Jan asked for sukiyaki for Sunday dinner. This is one of the dishes my mother, Claudia, would make as I was growing up. However, not one of the children thought to take down her recipe.
Note: To hold off my diners while I was making last minute preparations I put out some tsukemono for them to snack on, cucumber pickles and salt pickled cabbage.
Karl’s Sukiyaki
Filed under Beef, Main Dishes, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Jan asked me to make some cookies for a bake sale at the university. Before I left home for the first time, I sat down with my mother’s recipe box and wrote down my favorite dishes. Her chocolate chip cookies was one of my favorites, growing up.
Claudia’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Filed under Desserts & Treats, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian
Jan requested that I make meatloaf for dinner. Both Jan and Eilene like the outsides of the loaf to have plenty of “crusty bits.” One way to please them is to make mini-meatloaves. A second, easier, way is to not make the loaf too thick—a low thin loaf. Add some fry bread and a salad and you have a really nice meal.
Karl’s Meatloaf with Orange Marmalade Sauce
(on the right)
Filed under Beef, California Fusion, Main Dishes, Pork, Sauces and Spices
Jan had requested meatloaf for dinner and I wanted a bread-like side dish to go with it. Jan has problems with digesting fats and she generally avoids white flour breads. Knowing that Jan would probably eat only a bite or two of this bread—Jan would be happy with just the salad and the meat—freed me to make it how I would really like it to be.
Karl’s Fry Bread (on the left)
Filed under bread, California Fusion, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
For me Claudia’s Chocolate Mousse is the mousse by which all others are judged. It is however, not a health food. It has replaced cakes as the birthday/holiday treat in our house. Jan has spent years perfecting the techniques of making my mother’s mousse, but it took her years before she dared to tinker with mom’s recipe. This weekend, I am making Israeli couscous with almonds, Jan decided that chocolate mousse with Amaretto would be a good dessert for my Father’s Day dinner.
Jan’s Chocolate Mousse
the Father’s Day Variation
Filed under California Fusion, Desserts & Treats, Holidays, Treats, Vegetarian
This salad is based loosely on my mother’s potato salad. Although I remember my mother’s salad having celery, it was not on her 3×5 card. I also could not conceive of potato salad without black pepper.
Karl’s Memorial Day Potato Salad
Filed under Holidays, Potatoes, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian
Adapted from an Ina Garten recipe
When I was a child my mother, Claudia, would make strawberry jam every strawberry season. With five kids and a tight budget, it was one more way to stretch a dollar—even then commercial jelly was expensive. Whenever she did this, she would also bake bread—the smell of fresh bread and jam would fill the house. We would all gather around anticipating the treat of hot jam on warm bread just out of the oven.
Karl’s Strawberry Jam
Filed under Breakfast, California Fusion, Treats, Vegan, Vegetarian
Before I left home for the first time, I sat down with my mother’s recipe box and wrote down my favorite dishes. I just posted a salmon cake recipe that put me in mind of one of my mother’s recipes: Baked Salmon. Claudia’s recipe cards were remarkable in their brevity and assumed knowledge. I will present the card as written and then give more detailed instructions for making this dish. Continue reading
Filed under Fish, Main Dishes, Seafood
Everyone has their own ideas about chili. A wide variety of dishes fall under the general heading of “chili.” Some think this dish should be only beef slow cooked in chili sauce. Others use a wide variety of meats—chicken, pork, turkey—in their chili. Still others say that it should include beans as well. Vegetarians get rid of the meat all together and still call it “chili.”
Karl’s Quick Beef Chili with Beans
Filed under Beans, Beef, California Fusion, Main Dishes, Sauces and Spices, Stews
Before I left home for the first time, I sat down with my mother’s recipe box and wrote down my favorite dishes. I had a hankering for chili this week end. I dug out my mother’s recipe and I was amazed to find that her “chili” did not actually include any chili! Continue reading
Filed under Beans, Beef, Main Dishes, Stews
karllueck
Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 