Adventist Food: Potluck Vegetarianism

King Ranch Chicken

 
I've been buried in writing a couple of books lately and haven't been back here to post in a while. Sorry about that, but something good came out of the time. I was approached by Atlantic Natural Foods about a recipe I'd posted for Barbecued Tender-Bits. Atlantic recently bought back Loma-Linda and Worthington canned foods from Kelloggs which I think is a very good thing.

Anyway, we got to talking and the upshot is, I've got a new weblog that they are sponsoring with cans of their products that my wife and I wll be turning into recipes.  It's called The Potluck Vegetarian.

While Atlantic Natural Foods makes vegan products, the recipes at Potluck Vegetarian will be more traditional lacto-ovo, Sabbath feast, hungry people kind of dishes. Don't look for anything the kids are going to turn up their noses at. The recipes will be kid friendly. Though not necessarily strictly vegan militantly healthy, low fat or high-fiber, although that does occur. Everything is pretty healthy and vegetarian to boot. And you'll score points with the crowd at the next potluck.

I'll likely catch flack from the militant vegans. You might too if you take King Ranch Chicken covered in melted chedder or Vege-burger Lasagna covered with Mozarella and Provolone to potluck, but I promise you, you'll take home a clean dish, while the folks who brough the salt-free, gluten free Bran and Kale Goulash won't.

This is low stress, high-deliciousness cooking, traditional Adventist potluck style. Be sure and sign up to follow the site. There's a box in the sidebar for your email address. I'll be posting one or two new dishes a week and Atlantic Natural Foods has promised to send me some of their new products for us to experiment with. I'm looking forward to it. The wife is a genius in the kitchen. I'm a genius at tasting stuff.

© 2015 by Tom King

Manly Adventist Cooking: Granola

Smells great cooling on the counter.

Making granola is pretty simple and looks more impressive than it is.  All you need are the right ingredients and an oven.  You can start with this simple granola recipe and add all sorts of extra tasty stuff and make granola your kids will eat by the bowl for snacks.

It's not sugar free, but if you use honey and maple syrup and other natural sweeteners, it's better for you than anything you can get on your grocer's cereal shelves.  You can add your favorite nuts, dried fruits or practically anything. You can throw in a little Chex mix, a load of cashews, craisins, dried pineapple.  I buy a $4 bag of Wal-Mart's Tropical Fruit Trail Mix.  There's enough in a bag for two batches of granola.

If you want to be really impressive, try creating a fancy storage box for your homemade granola.  You can probably find something in an antique store that is unlabeled or that you can relabel. Take your time and find something that fits on the shelf or countertop that holds 10 or 15 cups of granola at a time.  It should seal tight to keep the granola from going stale, although at my house there's not a lot of danger of that.  My problem is keeping it in stock.

It makes a great TV snack or afternoon munch too.  You can make it while you're working on another project around the house.  This makes a great mult-tasking project. It will amaze your loved ones when you repair the window screen and make a batch of incredibly tasty homemade granola at the same time.

The recipe is here:  http://twayneking.hubpages.com/hub/Uncle-Toms-Home-Made-Granola

Bon Appetit'




Uncle Tom

Feeding the Five Thousand (or the Fifty)

The Haystack - The Perfect Dish for Feeding Massive Numbers of Young People

(c) 2013 by Tom King

Hawaiian Haystack

If you find yourself with a visiting academy choir, a traveling youth group, starving Pathfinders on a Saturday night or any group of hungry people, here's an alternative to loaves and fishes - The Haystack!

This delightful Adventist invented and promulgated potluck standard is supposed to have been invented by a Seventh-day Adventist named Ella May Hartlein sometime back in the early 1950s.  Apparently her family had a craving for Tostadas and could not find a Mexican restaurant close to their home.  Ella May got creative with a bag of Fritos and some salad fixin's and the rest is, as they say, history.  

This imminently practical potluck dish swept Adventist church potlucks like wildfire and soon every state in the union had their own version of the dish.  Adventist missionaries carried the idea overseas and there are now versions of the ubiquitous and versatile vegetarian dish found all over the world.

I have personally delivered the secret of haystacks to the Lutherans (prodigious potluckers themselves) and apparently the Amish and Mennonites have their own versions of haystacks too. It still amazes me that so many people have no idea what a haystack is and have never tasted one.  It's very sad that so many should be so deprived.

