Aunt Bessie's Coconut Cake

Momma always made a coconut cake for Christmas. It started with fresh coconut with the eye poked out, the juice drained, then she broke the shell with a hammer. My job was to grate the coconut. I never liked that cake because the 7 minute frosting she made was too sweet for my taste. About 35 years ago I ate Aunt Bessie's coconut cake at a friend's house. Wow! The best coconut cake I've ever tasted.

1 cup Crisco Shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup sweet milk
2 cups self rising flour
2 teaspoons coconut flavoring

Turn on oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 3 cake pans by rubbing with shortening or margarine then dust with flour. Cream together crisco and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Alternate adding milk and flour, ending with flour. Add coconut flavoring. Beat for a minute or so, then put in cake pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and turn out on cooling rack.

Icing
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
1 cup sweet milk
1/2 cup plain flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup crisco
1 teaspoon coconut flavoring
1 bag of flaked coconut

Melt margarine on low heat, add flour and stir in milk. Continue stirring until very thick. Remove from heat and cool.

Put sugar and crisco in mixer and beat until creamy. Add cooked mixure, heat until the consistencey of whipped cream. Add coconut flavoring.

Frost between layers, top and sides of cake then sprinkle with coconut.

Can be made as a sheet cake or cupcakes. Enjoy!

Spicy Lasagna

I never liked lasagna because I found it to be too bland. However, this recipe is a winner! It was requested for our October birthday celebration.

Spicy Lasagna

1 lb. ground turkey

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon whole fennel seed

½ teaspoon crushed fennel seed

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 16oz can stewed tomatoes
2 6oz cans tomato paste

1 Tablespoon dried basil leaves

½ teaspoon dried oregano

6 lasagna noodles

3 cups ricotta cheese

½ cup grated Romano cheese

2 eggs, well beaten

2 Tablespoons parsley flakes

½ teaspoon black pepper

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Crumble turkey into skillet, add next 6 ingredients and cook over medium heat until done (turkey no longer pink).

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook noodles according to package; drain and set aside.

Combine ricotta, Romano, eggs, parsley flakes, and pepper in a mixing bowl; mix well.

Place half the noodles in a 13 ½-x8- 3/4 x 1 3/4- inch baking dish; spread with half the cheese mixture. Top with half the mozzarella cheese and half the meat mixture. Repeat layers; bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Enjoy!

Yield: 8 servings

Carol's Spaghetti Sauce (aka Lil Granny's Sketti Sauce)

Back in 1959 when I got married, some dear soul gave me a red and white checked Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  It was a godsend because I really didn't know how to cook. This is my version of their spaghetti sauce, and although it doesn't photograph well, it is a family favorite.

1 large onion, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 lbs. ground round or low fat ground turkey ( I use turkey.)

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

5 cans of whole tomatoes, cut into small chunks, 14 oz. size cans (I used 4 cans + 1 can of diced tomatoes)

4 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce

2 6 oz. cans tomato paste

2 cans beef broth

1 handful dried parsley flakes

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 large bay leaves, or 3 small ones

2 cups burgundy, (I use Livingston Cellars)

24 oz. button mushrooms, (Sam's has them.)

Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat, add oil, then onion and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add 1/2 meat, brown then remove from pot. Add remaining meat and garlic, brown. Return meat and onions to pot. Add everything else, except mushrooms. Bring to a slow boil, turn to lowest heat and simmer for 2-3 hours. STIR OFTEN, DO NOT LET IT STICK TO BOTTOM OF POT. Tomatoes burn easily, then have a bad taste.

Clean mushrooms, slice and cook in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet. Add to sauce about 20 minutes before it is ready to serve. Taste sauce for seasoning, add a little salt if needed. Serve over spaghetti, cooked in a big pot of boiling water for about 13 minutes, Serve with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

12-14 servings. Freeze leftover in portions, add a little water when you reheat it. It's nice to have this in the freezer, by adding salad and garlic bread, you can have dinner on the table in 20 minutes.

(Lessons Learned... Spaghetti is not a photo friendly food... it is never a good idea to photograph red sauce on a purple plate... or a white plate either... big shards of Parmesan/Romano cheese sprinkled on top of your red sauce just looks silly... flourescent lights are evil.)

Barfoot/Nichols Family Genealogy Blog

If you want to know more about my Barfoot and Nichols family go to the following link:

http://mybarfootandnicholsancestors.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Carol's House Salad

Dressing

1 tsp salt

2 tsps dried oregano

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix. Makes enough for several salads. Store in covered glass container in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator at least 20 minutes before using to allow olive oil to liquify. Then stir or twirl to mix.

romaine lettuce,

red leaf lettuce,

escarole (my favorite),

prepackaged spring mix or baby spinach.

Wash and tear up the amount you want of each item and put in a salad spinner. Then add

2 green onions, sliced

2 radishes, sliced

8-10 thin slices cucumber

1/4 cup green bell pepper chopped

Add to salad spinner and spin vigorously to spin out the moisture.

Place ingredients in large salad bowl. Cut one red ripe tomato cut into chunks and add to salad bowl along with about 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese.

If you want to kick it up a notch and add more protein slice and smash 1 clove of garlic and a hard boiled egg in the bottom of your salad bowl.  Cut up shrimp is also a good addition. Enjoy!

Grandma Barfoot’s Noodle Soup

When I was very young, instead of pasta my mom put homemade dumplings in her tomato soup. At this time the only store bought food we had was flour, sugar, salt, pepper and vinegar. Using the food grown on the farm and those few store bought ingredients my mom was able to make everything we ate. Pasta was a luxury item that was not bought until I was older. It's one of those comfort foods served on a cold night.


Grandma Barfoot’s Noodle Soup

6 cups of water

1 ½ tsp seasoning salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

2 Tbsp margarine/Smart Balance or Butter Buds

2 cups uncooked macaroni

48 oz can tomato juice

½ - 1 teaspoon baking soda

Small can fat free evaporated milk

Bring the water to boil. Add margarine and seasoning salt and spices. Add macaroni return to boil and turn heat down to medium. Cook for 15-20 minutes, checking occasionally to see if there is enough liquid and add more water if needed. Add tomato juice and baking soda then turn down to lowest heat for 10-15 minutes. Then slowly add in evaporated milk being careful not to let it boil. Simmer for 10 minutes or so on lowest heat. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy!