Meadow Ranch Recipes

Rediscovered Recipes from my late mom (Patricia Diane Perrin) from a cookbook she wrote for me when I was first living on my own.

Banana Cake Sausage Rolls Shortbread Cherry Pound Cake Mince Tarts Christmas Candy White Bread Sweet Dough Great Pastry

PDP's Banana Cake

1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp soda
1 tsp vinegar
1/4 cup canned milk
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 or 3 large bananas (mashed)
1/4 cup water

Cream sugar and margarine ~ add eggs, salt and vanilla. Put the tsp vinegar in the 1/4 cup canned milk (it will sour) and add. Add flour, baking powder, bananas ~ mix all well and at the very last add tsp soda to 1/4 cup water and beat into the mixture. Bake at 350 till done.

Shortbread

1 lb. butter

1 cup icing sugar

4 cups flour

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and vanilla in bowl. Sift flour and icing sugar 6 times. (six is the magic number) I use 2 large pieces of wax paper then you can just sift back and forth. Mix as for pie crust (use your hands) shape as desired. Bake in slow oven 300 for 1/2 hour or more.
(Watch closely, it's sooo annoying when you overdo a batch!)

Cherry Pound Cake

1 1/3 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup maraschino cherries - dusted with flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp. almond extract

Cream together sugar, butter, eggs, almond ext. In another small bowl or lg. measuring cup, mix together: the flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar/butter mixture, alternating with milk. . . beat. Add the floured cherries - mix and bake at 350 for about 55 minutes (test middle with straw)

Mince Tarts

Just buy prepared mincemeat (a small bottle) make tiny tart shells, fill with mincemeat and I make wee tops and put on and crimp with fork - bake at 350-375 till pastry is browned - serve hot with whipped cream.

Rene's Christmas Candy

2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup marg

1/2 cup milk (or mixed 1/2 & 1/2 with canno)

4 tbsp. cocoa

1 cup shredded coconut

2 cups rolled oats

Put all in pot and boil for five minutes. Remove from heat and add coconut and rolled oats. Stand til starting to firm - drop on waxed paper and put in fridge.

Bread, Buns and such

Bread and buns are very easy to make, and fun, and it gives you such a nice satisfied feeling.

White Bread

2 cups milk - warmed up (watch closely)

4 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. sugar

1/4 cup shortening or oil (oil is easier)

1 cup cold water

Method:

To prepare yeast: Warm a large metal pot under the hot water tap - get it good and warm. (don't use plastic) Put 1 cup warm water into warm pan - (the water should be wrist tested warm) add 2 tsp. sugar and stir with your hand to dissolve completely. Sprinkle 1 pkg. yeast on top of warm water (don't mix or touch) It will start to work quickly.

Meanwhile: warm your milk in a pan, remove from heat, add 4 tsp. salt, 6 tbsp. sugar, 1/4 cup oil and 1 cup cold water - mix - put in yeast pot - mix again. . .

then add: approx. 10 cups of flour. a little at a time and mix - when you get all the flour in use your hands to mix thoroughly - the dough should be easy to work with above all, well mixed and not sticky, if it's sticky add a bit of flour - have your hands well floured, also your counter.

Put dough on counter and knead (you know how) until you have a lovely pliable shiny dough (should spring back when poked) and should look like a pregnant ladies tummy - (having never seen any this may prove difficult for you)! Nevertheless hang in there. Kneading time 10 minutes minimum. (depending on what your kneads are I suppose)

Put dough (when ready) in large greased bowl, rub a little grease on the dough and cover and sit in warm place for approx. 2 hours. In this time it should double in size.

The Punch Down: Take dough out of bowl and press out with your hands into large square - keep pressing until all air bubbles are out (otherwise you will have bread with cavities big enough to stuff) This should make about 4 or 5 standard loaves (buy bread pans, although, see me first, I have a couple) To explain how to shape loaves is difficult - fold both (long) sides into middle - fold end flaps in, seal all edges carefully with your fingers - then sort of shape into loaf shape, put in greased bread tins, and allow to rise for another 2 hours covered in a warm spot until good loaf size then proceed to bake.

Bake in hot oven 375-400 for 1/2 hour then reduce heat to 350 for another 15 to 20 minutes. when bread is done it sounds hollow when tapped.

There are all sorts of variations with different kinds of flour of course.

Sweet Dough

for those too damned good cinnamon bums. And also just for dinner buns.

