Category Archives: Editing

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Cheese and Rice Casserole (McCall’s)

Should state that while we enjoyed this greatly, we also changed it A LOT.  My household doesn’t like green chili – so I took that out, added half an orange pepper, a couple of garlic cloves, 3 healthy pinches of cayenne, a few blops of paprika, and a sprinkling of turmeric.  Still had the spicy, didn’t have the green chili.

1/4 c butter
1 c chopped onion
(1/2 green or red or orange pepper)
(2 cloves garlic, diced)
4 c freshly cooked white rice
2 c sour cream
1 c cream-style cottage cheese
1 large bay leaf, crumbled
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 cans (4 oz) green chiles, drained and halved lengthwise, leaving seeds
2 c grated, sharp, Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375.  Lightly grease 2 quart baking dish.  Melt butter in a large skillet, saute the onion (and the garlic and the pepper, if doing our variant).  Remove from heat.  Stir in hot rice, sour cream, cottage cheese, bay leaf, salt, pepper, (and turmeric and cayenne and paprika, if using our variant.)  Mix well.  Layer half the rice mixture in the bottom of the baking dish, sprinkle with half the cheese.  Repeat.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until bubbly and hot.

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Pot Holder (Lily)

I love the pot holders I’ve made with this pattern.  Better insulative quality than any others that I’ve owned.

Materials – 2 balls Sugar and Cream or equivalent scrap, size 6 hook

Pot Holder, Make 2
Ch 29
2sc in second chain from hook.  1 sc in each ch to end of ch.  ch 1.  Turn
Repeat until you have about 8 inches
Do not turn on last row
Ch 1, Work 22 sc along side edge, 3 sc in corner, 1 sc in next 26, 3 sc in corner stitch, 22 sts along side edge, 2 sc in next 26, 3 sc in corner, ss to first ch 1.
Fasten off

With wrong sides together
1:  Join to any stitch.  Working through both, work 1 sc through each stitch around, 3 in each corner as before.
Repeat twice.
Fasten off.

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Grocery Bag (Lily)

Supplies:  2 balls Lily Sugar ‘n Cream, or yarn scraps until the bag is done and a size 7 crochet hook

My partner hates these bags, although they seem to work quite well for produce, and I’ve received some fair compliments on them.  They are rather stretchy, which is why they mostly get used for produce.

Ch 43
1:  1 sc in 2nd chain from hook, 1 sc in each across.  Do Not Turn.  Working into the other side of chn, work 1 sc in each remaining loop of ch.  Join with ss to first sc.  84 sc.
2:  ch 1, 1 sc in same stitch as ss.  1 sc in each sc around.  Join with ss to first sc.
Repeat 2 six times

Mesh Section
1:  ch 1.  1 sc in same sc as ss (ch 5.  miss next 3 sc, 1 sc in next sc) Repeat parenthesis around, ending with ch 2.  Miss last 3 sc, 1 dc in first sc.
2:  (ch 5.  1 sc in next ch 5 loop.)  Repeat parenthesis around, ending with ch 2.  1 dc in last sc of previous round.
Repeat 2 until the bag is the length you want it, pressed flat.  (12 inches suggested.)
Next round:  ss in next ch 5 loop.  Ch 1, 3 sc in same space.  (1 sc in next sc.  3 sc in next chain 5 loop.)  Repeat parenthesis around ending with 1 sc in last dc, join with ss to first sc.  84 sc.
Next round:  ch 1, 1 sc in same sc as last ss.  1 sc in each sc around.  Join with ss to first sc.
Repeat last round.
Fasten off.

Strap
Lay bag on a flat surface.  Mark center 12 sts on upper edge of one side.  Join yarn with ss to first of these 12 stitches.
1:  Ch 1.  1 sc in same stitch as last ss.  1 sc in each of next 11 sts.  ch 1, turn.
2:  Draw up a loop on each of the first 2 stitches.  Yoh and draw through all loops on hook – sc2tog.  1 sc in each of the next 8 sts.  Sc2tog over last 2 stitches.  Ch 1.  Turn.
3:  1 sc in each st across ch 1.  Turn
4:  Sc2tog over first 2 sts.  1 sc in each st to last 2 sts.  Sc2tog over last 2 stitches.  Ch 1, turn.
5:  1 sc in each st across.  ch 1.  Turn.
Repeat 5 until strap measure 18 inches, or the length you wish, with wrong side facing for next row.
NExt row:  2 sc in first sc.  1 sc in each sc to last st.  2 sc in last stitch.  Ch 1.  Turn.
Next row:  1 sc in each st across.  Chain 1.  Turn.
Next row:  2 sc in first stitch, 1 sc in each sc to last st.  2 sc in last st.  Join strap to other side of bag working 1 ss through corresonding center 12 sts of bag at same tme working ss through 12 sts of strap.

