Since Christmas is now over and all the really fussy baking is done, I thought that I would add a very simple recipe for a coffee cake that is nice to make when people drop over for a visit and a nice cup of coffee or a hot chocolate.

It’s also been ages since I last posted a new recipe, and thought that I should try to get back into the groove a little bit.

Here is a simple list of the ingredients that you will need:

For Batter:

1/4 pound (1/2 cup) of butter softened to room temperature

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

1 1/2 cups of flour (sifted is best)

1 teaspoon of baking powder and the tiniest ever pinch of salt (sift with flour or use a whisk - whisk flour, baking powder and the pinch of salt together in a separate bowl)

1 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract

For Topping:

1/4 cup of butter

1/4 cup of chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup of sugar

Now we begin!

Cream the butter and sugar…beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, and continue beating.

Add sifted flour, baking powder and super skimpy pinch of salt, alternately with the milk.

Add extract to batter, and set aside.

Now prepare the topping mixture and pan.

Grease a loaf pan with some of the 1/4 cup butter, then cover the bottom with the remaining butter, nuts, cinnamon, and sugar.

Now pour the batter over the mixture, and spread evenly in the loaf pan.

Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. (If you know your oven is hot or a convection oven it might take a shorter time, than if your oven is on the cooler side, or cooks unevenly)

Test with a toothpick to see if done.

Once done and removed from the oven, select a nice plate,  place on top of the loaf pan and invert it, so the buttery, sugar, cinnamon, nut mixture is on top. Allow to cool.

Enjoy!

This material is copyright and owned by Sylvia Albert. It is meant for personal use only.

Posted Dec 29, 2009

Nothing beats fresh bread….mmmmm….I can smell it now!

If you’ve never made bread before, this is the perfect recipe to start with, as there is no yeast to worry about.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Buttermilk

4 Cups Wholewheat flour

1.5 Cups All Purpose Flour

1.5 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Additional Optional Ingredients:

1/4 cup of dried currents

1/2 teaspoon of caraway seeds

Feel free to add both - a very unique taste when added

Makes one loaf - double the recipe if you want two loaves (one to eat and one to share…so people will believe that you made it)

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Add buttermilk to dry ingredients  - you may not need it all…Stir in enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.

Once ready, use a floured surface to knead dough on (do not knead too much, or it will get hard as you will overwork the flour and also work out the bubbles). Once kneaded, make a circle about 1.5 - 2 inches thick.

Place the circle on a baking sheet, and use a knife to mark an X across the top. Make sure that it is fairly deep. Should look like an oversized aspirin (ha,ha).

Insert into a pre-heated oven - approx 400 degrees, for about 45-50 minutes until browned (or until it sounds hollow when tapped). Cool, slice, butter and eat!!!!

Great with jam, cheese, tea, soup, or any old fashioned home cooked meal - like stew.

It is best fresh - does not keep well, so try to eat it the day you make it (just remember to let it cool).

Enjoy!

Posted May 1st, 2007

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Harvest Pork Chops….

A little sweet, a little savoury, mostly yummy!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Pork chops - seared on high heat to brown them
Apple Juice (100% unsweetened)
Onions - sliced in wedges
Sultana raisins
Apples - tart or sweet is ok
A little butter/oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic

Rice - as a side dish

I just whipped this up out of an abundance of the above ingredients, and it was delish!

We begin!

I started with about 3-4 onions, sliced into wedges, and sauted them in a butter and olive oil mixture. I added about four apples (gala), peeled, with seeds removed, and cut them into wedges also (they cook slower that way). I softened them up a little, then added a handful of raisins, and the spices. I placed the mixture in the bottom of a roaster, to make a bed for the pork chops.
I seared the pork chops (a big package - 12 or so) and also seasoned them with the same spices. Go as heavy on the spices, as your palate enjoys!
I them placed the browned, yet uncooked pork chops, on the prepared bed of onions, raisins, and apples.
I opened a one litre package of 100% Apple juice - unsweetened, and poured it in the roaster to the bottom of the top layer of pork chops.
I thought that the apple juice would create an interesting, yet flavourful poaching liquid vs. just adding water.
I placed the cover on the roaster, and placed in a preheated 350 degree oven. I left them there for about an hour and fifteen minutes.
Test with a fork to see if it is tender.

