4 Grandmas 4U --- Our Farewell Thoughts

One important lesson we’ve learned is that the life we live is in constant change. We change in our spiritual, physical, and emotional way and of course we change in things we do or can do.

The 4 Grandmas (Donna Driedger, Hedie Harder, Marlene Froese and Elva Epp) worked together over the course of 9 years and prepared and catered meals out of the Saskatchewan MCC Kitchen for many and various individuals and groups. Along with the meal preparation, we had a wonderful time sharing our lives – the joys, the sorrows, the laughter and the tears. Then the business “Made Just For You” closed and our times together came to an end until Erna Neufeldt, President of Women In Mission, invited us to write for the new blog just started. The 4 of us agreed and once again we shared times together, many of those around the lunch table.

During those times we had wonderful moments of memories as we revisited our history of family food and meals our mothers prepared. Together we wrote our blogs and once again shared our lives.

We knew, this spring, that changes had entered our lives as the physical needs were very different. So now, we bid farewell to all of the readers of this blog and move into a new phase of life.

All we ask of you is to remember how special food is. Jesus told many stories and parables around meals and our best relationships are built around the table where we can prepare the food to feed the body and share in that “food” that feeds the soul.

God Bless all of you as you cook, serve and love. Thank you for sharing in our lives.

Farewell from, Donna Driedger, Hedie Harder, Marlene Froese and Elva Epp

A TRADITIONAL FOOD FOR GOOD FRIDAY

An Easter celebration that stands out in my memory did not take place on Easter Sunday but rather Good Friday. It was April 1963. Our second daughter, Evelyn was born on April 8 of that year. We went to my Mom and Dad’s to commemorate Good Friday. All my siblings, their spouses and children were there. We were so proud to show off our new baby girl! It was beautiful outside, everyone was in shirtsleeves and the kids had a great time looking for their Easter goodies hidden around the farmyard. Life was good - we had our third child and were very happy for our little family.

A traditional food for us on Good Friday and Easter was a chilled dried fruit compote which is delicious with potato salad. The pluma moos recipe follows.

PLUMA MOOS (dried fruit compote)
4 quarts water
4 cups dried fruit (raisins, apples, prunes, apricots and peaches)
1 small pkg. cherry jello
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 tbsp cornstarch mixed with cold water

Cook until fruit is tender. Add sugar and cornstarch mix and cook for a few minutes. Remove from heat and add the cherry jello. Cool, then add canned cherries. I also add canned peaches before serving (optional).

When we were kids we would go to my Grandma and Grandpa Koop and they would have Kliesse (homemade noodles) to put into the Pluma Moos. It was not my favourite but some liked it a lot.

KLIESSE
1 cup water
1 egg
pinch of salt
Add flour to make firm dough.

Roll out fairly thin. Let rest for 15 minutes. Sprinkle flour on rolled dough, cut 1 inch strips. Pile strips 4 layers high. Cut into noodle size. Boil and cool. Use in Pluma Moos if you like.

HEDIE HARDER


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EASTER AND A SPECIAL FOOD

Easter in my childhood, in my parenting and even now as a Grandmother is one of the greatest celebrations of my life. The beauty of the season is part of its delight; snow melting, sun shining with warmth, blue sky with fluffy clouds, call of birds returned and a renewed earth waiting to produce new life.

In the church community it was the celebration of new life given us by the death and resurrection of our Lord. Singing the Easter morning songs of Alleluia were some of the best rejoices of that day. In German, we sang Rollt ab den Stein, Jesus Lebt. At Rosthern Junior College, a Mennonite residential high school, we sang In Joseph’s Lovely Garden. It was so liberating and such spiritual glory.

Around the Easter family table, in the food preparation and the jolly Easter hunt, “eggs” were in great demand. My Grandmother talked of needing 100 dozen eggs -- it could have been true because almost every food that was prepared needed eggs and also coloured eggs were hidden for every child; sometimes as many as their age.

The recipe I want to share is one more of the life-giving, cholesterol filled treats.

COTTAGE CHEES SPREAD FOR PASKA (Glums Paska)

Sauce: 1 cup sour cream
1 cup sweet cream
1 cup butter or margarine
8 egg yolks
3 1/2 cups sugar

Bring this to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly as it scorches easily. Remove from heat, cover and let cool.

