Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is Friday, February 12 and George Washington’s birthday is on Monday, February 22. Presidents’ Day splits their birthdays and is celebrated on Monday, February 15.
Arriving on Sunday, February 14, of course, is Valentine’s Day, a really big deal for sure! We’ve got a lot of celebrating to do with so many special days all coming up fast.
Maybe we’ll even be inspired to bake a cake for celebrating Abe Lincoln’s birthday.
Then, of course, to be fair and giving equal consideration to all, we’ll certainly need to bake another cake as well in honor of the other above named February birthday boy, one of our nation’s greatest leaders and America’s first-ever president, George Washington.
If we want to create an even grander scale historic celebration for remembering and honoring our nation’s long list of past presidents we might even be inspired to bake just one very extra-large-size cake or a big batch of cupcakes or cookies honoring all of them.
This week’s special-occasion local recipes indeed are especially fine and unforgettable celebration foods because all are truly “home” cooking coming from so many of this Apopka-area’s homes, thanks to the many hardworking local groups and churches which collected local recipes and created our many community cookbooks years ago. As always, we’re starting out this week’s Kitchen Kapers here with our usual big healthful servings of nutrition-filled vegetable dishes which many readers have requested.
Then we’re moving on to some sweet-treats desserts, which this week include a couple of ideas from some of our Apopka-area home chefs for those above-mentioned Presidents Day and Valentine’s Day celebration cakes and some No Bake Oatmeal Cookies as well.
Enjoy the variety!
SHERI BAILEY’S
SPINACH-CANTALOUPE SALAD
Recipe from First Baptist Church of Apopka’s Taste & See
1 cantaloupe, seeded using a melon scoop
7 cups torn fresh spinach leaves
2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 cup halved green grapes
2/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Place the melon balls, spinach, ham, onion and grapes in a bowl. Toss and chill for at least two hours. Prepare dressing. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and toss the salad. Top with toasted pecans.
Dressing:
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons orange juice
4 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
3 tablespoons grated fresh orange peel
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Place the sugar, orange juice, vinegar, onion and orange peel in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. With blender running, gradually add oil until slightly thickened. Stir in poppy seeds. Cover and chill.
JOAN WILSON’S FRESH
VEGETABLE PIE
Recipe from Carole Arthur’s
Older Americans Cookbook
2 cups sliced onion
1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced
2 or 3 sliced tomatoes
2 cups fresh, torn spinach
Saute the sliced onions in two tablespoons olive oil and then put the sautéed onions into an 11- or 12-inch round pie pan.
Layer the eggplant slices, tomato slices and the spinach. Sprinkle each layer with lemon pepper, garlic powder and dry Italian seasoning. Repeat the layers. Drizzle about two tablespoons olive oil on top of vegetables. Cover with crust.
Crust:
2 cups flour (or 1-3/4 cups flour and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese)
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon white vinegar
3 tablespoons dry Italian seasoning
Mix dry ingredients, cut in butter and Crisco. Beat egg and vinegar together. Add to dry mixture. Add Italian seasoning. Roll out dough and cover vegetables. Pierce top crust twice with fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Recipe serves 8-10.
ANNA KENNEDY’S
EGGPLANT CASSEROLE
Recipe from New Vision
Community Church’s
Feeding The Flock
1 medium eggplant
3/4 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick butter or margarine
2 slices toast (crumbs)
Salt and pepper (amounts to your taste)
Peel the eggplant and cut it into blocks. Bring to a boil and then let it boil for four to five minutes. Drain.
To the eggplant, add the toasted bread crumbs, milk, butter. Put in a casserole dish. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts and begins to bubble. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix all together. Put in a casserole dish and sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese melts and begins to bubble.
ZIL GROUX’S QUICK NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES
Recipe from
Errol Membership Recipes
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups Quick Rolled Oats
1 cup walnut meats
Cook the above five ingredients over low heat for five minutes, just bubble-simmer, and then remove from heat and stir in three cups of Quick Rolled Oats, dry but packed. Add one cup of walnut meats. Drop by teaspoonful on waxed paper.
SISTER CAROL’S
GOLDEN APPLE CAKE
Recipe from St. Francis of Assisi Church’s A Book of
Favorite Recipes
2 cups flour
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 cups diced golden apples
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
Using a fork, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, allspice and salt. Blend in the eggs, oil and vanilla. Fold in the remaining ingredients. (Dough will be very stiff.)
Spread into a 13- by 9- by 2-inch greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Recipe makes 12-16 servings.
DONNA REED’S
COCONUT PUDDING CAKE
Recipe from New Vision Community Church’s Feeding The Flock
1 package yellow cake mix
1 package Jell-o vanilla or coconut cream instant pudding and pie filling
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/4 cup oil
1-1/3 cups (more or less) flaked coconut
1 tablespoon honey
In large mixer bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil. Blend and then beat at medium speed for four minutes.
Set aside one-fourth cup coconut for garnish. Stir remaining coconut into the batter. Pour mixture into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan for about 15 minutes. Remove from pan and finish cooling on rack. Brush top of cake with honey and sprinkle with reserved coconut.