1 cup milk - warmed (quite warm)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs beaten

2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup cold milk

1/4 cup oil

Prepare your yeast exactly as for bread - warm pan and all)

Combine all the above - then add to yeast mixture when it's ready - mix well and gradually add 7 - 7 1/2 cups of flour.

Same procedure for kneading and rising 2 hours then punch down, form into "whatever" kind of buns, put in pans and cover and let rise another 2 hours or until good size. I think you know how to make cinnamon buns - after punch down - make square or oblong of dough - butter - poke raisins into it and cover with mixture of brown sugar & cinnamon. Roll up and cut. Put in buttered pan cut side up - let rise another 2 hours bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes take out and drizzle tops with mixture of icing sugar & water.

Desserts ("Your Just")

Great Pastry (Sheila's)

5 cups flour (you can use 1 cup whole wheat if you like - tis nice)

1 tsp. salt

1 lb lard (tenderflake)

1 egg

water

lemon juice

Cut lard into flour until fine (add salt to flour first) Use your hands for this. Beat 1 egg with fork in measuring cup, then add ice cold water to 7/8 of a cup (1/2 between 3/4 and full) add lemon juice to one cup.

Add the flour mixture and mix well - it will be quite moist so use lots of flour to roll it out in. It won't get tough if re-rolled - keeps in fridge for 1 - 2 weeks and freezes well.

So easy - So good!!

For pies, tarts, steak and kidley, cheese busters, etc.

As Mom said to Dick and I one day (we were quite little & thought it a great laugh) "If you kids hear anything in here, it's just me making lemon farts"!!

ROSE BEADS

From 'the herb companion' magazine some years ago (a great magazine)
This rose bead recipe is dear to me since the year I made the beads I was living with my Dad in Penticton. He and I gathered and dried the rose petals all summer for the project. They were Dad's roses.

~ A great wood cook stove / cast iron pot project ~

The rose bead mash can be made with fresh, frozen, dried or any combination of petals. The petals do need to be clean to make a nice smooth mash. It doesn't matter what colour of petals are used they all turn black in the mash. The mash recipe that follows makes about 75 beads but the batch is easily doubled or tripled.

MAKING THE MASH

2-3 quarts of clean rose petals

Place the rose petals in a stainless steel pot with water to cover (about a quart)

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low letting it simmer for 2 to 6 hours stirring occasionally

You can cook the petals all day or cook them for a while on day turn off the heat and finish up the next day. The longer you cook the petals the more the cellulose breaks down and the easier the job of pureeing the mash.

In a blender or food processor, puree the cooled mash in batches. Add just enough extra water to each batch to enable the machine to puree it thoroughly at the highest speed. the finer the mash the smoother and more uniform the bead. Drain the mash through cheesecloth or a jellybag to remove excess water.

SLOW COOKING

Place the drained pureed mash into an iron pot or skillet. When the mash is cooked in iron, a chemical reaction of the acid in the petals with the iron turns it black Once the mash turns black it badly stains whatever it touches so best to wear rubber gloves and cover surfaces. Also, the mash will remove the patina from an iron pot (yikes) so you may want to use an old one and reserve it for bead making.

Cook the mash covered over the lowest heat possible, stirring occasionally, for 2 or 3 days or until it is black and about the consistency of soft cream cheese. You can cook it for a few hours, turn it off and continue cooking later. Keep it covered to prevent a crust forming. The mash can also be baked, covered at 250 degrees for 1 or 2 days.

COOLING & DRAINING

Layer a tray thickly with newspaper and cover with a layer of paper towels. The mash will stick to newspaper but not to paper towels. Turn the mash out to cool on the prepared tray and cover it with another layer of paper towels. Let it drain. Change the newspaper when it is soaked, this can take a few hours or overnight and may need to be done two or three times. Add a few drops of rose essence to the mash ~ and knead this in.

You can make beads now or store the mash. To store pack the rose petal mash into plastic containers with tight lids and refrigerate for as long as a week or freeze for a few months. The mash can be thawed and refrozen as necessary.

ROLLING

For each bead measure out a slightly rounded 1/2 teaspoon of the mash (bead will be 1/3 that size when dry). Knead, removing any particles, and roll into a bead. Shape and texture is determined at this point.

DRYING

Push smooth wire through the beads to form a row of beads you can lay across an open box or tray for drying. Keep at room temperature in still air. Too fast and the beads will crack . . . too slow and they may mould. Turn daily and move on the wire to prevent sticking for the first week and then leave on the wire for a week or two until completely dry. Store in glass jars to keep fresh. Dental floss doubled up makes good necklace string and 28 inches is a good average finished length.