Then using 3 pounds of dry curd cottage cheese and the cool sauce the spread is made.
1. Using a blender, put in 3/4 cup of sauce and 1 cup of cottage cheese. Blend but do not puree. It must mix but retain some texture of the cottage cheese. Pour into a bowl. Repeat until sauce and cottage cheese are used and you have 2 bowls of blended mixture

In one bowl add 1 tsp of vanilla, and mix. In other bowl add 1 tsp grated orange peel and 1/3 cup chopped dates. Mix.

2. Get 2 j-cloths and place into a colander that is placed into a large bowl that will collect extra liquid. Into each j-cloth pour one kind of mixture. Cover and secure in cloth. Place a plate over top and set a heavy item on top to press out the liquid. Leave 2 - 3 days.

3. Just before Easter, take solid-like mixture out of cloth and put into container ready to serve and spread on the Easter Bread Paska. Yummy, healthy and special!

MARLENE FROESE

EASTER BREAD/PASKA

Paska was introduced to us by our Mother who immigrated from Russia in 1926 with my Grandmother and 2 Aunts.

Mom remembered the Easter bread she had learned to love while living in Russia and introduced this tradition to our family. My Father did not know of paska, as his Mother baked “kringle”, an 8-figured iced roll.

Paska was usually baked in large tins from juice or other things, resulting in the shape of large mushrooms. Often we looked for tins of different sizes so we could make more unique shapes. Some paska were also made into loaves.

The paska were covered with a soft white icing, usually almond flavoured, and then sprinkled with small candy of all colours, called sprinkles. Because the icing was so “yummy”, we tried to cover the entire paska with it, which made it rather difficult to handle and slice. Eventually, Mother decided to shape the paska into buns, therefore covering them entirely with this icing. This was definitely easier.

We remember the smell of paska baking, the lemon and almond aromas very well. Several years ago when we moved to a different home, we did not have an oven for awhile and it was close to Easter. Our son-in-law invited me to their home to bake the paska. He had not grown up knowing about paska, but had become very fond of it.

All eyes of our 7 grandchildren shine when they see the decorated buns at Easter time. Yes, it is “yummy” paska, and the following recipe is the one my Mother used. Most paska are shaped as buns at our home; however I use some tins and line them with parchment paper. This way the paska come out of the tins very well.

PASKA
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cream, heated
1/2 cup milk, heated
1/2 cup soft butter
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt 2 rounded tbsp fast-rising yeast
1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp lemon extract grated rind of 1 lemon
10 - 11 cups flour

Beat eggs and add sugar. Heat milk and the cream, add butter. Add all 3 items to egg mixture.
Add warm water, salt, vanilla, almond and lemon flavourings, lemon rind and mix well. Mix yeast with a cup of flour and gradually add enough flour to knead into a soft dough. Let dough rise until about double in size (it rises well in a slightly warm oven). Knead down and let rise again. Make into buns or put into well-greased, or lined tins. Bake at 325, until the buns are brown, about 20 minutes -- tins will need about 45 minutes. Ice with a regular icing with added almond flavouring and decorate with sprinkles. Enjoy!

ELVA EPP

Ideas for Dinner Leftovers from 4 Grandmas4U

Food Leftovers: Dilemma or Delight

Once more we are placing containers with leftovers from the supper we just ate into the fridge. What will I do with these tomorrow? I might just wait for a few days and then they will possibly not look good and I can throw them out without feeling guilty. Or, as part of the senior world, I could go for lunch with a friend and suggest that my husband (I’m still lucky to have one) could eat the leftovers for lunch and that would be that. But, I put them in the fridge with the possibility of eating them sometime.

We who grew up in the forties, fifties and sixties experienced the need to save every leftover. Some of our (the 4 Grandmas’) parents lived through hard times in Russia before coming to Canada in the 1920’s. In the difficult 30’s that followed our parents tried to be good stewards as well as frugal.

Using leftovers can be a creative, innovative experience. Trying to get the “makeover” word into a food reality and do it so no one can recognize that they had this food before.

I have 2 recipes that I want to share with you. The first recipe is a new dish using leftover fish.

Catch of the Day in Alfredo White

To make the sauce, brown 1-2 tbsp butter and garlic. Whisk in 3 tbsp flour and add 1 cup chicken broth, whisk and boil. Make sure it is smooth and thickened. Add 1 cup or more of whipping cream, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a simmering boil. Add chunks of fish, peas and carrots, corn, or other vegetables from fridge or frozen. Serve over pasta or rice. Add raw vegetables or a salad. Just like that, a new yummy dinner.

