“Camping” Tiramisu

This is not as good as real tiramisu, but when we are backpacking, and want a special treat, this is very easy to make. Just plan ahead to find a small jar of Kahlua. The lady fingers are often hard to find, the may be in the Italian “ethnic” section or next to the powdered espresso.

Our recipe uses vanilla pudding, but we did not like this last batch quite as well as we used too. We plan to experiment with different vanilla puddings or white chocolate pudding instead.

If car camping, let this sit over ice for a little while.

Pizza

This is probably the best recipe for pizza that we have found. It is also very easy. Years ago, Andrea wrote the recipe down from memory. For the longest time we just mixed everything and used the dough immediately, but Andrea learned in culinary class to let the dough sit overnight and the crust is much better.

Bagels (New York Style)

Mark decided to surprise us with bagels. He and Megan made them with shredded white cheddar cheese and they were wonderful.

Grandma Bea’s Sauerkraut Pierogi

My mom taught my siblings and me how to make pierogi when we were very little. I can only remember making cheese pierogi and there were no measurements for the filling. “Add potato flakes to cottage cheese until the cottage cheese is dry. Let sit a few minutes and season with salt and pepper.”

Grandma had many different ways to make pierogi, but sauerkraut is probably my favorite. After making, warm up pierogi in a heavy pan with butter and sau·téd onions. If desired, add sour cream before serving. This makes a great meal, but is best when served with green vegetables or salad.

Pekoura

Many years ago, we had a friend visit.  Morsal taught Mark how to make Pekoura.  These coated potato slices are wonderful.  You can serve as is, but they are best with plain yogurt or yogurt with cilantro added to it.  

Grilled Chicken

My brother Joe used to love chicken grilled this way and often had extra in the freezer.

It is similar to the chicken we can get at the fair. It uses an easy marinade and is best if made early morning.

Beef Samosas

I don’t remember having these until we lived in Swaziland. We often had them at church potlucks and, while similar, each family had a slightly different recipe. I preferred the ones with peas, but some used raisins instead.

This recipe is a very mild blend of spices. We often double, or triple the spices depending on who is making the. Fill the wontons with a generous helping of stuffing, but be careful not to overstuff.

For an appetizer, plan on two per person. For a main meal with a salad, plan on 4 or 5 per person.

Pretzels

If you are looking for a sweet, mall like pretzel, this is not it. This is also a good recipe for adding sourdough discard.

Home Made Butterfingers

I do not remember where we found this recipe, but it was one of the first candy recipes we learned how to make.

While the recipe is very easy to make, it is also easy to let the temperature get to high. Because of this, I changed our recipe to a slightly lower temperature so that the candy is pulled off the heat earlier and has less chance of being overcooked.

Use your favorite recipe for the dipping chocolate. While confectionery coating is okay, a good milk chocolate or dark chocolate makes the candy taste the best.

Sea Foam Candy

We discovered this candy a few years ago while browsing a candy store. Mark quickly declared it was his favorite candy ever. When looking for “sea foam”, we realized this candy comes with many different names; honeycomb candy, sponge candy, or fairy food.

For fun, we decided we needed to learn how to make his favorite treat. At first, we could not find any recipes or information about it, except in an old cookbook. However, now we can find different recipes for it in cookbooks or looking on line.

This is not a super hard recipe to make, but sometimes it turns out wonderfully and other times it is a little finicky. We have not learned why, but it is a great reason to make more.

We prefer the candy with a touch of molasses (or dark corn syrup) but it is just as good either way. However, the candy lasts longer coated in chocolate, so we highly recommend that if you want to save for longer.