Strap and upper edging:  With right side of work facing, join yarn with ss to one side of strap and work 1 rnd sc evenly along edge of strap and top edge of bag.  Join with ss to first sc.  Repeat around other side of bag.

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Moong Dal (Madhur Jaffrey)

This was really amazing.  Especially the garlic cloves that had cooked in it.

1 1/2 c moong (or other) dal (hulled and split)

2 cloves garlic, peeled

2 slices fresh peeled ginger (1″ square, 1/8″ thick)

1 T coriander greens or parsley, chopped

1 T turmeric

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 T lemon juice

3 T veget oil or usli ghee

A pinch ground or tiny lump asafetida

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

lemon or lime wedges

Clean and wash dal.  Put in 3-4 qt pot.  Add 5 c water and bring to a boil.  Skim froth and scum from top.  Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, and cayenne.  Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.  Stir occasionally.  Once cooked, add salt and lemon juice.  (Should be thicker than pea soup, thinner than cooked cereal.)  In a small skillet or pot, heat the oil or ghee over medium high heat.  When hot, add asafetida and cumin seeds.  Once the asafetida sizzles and expands, and the seeds darken (few seconds), pour the oil over the dal and serve.  (Over rice, wedges on the side, can garnish with onions.)

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Water (Explanation of Types)

Spring Water:  Flows naturally from underground to the surface.
Mineral Water:  Contains sodium and calcium and sometimes other trace minerals.
Drinking Water:  Tap Water that has been cleaned further and bottled.
Distilled Water:  Has no minerals, which is actually not a good thing.  Distilled water is “hungry” water, chemically, and can actually strip your body of certain nutrients as it is absorbed and processed.
Reverse Osmosis Water:  Mimics the body’s own filtration, which is a good thing.
Sparkling Water:  One of the above, only carbonated.

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Split Pea Soup (Betsy Codier)

2 lb split peas
3-4 qt water
1 ham bone or smoked ham hock
1-2 c chopped celery
1 c chopped onion
3 large diced carrots
1-2 bay leaves
1/4 – 1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper (and turmeric) to taste

Wash and sort peas, add enough water to cover them + s inches.  Boil for 2 minutes, cover and let stand for one hour.  Add everything else, heat to boiling, and simmer for three hours.  Remove bone, add diced ham if desired.  Fix seasoning.

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Saturday Night Casserole (McCalls)

This one went over quite well.

12 bread slices (it specifies white, I used a whole wheat white)
2 T soft butter
4 slices swiss cheese (for both the swiss and the bread, it is going to depend on the size of your casserole)
1 large tomato, cut into slices
4 eggs
2 c milk
1 tsp salt (it calls for seasoned salt, but I used salt and then added some more seasoning to the end result)
1/8 tsp pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp dry mustard (or to taste)
1/4 tsp paprika (or to taste)
1 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
(I’d suggest a little garlic as well)
2 c grated sharp Cheddar cheese

Lightly grease a 2 qt casserole, shallow is better for this recipe.  Lightly spread one side of each slice of bread with butter.  Take 4 (or however many it takes) slices of bread and put them butter side down in a single layer in the casserole.  Make Swiss sandwiches out of the rest of your bread, again placing the buttered sides out.  Cut them in half, diagonally.  Place the sandwiches in the dish center edge down, and sort of layer and pinwheel them.  Place slices of tomato between the sandwiches throughout.  If you end up with extra tomato, just tuck it in where it looks right.
Mix together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, mustard, onion, paprika, and Worcestershire.  Stir in cheese.
Pour mixture over the bread, and stick in the fridge for an hour.  Preheat your oven to 325 while waiting.  Then bake the casserole for about an hour, or until it seems firm and cooked through when checked.

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