Cheesy Crustless Quiche...

Perfect for breakfast or anytime, this is a quiche that will become one of your favorites. Served with fruit, salads, or breads, it makes for a wonderful meal. I use the skim milk, light cream cheese and nonfat cottage cheese.


Ingredients:
1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup)(I use I can't believe it's not butter)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups milk
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
5 eggs
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
3 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir in flour; cook, stirring until bubbly. Gradually add the milk; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens. Remove from the heat; set aside to cool, about 15-20 minutes.

2 Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine cottage cheese, baking powder, salt and mustard; set aside.

3 Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the cream cheese, the cottage cheese mixture and the milk/flour sauce. Fold in the Swiss and Parmesan cheeses.

4 Pour into a buttered 10" pie plate. Sprinkle the top with chopped green onions and crumbled bacon. Arrange tomato halves, cut side up, around the top. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes, until puffy and lightly browned. A knife inserted into the center of the quiche should come out clean. Let rest for 15 minutes, serve.

Makes 8 servings.

Prevent Cheese From Molding With...

Butter! When putting the cheese away, prevent mold from growing with this trick. Apply a thin layer of butter over the cut edges just before you wrap up the wedge and return to the fridge. The milk fats in the butter form an airtight seal that prevents bacteria from attaching to the cheese and causing the mold to form.

Strawberry Banana Jam Recipe...

I love making homemade jam and when the strawberries are in season I have been known to make many batches. I've never had strawberry banana so perhaps it's time to venture out and give it a try! I have a sanitizing cycle on my dishwasher that works perfect for sterilizing my jars and I boil my lids and rings. I use the inversion method but you can also do the water bath if you prefer.

Yields: 8 (1 cup) jars

INGREDIENTS:
4 3/4 cups prepared fruit (about 2 quarts fully ripe strawberries and 3 fully ripe medium bananas)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 3/4 cups sugar
1 box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin (they also have sugar free..Sure-Jell is my favorite brand)
1/2 teaspoon margarine or butter

1) Stem and thoroughly crush strawberries, 1 layer at a time. Measure 3 1/4 cups into 6 or 8 quart saucepot. Mash bananas thoroughly. Measure 1 1/2 cups; add to saucepot. Stir in lemon juice.
2) Measure sugar into separate bowl. Stir fruit pectin into fruit in saucepot. Add margarine. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in all sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.
3) Ladle quickly into hot sterilized jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads.
4) Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Invert jars 5 minutes, then turn upright. Or instead of inverting jars you may follow water bath method recommended by USDA. After jars cool, check seals.

Kitchen Tip...

Here is a tip from a vintage recipe book on cooking vegetables. If the vegetable grows above the ground, do not cover the pot when cooking them. (Vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, beans or peas, corn etc.) If the vegetable grows under the ground, cover the pot when cooking them. (Potatoes, beets, parsnips or onions.)

French Walnut Meringues...

In keeping with the walnut theme, I thought you might enjoy this French Walnut Meringue recipe. They are perfect with tea or to take on a spring picnic.

Ingredients:
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup water
2 medium egg whites
3 dashes of green food coloring
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of walnuts, finely ground

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water; place over moderate heat.

Stir the mixture constantly until it begins to boil. Cook until candy thermometer registers 265°F.

While the syrup is cooking, grease cookie sheets with unsalted shortening (or spray with a nonstick cooking spray)

Preheat your oven to 250°F.

Beat the egg whites in a small bowl until stiff, but not dry.

Add the green food coloring to the syrup.

Pour the syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream, beating constantly with an electric mixer. Continue beating until mixture is stiff.

Add the vanilla extract and ground walnuts.

Drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove the cookies from the sheets and allow to cool on wire racks.

Fresh Tangerine Cheesecake

What better way to get your vitamin C than setting it atop a lucious cheesecake! Ok, so I know we shouldn't be eating cheesecake on our way to being trim and healthy, but every now and then won't hurt.

Ingredients:
10 tangerine segments
3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed tangerine juice
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 prepared cheesecake, 6 inch diameter
4 mint leaves

Arrange fresh tangerine segments in a circle on top of prepared cheesecake.
In a small saucepan, combine fresh-squeezed tangerine juice and fresh-squeezed lemon juice and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve brown sugar.

Heat to boiling and reduce mixture by one half to a syrup consistency.
Let syrup cool to room temperature. Drizzle over tangerines and cheesecake. Garnish with mint leaves.

Cut into 4 wedges and serve.
Makes 4 servings

Clean Your Antique Cutlery

Do you find cleaning your silver cutlery after parties to be a chore? Try this:


You will need:
6 wide strips of aluminum foil
1 quart of boiling water
4 tablespoons of baking soda

This is best done if you have a large amount of silverware to clean after using it. Use a medium sized plastic container and place the aluminum foil strips on the bottom of the container. Add all of the silverware and then cover with the boiling water. Add baking soda by sprinkling it over the top of the mixture and allow the cutlery to soak for 10-15 minutes. If this is done after each use, it should not tarnish as easily.

Did You Know...

That if you dip cut flowers into a little baking soda mixed with water this will extend their life? It works even better than the little packets of commercial life extenders that you can purchase, so save some money and your flower arrangements for pennies! I have also found that this works better than the aspirin trick.

Victorian Jewels Recipe...

