In the south, where I live, there is a wild green that grows along almost every fence row or where ever the ground has been disturbed at home sites or along roadways. It’s called “poke salad”, and has been a favorite of mine since I was very young. The taste is similar to spinach but it doesn’t have that slick feel in the mouth that canned spinach does.

You do have to cook the poke salad a special way to avoid the toxins that can be found in the leaves, but once done, it’s perfectly safe and delicious. The toxins can make you very sick. There’s a large stand of this wild green where I’m living now, so I’ll be going out to pick it later today to have for my dinner tonight and tomorrow.

To cook it properly and render it harmless, the first thing that needs to be done is to wash and look over the leaves, as you would with any fresh greens. Next, you put them into a large pot of water and boil them until they are very limp. Then, drain, rinse, and squeeze the water out of the greens and boil them again, until they are tender. Season them during the second boil with salt, pepper, bacon, or any way you like greens seasoned.

It’s the first boil that removes the toxins, so the second time renders the tasty, free food to add to a soul warming, home cooked meal. I like to serve these greens with pinto beans, corn bread, and fried potatoes.

Technorati Tags: poke salad, fresh greens

I was getting hungry a little while ago. All I’d had this morning was coffee, so I decided to throw together a coffee cake. It turned out really tasty so I thought I’d share here what I did.

CHOCOLATE PECAN COFFEE CAKE

Ingredients

• >1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• >1/4 cup white sugar
• >1 egg
• >1 cup milk
• >1/2 cup chocolate chips
• >1/2 cup chopped pecans
• >1 stick butter
• >1 cup brown sugar

METHOD

Mix flour, white sugar, egg, and milk together, Set aside. In a greased 9 by 13 by 2 inch cake pan, layer butter, chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and brown sugar. Drizzle the batter over the top, getting it to cover everything right to the edges. Bake at 350 until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve piping hot with coffee or cold milk. Yield: 12 servings.

This coffee cake seemed to perk me up and give me enough energy to get some work done around here. Maybe it will help you, too, whether you are washing dishes or auto insurance comparison shopping online.

Technorati Tags: coffee, coffee cake

One of the things that we served for Memorial Day was a beautiful and decadent tasting dessert made by my Younger Daughter. The real beauty of the dessert is that it was entirely fat free, but you’d never guess that when you tasted it.

I’m not sure what the recipe was called, so I’ll just call it

Chocolate Layered Deliciousness

Ingredients

• Chocolate cake mix
• Canned pumpkin
• Fat free whipped topping, large tub
• Fat free pudding mix, can be instant. Two packages

Method

Make the cake mix by adding only the canned pumpkin. No eggs, oil, or water. Bake as usual. Let cool.

Make the pudding mix as directed, using fat free milk. Let cool.

Using a large, clear bowl with fairly straight sides, layer chocolate pudding, crumbled cake, and whipped topping. Make three layers. End by putting pudding and sprinkling chocolate cake crumbles on top. Chill several hours or overnight.

This makes a beautiful presentation. You can’t tell there is pumpkin in the cake mix at all, but it’s extremely moist and delicious. The dessert will need to be spooned out onto plates.

I think this could also be prepared in individual stemware for a beautiful dessert to give to your family or guests.

Technorati Tags: Memorial Day, dessert, chocolate

I know it’s the middle of the night, but I was still hungry after not having eaten since around 5 this evening. So, I decided to whip up a little late night supper.

First, I peeled a few potatoes (red skin variety), then sliced them about 1/8 inch thick. I place the potatoes, 1/2 sliced onion, a couple tablespoons of butter, and water in a saucepan. I added a dash of pepper and sea salt, then let it simmer while I did some other things.

I sliced up a few yellow squash and about a pint of fresh okra, along with the other half of the onion. I mixed it all together in a bowl with yellow corn meal, salt and pepper to taste. I then fried it over medium heat.

While the other things were cooking, I made a small batch of home made biscuits. Everything got done at the same time, so there was no waiting. I added butter to the tops of the biscuits and sat down with a generous helping of everything on my plate. This was all extremely tasty and satisfying.

When I was finished eating, I made dessert of a biscuit with butter and fig preserves.

This tummy-warming late night supper is just what I needed to get drowsy and go off to bed. Nighty-nite, folks!

Technorati Tags: supper, biscuits

These days, many of us are health conscious and are reducing or eliminating high fat and high salt foods from our diets. Sometimes this leads to very boring meals. Today, though, the roast beef I fixed was anything but boring.

I used a small beef roast, about 2 pounds. I pierced it with a knife and rubbed in finely chopped garlic, black pepper, and about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. I put that in a glass baking dish and surrounded it with potatoes, carrots, onions, and sliced mushrooms. After peppering the veggies, I added about 1/2 cup water and covered it tightly with aluminum foil.

