I'm always a little leery of homemade sandwich spreads. No, they are delicious. The original Amish Cook, Elizabeth Coblentz, had a recipe for one that she made herself quite frequently. And it was delicious. Back in the early 90s she gave me a jar to take home. Those were the heady early days of The Amish Cook column when I thought I could conquer the world. I had actually secured an appointment with Cincinnati Enquirer food editor Toni Cashinelli (why I remember names 20 years ago of people that were barely a speck in my life, but I can't remember what I ate for lunch yesterday is a mystery I'll never understand).
The appointment was to talk about the Enquirer running The Amish Cook. I thought I'd make my presentation extra impressive and take some of Elizabeth's homemade food with me. That might have been a good idea had the sandwich spread jar not started leaking in my briefcase. So I get to my meeting, open my satchel and all of my papers are soaked in the juices of homemade sandwich spread. SIGH
The Enquirer eventually did pick up The Amish Cook some 15 years later, but I'll always remember the sweet and sour smell of homemade sandwich spread wafting through the Enquirer newsroom.
Okay, this recipe comes to us from an Amish settlement in Kentucky. It sounds like a little work, but the flavor looks good. And this recipe is the "real deal", a truly homemade sandwich spread. And if you have a food-processor you can grind up the veggies you'll have it done in no time. Enjoy!
- 6 onions
- 6 cucumbers
- 6 peppers
- 6 carrots
- 6 green tomatoes
- 1 pint white vinegar
- 4 cups sugar
- 3 /4 cup flour
- 1 cup prepared mustard
- Grind and soak in salt water overnight.
- Drain.
- Boil the mixture for 25 minutes in 1 pint of vinegar and 4 cups of sugar.
- Add flour and mustard and boil for 10 minutes longer.
- Put into jars and seal. Makes 8 pints.
The next recipe incorporates a little bacon and a little zing. The recipe is The Amish Cook's from the Amish Cook at Home. The photo is of Rosanna Bauman's jalapenos on the grill. So wrap your jalapenos in some bacon, plop them on the grill and have a great addition to your Memorial Day picnic!
- 1 /4 cup cream cheese, softened
- 1 /2 cup or more of shredded Cheddar cheese
- 8 jalapenos peppers, halved and seeded
- 8 slices of bacon cut in half cross-wise
- Preheat the oven to 450 and line a jelly roll pan with aluminium foil.
- Put the cream cheese and Cheddar cheese in a small resealable bag and knead. until cheeses are well-combined. Cut a corner of the bag and use it to pipe a generous amount of cheese onto each jalapeno half. Wrap a piece of bacon around each half. Place the peppers on a rack in the jelly roll pan and bake for 20 minutes. If you prefer them on the grill use a toothpich to hold the bacon in place and grill until the bacon is the desired crispness.
Leave a Reply