Change the amount of time if you prepare less pork.

Serve on a bed of fresh rice.

Tastes quite similar to Chilean empanadas, if you’ve ever had them.
The raisins plump up during the cooking, and the dish is kind of sweet, but tasty, if you’re looking for a change.

I’m having them as left overs tonight! Enjoy!

This recipe posted November 9th, 2005. Material is copyright, all rights reserved.
To contact the writer, please send an email to : kisssilva@yahoo.com

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Hello food fanatics… here’s a winter staple that yor family will really dig (providing they like saurkraut, of course)!

It’s not expensive to make, and is great for when there’s a chill in the air, and you feel like kicking back at home, and making the house smell great.

As with every great dish, there are many variations, so sit back, don’t yell at the computer…”my mother does it this way…blah,blah,blah.” I can’t hear you when you tell me those kind of things anyway. Email me if it is really important, or if you have any questions about any of these recipes at kisssilva@yahoo.com . Please don’t expect a super timely response, as I do this in my spare time, for funzies. Also please remember to put something about recipes in the topic area, so I don’t delete you as spam, okiedokie? Good.

An Ode to saurkraut….
My Saurkraut is …. OK, so I won’t bore you with trivial stuff only to say that in my family… Saurkraut is KING!
It is made by the vat, not the gallon.
As I do not personally own or operate the “vat,” I am like you, and buy mine at the grocery store (boo,hoo…it’s not the same). So I just suck it up…and make the darned purchase!
I prefer the Hotzhiezer or something like that… brand, and always look for the White Wine variety. Bick’s will do in a pinch. Costco has huge jars of Steinfield’s for a good deal, and is great for big cooking jobs.

When picking out pork, I look for a picnic cut with the hock attached, as it’s a good price usually, you get lots out of it, but it’s a little work. If you’re in a pinch, just buy some cubed up stuff from the butcher (ahhhh… the butcher shop…).

Now picture a large Hungarian woman in a big white apron, clapping her hands together briskly, and saying “We begin!”

We begin ! (just incase you missed it the first time!)

Here’s what you need:

Pork picnic or otherwise - 1 lb if you’re a light eater, the whole picnic for a crowd.
Onions - I love onions, so I probably put more in than what would be called for
Hungarian Paprika - Yes I am actually particular, as there is a world of difference!
Salt (a pinch or two - to your liking)
Whole Peppercorns (a pinch)
Saurkraut (White Wine) - about 4 parts saurkraut to 1 part meat
A little oil - canola, corn, olive… whatever!
Bay leaves - optional ( I remove when the cooking is over)
Sour cream -1 tub - it takes the edge off of the saurkraut

On the Side:
Fresh bread thickly sliced (I cut it an inch thick) - I prefer Natural Bakery bread
Pickles - You can’t have this dish without them on the side

So…
If you’ve gone the picnic route, you’ll need to cube up the meat. I make mine about an inch thick or a little better, as it will cook down in size.

Take a large stockpot/dutch oven and pour a little oil in.

Enough to slowly cook the onions in (I use about 2 big ones - most people probably use 1). I take a little time here to get them golden (not min, not med. heat).

Then I add the meat, and slowly cook the lot together.

It will render in it’s own juices if you slowly cook it.

If you need to, you can add a little water here to cover the meat, but try to stay away from it, as it is much tastier if you simply cook it slower.

Take the pot off of the element, and add some paprika.

I add a few heaping spoonfuls, as I just love it!
You can go easier if you are new to the spice, or you are preparing the smaller 1 lb. portion.
Rinse the saurkraut under cold water (otherwise it can be waaaay to vinegary), then squeeze out the water to the best of your ability (don’t go crazy here).
Add the saurkraut to the meat/onion/paprika mixture, and continue to slow cook. You can add the salt and peppercorns now.

The reason I use peppercorns, is that it provides a more subtle flavour than using ground pepper.

Just watchout when you’re eating the food, as they can really wake you up if you don’t watch out! I have to admit that I pick them out, but some people just crunch them.

The trick is not to let the mixture boil, as the paprika will turn bitter, if you go crazy on the heat (please see the previous recipe for more on paprika).
Add a bay leaf or two.

