Shannon’s Curry Chicken Salad

This chicken salad with curry, apples and almonds has become our favorite over the past 4 or 5 summers.  Following is the recipe for one generous serving but, of course, it can be multiplied by as many people as you want to feed.  I like to have this salad with a good homemade roll.

SHANNON’S CURRY CHICKEN SALAD (One Serving)

• 1 cup of cooked chicken, shredded
• 1/2 tart apple, chopped (Golden Delicious, Granny Smith)
• 1 Tblsp. toasted slivered almonds
• 1 Tblsp. raisins
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (I like to use Hellman’s Light)
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder

In a small bowl, combine chicken, apple, almonds and raisins.  In a cup, combine mayonnaise and curry powder.  Mix the mayonnaise mixture with the chicken mixture, cover and refrigerate for an hour or so. 

Makes one delicious serving.

 

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Sweet and Sour Pickle Sticks

In the 20 years we lived in the country and had a huge vegetable garden, I made every type of pickle, many of them prizewinners at the county fair, but this is my personal favorite and the only pickles that we ran out of before canning season came around each year.  The cucumbers can be cut in any shape – slices, spears, or small ones could be left whole – but fairly thin sticks were always cut for these pickles. 

I used to put up 20 or 25 jars during the summer, but since I’m alone now, I make up a small batch to last through the summer barbecue season.  This recipe makes 3 one-pint jars.

SWEET AND SOUR PICKLE STICKS

• 6 medium sized pickling cucumbers (not the waxed type found at the supermarket), enough to fill 3 pint-sized Mason canning jars
• 1-1/4  cup plus 2 Tblsp. white vinegar (5% acidity)
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tblsp. pickling salt
• 1 Tblsp. celery seed
• 1 Tblsp. plus 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. mustard seed
• 2-1/4 cups granulated sugar

Cut cucumbers into strips and pack into sterilized jars.  No need to peel, but trim off the ends.  The freshest cucumbers make the crunchiest pickles.

In a large saucepan, combine vinegar, water, pickling salt, celery seed, turmeric, mustard seed and sugar.  Bring to a boil – then boil 5 minutes longer.  Pour over the cucumbers in the jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace.

Wipe jars clean, put lids on jars and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack before storing.  I’ve found an asparagus steamer is good for processing just a few jars.  Let cure for 2 weeks before using. 

This is a good web site for information on canning and preserving foods.

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Zucchini or Yellow Squash Relish

In the 20 years that we had a country home, my husband had a huge garden where he harvested every kind of vegetable but was especially fond of growing zucchini and yellow squash.  I was overwhelmed with the quantity of produce and as a novice at country living, felt I had to use every single zucchini in the bottomless basket that he brought in every day.  I found a lot of recipes and this is one of my favorites – a sweet/sour relish that I made in large quantities and canned for the coming winter.

Now, that my husband has passed away and I’m living in a little bungalow with a small yard, I pick up my produce at the grocery store or farm markets and make a small amount of relish at a time – in this case, 1-1/2 pints. 

ZUCCHINI OR YELLOW SQUASH RELISH

• 2-1/2 cups chopped zucchini or yellow squash
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet bell pepper
• 2 Tblsp. pickling salt

BRINE:

• 3/4 cup white vinegar (5% acidity)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. celery seed
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric

FOR THICKENING RELISH

• 1/2 Tblsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tblsp. white vinegar

In a medium sized bowl, combine the zucchini/squash, celery, onion, red pepper and pickling salt.  Cover and let set at room temperature at least 8 hours.

Drain vegetables, rinse and drain again.

In a large sauce pan, combine the BRINE mixture:  3/4 cup vinegar, sugar, celery & mustard seed, and turmeric.  Bring mixture to a boil, then add the drained vegetables.   REMOVE FROM THE HEAT AND LET STAND FOR 2 HOURS.

Return the pan to medium high heat and bring to a boil.  Add the thickening ingredients:  Cornstarch and vinegar mixed together.  Let relish simmer at medium heat for 15 minutes.

Pour relish into sterilized jars and cap.  Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.  I’ve found an asparagus steamer is good for processing just a few jars.  Let jars cool on a rack before storing.  Allow relish to cure for a week before using for best flavor.

