Aunt Hilda’s Bean Salad

Many years ago on our way to visit Jerri’s family in Kansas and Oklahoma, we accepted an invitation to stay the night with Uncle Clarence and Aunt Hilda in Newton, Kansas. We telephoned when we were a couple of hours away to let them know we were eating dinner and were looking forward to seeing them.  

Before we left Wisconsin Jerri had told her aunt that we did not expect her to cook anything for us. We knew that otherwise she would be busy in the kitchen getting ready for her starving niece and family. She loved to cook!

We arrived and Jerri began catching up on family news while Clarence and I first checked fluid levels in the car then sat down in the living room to discuss the price of gasoline and other current affairs. After an hour or so, Aunt Hilda disappeared into the kitchen. Soon we were all sitting around the big table admiring Aunt Hilda’s idea of a bedtime snack.  

Besides ham, chicken, roast beef, pork and assorted cold cuts, there were carrot and celery sticks, two or three different kinds of bread, cheese, salads, pickles, relishes and of course desserts, coffee, iced tea and lemonade. I was reminded of the Franklin in the Canterbury Tales whose table, Chaucer says, “snowed with meat and drink.” Our son was awed. “Do you realize that she had seven different kinds of meat?” he asked us the next morning.

One of the salads was a tasty variation on a three bean salad with chopped peppers and onion. When I told Aunt Hilda I really liked it, she just handed me the bowl with “I’m glad you like it. Have some more.” Like me, Aunt Hilda is a “pusher” when it comes to food.

Aunt Hilda made a point of having that salad whenever we stopped to visit. When I asked for the recipe she told me the salad was made with a liquid sweetener rather than sugar. I would never have guessed it. She explained that since Uncle Clarence had diabetes, she made a point of finding dishes he liked which did not spike his blood sugar levels. This salad is one of them.

She got the recipe from Meribeth, the wife of her cousin Ken Kaufman, who wrote a little cookbook, “Sweeten Without Sugar,” with recipes for people with diabetes. With a photocopy of the book Hilda sent me a note explaining that Meribeth was diagnosed with diabetes when when she was three or four years old but still “baked hundreds of wedding cakes, even 50th and 60th anniversary ones.”  

I could not find the liquid sweetener the original recipe called for, but with Jerri’s help we determined the right amount of Stevia to Go which does the job. I’m not sure that our bean salad tastes quite as good as Hilda’s, but it’s close and delicious. Even if you do not suffer from diabetes you might want to try this. It tastes good with fewer calories! 

INGREDIENTS:

1 15 oz. can cut green beans

1 15 oz. can cut yellow wax beans

1 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans

1 small onion (2 -2 1/2 inch diameter)

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup cider vinegar

3/4 – 1 tsp. liquid sweetener (Stevia to Go)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

PROCEDURE:

Drain the green and wax beans and drain and rinse the kidney beans thoroughly before putting them into a large bowl. Peel and chop the onion medium fine. Wash and chop the peppers to about a quarter inch dice. Add the vegetables to the beans along with the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and stir well.

Add about three-fourths-teaspoon Stevia to Go sweetener. Stir and let the salad stand for about five minutes. Taste and add more sweetener if needed. Mix the salad well and chill it overnight in the refrigerator. This recipe makes about fourteen half cup servings. Meribeth’s cookbook says a serving has about ninety calories.

NOTES:  Be very careful not to add too much Stevia to Go to the salad. This salad tastes much better after it rests a full day in the refrigerator.

Before we left Wisconsin Jerri had told her aunt that we did not expect her to cook anything for us since we knew that otherwise she would be busy in the kitchen getting ready for her starving niece and family.  We knew that she loved to cook!

We arrived and Jerri began catching up on family news while Clarence and I first checked fluid levels in the car then sat down in the living room to discuss the price of gasoline and other current affairs. After an hour or so, Aunt Hilda disappeared into the kitchen. Soon we were all sitting around the big kitchen table looking at Aunt Hilda’s idea of a bedtime snack.

Besides ham, chicken, roast beef, pork and assorted cold cuts, there were carrot and celery sticks, two or three different kinds of bread, cheese, salads, pickles, relishes and of course desserts, coffee, iced tea and lemonade. I was reminded of the Franklin in the Canterbury Tales whose table, Chaucer says, “snowed with meat and drink.” Our son was awed.

One of the salads was a tasty variation on a three bean salad with chopped peppers and onion. When I told Aunt Hilda that I really liked it, she just handed me the bowl with “I’m glad you like it. Have some more.” Like me, Aunt Hilda is a “pusher” when it comes to food.

