This wet spring and then, very hot summer has given
my husband’s garden terrific crops this year! Even after the small animals eat
their fill, we still have zucchini, summer squash, cherry tomatoes and
cucumbers galore!
Here is a picture of tonight’s pickings—every day
brings more!
In this picture, you can just see a kitchen tea
towel with a large list of menu items on it. When my daughter was recently in
Brighton, England, she toured the Royal Pavilion there.
In January of 1817, at the Royal Pavilion in
Brighton, the great French chef, Antonin Carême, devised one of the grandest
banquets of all time. He was brought from France to serve as chef for ‘His
Royal Highness, the Prince Regent’ George the Fourth. George would be King in
three years, but for now, he had as his guest the Grand Duke Nicholas of
Russia. Nicholas was the younger brother of the current Tsar of Russia,
Alexander I, and he would become Tsar himself in 1825.
The Prince was aware that state dinners in Russia
could be quite extravagant, so he called on his own French chef, Carême, to
create a banquet for the Grand Duke that would rival or even surpass those in
Russia. Carême was more than equal to the challenge.
Carême planned a lavish menu for this banquet, which
included over 120 different dishes to be served over nine courses. The banquet
menu included eight different soups, followed by eight different fish dishes,
then five shellfish dishes, and that was just to start. This grand banquet also
included forty different dishes in the entrée course and thirty-two desserts (Okay,
this was your history lesson for the day…!).
With 32
desserts ( upside down lemon jelly, greek raisin waffles, apple and rum pudding
and spun sugar diadems among them), we KNOW that the guests enjoyed this feast!
But, what to do with OUR largesse? I turned to our family recipes, of course!
Grandma Taylor’s Beans (Ethel Baker
Taylor)
1 #
package of pea or navy beans (dry)
Sort over
and rinse.
Ethel used
to add a good size teaspoon of baking soda to water and let set over night.
Harold did the same but also added 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Pour off water, add
more to cover as well as chunk of salt pork scored to rind. Boil until beans
are soft. Serve with vinegar.
Mom (Aunt
CB) writes: “This is a glorious dish Mom used to fix for picnics; she would put
it in a big covered pan and bring along china dishes (paper plates cost money!)
Doris and I used to share a plate,
cover it with beans, pour on a teaspoon of vinegar, stir and draw a line down
the middle--her side, my side!”
Zucchini
in Dill Cream Sauce by Sylva Howland Emhof
2
¼ lbs. unpared zucchini, cut in strips (7 to 8 cups)
¼
C. finely chopped onion
½
C. water
1
tsp. chicken bouillon granules
½
tsp. dried dill weed
2
Tblsp. Butter or margarine
2
tsp. sugar
2
tsp. lemon juice
2
Tblsp. Flour
½
C. sour cream
In
sauce pan, combine zucchini, onion, water, salt, bouillon granules and dill
weed. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer covered about 5 minutes or until just
tender. Do not drain. Add butter, sugar and lemon juice. Remove from heat.
Blend
flour into sour cream in small bowl. Stir about half of the hot cooking liquid
into the sour cream and flour; return all to sauce pan, cook and stir until
thickened and bubbly. 6
servings
Sylva
writes: “I was given this recipe by Louise Bice, Freddie’s sister, a few years
ago (this was written in 1986). Last time I served this, all the women liked it
very much. Don’t think any of the men were very impressed! Most of them weren’t
too fond of vegetables any way.”
Squash Casserole from Barb Buck
Taylor:
Judy Taylor Alberts writes: “my memory of mom's summer
recipe”
Yellow squash
sweet onion
crushed bread crumbs
butter
Slice the squash and onion, layer in a baking
pan with bits of butter through out. Pour bread crumbs over the top with more
bits of butter. Cook in 350 oven for 20-25 min.
Test it with a fork till tender.
(I have added zucchini for more color and used part butter/olive oil.)
Zucchini Quiche from Kathy
Taylor Mills:
3 C. shredded zucchini
2 C. chopped onion
1-2 T. chopped garlic
2 T. parsley
4 well beaten eggs
½ C. oil
½ -1 C. shredded cheese
1 C. bisquick
½ t. salt
dash pepper
Mix all ingredients. Place in 9 x 9 or 8 x 8 pan or pie plate.
Bake 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until
set.
Wonderful
Recipes! Thanks, Family. Now, off to a lunch of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers,
and for dinner, we’ll try Kathy’s Zucchini Quiche. Enjoy your August and keep
cool!
