Recipes from a disaster

A few weeks ago our church played host to a group of missionaries from St. Paul's United Methodist Church traveling home to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, from an extensive work camp on the Gulf Coast.

The terrible stories they had to tell about the total devastation along the Mississippi shoreline were nearly unbelievable. The one thing that I took away was that there is such a tremendous need, even yet, and help is still needed and will be for years to come.

One story that tore on my emotions was when a church minister and several staff members were trying to save their church from the devastating wind and water, and the pastor saw six of his staff die before him, trying to save the church they loved so dearly. And we think we have problems!

In the course of the two days, I visited with many of the adults in the group and wound up trading church cookbooks with one of the women.

I bought one of our books for her, and she in turn sent me one of their church cookbooks. It is a great book, and yes, I am going to pull several recipes from the book to include here for you today.

Spicy Black Bean and Corn Salsa

1 (16-ounce) can black beans

16 ounces fresh or frozen corn

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup chopped green onion

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped ripe tomatoes

In a large bowl, combine beans, corn, cilantro, green onion, red onion, lime juice, oil and cumin. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or up to overnight. Just before serving, stir in tomatoes. Serve with blue and white corn chips.

Baked Cranberry-Almond Brie

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

8 ounces (4-inch round) wheel brie cheese

3 tablespoons whole berry cranberry sauce or fresh ground cranberry relish

3 tablespoons toasted almonds

For the pastry, combine flour, butter and cream cheese in a bowl; beat on low speed until mixture leaves sides of bowl and forms a soft dough. Divide dough in half; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about an hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each half of dough to 1/8-inch thickness, making about an 8-inch circle. Cut the edges to make a circle shape. Place one circle on a baking sheet. Place brie, in the rind, in the center of the circle. Spread on cranberry sauce and almonds. Top with the other 8-inch circle, pinching the edges together to seal. Brush top with 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and let stand 30 minutes to set. Remove to serving plate. Serve with apple and pear slices, crackers, etc.

Apple Pancakes and Cider Sauce

2 cups pancake mix

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

1 1/3 cup milk

3/4 cup unpeeled apple, finely chopped

Chop apple. Beat pancake mix, cinnamon, egg and milk until smooth. Fold in apple. Pour batter, about 1/4-cup per pancake, on a preheated and lightly greased griddle. "Bake" until bubbles appear. Turn and bake other side until golden brown. Serve with warm cider sauce. Yields about 18 pancakes.

Cider Sauce

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups apple cider or apple juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 teaspoon each nutmeg and cinnamon)

1/4 cup butter or margarine

Mix sugar, cornstarch and spice in saucepan. Stir in cider or juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils for 1 minute. Remove from heat; add butter. Allow to cool to warm before eating.

This can be made ahead and stirred and reheated in microwave.

I just have to include the next recipe for my sister Linda. She loves reuben-anything. So, for my kraut-head sister, this one's for you.

Reuben-Sauerkraut Casserole

1 (16-ounce) can sauerkraut, drained and rinsed

12 ounces deli corned beef, chopped

2 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

2/3 cup Thousand Island dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 medium tomatoes, sliced

3 cups dry rye bread crumbs

4 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9-by-13-inch pan, layer sauerkraut, corned beef and cheese. Combine Thousand Island dressing and mayonnaise, and spread over cheese. Cover with tomato slices. Toss bread crumbs in melted butter and sprinkle bread over top of casserole. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until hot and bubbly. Yields 6 to 8 servings.

Orange Pork Chops

2 tablespoons shortening

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 tablespoon lemon juice

6 pork chops, 1-inch thick

1/2 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (Accent)

1 1/2 teaspoons ginger

2/3 cup water

6 slices onion

1 teaspoon marjoram

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 (6-ounce) can orange juice, frozen concentrate, thawed

Heat shortening in skillet; add pork chops and brown on both sides. Place chops in a 2-quart casserole. Arrange sliced onions on top. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over chops and onions. Cover. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour, or until pork chops are tender. Yields 6 servings.

Dilly Beans

3 cans whole green beans, drained

Mix the following:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon horseradish

1/4 cup finely-cut onion

1/2 teaspoon dill weed

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Tabasco, to taste

Garlic salt, to taste

Toss together and refrigerate at least 8 hours. Keeps very well in the refrigerator.

I hope you have an opportunity to give one or more of these recipes a try. I am thankful that I had the chance to meet these wonderful people and share a small piece of their experiences.

Have a wonderful week, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.