Once she knew I liked it, Aunt Hilda made a point of having that salad whenever we stopped to visit. When I asked for the recipe she told me that the salad was made with a liquid sweetener rather than sugar. I would never have guessed it. She explained that since Uncle Clarence had diabetes, she made a point of finding dishes that he liked which did not spike his blood sugar levels. This salad is one of them.

Actually, she got the recipe from the wife of her cousin Ken Kaufman, Meribeth, who wrote a little cookbook, “Sweeten Without Sugar”, with recipes for people with diabetes. With a photocopy of the book Hilda wrote a note explaining that Meribeth was diagnosed with diabetes when when she was three or four years old but that “She baked hundreds of wedding cakes, even 50th and 60th anniversary ones.”

I could not find the liquid sweetener that the original recipe called for, but with Jerri’s help we determined the right amount of Stevia to Go which does the job. I’m not sure that our bean salad tastes quite as good as Hilda’s, but it’s close and delicious. Even if you do not suffer from diabetes you might want to try this. It tastes good with fewer calories!

INGREDIENTS:

1 15 oz. can cut green beans
1 15 oz. can cut yellow wax beans
1 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans
1 small onion (2 -2 1/2 inch diameter)
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3/4 – 1 tsp. liquid sweetener (Stevia to Go)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

PROCEDURE:

Many years ago as we were on our way to visit Jerri’s mother and brothers in Kansas and Oklahoma, we accepted an invitation to stay the night at Uncle Clarence and Aunt Hilda’s home in Newton, Kansas.  We telephoned them when we were a couple of hours away to confirm that as planned we had already eaten dinner and were looking forward to seeing them.  

Before we left Wisconsin Jerri had told her aunt that we did not expect her to cook anything for us since we knew that otherwise she would be busy in the kitchen getting ready for her starving niece and family.  We knew that she loved to cook!

We arrived and Jerri began catching up on family news while Clarence and I first checked fluid levels in the car then sat down in the living room to discuss the price of gasoline and other current affairs.  After an hour or so, Aunt Hilda disappeared into the kitchen.  Soon we were all sitting around the big kitchen table looking at Aunt Hilda’s idea of a bedtime snack.  

Besides ham, chicken, roast beef, pork and assorted cold cuts, there were carrot and celery sticks, two or three different kinds of bread, cheese, salads, pickles, relishes and of course desserts, coffee, iced tea and lemonade.  I was reminded of the Franklin in the Canterbury Tales whose table, Chaucer says, “snowed with meat and drink.”  Our son was awed.

One of the salads was a tasty variation on a three bean salad with chopped peppers and onion.  When I told Aunt Hilda that I really liked it, she just handed me the bowl with “I’m glad you like it.  Have some more.”  Like me, Aunt Hilda is a “pusher” when it comes to food.

Once she knew I liked it, Aunt Hilda made a point of having that salad whenever we stopped to visit. When I asked for the recipe she told me that the salad was made with a liquid sweetener rather than sugar.  I would never have guessed it.  She explained that since Uncle Clarence had diabetes, she made a point of finding dishes that he liked which did not spike his blood sugar levels.  This salad is one of them.

Actually, she got the recipe from the wife of her cousin Ken Kaufman, Meribeth, who wrote a little cookbook, “Sweeten Without Sugar”, with recipes for people with diabetes.  With a photocopy of the book Hilda wrote a note explaining that Meribeth was diagnosed with diabetes when when she was three or four years old but that “She baked hundreds of wedding cakes, even 50th and 60th anniversary ones.”  

I could not find the liquid sweetener that the original recipe called for, but with Jerri’s help we determined the right amount of Stevia to Go which does the job.  I’m not sure that our bean salad tastes quite as good as Hilda’s, but it’s close and delicious.  Even if you do not suffer from diabetes you might want to try this.  It tastes good with fewer calories! 

INGREDIENTS:

1 15 oz. can cut green beans

1 15 oz. can cut yellow wax beans

1 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans

1 small onion (2 -2 1/2 inch diameter)

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup cider vinegar

3/4 – 1 tsp. liquid sweetener (Stevia to Go)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

PROCEDURE:

Drain the green and wax beans and drain and rinse the kidney beans thoroughly before putting them into a large bowl.  Peel and chop the onion medium fine.  Wash and chop the peppers to about a quarter inch dice.  Add the vegetables to the beans along with the oil, vinegar salt and pepper and stir well.

