FAYETTE – Addie Taylor has been cooking for as long as she can remember.
“I learned to cook from my mama . . . and she worked full-time, too,” exclaims Taylor.
One of Taylor’s memorable experiences about cooking is learning how to make a pie crust from her mother. “She was teaching me how to make a pie crust, and I dumped something in all at once (when I shouldn’t have) and I expected her to yell, but she didn’t. She was very patient,” Taylor said.
“She was very patient in letting me try new things, but she wouldn’t allow more cooking after supper . . . it was too much of a mess.”
Taylor prefers to cook from scratch and likes to throw healthy additives such as wheat germ into her recipes whenever she can. She also likes to cook with garlic because she says it is “good for us. I love to bake breads and pasta dishes. I love the challenge of trying to make something out of nothing.”
She offers this advice to anyone who thinks that they don’t have time to cook from scratch: “I do a lot of freezing. It takes just as much time to make one batch as it does two.”
Taylor likes to give away her cooking as gifts.
“I make jams and jellies . . . it’s more valuable . . . a gift from the heart,” she said.
Taylor lives in Fayette with her husband, Wes. She has three grown children and one grandson.
Taylor is currently finishing up at University of Maine Augusta, where she is majoring in mental health and human services. After working as a registered nurse for 34 years, she has a goal of using her new degree to be a substance abuse counselor with adolescents.
Taylor’s hobbies and interests include puzzles, dancing and reading. According to Taylor, she also “loves people” and says, “Cooking is how I show people I care.”
Broccoli cheese soup
Ingredients:
2 cups carrots, finely chopped
½ cup celery, finely chopped
½ cup onion, finely chopped
3½ cups chicken broth
4 cups milk
Dash of paprika
½ cup flour
3 cups American cheese (Velveeta), shredded
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 to 1½ cups of broccoli florets in small pieces precooked until just tender
Method:
In a large saucepan, combine carrot, celery and onion. Add chicken broth. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover, simmer for about 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Combine milk, paprika, flour. Stir into chicken broth mixture. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Add cheeses and broccoli; stir until melted. Serves 6-8
Swedish Kringle
Part I ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ cup margarine
1 tablespoon water
Method part I
Mix part I ingredients and pat into two strips 4 inches by 12 inches on ungreased cookie sheet
Part II ingredients:
1 cup water
½ cup margarine
1 cup flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
Part II method:
Bring water and margarine to a boil in a medium-size saucepan. Add flour, stir and remove from burner. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. I use my hand mixer. Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract. Spread mixture on top of already-prepared strips. Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 15 minutes, then at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool thoroughly. Drizzle with icing.
Icing ingredients:
1 cup confectionery sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
3-5 tablespoons milk, just enough to make an icing that will flow from your tablespoon.
Swiss egg braid (McCall’s Cookbook)
Ingredients:
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
¼ cup margarine
¼ cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 packages active dry yeast
7 to 7¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
Sesame seeds or poppy seeds (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In small saucepan, heat milk just until bubbles form around edge of pan. Remove from heat. Add sugar, salt, and ¼ cup margarine, stirring until margarine is melted. Let cool until lukewarm (a drop sprinkled on wrist will not feel warm). If possible, check temperature of warm water with thermometer. Sprinkle yeast over water in large bowl, stirring until dissolved. Stir in milk mixture. Add half the flour: beat, with wooden spoon, until smooth, about two minutes. Gradually add remaining flour, mixing it in with hand until dough is stiff enough to leave side of bowl.
Turn out dough onto lightly floured board. Cover with the bowl; let rest 10 minutes. Knead by folding dough toward you, then pushing down and away from you, with heel of hand. Give dough a quarter turn; repeat kneading developing a rocking rhythm. Continue kneading and turning 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic and blisters appear on surface.
Place in lightly greased bowl; turn dough to bring up greased side. Cover with towel; let rise in warm place, free from drafts about one hour, or until double in bulk. When two fingers poked into dough leave indentations, rising is sufficient. Punch down dough with fist; turn out onto lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Cut one half into six parts. With palms of hands, roll each sixth on floured surface to make a 12-inch strip. Braid three strips together; place on greased cookie sheet. Braid other three strips. Place directly on top of first braid. Press ends together to seal. Repeat with other half of dough.
Cover with towel; let rise in warm place, free from drafts until double in bulk, about one hour. Brush with egg yolk glaze (below).
Sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds if so desired.
Bake braids 40 minutes or until deep golden. Remove from cookie sheets to wire rack; cool thoroughly.
Egg yolk glaze
In small bowl, using fork or small whip, beat one egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water. Makes enough for two loaves.
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