Haystacks start out with a bed of Fritos.  Unless you are in Texas, and then it's usually tortilla chips, unless you are in Asia and then it starts out on a bed of rice. There are other versions elsewhere, but you get the idea.  Some sort of carbohydrate forms the base.  Beans are almost universally the next layer, though vege-burger or some other protein substance comes next.  Pisco-vegetarians have been known to sprinkle fish over rice or tortilla chips for protein.

Next comes the salad ingredients which are as varied as are salads themselves.  Lettuce and tomato are pretty standard.  In Hawaii, haystacks tend to include some bits of pineapple and other tropical goodies. I've seen northern versions made with baked beans whereas in Texas we tend to use Ranch Style pinto beans. I've seen them with chow mein noodles, nuts, any number of salad dressings and toppings and salad veggies.

In any case, haystacks are easy to prepare.  They are flexible for feeding large groups because you can set out the ingredients and leave unopened bags and bottles and jars of fixin's in the kitchen and add a bit at a time to keep up with the demand of a hungry potluck crowd without wasting food.  Unopened stuff can go into storage till the next time a horde of ravenous teenagers descends on your church.  

Also, the ingredients aren't very expensive so you can feed a lot of people, stuff them full of food and the serving line goes pretty quickly.  If you've got a group coming and don't know what to feed them, think haystacks.  Kids never get tired of it and no matter what age they are, they can create a haystack that only has stuff they like on it (unless their mother is standing behind them in line and then they'll probably have to eat some vegetables). 

If you'd like an ingredient list or instructions for making the standard haystack try my Howdyadewit weblog for Texas Style Haystacks or join the Haystacks group on Facebook for ideas and opinions.  Apparently there's a group and a Fan Page on Facebook for Haystacks - they're that popular. We've had knock down drag out fights over there about whether tortilla chips or Fritos are the proper base for a haystack.  Some people get downright religious about their haystacks, I'm telling you.

The truth is, you can be totally creative with it.  That's why God gave us free will.  If for nothing else, it got us some pretty tasty (and wildly creative) haystack recipes.

I'm just sayin'

Tom

The Camping Genius: Georgeburgers!



Mmmmmm, vegeburger.

Back when I was a kid I had a paper route that took me up College Drive in Keene Texas and past Blair's Store.  Blairs was an old-fashioned little grocery with a grill inside where Mrs. George, one of the employees made vegeburgers.  They were wonderful.  I much preferred them to "real" hamburgers. 

I would save up my money (I rode a five mile bike route every day and made a stunning $5 a week) and whenever I could, I'd stop and buy one of Mrs. George's vegeburgers and an ice-cold Dr. Pepper in the tall bottle - right out of one of those chest style box coolers. Life was good.

When Blair's Store was closed and the building torn down, I worried about Mrs. George.  She landed on her feet however, along with her secret vegeburger recipe.  She worked for a time in the Southwestern Adventist College Cafeteria, the Rail Head cafe and any other short-lived restaurant that wanted to corner the vegeburger trade.

Shortly before she died, she finally shared the secret recipe with the mother of an old classmate of mine, Stanley Bruce.  Stanley got it from her and shared it with several of us on Facebook.  I wrote it up on my weblog and here it is.

Every youth leader, Pathfinder director and Adventist of high moral character should have a copy of this recipe and know how to make it over a grill or an open fire.  They are best made in an iron skillet, but I've found a little grill plate I can lay over the charcoal grill and cook vegeburgers without losing them through the grill into the coals.

Check out Mrs. George's recipe.  You'll be the hit of the campout, just make this stuff up ahead of time and transport it chilled to the campsite in a Tupperware container. 

These are also great for Pathfinder fund-raisers as well. 

Bon' appetit,
dwffd
Tom King (c) 2012



The Attack of The Giant Zucchini

(c) 2012 by Tom King

Everybody needs a recipe so you'll know what to do with a giant zucchini.

Adventists tend to be gardeners.  If they aren't gardeners they feel guilty because they aren't gardening. If they do garden, they always, for some reason inexplicable to me, plant squash.  Squash, for those non-gardeners out there, is an obnoxious vegetable that not very many people particularly like and which, accordingly, grows prolifically if you happen to drop a few seeds in virtually any patch of brick hard ground.

Amateur gardeners will gleefully show up at church or even come to your door with sacks of squash they need to get rid of because they have no idea what to do with it all.......especially the zucchini.

Zucchinis come in large, extra-large and awesome sizes. So as not to hurt the feelings of their well-meaning gardening friends, Adventist cooks have developed dozens of exciting recipes that require zucchini as a key ingredient.  It is my opinion that most of these recipes were invented especially for zucchini so that people would have an answer when their gardener friends ask them, "What did you do with that zucchini I gave you?"

