Mom C's Blueberry Muffins

One of the few upsides to insomnia is the extra time it affords. And so on Thursday morning, when work anxiety awakened me at 4:30 a.m., I decided to channel it productively into something sweet and delicious -- old-fashioned blueberry muffins.

Mom C's Blueberry Muffins recipe is from the collection I just got from Arthur Schwartz. It was sent to Arthur in 1997 by Janet C. Evans who noted that the recipe is "really yummy!" and 60 years old (today almost 80 years old). That makes sense as the finished product is nothing like today's ginormous overly sweet cakes baked in muffin tins. Instead, it is a small flavor-packed slightly sweetened muffin, with nary a muffin top in sight.

There are just a few ingredients in these muffins and they can be put together in minutes, just in time for breakfast.



Mix the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and then the milk and dry ingredients.

Fold in the blueberries last.

Spoon into paper-lined muffin tins.

Bake for 20 minutes or so and voila, the perfect breakfast treat.

Production notes: I used butter (not Spry) and a mixture of frozen and fresh blueberries (because at 5 a.m., one can't be choosy). There was no milk in the house, so I used 1/2 cup of half and half mixed with 1/2 cup of water. I filled each muffin tin about 3/4 full which made 22 muffins.

Creamy Rice Pudding (Two Ways)

They say good things come in small packages, but in my case the best things come in large paper shopping bags. The first time it happened, three years ago, my dear friend Stephen Facey gave me a large shopping bag filled with the recipe collection of his late mother Olive. Then, just last week, the renowned food maven Arthur Schwartz handed me a large shopping bag filled with the letters and recipes sent in by listeners during the 13 years he hosted Food Talk, a daily radio show on WOR.

What a treasure! So many of the letters gush gratitude for Arthur. To say he was beloved by his listeners is an understatement. (I'd have to agree. Not only is he engaging and charming, but also generous -- he created and taught a cooking class for women living in one of Henry Street Settlement's homeless shelters, even purchasing for each student some basic kitchen equipment they lacked.)

A small sampling of the cache is below, letters and recipes thoughtfully written on cards and stationery, as if to a close friend, and mailed the old-fashioned way, with nary an email missive among them. One listener wrote: "As an octogenarian, I wish to thank you for reviving in me holiday memories of my mother's kitchen. How she would have loved you! I will love you for her!" Another letter contains, in addition to a recipe, "An Irish prayer for Arthur and his family."

For my first foray into this well-organized (thank you, Arturo!) collection, I chose a rice pudding sent in by Arlene Gerhab,who wrote: "I enjoy your WOR programs each day. Being Pennsylvania Dutch, we love to cook. Here is my favorite rice pudding -- have used this recipe for 40 years. Everyone loves it and it's been a favorite of many of my friends."

This is, hands down, the best rice pudding I've ever tasted. It has very little sugar, but you won't miss it. It's not the basic rice pudding the DH used to make when he worked in a deli on the Upper East Side (simply cook rice, milk, raisins and sugar together), but is well worth the extra effort.

I made this twice (hence the "Two Ways" in the title of this post) because the first time, instead of concentrating on the recipe, I was texting a friend in the midst of a divorce, and didn't follow the method. See production notes at the end for details.

To do it right, start by boiling the rice in some water, and then drain it.

Pour the whole milk into the rice.

Mix together the eggs, sugar, cornstarch, salt and evaporated milk.

Add this mixture gradually to the rice and milk, and cook over low heat, stirring until it comes to a boil. The recipe is vague after this. Keep cooking it if you prefer a firmer rice pudding.

Below are the two versions. On the left is the "mistake" to which I later added cinnamon and raisins. The mistake was preferred by the DH.

Rice pudding production notes: The first time I made this, I forgot to add the evaporated milk to the egg mixture, and just added to the pot after the other ingredients were in and cooking. I cooked it for a longer time after it came to a boil (as it was too liquid-y at that point) and it was delicious.
The second time, when I followed the exact method, I didn't cook it as long (the instructions are vague), it came out much looser (creamier) which I prefer. If you like your pudding to hold together more, just cook it longer after it comes to a boil -- about 15 to 20 minutes total, I'd guess. Or longer if you like it even firmer. The consistency won't change dramatically when it cools.
Either way, you can't go wrong! (You might also want to use a three-quart saucepan, instead of a two-quart, as when I made the full recipe the first time, it almost boiled over.  The second time, I made half the recipe.)
The recipe calls for a 13-ounce can of evaporated milk, but these days only 12-ounce cans are available -- it will work fine with the smaller amount.
The vanilla and lemon zest add a nice flavor note. You can add raisins (or not) and a sprinkle of cinnamon makes for a nice presentation.

Arlene Gerhab's Rice Pudding

1 quart of milk (four cups)
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
1 cup rice (I used white rice)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 T. cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 t. vanilla
lemon zest

In a two or three quart saucepan, bring one cup of rice and four cups of water to a boil.
Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes
Drain the water and add one quart of milk.
In a small bowl, combine eggs, evaporated milk, sugar, salt and cornstarch.
Gradually add this mixture to the rice.
Cook on low heat stirring constantly until it comes to a boil.
Continue cooking until it reaches desired consistency.
Pour into a bowl to cool.
Add vanilla and lemon zest.

Apple Pie Dessert

I once heard a very wise nurse, during a lecture, say: Success is not a pie with just eight slices. That single sentence has become my mantra, recited during difficult times. But in real life, pie does indeed have just eight slices, so how to feed a crowd with pie?  It's simple -- just make this apple pie dessert, which is apple pie transformed into a delicious bar cookie.

Apple Pie Dessert is an unusual (as in I'd never seen anything like this) vintage recipe. It is a bit more difficult than pie, but can feed way more than eight people, and also satisfy the guest who just wants a "tiny piece"with disturbing the symmetry of pie.

When baked and cut, these resemble generic bar cookies, and when served as part of a dessert table (as these were last night*) aren't likely to attract a lot of attention. They need a bit of marketing, like a sign that says: Apple Pie Dessert.

These three-layer bars are very sweet, taste like pie and are really good.

Start by making a two-crust pie. My go-to recipe is at the end of this post. Roll out the dough and simply patch it together to make a rectangle.

Next, pare and thinly slice five apples.

 Arrange the slices atop the unbaked pie crust.

Make the topping -- a mixture of flour, sugar and cinnamon.

The recipe says to pour this powder-like substance atop the apples. I wasn't sure it would work, so mixed some butter in half of the topping.

And blended it until it looked like this.

For half of the pan, I placed the butter mixture atop the apples. For the other half, I followed the instructions and dotted the flour mixture with butter, and lots of it.

When finished, both sides worked. The side with the butter-infused mixture had a bit more texture, but they were almost indistinguishable when cut. The picture at the top of this post has one of each kind.

Production notes: I followed the recipe exactly (except for the topping variation, above.) I baked it until it was done -- sorry to say I didn't time it (too much going on), but I'd guess it was about 30 to 40 minutes at 350 F.

For the pie crust, I used my version of the tried and true recipe published in the original c. 1980 Silver Palate Cookbook, which is pretty vintage itself at this point. This makes a double crust, the perfect amount for this recipe. 

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 stick of cold butter, cut into small pieces
6 T. cold Crisco, cut into pieces
2 t. sugar
1 t. salt
3 - 6 T. cold water

Place dry ingredients in a food processor and whirl to blend.  Add butter and Crisco and process until it resembles cornmeal. Transfer to a round bowl, and add the water, a couple of tablespoons at a time.  Blend with a fork.  When it holds together, transfer to a lightly floured surface and form a large ball.  Divide in half and either roll out between two sheets of plastic wrap, or refrigerate until it's a bit firmer and then roll out.

*We were lucky enough to be invited to Smokin' Joe's backyard BBQ last night, where the stars of the night were the hosts Joe (pictured below) and Lilly, and the roasted pig, pork, beef and lamb they served, and the lovely guests who all enjoyed the feast.  

Walnut Diamonds (or I Can't Believe There's No Butter)

We've all heard of Diamond Walnuts, but these "Walnut Diamonds" are an almost fat-free cookie that take but ten minutes to make and yields a moist, chewy, delicious and incredibly addictive treat. You truly won't believe these contain no butter! All of my tasters loved them.

This recipe card, probably dating from the 1940s or 50s, is titled Walnut Bars (Charlotte).

First step, and the most "challenging" is to chop up enough walnuts to equal one cup.

Make the batter by beating the egg and adding the dry ingredients.

The batter will be thick and sticky.

Place the batter in a greased and floured eight-inch pan. I donned non-latex gloves and smooshed (that's the technical term) the batter in the pan...

until it looked like this.

Bake it for 20 to 25 minutes.

I cut the first batch into squares, below, and the second into a diamond shape.

Production notes: I followed the recipe exactly, except I did not dissolve the baking soda in water mostly because I couldn't figure out why that needed to be done. I simply added it -- and 1/2 teaspoon of salt -- to the flour mixture.  I added the vanilla to the batter right before the dry ingredients.

