Wednesday Recipes

Today was easier than yesterday. I've discovered that preparing meals from this book (maybe from the time period?) means that many things need to be/can be done ahead of time. Each night I have found that when its time to get things ready to serve, it all goes together quickly because of the prep done beforehand. It feels like more work, but it's nice being able to put together a nice meal in a VERY short period of time when you're hungry!

Breakfast: Mr. was allowed a piece of toast as well. This was a quick and easy breakfast. Instead of sugar we used maple syrup.

Luncheon: This took some unexpected prep time. I had just finished making the aspic and the custard. Since the kitchen was still messed up, I went ahead and prepped the vegetable soup. The Swiss on pumpernickel was nice. Mr. got two slices of bread, I got one. Mr. was to have his apple baked, so I cubed it up and sprinkled it with a little brown sugar, cinnamon, and a tiny sliver of butter. Both son and husband appreciated the unexpected dessert for lunch. My raw apple looked a little sad next to their dishes.

Vegetable Soup: (serving=1 cup)

1 lb. beef chuck/roast/steak, etc. cut into small pieces
3 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. salt
Pepper, to taste
3/4 C diced onion
2/3 cup diced celery
1/2 C diced potato
3/4 cup diced carrot
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon sugar (I left this out)

Add water and seasonings to the beef; simmer until meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (My beef was already cooked.) Add the prepared vegetables and the sugar; cook until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.

Pickup: This was kind of fun. Just a buttered piece of bread. It actually hit the spot about 3:30.

Dinner: This was a MEAL! My husband that it was so colorful that HE wanted to take a picture of it LOL! I liked everything but the aspic. Just the name alone was bothersome to me. I kept thinking of it as tomatoes on a salad (since the lettuce was there). Not a fan. Husband was, though. That man will eat anything.

Because I had prepped the aspic and custard (yummy!!) before hand, all I had to do was cook the sprouts, saute the mushrooms, and bake the squash. I had everything on the table in less than 30 minutes.



Tomato Aspic: (4 servings)

1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 envelope = 1 tablespoon)
1/4 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups hot tomato juice
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Dash pepper
Salad greens

Soften gelatin in the cold water; dissolve in the hot tomato juice. Add the seasonings and blend. Pour into 4 individual serving molds. Chill until firm. Unmold on the salad greens. No salad dressing is required.

Baked Custard: (4 servings)

2 cups milk, scalded (see below)
2 eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325. Scald milk by heating it until just before it boils (good and hot, in other words). Beat eggs, sugar, and salt until blended. Remove milk from stove and add egg mixture to milk. Add vanilla. Pour into buttered custard cups. Place cups in a pan of hot, not boiling, water to the depth of 1 inch. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake until custard is set, about 40 minutes. Serve warm or cold.