Fortunately, for us all, the favorite answer is, "Zucchini bread!"

Every Adventist guy needs a specialty recipe that he can bake. It gets you all sorts of kudos from the wife and kids if you can produce something delicious, especially if it solves the problem of what to do with that enormous zucchini that's been jammed in the crisper in your fridge for the last week.  Having a delicious zucchini recipe accomplishes two things for the Adventist male.

1. It demonstrates your competence in the kitchen which is outside your usual purview.
2. It demonstrates your ability to solve problems - and right about now, you're humming "How do you solve a problem like zucchini." to the tune from "Sound of Music".  Sorry about that.

This dish is guaranteed to make you glad to see a gimme zucchini

So, here is a wonderful recipe for zucchini bread, contributed to the Tyler-Athens SDA Churches' "Bountiful Blessings" cookbook by Mrs. Doris Crockett.  It's a wonderfully adaptable recipe to which you can add currents, raisins, chopped apple and stuff to give it flair.

The picture above is me with a gargantuan zucchini donated to us this summer by our over-the-fence neighbor Carlos who grew this baby in a grow-box garden in his tiny backyard.  I plan to add plans for a grow-box garden of the type created by missionary Jacob Mittleider some day in the future, but for now, check out this great zucchini bread recipe for yourself.

Master that and making whole wheat bread and you can capitalize the "A" on your alpha male badge!

Bon appetit!

Tom

Pathfinder Fundraiser - Secrets of the Vege Corn Dog

by Tom King © 2012

Not as pretty as the frozen kind but incredibly delicious!

Corn dogs make a great Pathfinder or Youth Group fund-raiser. For that matter, they're just plain yummy for any youth party and an alternative to pizza that gets the kids involved. Here's what you need.

Materials:

1. Box of corn dog skewers – 1000 (they last for years)
2. Large cans (20 count) of Vege-links, Linketts or Big Franks (charge more for the Big Franks)
3. 1 Box of “complete” (add water only) pancake mix
4. 1 Box Martha White Corn Meal Muffin Mix (no lard)
5. Mixing bowl
6. Wire Whisk
7. Fry Daddy (2 or three is better if you have them)
8. Gallon bottle(s) of Canola Oil (healthier and doesn't burn like olive oil)
9. Paper towels
10. Metal tongs (1 for each Fry Daddy)
11. Bags of chips
12. Paper plates
13. Napkins
14. The usual condiments

Step 1 – Work Area Prep

Clear a counter so the kids can each do their part of the process without falling over each other. The first station is wiener prep, followed by dipping, frying, plating and order delivery. Fill the Fry Daddy(s) with oil to about three-fourths and start them heating. This takes a while so do it first.

Step 2 – Batter Prep

Mix 1 box of pancake mix with one box of corn meal muffin mix. Add water and stir until the batter is no longer lumpy, but not too thin. That's all there is to corn dog batter.

Step 3 – Wiener Prep

Open the cans of wieners and lay them out on a flat, absorbent surface to dry. A towel will work. If you get in a hurry, blot them dry with paper towels. The skin of the wiener has to be dry or the corn dog batter will not adhere. That's the big secret with corn dogs. Skewer the lightly dried wieners onto the corn dog sticks and set them in a bowl or casserole dish to be dipped.

Step 4 – Dipping the Dogs

Gently dip the wiener into the batter. Allow the excess to drip off and then quickly set the corn dog into the hot oil. The oil should roil around the corn dog or it's not hot enough and the corn dog will be greasy. Let the oil cook the batter a bit before adding another corn dog to the Fry Daddy. This prevents two dogs from sticking to each other.

Step 5 – Timing

Watch the dogs. I like to set them in in a specific order circling the fryer so I know which one has been in the longest. Watch for the skin to turn golden brown. Don't let it get too dark or the dogs won't be as tasty. You're looking for a crisp golden brown coating. Pull them out one by one as they get done. Lay them on a plate for the plating crew.

Step 6 – Plating

Have a separate person handle putting the dogs on a paper plate with a handful of chips and placing the order on the counter. Have your drinks ready at the order counter to add to the orders.

Step 7 – Sales

Don't get too far ahead with dog prep. The secret to deliciousness with corn dogs is to eat them right out of the fryer while they are still piping hot. You'll need a cash box with about $40 worth of ones in it. Sell things in increments of $1 to avoid having to deal with a lot of change. Most people will have fives and tens and after a while you should have enough in several denominations to handle anything that comes. Sales get fast with fresh hot corn dogs. We used to sell these at Family Night basketball games and such. You can always glom onto church socials that don't have food themes and pick up some Pathfinder cash.

