Baking Day with Baby Bear Stew Cookbook
Today was a day set aside for baking, and baking day it was!!! I made 6 loaves of Armenian Bread/Choreg (on page 152 in the Baby Bear Stew Cookbook) and 5 Xmas Tree Breads (on page 159 in the Baby Bear Stew Cookbook). We began a tradition in our family long long ago to have Xmas Tree Bread on Christmas morning while we open our stocking gifts. We have passed this tradition on for 4 almost 5 generations now. I did realize, with all my girls living away from our town in their own homes that I would be making the Xmas Tree Breads by myself this year. I actually want to have a hands on baking day with them and any interested grandchildren to make sure they know the special secrets of making Choreg and Xmas Tree Bread, so I need to schedule that someday soon. In the meantime-get yourself a copy of the Baby Bear Stew; Family Heritage Cookbook and if you want me to set up a baking day with you give me a call or send me an email. Hands on baking lessons are the BEST!!!
You may have a family traditional recipe that you like to make during the holidays. Why not get together with your kids or grandkids or friends and have a baking day. It is a great time for food fun and fellowship.…
Read MoreBaby Bear Stew Cookbook Inspired Christmas Traditions
The inspiration for the Baby Bear Stew: A Family Heritage Cookbook was built on a long standing family tradition of gourmet food made by all the great cooks in our family and shared with others during the holidays; and when you have a BIG family…that means any time of year. During the Christmas season, my mom, Roz (aka Grammie Rozzie to my kids) gathered her 30-40 favorite girl friends for her annual Cookie Exchange. I understand that the idea of a cookie party around the holidays is a common festive tradition and may no longer seem like the politically correct thing to do (all that SUGAR!!!!!) but my mom began her tradition in the 60s and it was a wonderful yearly highly anticipated event. My mom’s friends LOVED to cook and LOVED to share their recipes. Rozzie’s Cookie Exchange party was such a fantastic event and such a long standing tradition in our town that an article about it was written up in Sunset Magazine. Not only did we feature many of the cookie recipes in the original Baby Bear Stew; Family Heritage Cookbook that my mom, my aunt Nancy and my Gram created back in the day, I am the proud recipient of ALL of those incredible cookie recipes from over 50 years of Cookie Exchange Parties. That priceless box of vintage cookie recipes is just waiting to be shared, soooooo….another project on my bucket list is to write a Cookie Exchange Cookbook- 50 Years of Family Tradition. Today I am going to share a recipe with you that my mom created years ago. The original name of the recipe (on page 212 of the Baby Bear Stew Cookbook) is Oriental Brittle Cookies (not sure how politically correct that name is in today’s world). It is a crisp …
Read MoreCranberry Bread-A Christmas Favorite
When the holiday parties begin and you need a sweet and healthy treat to bring to any event or to give as a hostess gift, this Cranberry Bread recipe (page 153 in the Baby Bear Stew Cookbook) is a wonderful recipe to try. There is extra protein added with the cottage cheese and the cranberries, orange rind and lemon rind provide antioxidants and fiber.
Ingredients
½ cup butter (I used ¼ cup butter and ¼ cup coconut oil)
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
2 Tablespoons grated orange rind
2 teaspoons lemon rind
¼ cup orange juice
3 cups flour (I used ½ whole wheat flour)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cup cranberries cut up
1 cup golden raisins chopped
½ cup chopped walnuts…
Favorite Baby Bear Stew Recipes
To give you a taste of the easy gourmet recipes in the cookbook here is one that is delicious and nutritious. On page 104 of the cookbook is a recipe for Poached Chicken Breasts with Ala (Ala was the trademark for cracked Bulgur Wheat but you can use Quinoa for a gluten free option) was created by my mom, Roz, and served with cooked asparagus and a light tossed salad with mandarin oranges and avocado. When you remember that this dish was cooked and served back in the 80s and 90s you get a glimpse of how ahead of the times the cooks in our family were with regards to health conscious cooking. There is a family tree in the beginning of the cookbook so that you can see the connections and where each recipe originated. There are fun anecdotal comments throughout the book as well.
Poached Chicken Breasts with Ala (Bulgur Wheat)
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts with bone
2½ cups canned chicken broth
¼ cup white wine
4 slices lemon
½ cup chopped celery
¾ cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon fine herbs
½ cup chopped mushrooms
¼ cup chopped jicama
¼ cup shredded carrot
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon dill weed
¼ teaspoon oregano
1 cup Ala (bulgur wheat or quinoa)…
The Baby Bear Stew Story
The story continues…..
We left off with the first version of the cookbook being printed and distributed in 1979, as a surprise Christmas gift for our family. They all loved the gift and asked if we had more copies to give to their friends….fast forward from 1979 to 1990…”Several moves later, when the Weisser family returned to California from Guam, Kerry decided to expand the earlier version of the cookbook.”
With the help of my brother, Rad, and his original Mac computer that used floppy disks, I began to type up more of our family favorite recipes. With the help of my mom, sister and aunt Nancy, we collected more recipes and tested each one to make sure it would make the cut before it was added to the cookbook. My Uncle Yogi and cousin Kurt owned a printing company in Redwood city and they published the first edition of Baby Bear Stew: A Family Heritage Cookbook. Helping illustrate the cookbook were the oldest three of my four daughters-at the time Rachel was 9, Jessica was 7, Bethany was 4 and Bekah was 18 months old. Bekah did get her handprint made into a turkey for one of the illustrations and she was my sweet baby buddy who sat and played on a blanket near me while I typed every day. Each chapter begins with a drawing and a saying like “You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving”.
