Almanac Recipes

Hello, friends, Creekites, and fellow diners!

I'm Win Allen, aka "Bubba Rice,” owner and head chef (well, okay, the only chef) of Bubba Rice Lunch and Catering. My diner is located just off the square, behind Mossy Creek Drugs and Sundries. drop by for a meal any time you're in town, and don't forget to catch my TV show, Cooking With Bubba Rice, produced by Bert Lymon at WMOS Media, ("The Voice of the Creek”) on local cable access channel 22.

I've personally tested all the recipes that appear in the Mossy Creek Hometown Series, and I guarantee them with the Bubba Rice Seal of Approval. I take good food – and the philosophy behind good food – very seriously. When you visit the diner you'll see my rules of cooking on the placemats and wall plaques. I've included some of them on the next page, for your reading enjoyment.

Happy Cooking!

Win Allen, aka Bubba Rice

1. Starch is the glue that holds a family reunion together.
2. Measuring takes all the fun out of cooking.
3. Always write down Mama's recipes so you can sell them later.
4. A pinch of this and a pinch of that will get your face slapped.
5. Barbeque is pork. Always. Beef is a steak.
6. Never insult the people who handle your food.
7. Never be afraid to eat the last piece of cake.
8. Don't plant a garden unless you have lots of friends who'll take tomatoes.
9. f you need friends, plant a garden. Everyone wants fresh tomatoes.
10. A slow, promising simmer never hurt any relationship.

1 box spice cake mix
1 cup raisins
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup applesauce
1 egg

Combine ingredients and mix. Evenly space tablespoons of dough on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees, 12 to 15 minutes. For added spice, sprinkle with cinnamon and powdered sugar.

Eula Mae's Pound Cake

Eula Mae Whit, Mossy Creek's oldest resident, says this pound cake recipe has been in the Whit family as long as she has. About 100 years!

1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond flavoring
3 cups sugar
2 sticks margarine, softened
1/2 cup Crisco
5 large eggs
3 1/2 cups sifted Swansdown cake flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix sugar with margarine and Crisco. Slowly add eggs, beating with an electric mixer. Mix flour and baking powder in separate bowl. Add mix to sugar/margarine/Crisco, along with milk. Add vanilla and almond flavorings. Pour into cake pan that has been sprayed with no-stick spray. Bake approximately one hour.

Icing

1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup Crisco
1 tsp liquid butter flavoring
1 box confectioner's sugar

Mix and spread over cake.

Sandy's Pecan Pie

Mossy Creek police officer, Sandy Bottoms Crane, says this recipe is her husband's favorite. It was created by her daddy, Stony Bottoms.

2 cups pecans
2 tsp vanilla
2 unbaked pie crusts
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup light Karo syrup
6 eggs, lightly beaten

Mix butter, sugar and syrup in a stove pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add to eggs. Add pecans. Place in crusts. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Auntie's Beef Stew

I got this recipe from my great aunt. Of course, she NEVER measured anything, unless "add until it looks right” counts as measuring. A warning, this thing takes time (minimum 3 hours cooking time, but 4 is better.) Don't cut corners by using any canned/frozen vegetables. The flavor won't be the same.

Ingredients:

2 to 2 ½ pound roast. (Either chuck or rump)
4 cups diced potatoes
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups sliced carrots
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp canola oil
1 ½ cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Start by searing the roast. In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, heat the canola oil and then sear the roast about 2 minutes per side. Add the garlic, cover and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook the roast for 2 hours, turning it once. After 2 hours, the roast should be tender enough to shred in the pot with a fork. Be sure to remove any large pieces of fat that remain.

Add the remaining ingredients, stirring thoroughly. Add salt and pepper. Raise the heat to bring a low boil, then cover and lower the heat to simmer, again. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring at least once every 20 minutes. Check the "gravy” at about 45 minutes. If it appears too thin or watery (you'll get a lot of moisture out of the celery and onions,) here's a trick that I learned from that "Bam!” guy on TV . . . remove about 2 cups of the stew (be sure to get a little of all the ingredients,) put it in a blender or food processor, and puree it. Stir it back into the stew.

Serves 4 to 6 people.

Jasmine Beleau's New Orleans Crunch Cookies
aka "Reindeer Poop Cookies” for kids

Ingredients:

2/3 cup shortening
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup whole milk
2 eggs
½ tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp vanilla

Assorted decorations – M & M's, unroasted hazel nuts or almonds, a dollop of jelly before baking, icing, etc.

Mix shortening and sugar together until completely blended. Beat eggs and add to shortening mixture. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and add to mix, alternating with milk. When thoroughly blended, roll out on floured board and cut circles with biscuit cutter or the lid of a medium-sized jar. Place chosen decorations in the center of each cookie. Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 350-375 degrees for 10-13 minutes.

Southern-Style Orange Fritters

Batter:
1 pint sweet milk (whole milk)
2 eggs, beaten
flour (enough to stiffen the mix)

Peel and de-seed 3 oranges, dip slices in batter, fry in hot butter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot.

Mary Harris Frazer, "Kentucky Receipt Book," 1903

Old-Fashioned Soda Biscuits

2 cups flour (not self-rising)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons lard
1 cup milk

Sift the dry items together, add the lard, then add the milk while you slowly stir (a fork is good for stirring dough). Roll the dough out on a floured board to about 1/2 inch thick, cut into biscuits. Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Old-Fashioned Beaten Biscuits

4 cups all-purpose flour (as always, this means not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup lard
1/3 cup milk mixed with 1/3 cup water

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the lard and knead until you have a coarse, mealy consistency. Add just enough milk/water to make a stiff dough. Knead the dough then place it on a floured board.

Beat the dough for about 30 minutes. Turn it several times. The end result should be dough that "pops," and feels both smooth and elastic.

Pull off small chunks and shape into smooth balls by hand. Place on a cookie sheet; then be sure to prick each biscuit with a fork, making 3 rows of holes. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. The biscuits should be a light, golden brown.