My sister and her neighbor had a bridal shower in the summer of 1981 for another neighbor's daughter. They asked everyone to contribute favorite recipes for the bride-to-be and when the event was held everyone got copies of the recipes. Ann and her neighbor served a fruit tart made with fresh summer fruit. That summer I made the fruit tart for us, for company and any potluck we attended. I was so into making it that I went out and bought tart pans with removable sides. I lost my copy of the recipes and asked my sister to send them again. The fruit tart and its variations take up a full sheet of paper so it's too long to put in a memo. If you'd like the fruit tart recipe and variations, send a self addressed stamped envelope to me at the Bryan Chief supermarket and I'll see that you get a copy by return mail. Meantime, my sister also shared Fresh Green Bean Bake that is timely when many of you have green beans and bell peppers in the garden.
FRESH GREEN BEAN BAKE
- 4 cups sliced fresh green beans
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons chopped pimiento
- 1 tablespoon salad mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 cup shredded American cheese
Cook beans in boiling salted water for 20 minutes until just tender; drain. In saucepan cook onion, bell pepper and garlic in butter until tender but not browned. Remove from heat, stir in tomato sauce, pimiento, mustard, salt and pepper. Add beans. Spoon into 1-quart casserole. Cover and bake in 350oF oven or 20 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle cheese on top of casserole. Bake for 3 minutes longer or until cheese melts. Recipe makes 8 1/2 cup servings.
Source: Ann Trentadue, Upper St. Clair PA.
WHEN THE TAPE IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SCALE
Regularly weighing yourself can motivate you to shed pounds. Dieters who took action when the scale climbed more than 3 pounds were 82 percent more likely to keep weight off than those who were less vigilant, according to a study in the new England Journal of Medicine in 2006.
But the scale won't tell you much about your health. For that, the best indicator is turning out to be your waist circumference, which indicates abdominal obesity. That's important, since belly fat is more metabolically active than fat stored in the hips and thighs and is a strong signal of increased risk of disease.
To measure your waist circumference, wrap a tape around your bare abdomen about an inch below your lowest rib. Stand straight but don't suck in your stomach. Relax, exhale and take the measurement at the end of exhalation. In women, a waist of 35 inches or greater is cause for concern; in men, it's 40 inches.
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To measure your hips, pull the tape snugly around the widest point (but not enough to compress the skin). For the waist-to-hip ratio, divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement. A healthy waist-to-hip ratio is 0.8 or less for women; and 0.9 for men.
Exceeding any of the recommended measurements is a sign that you need to step up your efforts to emphasize healthy dietary choices and add more physical activity to your day.
Source: Consumer Reports on Health, July 2008.
ABOUT BLACKBERRIES
Blackberries are the largest of the wild berries. The evergreen blackberry is native to England where it is known as the curly leaf or parsley-leafed blackberry. After a thornless evergreen was found and propagated in the 1920s, it became the most productive of all the commercially grown blackberries.
A recipe for Blackberry Crumb Bars in the June Everyday Food magazine prompted me to serve them for the first time at the Bryan Chief recently.
BLACKBERRY CRUMB BARS
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, and 1/2 cup (1 stick) at room temperature, plus more for pan
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for pan
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 6-ounce containers blackberries
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on 2 sides; butter and flour paper, tapping out excess. To make topping, in a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt; add 1 cup flour and mix with a fork until large moist crumbs form. Refrigerate topping until ready to use. In medium bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder and remaining salt; set aside. In large bowl, using electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture. Spread batter evenly in pan; sprinkle with blackberries, then chilled topping. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares. To store, keep in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Source: Everyday Food magazine, June 2008. |
