Home Baked Memories Tips from Granna's Table Newsletter

http://www.homebakedmemories.com
Newsletter Vol 1, No. 2
February 6, 2006
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Upcoming "Special" Dates and Holidays:

February is:
Bake For Family Fun Month
Library Lovers Month
National Cherry Month
National Hot Breakfast Month

February 5 - National Chocolate Fondue Day
February 6 - Pay a Compliment Day
February 7 - Love Your Robot Day
February 8 - Kite Flying Day
February 9 - National Bagel and Lox Day
February 10 - National Cream Cheese Brownie Day
February 11 - National Peppermint Patty Day

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Quote of the Week:

" Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."

This Week's Features and Recipes:

Make Your Sweetheart a
German Lebkuchen
Valentine Heart Gingerbread Cookie

Lebkuchen
.. from Recipes From a German Grandma ...

There are numerous recipes for Lebkuchen (Life-cakes); most of them called for honey. This one uses brown sugar, which is much easier to work with.

2 ½ C. brown sugar
3 large eggs or 4 medium eggs, beaten
¼ lb. chopped citron
1 ½ C. chopped almonds or walnuts
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
3 C. flour
¼ tsp. soda
(or 2 tsp. baking powder)

Sift flour with the spices and soda or baking powder. Add the brown sugar to the beaten eggs and beat well. Stir in the flour mixture, and add citron and nuts. Roll the dough out to a square ½ inch thick.

Cut into Large Heart Shapes (approx 7" wide).

Place on a greased baking sheet or other baking pan. Bake at 350 ° for 20-25 minutes, or until done. When half-cooled, cut into squares. Ice with plain or lemon-flavored glaze, or pipe a decorative pink or red trim and decorate with a red heart and green dots. Say I Love You in German, by piping on "Ich Liebe Dich".

Lebkuchen Variations:

Often main ingredients of lebkuchen are:
Honey, flour, sugar, eggs, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, candied orange and lemon peel, marzipan, spices (cinnamon, ginger, aniseed, cloves, pimento, coriander, cardamom)

For variations: Combine 1 cup raisins and 1 cup water; bring to boiling; remove from hear. Stir in 1/3 cup salad oil or shortening. Cool to lukewarm. Stir in 3/4 cup sugar and 1 slightly Beaten egg. Sift together 1 3/4 cup sifted flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon allspice. Beat into raisin mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans.

Pour into greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Bake at 375 degrees F. for 20 minutes, or until done. (For a thinner cookie, bake on greased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan for 12 minutes.)

Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Place Hearts Baking Cups in muffin pans; set aside. Prepare cake mix following package directions for 24 cupcakes. Spoon cake batter into baking cups. Bake as directed. Cool.

Frost cupcakes with white or pink frosting. Place red cinnamon candies around cupcake edges. Stand two chocolate heart candies in center of frosting or use a small cookie cutter to cut hearts from a chocolate candy bar. (To prevent chocolate candy bar from cracking, remove wrapper, place on a sheet of Wax Paper and soften in microwave on DEFROST (30% power) 15 to 30 seconds.)

The History of Conversation Candy Hearts

For more than a century, the makers of NECCO Sweethearts Conversation Hearts have come up with some of the sweetest ways of saying "I love you." Every Valentine's Day the company presents new messages on the tiny colored hearts that have been a holiday tradition since the Civil War .

The new sayings for 2006 "celebrate the warmth, comfort, and tradition of home and family." They include "ILU,"
"Home Soon," and Sweet Home."

Last year's new sayings promoted fitness and sports. They included "#1 Fan," "Fit For Love," "All-Star," and "Dream Team."
Sweet Talk for the Times
Some favorites among the more than one hundred Sweetheart sayings have been in circulation since the hearts were first factory-made in 1902. These classics include "Kiss Me," "Sweet Talk," and "Be Mine." Sometimes a motto is discontinued for a time and then makes a reappearance; others are gone for good. Sayings considered outdated by NECCO include the funky "Dig Me" and the cheerful "You Are Gay."

NECCO says that creating mottoes can be tricky. The new sayings can't be "offensive, distasteful, or too wordy," according to Walter Marshall, retired NECCO vice president.