Ham Biscuit Bake

Cut leftover ham into chunks. Boil 2 cups mixed vegetables in salt water, drain. Mix a can each of cream of potatoe and mushroom soup with 1 cup milk, add to the vegetables and ham. Place in a casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees until it bubbles. Mix a batch of baking powder biscuits, space them on top and bake until browned. Serve with a vegetable plate or green salad and you have a complete dinner on the table. Surprise!

Marlene Froese


Leftovers, leftovers, so many leftovers
What to do - toss a few or make a meal
Now that’s a deal!

Beef Stew

Cut leftover roast beef into cubes, add onion, garlic, peppers, carrots, corn, peas, etc. Add beef gravy with mushroom soup and also leftover cubed potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Make a salad, biscuits and voilà, a meal.

Hedie Harder

EFFICIENT YEAST BAKING

One kind of dough results in fritters and 2 varieties of buns!
Baking bread and buns was something my mother did. Saturday was baking day and the evening meal often consisted of fresh baked bread or buns, cooked eggs, rice cooked with milk, served with cinnamon and sugar.

If there was no bread for the noon meal and the bread dough was rising, my mother in law would take a piece of the rising dough, flatten it, and cut it into small squares. These she deep fried as fritters to complement the lunch soup.

When I mix a double batch of dinner buns I use a small portion of the dough to make Chelsea buns (sticky cinnamon buns). I roll out a piece of the bun dough to approximately 9 x 12 inches, spread soft butter on it, add brown sugar, and sprinkle with cinnamon. I roll it up, squeeze the edges together and cut into 1 to 2 inch wide rolls.

These are placed in a greased baking pan that has a little soft butter/margarine and brown sugar in it. Let rise till double in bulk. Bake like the buns then turn upside down on a rack so the syrup from the bottom of the pan will run over the hot buns. My mother in law would pour cream over the buns just before they went into the oven. This would make then really gooey and special.

Dinner Buns
1 pkg. yeast softened in 1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
2 cups warm milk
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups flour
Beat together the egg, warm water, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, milk
Add softened yeast to egg mixture. Gradually add flour to make a soft dough. Let rise until double in size, punch down, let rise again and form the buns. Place on pans and let rise again. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.


ELVA EPP

DEEP FRIED DELIGHTS

In the 21st century, in the time of NO trans fats, in the years of cholesterol scares, staying thin, and being just so aware of everything we consume, we 4 Grandmas decided we would invite you into the realm of deep fried yummies.

In my home growing up, deep fried foods had seasonal pleasure. On cool rainy summer days we were often given soup and fritters -- apple or plum. It was a great treat.

On a hot summer day supper might be rollkuchen (fried dough) and watermelon. It was a refreshing meal and to this day it is an Mennonite Central Committee Relief Sale highlight and young and old line up for this favourite treat.

Whenever we were having large groups over or church picnics, someone would make
doughnuts and/or bismarks and feed the whole crowd. My sister-in-law Herta made delicious bismarks and as a young girl I would walk over when she was preparing them and truly “pig out”. About 2 years ago at our church retreat we made doughnuts and deep fried them in a large cauldron outdoors on a cool October evening, and we all “pigged out”. On New Year Eve day our Mom made New Years Cookies or Porzelky. I think every Russian Mennonite family made them. We ate them on the eve and also on New Years Day.

Deep frying was not considered a problem as long as you continued to work hard. Today, November 20, 2010, 4 Grandmas and their spouses are treating themselves to an evening of deep fried delights. Our oldest daughter, who is very food alert asked if we would have a defibrillator available and I said, “No, just a plate of fruit for dessert” which we did.


BISMARKS (Recipe of Herta Koop and Helen Unrau)

1 tbsp yeast in 1/2 cup warm water with 1 tsp sugar dissolved
2 cups scalded milk, then add 1/2 cup shortening. Cool.

4 egg yolks and 1 whole egg 1 tsp orange rind
1/2 cup sugar 2 tsp lemon rind
1 tsp salt 2 tsp vanilla
6 cups flour

Beat eggs and sugar, mix all ingredients, add yeast when cool.
Leave to sit in warm place to rise.
Knead down and roll 1/2 inch thick and cut into shapes, either round or rectangle, let rise and deep fry in oil.
Ice (confectioners sugar mixed with cream and some vanilla) and sprinkle with nuts or sprinkles.
If you can figure out how to insert jam, please let us know.