The 1990 newspaper article explains…”All the recipes are “tried and true”. Most are relatively simple or “easy gourmet” but there are a few elegant ones like Nancy’s Flaming Veal and Gram’s Orange Tarragon Chicken with Grapes. Most of the salad recipes have been adapted to use plain yogurt instead of sour cream for health conscious people …
Read MorePassion Perspective-The History of Baby Bear Stew
This week’s Passion Perspective features one of our very own……….the story began many, many years ago, in the fall of 1990…..when a bay area newspaper featured an article titled
The Roselyn Family Shares the Joy of Cooking“
The article began with a bit of history…
“Cooking is a joy in the Roselyn family which now spans 4 generations. Friends remember special times and wonderful food enjoyed over the years at Myrna and Leo Roselyn’s former home in Atherton, their condo in Menlo Park and at the home of their daughters, Roz Wagner and Nan Jorgensen. To the Roselyn family, food means a gathering of family and friends, sharing, nurturing, an act of love. Now their granddaughter, Kerry Wagner Weisser, has taken the next step. She’s gathered the BEST of the BEST into Baby Bear Stew: A Family Heritage Cookbook.”
And now 25 years later, Kerry’s 4 daughters are married to 4 awesome guys who love to eat and there are 7 grandchildren so far who have all benefitted from this great heritage of family food, fun and fellowship. Over 1,000 copies of the Baby Bear Stew Cookbook have been sold and many have been given as wedding presents. The family heritage of great cooks now spans 5 generations and we hope our passion for healthy eating will continue for years to come.…
The Thanksgiving Story
I have a very special friend who is passionate about history, actually she is passionate about most everything. We were gathered with some friends a few weeks ago and we started talking about the real meaning of Thanksgiving. She offered to do some research and here is what she came up with. We read this at our Thanksgiving table and were blessed to share this concise and accurate recounting of the first Thanksgiving. Here is what she wrote for us and I wanted to share it with you.
“In 1620, the Pilgrims, English citizens who were living in Holland because of religious persecution in England, decided to set sail to a country of their own, where they could read the Bible and worship freely. After 65 days at sea, on November 11, 1620, the Mayflower dropped anchor in a harbor inside the northern tip of Cape Cod.…
Read MoreThanksgiving Reflections
Jess is thankful for:
1. Wonderful family that we get to spend time with over the holidays, some on thanksgiving, others at Christmas.
2. How much Jesus loves me
3. Husband who loves me and pursues me.
4. 4 children who are silly, fun, and always challenging me to rely more on Jesus
5. Community group of people who want to do life together in Jesus
Bethany is thankful for
1. I am thankful for my husband who loves me for me, is willing to learn with me, adventures with me, and loves to make me laugh.
2. I am thankful for family who if I could have a choice, I would pick to be my friends and close people in my life. Including parents, sisters, brother in laws, and sister in laws.
3. I am thankful for our church, where I am being challenged to get more into the word of God, go deeper in community, and fall more in love with Jesus.
4. I am thankful for the ministry of Young Life. I
Creamy Yam Bake with a Healthy Twist
If I was asked to choose one of my favorite dishes at any Thanksgiving table, it would be the sweet potato or yam dish. I actually have never tasted a sweet potato casserole that I do not like. Since the recipe I usually make tastes as much like a dessert as a dinner side dish, I decided to try a new recipe this year that was a bit healthier. I adapted a recipe that was given to me by my sister’s SIL (sister-in-law) and the end result was delicious and nutritious.
Ingredients
8 yams or sweet potatoes
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 Tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 Tablespoon grated orange rind
1 cup greek yogurt honey flavored
1 cup chopped pecans
Directions
1. Wash and wrap yams in foil, sealing tightly on ends. Place in 400 degree oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, until soft and tender to touch. I place my yams on a baking sheet with sides in case they leak a bit from the sealed ends of the foil-this helps prevent a sticky mess in the bottom of your oven).
2. Remove from oven and allow to cool until easy to handle-30-60 minutes.
3. Peel yams by making a slit in the skin length-wise. The yam flesh should slide right out into your medium sized mixing bowl.
4. Mash yams slightly with a potato masher while adding the yogurt, tahini, ginger and orange rind. You can continue mashing by hand or whip in kitchen aid until fluffy. Transfer to ovenproof serving dish and heat for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees.
5. While yams are baking, toast your chopped pecans in toaster oven for 3-5 minutes watching very carefully because they get done very quickly.
6. Sprinkle toasted pecans on top of yams and serve.…
Turkey Headbands
Here is a fun and easy craft for bringing some creativity to your Thanksgiving Holiday season.
All that you need is
Glue gun
Scissors
Ribbon
⅝ inch polka dot or plain brown and yellow
¼ inch polka dot or plain orange and red
Wiggle googley eyes
Stretchy headband
Cut one strip of brown ribbon 2 inches long, fold wrong sides together and glue ends together.
Cut three strips of brown ribbon-one 4 inches, one 4 ½ inches and one 5 inches-glue by placing a drop of glue on the right side of each ribbon and fold over creating 3 separate loops.
Place first 2 inch folded ribbon inside smallest loop and glue together. Place the second and third loop one inside the other to form the body of the turkey. 
Cut one more brown piece of ribbon 3 inches and make one more loop for the head. Attach the head to the top of the body.
Create the feathers by cutting 3 yellow ribbons 5 ½ inches long, 2 red and 2 orange ribbons 5 ½ inches long. Glue feathers by forming loops.
Attach feathers to the back of the turkey, arranging them in any order that suits you.
Glue a small triangle of yellow ribbon onto the Turkey for a beak. Glue on two wiggle googley eyes.
Glue your turkey onto a stretchy headband and wear for your Thanksgiving celebration.
What fun Thanksgiving craft idea have you tried?
…