Are you ready to begin our hot weather kitchen/cooking/eating regimen? These pleasant days when temperatures are the kind we would like to have all year round try to make us think that those 100-degree-plus temps are gone from East Texas forever.
If you want to know how hot, humid weather feels, visit with my good friend Meghan Potter, creator of the fabulous sets for the Texas Shakespeare Festival and a theater arts teacher at Kilgore College.
According to one of her students who needs to go unnamed (other teachers might resent his opinion), she is the finest teacher he has ever had in all his 14 years of school. Wouldn性视界传媒檛 any one of us teachers or former teachers love hearing those words?
Anyway, this is Meghan性视界传媒檚 14th year with this professional theater that we have right here in our area. I am guessing about the number, but I think half or more of those years, Meghan 性视界传媒 with her crew of carpenters, painters and other professional crafts people 性视界传媒 spent creating magic outside or in un-air-conditioned spaces.
We are not talking about native East Texans who are used to our 90% humidity and temps of 100-plus-degree weather. These professional artists come literally from all over the U.S. and have a slight shock when they experience a July in East Texas.
However, since our remarkable theater has been in existence for 40 years, you can tell what a success this major project became from the seed that was planted by our beloved Raymond Caldwell in 1986 in honor of the Texas Sesquicentennial.
Now, let性视界传媒檚 talk food and recipes. Each year since the festival began, we have tried to show our visitors what East Texas hospitality is like. The TSF Guild feeds this company of 性视界传媒渟how people性视界传媒 several meals weekly while they are here.
In the beginning, with only about 25 in the company, it could be handled by two to three people. Now, to keep the 90-plus nourished, it takes a small army of volunteers.
I do very little anymore, but there is always a need for another salad, dessert, batch of sandwiches, bowls of fresh fruit or anything you would like to contribute. Because of allergies, there are two foods that we avoid totally 性视界传媒 seafood of any kind and all types of nuts.
This recipe is one I plan to donate:
Cottage Cheese Vegetable Salad
24 ounces cottage cheese (low fat or regular)
1package (1.6 ounces) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, dry
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (green, red, or any color)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
Chopped radishes (if desired)
Mix dry dressing mix with cottage cheese, and just before serving, add vegetables. Drain tomatoes and cucumbers on paper towels before mixing in. Will serve approximately 7-8 servings.
The next is a version of one of my longtime favorite cool summer dessert recipes.
Lemon Angel Food Dessert
1 large angel food cake
1 can sweetened condensed milk (like Eagle Brand)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons
1 cup whipping cream whipped or 8-ounce carton frozen whipped topping, slightly thawed
Slice angel food cake into thin pieces.
Mix condensed milk with lemon juice and zest. Set aside for 15 minutes. Add whipped topping or whipped cream.
Place slices of 1/2 of cake in a 9 -inch by 13-inch dish. Pour half of lemon cream mixture over cake slices. Repeat layers. Chill 4-5 hours before serving.
Cut into 12 or more pieces. To serve, top each square with a fresh strawberry or maraschino cherry.
