Date Fruit Cake

Stone enough dates to make 4 cups, keeping them as whole as possible.
Add to the dates, 1 lb of walnut meats in large sized pieces.
In another bowl sift together, three times, 1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp of salt and tsp of baking powder.
Mix this together with the date/nut mixture.
Add 1 cup of granulated sugar and mix again.
Separate the whites from the yolks of four eggs.
Beat the whites of 4 eggs  until stiff and dry.
In another bowl beat the yolks until light colored and thick. Mix even the yolks into the cake mixture..
Then lightly fold in the whites of eggs throughout the mixture adding 1 tbspn of vanilla/
Line 2 .brick loaf pans or (we used a cast iron skillet)with buttered brown paper. Add cake mixture.
Bake one hour in moderate oven.
You can also add candied cherries or pineapple ( but we never did).
We made this cake ahead and stored it for a 4 days to a week in cool room. It builds in flavor. But it was /really hard  to resist cutting it and munching.
Slice in long narrow slices.
It was my absolute favorite. Mom made it for Christmas or New Years.

Grandma Ina"s Fudge

3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 sq chocolate or 6 tbs cocca if you desire black fudge. For white fudge just leave it out.
Mix dry ingredients well.
add 1 cup of milk.
Stir till boiling then heat to soft ball stage.
Add 1 tsp butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla and nuts.
Wait until mixture is luke warm and then beat.
Mom and Dad lived in Oklahoma. This was there cardplaying, cheap, have on hand snack.
They and lots of pecans and not walnuts so pecans were the nut of choice. It is good and very
pecan buttery.

Persimmon Cookies

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup persimmon pulp
1 tsp soda
Cream shortening and sugar, add slightly beaten egg and mix well together.
In a different bowl combine
2 cups of flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp salt
1 cup nuts
1 cup raisins
stir well until evenly blended.
Stir into the pulp shortening mixture.
Make drop cookies somewhat mashed down.
Bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

persimmon cake

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking pwder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup persimmon pulp
1 tbs butter
1/2 cup walnuts

Sift dry ingrediants together.  Stir everything together. Put into a 300 degree oven fro 1 hour in a small square
pan. can be doubled.

This was my moms recipee and soooo good. Coffee drinkers love it.

Add on to Ranch House Potato Salad

HMMM- Forgot to add

3 slice of bacon , fried and chopped. Add with the potatoes and such.

Ranch House Potato Salad

About 7 med-large red potatos with skins. Slice them in half lengthwise before you add to water.

Boil until soft for a fork but not mushy.

Cool potatos in colunder with a cool water spray.

Let set.

Dice one large red bell pepper.

Slice most of on can of black olives

Slice 3 med to large green onions.

Set aside.

In small bowl measure aproximately 2/3s cup of Kraft Mayonaise.

Add 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp of Dijon Mustard.

Add 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp of dry creamy ranch dressing mix.

Add about 1/4 cup milk. You want the dressing creamy but not too runny.

whip with a small whip until blended.

Put your potatoes on a cutting board, cut side down.

Remove skins and discard.

Slice potatoes and then make slices again until they are diced.

Put in a bowl and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. (Your dressing mix will be quite salty.)

Sprinkle heavily with coarse ground black pepper

Gently fold the dressing about the still warm potatoes.

Fold in the sliced and diced vegetables. Add about 2 tbs of fresh dill weed chopped.

Fold together. Serve at once or chilled.

Dicey Dilly Salad

1 firm English Cucumber

3 small orange thin walled sweet peppers

2 med to large "tomatoes on the vine"

3 large firm green onions

dill weed to make about 3 tbs chopped

cut your cukes in fourths down the length. Dice until they are about the thickness of two quarters stacked together.

Dice tomatoes and peppers about the same size

slice green onions small

dressing

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

add some sea salt or kosher salt

2 tsp sugar

coarse ground black pepper

2 tbs of a light olive oil

Mix, dress and chill for about an hour

searves 4 to 6 searvings

Panninni

I actually don't remember what this was called. It was not Brushetta. It was a recipe from Giada's cooking show.

spray or grease a glass caserole dish with butter

Slice fresh tomatoes thick enough they will not break or tear apart. Layer on the bottom
of glass pan. Drizzle with balsamic vineager. The better the brand the better. I use modena.
layer again with fresh basil leaves.
sprinkle chopped garlic cloves over the whole thing. Use about 4 cloves.
layer again with sliced soft mozzerell in a roll, cut 1/2" thick
layer again with a fresh country bread, I used potato bread but any good bread cut slightly thicker than the norm.
Drozzle bread with olive oil
Place in oven until mozzerella starts to soften and cook and bread is just toasted.

Cut into squares and serve hot.

Brown Rice with mushrooms

Use your rice cooker.
3 1/2 cups of brown long grain rice
4 1/2 cups of water
3/4 tsp of salt
6 cubes of cubed beef boulion.
Tsp to a tbs of tuscan Italian seasoning ( it will not contain sage or fennel)
2/3 cup fresh chive sliced or chopped

Take boullion cubes and while still in wrapper smash with the side of a meat tenderizer.
Put all ingrediants into rice cooker and stir till boullion dissolved and even.

Add a cup of sliced fresh mushrooms

Cook on brown rice selection.

Chicken Parmeasean

Slice chicken so that you have slabs about 1/2 " thick.
salt and pepper, Add Johnnys seasoning with garlic.
Dip chicken indiviually into egg whites ( about 5 egg whites)
Dip chicken into flour that has some grated parmeasan pounded till very small chunks.
Then roll chicken again into larger grated parmeasean cheese.
Fry in stickfree skillet with oilve oil and a dab of butter or margerine until done.

For a side dish, as with the Penne with Asparagus and Pepper,

Cut chicken into 1/2 by 1" chunks.
Sprinkle with alittle sea salt and just a touch of Johnnys with garlic.
Stir in the whites of 3 eggs until covered completely. Dump in just enough flour until you can coat the chicken well. Stir in about 1 to 1/2 cups grated parmeasean.
Fry in alittle olive oil and margerine until done and serve on the side with salads.

Penne with roasted Asparagus and Red Pepper

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.
Put water to boil for Penne
Pour about 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar (Modena) into a quart sized sauce pan. Bring to a boil for 1 -2 minutes, reduce heat to simmer or low boil.

Chop Asparagus ( just alittle over 1 lb )
Chop a large red bell pepper. You need about 3/4 " chunks of these
Chop about 3 or 4 cloves of peeled garlic.
Spread asparagus,pepper and garlic on a pan.
Sprinkle with a little sea salt
Drissel with olive oil.
Add sea salt to Penne water
Add 1 lb of Penne to water.
Slide veggies into a preheated 400 degree oven.
Stir balsamic vinegar and add some olive oil and a palmful of Tuscan Italian seasoning (crushed just before adding) stir. Add 1/2 stick of butter or margerine. Let simmer for a couple of minutes and turn off.
When Penne is done, drain in collender and put back in pan. Add Balsamic mix.
Slide veggies from oven.
Add 1/2 cup hand grated parmeasean cheese.
Stir into penne the veggies and parmeasean. Mix well.

Chopp a large handfull of fresh basil leaves.
Chopp juicy tomatoes or sweet cherry tomatoes and mix. Put in bowl to individually top your penne.
Small bowl of mozzerella, and parvalone cheese for toppers also.