Recipe: Bierocks

I recently read an article about the beauty of recipes that have been passed down for generations, and how those who know how to make such things NEED to pass on that knowledge whether anyone asks for it or not. It's the duty of the knowledge holders to find someone who wants to learn. Otherwise the knowledge is lost.

Thankfully, my grandmother (who turned 95 this past August) has generously passed down her recipes. A few years ago my sweetheart of an aunt, Aunt Charlotte, started the monumental project of tracing over all of my grandmother's faded pencil written recipes and making photo copies of them, printing them, binding them, and distributing them to all the relatives. Sadly, my aunt passed away before her project was finished. But her husband and some other relatives pressed on and completed it. Thanks to them, we all have a copy of my grandmother's cook book.

The title? Kissin' Don't Last, Cookin' Do.

I've been trying to make a point of making something out of this book for my family each month, and of course I'm starting with the things I remember. And since my Dad specifically requested Bierock's for his birthday it made sense to start with that.

Bierock's are essentially an eastern European version of a savory hand pie. Seems like nearly every culture has their version: empanada's and calzone's come to mind. It's a convenience food. It can be wrapped in a lunch box, eaten on the go, made in a huge batch it freezes well for a quick weeknight meal. Add a salad, and you're in business.

This time around, I took my grandma's recipe and combined it with some other recipes that I found online. And I had one lonely carrot in my crisper, so I threw that in too.

It all starts with 2 lbs of hamburger in a skillet browned with an onion and minced garlic clove. Once that's done, add 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper. Then shred a small head of cabbage and put that in, along with 2 Tablespoons of worcestershire sauce and 2 teaspoons of caraway seeds. Cook until cabbage is wilted. The end result is this:



Then you get out your dough. You can use whatever you like. I know my grandma makes her own, and I've heard that you can also use those refrigerated biscuits from a can. I used two loaves of frozen dough, and then I set it on my counter to thaw/rise according the the package directions. It takes about 4-6 hours depending upon the temperature of your room.

Then I rolled out one loaf at a time and cut it into 6 wedge shapes.





Put 1/4 cup of the filling on each wedge and then fold the corners to the center and press the seams together. It doesn't have to be perfect, remember, this is a peasant dish.











Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. The result is a heavenly smell in your kitchen and hot yumminess inside of bread.



Beirocks

2 loaves of frozen bread dough, thawed
2 lbs of ground beef
1 yellow onion
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 small head of cabbage
2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
2 teaspoons caraway seeds

1. Place bread dough in a greased bowl on the counter and cover with towel for about 4-6 hours before you're planning to cook. If you need to leave it longer than that you can thaw in the fridge overnight.
2. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Add salt and lemon pepper. Shred the cabbage and add it once the beef is cooked along with worchestershire sauce and caraway seeds. Drain liquid.
3. Roll out dough 1 loaf at a time on a floured surface. Cut into 6 wedge shapes. Place 1/4 cup meat mixture onto each wedge. Fold each corner to the center and press seams together so that no meat is exposed. Perfection is not part of this recipe. Rustic is a good word for it. :) Place each pastry on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Stuffed Patty Pan Squash - Fresh From My Garden

This was a total improvise, so I was really excited when it turned out to be so good! But with these ingredients how could you go wrong? Bacon, onions, mushrooms and cheese doesn't make this a light recipe, but a delicious way to use any patty pan squash you have hanging around.

What? Never had patty pan squash? It's a bit sweeter than zucchini, cooks up nice and firm so excellent for stir fry or sautee. My mom likes them best sauteed with garlic and olive oil, and I can't say I blame her. But if you wanna do something a bit more fancy you could give this a try. :)

Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

6 patty pan squash
1/2 pound of bacon
1/2 an onion, diced
1 tomato
1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup of cheddar
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Carve the tops off the squash and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon or melon baller. Set aside.

Brown the bacon, allow to drain on paper towels. Drain all but 2 teaspoons of bacon grease. Add the onion to the hot skillet, cook until soft and it has taken on some color from the bacon grease. Add the tomato and mushrooms, saute until veggies are soft. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl combine bread crumbs, cheeses and seasonings. Add crumbled bacon and vegetables. Stir well to combine. Stuff mixture inside hollowed squash. Return tops of squash to the top of each one. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and place squash inside. Cover loosely with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. You want the cheese to be bubbly, the squash should be firm but hot.

How To Make Traditional Bread & Butter Pickles - Mystery Spice Monday

Canning.

It's what I've been doing all summer while not attending to my blog.

I've learned a lot! I've learned that when you overfill canning jars they erupt in your canner and then you have a mess plus not enough liquid in your jars. I've learned that I should definitely plant less cucumbers next year. And as a result, I could make bread & butter pickles in my sleep.

And they are soooo good! WAY better than dill or sweet in my opinion.

And I now have enough to give them away plus have plenty for myself.

YUM!

Oh, and since I thought you'd be interested, here's a bunch of stuff I picked which necessitated the making of pickles:



Yup, that's bunch of tomatoes, a zucchini, and 6 cucumbers. And believe it or not, my cucumbers are slowing down. In previous weeks I'd pick 8-13 cucumbers in a day and 4-6 zucchini.

Now you know why I haven't been around!

So lets get down to business with the cucs shall we?

Slice approximately 7 cups of cucumbers and 4 onions and place them in the largest bowl you own.



Cover them with 1/2 a cup of canning and pickling salt. This is important, regular salt won't dissolve properly.



Cover completely with water and let it soak for at least 2 hours. While they are soaking you can prepare your canning jars, rings and lids. This will make 5-7 pint size jars so I usually prepare 8 just in case.



Once the soaking is done rinse completely. I rinse mine in small sized batches to make sure I get all the salt water off.