ROLLKUCHEN (Deep fried dough)

1 cup whipping cream 2 cups flour
2 eggs 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt

Sift flour, salt and baking powder into mixing bowl, make a well, add other ingredients. Mix well and if dough is too soft, add a bit more flour. Roll out quite thin on a floured board and cut into rectangles, make a slit in centre and pull the one end through. Deep fry in oil and eat with watermelon, icing sugar or syrup. Yummy on a hot summer day or any time really.

MARLENE FROESE

DOUGHNUTS AND SPUDNUTS

Did you know we didn’t have Robins or Tim Horton shops in Grandma’s time? Yet doughnuts, spudnuts and other fritters were very much a part of special family times. They were frozen in large quantities for big family events such as birthdays, anniversaries, or even harvest suppers as great desserts.
Doughnut making was a special event which lasted several hours as you mixed the large batch of yeast dough, let it rise, and then cut it into shapes. We did not have the fancy doughnut cutters of today, but used a round object like a tumbler, and then needed a thimble or something small and round to make the holes. Just like the timbits of today, the holes were so much fun for the children to eat. They were usually rolled in sugar.
Once the doughnuts were cut they needed to rise until double in size, so every counter and table seemed to be covered with doughnuts as we never made less than 6 dozen. Finally, they were glazed, or dipped in sugar, or covered with icing. They continue to be a real treat.

RAISED YEAST DOUGHNUTS

2 1/2 cups warm water 2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten 1 tsp salt
2 tbsp yeast 8-9 cups flour

Beat eggs and add water, milk, softened butter, sugar, and salt. Mix the yeast with 1 cup of flour and mix into egg mixture. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. Let rise, roll 1/2 inch thick and cut with doughnut cutter, placing doughnuts on a lightly floured pan to rise again. Fry in hot oil.


SPUDNUTS

2 tbsp yeast 1 tsp nutmeg
2 cups warm milk 2 large eggs - well beaten
1 tsp salt 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine 1 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 cup warm water

Beat eggs and add water, milk, nutmeg, soft margarine or butter, salt, sugar and mashed potatoes.
Mix well. Add yeast to 1 cup of flour and add to mixture. Gradually add the rest of the flour to make a soft dough. Let rise until double in size. Roll 1/2 inch thick, cut into small rectangular shapes. Let rise again. Fry in hot oil.
Coat with sugar. glaze or icing.

ELVA EPP

PORTZELKY (New Year's Fritters)

After the excitement of Christmas - the concerts, the gatherings and the presents, our family life would sort of settle down to normal routine. There was time in the cold winter weather to invite guests to visit and play table - board games. Mom would usually make the Portzelky on the day before New Years. It was usually a family project and we only made them at New Years. They were special. Mom’s kitchen was small, but the 5 of us children would gather round the kitchen table and would “help” mix the batter -- then we would wait with anticipation for the dough to rise and then the excitement of frying the fritters. We were cautioned to not go too near the pot on the stove which had the hot oil/fat in it. When Mom fried the first few we were excited to “taste” them. We had a little bowl of sugar on the table and then dunked our fritteer in for each bite. Mmm - good. I can still taste that first fritter!

In my husband’s family Portzelky were also only made at New Years. In his family they had a low german poem that they would say. It went like this:

“Ek sach yoon Schursteen rookin (I saw your chimney smoke)
Ek wist vull vowat yee moakin (I knew well what you were making)
Scheine Nee Yoat koake (Delicious New Year fritters)
Yave wee mee une dahn shtoh ek schtell (Give me one I’ll stand still)
Yave yee mee twi dahn fang ek own tow gohnen (Give me 2 I’ll start walking)
Yave mee drei en feiah touglick (If you give me three and four together
Dahn vensch ek yoo dowt Himmelrick I’ll wish you the riches of Heaven)

MOM'S PORTZELKY

1 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water 1 Tbsp butter
1 pkg dry yeast 4 eggs, beaten
3 cups water 2 - 4 cups raisins, as desired
3 cups milk Flour
1/2 cup sugar

Dissolve 1 tsp. sugar in 1/2 cup warm water. Sprinkle 1 package dry yeast on water and let stand 10 minutes. Add water, milk, sugar, salt, butter, eggs and raisins. Stir in enough flour to make a fairly thick batter. Let rise until double in bulk. Drop by spoonfuls in hot, deep oil and fry until golden brown.


