Quote

"I cannot live without books: but fewer will suffice where amusement, and not use, is the only future object." -- Thomas Jefferson

Friday, January 15, 2021

Microwave: Mug O'Mexican Bread Pudding

Mug O’Mexican Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

1 8oz Coffee mug
1 TBspn Olive oil (or margarine)
2-3 TBspns Raisins
1/4 Apple, diced
1 Slice Multi-grain bread, torn into pieces
1 Egg
1 - 1 1/2 TB Sugar
2 Dollops Milk (or yogurt) or more if needed
1 Capful Vanilla flavoring
1 TBspn Almonds, silvers or crushed
2 Dashes Cinnamon
2 Dashes Nutmeg
Topping: Mixed cheese or other cheese, grated
Optional: 1 Slice of toast with mayo.
 
 
Process:

Add oil to mug.
Swirl oil in mug to coat bottom and sides of mug.
Add the rest of ingredients except cheese.
Stir and mix ingredients thoroughly.
Add more milk if contents are not moist.
Top with grated cheese.
Place mug in microwave. Use a saucer as a cover.
Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
Check to see if all liquids have been cooked off. If not, microwave on high for 30-60 seconds.

Tip mug contents onto a plate or onto a slice of toast (with or without mayo) on a plate and spread over toast.
 



Thursday, January 14, 2021

Happy Birthday (91) - Guy Williams (b. 1/14/1924)

A Tribute to Guy Williams - Zorro
b 1/14/1924 d 4/30/1989 -- Updated 1/2/2021

Zorro, the perennial masked hero, has been portrayed in film, on TV and on stage by many, such as: Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Robert Livingston, John Carroll, Reed Hadley, Tyrone Power, Guy Williams, Frank Langella, Alain Delon, George Hamilton, Henry Darrow, Antonio Banderas, Christian Meier, and others in a wide variety of adaptations of the stories of Zorro by Johnston McCulley.

But, unofficially, many Zorro fans consider Guy Williams, the greatest Zorro ever.

Guy Williams, an Italian-American, was born in New York on 1/14/1924 and died on 4/30/1989.


Guy Williams and Gene Sheldon as Zorro and Bernardo, his servant.

He gained fame acting in Walt Disney's TV production of Zorro which ran from 1957 to 1959. The series was cancelled at the height of its popularity due to Disney's conflict with the broadcasting company that aired the show.

Guy's fans have created many online fansites as well as campaigned for variety of historic markers including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to honor their favorite Zorro.

Below are just a few of the Guy Williams/Zorro fan sites.

Guy Williams' Family website
http://zorrofx.com/dads_pg.htm

Guy Williams Web Shrine with links
http://www.guywilliams.net/links.htm 

Celebhost.net
http://www.celebhost.net/guywilliams/guy.html

Beth Wilson's Guy Williams on Bonanza
http://website.fabpage.com/zorrothefox/will.html

Bill Cotter's Disney Page
http://www.billcotter.com/zorro/

Disney's Zorro Page
http://www.zorrolegend.com/disneyzorro/disneyzorro.html

Many of Guy Williams fans wonder what happened to him after Disney's TV show Zorro was cancelled.

To learn the answer to that question and much more about Guy Williams' life and career, read Antoinette G. Lane's fine biography, "Guy Williams: Man Behind the Mask" published by Bearmanor.
 
Update: "Guy Williams: The Man Behind the Mask" is now available as an audiobook.

I interviewed Ms. Lane and posted the interview "An interview with Antoinette G. Lane" in an earlier blog post and a shorter version was featured on Boomer Cafe.

According to Ms. Lane, Guy's early training in fencing and horseback riding as well as his early modeling career made him a perfect candidate to star in Disney's Zorro.

Personally, I have a fond affection for the entire Walt Disney production of his 1950s TV show Zorro.


I learned from Ms. Lane's biography that Disney brought movie-making production techniques and quality to television production. This can be seen in the choreographed sword fights, horseback riding and chase scenes.

Disney also used Mexicans and Native Americans as actors and extras. The stories were set in the early history of California when it was ruled by the Spanish, providing an authentic historical context for the story.

Today, we celebrate the life
of a wonderful man and actor, Guy Williams.


