Joyce LaFray Young’s book contains a couple of recipes for Mama Lo’s Soul Food Restaurant that used to be in Gainesville. It was known to be a popular place to eat, serving a couple hundred customers during lunch and even more at dinner. It closed in 1995. But here is Mama Lo’s recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers. 

Carol Ann Heath has a recipe for Black Beans and Rice that she shares with us in Pot-Pourri of Zellwood published by the Zellwood Community Center. It calls for one package of beans that will contain 1 pound (about 2 cups) of dry beans. Two cups will produce around 6 cups of cooked beans, drained. There are no instructions for cooking the beans, but normally (as with most beans) you would soak the beans overnight and then cook them in 3 parts water to 1 part soaked beans. So, for 2 cups beans, you may need about 6 cups of water. Keep an eye on them and don’t let the beans dry out while cooking. 

From Kathryne Taylor’s online column, Cookie and Kate’s, comes the following recipe for asparagus. This roasted asparagus recipe is a fantastic side dish that everyone will love. Recipe yields 2 large or 4 modest side servings.” 

Greta Howard’s Bibb Lettuce and Mandarin Orange Salad from Cooking with Foliage La Sertoma of Apopka is wonderful. I would venture a guess that if you don’t have Mazola corn oil, you could probably get away with your usual vegetable oil. 

Shirley Keck, the wonderful wife of our fishing expert, Jim Keck, who writes the weekly article, Goin’ Fishin’, treats us to her Dump Cake. This is very simple, and it is delicious, too! 

MAMA LO’S STUFFED BELL PEPPERS 
Recipe from Country Cookin’ by Joyce LaFray Young 

INGREDIENTS: 
6 large, whole green peppers 
1 pound lean ground beef 
1/2 onion (chopped) 
1/2 cup ketchup 
1 cup cooked rice (long grain white) 
1/2 stalk celery (chopped) 
Several dashes Worcestershire sauce 
Salt and pepper to taste 

INSTRUCTIONS: 
1) Cut off 1/2-inch of peppers at stem end. Discard center stem. Chop remaining tops. Clean out peppers of seeds and pulp. 2) Combine choppedportion of the pepper with all remaining ingredients, mix well. Stuff beef mixture into prepared whole green peppers. 3) Place stuffed peppers in 9 x 11-inch aluminum pan with 1 cup water in bottom. Cover with aluminum foil. 4) Bake in 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes. Cover with brown gravy and serve. 

BROWN GRAVY INGREDIENTS: 
2 cups water 
4 tablespoons butter 
2 tablespoons beef base (instant bouillon)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 
4 tablespoons cornstarch in 1/4 cup water 

INSTRUCTIONS: 
1) Place all Brown Gravy ingredients, (except cornstarch/water mixture) in sauce pan and bring to rapid boil. 2) Reduce heat and addcornstarch/water mixture. Heat until gravy reaches a thick consistency. Serves 6. Note: “The brown gravy adds a nice touch to an old favorite.” 

CAROL ANN HEATH’S BLACK BEANS AND RICE 
Recipe from POT-POURRI OF ZELLWOOD,  
Published by The Zellwood Community Center 

INGREDIENTS: 
1 package (2 cups) black beans 
2 tablespoons olive oil (no substitutions) 
1 whole tomato 
1 bay leaf 
1 small onion 
1/2 green pepper 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1 cup olive oil 
1/2 cup onion 
1/2 cup chopped green pepper 
1/4 teaspoon oregano 
1/4 teaspoon cumin 
1 tablespoon salt 
2 tablespoons wine vinegar 
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce 
Hot cooked rice 

INSTRUCTIONS: 
Mix together: beans and oil, tomato, bay leaf, onion, green pepper, garlic. Bring to a boil. Cook with six cups water for 3 to 3-1/2 hours until beans are tender. Discard what is left of the tomato, pepper, onion and bay leaf. Saute: 1/2 cup onion, 1/2 cup green pepper, oregano, cumin and salt in the olive oil. Add wine vinegar and hot sauce. Stir all into beans. Cook for five more minutes. Serve over the hot cooked rice. 

NOTE: General instructions for cooking dry beans:  

1) A pound of dry beans measures out to two cups. Pick over beans to remove stones, shriveled beans or other debris. Put in large pot to rinse, run clean water over beans, discarding rinse water. 2) Presoaking will make your beans more edible and digestible. Easiest presoak method is to soak overnightby placing in a large pot and covering with an inch of water over the top of the beans. Alternatively, if you don’t have the time for overnight soaking, cover with water and bring quickly to full boil. Let beans sit for an hour on the stove in the hot water to soften prior to cooking. 3) When cooking, place beans in a large pot on the stove, pressure cooker or multi-cooker (refer to manufacturer’s instructions for pressure cooker or slow cooker). Add enough water to cover beans. Check from time to time, adding heated water if it has gotten too low; being too dry results in mealy beans. If using vinegar in your recipe, it’s best to add near the end of cooking, or it may take longer to soften the beans. You can freeze leftover beans within four days after cooking. It takes between an hour and two hours for most dry beans to cook. 

BASIC ROASTED ASPARAGUS 
From Kathryne Taylor’s online column, Cookie and Kate’s 

INGREDIENTS: 
1 large bunch (about 1 pound) fresh asparagus 
1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil 
Salt, to taste 
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
Seasonings (use one or all): 
Zest and juice of one-half of medium lemon (preferably organic) 
Lemon wedges (from the remaining 1/2 lemon) 
Sprinkle of finely grated Parmesan cheese 
Small handful of fresh mint or parsley, finely chopped 
Light sprinkle of red pepper flakes 

OPTIONS: 
Pat or two of butter 
Light drizzle of balsamic reduction or thick balsamic vinegar 
Toasted sliced almonds 

INSTRUCTIONS: 
1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. 2) Place the asparagus on the sheet and drizzle with 1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil, just enough to lightly coat the asparagus. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the asparagus and toss in oil. Arrange the spears in a single layer on the pan. 3) Bake just until the base of the asparagus is easily pierced through by a fork.  

GRETA HOWARD’S BIBB LETTUCE AND MANDARIN ORANGE SALAD 
Recipe from Cooking with Foliage La Sertoma of Apopka 

INGREDIENTS: 
1/3 cup sugar 
1 teaspoon dry mustard 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon paprika 
1 cup Mazola corn oil 
4 tablespoons vinegar 
1/2 teaspoon minced dry onion 
1/2 teaspoon celery seed 
1 small can Mandarin oranges, drained 
Bibb lettuce broken into bite-sized pieces 

INSTRUCTIONS: 
1) In a blender, mix sugar, dry mustard, salt, paprika, corn oil, vinegar and minced dry onion. When well mixed, add celery seed. 2) Make the day before and refrigerate. 3) Just before serving, toss together with oranges and lettuce. Serves 6 to 8. 

SHIRLEY KECK’S DUMP CAKE 
Recipe from Reader of The Apopka Chief  

INGREDIENTS: 
1 15-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained 
1 15-ounce can cherry pie filling 
1 package yellow cake mix, plain 
1 cup pecan pieces 
2 sticks of melted butter 
1 13 x 9-inch baking pan 

INSTRUCTIONS: 
1) Pour one large can of crushed pineapple (undrained) in pan. 2) Cover pineapple with one large can of cherry pie filling. 3) Evenly, crumble the dry cake mix over the top of pie filling. 4) Sprinkle top with pecan pieces. 5) Evenly, pour melted butter over the cake mix. 6) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, until brown. 7) This easy take-along cake is even more delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Yield: 12 servings.