And an hour or so later…”Voila! You’re a genius!”
I take a little longer when I make the big honkin’ variety, probably closer to two hours (but I really could feed an army with how much I prepare).

Variations to the dish:

I like mine with sour cream blobbed on top, to cut the acidity of the saurkraut, and bring a delicious creaminess to the dish. I go full fat…full flavour. The meat and the saurkraut are lean, so don’t be skimpy on the sourcream.

Some people add a handfull of uncooked long grain rice to the dish to stretch it out, when adding the saurkraut. You may have to add a little water here in this case, as the rice will absorb the available juices.

You can add a pinch of caraway seeds to the mix. Please keep in mind, that you’ll want to adjust your bread to be french or something white inside, with out caraway seeds, if you do that. Otherwise it could be over kill.

Hungarians love to add 1 tomato and 1 piece of green pepper to anything that says goulash (just about). It won’t hurt the dish if you get a “little crazy,” and add it in, to the sauted onions (once cooked).

I like a little granulated or fresh garlic in mine (added during the cooking phase).

If you want to add to the flavour, paprika bacon fat or smoked slab bacon fat, can be used to saute the onions in (ooohh it’s good this way). See butcher info on previous recipe for details.

I always eat mine with fresh rye bread and garlicky dill pickles (the more the merrier).

So enjoy!
This recipe is the sole property of Sylvia Albert, and is copyrighted. For permission to copy the material, please email kisssilva@yahoo.com . This recipe is intended to be used at home, and can be printed for that purpose alone. For questions related to recipes, please email.

Recipe posted October 11, 2005. Recipe edited October 17th, 2005.

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This little number is great when you are in dire need of a change. Your taste buds have already been speaking to you if this is the case….you know “make something, you haven’t cooked in ages” or “this again” or maybe even “where’s the flavour?”

This is a traditional Hungarian dish, typically cooked during the summer months, or whenever the peppers are ready. It can be made with or without meat (yippee “o” veggie lovers).

Here’s a few things that you may want to know.
1) Sweet Hungarian Paprika is the paprika that I use… and before you ask me… yes there is a difference! But rather than make a special trip to Fine Foods, the Co-op or your favorite European butcher shop, you can use what you have. I’ll take any reason to get myself into the butcher shop, so as the recipe proceeds, keep that in mind.
2) Sweet Hungarian Paprika is high in vitamin C, and once added to the dish, do not place the dish in a situation that it will encounter high heat. It turns the paprika bitter. Did you know that?..? We’re learnin’ already. A famous Hungarian dude won a Nobel Prize for the vitamin C thing also.
3) If I am in Winnipeg, my butcher of choice is European Meats on Burrows. All the meat is smoked the old fashioned way, not with the use of crazy chemicals. Man, can you tell the difference! The butcher on Nairn at the base of the overpass with the cow on the roof is good too in a pinch (paprika can be found here).
If in Beausejour, Brokenhead Sausage makes a killer coarse ham sausage. Go and buy one! Even if you aren’t making this dish!
4) This dish typically is made using Gypsy peppers (a variety that is sweet and conical, and has an incredible smell). You can use red peppers, green peppers, orange/yellow bell peppers, as chances are slim to none that you will find actual gypsy peppers.

We begin.

You will need:One big onion or two smallish ones
A few fresh tomatoes, or canned tomatoes with juice (don’t dump it… it’s like gold)
About 2 lbs of peppers (seeds and membranes removed…keeps away gas, you can thank me later)
Salt & Sweet Hungarian Paprika
A little oil or a piece of paprika bacon from European slowly cooked to release the golden orange flavour and the grease (guess which I prefer?)
Smoked meat (I prefer the very lean coarse ham sausage (kubassa), but in a real pinch a little Klik cubed up and added in at the very end will do. I am not a big fan of Klik by any standards, but somehow it works in this dish.
Tomato Juice optional (if you need extra moisture)

Cut up the onions, and saute in the oil/or preferred slowly released bacon fat, until golden. Cut up the peppers into rings or slices (less than 2 inches preferred) and add to the onions, and fry a little. Add tomatoes, salt, and stir. Keep stirring on low/med heat. You don’t want any burning here. Add paprika (about a tablespoon, but taste it, the more the merrier). When the peppers are softening a bit, add the meat to heat up. If you are going veggie… add a little garlic. Yum!