 





Wednesday, January 13, 2021

My Favorite Free Online Cookbooks

Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook
Helping those who feel like an alien in the kitchen with
simple, basic, one pot, single serving, easy, healthy, recipes.
 
My recipes are:
  • Frugal, healthy, and simple.
  • Friendly for those who have difficulty trying to cook.
  • Focused on those who do not have a full kitchen complement of equipment, utensils, or supplies.
  • Helpful for those who do not have regular access to fresh fruits and vegetables or specific ingredients.
  • Geared towards small portions or single servings.

Being frugal in the kitchen means finding free or sales on kitchen utensils, cookbooks, and food items. Other money savers including: using inexpensive food items as substitutes for more expensive items, and making your own (DIY) dressings, sauces, salsas, pesto, and more.


My Favorite Free Online Cookbooks
Including PDFs, free eBooks, Websites, and Extension sources
 


NIH/NHLBI Delicious Heart Healthy Recipes
 


Keep the Beat Recipes
 
HHS Healthy Home Cooking African American Style
 
USDA White House Healthier US School Challenge Celebration -- October 17, 2011
 
The Great Little Cookbook
 
A Cookbook by Ted
Need to login at Smashwords
 
Project Gutenberg
Search "Cookbook" or “Cook Book” and you will get lots of choices like:
 
The Cookery Blue Book
 
Barilla Celebrity Cookbook
 
Cusinart Convection Oven Microwave Grill CookBook
 
Wikipedia Cookbook
 


Mount Vernon Recipes
 
Open Culture Cookbook Archive
 
AmeriFlax Cookbook
 
Yucatan Goverment / Servicos de Salud de Yucatan
Recetario Saludable

Washington State University

University of Ilinois

Cornell Cooperative Extension

Iowa State University

University of Nebraska

Virginia Tech

University of Maryland Extension

University of Florida IFAS Extension

BBC Food
@bbcgoodfood

Budget Bytes
@Budget_Bytes

Cdkitchen
@CDKitchen.com

Chowhound
@CHOW

Cocina Vital
@cocinavital

Cooking on a Bootstrap / Jack Monroe
@Bootstrapcook

Cooks.com

Delish
@Delishcom

The Guardian - Recipes

The Incredible Egg
@IncredibleEggs

The Kitchn
@theKitchn
 
My Latina Table
@MyLatinaTable
 
My Plate
@MyPlate

My Recipes
@My_Recipes
 
Recipes
@recipes
 
RecipeTinEats
 
The Spruce Eats
 
WW

Wikipedia: Food

Wikipedia: Food, Cookbook, Recipes
 

Note: Many Food Manufactures have recipes on their websites, for example:
 
Goya
 
 
Highlight
A Cookbook byTed
from Smashwords
 
 

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Microwave: Mug O'Denver Omelet

Mug O’Denver Omelet

Ingredients:
 
A Dab of Olive or Vegetable oil
1-2 Drops Hot sauce
1 Egg
1 Dollop Milk
1 TBspn ham or turkey, diced (or 1 slice lunchmeat, sliced), or imitation bacon bits
1/4 Bell pepper, diced or sliced or 3 TBspns Frozen mixed vegetables, cooked
1 Tspn of Canned mushrooms, drained
1/2 - 1 Tspn Onion flakes or 2 TBspns Onion, diced
2-3 TBspns Pickle juice
1 Tspn Salsa
1 Heaping TBspn Cheese, grated
 

Process:

In a mug, add dab of oil. Swirl oil around to coat bottom and sides.
Add hot sauce.
Add egg.
Add milk, stir and whip ingredients.
Add meat.
Add bell pepper, mushrooms, onion flakes, pickle juice, salsa and cheese.
Stir and mix ingredients thoroughly.
Microwave on high 2-4 minutes to cook off liquids.
 
 
Variation: Use as a toast topping. Spread mayo on toast, add layer of mixture. Refrigerate any leftover mixture.
 

Monday, January 11, 2021

Microwave: Mug O'Peanut Omelet -- An Introduction to George Washington Carver

From tragic beginnings, George Washington Carver became a noted botanist who promoted various agricultural methods and new cash crops like the peanut and sweet potato that helped save the American agricultural economy in the 1930s.
 