I roasted it at 350 degrees F. for about 2 hours. This made the roast done and tender without being too mushy or falling apart. The flavor was fantastic and there was absolutely no need for salt at all.

Technorati Tags: roast beef

Because I am not having to travel so far back and forth to work, I now have more time to cook. I’m very happy about that because I really enjoy cooking and serving hearty meals. Of course, I also like to make sure they are at least somewhat healthful for those who eat them.

A few days ago, I made some cheddar cheese biscuits that turned out pretty good so I thought I’d share with you how I made them.

Low Fat Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup fat free yogurt
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• fat free or skim milk

Method

Mix the flour, yogurt, and milk until the dough is workable. Add the cheddar cheese and mix well. Turn out on a lightly floured board and very gently knead 5 or 6 times, making sure not to break any air pockets in the dough.

Using your biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits gently. Again, you want to retain the air pockets. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 until golden brown on the top. Brush with a fat free spread and serve piping hot with your meal.

Technorati Tags: cheddar cheese biscuits

As I mentioned in a previous post, I made a luscious lunch using rice, boneless pork steaks, corn, and salad. Today, since there are leftovers of that lunch, I’ll make a House Fried Rice.

All I have to do is thinly slice the leftover pork, make fried rice from the leftover rice, and throw in a few frozen mixed veggies, soy sauce, and egg to make a delicious new meal. What I don’t have with me right now is sesame oil, which is delicious added to the fried rice. However, I’ll make do with what’s on hand and remember to pick up some sesame oil on the next grocery shopping trip.

Because I’m off work today and everyone else is at work, I’ll make this for our dinner instead of lunch. House Fried Rice incorporates everything we need for a well-rounded meal. I’ll put salad fixings out, of course, for those who want it.

House Fried Rice

Ingredients

• About 2 cups cooked rice, either brown or white
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables or leftover vegetables of your choice
• 2 cups thinly sliced cooked meat (chicken, beef, pork); small cooked shrimp if you have it
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sliced almonds, mushrooms, pine nuts, sunflower nuts, water chestnuts, or Chinese noodles add crunch and dimension.

Method

Heat oil in a wok or skillet until very hot. Add vegetables and cook until tender-crisp. Remove vegetables to a warm bowl and put rice in, cooking until it’s heated thoroughly. Remove rice and put in the same bowl as the vegetables. Put meat in and stir fry it until it’s warmed through. Add to bowl of veggies and rice. Put eggs in and scramble them, making them more flat than fluffy. Put all ingredients back into hot skillet and stir together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve piping hot with soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce, duck sauce, or any other condiments you prefer.

Technorati Tags: House Fried Rice, dinner, wok, skillet

I have a PC that I’ve put in storage for the time being that’s got tons of recipes on the hard drive. I prefer to use it for recipes and personal stuff, and use my laptop for more business oriented tasks. Once we get settled into our “new” house, I’ll set it back up and start sending recipes from it to this blog so I can share them with you.

I’ve got them categorized so it’s easy to find what I’m looking for. I’ve even got Once a Month Cooking recipes and household solutions recipes on it, so I think you’ll get a lot of use from them. So, keep checking in and I’ll add them and use them in a series of related recipes.

Technorati Tags: PC, recipes, laptop, Once a Month Cooking

The friend we’re staying with cooks simple but delicious meals. A couple of nights ago he fixed barbecued chicken, rice, lima beans, corn and green bean medley, and potato salad. It was cooked up quickly and served piping hot.

The chicken was the focal point, of course. To cook it, he simply dipped boneless, skinless chicken breast portions into a mixture of ketchup and Louisiana hot sauce, then baked it, covered, in a casserole dish. While that was baking he cooked rice and fixed vegetables. The potato salad was some he’d picked up at the store.

This is the kind of meal that is nutritious, warming, and satisfying every time.

Technorati Tags: meals, barbecued chicken

If I could find my card reader, I’d show you a picture of the delicious meal we had a couple of nights ago. It was just hamburger steaks, but I dressed them up with shitakke mushrooms and onions that I’d sauteed before cooking the meat.

While the meat was cooking, I added cubed redskin potatoes and let those cook along with everything else. I only used sea salt and pepper for seasonings, but the food combination had enough flavor on it’s own to not need anything else.

This was a hearty meal that warmed us to the soul, and cleanup was easy because it was all cooked in my electric skillet. When I find my reader, I’ll post a picture for you to drool over!

Technorati Tags: hamburger steaks, shitakke mushrooms, redskin potatoes, electric skillet