Then I set up my stove. The small pot in the back has a little bit of water and lids set to low heat until simmering. The front left pot has 3 cups of white vinegar, 2 cups of sugar, 2 Tbs. of mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon of celery seed and 1 teaspoon of tumeric. Cook this until it comes to a boil and the sugar is disolved. On the right front burner is my steamer canner (it's the same as a water bath only it steams, you can use a regular water bath).




Once your pickling solution comes to a boil you can add your veggies. I do small batches at a time using veggies I've just rinsed.



Return them to a boil. Once it starts boiling they're done! Easy peasy!



Remove your pot of goodies from the heat and start filling jars with a slotted spoon.



As I do this I often stop and sort of gently bang the jars on the counter to shake them around a bit and get the veggies to compact.



When I'm done with a small batch my solution looks like this. And I put it back on the stove on med-high heat until it returns to a boil. Then I add more veggies, boil, fill jars, etc.



Once the veggies are all cooked and the jars are all filled I top them off with spoonfuls of pickling solution. You want to leave a generous 1/4 inch headspace.



Run a knife around the jars to release any air bubbles. Add more solution if needed.





Then a VERY important step! Take a wet rag and wipe the rims of the jars. If you don't, the lids won't seal and you will have done all that work for nothing.



You guessed it! Then you add the lids. I have a handly little magnetic lid lifter that came in a box of canning supplies. They're not necessary, you could just use tongs, but since I have it I'm using it.



Place the lids.



And then put the rings on. You want them to be "finger tight". My definition of that is only twist with the tips of your fingers, don't use your whole hand to get it as tight as possible. I do put them on tighter than my mom, she barely screws them on. The good news is that we both have successfully preserved food so I don't think it's that big of a deal.



Put the jars in your canner. Use manufacturers directions on whichever canner you have. Remember, canning is not just cooking, it's science. So it's important to follow the directions precisely.





For mine I need to wait until steam comes out of those little holes on the side before I start my processing time. And I never really knew how HARD it was to take a picture of steam! This was the best I could do. :P



Process them for 10 minutes, after that my canner needs to sit off the heat for 3 minutes. And then Voila! Preserved pickles!



Lift them out of the canner using that cool lifter tool from your canning supplies box.



Let them set for 24 hours, and delight in the music of popping lids! That's the sound that means "I'm sealed!".



After 24 hours, any lids that aren't sealed (you can test them by pushing in the middle of the lid, if it gives it isn't sealed) just toss them in the fridge and use them within the next week or two.

I know some of you said that you might participate this week in Mystery Spice Monday, and that's AWESOME! But I still haven't figured out how to do the new Mr. Linky (it's on the to do list!). So if you have a recipe to share please post your link in a comment and I will add a permanent link to the bottom of this post. Thanks for your understanding! :)

Chocolate Zucchini Bread - Fresh From My Garden

I know I promised some zucchini recipes a while back, and while I did post this recipe I kinda fell off the band waggon about posting others. So here's a great one I've been using for years now.

It came from this cook book:



I went to the Franciscan Montissori Earth School in Portland, OR when I was in grade school. So when my mom found this at a used book store, and then gave it to me for Christmas, I was VERY excited! Those years at the Earth school were such a magical time in my life. In fact, I seriously considered becoming Catholic just so I could become a Franciscan nun.

But I guess I just liked boys too much.



They live in Bridal Veil, OR which is about a 40-45 minute drive from Portland. And it's such a gorgeous setting it's really no wonder they're willing to commute such a distance. They actually have a water fall in their back yard!! How cool is that?!



Here is the little blurb about them from the book:

The acreage itself provides an environment in which to learn and grow. The land is a classroom for the Franciscan Montessori Earth School in Portland, Oregon, which fosters a creative learning environment for children pre-school through high school. Here the students are awakened to their responsibility to be stewards of the earth. In complement, the land provides a fertile centering for the Sisters' counseling program which incorporates the care of animals, the herb, vegetable and flower gardens as part of the therapeutic process.

Each chapter features a different convent from around the world. It's really pretty amazing to read about each of their missions and how they minister to different segments of society, yet have a common theme that binds them together, their love of Christ.

So onto the bread! I don't ever remember eating Franciscan zucchini bread, but I do remember eating other things that came from their kitchen and seriously, those ladies can COOK! So I knew any recipe that came out of this book would be a hit. This time I tweeked the recipe a bit to make it my own by adding cocoa powder and chocolate chips. I figured that pretty much anything is better with chocolate, and I was right!



First I took my shredded zucchini from the freezer. What? You don't freeze your zucchini?? You're missing out! It's super easy if you use a food processor or salad shooter, and then you can use it in all kinds of recipes year round.

Then you beat 3 eggs.



And add 2 cups of sugar.



And 1 cup of oil.



And 1 T of vanilla. Yup, it's more vanilla than the recipe calls for, but I like most recipes with some extra.



Then you add 1 cup of zucchini. I don't have a picture of that. Oops!

Then you mix up your dry ingredients. Here I have 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of baking soda, 1 T of cinnamon, 1/4 t of baking powder.



And then I added 1/4 cup of cocoa powder.



Then I added a little at a time to the wet mixture and combined until smooth.



Then I added a cup of chocolate chips.



You can make 2 loaves with this batter, but I only made one.



And it was good!





Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Adapted from Franciscan Heritage Cookbook

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup grated zucchini
1 T vanilla
3 cups flour (I used a combo of all purpose and whole wheat)
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup of chocolate chips

Beat eggs. Add sugar and oil, beat for 2 minutes. Add zucchini. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix with wet until it has a smooth consistency. Mix in chocolate chips. Pour into well greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour.