A SUPER DELUXE GOURMET'S PORRIDGE

8 cups water
1 tbsp. salt
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal
1 cup milled flax seed (preferably golden flax seed)
1 cup oat bran
4 tbsp. almond oil or butter if you like cholesterol and butter flavor
4 tbsp. malted milk
2 tbsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. vanilla (vanilla blend is all right)

(1) Warm 2 tbsp almond oil in skillet. (2) Add 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal and 1/2 cup of milled flax seed & stir 4 minutes over medium heat. (3) Roast oatmeal & flax seed on baking pan in oven at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. (4) Stir malted milk, cinnamon, & salt in cold water in sauce pan & then bring to boil. (5) After water boils reduce heat to low and whisk in toasted oatmeal and flax seed for 20 minutes and stir often. (6) Warm 2 tbsp. almond oil in skillet. (7) Add 1 cup oat bran & 1/2 milled flax seeds & stir 4 minutes on medium heat. (8) Roast oat bran on baking pan in oven at 325 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. (9) Whisk in toasted oat bran for another 5 minutes. Bran tends to clot. (10) Stir in vanilla for 2 minutes. (11) Let cool covered for 15 minutes.

Six or more servings. Put frozen fruit in bottom of bowl, add porridge, top with brown sugar, nuke in microwave 4 minutes, add skimmed milk, stir, and eat. Refrigerate unused porridge.
Scottish Oatmeal is ground and yields a smoother dish than flattened rolled oats. Golden flax seed adds a delightful flavor and a a great color to the porridge. After a triple-bypass, I forsook breakfasts of eggs, bacon, and fried potatoes. I messed around with oatmeal recipes until I hit on this one, a creamy gastronomic delight. Everything is heart healthy.

Cream of Tomato, Basil, Artichoke, Carrot, and Avocado Soup


1 jar (26 oz) of quality pasta sauce
1 can (28 oz) fire roasted whole tomatoes (non-fire roasted whole tomatoes OK)
2 cans artichoke crowns (bottoms, not hearts)
2 packages of fresh basil (five or six sprigs)
2 avocados
1 can (12 oz) can evaporated milk
4 celery stalks
1/2 large sweet onion
1 can (12 oz) butternut squash purée
3 medium-sized carrots boiled until soft in honey water
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 quart chicken broth
3 dashes vanilla

(1) Slice off fibrous part (bump) on convex (out-facing) side of artichoke crowns and cut up. (2) Mince onion and de-string and mince celery. (3) In a blender liquify pasta sauce, fire roasted tomatoes, artichoke crowns, fresh basil leaves, avocado flesh, minced onions, celery stalks, carrots, water, and chicken broth. Will take two or three blender jugs. Blend for a few minutes each time. (4) Dump in pot and stir. (5) Bring briefly to boil. (6) Reduce heat to simmer for ten minutes. Stir in evaporated milk just before taking off heat. (7) Stir in vanilla after taking off heat. (8) Serve hot with grated cheddar cheese or parmesan and croutons. (9) Serve chilled in summer with avocado slices and a few basil leaves.

If bits of celery and onion are desired in cream soup, sautée finely minced celery and onion in olive oil, and add after blending. Avocado is added as a thickener (better than cornstarch) as well as for its delightful flavor.

Best cream of tomato soup ever. Does well for snacks, breakfast, lunch, dinner entree. Impresses everyone with culinary skills of host or hostess.

The Rev. Dana Prom Smith, S.T.D., Ph.D.
397 West Cattle Drive Trail
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
(928) 213-1426

stpauls@npgcable.com
http://oldfartskitchen.blogspot.com
http://highcountrygardener.blogspot.com
http://oldgeezersreport.blogspot.com

HIGH

COUNTRY

CORNBREAD







1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups yellow cornmeal (commercial variety okay)
3 tsps baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels thawed
1 cup buttermilk (I use powdered buttermilk and water with an extra
shot of powdered buttermilk.)
3 large eggs (I use egg substitute and one real, dropped from the hen egg.)
8 tbsps melted and cooled butter or almond oil (I mix them half and half. Almond oil is healthier for the heart but more expensive. Bacon drippings are great and will be fondly remembered in the ambulance on the way to heart bypass surgery.)
1 tbsp vanilla (I use the blend of fake and real because it’s cheaper.)
1 round 10 inch cast iron pan

(1) Place oven rack in middle position. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (2) Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. If using powdered buttermilk, mix with above. (3) In blender mix brown sugar, thawed corn, and buttermilk, or 1 cup water if using powdered buttermilk, for a several seconds. (4) Add eggs and mix several seconds more. (5) With spoon or spatula make a hole in dry ingredients, pour wet ingredients from blender in the hole, fold dry ingredients into wet, add melted butter or almond oil, and continue folding until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in vanilla. (6) Coat bottom and sides of cast iron pan with canola oil or more butter. (7) Sprinkle bottom of cast iron pan with cornmeal for crusty bottom. (8) Pour and smooth mixture into cast iron pan. (9) Bake 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown. If a toothpick is stuck in cornbread and comes out clean, it is done. (10) Cool and serve with butter and maple syrup or honey.

The cornbread isn’t as good using an oven-proof glass baking dish. The cast iron pan gives the cornbread more heft. Some people favor cornmeal cake served in restaurants. This is not cornmeal cake, but cornbread with a firm, crunchy bottom crust. It does well as an accompaniment to Uncle Rolf’s Pork Chili Chinois, a dessert, or a late night snack with a glass of milk.