Vegetables - Harvard Beets: The Return of Mrs. Gust Haugen

Beets.  I like beets.  It took me a long time to realize this was the case though.  Growing up, any beets I had came from a can, and there isn't much that comes out of cans that is really worth consuming (exceptions include baked beans, beer, tomatoes, and various varieties of legumes).  So for a long time at best I was indifferent to beets.  It wasn't until Sarah and I got a CSA box from Featherstone Farm that I had beets by choice.  I will say though that week after week of beets and more beets became something of a chore to eat, but I did learn that beets can be quite good... but not always.  Roasted beets = good.  Beet soup = edible.  Beet salad = good.  Beet hash = funny looking, but alright.

There's one thing though that always strikes me as a little strange about beets, they have tails.  Here's a picture of some of our beets from the farmers' market.

Sweet, innocent beets.

 The tails remind me of rat tails though, and together they make me think about rat kings.

EEEK!  Go away beet king!

Anyway...

This summer, we've been getting beets from the farmers' market more or less regularly as James announced that he likes them.  So seeing a beet recipe in the vegetable section of the cook book seemed like a good idea... or an idea at least.  I was a little concerned though because none of the recipes on the page had a name after them except for the last one, and that name was Mrs. Gust Haugen.  This seems to indicate that each of the recipes on the page were provided by Mrs. Haugen, which filled me with trepidation.

Let's review briefly, our previous submissions by this lady.

Cabbage Rolls: Meh
Carrot Ring and Creamed Peas: RUN AWAY!
Norwegian Meatballs: Meh -

(Meh + RUN AWAY! + (-)Meh)
-------------------------------------------    = Bleh
                       3

If Mrs. Gust Haugen wants to pass this class, she's going to have to step up her game.  Let's see how she does.

The Pie-Off is Coming

Sarah and I are hosting our 5th Annual Pie-Off (I keep capitalizing this differently) soon and we're pretty excited about it.  If you can read this and you're in the Twin Cities area, you're invited.  Here's the deal:

When:  Saturday, September 19 at 4pm
Where:  Newell Park in St. Paul - 900 Fairview Ave N., Saint Paul, MN  55104
Who:  You and your family or a friend
Cost:  A pie!
Why:  Pie!

If you don't remember from last fall, this is essentially sanctioned gluttony.  People bring pie, everybody eats far more pie than is reasonable, and then we vote on "best of" for different categories.  Pies don't need to be entered into specific categories, rather once everybody is done eating we will vote on what pies we think best represent which category.  This year our categories are:

Pretty Pretty Princess
'Merica, the Pie
State Fair Wannabe
Not a Pie, but Nice Try
No Kids Allowed

Whether you are an experienced pie baker, or haven't yet ever made a pie of your own, you're welcome to come.  Bring a pie, bring something to cut and serve your pie with.  We will supply paper plates, forks, and coffee for people as well as some small prizes for the winning pies.  I wold just ask that you let me know if you are interested in coming so we can be sure to have enough supplies for everyone.  Hope to see you there!

Part Two of a Twofer: Candy - Cracker Jack

Candy candy candy.  As much as I love you, I am never confident.  If you'll remember the last time I got to this section, the results were poor.  That just didn't work out well.  I had high(er) hopes for this cracker jack recipe.  Who doesn't like caramel corn?  I'll tell you who.  People who say kair-a-mel.  They don't like caramel corn.  They're just cynical, angry people.  Let's not give them any more of our thought, 'cause even candy that doesn't turn out right is still good and sweet and we don't need to be brought down by those weirdos.

Cracker Jack memories.  The first distinct memory I have of Cracker Jack (capital C and J, here), was when I was probably seven.  We lived in Fargo, and I walked with a friend to a convenience store and was really excited to use some of my own money to buy come Cracker Jack.  Something tells me my mom didn't know about this.  I was buying my own candy, and there was going to be a toy!  I know I'd had it before or I wouldn't have been so excited.  The candy itself must have been good (how could it not be?), but I remember being disappointed by the toy, whatever it was.  Whatever it was I pulled out of that box, it must not have been as good as a previous prize.  One upon a time, it seems like the prizes were pretty good.  Check it out.  I'd be willing to bet that whatever I got back in the early 80s was probably better than what is in boxes of Cracker Jack today.

Well, being as that I was seven, I was probably not capable as being as unhappy as this guy was.  Though I will agree, a pencil topper and a "fun fact", would make me pretty sad.  At least, if I make my own cracker jack (small c and j), I could put my own prizes in.

Part One of a Twofer! Salads: Macaroni Salad

Holy moly, I'm so far behind in updating this blog.  Bad blogger, bad.  It's like I'm letting my education and fathering my children get in the way of exploring the food of the 50s.  Stupid education.  Stinky kids.  Seriously though, I made these two dishes back in April or May and it's been weighing on my mind ever since that I've not yet written about these two very special recipes.  But taking prereqs for nursing school and keeping busy with the boys has kept me pretty busy.  Fear not, faithful reader, I have not abandoned the cook book.  I may not be posting once a week like I did last summer, but I am hoping to update at least monthly.

OH, and lest I forget, Aaron and Sarah's 5th Annual Pie-Off is coming up soon.  We've got over 20 people (plus associated family members) who have RSVPed, so I expect that we'll have at least 20 pies to stuff ourselves with.  This year's Pie-Off categories are:

• Pretty Pretty Princess
• State Fair Wannabe
• Not a Pie, but Nice Try
• 'Merica, the Pie
• No Kids Allowed

If you are interested in joining us, let me know in the comments.  All you need to do is bring a pie, even if it is your first ever homemade pie, and show up ready to stuff yourself.

So now, on to business.  As it has been a couple months, I won't be able to go in as much depth as I usually do simply 'cause I don't remember all of the details.  Oh well.  So first is...

Preparation - Macaroni Salad

There aren't any glaring issues with the recipe, but considering that canned pineapple is the most colorful part of this salad, it's pretty clear that this would make a great addition to one of the white dinners I had growing up.  Who needs color anyway?  The biggest issue I see is with the apples, and the issue is actually two-fold.  It calls for "delicious apples".  Fortunately, it doesn't call for Delicious apples, because Red Delicious apples are atrocious.  It wouldn't surprise me if it was Red Delicious apples that were used simply due to market share at the time, but I'm just going to pretend the recipe author meant delicious with a small 'd', and was thinking about one of the great varieties developed by the U of M.  The second issue with the apples was the amount.  The apples I bought weren't huge, but six apples seemed like a lot.  So I decided that apples in 1951 were probably smaller, so I just used three apples.  But I'm getting ahead of myself here.  On to the recipe!

I'm done blocking out the other recipes.  I don't know why I did that in the first place.