Household Notes, Rural Delivery, April 2009

A spoonful of sugar... Makes April easier to swallow Edited by Anne Gray Maybe because Easter is coming, maybe because spring is here, maybe because April is right around the corner with its slippery way of making us think better weather is only a day away. Yes, it's probably April that made sugar, sugar, and more sugar look good this month. Myrtle Conrad's jam squares would be great with some of that homemade jam from the cupboard. This time of year those fruits and berries we put up last summer and fall bring the sweet taste of sunny days back with every spoonful. And the applesauce brownies can be made with applesauce you have canned or frozen, or use some good Atlantic provinces apples and stew them up just in time for brownies. JAM SQUARES Myrtle Conrad, Cow Bay, N.S. 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring 1 egg 1 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1/2 teaspoon salt Cream together the butter and the sugar. Beat in the vanilla, almond flavoring, and the egg. Add all dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Spread half the batter in an 8" pan. Cover with jam or jelly. Add the rest of the batter on top. Bake in a 350°F oven for 25 minutes or until done. APPLESAUCE BROWNIES F. Lenentine, Geary, N.B. 1 cup flour 1/4 cup cocoa 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 cup applesauce 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup chopped nuts Stir together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, cream the butter until light, gradually beating in the sugar. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the applesauce and vanilla, then blend in the dry ingredients. Stir in the nuts. Pour the batter into a greased 9" pan and bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes or until tested done. Cool. In our Jan/Feb issue we ran Doris Seaman's recipe for sugar cookies, but had some problems getting all the words on the page. My apologies to anyone who tried the recipe and had cookies that were a little too crumbly. Here it is again, this time will all the ingredients in the proper proportions. SUGAR COOKIES Doris Seaman, Moncton, N.B. 1 cup butter 1 cup white sugar 4 1/2-5 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 eggs 1 cup icing sugar 1 cup cooking oil 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 teaspoon salt extra sugar Cream the butter and icing sugar then add the white sugar gradually. Add the oil gradually and blend well. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture. Mix well and shape into balls. Dip in sugar, place on a cookie sheet, and flatten with a fork. Bake in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes. Large recipe. Requests: Garlic bread: Leodia Broome of New Ross, N.S., has been watching the Bread Exchange and is looking for a garlic bread recipe. Currant jam: Helen Wilson of Seagrave, Ont., is anticipating a good crop of Black currants this year and thus is looking for a recipe for jam that is not too sweet. Her grandmother's recipe used some applesauce but she doesn't remember how much. Can anyone help? Family favorites: Send us your family favorite recipes and a brief story to go with the recipe. Fish, fowl, or fruit; send them all. Ingest less: Grace Burtt-Dykstra from Cheverie, N.S. asks: Do you think you might be able to feature Splenda recipes in an upcoming issue? I am trying to substitute Splenda for sugar in most of my recipes to decrease the amount of sugar we ingest. Just a thought!Eating local: We have so many reasons to eat what we produce here in Atlantic Canada. What are your favorite local foods? How do you prepare them? How do you preserve them?

BREAD EXCHANGE Rural Delivery, April 2009

ANNE'S BREAD Anne van Arragon Hutten, Kentville, N.S. 3 1/2 cups whole milk 1/2 cup butter 1 tbsp. sugar 2 eggs 1 tablespoon salt 2 strips yeast (6 envelopes) 1 cup lukewarm water 5 cups all purpose flour 5 cups whole wheat flour (or less) 1 cup cracked wheat Mix the milk, softened butter, sugar, eggs, and salt together in a very large bowl. Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water and allow to stand for five minutes. Add yeast to milk mixture and gradually add flour. Knead dough until everything is well incorporated. Cover dough and allow to rise in a warm place for 1/2 hour. Punch dough down and shape it into four loaves. Grease loaf pans and dust them lightly with flour. Cover loaves with a cloth (or set them in oven with light on) and allow to rise for another half hour. Bake at 425°F to 475°F, depending on your oven, for 22-25 minutes. Yield: four loaves.

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