Ma Ranta's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

What a whirlwind this past month has been! In honor of the holidays, I present you with one of my favorite holiday cookie recipes. This one is not from my mother's recipe stash, but from a dear former boss of mine. 


I made these last week, for the first time in a few years, and they were just as yummy as I remembered. They are airy and fluffy, more like muffin tops than traditional cookies. They have a nice hearty flavor, and are chocolatey without being too sweet. A great cookie to bring into work for co-workers, or to share at a pot-luck or family dinner. Enjoy!

Ma Ranta's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup cooked pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
2 cups flour

2 tsps. Baking powder

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking soda in 1 tsp. Milk

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 tsp. Vanilla

Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; add to pumpkin mixture along with dissolved soda and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts and vanilla.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

Makes about 5 dozen.

"A New Look at Home-Made Whole-Grain Breakfast Cereals"

©1983 A.H. Grossman

A New Look at Home-Made Whole-Grain Breakfast Cereals

To begin an active day, there is nothing more delicious and satisfying than a steaming bowl of whole-grain cereal topped with our favorite dried fruit, seeds or nuts and a dollop of kefir, soy milk or yogurt. It's nutritious and inexpensive -- costs only 8¢ to 10¢ per serving when you buy the grain in bulk. Why not make it yourself?

Packaged breakfast cereals are notoriously expensive. If you have ever attempted to buy an unadulterated - without sugar, salt or other additives or preservatives - you know there is very little variety available. Granola is usually loaded with sweeteners; puffed grain cereals, though they may contain no additives, have little food value per ounce.

A whole-grain breakfast gets us off to a good start on a hectic day. My husband, a middle-school teacher, maintains his sense of humor and energy from 7am until noon on one serving. Cereal grains are perfect combined with milk products, brewer's yeast, or seeds and nuts for complementary proteins. These combinations increase the usable protein by surprisingly large percentages depending on the combination and amounts used.

Since we don't like to use a lot of eggs, I've had to stretch my imagination to discover vegetarian breakfast alternatives. When we purchased our grain mill - and even before with a blender - I was able to make cream of whole-wheat, brown rice, rye, millet or triticale by following several seemingly endless steps: first washing, then toasting, followed by grinding, and finally roasting the grains and storing enough for several days in the refrigerator. I'd boil water and combine about 1/4 cup grain powder to one cup boiling water. However, until I discovered the whisk, this process was not foolproof by any means. Sometimes at the crucial moment of boiling water, in would go the cereal and, as quickly as I might stir, a mess of almost inedible lumps would result. Ugh! I often found myself resorting to the old standby - oatmeal - while yearning for a better way. 

One morning I heated the leftover brown rice from dinner the night before along with about 1 1/2 cups of water, then blended it in the blender until smooth. i returned the rice to the pot, added pieces of dried peaches from last summer's harvest and about 1/4 cup sunflower seeds and topped it off with kefir. This concoction tasted just like the more time-consuming cream of rice I'd made from rice powder but had cost me infinitely less time and anguish.  

Not certain of having enough leftovers each morning, I've devised a system to ensure we'll have our usual hearty breakfast grain. While pressure-cooking beans or grains for dinner - which I generally do for several days at a time - I included two cups of whole-grains - rice, rye berries, wheat berries, or triticale berries - and four cups of water, in a small steel bowl right in the pressure cooker.  I bring the pressure up to about 15 pounds, then lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes or 25 minutes if I am cooking soybeans. This is enough time to ensure soft grains and beans. I store the grain in the refrigerator and, in the morning, use enough for each person, blend with additional water, milk or soy milk (to the desired consistency) and reheat. This process takes very little time and makes a very satisfying balanced breakfast which is even appealing to my three-year-old.

There are endless ways to achieve variety and even more nutritive value. On a ruched morning I may just add some dried fruit, a couple of tablespoons of nutritional and kefir, milk or yogurt. Weekend mornings I'm more apt to experiment. Her's an example of a weekend sweet cereal. 


Carob Surprise Cereal
1 cup cooked rye berries
1 cup cooked brown rice or wheat berries
2 cups water, milk or soymilk
3 T carob powder
1/4 cup raisins
4 chopped dates
1 chopped apple
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds


Blend rye berries (1/2 cup), rice, liquid, carob powder and dates. Pour in pot. Add remaining rye berries for texture, raisins and heat. Just before serving add chopped apple and toasted sunflower seeds. 


