Category Archives: Recipes – Miscellaneous

Stovetop Tapioca


It is so definitely time to return to posting on this blog again. It would be ideal, of course, if I could say that I haven’t posted because of some YUGE thing that has gone on these past (many) months, but it is truthfully more honest to just say what is true: there is no one reason why I haven’t been active on the blog. Busier than ever now that I have joined the ranks of ‘retired people everywhere’, I just haven’t gotten here to get the job done.

I do intend to change this pattern of neglect, however. It is a new year, 2017, and tapioca is something I seem to crave always as a new year begins. I cannot think of any valid reason for feeling that way, but I do know it is true. Please don’t feel that cooking tapioca on the stove is too difficult; as long as you have a double-boiler, you’re all set. I used Reece’s brand of pearl tapioca and it does need to soak overnight. That isn’t any big deal, so you can start there. Gather all your ingredients, use your double-boiler, and get going on it the next day, after soaking. If all else fails, you can find a crockpot recipe.

There is a tapioca debate in our family (and maybe yours). Some folks like it well-chilled and other prefer it warm. THAT choice is up to you and your personal taste. I am a “really cold” tapioca person myself but I am just as happy to enjoy it warm if that is how it is served. Another family quirk, for me, is that I remember mama serving peaches with tapioca and that is the way I best enjoy it. There is something perfect in the way the juice from the peaches coats those transparent tapioca bubbles. It’s good enough to become a traditional New Year’s resolution: Make Tapioca Before The Week Is Out! Follow the directions on the package and be mindful that LOW HEAT means just that! Don’t allow the mixture to boil at all while cooking. Once cooked, I sat the mixing bowl on the front porch and just let it chill! Happy New Year, dear ones!

Stovetop Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients

1/2 cup Reese small pearl tapioca
2-1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

In a bowl, soak tapioca in 2 cups of room temperature water overnight. Drain water.

In double-boiler, heat milk just until no longer cold. Add salt and tapioca. Continue heating until small bubbles appear at sides of pan. Cover, turn heat to very low and cook for one hour. Make sure that mix mixture does not simmer or boil.

Separate egg whites from yolks. Beat egg yolks and sugar together until light yellow in color. Add a little of the hot mixture to the egg yolks and blend thoroughly then add the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan, stirring constantly. Place the double-boiler over medium heat and cook until the tapioca mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly fold the egg whites into the hot tapioca mixture. Stir in vanilla. Serve warm or chilled. Serves 8.

Christmas Brunch Toffee

Mamie's Toffee

Mamie’s recipe which I somehow totally missed when I was collecting recipes for the cookbook, so I am happy to share it now. Toffee Anything is a winner in my book, and this recipe combines a mixture of raw almonds, chocolate chips, and pecans with a buttery essence that just keeps your hand moving to your mouth. Mamie made several batches this year for sharing with friends as they left their annual Christmas Brunch at her home. Packed loosely in festive cellophane bags, it is a sweet way for ending a good day with good friends featuring good cheer.

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups milk-chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Measure and gather all ingredients. Place the almonds on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 2 minutes on high, stirring once. Cook one more minute; then place on a foil-lined jelly roll pan in a single layer leaving space between.

Add sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt to a thick-bottomed 2-qt. sauce pan. Using a pan with a thick bottom will prevent the mixture burning. Stir mixture, melting over low heat, stirring continually.

Once melted, increase the heat to medium-high. Keep stirring (lots of stirring going on here) for 10-12 minutes or until the mixture turns a golden color similar to the color of the raw almonds. When it does, remove from heat and pour it slowly over the almonds in your prepared pan.

Allow to cool for 2 minutes; sprinkle with chocolate chips. Allow chips to soften then use wide rubber spatula to spread the chocolate over the nuts and the prepared toffee in your pan. Sprinkle with finely chopped pecans and allow to cool completely; set in fridge to finish chilling. After the toffee is completely cooled, break into pieces. Store in airtight container at room temperature.