Cella's Recipe Corner: Good friends and neighbors help after husband’s accident

On Dec. 14, my husband had a logging accident. He was airlifted to a hospital in Buffalo, where he stayed until Dec. 29. He is presently undergoing therapy while trying to recover from a broken neck and other injuries. I spent Christmas day with him in the hospital. He ate hospital food and I had two boiled eggs and some French fries from the cafeteria. In total, he lost 40 pounds.

Now he is at home and I am trying to fatten him up. We have been blessed in various ways by our friends, relatives and strangers who have become friends. The Machias Christian Youth Corps is helping to fix up our house in this cold weather. I delight in feeding them.

I bought my son and daughter a bread machine for Christmas this year. To aid them in using it, I opened one of the machines and started trying bread recipes so I could guide my children in how to use the machine. I had a loaf baking when my son and his family arrived from Illinois. I made two loaves with of the following recipe for whole wheat bread: one in the bread machine and one by hand. The bread made by hand was done 20 minutes before the bread machine’s. I was surprised to note that the texture was also the same. The instructions below are for making bread by hand. Those using a bread machine can use their setting for a 2-pound loaf and follow the bread machine’s instructions to assemble the ingredients.

Whole wheat bread
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 1/2 cups King Arthur® Premium 100 percent whole wheat flour, sifted
1 packet of active dry yeast dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup dry powdered milk
1 1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine lukewarm water, vegetable oil, maple syrup, flour, yeast dissolved in water, powdered milk and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir until the dough leaves the side of the bowl and then transfer to a lightly-floured surface and knead until the dough becomes elastic and smooth, mixing in as little additional flour as necessary.

Place dough in a large, lightly-greased bowl, cover with a dish towel and place in a warm place to rise for an hour. Punch dough down, form into a loaf shape and place in a greased and/or parchment-lined 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch bread loaf pan. Cover with a dish towel and allow to rise until the center is 1 inch above the rim of the pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until it is lightly browned and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap the top of it with your finger. Turn bread onto a wire rack. Immediately coat top of bread with butter for a soft crust.

Chocolate quarry
(Neil Christ)
1 (15.25 ounce) package peanut butter Oreo® cookies
1 (15 ounce) jar Peter Pan® honey roasted peanut butter
4 single servings of prepared chocolate pudding
2 tablespoons Hershey’s® syrup
8 ounce container Cool Whip®
1/2 cup Cocoa Pebbles™ to sprinkle on top at serving

Crumble each cookie and press into the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch pan (you may freeze at this point to make it easier to spread peanut butter on top ). Heat and stir peanut butter over a double boiler to soften it so it will be easy to spread. Spread on top of cookie layer. Mix chocolate pudding with Hershey’s syrup and place on top of peanut butter layer. Top with Cool Whip and freeze mixture for four hours, or until serving. Sprinkle Chocolate Pebbles on top of Chocolate Quarry at serving time.

Punch bowl
(Vickie Reffner)
1 liter grapefruit juice
2 liters sparkling white grape juice
1 liter Sprite®
Circular ice block made with cherries and orange slices

In a punch bowl, combine grapefruit juice, white grape juice and Sprite. Add ice block with cherries and orange slices.

Beau monde veggie dip
(Ruth Ann Courtney)
2/3 cup sour cream
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon onion flakes (or dried minced onion)
1 teaspoon Spice Islands® Beau monde seasoning
1 teaspoon Accent®
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 - 5 drops TABASCO® sauce

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, mix well and chill overnight. Serve with veggies or chips.

Send your favorite family recipes to Marcella Stockin, 5200 Riceville Road, West Valley, N.Y. 14171 or email me at marcellastockin@yahoo.com. I’d love to hear from you. Providing you with recipes to help make you the best cook in the neighborhood. Visit my website at cellascookbook.com for more recipes and archived newsletters.