Culinary Corner

  Those that know me, know that when it comes to food, I am basically a 'meat and potatoes' guy.  Nevertheless, I do have my favourite foods:

- Orange juice is my second favourite beverage and as I go into the warmer weather, I always enjoy real orange juice (not from concentrate!) that has been in the freezer just long enough to become 'slushy'.  My most favourite beverage?  Read on...

- People have accused me of being a 'Coke-a-holic'.  I am not, however, as long as I get one a day at lunchtime!  I am better behaved with my Coke usage then I was living in the West when I had a large insulated mug that I would constantly refill all through the day.

- I have become very fond of Lesley's Mahogany Stew.  Yum!  It just melts in your mouth.  Slow cooked in a crock pot for hours and hours.

- There is nothing like a well-made burger, NO CHEESE PLEASE!  Yes, people think I am odd because I don't like cheese, doubly so, when I tell them I like pizza and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Go figure.  But, yes, burgers are very tasty.  When I build mine, it is with onions, lettuce and ketchup.

- I like pasta...again, no cheese.  You might think that is a contradiction of terms because most people think pasta and cheese go together. If you are a regular  reader, you have already learned that I am, how should I say it, a little different.  Yes, pasta and sauce for me...and meat is OK, too.

- I think I have mentioned this before, my dad use to make what he called 'tuna pea wiggle'.  White sauce with tuna and peas over toast, or a variation with chipped beef instead of tuna.  Anyway, I have always liked that, but don't get much opportunity to enjoy it.  When I tell people about it, they just look at me funny.
- Might as well include comfort foods, as well.  Sometimes I have a hankering for crushed saltine crackers in a bowl with milk and sugar or bits of bread with the same.  I think these were conjured up when there was no ready-to-eat cereal in the house.

- Pies....ahhhhh!  The best apple pie I ever had was made by my grandmother.  There have been a couple pies that have come very close!  I had the great privilege of living with my grandparents for several years and between my grandfather being a butcher and my grandmother having been a cook, well, there were some pretty great meals on the table.  Every Saturday night, it was homemade baked beans and at family gatherings were yeast rolls, large and fluffy, with  real butter to melt on them.  Another speciality of my grandmother's were cream of tarter biscuits, oh boy.  I can just go on and on about her cooking but I am starting to drool onto my keyboard.  I have to admit, there are some store bought pies that aren't bad.  One I like is Marie Callendar's Razzleberry frozen pie.  One more pie to mention (am I hooked on pies?), Lesley makes a great no bake pie that is...., well, heck, here is the recipe:

             BERRY BERRY COOL PIE

Servings: Makes one pie - Freeze time: 5 hours - Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 (14 ounce can) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 to 2 cups berries, mix or match (raspberries, blueberries or blackberries)
1 (8 ounce) container frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
1 (6 ounce) graham cracker pie crust shell
Instructions:
In large bowel, mix together sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice, combine well. Mix in berries. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon mixture into crust. Freeze 5 hours or until set. Let stand 30 to 40 minutes before serving. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in freezer.

- I am also a sucker for homemade whoopee pies.  For those that have been sheltered, a whoopee pie is creme filling sandwiched between two devil's food cake patties three to four inches in diameter.  Sounds good, eh?

There are many more foods and goodies that could be mentioned, but we all have favourite foods that can make us weak at the knees, in fact, I would love to hear yours if you can suffer through the gamit of posting a reply to me!

Food is our common ground, a universal experience. - James Beard