Other favorites include several dates or a banana blended with the grain and shavings of coconut added just before serving. Your favorite nuts, raw sunflower seeds or peanuts add crunchiness and flavor as well as protein. Raisins, figs,  dried apples, pears or applesauce are delicious, especially with cinnamon and cloves. Toasted sesame seeds combine especially well with cream of rice. Toasted wheat germ adds a distinct flavor and even more protein. 


We also enjoy an Indian-style cereal made with sweet spices. 


Coconut Banana Porridge
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 1/2 cups water or milk
3 cloves
3 cardamon pods
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 t ground coriander
1 large banana
a few raisins
1/2 cup ground coconut
1/4 cup roasted peanuts


Boil or pressure cook brown rice with four cups water, cloves, cardamon pods, and cinnamon. Remove spices. Blend rice with 2 1/2 cups milk or water, coriander powder, banana, butter or ghee. Return to pot. Reheat. Top with chopped peanuts and a few raisins. Serve with yogurt or kefir. 


Another possibility for variety is adding leftover popcorn or Bulgar wheat. Remember, mixed grains are different and delicious. Experiment to discover your favorites. I just refrigerate leftovers and add them to the cereal before or after blending, depending on the consistency I want. Whole-grain crackers which have lost their crunchiness and cornbread, whole-wheat, or rye bread crumbs make welcome additions to the morning repast. I've found some vegetables to blend nicely with the daily breakfast cereal - pumpkin, butternut squash and leftover sweet potatoes or even carrots make fine additions. 


We also make a very hearty breakfast cereal from soy beans.


"Go" (Soybean Porridge)
1 cup soybeans
4 cups water for soaking
2 or more cups water for blending

Merely soak the soybeans overnight. blend with the tow cups of water until you have a smooth batter-like liquid. Place in pot. Bring to a boil stirring constantly, and simmer for 15 minutes on a medium-low heat. Take care not to allow the GO to boil over for cooking soybeans will rise suddenly. Add more water if it becomes too thick to stir easily. You can store GO in the refrigerator for several days, adding water when you want to reheat. if you enjoy a savory breakfast, add a dash of tamari soy sauce, sauteed onions, crumbled toasted nori seaweed or dulse, ground sesame seeds, peanuts, leftover vegetables or chopped parsle. Expect to feel no hunger pangs for quite a while after this heartly breakfast. Don't be afraid to experiment. Enjoy.

NOTE: 
See Ellen B Ewald's Diet for a Small Planet, revied edition; New York: Ballantine Books,  ©1975 for further information about protein values of various grains and complementary protein combinations. 

See Williams Shurtleff & Akiko Aoyagi's The Book of Tofu, Kanagawa-Ku, Japan: Autumn Press, ©1975 for further information about soybean products and protein values of various foods. 

Vegetable Barley Soup

This one I made up as I went. I bought pearl barley at the health food store, and wanted to make a nice, easy, autumn soup with it. I used the remainder of my vegetable stock, approximately 6 cups, as the liquid for the soup. 

1 cup barley

6 cups vegetable broth

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 cup frozen or fresh peas

1/2 cup fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 t cayenne pepper

1 t dried oregano

Saute carrot, celery, onion in large pot adding salt and pepper to taste. Add barley and broth and cook until barley expands. Add in peas, parsley, herbs and spices. Garnish with a sprig of parsley, and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

(My oh my!) Sweet Potato Pie

Filling:

5 to 6 medium to large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
1/3 cup brazil nuts
3/4 cup walnuts (halves)
1/3 cup honey
2 T butter or margarine
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1 t nutmeg

Steam potatoes in 3/4 cup boiling water. Cook until they are soft, adding water whenever necessary. Place potatoes in bowl and mash with fork or potato masher. Add margarine or butter, honey and spices. Cut brazil nuts with a sharp knife into slivers and add. Add as much leftover potato water as is needed to make a smooth filling. Use milk if mixture seems dry. Place in pie shell. Decorate with walnuts. Bake at 350º-375º for about 1/2 hour.