This is the first of several peanut recipes, I will attempt to adapt based on Carver's recipes published by Experimental Station, Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, Tuskegee Institute Press in BULLETIN NO. 31 June 1925 (Revised from the original publication of April, 1918).
 
 
Original Recipe
"NO. 44, PEANUT OMELET
Cream a slice of bread in half a cup of rich milk; beat the whites and yolks of two eggs separately; add the yolks to the bread crumbs and milk; to half a cup of finely ground peanuts add a dash of pepper and salt; mix thoroughly; fold in the whites, and cook as usual in a buttered pan."

My Version is below.

Mug O’Peanut Omelet (Bread Pudding)
(Adapted from: How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption Seventh Edition, January 1940, By George W. Carver, M.S. in AGR., Director, No. 44, Peanut Omelet)
 

 
Ingredients:

Olive oil
2-3 Drops Hot sauce
Ground Black pepper to taste
A Dollop Milk
1 Egg
1 Slice Bread, multigrain, torn into pieces
1 TBspn Crunchy Peanut Butter or Smooth Peanut Butter
1/2 Tspn Crushed peanuts (Optional)
 

Process:

Add oil to mug, swirl to coat bottom and sides of mug.
Add hot sauce and milk.
Add black pepper.
Add egg.
Stir and whip thoroughly.
Add bread pieces.
Stir and mix to make sure bread is soaked in liquid.
Add peanut butter.
Add crushed peanuts (optional).
Stir and mix thoroughly.
Cover and Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
 

Came out pretty good. For me, because it was a bit sweet, I think of it as a dessert.
 
 
For more information about George Washington Carver:
 
George Washington Carver -- Biography.com
https://www.biography.com/scientist/george-washington-carver


 
George Washington Carver -- The State Historical Society of Missouri

George Washington Carver -- National Agricultural Library

George Washington Carver -- Peanut Products

George Washington Carver -- Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver
 
(Source: https://www.tuskegee.edu/support-tu/george-washington-carver/carver-peanut products)

Sunday, January 10, 2021

Microwave: Mug O'Apple & Mock Mincemeat Crumble

This is just one use for Mock Mincement.
 
Mircowave: Mug O’Apple & Mock Mincemeat Crumble

Ingredients:

Topping:
1-2 Tspns Sugar
2  Level Tspns Flour
2 Heaping Tspns Oats
2 Tspns Olive or vegetable oil
2 Shakes Cinnamon

Add ingredients into a cup. Stir well. Reserve.
 

Additional Ingredients:

1-2 Drops Hot sauce
1/2 Apple, washed, diced
2 Full TBspns Mock Mincemeat
2 Shakes Cinnamon


Process:


Coat bottom of a mug with oil.
Add hot sauce.
Add diced apple, mincemeat, and cinnamon.
Stir and mix well.
Top with reserved Oat Mixture.
Microwave 2 minutes on high.

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Mock Mincemeat

Mock Mincemeat
(Adapted from: Mock Mincemeat, F. L. Gillette. “The Whitehouse Cookbook [1887])
 
eBook available on Project Gutenberg
 

I have always wondered about mincemeat. After perusing several recipes, I found this recipe and appreciated the meat-less variation.
 
From what I have read, mincemeat is used in pastries and cakes as a sweet treat.


Ingredients:
 
1/2 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Honey or Molasses
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Apple cider vinegar
1/3 Cup Olive Oil “Suet” (Frozen mixture of olive oil and strong vegetable broth)
1/2 Cup Raisins, chopped
1/2 Apple, peeled and diced
1/2 Cup Dried blueberries
1/2 Cup Cracker crumbs
1 Egg
1 Tspn Cinnamon
1 Tspn Cardamom
1 Tspn Nutmeg
1/2 Tspn Ground black pepper
1/2 Tspn Cumin
2-3 Drops Hot sauce
1/4 Tspn Lime zest
Garnish: Cran-Apple Juice (Optional)


Process:
 
Add water to pot.
Add sugar and molasses. Stir well.
Add fruits to pot. Cook on medium heat for a few minutes.
Add vinegar, suet, spices, cracker crumbs, and egg. Stir well.
Cook several minutes to reduce liquid. Stir frequently.
Refrigerate contents overnight.

Variation: Add a splash of Cranberry-Apple juice to each portion, reheat before serving.