Summer Indulgance

Summer Indulgence

So, the question asked is what a favorite summer indulgence is. Most often I would think of Fourth of July BBQ, that is my first reaction, but then it has been years since I have had one of those. Living in Florida it is watermelon season, and actually all melons and a giant bowl of mixed melon is almost as good as ice cold watermelon with juice running off your elbows and participating in seed spitting contests. This would have been my answer of my favorite as a kid.

Moving into my teens my brother belonged to a group called Indian Guides, and then we spent many weekends camping. The favorite time and food then was my friend and I stoking the fire at dawn and putting on the coffee and bacon and drawing everyone out of their tents for a hearty breakfast. Bacon, eggs, biscuits and coffee.

Still my all-time favorite is hard to pin down. For dessert it has to be strawberry shortcake, with no shortcuts on the shortcake. I make the old-fashioned sweet biscuit, shortcake.

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 tsp of salt

1 ½ tbsp of Baking Powder and a dash of Baking Soda

½ cup of sugar (white)

½ c Crisco (my mother uses lard, I don’t like other types of shortening, Crisco is a favorite)

Cold Milk enough to make a thick pasty dough

Directions:

Sift flour with salt and baking pwd and baking soda

Cut the Crisco into the flour mixture, adding the sugar , roll onto a floured counter. Roll into balls, (size according to your choosing, I prefer golf ball size). Place on a cookie sheet that has been liberally smeared with Crisco, (I never use sprays they seem to stick). Give each ball a little smish, sprinkle with sugar, sometimes a little melted butter on top helps the sugar stick and makes a golden-brown crust on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for seven to ten minutes or the golden tops appear. Cool or eat warm topped with strawberries that have been coated with sugar and marinating in the refrigerator for several hours. Yummy.

So that is dessert. For a lite but filling early dinner or lunch I like to make my mother’s Tomato cheese casserole. There are many ways to make this casserole, but my mother used large thick sliced tomatoes, Cuban or Italian bread, half slices and Swiss cheese.

The amount of each depends on the size of pan or casserole dish you use. We used a glass dish, usually Corning Ware, medium size or large, (about twelve by twelve or eleven by fourteen. I start with a loaf of Cuban bread and slice in half inch slices and then halve them.) Tomatoes are sliced thinner or the same, halve them also. I like cheese so instead of cutting the square slices I fold them into a triangle. Now alternate all the way around the pan, bread (crust up) tomato, cheese, and tuck them in tight. If the dish is not full in the center add another row there.

Now the juicy part, eggs, milk, (Whole milk or condensed, your choice) salt, pepper, onion salt, (not too much). I go two or three eggs to a cup of milk, (depends on the size, I raise chickens, so they vary in size.) You will need about a Tbls. of flour in each cup of egg and milk mixture, whip it good so eggs are creamy, pour over the top. Your egg and milk mixture should be half as deep as the dish, the bread will soak it up rapidly, don’t put it in the oven looking dry add some more liquid if it looks dry.

Bake at 375 degrees for thirty to forty minutes, keep checking you will want it slightly golden on top.

If this does not seem filling enough or you have family or neighbors over add a tomato cucumber salad. This one is easy. Peel cucumbers, cut long way and slice thin. Slice an equal amount of tomatoes in thin, but bitesize pieces, slice a small onion and make it thin, very thin is best. Now this salad is best left in the refrigerator overnight to marinate. All you do is cover generously the ingredients with Italian dressing. I add a small amount of celery seed to mine. Most don’t know it but celery seed added to any salad even coleslaw gives the salad an extra kick. You do not need much.

Now do not limit yourself, some use Ranch dressing, and some like Caesar dressing, you may add other veggies, black olives will dress it up and green if you prefer them. This is a salad, and you can serve it over hearts of lettuce or thinly chopped, I like mine almost Julianne, so it mixes well with the salad.

So try this combination and enjoy it really brings back fond memories of carefree summer days.