This is a good web site  for information on canning and preserving foods.

Optional:  Add one-half of a medium dried red pepper to the jar after filling.  This “hot” version won a 2nd place ribbon at the Hamilton County Fair (Ohio) in 1988.

Yield:  1-1/2 pints

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Last-Day-of-School Dresses

When I was going to school in the 1930s and 40s, the last day of school was in mid-June.  I always associate the day in Cincinnati with very hot weather, tiger lilies blooming, and my mother making me a “last-day-of-school dress”.   In the first grade (above), the dress was yellow silk with accordion pleated skirt and brown bows.  It was a beautiful dress and all the little girls in my class gathered around me to touch and admire the silky smoothness – before World War II when silk was a common commodity in dress-up clothes.

In 1942, Mother made a more grown-up dress of a beautiful light blue fabric.  She often made a dress of the same fabric for my little sister and we’re shown here with my cousin, Dixie, just after her First Communion.

In the sixth grade, my sister and I had dresses of a lovely blue voile.  We had just moved from downtown Cincinnati to the East End area where there were small well-kept houses with Victory Gardens.  

 I graduated from the 8th grade in 1945 and Mother made a beautiful white outfit with a flared skirt and eyelet top.  It was the fashion in our school that year to wear white socks with white sandals.

In 1946, I was finishing up my freshman year at Withrow High School, a prestigious school at that time where my classmates were way higher economically than I was.  As you can see, I was very unhappy with my dress that year.  This was very unusual for me – I normally wore anything Mother lay out for me with no complaints, but this dress was of a matronly rayon-type fabric and all the girls in my upscale school were wearing sleeveless pastel shirtwaist dresses to class.  I knew I was going to look completely out of style in my grandma-goes-to-church dress.  In spite of my scowl, I wore the dress to pick up my report card and found that the stylish girls were all in shorts and casual clothes, ready to take off for swimming pools and tennis courts, and paid no attention to me at all.

Mother always talked about her favorite last-day-of-school dress which she described as being so beautiful.  After she passed away, I found this picture of her and understood better why she made me such a matronly, out-of-style dress.  It looked a lot like her favorite.

I felt bad that I had disappointed Mother by not liking the dress, but apparently I made an impression  because she never made another one like that for me.  For my senior class day at Withrow, she made my sister and me these beautiful light blue dotted Swiss dresses which we both loved. 

I don’t believe the tradition of last-day-of-school dresses was active in my era (except for my mother) and it certainly wasn’t alive for my daughters or now for my granddaughters and great-granddaughter.  Pity.

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Upside-Down-Cake

For 20 years, we lived in the country where my husband grew all kinds of fruits and vegetables.  One of my favorites was rhubarb, so when we relocated to a smaller house and yard almost 7 years ago, I planted some rhubarb and have some to use throughout the summer – plenty for one person.  But in 1989 when we had a lot of home-grown everything, I tried some different ways of using rhubarb and won a ribbon for this cake at the Ohio State Fair.

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

• 6 Tlbsp. butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1-3/4 cup sliced rhubarb
• 3/4 cup sliced strawberries
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup shortening (Crisco)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2/3 cup milk
• Whipped cream and fresh strawberries for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter in a 9″ skillet.  I like to use a 50+ year-old cast iron skillet for this.

Stir in brown sugar.

Lightly mix together the rhubarb and strawberries.

Arrange the rhubarb and strawberries over the top of the butter/brown sugar mixture.  Note:  Don’t do as I did once and try to increase the amount of fresh strawberries – it makes the topping too juicy.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In large bowl of electric mixer, cream shortening, sugar and egg.  Add dry ingredients and milk alternately, starting and ending with dry ingredients, beating after each addition.  Add vanilla and blend.  Spread batter over the fruit.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until top of cake is golden brown and cake tests done when a toothpick is inserted in the center.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto large serving plate.  If some of the fruit sticks to the pan, just scrape it out while it is still warm and add to the top of the cake.

Let cake cool to room temperature and serve with some whipped cream and a couple of fresh strawberries.

This makes a really nice summertime dessert.

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