Lemon Pound Cake

My mom made this every year at Christmas and also other times.  She learned it from a very dear friend in the Opp family. We now make it for Christmas and many other times as well in three different flavors: Lemon, Almond, and Orange.

Mom used to bake it in regular or long thin loaf pans.  We cook it in mini loaf pans and always freeze it in plastic wrap tightly before serving if possible.  There is something about freezing it that changes the texture.  Freezing it also allows it to cut cleaner as it is partially thawed. Whatever the shape of the pan, make sure to make enough of the glaze to fill it to the top when the pan comes out of the oven while it is hot.  As you pour in the glaze to soak, also pull apart the pan sides or gently use a spatula or knife to allow the glaze to sink down the sides so that the whole loaf can absorb the glaze.  This is sort of like soaking a Rum Cake in rum, but we don't use alcohol in our family so the glaze does the same thing.  Before wrapping the loaves to freeze, allow the loaf to soak most of the glaze in and cool to warm.  Then empty the loaf onto the plastic wrap with any residual glaze and wrap tightly. Then freeze.

We made over 600 of them for a wedding using two Bundt tea Cake & Candy Mold pans and still had some left in the freezer 3 months later that tasted fresh when we pulled them out.  They usually don't make it to the thawed stage because they are great frozen.  They freeze well and about 36 of them store in each gallon ziplock bag for easy serving anytime. We made about 350-400 of them for another wedding and they worked out just as well.

The recipe to the right above is the same for both loafs and these smaller versions.  The instructions below are notes from making them in the Tea Cake or Petit Four shapes.

One recipe of the pound cake is enough for about 2 pans of the tea cakes.  Each pan makes 30 small cakes so one recipe is makes about 60 small cakes.

1. Preheat the oven and make the batter.
2. Lightly spray the pans with non stick spray(we use soy-free).
3. Lightly flour the pan or not.  If you flour it, make sure to bang it upside down over the sink to get out excess flour or you might get a gross, dry clump of it when done.
4. Fill a gallon ziplock bag with batter and clip off  one of the bottom corners a little.
5. Use the ziplock bag to pipe in batter to each shape of the pan.  Fill them about 3/4 or so full. (It depends on weather, oven, and your flour.)
6. Thwack them on a counter a few times or on the back porch(please be sanitary) to get out bubbles.  If you don't, then you will have air bubble holes on the finished products that are very noticeable since these are so small.
7. Put them in the oven to bake.  I have to bake them in our gas oven on the top shelf or they get too brown before done.  They look best when light but cooked.  Bake till golden on the edges.  It takes about 19 minutes in my oven.
8. Turn them out onto a bakers rack that is placed over a sheet cake pan or cookie tray. Set pan to side to cool while glazing.
9. Hand dip cakes in bowl of glaze and place on rack to drip and set.  You could also spoon or pour glaze over cakes either while hot and then again a few minutes later, or wait a few minutes and glaze but still while warm.  If they have glaze on all sides, including the bottom, they keep fresh longer.
10. Spray pans again, Refill with ziplock batter and start the process over again.
11.  Allow the cakes to dry.  Depending on humidity, it can take up to 3 hours but it is ok to freeze while still sticky.  Place about 36 in gallon ziplock bag if not sticking to each other and freeze them flat.

I know I have missed something in here somewhere, but hope to update this as we make more.  I also have pictures to upload sometime soon too.

This is about how full I like to fill them before baking.

This is how they look after they have been hand dipped and dried some.  You can see the darker ones that were from the bottom shelf in the oven versus most that were baked on the top shelf.

These were finished and what fit on our serving plates.  The dark ones to the side were from the batch cooked on the bottom rack. Some browning was fine when glazed but 4 or 5 of those look a little way to done so I'm guessing I gave those to the kids.

Basic White Sauce for whatever...

This is the one Mom uses that is just inside the cover of her favorite Better Homes & Gardens red gingham notebook cookbook.  It is a good start for cream tuna fish and peas on toast or for chicken and broccoli crepes.

Thin sauce: (1 cup)
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper
1 cup milk

Medium sauce: (1 cup)  (this is what mom usually uses)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper
1 cup milk

In a saucepan melt butter.  Stir in flour, salt, and dash of pepper.  Add milk all at once.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir 2 minutes more.