If you find that the dish is not very saucy, add some tomato juice. It should cover the peppers.

Serve on a bed of hot white rice.Great with dill pickles or cucumber salad (not the creamy kind), and fresh bread cut into big hunks!
Enjoy.
P.S. It shouldn’t take more than about 45 minutes to an hour.

This recipe is copyrighted by Sylvia Albert, and is the sole property of Sylvia Albert. For written permission to print the recipe in the media or any publications, please submit a request to kisssilva@yahoo.com. This recipe is intended for home use, and can be printed only as such.

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Welcome to Sylvia ’s Groovy Recipes!

If you’ve never been to this part of the website, please know that all recipes posted here are intended to be easy (most of the time), tasty (all of the time), and best of all easy on your wallet. I prefer to make things from scratch, but in a pinch we will cheat, by using some pantry items. These recipes are for those people in a hurry, those people who like not measuring everything down to the milligram, and those people who just plain dig hangin’ out in the kitchen. Recipes will be posted as I am able, so keep your eyes tuned, and add the website to your favorites to save time. Okiedokie? Good!

So, with that in mind, we shall begin.

MMMMMmmmmmm… this stuffing is SUPER easy, and not really expensive to create. It really makes a chicken sing (I would love to see that by the way)!

Here’s what you’ll need:

One bunch of celery (the whole darn thing, yes I really mean it!)
One box of seasoned croutons (try not to get ceasar or cheese, the box should say seasoned only) I know this is cheating, but it’s waaay easier this way, trust me.
Two biggish onions or three little ones
salt
pepper and garlic (all spices to taste, but the more the merrier right?)
A splash of olive oil (regular cooking oils may be subbed)
Chicken stock or water (either works; I set the neck, gizzards, hearts, etc, in a small pot with water on the stove with the same seasonings and a small onion over low heat, and let it cook. Almost like you would for gravy. Keep adding water, as it cooks down. I place the cover on with the lid a bit askew, so it doesn’t get super hot. Skim if needed. the clearer and slower that your stock cooks, the better.But water is just as good. A little less fattening too. Please do not use chicken powder or anything, or you will mess with the taste of the stuffing.
One chubb of frozen Pork Sausage or a package of fresh sausage with skins removed

So…
Wash the veggies.
Chop up the onions. It doesn’t have to be super fine, medium pieces is O.K.
Chop up the celery into pieces that are about __ that big. Look at the line, that’s the size!
Take a BIG frying pan, and saute the onions and celery on med/low heat in a little olive oil, until tender, but no where near mushy! Keep it a liitle firm, as it will cook further in your bird or separate baking pan. Set aside in a bowl, but you’ll need the frying pan again!
Now, take the chubb of defrosted pork sausage/fresh sausage and put it in the frying pan. Using a wooden spoon break it down into small bits. Fry on medium heat, and ensure that it is cooked throughout.
When done, add the vegetables back in, and add the box of croutons. You’ll need the stock here also. I’d guess about two cups, but add it slowly, as you may have used a different crouton brand than me! You may need more or a little less, depending. You should probably add 1 cup and then stir, then add a little at a time, until it is softening, but not mushy!
I add a schwak of garlic or granulated/powdered garlic, salt, and a fair amount of pepper. I am not a pepper nut, but add a little more than you would normally put in a dish, as the stuffing seems to suck it up. Taste test if you must, but the smell is the big indicator. If you can’t keep your spoon out of the bowl, to keep sampling, it’s probably just right!

I set it aside to cool, as it is very difficult to work with manually otherwise. You can use utensils, but your hands are the real magic in the recipe, as they are the best tools for stuffing a bird!

I fill the cavity, but I also separate the skin between the breast meat, and stuff it like mad! Try not to fill it too much though, as the stuffing will expand when the juices of the bird go into the croutons. If it’s too full, the skin will pop!
When the skin browns, it’s work fighting over at the table for a piece.

I cook my birds a little lower and longer, to produce a tender and juicy bird.

