Mama F's Strawberry Cake

As with everything in my life, this recipe has a back story. Did was my best friend from the time we were in eighth grade on. Every year she had a slumber birthday party. Every year her mother, Mama F, made this fabulous cake. When BabyGirl asked for a "pink strawberry cake" for her fourth birthday, I could think of nothing better than this cake. I emailed Mama F & begged for her recipe. She gladly sent it to me. Last year, I discovered Did did not even have her mother's recipe. I told her it's because her mother likes me more...but in reality, it's because Did never asked.

You should also know that Mama F was an English teacher & is a published author. If you read this recipe through, you'll see those facts clearly. So with no more ado and without further gilding the lily, I give you Mama F's Strawberry Cake exactly as it was sent to me.

This is out of the section of The James K. Polk Cookbook [the first one] from the recipes sent in by 1st ladies. I'll try to remember and italicize my editorial comments.

Strawberry Cake

1 package yellow or white cake mix

1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin (Jello)

3/4 cup cooking oil (I use 1/2 c oil and 1/4 c water)

1 cup chopped nuts (I don't put these in because I don't want to)

4 eggs

2 tablespoons flour

1 package (10 ounces) frozen strawberries or 1 pint fresh strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar*

Mix all ingredients and beat well; pour into a greased angel food cake pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until done. (Mama F always baked the cake in two 9 inch round pans for a layer cake instead.)

Serve plain or with whipped cream.** Rosalynn Carter

OK, FarmWife, here's how the cake you ate deviates:

*In strawberry season, I freeze strawberries. Specifically, I slice them, mildly fill quart freezer bags with the slices, add 1/4 cup sugar, seal, and let them languish on the counter until they form a little juice- probably no more than 30 minutes. FOR THE CAKE, I thaw a quart of the berries and, with a slotted spoon, scoop out about 10 ounces of them to put in the batter. There will be juice and several slices left. Onward...

**After the two layers are cool, I "ice" the cake with a really big bowl of Cool Whip (or store brand sub) with the remaining strawberry juice and pulp stirred in. The two ingredients will at first vigorously resist being combined, but persevere; it will happen.

Of course, with this icing, the cake will have to be covered and refrigerated and, if your cake holder is like mine, will take up a huge space. I stick toothpicks in the tip and sides so the Saran Wrap doesn't stick to the icing. It's better/moister if it sits a day.

Asian Veggie Wraps & Artichokes

We had some serious leftovers to deal with in the veggie department, so I got creative. It was absolutely yummy and incredibly healthy. Because everything was naturally low in fat and high in fiber, the dip we made for the artichokes wasn't even a cause for guilt. I'll share it all below.

Asian Veggie Wraps for two or three...
INGREDIENTS:
Butter Lettuce Leaves, washed and crisped whole (I buy living lettuce, which actually comes with roots in a bit of soil enclosed in a plastic box that you just water and keep cool until ready to wash and use.)
2 c. Butternut Squash, cut in large chunks
1/2 c. Brown Rice
1.5 c. water
1/2 c. Eggplant, cut in small bites
1/2 Portobello Mushroom (or whole, whatever you have on hand), cut in small pieces
1/4 c. Red Onion, chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped fine
1 T. Fresh Rosemary
3 T. Asian Ginger & Sesame Sauce (I use Trader Joe's Goya Sauce, but anything Teryaki Flavored will work. The key is boldness.)
1 T. Olive Oil

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Prepare the Lettuce leaves as above, and set aside in the frig for later. (Butter lettuce is sometimes called Boston lettuce or Bibb lettuce.)

2. Prepare Brown Rice and water. I put both in a pot with a glass lid, bring to a boil for a few minutes, and then turn down to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Then I turn off the heat and leave it covered for another 35 minutes to finish steaming. If you do it this way, you just have to make sure the water does not completely evaporate while the stove is still doing its thing. So if your brown rice comes with other instructions, do whatever it says to do for 1/2 c. of dry rice.

3. Steam the squash until tender enough to mash by hand. Mash with a fork or potato ricer and add to finished rice.

4. Meanwhile, saute onion, garlic, eggplant, and portobello in olive oil until tender. The onion will be nearly translucent. Add the rosemary and Asian sauce in the last couple minutes of cooking, stirring in well. When all is tender and combined, add to squash and rice mixture, stirring in well. (It will look weird, but it is totally delicious.)

5. Serve by spooning into the lettuce leaves and rolling up like a burrito, or you could serve it on/in pita bread. It's savory and deliciously healthy. We loved this experiment, and are so glad we tried it.


*This dish does NOT need any added salt since the Asian sauce has plenty of sodium.

