RECIPE SWAP: RENION MEANS LOTS OF COOKING

As I mentioned last week, my family reunion is over for this year and it was a smashing success. I never dreamed so many of you would ask about it, though. I have had several notes and calls wanting to know what we served and how many.

I will give you a quick run-down of a few of the reunion factoids. On our main day, which was Saturday, we had 105 in attendance. My mom made 12 pecan and rhubarb pies, my sister, Pat, made 7 blackberry cobblers, and I made 8 other desserts. We barbecued 56 chicken halves on an open pit made of concrete blocks, baked 4 gallon of beans, made 20 pounds of regular potato salad, 20 pounds of German potato salad and had many other side dishes to serve. We also used about 320 pounds of ice and more beverages than I can even calculate. Over the period of company, we served 582 meals from my parent's home kitchen.

Needless to say, our family took a couple of days off just to recover. It was a wonderful time of sharing and visiting, of which by next week I will be ready to do it again next year.

A few weeks ago there was a request for gooseberry recipes. I have a couple more recipes to share and one question. The envelope is from the Friends from Altenburg and Frohna. They would like to know how to keep the birds out of the berries. If anyone has a special way of achieving this, let me know and I will pass on the information.

Gooseberry Pie

2 cups gooseberries

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon flour

3 eggs

Mix 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon flour; spread into bottom of unbaked pie shell. Beat eggs, add sugar, flour and berries. Pour into pie shell. Bake 1 hour at 400 degrees or until filling sets.

Gooseberry Custard Pie

2 1/2 cups berries, put into crust

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour over berries in the pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until custard is set.

The person who sent in this next gooseberry pie recipe knows it is at least 75 years old and is from a woman who served it at her restaurant.

Gooseberry Pie, Double Crust

Scald 4 cups of gooseberries. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain.

Mix berries with:

2 cups sugar

4 tablespoons flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place this mixture in a pastry lined pie pan. Slice 1/2 stick of margarine or butter over this mixture. Top with crust and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees for an additional 40 minutes.

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This week we have a request and two responses in the same week. Someone at the Senior Center was looking for a recipe for Chicken Spaghetti that did not have any tomatoes in it. Bessie Johnson has a recipe to share but calls for 1 can of tomato soup. I believe it could easily be changed to cream of chicken, celery or mushroom.

Chicken Spaghetti

1 chicken, cooked and boned

2 cups celery

1 cup onion, chopped

1 pint chicken broth

1 can tomato soup

1 can chopped mushrooms

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 clove garlic, minced

3 drops Tabasco sauce

Worcestershire sauce, to taste

1 large box spaghetti

Saute celery and onions in 1 stick margarine or butter. Mix remaining ingredients, except spaghetti, and simmer 30 minutes. Combine with cooked and drained spaghetti.

Stephanie Cummings of Jackson also has a good casserole that might work as a spaghetti and does not have tomatoes in it.

Chicken Spaghetti Bake

1 (8 ounce) package spaghetti

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups milk or 1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup butter or margarine

pepper, to taste

2 cups chicken, cooked and diced

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 small can mushrooms

1 teaspoon salt

Cook spaghetti al dente'. Mix broth, milk, flour, butter, salt and pepper in 3-quart pan; heat to boiling over medium heat. Boil and stir for 1 minute, then add mushrooms. Stir in cooked spaghetti and chicken. Transfer to a sprayed 7x11-inch baking dish and top with shredded Cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 23 to 35 minutes. Serve with salad and French bread. Serves 6 to 8.

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Tomatoes are coming on full force. For a nice change from the wonderful bacon and tomato sandwich, try Bacon and Tomato Noodles.

Bacon and Tomato Noodles

1/2 (12 ounce) package medium egg noodles, uncooked

8 slices thick sliced bacon

4 cups finely-chopped cabbage

1 large onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon coarse-ground pepper

1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles until done. Drain. In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Reserve 1/4 cup bacon drippings. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add cabbage, onion, salt, basil and pepper to drippings. Cook and stir until cabbage is tender. Combine hot cooked noodles, cabbage mixture, tomato and parsley; toss to mix. Arrange on hot serving platter; top with Parmesan cheese.

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Llewellyn Wilder comes from a family of very good cooks and she shares a few of her favorites using some of the fresh vegetables we have from gardens or the farmer's market.

Green Beans In Garlic Butter

1 pound fresh green beans

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 clove garlic, minced

4 sprigs parsley, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

Parboil beans about 5 minutes. Drain and refresh in cold water. Cool. Place beans horizontally in feed table of food processor and slice. In a skillet melt butter and add beans, garlic, parsley and salt. Shake pan over low heat until beans are warmed. Serves 4.

Raw Summer Squash Salad With Tomatoes

1 small zucchini

1 tomato

juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 to 3 leaves minced fresh basil

Slice the zucchini and tomato and arrange on a serving dish. Mix the remaining ingredients together and drizzle over the vegetables. Serves 2. This recipe is best served with garden temperature zucchini and tomatoes.

Tomatoes On The Shell

1 large tomato, peeled

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon minced fresh dill

1 teaspoon chopped chives

salt and pepper

2 teaspoons grated cheese

Slice tomato into 4 slices and place on four scallop shells. Sprinkle each tomato with the remaining ingredients in the order given, dividing the amounts evenly among the four slices. Bake 6 minutes at 500 degrees. Serve immediately.

You may vary the cheese according to your menu. Use Cheddar for heavier meat dishes and a mild white cheese for poultry or seafood dishes.

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This next recipe is a Sicilian style supper. It is very easy and a good dish for those who live alone.

Fried Egg and Tomato Supper

2 thick (1 1/2-inch) slices tomato

1 tablespoon butter

2 slices garlic

Saute' these ingredients together.

2 eggs

1 tablespoon butter

Prepare eggs in a separate pan.

1 tablespoon butter

1 to 2 slices garlic

Saute' garlic. Put egg on tomato and pour garlic butter over. Serves 1.

We have one request this week from Verla Schreiner of Jackson, MO. She would like a recipe for slaw dressing using sour cream, lemon juice and a touch of horseradish. She had the recipe but like many of us, she has misplaced it.

Enjoy these lazy days of summer by keeping cool. While it is so hot, it is a great time to kick back with a cookbook and do some reading. Then, of course, send in some interesting recipes you find.

Have a great week and happy cooking.