In Mom's kitchen you could relax and just be yourself.  There was never any judgment made about anyone or anything.  Everyone was welcome to just come on in, sit and of course, have that always ready cup of tea. 
Believe it or not - my Mom's kitchen had everyone from hobos and trappers to celebrities and politicians come for tea and all were more than welcome.  As she would have said - they are all people just the same as we are.  People still remember and comment about the warmth and love in my mom's kitchen.

When I think about warmth and comfort the next thought is food.  One of my all time favorite meals is spaghetti with meat sauce.   We did not get it very often so perhaps that is why we considered it a special treat. 

I make my own sauce but I  use canned sauce and tomatoes.  It depends on what I have in the cupboard as to what goes into the sauce.  The base is a bottle of spaghetti sauce and a can of whole tomatoes.  I cut the tomatoes into chunks.  The rest could be all or some of the following ingredients.  Sliced or whole small mushrooms, green, red or whatever color bell peppers, onions (dried or fresh), fresh leeks (small wild ones), garlic (cloves or powder), chili peppers, hot sauce, carrot slices (precooked).  I throw it all in a pot and let it simmer until it looks thick enough to be spaghetti sauce - Each time is different and each time I have enough sauce to put several containers in the freezer for another day.  

As for the pasta - I will either use dried pasta or the fresh pasta you can buy in the deli. Sometimes I use the vegetable pasta, whole wheat pasta.  There are so many types to try out.   I find that other than cooking times pastas are all good and easy to prepare.  Some people prefer it al dente and some prefer it cooked all the way through. 

Because it is such a versatile meal - you can pour the sauce over the pasta or mix it in.  Some like to put parmesan cheese on top. 

Whatever way you like it - it is easy to make and fun to eat. 

A family favorite - Syrupy Butter Tarts

One of the most popular things in my Mom's kitchen and in her home bakeshop was butter tarts the real drippy kind.  Customers would pack up even the day old ones and the frozen ones to take home with them.  Dozens and dozens of them.  Whatever was there didn't last long.  I use that same recipe for all the holiday festivities in my own kitchen now.  Everyone gets very upset if I don't make any and have started to come to my house early to bake them themselves.  They never last until the big dinner but we have fun making and eating them anyway. 

Syrupy Butter Tarts

1 cup raisins (soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes then drained)
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup of brown sugar
1 well beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix well until foamy and pour into prepared unbaked pastry shells and bake at 350°F until golden brown.
Approximately 10 minutes depending on your stove.
Remove from tart tins before they cool too much, but be careful - they are still very hot on the inside.

Thanksgiving weekend in Canada

What a lot of things we have to be thankful for.  All in all - we have had so many memorable moments with family and friends and giving thanks for whatever we had was easy to do.  I don't recall ever having a turkey dinner when I was growing up but we always had lots of chickens and pork.  New potatoes, squash, and carrots smothered in gravy and homemade pumpkin pie with real whipped cream for dessert.  I often wondered how my parents ever managed with 4 children but as time went on - those children brought more children to the dinner table and eventually - well, you know what I mean.  As the family grew so did their garden and there was always lots of good food to eat.  My mother, bless her, always cooked everything by herself and never wanted any help.  Now I find I am that mother, grandmother and great grandmother doing exactly the same thing and I am truly thankful for all of it. 

Chilly? Chili!!!

There are so many different recipes for chili - I remember that my father was the one that actually made the chili at our house. Most of the ingredients were home grown and much different than what most other people make.  With the cooler weather here I thought this might be a good time to try one of my friends recipes. Randy loves to cook and has done some short videos that are great and interesting.  If you would like to try his chili, just click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfnlMoOL9gA  Enjoy!!

Pickling Season

I know most of you are busy getting your pickling done or have just finished it. I know this is probably a little late for you but I remember my mom's saurkraut that she made. She had a huge crock pot that she used. I don't even remember how she did it but I can remember the big plate she stuck on top of all the cabbage and held it down with a rock. We always had to ask "how much longer before we can eat it?" The answer was always the same - "You have to wait". Eventually it was done and you would think it would have lasted a long time after she made so much but it disappeared quite rapidly with all of us eating it on everything.

Here is a mustard sauce recipe that she used for corn, leeks and cucumbers.

1 pint vinegar
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp dry mustard
1 cup sugar
1 tsp flour

Mix spices until smooth, add vinegar. Heat and stir until thick.

Prickly Pear Cactus

I remember one of the plants my mother had in the kitchen was a huge prickly pear cactus. It reached the ceiling and once a year we got to stay up to see the flowers open. The flowers only opened for a few hours for one night then they were done. The cactus was so big that it finally had to go because it would not fit in the kitchen any more. That reminded me of my cousin coming to visit and Mom baked some oatmeal date cookies for us. I have added the recipe she used and hope everyone enjoys them as much as I do.

Oatmeal Cookies:
1/2 cup shortening 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine 1 tsp baking soda
1 cup brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour 1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups oatmeal

Cream shortening, butter and sugar. Add oatmeal and flour, salt and baking soda.
Mix in vanilla and water. Roll on floured board and cut in round circles. Bake at 375°F approximately 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Filling:
1 cup chopped dates
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water

Spread about 1 rounded or heaping teaspoon of filling on one cookie and cover with a second cookie. Stored in a closed container they will remain soft for several days.

Fresh Muffins for Breakfast

As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, my Mom had a small bakeshop in her kitchen. I am also quite confident that you have heard the say 'too many hands in the soup pot spoils the broth'. The summer that I helped her out we decided that it was a much better idea to have one doing some of the goodies and another one doing the rest. My job was to make cakes, donuts, muffins and lemon pies and Mom made the tarts, sticky buns, bread and anything else she wanted to try.
Although my family still enjoys all of these things, the muffins were and still are one of their favorites. They are easy to make, the batter stays fresh up to 6 weeks and you can just bake a few at a time. Great for kids lunches too!

Muffins by the Pail

2 cups natural bran
1 cup mazola oil
4 cups kellogg's bran flakes (we found that other brands of bran flakes were very soft but still usable)
4 eggs
3 tablespoons baking soda
1 quart of sour milk (a few drops of vinegar in fresh milk does the trick. I actually use one can of evaporated milk and one of water and enough vinegar to turn it sour)
2 cups boiling water
3 cups brown sugar
4 cups flour
2 cups of raisins
1 tablespoon of salt

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Let stand overnight. Stores up to 6 weeks in closed container in refrigerator. Bake in muffin tins at 350° until golden brown.