Cathy Burnham Martin's Blog, page 101

Action vs. Inaction

“There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”

— John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963)

35th President of the United States

(Photo by Tim Marshall)

National Apple Betty Day

While similar to British apple crisps, Apple Brown Betty is an all-American dessert, the recipe for which was passed down from generation to generation. Unlike an apple crisp, the topping for which typically contains oats,… or an apple cobbler that has a biscuit dough topping… Apple Brown Betty is made with old, stale breadcrumbs or leftover cake.

It first appeared in print in 1764 in the Yale Literary Magazine. Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking School Cookbook had a Scalloped Apples recipe that is identical to Brown Betty. In fact, they updated the name to Brown Betty by their 1930s edition.

Updated renditions may replace stale crumbs with flour and the various spices with a pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice blend. While this is not my personal recipe, I thought you might enjoy checking out the old, original version.

Brown Betty

1¼ c stale cake crumbs, finely ground

½ c dark brown sugar, packed

¼ c sugar

1½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground allspice

¼ tsp ground ginger

Pinch ground cloves

2½ pounds apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

1 T lemon juice (to prevent browning)

1/3 c apple cider

4 T cold butter

Combine crumbs, sugar & spices. In a larger bowl, toss apples with lemon juice (to prevent browning). Spread 2 T crumb mixture across bottom of buttered 9×9” (4-qt) baking dish. Top with half the apples. Pour cider over it all and scatter with half the remaining crumbs. Dot with half the butter and top with remaining apples & crumbs. Finish with butter. Bake at 350°F for 35-45 min till golden brown and bubbly. Cool briefly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Words and Actions

“Words may show a man’s wit but actions his meaning.”

— Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790)

Founding Father of the United States, inventor, publisher, political philosopher

National Taco Day

Okay… in all fairness, today is also National Cinnamon Bun Day. However, just thinking about the sugar made my teeth ache, and focusing on the yumminess made me want to eat 2 or 3…. Warm and toasty with a nice drizzle of light icing. So, I am displaying a rare moment of restraint and opting for National Taco Day.

Eat them in a crispy corn shell… or a soft flour tortilla… or even a folded, rich, cheesy chaffle. Tacos deliver a fun way to eat what otherwise could be a mere sandwich. What?!? Not happening!

Tacos are often filled with shredded lettuce, finely diced tomato, salsa, shredded Jack cheese, guacamole (or diced or sliced avocado), and sour cream, along with some protein… from sliced steak or seasoned ground beef to spicy shredded chicken or turkey (great with diced apple in the filling), or even gator nuggets, or sausage. Try one that’s all veggies, if you like, by filling your taco with matchstick-cut slices of zucchini, yellow summer squash, and red sweet pepper, along with thinly sliced sweet onion, guacamole, salsa, and some black beans. Or think totally outside the box and try an apple-cheese taco with shredded cheese and apple slices (and… okay… some crispy bacon).

Hubby’s favorites include ground beef and grilled shrimp. I agree with him on the shrimp. Yummmmm… especially paired with a crunchy slaw. Sooooo…. Surprise, surprise, here’s my Shrimp Tacos recipe.

Shrimp Tacos

1 lb large, raw shrimp, peeled & deveined, sautéed or grilled 3 min, & seasoned to suit your preference

Soft flour or crisp corn taco shells

Filling Mixture

In a bowl, combine:

Kernels from 2 ears of corn (microwaved 2 min) or 1 c frozen kernels, thawed

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 large red tomato, finely diced (omit seeds) (or 1 c finely diced fresh pineapple)

1 c finely shredded purple cabbage

½ – 1 jalapeno pepper, thinly diced (omit seeds), optional

Line 3-4 shrimp in center small soft flour (or crispy corn) tortilla. Top with the filling mixture. Drizzle with sauce, garnish as desired, and serve with salsa & sour cream on the side.

Sauce

Whisk together:  ½ c mayo, ½ c sour cream (or plain yogurt), 2-3 T lime juice, 1-1½  T sriracha or other hot sauce, dash garlic powder

Or

Mash guacamole till smooth and add a bit of water to get your preferred consistency to drizzle

Garnish ideas: thin slices of fresh radish, diced or sliced avocado, fresh cilantro leaves, lime wedges

KISS Tip: Replace shrimp with a favorite grilled fish or crispy fried fish pieces.

Tacos! Not just for Taco Tuesdays!

Courage, Strength, and Patience

In these post-Hurricane Ian days, weeks, and months, many hearts, souls, and lives will be tested. Many prayers for courage, strength, and patience are going out to all who are suffering and have suffered devastating losses.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)

American essayist and philosopher

(Note: This quote is also sometimes credited to Oliver Wendell Holmes.)

(Photo by Liam Simpson)

National Cookbook Month

I live to eat. I love food. Thus, I love cookbooks. I read them as many people read novels.

I started creating my own recipes when I was barely in elementary school and was cooking family dinners by the 6th grade. As an adult, when I started hosting guests, I often included a scroll of the recipes I had served as guest favor.

My first published recipes happened in 1995, when three of my originals were included i

n The Miss America Cookbook. Later, I got thinking about doing my own cookbook. In 2007 I combined some of my recipes with many from various family members and close family friends in a limited-edition Family Favorites 2-volume cookbook.

Those were expanded into three volumes and published as Fifty Years of Fabulous Family Favorites. Meanwhile, I cranked out a few more: Champagne: Facts, Fizz, Food & Fun; Cranberry Cooking; three volumes of Dockside Dining, and then Lobacious Lobster.

So, in appreciation of the season and in celebration of National Cookbook Month, I have selected a recipe from Cranberry Cooking.