Pie Shell:
2 Cups rye flour
1 T poppy seeds
1 T oil
Ice water
1 t sea salt

Combine flour and salt. Add oil and mix with fingers. Add poppy seeds. Knead with hands while adding ice water until you have a claylike ball. Press into pie plate with fingers. Chill and fill.

I bought a frozen whole wheat crust to create this recipe, instead of trying her pie crust. The whole wheat makes a hearty accompaniment to this pie filling. It should be noted though, that this is not traditional "pie." The filling has the consistency of mashed potatoes, not the traditional custard filling of a sweet potato pie. The flavor is wonderful, but as with many of my mother's recipes I would probably make this sweeter.

Vegetable Stock

Deceptively simple yet ridiculously delicious.

I don't eat chicken or beef stock, so when preparing soup or stew, I use vegetable stock. Recently I was reintroduced to the ease and simplicity of making my own vegetable broth, and now I have a few quarts of the stuff at the ready in my refrigerator.

Use vegetable scraps - carrot peelings, celery ends, corn cobs, and the like. Put them in a pot and add a couple onions, cloves of garlic. Add plenty of water. Cook for 30-45 minutes. Yes, this really is enough time.

Let the mixture cool before you poor it in containers. I recommend using glass bottles, mainly because I think everything tastes better out of glass than plastic. But, also it's a lot easier to pour out of bottles. This is also a great way to recycle pasta sauce bottles...

Enjoy! Oh, and you really shouldn't keep this longer than 10 days, but it can also be frozen (just not in glass bottles).

Rainbow Winter Salad and Creamy Garlic Dressing

Thanks to a lazy holiday Monday, I had the opportunity to pick up some of the more unusual ingredients in the first few recipes I typed up the other day and make the Rainbow Winter Salad and Creamy Garlic Dressing. 

Perelandra, my local natural and health food store, held the key to deciphering some of my mother's ingredient list. I knew they would have the apple cider vinegar and liquid lecithin, as well as some of the vegetable ingredients. And, since neither of those first few items are terribly common, I had to do a bit of research to figure out exactly what it was I was cooking with.

Apple Cider Vinegar - Apple Cider Vinegar is made by crushing apples and squeezing out the liquid. Yeast is added to the liquid to start the alcoholic fermentation process, which turns the sugars into alcohol. In a second fermentation process, the alcohol is converted by acetic acid-forming bacteria into vinegar. 

Liquid Lecithin - Lecithin is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues, and in egg yolk. The liquid lecithin that I purchased, and that I believe my mother used, is plant-based (soy) and besides it's much debated health benefits, it is used as a natural emulsifier. In this case, it allows the oil and water in the salad dressing to blend in a way they can't usually. It also has a consistency much like molasses, making the dressing creamy without the addition of any dairy products. 

What I made is a ever-so-slightly edited version of the original. I've noted all the changes here. (My mother didn't include salt or pepper as ingredients, I'm not sure why. I think it had something to do with her macrobiotic tendencies. I have tried to stay true to her ingredient list - and I only used salt and pepper to season the squash for baking):

Rainbow Winter Salad

1/2 Butternut squash -- cubed, and then roasted in the oven.

5 large purple cabbage leaves sliced thinly

3 carrots, chopped

1 cup sprouts (I used clover, but you could use any)

2 stalks celery, chopped

salt and pepper (to taste)

Toss vegetables together with the Creamy Garlic Dressing

Creamy Garlic Dressing

1/2 cup sunflower oil

2 T cider vinegar

3 small garlic clove, pressed

1 t tamari sauce (aka Soy Sauce)

1 t agave syrup (I didn't have any honey)

6 T water

1 T dried Italian herbs

1 T liquid lecithin

dash of cayenne

Whisk together and use sparingly.

The combination of baked squash and raw vegetables with the garlic based dressing was actually quite lovely.


My mother called the dressing "heavenly" in her write-up, and it really lived up to that claim. Next time, I would add something to the salad for a little more texture, maybe some sunflower seeds or walnuts - and even dried cranberries for added sweetness. For traditionalists, some lettuce would have been a welcome addition as well. The salad dressing would have worked well without the liquid lecithin - so not a needed purchase. As I mentioned above, the lecithin allows the dressing a creamy texture it would not normally possess, but lecithin does nothing for the taste, which is excellent. Together, the creamy garlic dressing, butternut squash and assorted vegetable salad make a fun, easy, colorful meal. 

