Hot on the heels of questions about suet sources or possible substitutes, here come the answers.
A happy Kristi Christensen of Snohomish tells us, “My father used to make green tomato mincemeat and send it to me at Christmas. It was heavenly! I was never able to find his recipe, and he passed away this past March.
“When I saw the recipe for ‘mince meat, green tomato’ in the Sept. 24 Forum, I was giddy, as it sounded just like my dad’s.
“I had everything except the suet, so I went to Fred Meyer’s meat department in Snohomish, made my request and even spoke with the butcher there and voila! I had two packages of freshly ground suet. I promptly went home and created one of the best batches of green tomato mincemeat. I immediately called my sister in Canada and boasted of my accomplishment and passed the recipe on to her.
“Thank you so much for the recipe. I will continue to watch for other great recipes.”
And Marysville helper-outer Cathy Emery writes, “I wanted to respond to the people asking about suet. It is fat from around the kidneys of beef (lard equals pork; schmaltz equals chicken fat), and is not easy to find here.
“The British love it for making their various puddings and dumplings, and I have heard that some stores (perhaps Central Market?) may carry it at Christmas time, since that’s when those puddings are primarily made.
“The other option is to find an actual butcher shop or slaughterhouse and request that some be held for you. It might take a couple of days. I looked at online retailers and the only source I found find was a vegetable, not beef, suet.
“One thing you don’t want to do is substitute suet that is used as bird food. It is not safe for human consumption. I found a British expat website, and it appears they often substitute lard for the suet. Slightly different flavor, but the same richness that only animal fat can provide. Hope that helps!”
SOS: Lynnwood reader Jennifer Benson asks, “I was wondering if any Forum cooks have recipes for irresistible dog treats that our four-legged furry friends would love?”
Jennifer adds, “Thanks for writing a great column and for sharing folks’ awesome recipes. I’ve cooked a number of them and had lots of delicious meals as a result!”
SOS: Julie Alexander of Marysville says, “I’ve lost several of my best recipes. They were in a gallon-size self-sealing bag and I think they must have fallen into the recycling box and were recycled!
“Anyway, with the holidays just around the corner, I need the recipes for two of our traditional favorites. One is chocolate pie and the other is called something like all-American apple pie. They were both in a collection of recipes from ‘My Great Recipes,’ a subscription of recipe cards mailed out periodically.
“The chocolate pie had you melt chocolate chips on the bottom of the crust, then cream cheese on top of that, and then pudding made with whipping cream. The apple pie recipe I want mainly for the pie crust recipe with it. That is the best pie crust I have ever tasted. I haven’t been able to make a decent tasting pie crust since it disappeared. Can your readers help? I’ll be desperately awaiting your reply.”
OK, Forum helpers — if you can share some recipes, don’t hesitate to send them along to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206. Please remember that all letters and e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code.
Last but not least today, Snohomish cook and faithful Forum helper-outer Michael Koznek writes, “In response to the SOS from Shirley Lund, who wanted to turn plain homemade yogurt into fruit yogurt, I double-checked my recipe, and any flavoring may be stirred in after the yogurt has thickened. Then just refrigerate and enjoy.”
The next Forum will appear in Monday’s Good Life section.
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