Food is ...

 Food is nourishing, sustaining, refreshing,,,, and comforting. This week our town of Eureka had another tornado hit, the second in 2 years. Again our Community LinC organization pulled together with an amazing group of volunteers to provide meals for those whose homes were destroyed as well as the hundreds of volunteers and workers who poured into town to help with clean up efforts.




Community LinC serves meals, but the food is donated and supplied by many. Yesterday (Friday,) 1,790 meals were served. In the first two days after the tornado (Wednesday and Thursday), when many people in town did not have electricity, over 1,335 meals were served.  Restaurants and individuals from surrounding towns send bagged sandwich and fruit meals, boxes of pizzas, crates of biscuits and gravy, and scores of cookies and brownies. When the need for fresh fruit was mentioned, several boxes of bananas, apples, watermelons, and pineapple came.

It is heartwarming to see this generous spirit of sharing and helping. This week we're sharing love and concern with community meals, but throughout the year we all share that love and concern with our families through meals. Just a reminder that food is more than substance.

The stacks of snack food, bottled water and drinks made the
Community Building look like a grocery store - supplies
for those who need them, all donated. 

Donated desserts of cookies, brownies, and cakes
provide comfort food and energy. 

This sign posted by a business says it all. 

EPC Easy Mac and Cheese

I keep finding new recipes and ways to use my Electric Pressure Cooker - also known as "InstaPot". After a great session yesterday by Chef Alli at our county Women in Ag Day, I'm inspired again. As Alli told us, we have to leave the EPC on the counter! Don't let it go to the storage room or pantry - otherwise known as the 'appliance graveyard'. If it is out where you see it you will be more likely to think of using it. 
I've found the EPC the best way to cook many cuts of meat. We still do the ribeyes and t-bones on the broiler or grill of course, and hamburger browns easily in the skillet (although I think you can brown ground beef in the pressure cooker). But for roasts and big hunks of meat (HOM) the pressure cooker is the way to go. Quick, tender, and easy prep. But aside from meats, its also fun to find sides and even desserts for the PC. 


I made this Mac and Cheese today for a club covered dish lunch and it is very tasty. I don't think I would have tried the recipe from reading the ingredients, but seeing Chef Alli do it and tasting her results was the test, and it passed with A+. Cheddar Cheese Soup? Well, I've had a can in the pantry for a couple of years I wondered what to use it with! Egg mixed in sour cream? Alli assured us that this would be safely cooked in the hot mixture of macaroni and I tested it with a food thermometer. It did reach 190 degrees, recommended safe temperature for a cooked egg is 160 degrees, OK.  I think you'll agree with me that all these unusual ingredients combine for a very tasty mac and cheese.  

CHEF ALLI'S ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER MAC AND CHEESE

Ingredients:

3 cups elbow macaroni (or your favorite pasta)

3 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. dry mustard (or spicy brown mustard)

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

1 can Campbell’s Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup (10 ¾ oz)

1 egg beaten with ½ cup sour cream

1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained

Directions:

1.  Bring the chicken broth to a boil in the pressure cooker (manual setting). 

2.  Add the macaroni, give it a quick stir and lock the lid in place. Choose high setting for 6 minutes. (if using a larger pasta in place of elbow macaroni pasta, set the timer for 7 minutes). 

3.  When the timer sounds, perform a Quick Release to remove all pressure from EPC. 

4.  Stir in sour cream/egg mixture, mustard, shredded cheese, soup, and Rotel; combine well. 

You can continue to keep the mac & cheese warm in the EPC on the warm setting until serving. 

Quiche - for anyone!

There used to be a saying "Real Men don't eat Quiche". Well, that is out of date! Quiche is a tasty way to combine several healthy ingredients for an easy protein dish. A quiche is basically a frittata poured into a pastry shell. Sort of a big baked omelet. It can be filled with meats, cheese, herbs, and vegetables. 
Some tips for making quiche that are credited to Julia Child: 
* 1 egg + enough cream = 1/2 cup is a good proportion for liquid
* A mixture of milk and cream is good. Cream gives a rich taste and smooth rich texture. Using some milk reduces the amount of fat in the preparation. 
* Dry the dry ingredients, blot the vegetables with a paper town after washing and chopping. 
* Beat the eggs and milk mixture until frothy before pouring it over the other ingredients. 

MUSHROOM QUICHE

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded Jack cheese

1 pound sliced mushrooms of choice

4 large eggs

½ cup half and half cream

Approximately 1 cup whole milk (follow instructions for measuring milk)

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon pepper

(I also added about 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme)

Instructions: 

1.  Prepare and bake a piecrust shell. 

2.  Prepare the mushrooms by cleaning them, drying them, and slicing thinly. 

3.  Sauté mushrooms (cook briefly in hot oil until tender) in a large frying pan with about 1 tablespoon of oil. 

4.  Spread the mushrooms and cheese (and thyme) in the cooled pie shell.

5.  Crack the eggs and add to a large liquid measuring cup. Add ½ cup cream, then enough milk to equal 2 cups. Mix quickly with a hand mixer or whisk until light and frothy. Add the salt and pepper and continue to mix or whisk until frothy again. Pour the egg mixture over the mushrooms and cheese.

6.  Bake in a preheated (375 degrees) oven for about 40-45 minutes. The egg should be completely cooked with no liquid in the center and golden on the edges. 

7.  Remove from the oven and cool slightly before cutting and serving. 

Rhubarb Dump Cake/Cobbler Revisited

Do you follow the recipe or do you "ad lib"? Can you tell if you'll like a recipe or not by reading it? What's your pet peeve about recipes?
Its been said that baking is a science and cooking is an art. I mostly agree, baking depends on the interaction of ingredients to rise the dough, brown the cake, or set the custard. But I often find recipes that I think could use a bit of 'tweaking', maybe less sugar, or an added ingredient, or a different preparation method. And it is okay to try that! I usually save my trials for the close family unless I'm pretty sure about what I'm doing. My family is good about trying and eating the flops as well as the "save this recipe" dishes.

I'm always looking for quick easy ways to use the frozen fruit I buy in boxes from our UMW fund raiser. So when I saw this dump cake idea it seemed like a winner. Until I read further - a lot of sugar! The original recipe included 1 cup sugar and 1 whole box of jello (which also has sugar). And I usually think dump cakes are dry. So I've altered the recipe - less sugar and 1/2 box of jello and 1/2 cake mix, save the remaining half for the next dump cake. I like the ratio of more fruit and less cake layers.

RHUBARB DUMP CAKE

Ingredients: 

1 pound (3-4 cups) rhubarb, cut into ¼ inch pieces

       if using frozen, allow to thaw some and rough chop the slices

½ package (of a 3 oz package) strawberry jello 

½ package yellow cake mix

1 cup water

¼ cup butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread the rhubarb evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. 

Sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb, followed by the jello, and finally the cake mix. 

Pour the water and melted butter over the top. Do not stir. 

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender and the topping is browned. 

Dump Cakes are just that - a dry cake mix 'dumped' on top
of fruit filling. Not so different from a cobbler, but even easier! 

Ready for the oven with fruit, then cake mix, water, and butter
'dumped' on top. 

Baked and wonderful.