Earthy Risotto

I made this easy recipe after a long day at work. I was so tired, I didn't think to take photos. It's not a pretty dish, but it's hearty, healthy and filling on a cool Autumn night.

Earthy Risotto, by Shira
1 Cup Italian Lentils, rinsed thoroughly
1 Cup Arborio Rice
4-6 Cups Vegetable Broth or water
1 Small Butternut squash, peeled and cubed - save seeds and toast
2 shallots, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 small bunch spinach, washed thoroughly and chopped into rough pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 t italian herbs
1/2 t cumin
1 T Basil, fresh, chopped
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Parmesan Cheese, grated
Olive oil

Combine lentils and rice in large pot or dutch oven, and add at least 3 cups liquid, cook until both are tender, adding more liquid as necessary. Consistency should be thick, but don't allow it to stick to the pan. After about ten minutes, add butternut squash, and continue to cook.

While lentils/rice/squash are cooking, saute shallots and garlic in a separate pan with a little olive oil. Add to pot. Season to taste.

*To toast squash seeds, spread on a baking sheet with a little olive oil and bake for ten minutes or so at 350 degrees, until crispy (not burnt).

When almost ready to eat, add spinach and let it wilt. Stir and serve. Garnish with grated cheese, and toasted butternut squash seeds.

"Butternut Squash - A Squash for all Seasons"

Butternut Squash - A Squash for all Seasons  ©1982 A.H. Grossman

In preparation for our first garden, we purchased a packet of seeds labeled "assorted Winter Squash," which gave practically no clue to its contents. We planted the garden and, after a couple of weeks, left for a one month vacation! Huge green watermelon-sized and giant orange squash on dead vines amid a veritable jungle of seven-feet born stalks greeted us on our return. At that point we decided never to be without winter squash in our garden.

It turned out that we had planted Guatemalan Blue and Golden Hubbard and though these have remained among our favorites, butternut has risen to first place on our list. Butternut squash is consistently sweeter in taste and brighter in color that other varieties we have planted, the plants are prolific, resist vine borers and haven't been attacked by anything else -- insect or animal -- in our garden. Butternut squash keep well and can be prepared in innumerable ways. We still do plant other varieties , but since the vines succumb early to vine borers -- a scourge in our area --the mature fruits cannot be stored for as long as later-maturing fruits. We have no cool place to keep them through the hottest part of the summer.

With butternut squash, later planting does not mean more later-maturing fruits. For greatest production it has proven best to plants as soon as the soil is warm and reroot the original vines. Rerooting seems to increase the quantity of fruits produced and is easily accomplished by placing a little moist soil over a vine, if it doesn't reroot itself. Her in Southern Maryland the mature squashes store all through the winter even under our less than ideal conditions -- a usually heated, damp and dry basement.

Butternut squash is an ideal crop for gardeners with lots of enthusiasm and little time, for they take little initial preparation and not much effort after that. from six hills of squash plants in a new, unfertilized garden plot we harvested 125 pounds of squash.

In our area, butternut squash usually produce mature fruits in less time than that stated on the seed packets - 95 to 100-odd days. We've grown Waltham, Hercules and Ponca (a medium-sized extra early-maturing variety). All three have heavily produced delicious squashes until hard frost. Of these varieties, all three grow easily and taste delicious. The meat is never stringy and is a beautiful bright orange color. We prefer the larger varieties, however, even though our family is small, for we'll often bake on large squash: we'll eat one-half the first day -- they are so good we don't even add butter or sweeteners -- then cut up the second half the next day to include in a tossed salad.

Rainbow Winter Salad

1/2 Butternut squash -- baked ahead and cut in cubes

5 large purple cabbage leaves sliced thinly

3 Jerusalem artichokes scrubbed and sliced (or substitute carrots)

1 cup alfalfa sprouts

2 stalks celery -- chopped

Toss vegetables together with 1/2 cup yogurt and one tablespoon lemon juice or the following secret heavenly dressing (I've been told to make this sound as good as it is).

Creamy Garlic Dressing

1/2 cup corn, safflower or sunflower oil

2 T cider vinegar

1 t garlic powder or 1 large garlic clove, pressed

1 t tamari sauce

1 t honey

6 T water

1 T dried basil or oregano

1 T liquid lecithin

dash of cayenne

Whisk together and use sparingly.