Christmas College Vacation Quick List Menu Options

Gnocchi with spinach ham sauce or with trader joe’s marinara and ground beef, salad, green beans

Bacon wrapped sage pork medallion with salad and butternut squash with or without cranberries , melon, rosemary bread

Pesto pasta maybe with diced chicken and salad with croutons

Antipasto Platter like Whole Foods Market

Burritos and or fajitas

Spaghetti, Italian salad with pepperoncini

Greek chicken, honey rice,  tzatziki sauce,  Greek salad,  pitas, lemon soup

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, homemade rolls

Asian chicken ?, rice, fruit

Steamed pork buns

Homemade ribs, salad

Pulled pork crockpot on buns with ciabatta

Chili and potato soup? With rice

Wingers type sauce on crispy fried chicken with or over salad

Wheat waffles

Apple cake

Swedish tea rings

Breakfast burritos

Orange Julius

Caramel Popcorn

Sour Cream Enchiladas/Regular Enchiladas, black beans, rice, chips

Chicken Enchilada soup

Empanadas

Zulema fajita marinated grilled chicken, rice, sautéed zucchini

Café Rio type pork with uncle Jason’s sweet green salsa and cilantro lime vinaigrette

Mousakka  with Mediterranean Dipping Platter from Whole Foods Market (white and wheat pita bread, feta, assorted olives, dolmas, hummus, roasted red bell peppers)

Jambalaya with rice

Shrimp lemon zest butter garlic pasta with spinach salad

Potstickers (homemade so soy free)

Bruschetta platter from whole foods market (marinated artichokes, roasted eggplant, sundried tomatoes, sliced toasted baguettes)

Spinach Artichoke Dip in bread bowl with sourdough bread from Whole Foods Market if still soy free and make from scratch if not

Pineapple or Mango Salsa Chicken with white or brown rice, Costco veggie tray and sliced cucumbers and baby carrots

Pesto filled Tortellini with marinara sauce or pesto or cold in tortellini salad

San Diego possible Soy Free Eating Options

This is a list of some places that may or may not still have Soy Free food options in San Diego and especially North County San Diego.  ALWAYS check first as ingredients are ALWAYS subject to change.

Restaurants

In and out (uses cottonseed oil)

Cessys (Mexican Taco Dive in Carlsbad)

Mr taco (Mexican Taco Dive in San Marcos)

Brunos pizza and lunch buffet (San Marcos)

Filipis pizza (throughout San Diego County)

Ranch 99 (bbq pork buns)

Phil’s BBQ San Diego dry rub

Rubios (Bean And Cheese burrito)

Il Fornaio (Throughout California)

Vigiluci’s downtown Carlsbad

Whole Foods Market Encinitas and La Jolla

Sprouts (rotisserie Chicken fairly bland but usually ok)

Souplantation salad only

Claim Jumper Carlsbad (maybe salad bar and maybe ribs if request no sauce but need to check each time)

Elephant bar (vegetables and salad no dressing)

Jamba Juice

Girard Gourmet for Sandwiches on Girard in La Jolla might have soy free bread

Lundberg Farms Organic nonGMO gluten free Brown Rice

This is my favorite rice and I hope Costco keeps selling it because I've heard they stopped in parts of the country.  It takes longer to cook than white but tastes great and is so drastically much more healthy feeling after eating it compared to white rice.

http://www.lundberg.com/Default.aspx

Brown Rice Cooking Instructions

· 1 cup Lundberg^® Short Grain Brown rice

· 2 cups water or broth

· 1 tbsp. butter (optional)

· salt to taste

Put all ingredients in a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 50 minutes. Do not remove lid. Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. A rice cooker may be used with the same water-to-rice ratio. Yield: 3 cups.

If you're going to use white rice, Calrose is our favorite.

Lemon Bar Recipe

There are many recipes for lemon bars but this one is lemony and tangy and sweet and just the right amount of each part of a lemon bar.  Some people kind of make them that taste like they were dusted with flour, not powdered sugar.  Some people make them with a dry crust that has a really tiny amount of any flavor on top.  Some people make them so that they look nice but the lemon pie type filling on top tastes like rice paste.  This recipe doesn't make those mistakes and is perfect for our family.

Uncle Jason's Green Tomatillo Salsa Recipe

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You Jason!!!!!!!!

This is the best and awesome to have it be soy free to boot. No more needing to get my fix from Rubio's for the green stuff.  I used to love the Rubio's chopped salad with their green stuff and still like it, but their steak has turned more hot dog processed texture and tasting over the past year and a half so I'd much rather make my own salad at home.

OK I made it at home yesterday and to tone down the spice for those who ate with us, use about 1/4 can of diced jalapeno peppers, and instead of 2 Tablespoons of salt, use 2 teaspoons of salt, and add an extra 1/4 cup of sugar.