Over the years we have learned so much about nutrition and “what’s good for us”. We know deep fried food is not the most healthy - but I tend to think that moderation is a good way to go. Perhaps Portzelky once a year are O.K.!!

DONNA DRIEDGER

MORE DEEP FRIED DELIGHTS

MEAT PERISHKY

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp lard
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
1 egg

Meat Filling:
1 onion minced
1/2 lb ground beef
1 cup mashed potatoes
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Sift dry ingredients, rub in lard, add slightly beaten egg, milk and cream. If dough is too soft add a bit more flour. For filling, sauté onion, add ground beef, simmer until browned. (You can also use leftover ground roast). Mix with mashed potatoes, salt and pepper. Roll out dough. Cut in rounds and fill with meat mixture. Deep fry in hot vegetable oil until golden brown. Can also be baked in 400 degrees oven for 25 minutes. We like them with soup and Rogers Golden Syrup.


FRITTERS

2 cups flour 1 cup milk
3 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar 2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp salt 4 large apples
2 eggs

Combine all ingredients (except apples and oil) in mixer bowl. Beat on low speed until blended. Pare and core apples and cut into small pieces. When oil is hot put apples into batter and with a spoon transfer some of the apple mixture into the hot oil. Fry on one side till brown, then turn over and brown the other side. Test the first one to make sure the apples are soft and the batter is all baked through. Serve with hot syrup or sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Other fruits like fresh plums or cherries may also be used.


Being a farmer’s wife, I had to take many meals out to the field where my husband was working. I remember one summer evening I made a pot of soup and a batch of apple fritters to take out to the field. I had three children, so it meant getting them all ready and keeping the soup hot. I packed everything plus blankets and a tablecloth too. With plates, bowls and cutlery (no napkins), sugar for the fritters and buttered bread for the soup, we were off. We went on the prairie highway (unlike the highways of today), but we arrived without mishap. It put a smile on my husband’s face because this was his favourite food. What a great time we had.

HEDIE HARDER

RHUBARB CRISP

3 cups chopped rhubarb (approx.)
1/2 cup sugar (could be more or less depending on the sweetness desired)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soft butter or margarine

Layer rhubarb with sugar and lemon juice into an 8” or 9” round or square pan.
Combine oats, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Add butter or margarine and mix until texture is like crumbs.
Sprinkle over rhubarb and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, until slightly brown and some rhubarb juices rise to the top of the dessert.
Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.


Most Grandmas that grew up on a Saskatchewan farm know all about the fruit called rhubarb. It was used for desserts such as pies, cakes, platz, etc. and every farm had rhubarb plants. Rhubarb needs more sugar in the recipes than most fruits because of its tartness. Actually rhubarb is one of the few perennial vegetables, however, we use it as a fruit.

This Rhubarb Crisp Dessert is a real favourite of my granddaughter’s, although it was never made by my Mother.

Elva Epp

Rhubarb Juice

After the long winter one of the first perennial plants to show its head is the hardy rhubarb. The best time to pick rhubarb is early in the season before it forms its seed tufts.

One of the things I like to make is Rhubarb Juice. This recipe is quite tart and not too sweet. It works very well when used with ginger ale or when mixed into a punch with orange juice, lemon juice and ginger ale.

Rhubarb Juice
Wash and cut rhubarb, cover with water and boil until soft.
Strain through a colander and then through a fine sieve or bag.
Take 12 cups of juice add 1 cup sugar (scant) and 1 pkg raspberry jello. Mix well.
Bring to a boil and boil for 12 minutes. Pour into jars and seal.
Enjoy. This is my Mom’s recipe - our family liked the juice quite well.

Donna Driedger

Rhubarb

If you decide to travel the province of Saskatchewan looking for old homesteads you can see rhubarb plants that identify many places where pioneers settled as early as 1900.

The settlers always defined their homestead with a border of poplar trees, lilacs, caraganas and an odd apple tree. Somewhere in the corner was usually a rhubarb plant. To this day, the buildings have all disappeared but the growth of trees and rhubarb are still intact and the homestead is thereby identified.

We wondered how pioneers transported the root of the plant from the homeland and how long plants like that last. The pioneers recognized that rhubarb had a diversity of uses and provided vitamins that helped family health.

