Cranberry Relish

1 lb fresh cranberries
1 whole orange (naval if possible)
2 cups sugar

Wash and pick over cranberries, but in glass batter bowl that holds at least 8 cups. Add one whole orange, chopped fine, peel and all. Add the sugar, cover with lid and microwave for 8 minutes on full power. Stir once or twice during cooking time. When cooked, crush berries with a potato masher.

That's it!

Sweet rusks

1 tbsp yeast

About 5 1/2 cups luke warm water

5 lb flour

1 lb sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp anise

1/2 lb butter, melted

Mix the yeast and 1 tbsp sugar in the water.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt and anise. Add the melted butter, yeast and water mixture and enough additional luke warm water so that it is a pliable but not too runny dough. Let rise overnight in a warm place.

Lightly kneed the next morning and put in pans which were spread with butter.

Let rise until double in size. Bake in preheated 400F oven for 1 hour.

Let cool, break in pieces and dry in cool 150F to 200F oven.

Microwave Rusks Natalie Archer

1/2 Kg butter

500 g brown sugar

500 ml buttermilk

2 eggs

1 Kg self raising flour

7 blocks Weetabix, crushed

salt

1. Melt the butter in a pan. When almost melted, add the brown sugar and continue stirring until all the sugar is melted. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

2. Beat eggs and buttermilk together. Set aside.

3. Mix together self raising flour, salt, and crushed Weetabix.

4. Then add the butter mixture and the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well.

5. Place 1/3 of batter into an 20 x 10cm tub. Cook in microwave for 9-10 minutes on HIGH. Repeat with the remaining batter.

6. Turn out onto cooling rack and cool. Then cut into about 1 inch by 2 inch pieces.

7. Preheat oven to 170 - 200F. Place sliced rusks onto a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and allow to dry in oven for several hours.

Garam Marsala

Every cook has her own Garam Marsala recipe. Here is one that I like.

4 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 1/2 tbsp caraway seeds (shahjeera)
1 1/2 tbsp dry ginger
3/4 tsp black cardamom (3-4 large pods)
3/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon (1 inch piece)
3/4 tsp bay leaves
1 dried red chili

Roast everything in a skillet over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir often to avoid burning. Let cool, take the seeds out of the cardamon pods, discard the pods and put the seeds in the mixture. Blend everything together with a coffee grinder. Store in airtight container in cool dark place.

Dahl Daal, Dal

1 cup red lentils
4 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 x 16 ounce can tomatoes, or 4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp coriander ground
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp garam marsala - see recipe or buy
2 tbsp butter or ghee

Cook lentils, cumin, turmeric, ground ginger potatoes, tomatoes and coriander for 20 minutes.
Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add to lentil and cooks until integrated and the lentils are totally soft.
Serve with rice.

Peanut Butter Balls and Jelly by John-Paul Simonis

1. Combine oats with any nut butter until you they form balls and stick together. Not too much nut butter. The balls should be small-ish.
2. Put some jam, honey, and a tiny bit of cinnamon on a small plate to make a dip.
3. Dip the nut balls into the dip. Tastes like peanut butter and jelly.

Ginger Fruit Salsa by John-Paul Simonis

Hey mom and dad,
I made the most wonderful salsa yesterday, and me, Mark, and Julia all loved it. The words in italics are things that I improvised on. I added it to a salad which already had oil, vinegar, salt, pepper. We also invented peanut butter balls and jelly last night.

Ginger Fruit Salsa
You can use any fruit or a combo of fruits in this spicy yet refreshing salsa. Try peaches, plums, pears, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, and much more.

some pineapple - 2 diced pieces of fruit (use more is fruit are small)
5 smaller tomatoes - 2 diced and de-seeded Large Tomatoes
something red-spicy - 2 diced spicy hot peppers
some green pepper - 1/2 diced green pepper
some chopped cilantro or something - 1 diced scallion
parsley
1 tablespoon of minced ginger
honey - 1 tablespoon of liquid sweetner (agave or maple syrup)
1 lime juiced
1/8th teaspoon of salt
basil - A handful of minced cilantro

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss. Allow the salsa to sit for an hour or more so the flavors and spices can blend together.

