Dumplings

My Great Grandma Zetsell shared the “recipe” for these dumplings, though my father thinks the recipe was brought from England with my great great Grandma Heighes. He said that they were a very inexpensive way to fill up hungry tummies when times were tight.

Dumplings are wonderful in chicken broth, with veggies, or with sausage, fried onions, mushrooms, garlic and butter.  My favorite way though, is warm with some good butter and salt and garlic.

They do not reheat very well, so only make enough for one night.

(What fun, I learned that they are also called Kluski Kładzione and they are a polish drop noodle.  Some recipes use milk in place of the water!)

Great Grandma’s Pizzelles


Grandma Bea would make pizzelles and store them in tin coffee containers. After she died, my parents bought a pizzelle maker and passed the recipe on to Andrea.

Cinnamon Caramel Popcorn

Jan 19th is national popcorn day. What better way to celebrate than with a fresh bowl of caramel corn?

Cream Puffs

When Andrea was nine years old, she discovered cream puffs.  She wanted to learn to bake them and would keep asking for me to teach her.  Finally, I gave her a recipe for French  Profiteroles and let her make a batch.  Was she surprised to learn they were cream puffs.

While we usually eat these with whipped cream and homemade nutella or chocolate sauce, they are also very good with vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

We found hazelnuts on a very good sale and we wanted to make something like “Nutella”.   Researching ideas, we discovered how easy it was to make our own.

This recipe is slightly crunchy since the coconut sugar does not dissolve well.  We have tried warming up the coconut oil and mixing them before adding to the hazelnuts and that helps some.

Curry

We enjoy curry in many ways.  Allan came up with this simple recipe.

Curry with bones, the way Allan prefers, thickens the sauce better and has more pronounced flavor.  I prefer not to have to dig out bones while eating, so make it how ever you prefer.

To stretch the curry more, use more onions and tomatoes and adjust spices.  You can also add diced potatoes and peas if desired.

Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Brownies

Andrea wanted a less sweet grain free brownie.  It is slightly crumbly and a little dry, but goes wonderfully with ice cream or whipped cream.

If you want it sweeter, replace part or all of the unsweetened chocolate with semi sweet baking chocolate.

Mango Lassi

I can not remember the first time we bought the kids mango lassies at a restaurant. I think they were little and we were heading home from vacation. Everyone was tired and hungry and Allan decided to treat us to an Indian restaurant. The three (at the time) children loved Indian food, but because they were all so tired, they were only interested in the mango lassies Allan ordered for them.

The first time Andrea made this recipe, a few years later, she did not realize that she needed to peel the mangoes before blending. It was not the best lassi she has ever made, but it is the most remembered.

Since she first copied this recipe in Sept 2012, Andrea has experimented and changed it slightly depending on what ingredients we had and what flavor she wanted. This however, is still her favorite combination.

Yogurt

Recipe from Shari Deardorff

Saffron Rolls

Whenever we go to Calumet, Michigan, Daddy stops to buy us saffron bread or saffron rolls.  Often he buys extra and brings some home to freeze until Easter.  My rolls are not quite as pretty as the ones he buys, but they sure taste great!