Banana Cream Pie

Banana is currently my daughter's favourite word. Recently we tried this recipe for the first time, and our family loves it. It comes from The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes. We realized how old this recipe is when reading the instructions it said, "... then remove the custard from the fire and add the butter and vanilla." We didn't have any fires on our stove while making it, which is a good thing.

6 Tablespoons sugar
5 Tablespoons flour 
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs - separated. Beat whites until dry
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 medium sized bananas
1 baked pie shell
whipping cream (optional)

Mix together sugar, flour and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Scald the milk in the top of a double boiler. While milk is heating, use a whisk to stir the milk. Slowly add sugar, flour and salt mixture to scalded milk while stirring constantly. If you have difficulty sifting the dry ingredients into the hot milk, reserve part of the cold milk to moisten them with. But if you are careful and do this gradually, you can sift them in and there won't be a single lump.

Add the beaten egg yolks and cook 2 minutes longer, then remove the custard from the heat and add the butter and vanilla. Let this cool.Once cooled, fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.

Slice one banana into bottom of pie shell. Spoon half of custard into shell. Then slice the other banana onto the custard in the pie shell and cover with remaining custard. Chill thoroughly.

Optional: Once chilled, cover top with whipping cream, or serve individual pieces with a dollop of whipping cream.

I had put slices of a third banana on top of the custard before putting it in the fridge to set. I wouldn't recommend this as the bananas turned brown and were harder to cut through after. Next time we will try just putting the whipped cream on top.

English Muffins

I got this recipe off the internet from watching Todd's Kitchen video. My daughter has really enjoyed that I can make these in the morning and doesn't have to rely on our buying them at the store. They don't take a long time to make and even on a hot day we can enjoy them since English Muffins are fried, not baked. 


 1 Tablespoon yeast
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg
2+ cups flour 
2 Tablespoons melted butter
pinch salt
corn meal to coat

Mix together yeast, water and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes or until foam forms on top.  Beat egg in bowl. Add flour, butter, salt and yeast mixture. Knead for 10 minutes, adding more flour until dough is only slightly sticky. Cover in air tight container or wrap with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour or until double in size.* Turn out of bowl and knead 1 or 2 minutes. If dough is still sticky, knead on floured surface. 

Divide dough into 16 even pieces. Make into small balls and pat down into circles. Dip the dough on both sides in corn meal. Place on cookie sheet that has slight coating of corn meal on it so the dough will not stick to the sheet. Preheat cast iron pan and then cook each side until golden brown (approximately 4 or 5 minutes each side). 

*Note: I put my dough in a Tupperware container with the seal but had to burp the seal every 5 or 10 minutes. 
 

The dough will rise a little in your pan as the muffins are cooking.

Don't cook the muffins at too high a heat or the middle won't cook through. As I cooked more of the English Muffins, my pan was hotter, so I had to turn my heat quite low so the later ones wouldn't burn.  

 I used a Classico lid to form my muffins so they would be the same size and shape. To keep the dough from sticking in the lid, I rolled the balls of dough in the corn meal first.

Homemade Strawberry Shake

Our family has made shakes at home occasionally using ice cream and milk and sometimes adding other ingredients. I am trying to watch what I eat to keep it dialysis and kidney friendly, and also to try to lose weight. So today, while my family made shakes with ice cream, I tried something a little different. I really enjoyed it and feel a lot better about having the shake!

2 cups frozen strawberries (cut up)
1½ cups milk
2 heaping teaspoons icing sugar

Blend in Magic Bullet or blender until all ingredients are well blended. You may need to stop and shake the blender if the strawberries get jammed or the thick part of the shake is stuck in the bottom.

Enjoy!

Aunt Leona's Bread

When I have time, I love making bread. I find this recipe really easy, although I have modified it a bit. It is from a family cookbook called Collections from Country Kitchens. 

I have found one of the keys to making bread is to make sure you knead it enough, but not too much. And as you make it, you will find the right consistency for the dough. I always think of the flour measurements as "suggestions" rather than set amounts. Also, keep your dough warm - I let mine rise in my oven with the oven light on.

Prepare 1 package or 1 Tablespoon yeast with ½ cup warm water in which 1 teaspoon sugar has been dissolved. Let stand 10 minutes

In a large bread pan* mix:

1 blob lard (the size of an egg)

1 or 2 Tablespoon(s) salt – the recipe calls for 2, but I use 1 because of my low sodium diet

4 cups warm water - I start off with hot and make sure it is warm when I add the yeast. I like that the lard melts in the hot water. But if you add yeast to hot water, you will kill the yeast

Add prepared yeast. Gradually mix in 6 cups flour, stirring thoroughly after each cup is added. Mix this well before adding about 5 more cups of flour, again mixing well after each cup is added. Knead this well adding extra flour if necessary, until dough is just slightly sticky. Grease dough generously, top and bottom, with butter or margarine. Cover and let rise 1½ hours; knead well. Let rise again 1 hour; knead well**. Cut dough into 6 equal pieces, shape and put into greased pans. To prevent air holes, use a fork to poke holes every ½ inch in the dough. Brush tops lightly with butter, then let rise for 1 to 1½ hours. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°. Brush hot loaves with butter again, when they are cooling.

 
*I use a Tupperware Thatsa Bowl - the dough doesn't stick to plastic as much as it does to metal.
** I only punch the dough down before putting it in the pans. I found otherwise I overworked the dough.

Note: I don't use margarine or butter to grease or brush the bread. If I use a metal bowl, it is cheaper for me to use canola oil to grease it so the dough won't stick. And I like the bread without brushing it with butter.  
Also: I sometimes substitute some of the white flour for whole wheat, but I don't use more than half whole wheat or my bread is too heavy.
 

Cheesed Cauliflower

The following recipe has become a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner staple in our home. It is from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (new in 1976).  I "borrowed" the cook book from my mom years ago and still love that I have it.

Remove leaves and trim base from 1 medium head cauliflower. Wash. Cook whole in boiling salted water 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Place on ungreased shallow baking pan. Sprinkle with salt. Mix ½ cup mayonnaise and 2 teaspoons prepared mustard; spread over cauliflower. Top with ¾ cup shredded sharp process cheese (we use medium or old cheddar instead of process cheese). Bake at 375˚ about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Note: we do not salt the water or sprinkle the cauliflower with salt since I am on a low sodium diet, and it still tastes great.