Whatever (22 page)

1½ teaspoons flour

½ cup shredded coconut (optional)

½ cup chopped nuts

½ teaspoon vanilla

(I bet ½ cup of chocolate chips would be nice instead of coconut.)

• Combine all ingredients, except vanilla, and cook on
medium heat until thick, stir constantly. Add vanilla. Mix well. Spread on warm cake.
(You have to keep stirring or it will stick to the bottom of the pan and
burn.)

1 litre apple juice

1 orange unpeeled, washed and quartered or cut in eighths

8 whole cloves (stick one or two into each orange section)

1 whole nutmeg
(it's a round spice that looks a bit like a
walnut but you can't break it open, you have to use a grater to get bits off, or use
or a sprinkle of ground nutmeg if you don't have the whole nutmegs)

2 cinnamon sticks

• Put everything in a pot and let simmer for 20 minutes.

• Throw out cinnamon sticks, whole nutmeg and orange pieces
and serve hot.
(You can eat the oranges, but be careful of the cloves, they're hard
and don't taste that great if you bite into the whole ones.)

PART 1

1½ cups whole Brazil nuts

1½ cups shelled walnut halves

1 cup pitted dates

1 cup candied peel

½ cup drained green maraschino cherries (whole)

½ cup drained red maraschino cherries (whole)

½ cup seedless raisins

PART 2

¾ cup flour

¾ cup sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

PART 3

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

• Grease sides of bread pan with butter.

• Line with parchment
(baking)
paper.

• Place part 1 in a large bowl. Sift part 2 over part 1, mix
well.

• Beat eggs until fluffy. Add vanilla.

• Pour part 3 into parts 1 and 2. Mix well.
(Everyone in
the house at the time you make this has to stir the mixture, for good luck.)

• Bake at 300 degrees for 1½ to 2 hours

• Cool on a wire rack. Don't take paper off.

• When cool, wrap well in foil and keep in the refrigerator.
(Don't forget to take the baking paper off before you slice it.)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup margarine

3 cups multi-coloured tiny marshmallows

¾ cup chopped nuts

• Melt chocolate and margarine together
(in microwave on
low heat, cover and watch it carefully. It should be melted but not too
hot)
.

• Put in bowl with nuts and marshmallows, stir well.

• On waxed paper
(it can make a mess of the counter if
you don't use wax paper)
make dough into “logs” the size you want your
cookies.

• Wrap in plastic wrap, then in tinfoil and put in
fridge.

• When firm, slice into thin slices and serve.

(from a recipe on the internet)

1 or 2 green onions

2 large eggs

pepper to taste (a shake or two)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil for stir-frying

4 cups cooked rice

1 to 2 tablespoons light soy sauce or oyster sauce

• Wash and finely chop the green onion —both the white and
green parts. Lightly beat the eggs with the pepper.
(You don't need salt, there's
lots in the soy sauce.)

• Heat a wok or frying pan and add 2
tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the eggs. Cook, stirring, until they are
lightly scrambled but not too dry. Remove the eggs and clean out the pan.

• Add 2 tablespoons oil. Add the rice. Stir-fry for a few
minutes, using chopsticks or a wooden spoon to break it apart. Stir in the soy or oyster
sauce.
(Forget the oyster sauce; yuck!)

• When the rice is heated through, put the scrambled egg
back into the pan. Mix thoroughly. Stir in the green onion. Serve hot.

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 slice fresh ginger, chopped into very small bits

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup water

¼ cup soy sauce

1 cup broccoli, chopped

1 green or red pepper, seeded and chopped

½ cup sliced water chestnuts
(they come in a can)

½ cup fresh bean sprouts
(rinse well and let drain)

½ cup sliced fresh mushrooms
(rinse and dry with paper towel to get
any bits of dirt off before you slice them)

optional: some chopped bok choy or other Chinese greens
(use mainly
the white part with just a bit of the green leafy part)

• Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
(On medium high
heat, not the highest temperature.)
Fry the ginger and garlic for 2 to 3
minutes.

• Carefully add the water, soy sauce and broccoli, fry for 5
to 7 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients.

• Choose some chicken thighs, about two or three for each
person.

• Put in a casserole dish, not a deep one, the pieces
shouldn't touch.

• Bake at 350 degrees for half an hour.

• Carefully lift out of oven, tilt casserole, spoon out any
fat.

• Pour most of the bottle of hoisin sauce
(choose a small
bottle)
over the chicken.

• Bake for another half hour.

• Put the extra sauce in a small bowl on the table, in case
people want more.

1½ cup flour

1½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger
(add an extra teaspoon for Mrs. J.s
recipe)

(If you like cinnamon or cloves, you can also add ¼ teaspoon of these to the dry
ingredients; it will have a different taste.)

2 tablespoons fat
(Cooking oil or melted butter or margarine,
not the diet kind, and you can melt it in the microwave if you watch carefully and
just give it 2–3 seconds at a time. Otherwise it boils over and makes a gross
mess.)

1 egg

½ cup molasses warmed

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup milk

Mix according to “Muffin Method”

RULES FOR MUFFIN METHOD

(from
Foods, Nutrition and Home Management
)

• See to oven.

• Prepare pans
(oil or butter them)
.

• Measure flour into bowl, add baking soda, sugar and salt,
mix with a fork until well mixed.
(The rules actually say, sift together dry
ingredients, but I don't sift them, just mix well.)

• Beat egg.

• Make a depression in flour mixture, then pour in egg, milk
and melted fat.

• Stir as little as possible when mixing, then put into
well-greased pans.

• Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.
(If you stick
a toothpick into the middle of the cake or muffin and it comes out clean, not sticky
with dough, it's done.)

DIRECTIONS FOR WHIPPED CREAM

• Put a small carton of whipping cream in the mixer
bowl.

• Add two teaspoons of sugar.
(You can add a drop or two
of vanilla extract if you want, but not too much
.
)

• Beat on low or medium speed
(otherwise it spatters all
over)
until cream stays in points
(like tiny mountains)
when you pull the
beaters out.

• Put in bowl and serve with chunks of gingerbread.
(Spoon as much cream as you want to on top.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ann Walsh is the author of many books for younger readers including
Your
Time, My Time
and
Shabash!
as well as The Barkerville Mystery Series, set
during BC's gold rush (
Moses, Me and Murder
,
The Doctor's Apprentice
and
By the Skin of His Teeth
). She also writes short stories, poetry and creative
nonfiction pieces for adults, has compiled and edited three anthologies, and is a
facilitator with The Williams Lake Community Council for Restorative Justice. For a
complete list of her books, please visit her website at
http://annwalsh.ca
.