Foodie Friday - Cocoa-peanut logs

Cocoa Krispies was introduced in the United States in 1958.  It is a chocolate flavored version of Rice Krispies. 

Rice Krispies (also known as Rice Bubbles in New Zealand and Australia) is a breakfast cereal created by Clayton Rindlisbacher for Kelloggs and was introduced in 1928.  It is created by making a paste of rice and sugar which is then formed into rice shapes (called berries) and then cooked, dried and toasted.  The rice berries expand and form a hollow rice shape with very thin walls that are crunchy and crispy.  They are famous for their ‘snap, crackle and pop’ sound when milk is poured on them.

The Kellogg company was started by two brothers, Will Keith (W.K.) Kellogg and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg in Battle Creek MI.  They entered the cereal business in 1906 with Kelloggs Corn Flakes.  The company believed that everyone, not just those on special diets, could be interested in wholesome cereal foods.  They continually improved their product line and packaging techniques to meet the changing needs of consumers.

The introduction of pasteurized milk greatly helped to expand the appeal of breakfast cereals.

The depression brought hard times to many people.  WK Kellogg responded by doubling his advertising spending and reduced the hours of the three plant shift to create a fourth shift enabling more people to work.  Mr Kellogg declared – “I’ll invest my money in people.”

Malitta Jensen and Mildred Day, were the inventors of Rice Krispy Treats the most well known recipe or ‘treat’ using Rice Krispies.  They invented the recipe as a Campfire Girls fundraiser.

But so far I have found two recipes that do not use marshmallows.

According to Wikipedeia Ogg the Caveman was the mascot for Cocoa Krispies from 1968 to 1971, so we can narrow down the age of this clipping to that time period.  There is a copyright date of 1964 on the bottom of the clipping so we will have to assume that that is the date that the recipe was originally published.

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On a personal note –

Joel Rosenberg, 1954-2011

We were very saddened to find out that our friend, Joel, passed away yesterday.

He will be missed very much, but will live on in his family and through his many books starting with his first book -

Joel made us laugh, and was always up for a good argument.  He was devoted to freedom and was a very active gun rights activist.  If more people were like Joel that world would be a much better place.

Foodie Friday - Just mix and spoon

Mrs. George McCollum of Hopkins, MN won the ‘new’ gold ribbon for yeast baking at the Minnesota State Fair according to this clipping, unfortunately the clipping does not have a date, nor did I find anything on this when I did a quick search on the internet. Interestingly enough the clipping does not specify whether the included recipe is the recipe for the winning entry. Because of the use of 2 sticks of Blue Bonnet Margarine in the recipe we can safely say that this is from after 1950 when Blue Bonnet Margarine introduced the quarter-pound stick of margarine, which quickly became the standard format for margarine and butter in the United States.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Minnesota State Fair – “the Great Minnesota Get-Together” - has been around since 1859. It has been held every year since then with only 5 exceptions – 1861 & 1862 due to the Civil War and Dakota Indian Conflict, 1893 because of conflict with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, in 1945 due to war-time fuel shortages, and finally in 1946 when the polio epidemic prevented it from being held.  The fair grounds covers 320 acres and is located midway between Minneapolis and Saint Paul.  Originally the fair was dominated by agricultural exhibits and competitions.  Now while the agricultural exhibits and competitions are still very important the main draw seems to be – food on a stick, just ask Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods.

Just mix and spoon – it rises in the pan! Says Mrs. McCollum.  “A quick way to make a marvelous coffee cake . . . even if you’ve never baked before.  It’s topped with sunny apricot jam and crispy slivered almonds – has that wonderful flavor only yeast baking can give you.  Just be sure to use Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast.  It’s so fast-rising and dependable . . . and easy to use!”

Easy Delicious Fleischmann’s Yeast Recipe

Golden Apricot Coffeecake

Filling-

½ cup (1 stick) Blue Bonnet Margarine

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup slivered blanched almonds

½ cup apricot jam

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

Combine ingredients in saucepan, cook gently 5 minutes, stirring often. Let cool.

Dough –

¼ cup warm (not hot) water

1 package Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast

½ cup Blue Bonnet Margarine

½ cup sugar

3 eggs

¼ cup milk

3 cups sifted enriched flour

½ teaspoon salt

Sprinkle yeast in water and dissolve. In mixing bowl cream margarine, gradually add sugar and cream together. Stir in yeast mixture and remaining ingredients. Beat until blended.  Reserve ½ cup dough.  Spread remaining dough in greased 9x9 inch pan.  Cover with apricot filling.  Work reserved ½ cup dough with ¼ cup additional flour until smooth and pliable.  Roll into a 12x12 inch square. Cut into ½ inch strips. Arrange lattice fashion over filling. Brush with beaten egg white. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from draft until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.  Bake at 375 degrees (moderate) about 30 minutes.

