us. We carefully read each word and tenderly place it back on the shelf. Then we’ll find a card that says exactly how we feel and send the thought skyward to our mother.

A La Golden Rod is a perfect dish for lunch or a brunch. The creamy sooth white sauce on top of hot buttered toast is filling as well as a delight to the eye. My A La Golden Rod takes about twenty minutes to prepare and this recipe serves four.

A La Golden Rod

4 hardboiled eggs (chop the whites and mash the yolks with a fork separate)
4 pieces of buttered toast

In a large skillet melt 3 tb margarine. Add:
¾ c self-rising flour
4 c milk
chopped egg whites
1 tsp salt
Sprinkle on pepper
Stir slowly with a Wisk until thickened. Pour white sauce over toast. Sprinkle on mashed egg yolks and garnish with parsley!

Weekly tip: Store eggs broad side up. Yolks are less likely to break!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs

Dorcas Annette Walker

One thing in my kitchen that gets used on a daily basis is eggs. There are many uses for eggs. You can scramble, fry, make omelets, poach, hard-boil, and use in custards and soufflés not to mention that anytime you bake a cake or dessert eggs are used. I enjoy having fresh eggs on hand from the henhouse and a big feature for my grandchildren when they come to visit is gathering eggs with Grandpa. Eggs are an excellent source of protein and fit with any menu.

Humans have been eating eggs since the beginning of time with ostrich and chicken being the most common. In ancient times Romans ate peafowl eggs while Chinese were fond of pigeon eggs. Phoenicians ate ostrich eggs. Turtle eggs have been highly prized and in starvation situations even alligator eggs have been eaten. Today quail eggs are packaged and available in the United States and Japan as gourmet food.

The origin of deviled eggs began in Rome in the 13th century where stuffed eggs were concocted. The first recipes for hardboiled eggs were printed in medieval European texts. These eggs were stuffed with raisins, goat cheese, and sweet spices such as marjoram, cloves and cinnamon. By the 16th century the practice of boiling eggs, combining the yoke with spices, and refilling the shells was all the rage and by the 17th century hardboiled eggs became a staple in households. The word “deviled” first appeared in print in 1786 to describe highly seasoned fried or boiled dishes. By the 1800’s “deviled” became a culinary term to describe hot spicy dishes.

The average weight of a hen’s egg is 2 oz. The color of the egg is determined by the breed. Chickens with white feathers lay white eggs while hens with red/brown feathers lay brown eggs. Brown eggs have thicker shells. We have two speckled (black and white mixed breed) hens that lay a pale blue and pale green egg. Our niece, Stacy, who is over in England as an exchange student told us that colored eggs are very expensive and highly prized over there. Use fresh eggs to poach or fry as the egg will hold its shape better while older eggs are better for hardboiled eggs as the shell will peel easier.

I have eaten all kinds of Deviled Eggs or Angel Eggs at church dinners and family reunions ranging from pickles or sugar added to the stuffing, while others used only mayonnaise with the yoke, and fancy eggs where an icing tip was used to put the stuffing mixture into the shell. The neat thing about Deviled Eggs is that you can make your Deviled Eggs to suit your family’s taste buds or try something exotic like adding hot peppers or olives to your stuffing. My recipe for Deviled Eggs takes about 50 minutes total preparation time and this recipe makes one dozen stuffed eggs.

Deviled Eggs

Place six eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add ¼ tsp of salt and bring to a boil. Boil for fifteen minutes, drain off the hot water, and immerse the eggs in cold water. Let sit for a couple of minutes, crack the shell, and peel the eggs. Place the peeled eggs in the refrigerator for ½ hour to chill.

Slice eggs in half and put the yolks in a small bowl. Crumble the hardened yolks with a fork and add:
1 ½ c mayonnaise
1 tsp mustard
Sprinkle of salt and pepper
Mix well then stuff the egg halves with the egg mixture. Sprinkle paprika on top. Cover and chill for a couple of hours before serving!

Weekly tip: You can tell when an egg is hardboiled by spinning the egg on its side- a fresh egg will spin smoothly while a hardboiled egg will wobble. To test an egg for freshness place the egg in a cup of water and add a tsp of salt. A fresh egg will sink!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Dorcas Annette Walker

A sunny spring day tantalizes my senses and has a way of luring me out of the house. I love discovering what flower or plant has popped out of the ground overnight. Each time I take a break I go outside to sit on my porch and listen to the excited chatter of the birds as they scurry around building nests. This past week I spotted a set of hummingbirds migrating north as they buzzed around my blooming azaleas. I hurried to fill my hummingbird feeders and hung them up. In no time the hummingbirds spotted the feeders and began drinking and dive bombing through the air. It is days like this that I don’t want to spend a lot of time in my kitchen. So I made up my Chicken and Rice Casserole in the crock-pot and then hurried outside to plant some seeds knowing that supper was taken care of.