Step 8 – Cleanup

Corn dogs are a big favorite and cleanup is pretty easy, especially if you do corn dog suppers every few weeks. Allow the Fry Daddies to cool and then cover them with their plastic lids. The oil stays fresh and ready to go for next time. Keep a few smaller cans of links so that as the sales taper off you don't wind up with a monster can of wieners left over. Watch the kids and see who's been avoiding helping with the prep and sales work and commandeer them to wipe down counters and put things away. Spread the labor and you don't burn out your best helpers.

Summary:

We used to use the first fund-raiser to build our supplies so if something came up that was appropriate, we could buy a few bags of chips and some drinks and break out the corn dog supplies and make a few bucks. Drat ! All this talk about corn dogs has made me hungry. Guess what I'm making for supper tomorrow night!

Manly Cooking - Vegetarian Barbecue

For you new Adventist guys, the good news is, you don't have to throw away your barbecue grill. Besides, if you are an Adventist guy, you need to know how to make manly Adventist food -- and it don't come any manlier than barbecue.

Vege-meat does not always lend itself well to barbecuing. There are some vege-barbecue concoctions that you can heat up in the microwave. While tasty, these don't do much on the grill except seep between the grates and make a colorful charcoal dusted mess. If you feel the need to fire up the barbie, however, you can always throw some of those Morning Star Farms Grillers on and cook them over charcoal. That gives them a nice smoky flavor that makes a vegeburger stand up and cheer.

For from-scratch burger recipes like the Georgeburger, you may want to lightly cook the burgers in a frying pan first, so they hold together better on the grill.  Vegeburger tends to seep down through the spaces between the grill if you're not careful. 

Vegetarian hot dogs fare far better on the grill. I'm a Vege-link guy myself, but ate a lot of Linketts in my time without any harm coming to me. Big Franks aren't bad either and a lot of vegetarian barbecuers swear by them There are lots of things you can do with a vegetarian hot dog. They are particularly good for outdoor get-togethers and Pathfinder outings. Both Worthington and Loma Linda are part of the same company now and they do sell both Big Franks and Linketts in the giant Pathfinder campout size.

It's all about timing with hot dogs. The trick with vegetarian hot dogs is to keep them moving. Roll them around on the grill so they get the nice striping effect, don't leave them too long. Vege-dogs don't plump like the meat kind. Over cook them and they shrivel (not a nice effect). 

The real secret to on-the-grill stuff like hot dogs and burgers is the barbecue sauce.  My two personal store-bought preferences are KC Masterpiece and Bulls-Eye.  I have, however, come up with my own barbecue sauce recipe. It really impressed my Sweet Baboo with my manliness that I now have my own personal homemade barbecue sauce recipe. The way I came up with it was, I ran out of barbecue sauce one night and had to come up with something. I found two likely recipes, but didn't have the full ingredients for either one, so I combined them. Now, my non-vegetarian brother-in-law insists on my homemade sauce over any other kind we buy. 

Finally, spend some effort on the bread. Whole wheat hot dog and hamburger buns are out there and I think they are better at setting off the flavor of vege-meats, especially the barbecued kind. Just my own opinion, but give it a try.  My favorite vege-meal is to make up a batch of my wheat bread dough and make burger buns out of them. The bread is every bit as good as the stuff you put in it. It is a taste treat not to be missed, even if it's a bit more work to make your own bread. (Think bread machine here. )

If you are stuck inside and just want a terrific barbecue meal, here's a recipe for Barbecue Tender-Bits that is my absolute all-time favorite vegetarian meal. It's guaranteed to impress folk with your manly cooking skills.

Remember, your kitchen should have manly kitchen machines and tools in it. The lines of responsibility are a bit fuzzier in Adventist households and if you're going to be in the kitchen anyway, get yourself some nice butch kitchen tools like a bread machine, Kitchen-Aid mixer and some big manly knives and sharpening tools.

I've got a knife I use on almost everything - a wicked looking thing that's old and battered with an ugly wooden handle.. My wife tried to throw it away several times, but I kept rescuing it. She's finally come to tolerate my ugly, but very effective knife in amongst her more attractive knives as some sort of mental aberration of mine. You have to stand your ground on some things or they'll have you wearing their frilly aprons in the kitchen on the grounds that "they work just fine and nobody will care how you look".

And we'd hate to see it come to that.

Tom