Varied recipes from Treasures and Pleasures cookbook

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This week’s Kitchen Kapers is a collection of as many varied recipes for soups, stews and chowders as can fit into this space, all from the First Presbyterian Church of Apopka’s Treasures and Pleasures cookbook’s excellent soups section.

All Apopka-area churches, schools, clubs and other organizations which have published cookbooks anytime in the past are invited and encouraged to bring a copy to The Apopka Chief office for inclusion of its recipes in this Kitchen Kapers column, as are individual local published cookbook authors who would like their recipes to be included here.

Enjoy the soups, chowders and stews below while we’re still in March and the weather is nicely cool enough sometimes for some good hot soups to be much appreciated.

With March 20 being the first day of spring, it won’t be long until we’ll be reversing back to wanting cold foods for hot days again, but for now, let’s keep on keeping the soups hot on the stove just a little while longer.

Doesn’t this first recipe’s name just make you really want to try it, even just for the soup’s name? Who wouldn’t want to be stopping for a bowl of soup or corn chowder while out adventuring at a French market! The Banana Fritters are just as inviting, and how about a slice of Cheese Cake Pie or rich German Chocolate Pie?

 

SONYA BRANCH MEYER’S FRENCH MARKET SOUP

1-1/2 cups bean mixture

1 ham bone and 1 pound diced ham, bacon or salt pork

1 can (15 ounces) tomatoes

Salt and pepper (amounts to your taste)

2 or 3 cloves garlic, crushed

Juice of 1 lemon

1 or 2 bell peppers, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 large onions, chopped

Wash and soak beans for several hours. Drain and place in 3-quart pot. Cover with approximately 2 quarts water or stock. Add ham bone and half of onions, celery and peppers. Bring to a boil and simmer for one hour. Add rest of ingredients and cook until soft. Recipe serves four to six and freezes well. (Suggested beans for mixture: black, pinto, black-eyed peas, split peas, lentils, lima and kidney beans.)

 

ENID CARVER’S

CORN CHOWDER

2 slices breakfast bacon

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup diced potatoes

3/4 cup sliced celery

1/8 teaspoon each pepper and thyme

2 or 3 tablespoons flour

1 (#2) can cream style corn

2 cups milk

Cut bacon in two-inch strips. Fry until crisp. Add onion, celery and potatoes. Brown lightly. Add seasonings and half cup of water. Cover and simmer until vegetables are crisp-cooked. Beat flour into milk. Add to vegetables. Stir constantly until boiling point is reached. Add corn to chowder. Serve the Corn Chowder hot.

 

SIS PITMAN’S

CREAMY RICH

CORN CHOWDER

5 slices bacon, diced

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium size potatoes, cubed

2 cups chicken broth

1-1/2 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from cob

1 teaspoon salt

1/2teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 cups light cream (half-and-half)

Cook diced bacon in a kettle until crisp. Remove and reserve crisped bacon in the fat. Saute the onion until tender. Add potatoes and broth. Cover and simmer until potatoes are barely tender. Add the corn, salt and pepper ad cook 10-15 minutes longer. Stir in the cream and heat just to boiling. Sprinkle top with the reserved cooked bacon. Recipe makes four to six servings.

 

HAROLD JUCKETTE’S

OYSTER STEW

1 pint stewing oysters

2 quarts whole milk

1 pint Half-and-Half

2 to 3 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 cup butter

Salt and pepper

Cook celery until soft and set aside. Heat milk and the half-and-half until steaming, but do not boil! Cook oysters (in separate pan) a short time, until edges start to curl. (Do not overcook.)

Add all ingredients together, while still hot, in one pan. Do not overcook! Add butter, salt and pepper to your taste. (And, again, do not overcook the milk.) Serve soup with oyster crackers.

 

KATHY JABERG’S

BANANA FRITTERS

Recipe from Kathy Jaberg

1 small egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup flour

1 mashed ripe banana

Dash of cinnamon or vanilla

2 tablespoons milk

Mix together all ingredients. Fry in deep fat the fritters made from mashed ripe banana mixed with all other ingredients. Fritters will automatically turn over when done deep frying on one side. Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar or with syrup.

 

MILDRED HAEFELY’S CHEESECAKE PIE

2 (8-ounces each) packages cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

3 eggs

Topping:

1 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Baking chocolate

In mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar and almond extract, until fluffy. Add one egg at a time, beating slowly, just till blended. Pour into an ungreased pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Stir together the sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Carefully spread on top of hot pie and shave chocolate on top of pie when cool.

 

THE COMMITTEE’S

GERMAN CHOCOLATE PIE

1 pound Hershey chocolate bar

1/2 stick butter

Handful of coconut

Handful of chopped pecans

1 large tub Cool Whip

Graham cracker pie crust

Melt butter and chocolate. Let cool. Stir chocolate into Cool Whip. Add coconut and pecans. Freeze in graham cracker piecrust. Optional: May garnish with chocolate sprinkles or can save some chocolate from bar to shave on top of pie.