Love,
John-Paul

South African Pancakes by Phyllis Barnard

This is the way they make pancakes in South Africa. It is a thin pancake - like crepes suzettes - and we sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the pancake as soon as it comes it is cooked, then roll it up. Nowadays they put all sorts of fillings in the pancake, but I still like it this way the best. It is a very light consistency - not "taai" as some come out.
3 eggs
3 T brandy
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp BP
salt
2 c milk
3 T melted butter

Beat eggs and brandy till foam. Sift in dry ingredients. Lastly milk then melted butter. Fry in butter. I use a 8 inch saute pan - and put about a scant 1/4 of pancake mix in the pan and swirl it around so that the whole area is covered. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon as soon as it is done and roll it up. Serve with a spot of lemon juice.

Pie Crust - Super Simple by Kathy McPherson

It can't get any easier than this!!

2 cups flour
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
a pinch or 2 of salt

Mix together and roll out between 2 pieces of wax paper.

Taco Ring

3/4 lb. ground beef, cooked
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp water
2 8oz pkg crescent roll dough
1 med green pepper
1/2 head lettuce, shredded
1 med tomato, diced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1 cup salsa
Sour Cream
Heat oven to 375. Combine meat, taco mix, cheese, and water. Arrange crescent triangles in a circle with bases overlapping and points out on a flat stone, leaving a 5" circle in center. Spoon meat on triangle bases. Fold pints over meat and tick under. Bake 20-25 minutes until brown. Cut off the top of the pepper. Fill pepper with salsa and place in center of ring. Mound lettuce, tomato , onions and olives around pepper. Garnish with sour cream.
Serves 8

German Pie Pastry by Andrea Saunders

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Whisk together.

Cut in 1 cup Crisco

Then add:
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix well, roll out on floured board turning at least once.

Caesar Salad Dressing by Phyllis Lind

This is a recipe that a sweet lady sent to Kathy McPherson after they chatted in the supermarket line. Phyllis wrote out the recipe in long hand and mailed it to Kathy. It is a truly amazing recipe.

1 1/2 cup Best Food mayonnaise
5 tbsp plain yogurt
3/4 tbsp anchovie paste
Mix these together and refrigerate overnight.

Put the following ingredients in the blender and blend for one minute.
1 1/4 tsp pepper melange
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp chicken soup base (Crescent)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 3/4 tsp minced fresh garlic

Add the mayonnaise and blend for 3 more minutes

Add slowly:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Keep in frig. It's good! Phyllis Lind

To make Caesar salad, mix one Romaine heart lettuce, a handful croutons, another big handful grated Parmesan cheese, and enough of this salad dressing to coat everything.

Cranberry Apple Crisp

There isn't a nicer crisp than this mixture of apples and cranberry sauce!

6-7 Granny Smith apples
1 Can (16 oz). Whole cranberry sauce
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup nuts, chopped
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
Vanilla ice cream or whipped topping

Preheat oven to 375° F.

For filling, peel, core, and slice apples. Cut slices in half; place in 9 "x 13" baker. Mix cranberry sauce, sugar, and flour well. Pour cranberry mixture over apples in baker; toss to coat evenly.

For topping, mix chopped nuts, brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over fruit mixture.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until fruit is tender. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping, if desired.

Tres Leches Cake

1 package (18.25 ounces) white cake mix
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups water
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream or 4 ounces sour cream and 4 ounces whipping cream
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 container (8 ounces) Cool Whip, thawed
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9 inch square pan with 1 1/2 inch high side. Mix cake mix, eggs and water well. Pour into pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until knife comes out clean. Cool.
Slice top of cake off horizontally. Mix evaporated milk, condensed milk, sour cream and vanilla and pour over cake. Spread the Cool Whip on top of cake.

Putu Pap, Stywe pap in Microwave

1 cup corn meal
2 cups water
salt

Mix and cook in microwave for 4 minutes. Serve with thick tomato sauce.
If you want a stiffer pap, use 1 1/2 cup water.

