Mawie's Recipes

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Mawie's Recipes

12. Fold-over - a white bread taco

Mawie's explanation : Fold-overs were made back in the old days when all we had was 1 piece of loaf bread but still wanted a sandwich. Usually the things that went inside were fatback (a cut of hog meat, fried), creasy greens (cooked in fatback grease -- should have been called greasy greens), or just the scrapings from a store-bought jar of mayonnaise. If the country keeps going down the drain like it has been for the last 25 years,

this recipe might come in handy. For another few years I reckon you might jazz yours up a little by trying some of the suggestions below and calling it a Fold Over Gourmet Taco.

Mandatory : Untoasted bread, any kind so long as the slice is BIG.

Choose your favorite stuffings and combine any way you please. Here are some we like:

Mayonnaise, lettuce, and thinly sliced onion may be added to items # 1, 2, 5

Ketchup goes best on items # 4 and 6. Mayo alone fits with # 3 and 10

If you like olives, those can go in whichever combination you prefer. Ditto any kind of pickle

1. Avocado, mashed

2. Tomato, sliced

3. Banana, mashed or sliced

4. Veggie burger, cooked

5. Baloney or other "lunch" meat

6. Spam (sliced, fried and drained)

7. Peanut butter, homemade if possible. Can be combined with jam, jelly, honey, or chopped celery

8. Honey blended with real dairy butter

9. Spinach, feta cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes (thank Josie for this one)

10. Shredded raw cabbage, grated carrot

Use your imagination and taste-buds to guide you into a rewarding Fold-over experience.

Just remember : if you use more than ONE slice of bread, you don't have a true Fold-over or a Gourmet Taco.

You just have a sandwich.

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11. It's too hot to cook.

When it gets like this, we pack coleslaw, cold fried chicken, light bread, and a can of pork 'n' beans, and head for a picnic table under some shade. Preferably near some water.

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10. This is more of an anecdote than it is a recipe, even if cooking is involved.

So check out Jokes and Anecdotes above for the full skinny.

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9. Josie's Hand-crafted Pizza

We all love pizza, but this is Josie's favorite. She even makes it herself. Well, exceptin' for the crust. And the tomato paste. And the olives. And the cheese. Daddy grows the vegetables.

First buy a package of thin-crust pizza crusts in a big town grocery store. You should get 2 crusts, so freeze the second one for later. If you don't already have a pizza pan, you'll need to buy one of those, too.

Get the smallest can of tomato paste you can find, because you'll have to put half of it in a sandwich bag and refrigerate it till next time. Next time around here comes 3 days later. A package of shredded mozzerella cheese will be ample for two pizzas. Any kind of bottled olives will do, and a dozen per pizza seems about right, so a small bottle goes a long way unless you have a Bob who raids them for a snack.

Preheat the oven to crust package directions, usually 450 degrees F.

You'll need a small fresh sweet onion, a small ripe tomato, a yellow or orange pepper, and mushrooms if you like them. Floyd grow mushrooms in his root cellar, so you might have to put those on your grocery list. Unless you hate mushrooms.

Cut all the veggies into thin slices or strips, and blot off all the moisture with a paper towel. After you open and divide the tomato paste, spread it on the first crust in your pizza pan. Lay the toppings in circles around the crust, making sure they're evenly divided so each slice gets some of each. Put the smaller, thinner pieces in the middle since the edges cook the bigger pieces better.

Liberally scatter half or less of the shredded cheese on the top and put into the hot oven. Keep watching to make sure the crust is well browned and the cheese is all meltly. When it hits this point, after about 8 or 9 minutes depending on how old your oven is, remember to shut off the oven and take out the pizza.

If you haven't bought a pizza cutter, a paring knife does the job okay but might scar the pan. Since the cheese is squishy, start cutting in the middle and work to the rim. Should make 8 slices if you cut it right.

This is the way I like it, but of course use any toppings to your own taste. I sometimes make a spinach and goat cheese variety, with black olives, onion, and tomato, drizzled lightly with olive oil. And I have that one all to myself.

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8. Aunt Annie's East Texas Cornbread

Don't blame me if this'n don't turn out quite the way you'd hoped. I been trying to duplicate it for years. Annie never left us the recipe, and ever'body here has a different idee how to make it.

First you must have a sizeable seasoned cast iron pan that you can put into the oven. Mix up your cornmeal and such just as you'd do for cornbread, except I wouldn't use mayonnaise the way some folks would. And I use buttermilk, not that blue john stuff.

Start heating your oven to at least 475 degrees, so it'll be ready when you are.

Go ahead and mix up Annie's Special Cornbread Topping, like this:

In a big bowl, empty a DRAINED can of navy beans (or two, depending on the size of your family). No need to mash 'em up, but if you want a smooth topping, you can do that with a fork or potato masher. We like our topping chunky, so once you've decided how you like it, go ahead and add the following ingredients to the beans. Taste often so you don't overdo. While you're mixing and tasting, the oven should be hot enough, so put in your pan of cornbread.

A regular can of diced tomatoes, or you can use fresh if you want to work that hard

Minced sweet (or hot) onion

Ketchup and mustard (a scant tablespoon of each should be plenty, unless you used 2 cans of beans)

Salt and pepper

Mix all this together

Dash on as much hot sauce as you can stand. I wouldn't advise leaving off this item, unless your constitution just won't abide extra spicy foods.

When the cornbread is mostly done and getting brown on top, spread the topping and bake until it's bubbling real good.

Let cool for a few minutes on a rack so it won't be impossible to get out of the pan.

A VARIATION if you dare. Some of my advisors claim that Aunt Annie used to put the topping in the pan first and pour the cornbread mixture on top. Since by the time it was on my plate you couldn't tell which was which, I can't vouch for this notion. If you try it EITHER way, send LuciBuck an email and tell her the results.