Space is also an issue. Conversation hearts come in two sizes—the standard 1/2 inch and the larger 3/4 inch model. The small hearts generally can fit no more than two words with four letters each, while the large hearts may accommodate two words with six letters each. Fortunately, creative phrasing can help fit longer sentiments onto the tiny hearts, as in the case of "EZ 2 LOVE."

Say It Again, Sweetheart
If you miss some of the old sayings, or would like to see some of your own, you can have them custom-made. The catch is that you'll have to buy a full production run, or about 1.7 million candy hearts. But you'll have plenty of time to eat them—they should stay fresh for at least five years.

Production of Sweethearts for Valentine's Day has already begun. There's still a chance to submit your slogan ideas for next year, however. NECCO must produce about 100,000 pounds of the candy hearts every day in order to meet the Valentine demand, when about 8 billion hearts are sold in six weeks.

Conversation hearts were invented in the 1860s by the brother of NECCO's founder. These first hearts had printed paper notes tucked inside. The lengthy, old-fashioned sayings included such wistful thoughts as "Please send a lock of your hair by return mail."

Susan's Helpful Household Hints & Tips (week at a glance)
Susan

January 30, 2006
COOK'UM FASTER AND BETTER
When cooking burgers, create a small hole, about ½ inch wide, in the center of the burger before cooking it. The hole allows the burger to cook from the inside and outside, producing a more evenly cooked burger.
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February 2, 2006
WHAT IS MACE?
We can't discuss mace without talking about nutmeg. Description Both Mace and Nutmeg are derived from the fruit of the same tree, Myristica fragrans. Mace is the thin, bright red aril or lace-like covering over the shell of the Nutmeg. The Mace flavor is a combination of cinnamon and black pepper, similar to Nutmeg but more delicate. Uses Mace is used in soups, cream sauces, lamb, chicken, potted meats, cheeses, stuffing, sausages, puddings, ketchup, baked goods, and donuts. It is used in French, English, Asian, West Indian, and Indian cuisines, and the spice blends garam masala, curry, and rendang. Origins The primary source of Mace is Indonesia. Historically, Mace originating from the East Indies has been considered premium due to its bold orange color, rich flavor and high volatile oil content. Mace produced in the West Indies is yellowish in color and has a milder flavor. It can also be found in the Caribbean now. Folklore Until the 18th Century, the world's only source of Mace and Nutmeg was the area known as Indonesia. When the Dutch took control of this area, Mace and Nutmeg were among the richest prizes. Knowing these spices did not grow elsewhere, they proceeded to establish one of the tightest monopolies the world has ever known. There is a legend that it was a Frenchman who started the erosion of Dutch control by smuggling seedlings out of the East Indies. True or not, it is a fact that a series of trans-plantings did occur and a number of other areas began producing these spices. Both spices are sold in whole and ground forms. Whole nutmeg has a longer shelf life than ground; you simply grate off as much as you need and then store the nut in a cool, dark place. It's rarer to find whole mace, often sold as "blade mace," but it can be ordered from specialty merchants such as Penzey's Spices (800-741-7787, www.penzeys.com)

February 3, 2006
KEEP BANANAS FROM OVER-RIPENING
Always up-to-date and definitely in the know, Roadie of (nowurcookin@... ) fame advises: Thanks AGAIN Roadie I have always been told to never put bananas in the refrigerator. However, a Japanese TV program showed how to preserve bananas in the home refrigerator, for up to 1 month instead of freezing. Why? To take advantage of sales and to keep bananas handy, if you are one of the many people who eat them for the potassium content. Wrap each banana separately, Wrap closely with plastic wrap, and place in the vegetable bin or bottom of the refrigerator. This was tried with green ripe and yellow ripe bananas, some left in the fruit bowl, others wrapped. The wrapped bananas stayed at the same level of ripeness in the refrigerator while the others ripened naturally. After 15 days, I removed the wrapped fruit from the fridge, removed the wrappings and allowed them to ripen to our taste. No harm done.

Household Tips submitted by Susan Doyle – author of Susan's Daily Tips ..more Susan's Daily Tips…

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