Recipe 41- Ratatouille

                                                                     RATATOUILLE

1 large eggplant
4 medium zucchini
2 large onions
3 medium green peppers
1 can plum tomatoes (drained)
3/4 C of olive oil
3 cloves garlic
salt
pepper

Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch slices then into 1 inch cubes.  Slice off ends of zucchini and then cut into 1/4 slices. Slice onions thinly. Halve green peppers, remove ribs and seeds then cut into 1/4 inch strips.

Saute eggplant cubes in 1/4 C of olive oil in a large skillet until lightly browned (about 5 minutes) and remove into Dutch oven. Add 1/4 C of oil to same skillet and saute zucchini until tender (about 5 minutes) then remove zucchini into Dutch oven.  Add remaining 1/4 C of oil to skillet and saute onions, green peppers, and garlic until onion is soft. Add to Dutch oven. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper into Dutch oven. Stir gently in combine.

Simmer mixture over low heat covered for 15 minutes.  Remove cover and cook 10 minutes longer. Can be served hot or cold.

Ratings (out of five)
Difficulty **
Taste ****

I have two recipes for Ratatouille.  One of the recipes comes from my mother's kitchen.  The other comes from one of my guests at my Long Island bridal shower. At my bridal shower at the Rockville Links Club on Long Island,  the guests were asked to write their favorite recipe on an index card and give it to the bride (me). My mother's good friend Barbara Smallbach gave me her recipe for Ratatouille.

Yesterday, I combined both recipes and came up with the above recipe.  I always loved Ratatouille as a child and I loved the way it was prepared yesterday. Although everybody liked the dish, the females in the family liked it more than the males.  

Recipe 40- Strawberry Shortcake

                                                      STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE


6 C sliced strawberries
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 C butter
1 egg, well beaten
2/3 C milk
whipped cream

Stir together berries with 1/4 cup of the sugar.  Set aside. Stir together remaining sugar, flour, and baking powder. Cut in butter till mixture resembles course crumbs. Combine egg and milk. Knead lightly about 20 turns on floured board.  Divide into thirds. Pat out each third in greased 9 inch round pan.  Bake in preheated 450 degree oven about 15-17 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Split into 2 layers. Put shortcake layers together with berries between and on top.  Serve with whipped cream.

Ratings (out of five)
Difficulty *
Taste ****

Mike Connolly, my husband's college friend who lives in Arizona, came over for a barbecue dinner with his family.  Mike and his wife were attending a medical conference in San Francisco.  We served hamburgers and hot dogs. For dessert, I served Strawberry Shortcake. The strawberries were in season and tasted very sweet. By accident, I bought half and half instead of heavy cream. As a result, the cream would not whip and  I could not put cream on top.  The dessert would have tasted better with the cream.  Since my husband loves strawberry shortcake, we will make this recipe again.

I found this recipe inside a folder of recipes kept by my mother in her kitchen in Lloyd Harbor.  This recipe is typed on bluish-greenish paper.

Recipe 39- Quiche Lorraine

                                                           QUICHE LORRAINE

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust, well chilled
6 bacon slices, diced
1 small onion, chopped
2 C of Swiss cheese, shredded
3 eggs
1 C half and half
1/2 teaspoon of salt

In frying pan, cook bacon until crispy. Drain. Cook onions. Crumble bacon into pie crust. Add cooked onions. Add cheese.

In medium bowl, beat eggs. Add half and half and salt. Pour mixture over pie crust.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in 400 degrees or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Ratings (out of five)
Difficulty **
Taste ****

Yesterday, for dinner, I served Quiche Lorraine.  Everybody enjoyed the quiche, even my son Peter who had not eaten quiche before and seemed skeptical of it.

My mother had two recipes for Quiche Lorraine.  One was written in her handwriting on a recipe card of hers.  The other recipe came from the Lloyd Harbor Elementary School Cookbook. The recipe I made was a combination of the two recipes.  

Recipe 38- Irish Soda Bread

                                                               IRISH SODA BREAD

4 C of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 C of sugar
3/4 C of butter
1 C of raisins
1 tablespoon of caraway seeds
1 2/3 C of buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add raisins and seeds and toss lightly. Add buttermilk and toss mixture with a fork until all dry ingredients are moistened. Dough will be very soft.

Form dough into a ball and lightly knead on a floured board for several minutes. Divide dough into equal portions and shape into a ball. Place them on a cookie sheet and with a sharp knife cut an X on top of each loaf about 1/4 inch deep. Bake for 55 minutes.

Ratings (out of five)
Difficulty *
Taste ****

Each week at Caroline's CCD class at St. John Vianney's Catholic Church in Walnut Creek, a student is assigned to bring bread.  The class breaks the bread together and the class begins.  Caroline was assigned to bring bread on St. Patrick's Day. She brought our homemade Irish Soda Bread.  She and I have made this recipe before and it has always been successful.  It was a success yesterday as well!

My mother's recipe is typed on a piece of faded paper which is ripped in half.  The recipe contains handwritten notes in my mother's handwriting.  I like this recipe for soda bread because the bread is nice and moist.

I served corned beef, cabbage, and red potatoes and had the soda bread that was leftover from Caroline's class as a dessert.  This is our family's traditional St. Patrick's Day meal.    

  

Recipe 37- Grandma's Vegetable Soup (Beef and Barley)

                                 GRANDMA'S VEGETABLE SOUP (BEEF AND BARLEY)

short ribs
medium onion
carrots
celery
5 cans of tomato soup
3/4 C barley
water
salt and pepper
1/2 bag of frozen corn (if desired)
1/2 bag of frozen peas (if desired)

Put short ribs in pot with onion halved. Add salt and pepper. Add 3 quarts of water.  Bring to boil. Partly cover and then simmer for 2 hours.  After 2 hours, add 5 cans of soup and carrots and celery.  Continue to cook for 2 more hours.  Then, add barley and continue to cook for 45 minutes.  Stir occasionally. Add corn and peas, if desired.  The short ribs will be so tender that the meat will slip off the bones.  Remove bones.  Serve with cooked small pasta (elbows or shells).

Ratings (out of five)
Difficulty *
Taste ****

This past rainy weekend, Lindsey flew home for the weekend to watch Caroline in her 5th grade performance of the Little Mermaid.  I made my grandmother's beef and barley soup. Everyone enjoyed it! Everyone in the family ate the soup for lunch the next day and the soup tasted even more flavorful then.

This recipe is on one of my mother's handwritten recipe cards. My mother always said her mother used to make this soup.  Growing up I loved it when my mother made this recipe. It is great that my children love it too.