Add about three-fourths-teaspoon Stevia to Go sweetener.  Stir and let the salad stand for about five minutes.  Taste and add more sweetener if needed.  Mix the salad well and chill it overnight in the refrigerator.   This recipe makes about fourteen half cup servings.    Meribeth’s cookbook says a serving has about ninety calories.

NOTES:  Be very careful not to add too much Stevia to Go to the salad.  This salad tastes much better after it rests a full day in the refrigerator.

Italian Meatballs

For many years Jerri and I have been stopping at a supper club in Trego, Wisconsin on our way to the cabin. While I was still working, we enjoyed the Friday fish fry at least once a month and occasionally we would treat ourselves to a prime rib dinner which is The Prime’s specialty, as you might infer from the name.

With more flexible schedules today we sometimes find ourselves driving through Trego during the middle of the week. One late Wednesday afternoon we decided to stop for dinner in Trego on our way back to New Richmond.

The nightly special was spaghetti and meatballs. Jerri chose the senior size, which was two meatballs plus pasta. I opted for the regular meal with three meatballs.

When the waitress brought out a plate the size of a platter with three baseball-sized meatballs perched on a mound of spaghetti, I knew I had misjudged the generosity of the chef. I also learned that the meatballs and sauce were as good as any I have made at home.

I hate to admit it, but I have wasted restaurant food by leaving it on my plate from time to time. However, I have never asked for a “doggy bag” until that evening. The third meatball and a large serving of spaghetti tasted nearly as good the next day for lunch.

With this recipe for meatballs and sauce, you will make a spaghetti and meatball dinner better than you can buy at most restaurants and you won’t have to ask for a doggy bag. Just put the leftovers in freezer containers and save them for a night when you want a quick dinner. They will keep for two to three months.

I call them Italian meatballs because I mix Italian sausage with the hamburger and use a generous amount of chopped parsley, which is a common ingredient in Italian-style meatballs. Many recipes use stale bread instead of cracker crumbs and some omit the milk or the pork, but they all are versions of a great way to stretch the meat a little with less expensive ingredients. The sauce also is a flavorful salute to Italy.

As you may know, in Italy meatballs are usually served as a separate course. Americans like meat with a meal, so Italian chefs apparently began serving meatballs with the spaghetti sometime early last century in New York City. The National Macaroni Manufacturers Association published the earliest known recipe in the 1920’s.

Anyway, if you are looking for comfort food, it’s hard to beat this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

For the meatballs:
3/4 lb. Italian sausage
3/4 lb. hamburger
1 clove garlic
1/2 c. chopped parsley
1 large egg
1 c. cracker crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
1 – 2 T vegetable oil

For the sauce:
16 oz. plus 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/3 tsp. fennel seed
3/4 tsp. dried basil
3/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.

PROCEDURE:

Start by making the sauce. Crush the fennel seeds in a mortar or with a spoon in a cup and combine the tomato sauce, spices, wine and olive oil in a pan large enough to hold the finished meatballs. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow the sauce to simmer while you make the meatballs. Taste and adjust the seasoning before you add the meatballs to the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water or tomato juice.

Using a fork (or your fingers), mix the sausage with the hamburger, garlic, parsley, cracker crumbs, salt and pepper in large bowl. In a small bowl beat the egg until lemon colored, mix with the milk and pour it over the meat. Mix thoroughly.

Put the bread crumbs on a plate. Take about two heaping tablespoons of meat at a time and form the balls. Roll them in the bread crumbs and set them aside on a plate.
Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet and brown the meatballs over medium heat on at least two sides. They do not have to be cooked through as they will finish cooking in the sauce. Drain the meatballs on paper towels, then put them into the sauce. Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for about 25 minutes. Serve with a green salad and good bread.

NOTES: In the United States meatballs are usually served with spaghetti, but they go fine with penne rigate or farfelle when like me you forget to check the spaghetti supply ahead of time. Pass some grated Parmesan or Romano cheese at the table.

You can substitute anise seed for the fennel. You can also substitute four cups of fresh or frozen chopped tomatoes for the tomato sauce, add a six ounce can of tomato paste and a quarter teaspoon of salt, then follow the recipe above to make a delicious sauce. Simmer it for an extra thirty minutes or so.

You can bake the meatballs instead of browning them in a skillet.  Preheat the oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place the balls an inch apart on the sheet and bake them for twenty to twenty-five minutes.