Here is a recipe found from a vintage recipe book, and if you are in the mood to step back in time, give it a try! These are perfect for teatime. They also freeze well for later use.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. diced candied fruits
1/2 c. each Sun Maid Raisins, Golden Raisins, Zante Currants
1/2 c. brandy or apple juice
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/3 c. butter
1 egg
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. each baking soda and salt
1/2 tsp. each allspice and cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. chopped walnuts
Candied cherries and walnuts for garnish
Melted apple jelly, for glaze

Marinate fruits and raisins in brandy or juice overnight. Cream sugar, butter and egg. Sift together flour, soda, salt and spices. Stir in. Mix in walnuts and marinated fruits.

Spoon batter into 1 3/4 inch mini muffin tins lined with baking cups. Fill 3/4 full. Top each with cherry or walnut piece. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove from tins; brush tops with brandy or juice while warm. Cool; store in airtight container. Before serving, brush tops with jelly. Makes 5 dozen.

Victorians...All About The Posture...

While I know good posture is important, I didn't realize that the Victorians took it beyond just standing up straight for attractive appearance. I came across this article that I thought you may find interesting.


POSTURE AND KINDRED SIGNS EXPRESS EXISTING SEXUAL STATES
from "Private Lectures on Perfect Men, Women and Children"
by Professor O.S. Fowler, 1880.

Natural language is the great tell-tale of all the faculties and head posture tells the most. The phrenological rule is that each Faculty in action throws the head into a line with itself - the intellectual in front canting the head forward, etc. Love is located in the back and lower part of the brain, and hence when in action, bends the head straight back on itself, as in kissing; while affectionate women generally carry their heads backwards and to one side.

Chest posture is most expressive of both one's amount of gender, and of its existing states. All those splendidly sexed always carry their shoulders well back and up; those poorly, crouching forward and downward, like elderly men. Soldiers in marching and many men in processions manifest it the more as they are the better sexed.

All women with a loved man always sets their bust forward towards him. Beaux, this sign tells you infallibly whether and how much your girl loves you, and its absence that she does not; whilst those who habitually stoop, and carry their shoulders forward, lack this loving capacity. Those who observe how much better the same woman looks when erect than stooping, with shoulders set well backward than forward, would surely never be caught in this stooping posture. So....

Girls, cultivate erectness. And this posture is far the most healthy.
Breadth of chest beautifies by showing a large place for breasts; and this a great amount of original gender, though flat breasts indicate its present decline; while narrow chests with conical breasts show fair original gender in a good present state; yet an expansive chest with the breasts large at their base, though flat, is better; and their union as in Clyte, and the Greek Slave, is by far the best. Broad chested women wield much, narrow, little power over men.

Drooping shoulders beautify.
Because they are formed in part by long collar bones, which are longer relatively in woman than men. Of course the better sexed a given woman is the longer these bones; which thus give this beautifying droop to the shoulders.

Narrow chests with large panniers look horribly. A woman slim, spindling, narrow shouldered, pitching forward, short and shrunken from neck to pubis, with stomach and bowels shriveled, warping inwardly from head to feet, and projected anteriorly still farther by large panniers, augmented by the Grecian bend, and posteriorly enlarged still more by a shawl thrown over her back and gathered close in front by her hands, makes herself look a little meaner and more insignificant by this means than by any other.

Shawls are abominable; because they confine both hands across the chest to keep them on; produce a stooping posture; afford little chest warmth, where most is needed; and should be abolished; and required warmth secured by some close fitting garment.

Pelvic posture tells both the original gender, and all its existing states, by setting the lower part of the body the farther forward as it is the larger; and the converse. All vigorous females carry this region at least straight, or else projecting, as in Flora.

This presentation is most apparent in all waltzes, and gives them their chief attraction, both to participants and observers; and objections to them impinge on this very, point. Any woman's walk is inferior with it retiring, magnificent with it straight or slightly advanced, and vulgar with it excessive.

Hips rolled back accompany and cause this presentation. Nature must make some absolute provision for both woman's receiving and man's conveying the life germ; and does so in this public presentation, which both express and awakens "desire" in both; besides indicating superior parentage.

Maternity is provided against by the opposite posture of bringing the hips forward; which also generally indicates deficient love and parentage.

Both sexes in laughing proclaim passion in throwing this region forward; and sensual men thus evince extreme vulgarity.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Sandwiches For Tea...

These sandwiches are wonderful for afternoon teatime when you are looking for something a little different to serve.

Ingredients:
2 8-oz pkgs cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. sugar
1 cup fresh raspberries
1-2 tbsp. kirschwasser (raspberry liqour)

Whip cream cheese in food processor or blender until smooth. Add 6 to 8 raspberries(reserve remaining raspberries for garnish). Add sugar and kirschwasser. Blend until fluffy and sugar dissolves, scraping down sides often. Spoon into serving bowl and refrigerate overnight. This recipe yields approx. 4 cups.

Spread raspberry cream cheese on white sandwich bread to make small sandwiches. Cut crust off sandwich and then slice in to triangles, or use cookie cutters to cut in any shape you desire. Garnish with the the leftover raspberries.

If You Love Romantic Victorian...

You may want to browse the online catalog I just came across! The items are Romantic Victorian and French Inspired furniture reproductions and they are gorgeous. They carry accessories to fill every room in your home and I could look at this catalog for hours. Enjoy Magnolia Hall here...