Rosie's recipes

I have never made gnocchi from whole wheat cereal, nor made apple pie with potatoes and potato water. But I also don't live in the 1940s during World War II. Reading through Rosie's Riveting  Recipes, edited by Daniela Turusich, I felt lost. I always feel confident flipping through recipes, visualizing searing, roasting and chopping. But looking at Pigs' Knuckles with Cabbage or Beef and Oatmeal loaf I wasn't salivating... I was learning how boiling, pickling and canning were the way of the day. 

This book is punctuated with black and white photographs from the National Archives in the Library of Congress. Women inspecting tubing pieces, welding and drilling all while maintaining perfect hair and nails. And they had to make dinner, too?

The charm of this book lies in the war-time slogans encouraging rationing and general thriftiness. 

"Time means money, nowadays, 

We can all save in many ways!

The things we've never tried before

May be the ones that win the war!"

I guess I could  garnish my soup with scrambled eggs or chop cold spaghetti up to serve in lettuce cups.

I guess I would do almost anything to feed my family nutritious food and feel like I was helping the soldiers by rationing meat, butter and sugar.

I found it interesting how women were urged to strain, save and drop off their grease at their grocery store. Grease was used in ammunition and was not to be wasted.

Things I learned about War-time cuisine:

1. French dressing was really popular.. Put it on everything.

2. Parsley Soup was a thing

3. 3 ounces of cottage cheese equals a serving of meat.

4. A teaspoon of flavoring extract is sufficient to flavor a quart of pudding.

5. It's really not so tough when meat is tough!

A special thanks to my Dad who knew I'd love this book. I think the first recipe I'll make is the Everyday Cake. There's orange rind and orange juice in it, along with your normal baking ingredients. This I can handle. Maybe Victory Bread, with dark molasses and oatmeal will be next. 

Low calorie breakfast bites!

And in our house... We shall eat low calorie foods with full flavor. My husband has already lost 11 pounds... And I can't take all the credit because of my cooking... But it's important! I'm down 2 pounds my first week, so we'll keep it up! 

Breakfast is our weakness... Homemade biscuits, sausage, velvety cheese grits, bacon.. Oh boy. If we counted the calories in our normal Saturday breakfast, I'm sure we'd be alarmed. So what should I make instead? Mini ham and cheese frittatas! Only 39 calories for 3?? Yes!!!

It's a Recipe from Cooking Light, the best source for me when it comes to light, delicious ideas for all meals. 

The main ingredients are egg whites, lean deli ham and reduced fat cheddar cheese. No flour, milk or butter in sight, just butter-flavored non-stick spray. Here's the recipe below...

http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/mini-frittatas-with-ham-cheese

I am officially Southern, I fried a green tomato!

I was barefoot. I shooed a crawling baby from the kitchen. I fried green tomatoes with cornmeal and buttermilk. They were good. Better than a restaurant good. And I felt like a real Southern belle. 

Fried green tomatoes, FGTs, are in nearly every North Florida restaurant. Drive through the South, and they are listed as one of the vegetable sides along side macaroni and cheese if you're lucky. 

I've been lucky with the amount if success I've had thanks to Southern Living. My mother had their annual cookbooks lined up on the bookshelf upstairs, but I'm not sure if she referenced them. I never saw a cookbook propped on her counter as she cooked nearly every night. I only saw her thumb through her recipe cards if it was a holiday. I haven't made a set number of dishes enough times to stow the cookbooks just yet. So I followed Southern Living's recipe for FGTs and it was perfect. 

You'll also see some Brussel Sprouts on the side there with some red onion...another side dish to accompany the FGTs and pork chops tonight.

The FGTs called for a buttermilk, flour, egg and cornmeal dredging. The hardest part of this recipe is the amount of dishes you use!!

I used vegetable oil for a 2-minute, shallow fry in my trusty cast iron pan. It's nice to think I make tacos, marinara, eggs, and even pecan pie in this same skillet. 

I lightly salted the FGTs as they rested on paper towels. Good Lord, please be patient and don't eat one right out of the oil. You will burn all of your taste buds clean off!

I made some Ranch dressing, the usual partner in crime for these fried beauties. But honestly, I barely dipped. The FGTs were so sweet, yet tart with a delicate crunch. If they wouldn't get soggy overnight, these green and gold  discs would be perfect in a BLT, or BLFGT:) 

My Mom said her Mother would fry red tomatoes, and now I'm curious to try those as well. My husband made a face when I suggested the red version...so we'll see. 

Happy eating, ya'll! Leave me a comment if you love FGTs or are going to fry some up soon!

Caviar of course, but way cheaper!

Happy New Year! Black eyed peas are a must on January 1st, and I made my version of Cowboy Caviar. It's one of those dump, chop and stir recipes I love. I've seen many versions of this caviar... which thankfully has no trace of those briny fish eggs. You might have heard it called Redneck Caviar. 

What you'll need:

*2 cans corn, or use frozen thawed

*2 cans tomatoes with green chilies

*2 cans of black-eyed peas, rinsed

*Red onion, minced, quarter cup

*1 jalapeño minced, seeded if you can't take heat

*Cilantro, chopped, quarter cup

*Salt, pepper, sugar..a pinch of each

*a lime to squeeze over everything 

Mix in a bowl and chill for at least an hour. This is so good with tortilla chips while watching a football game. Or it would be a great topper to pork chops or even fish.

Happy New Year!