Speaking of chicken here is some more chicken or rather rooster gossip. My husband was given a hen from someone, who heard that he raised chickens, after deciding that having a pet hen was not what they wanted. Dana put the lovely hen I named Pretty Girl in with the rest of the hens. After a couple of weeks Pretty Girl was still hiding in the henhouse and was looking rather scrawny. Then Dana discovered that Pretty Girl was growing long tail feathers and realized that Pretty Girl was a rooster instead of a hen. So I changed Pretty Girl to Pretty Boy, who was promptly transferred to where the other roosters resided in the rabbit house. Within a month Pretty Boy filled out and became larger than any of the other roosters. Each morning there was a contest of who could crow the loudest. Zebulon, the reigning rooster, was always determined to have the last word or should I say crow. A few times I worried that he would collapse a lung or keel over in his efforts to out-crow the six other roosters.

When the roosters that we were fattening up landed in our freezer, we saved Pretty Boy as he is still not full grown and to help increase our chicken stock for meat. On a daily basis Pretty Boy and Zebulon fought mock battles through the glass window of the rabbit house that adjourns the chicken pen. One warm spring evening after dark my husband transferred Pretty Boy back to the henhouse. Even though Zebulon is clearly outsized, he is still determined to rule the roost. So far Pretty Boy gives Zebulon a wide berth and has only lost a couple of feathers even though he is almost twice as big as his opponent. We are keeping a close eye on our chickens these days as our henhouse nearly gives off sparks with all the electricity generated of two roosters in close quarters.

My Chicken and Rice Casserole is a filling yet quick meal to make. You can bake the Chicken and Rice Casserole in the oven for a couple of hours or put the ingredients in a crock-pot and let simmer on low all day while you are working. Try substituting cream of mushroom instead of onion soup or add vegetables such as carrots or broccoli to create an entire meal. You can alternate beef instead of chicken as well. My Chicken and Rice Casserole takes only ten minutes of preparation and this recipe serves four.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Mix together in the crock-pot:
2 c rice (white or brown)
4 c warm water
1 tsp salt
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 pkg chicken gravy

Add:
4 pieces of chicken (your choice)
Cover and cook on low for at least eight hours until the chicken is tender. Garnish with parsley and serve!

Weekly tip: When making a casserole double the amount needed and store the extra in the freezer for a quick warm-up meal later!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com

Sweet & Sour Dutch Salad

Sweet & Sour Dutch Salad

Dorcas Annette Walker

Once a year we got to see our grandparents as growing up we lived out of state. So each visit to our grandmas made an unforgettable impression. Our holidays at my Grandma Landis’ house were more formal than on my mother’s side, but one dish I always enjoyed eating was her Sweet & Sour Dutch Salad that she made. Another dish I was sure to have was her partially frozen tart applesauce. When my mother discovered how much I loved my Grandma Landis’ Sweet & Sour Dutch Salad, she began making it at home. Soon I was able to make the Sweet & Sour Dutch Salad myself.

My father grew up on a large Mennonite farm in Pennsylvania where Pennsylvania Dutch was spoken. Grandmother Landis put out large vegetable gardens that she maintained yearly. Produce and meat was taken to the market each week to sell. Hearty breakfasts were cooked; the main meal was eaten at lunch, with a supper consisting of sandwiches and salads. During the summer a variety of cold fresh fruit and vegetable salads were prepared making a meal itself.

As the weather warms up this month salad greens will appear in home gardens. There is nothing like the taste of new garden greens that have been handpicked. Sowing lettuce seeds or putting out plant starts is easy to grow and always produce a bountiful reward. There are all kinds of greens that one can plant in the garden as well as wild dandelions greens that can be harvested out of the yard. Not only are salads nutritious, but they can easily be created to cater to each family member’s individual taste buds. Using a base of greens you can construct either a vegetable or fruit salad by mixing various fresh vegetables or fruits with your greens. Today there are numerous salad greens, vegetables, and fruits available year round making for a healthy diet.

Both my children love the Sweet & Sour Dutch Salad and often requested that I make one when they had friends visiting. My Sweet & Sour Dutch Salad is very simple to make using lettuce and a boiled egg adding a colorful healthy dish to your menu. Preparation time for the Sweet & Sour Dutch Salad is five minutes and this recipe makes enough salad dressing for two medium salads.

Sweet & Sour Dutch Salad

2 c shredded head or leaf lettuce (your choice)
1 peeled hardboiled egg
Divide the lettuce into two salad bowls and slice the hardboiled egg over the lettuce.

In a small bowl mix together:
1 tb vinegar
1 tb mayonnaise
1 c sugar
1 c evaporated milk
Beat until thickened and pour the salad dressing over the lettuce and sliced egg. Garnish the salad with a sprinkle of paprika and serve!

Weekly tip: To keep lettuce and salad greens fresh wrap them in a paper towel, place in a plastic bag folding it over until the bag is air tight, secure, and then refrigerate!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com