4 Grandmas 4 U

Rhubarb Cake

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped fine
2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cream brown sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Alternately stir in flour, soda and buttermilk. When mixture is mixed, fold in chopped rhubarb. Add the topping. Bake in 9x13” pan for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

This recipe was passed on to me by Anita Froese. A great coffee cake.

Marlene Froese

Rhubarb Platz

Base: Crumbs:
1/2 cup margarine 1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder 1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup half milk, half cream

Blend margarine, flour, baking powder and salt till crumbly. Add milk and cream mixture. Blend to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Do not overmix as it will toughen dough.

Roll out on well floured board to fit 10x15” cookie sheet. Place fruit mixture of choice to cover base. Top with crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until nicely browned.

Fruit: Rhubarb - 4 cups finely chopped rhubarb, 1 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tbsp tapioca or cornstarch.

Enjoy the platz delight.

Hedie Harder

Stretch Your Budget With Soups from '4 Grandmas 4U'

Mother would call, “Come for dinner” and that meant the noon meal or we may have heard “Soups On”.

In the days of our mothers, soup made a great noon meal -- a big bowl of soup, hearty home made bread and probably fresh pie.

Soups were a wholesome meal of vegetables and meat. Some soups were made for medicinal purposes and some used the garden vegetables. Meat frequently came from soup bones, fresh or canned. This provided the family a full meal deal; heart-warming and wholesome.

We have some of our favourites -- easy, cheap and hearty.

Chicken Noodle Soup - a necessary medicinal
Use leftover chicken pieces or chicken breast. Cover meat with water, parsley root and 1 star aniseed. Boil until done, approximately 1 hour. Cut chicken breasts into serving pieces. Add soup base mix and water to taste, bring to a boil. Find homemade-like egg noodles and boil separately. Drain and rinse. Add to soup. Bring to almost boil. Add parsley greens, salt and pepper to taste.
Find the family, especially the sick.
Marlene Froese

Green Bean Soup
1 smoked ham bone (with meat). Farmer Sausage can also be used
Cover meat with water and boil. Add water to keep covered.
Add: 2 cups green beans
1 potatoe - diced
1 small onion - diced
salt and pepper to taste
spray of summer savory
Cook until vegetables are done. Remove savory and ham bone when done.
Donna Driedger


Vegetable Chowder
2 cups diced potatoe
2 cups cut cauliflower
1 cup chopped onion
3 cups water
1 Oxo beef or vegetable cube
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1 - 28 oz can tomatoes

Sauce
3 tbsp margarine
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp dry mustard
2 cups milk
salt and pepper
1 tbsp parsley
1/4 tsp basil

Boil vegetables until tender but still slightly firm. Add sauce to soup and heat until hot but do not boil. (It may curdle if boiled because of milk).
Hedie Harder

Beef Borscht

Beef soup bone with some meat, or stewing beef cut into small pieces
1 small head of cabbage - shredded
1 chopped onion
2 medium carrots- chopped
1 green pepper - chopped
5 medium potatoes - chopped
19 oz canned tomatoes - chopped
10 oz can tomato soup
Parsley roots or dried parsley
2 bay leaves
Dill to taste

Cover beef soup bones with cold salted water. Add chopped onion and bring to boil and simmer until the meat is cooked. The broth may be strained and the meat added to the soup.
Add vegetables and continue to simmer until cooked. Add tomatoes and tomato soup and spices.
Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer soup.

Serve with fresh brown bread, biscuits, or rollkuchen (fried dough) Enjoy!
Elva Epp

Hungarian Hamburger

1/2 pound ground beef, extra lean
1 onion, small, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, large, minced
4 cups hot water
2 cubes beef bouillon
24 ounces tomatoe juice
1 carrot, small, diced
1 cup potatoes, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup cabbage, shredded
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp basil, dried
1 tbsp paprika
3/4 cup pasta, uncooked, small size
1/2 cup sour cream

in a large saucepot, brown hamburger with onion and bell pepper. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add water, tomatoe juice and all remaining ingredients (except pasta and sour cream) and cook until vegetables are tender, but not mushy, approximately 30 minutes. Add pasta during the last 5 to 10 minutes.
Yield: 8 servings
Marlene Froese

Most soups freeze well, so make a bigger pot and use at a later time.