Steamed Artichokes & Dip
INGREDIENTS:
1 Large Whole Raw Artichoke
Juice of one lemon
1/3 c. Mayonnaise
1 tsp. White Sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Herbs de Provence
1/2 tsp. Dried Thyme
1/8 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
Dash Black Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Prepare artichoke by cutting fresh end off of stem, cutting tips off of leaves, and cutting whole artichoke in half. Using a spoon, scoop out the choke - that's the "hairy" part in the middle - and throw away. Brush lemon juice (or cut lemon half that is slightly squeezed to release some juice) all over the artichoke to prevent browning.

2. Place artichoke halves cut side down in steamer pot and steam on medium low heat for around 40 minutes, or until heart and leaves are tender.

3. Meanwhile, mix the rest of the lemon juice and all other ingredients in small bowl. Taste to see if you think it's to your liking, and stick in frig until ready to serve.

4. To eat the artichoke, remove leaves one at a time; dip into mayo mixture, and eat by scraping the fleshy inside part of leaf against your bottom teeth. Discard the tough part of leaf in bowl reserved for that use. Keep removing leaves until you get to the stem and heart. This can be eaten in its entirety.

5. You may have some dip left. It will keep a few days in the frig and is great to add to sandwiches, as a veggie dip, or to use with rice or potatoes to add zing.

*If your artichokes are on the small side, you could serve a whole one for each person. It's not too hard to gently open center of leaves to scoop out the choke without having to cut the whole thing in half. Then you would just steam upside down for same amount of time or a bit longer.

*These recently got press as being the top Super Veggie. (Don't know if they can fly though.) So it's worth trying. And the fiber from these yummy treats is a whole lot tastier than metamucil!

Pumpkin Turtle Pie

Found this recipe in a coupon flyer and have adapted it to a low-cal version. Gave it to the family and it's been voted in for Thanksgiving this year. It is rich, but very good.

1-8 0z container of fat free cool whip-divided
1/4 c + 2 TBS of sugar free caramel topping
1/2 c + 2 TBS of halved pecans
1 premade graham cracker pie crust
1 c canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 small packages of instant vanilla pudding
1 c fat free milk

In pie crust, pour 1/4 c of caramel topping onto crust. Spread across the bottom of the pie crust. Sprinkle 1/2 c of pecans on top of caramel topping.

In a bowl combine 1 c pumpkin, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, 2 small packages of instant vanilla pudding, and 1 c fat free milk with wire whisk. Slowly fold in 1/2 of the fat free cool whip.

Place in pie crust, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

After chilling for 1 hour remove from fridge, spread remainder of fat free cool whip on top of pumpkin mixture. Drizzle remaining 2 Tbs of sugar free caramel topping across the top. Sprinkle remaining 2 Tbs of pecan halves across the top.

Serve.

1 pie = 10 servings

Campbell's Cheesy Chicken & Rice Remix

FarmBoy won't touch rice as a side dish with a ten foot pole. So when QM made this for us while I was recuperating after Bitsy's birth I was skeptical. Turned out she changed up one thing & it made all the difference.

You can find the original recipe here. QM used Zatarain's Dirty Rice Mix in place of the long grain white rice & enough brown rice to make it equal 2 cups of rice. We also make it in larger quantities, so you need 2 cups of water and the Family size can of Cream of Chicken soup.

If you use the Dirty rice mix you can leave out the onion powder & pepper.

Freddie Kruger Casserole Remix (and a bonus FarmFamily Chicken Quesadillas)

It's time for the first wha'cha got cookin' Recipe Remix. I've asked all our cooks to post the recipes they've redone to suit their families tastes. We'll start off with the original recipe & follow up with our new & improved version.

A few years back QM brought me this recipe. To save space, I'll just leave the link & you can check it out there. It sounded great, but I have a major aversion to beans, so I needed to change a few things.

It all started with our version of Chicken Quesadillas. I cook a chicken overnight in the croc-pot, then strip it off the bones, shred the meat, put it back in the croc-pot, add a jar of my favorite salsa & a packet of Taco seasoning, and cook it on low for 2 hours. Come lunch time I spread a large spoon full of the chicken & a small amount of shredded cheese on a flour tortilla, fold it in half, & grill it on our George Foreman grill for 3 minutes. Cut into wedges & serve with sour cream.

Without fail, I have chicken left over, so I modified the Freddie Kruger Casserole to use my leftovers (you can also freeze any leftover chicken).

Replace the hamburger meat with the chicken mix, the ranch style beans with Spanish rice cooked according to package directions, & the cream of mushroom soup with cream of chicken soup.

Everything else stays the same.

You can modify this further if you like using different "heats" of Rotel tomatoes & salsa (I use mild on both accounts), low fat cheese & low fat soup (in fact, I suggest using the low fat ingredients).