Coffee Cake from Mrs. Heye Korthouse of Windom, MN

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

3 eggs, beaten

3 cups sifted flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup strong, cold coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts or 1 teaspoon black walnut flavoring

Cream butter and sugars together and beat in eggs. Sift dry ingredients together and add to first mixture alternately with the coffee.  Stir in the vanilla and nuts.  Pour into a shallow greased pan 9x14 inches.  Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for 45 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or frost with a caramel frosting.

Foodie Friday - Minute Rice

Amazing New Rice Discovery

Makes dazzling dishes a cinch to prepare!

No Washing!

No Rinsing!

No Draining!

No Steaming!

Perfect Rice every time!

Minute Rice was introduced in 1949 by a company called General Foods.  According to Wikipedia it is “is rice that has been precooked and dehydrated so that it cooks more rapidly.”  What it lacks in flavor it makes up in cooking time, and ease of preperation. 

Interestingly enough while looking for information on the history of Minute Rice I found an article titled – Minute Rice and 19^th Century Urdu Poetry. I found this intriging because well, while I don’t have Minute Rice in the house, I do have Urdu poetry (yes in Urdu, though admitedly I would be very hard pressed to read it anymore with the Urdu script and all.)  If the article is true then Minute Rice was invented by an Afghani immigrant named Ozai-Durrani who left half of his estate for the translation of two 19^th century poets.

Whether you like it or not it seems that Minute Rice is here to stay. 

It looks like this was from a color insert from the newspaper or maybe a large magazine.  Below are the recipes.

Baked Tomatoes with Rice

Remove seeds and pulp from 6 firm tomatoes. Save pulp.  Salt inside of tomatoes. Bake in shallow baking dish at 375 F for 15 minutes. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan; add ½ cup diced celery, ¼ cup diced green pepper, 2 tablespoons chopped onion.  Cook 3 minutes.  Add ½ package (2/3 cup) Minute Rice, ¾ cup water, ½ teaspoon salt, dash of pepper. Bring quickly to a boil, uncovered, fluffing once or twice with a fork.  Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.  Add tomato pulp.  Fill baked shells with mixture.  Bake 5 minutes longer.  A heavenly dish – with the savory flavor right through the rice!  Serves 6

Bacon ‘N Egg Rice

Prepare 1 package (1 1/3 cups) precooked Minute Rice as directed on package. Let stand 10 minutes.  Add 5 sliced cooked bacon, diced, and two hard cooked eggs, diced.  Melt one package (8 ounces) processed American cheese in double boiler. Add ½ cup milk and blend well.  Place rice mixture on platter and top with cheese sauce. Then try to make people believe you turned out this luscious feast, with perfect rice, in so few minutes!  Serves 6.

Foodie Friday - My Grandmother's Blue Books

My grandmother was a farmer’s wife who spent the first part of her marriage living with her mother-in-law, who, for all the stories that I have heard, was not a very pleasant woman.  I can only imagine her relief when my grandparents bought a farm not far from a town called Centerville.

My grandmother was patient and kind, and spoiled her two grandchildren.  One of the things that I have from her is her blue note books filled with newspaper clippings, pages from magazines, food packages, handwritten cards and any other form such as the handwritten recipe for ‘Elise Rehbein’s Buns 1959’. 

These books are a sort of time capsule, a glimpse of a time when life was simpler, when we thought nothing of eating things like Corn Flake Macaroons, Yum Yum Cookies, or Pineapple Salad with Cheese.  Where the prize was for a recipe was $5 and your full name and address were included with your recipe.  Where you wrote to someone called ‘Betty Service’ to find a recipe that you lost.

Creamy Dutch Apple Dessert

(makes 10 to 12 servings)

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 ½  cups graham cracker crumbs

1 (14 ounce) can Eagle@ Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated)

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

¼ cup Realemon@ reconstituted Lemon Juice

1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling

¼ cup chopped walnuts

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a 1 ½ quart shallow baking dish (10x6 inch).  Melt butter in oven. Sprinkle in crumbs; stir well. Press on bottom of dish.  In medium bowl, mix together sweetened condensed milk, sour cream and Realemon; spread evenly over crumbs. Spoon pie filling evenly over creamy layer.  Bake 25 to 30 minute or until set.  Cool slightly.  In a small dish mix together nuts and cinnamon; sprinkle over pie filling.  May be served warm or cold.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Bon Appetit