Mom's perfect Rice Krispies Treats!

Strangely enough, we know several people who say they can't make the super-easy rice krispy treats and have them taste good;  they turn out rock hard or strangely flavored or something!   Well, Mom has a few tips that make hers turn out perfect every time:

• use miniature marshmallows (they melt faster, so don't cook as long, so the mixture stays softer)
• use fresh Kraft marshmallows
• use the "old" recipe that has a bit more butter than the newer "healthier" recipe
• DON'T overcook the marshmallows!!
• coat the tray in butter not Pam to avoid the "fake" taste
• use the Kellogg's Rice Krispies, not a knock-off brand, for the best taste
• measure the marshmallows and cereal ahead of time so you can just dump in quickly and avoid over-cooking.

1/4 cup butter
4 cups miniature marshmallows
6 cups rice krispies cereal
butter to smear onto pan/tray

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat (not the high heat Dad usually uses!!).  Add the marshmallows and stir just until completely melted (no more!).  Remove from heat.   Add the cereal and stir until well coated.   Pour and press into a buttered 13x9 pan.   Wait until cool to cut (but feel free to snitch around the edges while it is cooling!!)

For holidays or special events, sprinkling colored sugar crystals over the top makes them "fancy" and gives a little crunch when eating!!  You just have to sprinkle the sugar on when it is still warm so the sugar will stick!!

Aunt Jane's cheesy bread

This is the make-ahead sandwich loaf bread that we first had at an open house with the Daynes.  Since getting the recipe from Aunt Jane, we've used it for all sorts of people-coming-over events (mission farewells, ordinations, baptisms, birthdays, potlucks, etc).  It is a great complement to a soup and salad dinner.  You can make the loaves ahead of time and put them in the fridge (or freezer!) and then just bake them when you want to use them!

• One unsliced loaf of sourdough french bread  (the "sourdough" is more important than the "french"--it has the heartiness to hold up to the cheese; if it is a smaller loaf, use two loaves; most sourdough bread is soy-free!)
• 6 oz. grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 8 oz tub whipped butter (I use about 5-6 oz butter, and I usually use regular softened butter that I whip)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped green onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Slice the loaf of bread horizontally as if to make a giant sub sandwich.  Mix the rest of the ingredients together into the whipped butter.   Spread the mixture onto both sides of the bread, put the two sides together, and cut into slices.  Wrap the entire loaf in aluminum foil.  

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes--until the cheese is all melted and the crust is crispy.   If you're putting it in the oven from the fridge, add an extra 10 minutes or so.

Yippee Skippee!!!! Mom's Frosting Recipe

Cameron seems to call for this recipe about once a month...  it's probably time to post it!

Mom's Buttercream Frosting

about 2/3 cup butter (3/4 of a stick)
about 3 tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of almond extract
dash of salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream the butter until fluffy with a hand mixer.  Add about half of the powdered sugar.  Mix well.  Add the milk, flavorings, and salt.  Mix well again.  Add the rest of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  Add a bit more powdered sugar or milk until frosting is desired consistency.

Soy Free Barbeque BBQ Sauce Recipe

BBQ sauce is always a challenge on a soy free diet.  We are of the thicker tomato based sweet BBQ liking persuasion.  The thinner, heavy vinegar based kind weve eaten in the south is not what you will find made in our kitchen.

Sorry, if that is what you are looking for.  

Two exact same looking bottles of sauce on the shelf at the same store can at times have different ingredients.  When calling the manufacturers, they often don't even know and will even say no soy over the phone when it is listed on the bottle. So... if you aren't sure from past trial and error and supplier that BBQ is safe then you have to approximate and make your own. 

I make it differently each time but about the same.  This chicken scratch is from one of the times I wrote down what I used after making it.

The basics to a soy free sweet BBQ Sauce are basically manipulating the amounts of some kind of vinegar, brown and white sugar, molasses, tomato paste or sauce, and other spices and fruit juice or vegetable additions.  Some people add liquid smoke but we've been a little wary of this ingredient because a lot of the bottles of it appear a little too mystery ingredientesque to feel safe allergen wise.  I've called a company or two and been told its just liquid smoke with no other ingredients. I'd rather be safe than sorry with this and depending on the meat we use it on, there is usually enough "smoke" flavor for us from the grill.