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7. Mama's Fruit Salad

Pick out your favorite fresh fruits. If you don't have a neighbor with an orchard, or a handy farmers' market, canned or frozen ones will do in a pinch. We all like to use apples, pears, grapes (not muscadines, save them for something else), pineapple, bananas, and raisins.

If you have ripe peaches and think about adding those, you might want to try making a small batch first to be sure you like the combined flavors. I use peaches in a different recipe.

You'll need a small can (or several) of frozen orange juice (undiluted!) and a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise, depending on how much fruit salad you want to make.

Cut up the fruits into bite size pieces, leaving the raisins whole of course. The grapes can be sliced in half if they're big enough. Try not to get the kind with seeds, since digging out the seeds takes a lot of your preparation time.

If you like nuts, chop them coarsely and add as much as you care to. We usually have pecans since they're not as hard to chew as some others.

Mush up the can(s) of orange juice, mix in mayonnaise to taste, and thoroughly mix the whole thing up in a bowl. Best use a BIG bowl, because this usually makes more fruit salad than you might expect.

Serve at once, so there's still some chill to the orange juice. IF there's any left over, you can keep it in the fridge for a day or two, but I wouldn't go past that.

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6. Not a recipe, but a quick tip on what NOT to do when you're cooking chicken.

Don't get so caught up in trimming off the extra fat and cutting out those white tough parts that you forget you turned on the pan to heat up. You'll find yourself with a kitchen full of smoke and a pan that needs drastic measures to clean. Or you can throw it away and buy a new one. Took all of Mae's allowance. Lesson learned.

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5. Josie's haute cuisine sandwich

Mawie here. Don't ask me what this gal's cooked up. She's been watching cooking

shows on tv and got all excited to find some unusual ingredients at the local Save-Much,

but if you ignore what she named it, this does taste all right. If you're hungry.

Buy a small package of real goat cheese and a loaf of French bread on sale. You can get

different brands of veggie burgers, so find your favorite and put these items together for a tasty

sandwich treat. Goes well with almost any beverage, but especially nice with white grape juice.

The veggie burgers will most likely be frozen, and will need a few minutes in a non-stick fry pan on medium-high heat. You can toast the bread in the way you choose, but so long as it's not frozen,

it can be cut into 1/2" slices. Kind of like when you make garlic bread to go with your spaghetti.

Keep the goat cheese in the fridge before and after it's opened. To make spreading easier, put as

much as you want right on the hot burger and lay the bread on top of that.

A variation might include a thin slice of tomato, onion, or cucumber. I wouldn't recommend more

than one of these toppings.

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4. Floyd's Whatever Soup

'nother note from Mawie: Seems like EVERbody wants to add to my Recipe Page.

But this'n sounds pretty good. A lot like my own except I always have potatoes and cabbage in

mine.

"Whatever Soup" means just what it says. It's made from whatever you have on hand,

and is tasty for whatever occasion you want to serve it. Reckon you could call it

"Whenever Soup" if you wanted to. I like to do mine like this :

Start with a medium size pot. Put in a couple cups of spring water. Add a cup of rice

and boil it until it's almost done. Meanwhile, cut up carrots, onions, celery, and whatever

other similar veg'tables lurk in your root cellar or 'frigerator. About 3 cups oughta be enough.

Put them in another pot with a scant cup of spring water and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook until tender, maybe 10 minutes. You can add water if you need to.

Mama says you can use a heaping tablespoonful of tomato paste for flavor and color,

and since she's raised three young'uns, I listen to her. Josie recommends tossing in a

handful of chopped cauliflower, and we all like broc'li, so if you like them things too, it's

allowed. The main thing to remember is to add a large pinch of salt to the veg'table pot

while it's still cooking. You can also add a tablespoon of real butter to both pots.

Put as much of the rice into the soup pot as you want to, leaving the rest for tomorrow's

breakfast. Leftover rice with hot milk and honey is good anytime.

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3. Mae's Yummy Breakfast

Note from Mawie herself : That girl wouldn't leave me alone till I promised to include this'n.

It's not MY idea of a breakfast at all, yummy or otherwise.

Put as much of your favorite dry cereal as you like into a large cereal bowl.

Open a can of pear halves and add 2 or 3 pieces, chopped into bite-size chunks.

Pour about 1/3 cup of pear juice over cereal to dampen it.

Add honey or brown sugar according to your sweet tooth.

Raisins or berries are optional. In winter you can substitute hot apple cider for the pear juice.

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2. Confetti slaw.

Wash all vegetable ingredients thoroughly. Except the onion. Peel it.

Chop up a fresh cabbage about the size of a baby's head, into 1/2" bits.

Grate two whole medium carrots.

Mince a medium sweet union.

Cut up a medium ripe tomato into pieces to match the cabbage.

Mix in a large bowl.

Add a generous tablespoon or two of sweet pickle relish.

Add a heaping tablespoon of mayonnaise.

Add a teaspoon of cider vinegar (optional, depending on how wet the pickle relish is)

Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix thoroughly again and serve.

Feeds 1 for a week, or half a dozen people at a picnic.

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1. Depression Sour Sandwich

Take two slices of white loaf bread.

Spread both sides with mustard.

Put on one or two slices of American cheese.

Slice a dill pickle lengthwise.

Lay pickle on one piece of bread.

Cover with the other slice of bread.

Makes a quick lunch for one.

Recipe can be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled,

so long as the bread, mustard, and pickles last.

When Bob updates Floyd's Emporium if he remembers to ask me, I'll give him another one.

PS - Mae and Josie have insisted on adding theirs, though them girls ain't much at cooking.