Once upon a time, a person's success depended on how many pots of food the wife had on the stove … when you weren't expecting guests.
If you visited my mom or her sisters the kitchen was always where we'd congregate. We would be lifting lids to see what was cooking. It was the acceptable thing to do. In my mother's case there would be the huge pot of stew with generous chunks of meat and vegetables swimming in a thickened tomato broth, or her pork roast slow-cooked until the outside was a caramel color. When my cousin came to visit me as a grown-up, he remarked how I offered him crackers and cheese. Brother was looking for pots … on my stove. How times have changed.
When I was young I remember the taste of certain foods that I can't seem to get today. For example, apple pie. I crave a truly hot - stinging hot - apple pie oozing with butter, cinnamon, sugar, and chunks of freshly cut apples. These days, bakeries use apples from tubs or cans … too sweet and mushy. Also, the crust is thick, hard, dry, and tasteless … not worth eating.
A vivid childhood memory for me was visiting friends of my parents. While there, the wife chatted with us, mixed flour and other ingredients, let the dough rise, twisted the dough into circles, let it rise again, and finally, dropped those circles in hot oil. This is while she had a bunch of rascal boys running around her house. After frying, she'd roll the circles in sugar. There was also a pot of Ghirardelli cocoa sitting on her stove. Remember the large orange can? The combination of fresh hot doughnuts and a steaming cup of hot cocoa still sticks out in my mind. In those days, visits were long but fulfilling.
So, I'm going to suggest that you create a memory for a youngster who will come to visit you. Here's a simple recipe for a doughnut that doesn't have to rise. It's the Okinawan Andagi. You can make it easily and it's still ono when it cools. After you're done, you drop a couple packets of cocoa in cups of hot water … together with the sugar coated doughnut, you'll sit in that child's memory … long after you're gone. Here it is. Enjoy! Aloha and malama kou kino! Take care. Anake Rhoda
ANDAGI
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk (straight from the can)
1 Tablespoon melted shortening (Crisco is OK)
Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Combine eggs, milk, and melted shortening into second bowl. Mix well. Put dry ingredients into liquid mixture.
Heat oil. Drop by teaspoon into heated oil and fry until golden brown (and cooked inside). Taste one. Oil temp: 350 degrees if you can. Roll in sugar. Note: play with the recipe. Add vanilla if you like. Experiment with this recipe!
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