The Very Best Lentil Soup

Woman doesn't live by cake alone and so I present a rare (for this blog) savory recipe -- a delicious lentil soup -- perfect for the cooler fall weather. I'm breaking from my all-sugar-all-the-time recipes because this soup is just that good. (And it looks much better in real life than in the above photo.)

This Very Best Lentil Soup recipe is courtesy my dear childhood friend Susan Zetzer who, many years ago (in the pre-internet age), hand wrote the recipe and mailed it to me from her home in San Francisco. (Susan is an amazing cook, not to mention a very successful executive in the financial world.) I make this a lot and each time I serve it to guests they request the recipe.

Below are some of the ingredients. Not pictured are the kale, the wine and the beef stock (and probably a few other things).

Susan's handwritten recipe is below, and below that is an easier-to-read typed version. It's fairly easy to make and fills the entire house with a lovely aroma.

The Very Best Lentil Soup (adapted by Susan Zetzer from Marcella Hazen)

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

4-5 large carrots, chopped

8 stalks celery, chopped

1 head kale, chopped into 1 inch strips (take out ribs)

Olive oil

½ stick butter

½ cup shredded pancetta

2/3  cup white wine

2 medium cans chopped tomatoes

1 ½ tsp. red pepper flakes (adjust the amount to your taste; some people have reported that it's too spicy with even half this amount!)

¾ pound lentils (I use French lentils, but brown lentils work fine)

2 cans beef broth and three cans water

Saute onions in olive oil and butter until yellow in a large stock pot.

Add carrots – sauté.  

Add celery – sauté together for almost five minutes, gently! 

Then add kale and sauté three minutes more.  (Do not try to cook all the vegetables at one time!)

Add tomatoes and juice, sauté over medium heat – not too fast!

Put some butter in a small sauté pan, heat it up and sauté the pancetta until it starts to curl.  Cook a little more and add the wine.  Cook until alcohol is gone and it starts to thicken.

Add lentils to the tomato-vegetable mixture and cook through five minutes

Add the pancetta and wine – cook for another minute.

Add the broth and water (more water if it gets too thick). Add the red pepper flakes.

Cook at a high enough heat so that the soup is always smiling, about 1 ½ hours, when the lentils are tender.  

Note from Susan at the bottom of the recipe: This freezes beautifully and is a very big crowd pleaser. You can make a vegetarian version but it will not have the same elusive taste that happens when pancetta and dark greens come together. You will like it with shaved Parmesan and a nice olive focaccia.

Below, a pix of Susan and me last month when she was in NYC for business. She is so sophisticated!

Date Cake

Last week, when I COULD NOT stop eating some delicious dried dates, I needed to take emergency action before I consumed the entire pound in one sitting. The solution was to bake these beauties into a wonderful date cake, a moist and yummy confection that's as good three days after it's baked as it is fresh from the oven.

Recipes featuring dates were extremely popular in the early to mid-20th century, when the vintage recipe card I used was probably written. Dried dates -- available year-round when most fruits were out of season up north -- added sweetness and moisture to all manner of baked goods.

I did not follow the confusing instructions (which I later figured out called for beating the butter, adding the sugar and THEN the egg) but simply mixing them all at once worked fine.

Spoon the batter into a greased and floured pan. I used a round pan, but this cake would be better in a square pan.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. The edges of the cake will separate from the sides. Let it cool in the pan for about ten to 15 minutes...

before turning it out to cool completely.

Cake as Pac Man.

Because the instructions on the original recipe card are literally all over the place, I rewrote it for easy baking.

Date Cake

Preheat oven to 350 F

Grease and flour an 8 x 8 inch square or 9-inch round pan. (Square pan is best.)

1 c chopped dates
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c chopped nuts
1 c boiling water
1/2 c (one stick) unsalted butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla or almond extract

In a bowl, combine dates, baking soda and boiling water.  Set aside.
In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

Cream butter, add sugar and blend well.
Add egg and combine.
Add date mixture.  Add nuts.
Add dry ingredients and blend.
Add in flavoring (vanilla or almond)
Combine well, pour into prepared pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes.
Let cool slightly and turn out of pan.
Dust with confectioner's sugar if desired.


Production notes: Do not add the nuts to the first mixture, which is covered with boiling water. That would make them too soft. I've also found that non-pitted dates are moister, so I use those, but the pitted ones would also be fine, especially because they are softened by the boiling water.