We also prepare this salad with raw instead of cooked butternut squash. Our two-year-old daughter discovered the delightful sweet melon-like taste and crunchy testure of raw butternut squash quite by accident while I was chopping one up for a stir-fry several months ago. That squash had already been in storage for four months. (The sweetness sems to increase with length of storage.) Raw squash would also be delightful with dips.

When frosts threaten in the Fall, we pick and cure our mature squashes, putting aside those that are immature or damaged in any way, to be eaten first. We wash them thoroughly and leave in a shady warm place for one week to 10 days. We then lightly coat them with vegetable oil and place them on board a few inched above our basement floor. We check them occasionally for mold or shrivelling. Though the temperature in our basement often rises well into the 60s, some of our squashes have lasted until April. And, if we still had any left, they would probably have lasted longer.

One way we prepare immature Butternut squash:

Summer Butternut Squash Stir-Fry

2 T corn or sunflower oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 inch chopped ginger root (optional

1 immature squash, sliced thin and then chopped in small pieces

2 t tamari soy sauce

1/2 Cup water

1 green pepper

2 tomatoes

First chop vegetables. Heat oil in frying pan. Saute onions, garlic and ginger until onions are transparent (over medium heat). Increase heat and add squash and pepper, stirring vigorously until all pieces are hot. Add soy sauce and water, cover and lower heat, allowing vegetables to simmer a minute or two. Add chopped tomatoes. Serve when squash is just tender.

Though when preparing any winter squash we used to discard the seeds and the pulp surrounding them, we never do this anymore. Winter squash seeds contain calcium, phosphorous, iron, vitamin A -- and besides, they taste good!

To bake a mature butternut, we merely slice it lengthwise and place the halves face-down on a cookie sheet or in a casserole dish and bake at 450° F for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the squash. Test with fork until it reaches your favorite consistency. We either eat the seeds and pulp along with the baked squash or remove them to be added to soups and stir-fries. Even the skin of the butternut squash is edible, though in salads I usually remove it for purely aesthetic reasons.

We've found butternut squash to be delightful, virtually irreplaceable addition to our winter diet. It is delicious stuffed, pureed, baked, fried or boiled, in soups or salads, casseroles, pies or breads. Easy to grow and an especially good keeper, the butternut is truly a squash for all seasons.

The Inspiration

The Almost Cookbook is a celebration of the recipes my mother created, and the joy of cooking that she and my father passed on to me. I hope to inspire, to amuse, share my mother's recipes and some of my own, and maybe find fellow explorers and experimenters along the way.

(Photo: Me and my mom, 1981)

My mother's name was Allida H. Grossman. She was a cook, a baker, a quilter, a craftswoman, a free spirit, a beautiful woman, a wife, mother, sister and daughter. When I was six years old (1986) she lost her three-year fight with breast cancer. It was her dream to write a cookbook highlighting wholesome, natural, healthy cooking. Now, all that remains of that dream is a faded, handwritten and partially typed manuscript of recipes, narrative and ideas. For more than twenty years I've been saying that I would take her recipes and notes, and finish her cookbook and get it published. Needless to say, that hasn't happened. I know now that a paper book of her recipes, well, it's probably never going to happen, which is why I decided to create this, The Almost Cookbook. This is my chance to record her dream in my own way, and create something that's almost a cookbook.

To start with, I'll be typing up her old manuscripts, and as I get around to it, or find the ingredients, I'll cook them, add photos and my own revisions. Hopefully, by the end of this experiment, I'll have some recipes that are worth sharing, and a recorded history of her dream. Interspersed amongst her recipes I'll add in some of my own. One major difference you'll notice between her recipes and articles, and my work, is that when she was creating her cookbook, in 1982-1984 or so, we lived on an acre of land in rural Maryland. She and my father grew most of their own vegetables, and were adept at preservation methods, canning, drying etc. I live in Brooklyn, NY - the closest I get to gardening is my little windowsill herb garden. So, all of my ingredients will come from the farmers market, grocery stores and specialty shops. I'll note where I find the harder to acquire items. Also, she and my father dabbled in macrobiotics and vegan cuisine, while I'm a pescetarian. So, recipes should run the gamut.