Turkey, 275 - 300 for 90% of the time, then 350-375 to finish and brown the skin.
Chicken 300 - 325 for 80 % of the time, then 375 to finish and brown.

Remember to baste, as it begins browning. I do it about every 5-10 minutes.

*** I also salt the birds inside and out, to keep bacteria at bay, and season it. Keep it on the light side. I just rub a little all over.

If you prepare the stuffing on the side, because you just looove stuffing. Prepare as above, and place in a covered pan (or tin foil covered loaf/bakingpan) until browned at about 350. Don’t ask me how long it takes, if you’re in a rush go to 375, but no more. When it starts browning, remove cover/ tin foil.

TIPS:

If by chance you have added too much liquid to the stuffing, place in a pan without a cover and bake. It will draw the moisture out. Lower and a little longer will help.

Hope you like the recipe.
If you have any comments, please email me at kisssilva@yahoo.com

All material is owned and copywrited by Sylvia Albert, and should not be copied for public use or material gain without the express written consent of Sylvia Albert. All material is intended for the recipient only, for home use.

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(This particular recipe is by Sylvia Albert stand in, Lane Robinson. I’m sure Sylvia would never use Cheese Whiz in a recipe )

OK, so, don’t tell anyone about this. It’s super good, and so easy a high school kid could do it. Arroz means rice, and pollo means chicken. Now don’t say “polo”, say “poy-oh”. This is spanish, and that double “l” is pronounced like a letter Y. You know, like in tortilla. Rice and chicken sounds pretty boring? Well, there’s buckets of flavour, so don’t you worry! I’ll make this receipe feed two adults and two younger kids. You can make more if you like, or less. When chichi’s/gringo’s went out of business, I missed this dish so much I made it in my kitchen one day. I figured I would try this version as an easy substitute, but it turns out it was almost exactly the same! Go figure.

Ingredients: (it’s short. I told you, this is easy as, um, kraft dinner)

• rice - 2 cups
• water - 4 cups
• cheese whiz - 1/2 cup
• salsa (mild, medium, or hot) - 1/2 cup
• chicken breast - 2 big ones, or 3 smaller ones

Start preheating your oven if you like.

Put chicken breast in the oven on broil for about 20 minutes, and flip once. If starting from frozen, add maybe 10 minutes. Times will vary according to your oven. You can use a thermometer to check internal cooking temperature. Just make sure it’s done while still being moist. Nothing fancy here. You can season it if you like, but it doesn’t really matter.

Now get yourself a cornerware dish. (Or just cook the rice your own way. I’m telling the inexperienced an easy way to cook rice.) Put the rice and water in the dish, put that in a microwave and cook it on medium for about 16 minutes. Adjust time to your specific microwave. We don’t want the rice to over cook and dry out. Also, if you can cook it on high, it’s hard to avoid pockets of undercooked rice while the rest might be overdone. Medium does a more even job.

We have rice and chicken finishing up about the same time.. Are they done?

OK, go back in time a couple of minutes. In a microwave or small saucepan on the stovetop, combined cheese whiz and salsa. (If you like lots of sauce, add more than the recipe says). If you like the zing, go for the hot salsa. I personally use medium so everyone in the house likes it. (mild is just tooo wimpy for me!) You want to melt the cheeze and salsa, and stir it up to make a uniform sauce. This only takes a couple of minutes, so you can do it in the microwave after you pull the rice out. The rice should settle a bit after cooking anyway. For the cooking time in the microwave, I just watch it. It’s very fast. Once it’s mostly melted, take it out, stir it up, and then put it back in for another half minute or so. You just want it hot. If it starts bubbling a lot, you’re overcooking it and making a mess in the microwave the other people in the house will complain about. About the cheese. Using real cheddar doesn’t work so great. It’s too oily. This is one place where processed cheese makes a better sauce. Velveeta or any other processed cheese will form a sauce easily enough.

Serve it by putting it on a bed of rice. I typically cut the chicken into strips so I can divide it easily between people. Put some of the strips on top of the rice, and then slather on the sauce. That’s it! Eat it!

To fancy it up, you can cook rice in tomato juice to make it red. This is how chichi’s used to serve this very dish. You could also serve it up with some steamed greens or a salad to round out the food groups a bit, but you know that!