Cranberry Apple Crisp

My favorite apple combination for this is Granny Smith and McIntosh.

2 c fresh or frozen cranberries

3-4 c tart apple slices (peeled & cored)

1 c raisins, optional

½ c Swerve, monkfruit, or other granulated sweetener

1 c brown Swerve or other brown sugar type sweetener

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ – ½ tsp ground allspice

1 c quick-cooking oats

½ – 1 c chopped pecans (or walnuts or combo)

½ c cool butter, cut in small pieces

Distribute apples, cranberries & raisins in bottom of well-buttered 2-qt baking dish. Combine sweeteners, spices, oats, & nuts; sprinkle over fruit. Evenly dot the top with butter pieces. Bake at 325°F for 50-55 min.

Tip: This is also great substituting pears for all or half the apples and hazelnuts for the pecans or walnuts.

You can always find more recipes in the Super Simple Is Key, Incredible Edibles, and Tastebud Travels postings on GoodLiving123.com.

National Hot Mulled Cider Day

Apple cider and apple juice are not the same thing, although they are both made with pressed apples. Juice is filtered and pasteurized, giving it a clearer texture and longer shelf life. Apple cider is definitely thicker, as it is unfiltered. Plus, sweet cider tends to be seasonal because it is not pasteurized and has a limited shelf life.

In the Fall, mulling cider adds warm spices that complement the flavors in apples beautifully. Everyone has a favorite way to mull apple cider, of course. Here’s my Mom’s recipe:

Hot Ruby Spiced Cider

From Glenna Burnham  1980

 

1 qt cranberry cocktail

1 qt sweet cider

4 cinnamon sticks

8 whole cloves

Juice of 2 lemons

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove spices and serve hot in mugs.

 

Of course, we tend to pour everything into a slow cooker and let it simmer on low all evening. Perfect for sipping while sitting outside by a bonfire or relaxing on the porch.

(Photo by Alisa Anton)

Invest Wisely

 

“Happiness is a stock that doubles in a year.”

— Ira U. Cobleigh

American author and financial consultant

(Photo by Helena Lopes)

National North Carolina Day

Since we now call North Carolina our home, I must salute this day properly. As a child, I knew of North Carolina as “First in Flight” thanks to the Wright brothers making history in Kitty Hawk. As the years passed, I learned much more.

Charlotte, North Carolina is home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the US National Whitewater Center. Pepsi was born in New Bern in 1893, and Krispy Kreme Donuts was founded in 1937 in Winston-Salem. Of course, there are hundreds of fabulous restaurants, microbreweries, and over 500 vineyards. Various famous folks hail from North Carolina… from Randy Travis to Roberta Flack and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Oh, and when Virginia Dare was born here on August 18, 1587, she became the first English child born in the “New World.” Who knew!

My in-laws built a retirement cottage in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1983, and it became our part-time home in 2009 and full-time home ten years (& much construction) later. This is a pretty sweet area of the state and is now home to one of the most all-encompassing equestrian centers in this hemisphere. TIEC (Tryon International Equestrian Center), on its 1400 acres hosted the World Equestrian Games in 2018.

Western North Carolina is stunning country with countless rivers and streams and waterfalls that literally burst out of mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains boast more than 300 miles of hiking trails and Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River, peaking at 6,684 feet.

A couple of my favorite places are located in the Blue Ridge city of Asheville. We love catching a sunset cocktail from the famed Grove Park Inn, where ten US Presidents have stayed. But the absolute #1 place is the gilded age’s Biltmore Estate. From its 178,926 square feet in the main house to the 8,000 acres of the estate, the largest privately-owned home in the US is nothing less than jaw-dropping to visit at any time of the year. (Peter Sellers movie buffs will recognize the home and property from his 1979 “Being There” film.)

So, hello North Carolina. This is your day.

(Blue Ridge Mountains photo by Anita Starchurski)

Ancestor Appreciation Day

Every year on September 27th, we can celebrate our heritage. Ancestor Appreciation Day reminds us that regardless of where we were born, where we were raised, or where we may live currently, we all have ancestors.

Our histories are richly diverse. Nothing has reminded us of that fact more distinctly than the soaring popularity of programs like Ancestry.com and 23AndMe. Some people are concerned about having DNA results “out there,” which is understandable. For me, I wanted my curiosity satisfied.

I was raised knowing that I was mostly of Northern European heritage… England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, plus the Netherlands. And I knew I was Armenian from Mom’s side. Then came the DNA testing, and I got my parents and Mom’s twin sister tested, too. With each individual’s test, the results for everyone become more and more precise and geographically targeted, too. I got two big surprises that family had not known previously. I have some Italian heritage… ah, yes, the Roman Empire. Plus, we had a little Viking on both sides of the family… though only 5% of my DNA shows Denmark, Sweden, or Norway.

Through conversations with elders since childhood, I recall learning information about my ancestors… who they were, how they lived, when and why they came to America. For me, such stories and information are informing and uplifting. They add to my appreciation of my ancestors. On a tough day, it becomes easy to gain a little perspective when remembering how truly challenging our ancestors may have found life to be.

Ancestor appreciation has much to do with why I started writing the Destiny trilogy of historical fiction books. Telling the stories of my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents preserves the information and heritage for future generations. And as readers of advance copies of “Destiny of Determination: Faith and Family” have been sharing with me, telling our ancestors’ stories makes much of our untold history come alive in very personal and exciting ways, even for folks who never knew these people.

Whoever your ancestors may be and whatever trails they may have traveled, they did the very best they could. Today we remember, salute, and honor them.

(Photo courtesy of PGB Simon)