Baked Cauliflower

1 med cauliflower, broken into little pieces and cooked to tender crisp
2 tbsp butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese
boullion powder
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
fresh pepper
zest of 1 lemon

Place everything in casserole and bake for 25 minutes at 350F until bubbly.

Mosbolletjies (Rusks) by Lisa Visagie

This is one of those recipes that the baker has done for years and bakes the most delicious Mosbolletjies. It is an advanced Rusk-type recipe, but well worth while the effort.

To make this recipe, you need a potato yeast, which you will start making mid afternoon. Then you will make the dough in the next hour or two, and let it rise overnight. The next morning you put the dough into pans, let rise for about an hour, and then bake. Then you let it cool, break or cut the rusks and dry them in the oven overnight.

Potato Yeast
Use a big canning bottle with a lid. Nearly fill the bottle with lukewarm water and add 1 teaspoon dry yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes. Grate a medium potato into the bottle. Fill the bottle with lukewarm water if it is not full enough, but leave enough space to allow for foam to form. Screw the lid on and let stand in a warm area so that the potato can start fermenting, and foam forming on top. If the temperature is right, the foaming will start in about an hour and you will be able to start the kneading process. If it is too cold, it could take 2 hours for the yeast to be ready to use.

Rusks - enough for 3 bread pans.

5 pounds flour
2 1/2 cups sugar - more if you like your rusks sweeter
pinch salt
potato yeast
1/2 pound butter
1 - 2 tbsp anise seed

Add flour, sugar salt and anise seed in big bowl. Rub in the butter. Make a hole in the middle and pour the water part of the potato yeast to the dry ingredients. Leave all the potato and enough of the water to cover the potato in the bottle, screw on top and leave in fridge for next time.

Knead the dough until it is elastic. Add more lukewarm water if needed. Cover, put in a warm area until the morning. (I heat the oven at 250F for 2 minutes only - then I SWITCH THE OVEN OFF and then rise the dough in the oven).

Knead the dough down, make little balls with the dough and place them in the pans. Or just add the dough in the pan like a bread. Fill the pan 1/3 of the way up. Let the dough rise again in a warm area. (Same oven process as before).

When the dough rose to the top of the pan, bake them in preheated 350C oven for 45 minutes. When the rusks comes out of the oven, paint the tops with sugar water made with 1 tbsp sugar and 1/2 cup water, and let cool completely.

Now you can eat the mosbolletjies just like that, but I also like to break then apart - or cut them up in 1 x 1 inch fingers and dry them in a 175F oven overnight.

Swedish Coffee Cake

Dough
1/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 cup sour cream with 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla

Topping Mixture
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon


Cream butter and sugar with fork. Add egg, mix well. Stir in sour cream with soda until creamy.
Add sifted flour and baking powder, then vanilla. Batter will be stiff.
Pour one half batter into pan, spread evenly. Sprinkle with half of topping. Spread balance of batter and top with remaining topping mixture.
Bake 35 minutes or until done when tested. Cool in pan on rack about 30 minutes before removing.

Lentil Pilaf

1 cup lentils
1/4 cup wild rice, washed
1/2 cup long grain white rice
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 cup butter
1 oz. slivered almonds
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Saute the lentils, rice, onion and garlic in the butter until onion is tender 3 - 4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.

Almond-Anise Biscotti

1 cup slivered almonds
1 3/4 tsp anise seed
3 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
Grated peel of 1 large lemon

Place the almonds in a baking pan in a single layer and toast in a preheated 350F oven 10 minutes. Cool and chop coarsely. put the anise seed into a small saucepan and toast over medium heat 4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Cool.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. With an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time beating for about minute after each addition. Beat in the anise seed, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extracts and the lemon peel. Slowly add the flour mixture; work in the almonds with your hands. The dough will be sticky.

Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface toll each half into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 12 inches long. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in a preheated 325F oven for 30 minutes. Let cook 30 minutes on wire racks.

Cut the logs on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices and put back onto 2 baking sheets. Bake, one at a time, in a preheated 250F oven for 10 minutes; turn the slices over and bake 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks. Bake the second sheet in the same way.