Nick's Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

A recipe in words of a kindergartner after helping dad make chicken noodle soup.  Yes opening a can is so much easier but then you have that weird artificial aftertaste and also the ever present allergen soy.  The canned chicken we have used is only available at Sam's Club around here but may have soy in the future. If soy is an issue, please always check for the words "broth" and "enhancer" and "flavoring" along with the many other hidden allergen words for soy.

Oven Rosemary Potatoes Recipe

Alexia Foods Oven Fries in the freezer section have been soy free in the past and hopefully will be in the future.  Sometimes we run out and other times we just want to make a 5 or 10 pound bag of them so its just not practical to have that many Alexia ones in the fridge.

The Alexia ones have the following ingredients:  Olive Oil, Rosemary, Garlic, Russet Potatoes, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Marjoram, Thyme, and Dextrose.

There are varied recipes out there in books and on the internet but what we do is basically cut the potatoes in 4 or 6 sections so the pieces are about 1 1/2 inch chunks or if you want thick fry shapes then sliced accordingly.   Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl and pour olive oil, whatever form of garlic on hand, chopped fresh Rosemary( dried is fine too), Thyme, Salt, and Pepper.  Then toss the potatoes til coated and place on a cookie sheet that has oiled aluminum foil lining it.  Maybe sprinkle some more salt and seasonings over it if desired and put in the oven.  Bake about 30 minutes until they are browned some and a fork comes out easily or you taste them to see if done.  Depending on your oven, you may need to turn them about half way through the cooking process.

Corn Bread Recipe The Sweet Almost Cake Kind

As far as I can tell, this is the Corn Bread Recipe that mom and grandma use.

Quick Baked Potato or Sweet Potato Recipe

Well this isn't really a recipe but rather directions.  Wash the potato or yam or sweet potato.  Wrap it in wax paper and twist the ends.  Microwave for 7 minutes and let sit a couple minutes before unwrapping to serve or eat.
Sometimes more time is needed but 7 minutes is what the plastic wrapped microwave ones say in the produce section and what has worked for me for years.  If you need more that one, then adjust the time about 4-6 minutes for each additional one and have them individually wrapped.
After doing this the first time, make a note of how long it takes with your microwave if it needs more time since different microwaves have different wattage.
If you are eating baked yams or sweet potatoes, then mix some cinnamon with brown sugar to fill it with.
I haven't tried it yet but I think using a piece of a paper grocery bag might work too.  The steam from the potato should keep the paper from catching fire but don't try this unless you are watching it and let me know if it works or you had to call the fire dept and don't blame me.  I have used parchment paper before and plastic wrap but am a little weary of plastic wrap touching food in the microwave from the stories of it as a possible carcinogen.

Boiled Rice Recipe

Yes this is kind of like "how to boil water".  BUT have you tried the awful rice some people make?  A rice cooker is the easiest option but when you don't have one, here's the basic recipe.  If you double or triple it, then cut back some on the water because it won't need as much to cook.

1.  Pour 1 3/4 cups of water in a pot that has a lid.  Add 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Add 1 Tablespoon of butter. 
2. Bring to a rolling boil. I sometimes cheat, don't wait long enough, and people can always tell.
3. Add 1 cup of rice slowly.
4. Cover and cook over low heat.  Set a timer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat to another burner and let sit for 5 minutes more.
5. Fluff with a fork, serve, and eat.

German Pancakes Recipe a.k.a. Oven Pancakes

Use a cake pan, casserole pan, or pie tin.  They are good with syrup and powdered sugar or canned or fresh fruit.  This is the recipe we use but probably the same as everyone else too.  On a trip to England years ago, almost the same thing was served smaller as a bread with dinner.  Dessert to one is a dinner roll to another.

Crepe Recipe

A blender and a pan and just a few ingredients make a crepe that can be filled with anything main dish or dessert.  This is moms recipe that we've used forever.

Waffles Recipe - a big batch

Waffles are great!  So many years soy free has made a necessity of making a big batch for freezing.  Waffles at stores and even at restaurants usually have at least the soy lecithin from the nonstick spray they use on the waffle iron. Here's the recipe we've used for years.  It makes a lot.

Sweet Potato Sefleu or Casserole Recipe

Aunt Stephanie made some great sweet potato stuff for a Thanksgiving years ago and I called her to get the recipe.  When she emailed it to me, she wrote Sweet Potato Sefleu and thats the name we called it because I though it was some Southern name for it. I later found out that Sefleu was just a typo that the spellchecker she had must have mixed up but we've had this recipe in our book this way so long that the title has stayed.