FROM THE COOKBOOK SHELF
If you’re a fan of Midwest Living published by Meredith Corporation, you’ll be impressed with Taste of Four Seasons, published in 2015. My rhubarb is peeping through the ground and I couldn’t resist the Rhubarb. Chess Pie recipe. Even the butter-added crust recipe is included.
RHUBARB CHESS PIE
Pastry for Single Crust (recipe follows)
2 cups 1-inch thick slices rhubarb
1¼ cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup whipping cream
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon corn meal
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
Prepare Single Crust Pie Pastry. Line pastry with a double thickness of foil. Bake 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 6 minutes more. Meanwhile, arrange rhubarb on a baking sheet. Bake alongside pastry for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; cool. Sprinkle with ¼ cup sugar; toss to coat. Transfer to baked pastry. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, remaining sugar, cream, butter, lemon juice, cornstarch, cornmeal, vanilla and salt. Bake in preheated 375ºF oven for 40 minutes or until center is set; cover loosely with foil for last 10 minutes of baking. Cool on wire rack 2 hours. Chill, covered, for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours. Makes 8 servings.
Pastry for Single-Crust Pie. In medium bowl, stir together 1½ cups flour and ½ teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in ¼ cup shortening and ¼ cup cold butter, cut up, until pieces are pea-size. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon water; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to side. Repeat moistening dough, using 1 tablespoon water at a time until moistened, about 5 tablespoons total. Form dough into a ball. Using your hands, slightly flatten on lightly floured surface. Roll pastry from center to edges into a 12-inch circle. Wrap around rolling pin; unroll into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim pastry to ½ inch beyond edge; fold under extra pastry. Crimp edges.
Source: Midwest Living Taste of the Seasons.
DOES EXCESSIVE SITTING AGE YOU
Too much sitting and too little exercise may speed biological aging by as much as 8 years, suggests an American Journal of Epidemiology study.
A group of 1,481 women (average age 79) from a nationally-representative sample wore motion sensors for one week. The combination of being too sedentary and getting less than 30 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous exercise was associated with having white blood cells with significantly shorter telomeres. Telomeres are caps that protect the ends of DNA. They shorten with age, but factors such as exercise may affect the rate. “Having shortened telomere length is associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes and major cancers, as well as shorter life expectancy,” says Aladdin Shadyab, PhD, the study’s lead author at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Strive for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily.
Source: Tufts Health & Nutrition News Letter, April, 2017.
WHY IS THIRTEEN OF SOMETHING KNOWN A BAKER’S DOZEN?
Bread has been the staff of life since ancient times. By the middle of the 12th century A.D. the baking industry in England had become organized, and London bakers had formed an official brotherhood. Later, they reorganized into Brown Bakers and the Company of White Bakers and were subject to strict regulations. A law passed in 1266 stipulated exactly eighty loaves of bread were to be baked from a standard sack of flour. It was illegal to sell loaves of bread that varied from a set weight. Bakers who were found selling underweight loaves in the Middle East who were nailed by their ears to their shop’s doorway for selling underweight bread. Add an extra loaf of bread for every twelve they sold, to make up for the underweight loaves, was a small price for the bakers to pay.
Source: The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorheese.
FRENCH TOAST ANYONE?
French toast was a weekend favorite when we were a family of 6. Now I make it in one of the heavily advertised copper skillets that resist scratching no matter how hard you try.
FRENCH TOAST
1 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
Pure maple syrup
Whisk together milk, eggs and salt. Dip bread slices in milk mixture. Fry until golden browning a small amount butter. Serve with pure maple syrup. Serve immediately.
Source: Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook
KUDOS TO LEWIS BAKERY CO!
LEWIS BAKERY, committed to responding to consumers’ demand for quality products since 1925, for their half loaf concept. Lewis bread products are available in the bread department at Chief.