grandma j's buttermilk rolls
1 package yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons shortening
2 1/2 cups flour
combine warm water, yeast and sugar; set aside for 10 minutes.
warm buttermilk until just warm, add soda, sugar, salt and shortening.
when lukewarm, add yeast mixture and flour to make moderately stiff dough. knead until smooth and satiny. cover and let it rise about 45 minutes until double. punch down and roll two round sections. cut into wedges and roll up. let it rise to double again. bake in a 375 deg. oven for about 15 minutes.
p.s...dallys added about 3/4 cup of sourdough starter to these and she says they were wonderful. she put grandma dallyne's merlot jelly on them. (next time any of you stay with her in torrey, ask her for some of her wine jelly. it is amazing and super easy to make. we will do a post about it someday:))
since we are not the kind of book club that meets and has a party, i though we could pretend to have a "the book thief" themed party. jk
anyway, here is a clip from studio 5 about ideas for that very thing....
click the arrow to watch....
it sounds like it could be a fun party....
i have included the recipes the she used for this party and i think they sound delicious...
i am actually making this bean and bacon soup today since it is chilly here (and bean and bacon soup is what matt and i ate a lot back in the day when we had no money)and i thought it seemed fitting....
Food
Main Dish
The food should also be simple and humble, just like the food in the book. Instead of taking a dish directly from the book I suggest making the food more personal. A great way to make a story mean more is to connect it with something personal.
The Meminger family has very little money and they eat thin, unappetizing pea soup for nearly every meal. You could serve pea soup, of course, but I recommend, if applicable, thinking back to a time in childhood or life when money was tight. What did your family eat? Is there a meal that represents that time of life for you?
When I was young my family did not have a lot of money. My mother valiantly stayed home with six children and we relied on my dad's one income. For me the quintessential money-is-tight meal is Campbell's bean with bacon soup served with buttered white bread. To this day just the smell of it says childhood to me.
If you have a similar memory, use it and tell your guests about it as you serve them. Draw parallels to the book.
Of course, I wouldn't want to serve canned soup to my guests, so I came up with this delicious homemade bean with bacon. Here's the recipe if you want to use this instead of your own "poor" dish.
Homemade Bean with Bacon Soup
Ingredients:
3 cans white northern beans
4 cans water
1 small can tomato paste
4 - 12 strips smoked bacon
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup diced carrot
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tb olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
1 - In a large stock pot combine 2 cans beans with liquid, 4 cans water, 2 strips of raw bacon, thyme, red pepper and a little salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer.
2 - While beans simmer fry remaining bacon. One strip per person to be used as a garnish for serving soup. Using kitchen shears cut bacon into small pieces before frying for quicker cooking.
3 - While bacon fries, dice all the veggies.
4 - When bacon is crispy, transfer to paper towel to drain and cool. Drain all the fat from skillet except about 1 Tb. Allow pan to cool slightly and then add about 1 Tb olive oil. Sauté veggies and garlic over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Add in tomato paste and stir. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
5 - Once the bean mixture has simmered for 20-30 minutes, add in veggie/tomato mixture. Stir well to combine and allow to simmer for another 20-30 minutes.
6 - Rinse and drain remaining can of beans and then puree in food processor until smooth.
7 - Once soup has finished simmering, remove the two strips of bacon that have been cooking in soup and discard. Then add in bean puree to thicken. Salt and pepper to taste.
8 - Garnish with crispy bacon pieces. Serve with crusty bread and butter or homemade corn bread and honey.
Serves 4-6.
The perfect complement to this soup or just a simple dessert is apple butter served with crusty bread or rolls. Also good with cheeses.In the book Liesel and her friend, Rudy, in desperate moments of hunger, steal apples and devour them. Any apple dessert would work, but this is easy and humble.And if served in small individual jars (I used baby food jars) can also be taken home by guests as an additional favor - if there is any left.
Easy Apple Butter
Ingredients
4 pounds cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 12 cups)
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions
1. Place apple slices in a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Stir in sugar, water, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg.
2. Cover; cook on high-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours. Stir. Cool mixture at least 1 hour or cover and chill overnight.
3. Ladle apple butter into half-pint storage or freezer containers, leaving a 1/2-inch head space. Seal and label.Store 3 weeks in refrigerator or for 1 year in freezer.Makes 4 half-pints.
Note: You can use any kind or any combination of apples or any variation of spices, all according to personal taste.