Grandma's Kitchen - Yeast Baking

Zwieback (double buns)

5 cups milk, scalded
1 lb. butter
5 tsp salt
1 tbsp yeast, dissolved in 1 cup water and 1 tsp sugar
10-12 cups flour

Put first 4 ingredients into a large bowl. Add yeast and flour to make a stiff batter. Add more flour to make smooth soft dough. Knead well. Cover and let rise till double. Form into small buns and place a smaller bun on top, using your forefinger, attach to the bun underneath. Let rise until double in size. Bake at 350 - 375 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes until nicely browned.
Hedie Harder

* * * * * * * *

Crunchy Farmhouse Bread

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp oil
2 1/2 tbsp honey
1 1/4 cups white flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup bran
3 tbsp Sunny Boy cereal
3 tbsp flax
2 tsp yeast

Add other seeds as you like. Wonderful hearty bread -- works well in a bread maker.
Donna Driedger

Cinnamon Buns

4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup soft butter or margarine
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
1 pkg. yeast
1 tsp salt
5 - 6 cups flour

Beat eggs and add sugar, butter, warm water, warm milk and salt. Add 1 cup flour and mix. Add fast rising yeast to another cup of flour and add to mixture. Continue to add flour and when stiff enough knead into a soft dough. Let rise in a warm place for 20 - 25 minutes.

Punch down and let rise again until approx. double in size. Divide dough into 2 parts. Roll out one piece and spread with 2 tbsp melted margarine or butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar and sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up and cut into approximately 18 buns. Place on greased pan. Repeat with 2nd part. Let rise until double in size for 20 - 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Elva Epp

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Buns

4 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup water
2 tbsp yeast

Combine these ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes. Add 4 well beaten eggs and 1/2 cup oil. Add 9 - 10 cups flour, white/brown. Knead. Let rise 2 hours, punch down and make into buns. Let rise 1 hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Marlene Froese

Grandma's Kitchen: A Bakery for Leavened and Unleavened Bread

The aroma filled the kitchen, then permeated the whole house when Grandma had bake day and it was almost always on Saturday. Yeast baking was very popular as it produced fresh buns, bread, sweet buns or platz base for Sunday “Faspa”. Working with yeast was an art and also biblical as it was referred to as leavened bread. It was important to know how to treat leavened bread dough with tenderness and gentleness. The concept of leaven is quoted in 3 verses: Matthew 13:33, 1 Corinthians 5:7 and Galatians 5:9; A little leaven leavens the whole mass; It is compared to spiritual renewal and growing. A powerful comparison to Christ, the leaven in us.
The unleavened bread is also compared to the biblical concept of Christ’s body. He sacrificed for us.

It was unleavened bread that was used in the early communion service. I share with you the story of our mother who was given the responsibility of making “brötchen”.

In our church community, when I was a child, there was one Bishop and one deacon. Twice a year they traveled to four congregations to deliver and serve communion. Our dad, Henry Koop was the deacon and his wife. my mother, was to prepare the communion bread. So on Saturday afternoon it was time to make the bread.

A clean apron was put on, a prayer was said, the dough prepared (no yeast) and then the dough rolled out. The edges of the baking pan had a dough border so that the individual mini breads would not touch the pan. With a thimble, top cut out, mini individual breads were pressed out, laid carefully along the edge of the dough on the pan and pushed into a neat row with a large wooden depressor. Approximately 100 mini breads were made and baked. When cooled, they were wrapped in a clean, white cloth and boxed. It was important that everything was kept clean. Leftover bread was burned because the bread was blessed by the church and that made it “holy” bread, to be taken only by baptized believers.

Leavened or unleavened bread is a beautiful aroma in any kitchen. Grandmas were anxious to pass on the art.

Watch for 4 recipes for baking with yeast. Enjoy.

Marlene Froese

4 Grandmas 4 U

Are you interested in learning more about baking, cooking and managing your kitchen? Four grandmothers from Saskatchewan are happy to share on a regular basis on this blog their considerable knowledge of baking, cooking and managing of households. In December these 4 grandmas each posted a favorite, traditional cookie recipe that their family prepares and enjoys during the Christmas season.

This month they will be sharing recipes for baking with yeast. I am thinking, from the way they have typed up these recipes, that they are assuming the reader knows something about baking with yeast! That may not be the case, in which, I invite you to feel free to ask questions by clicking on “comments” and posting your questions there.

In alphabetical order the grandmas are:

ELVA EPP, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
DONNA DRIEDGER, Osler, Saskatchewan
MARLENE FROESE, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
HEDIE HARDER, Hanley, Saskatchewan