journey of life

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4 cans of chicken stock (vegetable, beef or seafood stock would probably work just as well, bouillon cubes in a pinch)
1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup baby lima beans, fresh or frozen
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 cup green beans, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups cabbage, chopped finely
1 large can of crushed tomatoes (stewed tomatoes in a pinch)
parsley
16 ounces lump crab meat
salt and pepper to taste
old bay to taste

Add vegetables to chicken stock and simmer until vegetable start to soften. Add tomatoes and parsley. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Add lump crab meat right before serving.

Notes: I pulled this together tonight and was pleasantly surprised at how good it came out and how easy it was. Feel free to adjust (or omit) vegetables to your liking.

1 lb ground lamb

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 small onion, coarse diced

1 green pepper, coarse diced

1 12 oz can diced tomato

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 4 oz can sliced black olives (drained)

Juice of 1 lemon (and some zest)

2 tbl balsamic vinegar

Oregano to taste

Basil to taste

Garlic (as much as you like)

Brown meat, and strain (lamb is fairly fatty). Saute onions, peppers, mushrooms with light salt until they begin to soften. Return meat, add diced tomatoes, olives, juice from 1 lemon and a little lemon zest, balsamic, oregano, basil, garlic. Let cook on low heat until the flavors meld. Sauce should be slightly watery. Encorporate tomato paste about 5 minutes before serving. The sauce is rather chunky when it’s done… don’t panic… still good.

I serve this over Perciatelli (tube pasta that looks like a really fat spaghetti). Top with crumbled feta. If one person doesn’t like olives you can save them as a topping as well (I don’t actually like olives, but I think they add something to the sauce).

This also works nicely substituting shrimp and scallops for the lamb. Basically, you add them to the seafood to the sauce shortly before serving (10 minutes or so… it’s a guess) and let them cook in the sauce (cover the pot). When they’re done, it’s ready to serve.

Recipe courtesy of Mark. He says: Here’s the recipe…it’s an original. My greekish spaghetti. It started by my attempts to copy the Cellar’s, but since their quality has gone downhill, and not knowing exactly what they do I started tweaking what I was doing and it has evolved into something beyond what inspired it. Some of the changes were on purpose… some on accident… but it’s pretty good I think.

1 stick margarine or butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup self rising flour
(or regular flour w/2 tsp. baking powder)
3/4 cup milk
2 cup or more canned peaches or other fruit (or fresh with 1/2 cup of sugar)

Melt margarine in baking dish in 350°F oven while mixing other ingredients.
Mix all other ingredients except fruit with a whisk.
Pour batter over margarine. Do not stir.
Add fruit. Do not stir. Bake at 350°F about 40 minutes.

(I usually increase the flour, milk , & sugar by 1/4 c., leave the marg. the same, & then it makes a 9×13 pan full)

Recipe courtesy of Miss Gail, from Cynthia Hazelwood.

potatoes

salt

Hellmann’s® Real Mayonnaise

Miracle Whip® Dressing

celery seed

salt

pepper

onion powder

dill pickle juice

crumbled bacon

hard boiled eggs

Quarter potatoes and boil in salt water, but don’t get them too mushy. Drain potatoes and set aside to cool. Once cool, add Hellmann’s® Real Mayonnaise and a small amount of Miracle Whip® Dressing. Add celery seed, onion powder, salt and pepper and a little bit of dill pickle juice. Mix in crumbled bacon. Place sliced boiled eggs on top.

Notes: For best results just mix half of the potatoes so they don’t get smooshed. I’ve also made this without the Miracle Whip® Dressing and it tastes fine, but I really think you need Hellmann’s® Real Mayonnaise.

Recipe courtesy of Shirley.

2 quarts cold milk (I use 2%)
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 tablespoons confectioners sugar

Put milk in a heavy pan. Add well beaten 2 whole eggs and 2 yolks. (When you separate the eggs, save the whites, as these will be used for the meringue islands.) Mix in measuring cup 2/3 cup sugar and 6 tablespoons corn starch. Stir into milk and eggs. Stir (over medium heat–this is really easy to burn and ruin!) till comes to boil. Remove from stove. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.

(At this point, I should add that I separate and add the whites of two more eggs, and double the cream of tartar and the confectioners sugar, so I have more islands! Back to the original recipe–) Beat egg whites adding 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar after they are foamy. Add 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar one at a time. Beat till stiff and holds peaks. Brown in 375 oven to suite your taste. Watch.

Serves 12.

A few hints. Use a heavy pan! And don’t let it stick! And this is not something you can hurry up! Also, I have decided a stool high enough to stir from is important.

This recipe (a Clambake favorite) is courtesy of Margie. She says: I got the recipe from my mother, Bettie Fine, who got it from her mom, Carrie Chamberlain (who always made it when I was coming, even when she had no way to know I was coming!).

Miss Gail suggested to make the custard in a large glass bowl instead of a pan, and microwave to a boil, stirring once in a while!! Much easier, and can’t scorch!!

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
1 1/3 cups sugar
salt
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup nuts, chopped

Blend cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/8 teapsoon salt until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

In a seperate bowl, sift remaining sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir in milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Place chocolate cupcake mixture in cupcake tin. Put cream cheese mixture on top.

Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

A co-worker of mine smuggled a copy of this recipe out of her husband’s family recipe collection, so for her safety she must remain anonymous.  However, in January 2008 I saw a recipe for Black-Bottom Cupcakes, so maybe it isn’t a secret anymore.

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 sticks butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cup flour
3 cup oatmeal
2 eggs
1 stick butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
12 ounces chocolate chips

Cream sugar, brown sugar and 2 sticks butter. Add baking soda, flour, oatmeal and eggs. Press 2/3 of mixture into ungreased 9”x13” pan.

FILLING: Melt 1 stick butter with sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips. Melt over low heat. Pour over mixture in pan. Crumble rest of mixture on top.

Bake at 350° F for 20 to 30 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Holly. She says: “I am sending on a recipe — as another B-burg gal, I think you’ll really appreciate it. My girlfriends from college and I spent years (literally) trying out different recipes to make Oatmeal Fudge Bars like the ones at Bollo’s. This is our final product, and we’re damn proud.”

4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 pound of chicken breast cut in strips or equivalent tofu
2 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons of peanuts
4 tablespoons of sugar
2-3 tablespoons of curry (more if you like hot, less if you don’t)
4 cups broccoli
1 cup coconut milk
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
4 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoons of oil

Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet. Cut chicken into 1/4 inch strips and stir-fry along with the sugar, soy sauce, curry, and garlic.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Blend in flour and then add coconut milk in a steady stream. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly (about 5 minutes). Add sauce to chicken mixture, add broccoli and peanuts and cook until heated through. Serve over steamed white or brown rice.

Recipe courtesy of Gwen. She says: “This dish hails from one of our favorites on St. Simons: The Fourth of
May Cafe. It makes great leftovers for lunch the next day and leaves the smell of curry in the air for a day or two.”