Wunky Zine Interview with Children of Euler

The great experimenter Elgin cook creates magic by throwing a bit of this, a little of that in pot.(Food)(Cook of the week)(Recipe)

Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) March 5, 2008 Byline: Laura Bianchi Barbara Maier had a premonition that her Pizza Party Pizzazz Salad would win first prize in the monthly Better Homes & Gardens recipe contest, and it did.

Her big, bold salad – for the “take along” category – earned her $400 and a coveted corner in the upcoming May issue of one of the country’s most popular magazines.

A matter-of-fact woman with a ready laugh, Barbara says “I was not terribly surprised” to win. “One day I thought, ‘It’s about time for me to get a letter,’ and the next day the letter came. Sometimes you just get those feelings.” We cannot run the recipe here, you’ll have to wait for the magazine to come out. But here are some hints: it includes mixed greens, cannelli beans, gorgonzola and pepperoni with a homemade dressing of white balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

The winning recipe came together last fall, about a year after Barbara moved from Glenview to Elgin. A retired postal worker, Barbara had invited “the gang” from work to see her new place.

She planned to order out pizza and make a salad.

“It just got bigger and bigger and bigger,” she says of the salad. “I thought, ‘I could throw this into something and take it along.’ I entered on the last day.” By snail mail, of course.

The salad typifies the way Barbara likes to cook.

“Whatever I’ve got, I just throw it in,” she says. That’s one reason why she never entered the contest before, though she had considered it for years.

“I would forget what I had done. I never end up with the same thing twice.” Barbara keeps her pantry and freezer loaded, then improvises.

“Anything that comes in a can, box or jar, I’ve got it,” she says. “When there are specials on meat I bring it home and freeze it. Vegetables I always have, fresh and frozen.” Creativity and a willingness to test new recipes trace back to her early marriage. site green bean recipe

“I was one of these newlyweds dumb enough to leave the giblets in the chicken and stuff it anyway,” she says. “They didn’t come in little baggies back then. Well, it tasted fine.” She didn’t like cooking much at first, but after her son was born more than 50 years ago, Barbara developed a game for planning each week’s menus.

“I would go through magazines and collect recipes from different countries,” says Barbara. She wrote down the names of the countries on pieces of paper and asked her son to draw one of them out of a bowl.

“I had to make two meals from that country that week,” says Barbara, who developed extensive files of exotic dishes. Everyone rated the meal and the next week it was off on another global culinary adventure.

“I must have had 60 countries in there,” she says.

She learned to enjoy cooking, picking up the techniques along the way. Retired now, Barbara still cooks for herself almost every day and enjoys growing her own herbs, which she trades with her brother for tomatoes. here green bean recipe

She puts her fresh herbs to good use in a spunky green bean recipe with bacon. For the crock pot, one of her favorite tools, Barbara created a lamb shank recipe “that’s been in development quite a while.” She adds rye bread crumbs to her meatballs, a move that might raise some Italian eyebrows.

How did that happen?

“It was very scientific,” she jokes. “I looked in the pantry, I didn’t have any breadcrumbs but I had party rye, so I toasted it and whirred it up in the blender.

“You have to experiment with things or you never know what you’re missing.” Lamb Shanks with Dill Light olive oil 2 1/2-3 pounds lamb shanks, cut cross-wise as for osso bucco 1 medium to large sweet onion, cut in half and sliced 4-5 garlic cloves, sliced 3 tablespoons or more celery leaves, chopped 3-4 medium carrots, peeled, cut on an angle, 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped, plus additional sprigs for garnish Sea salt Freshly ground pepper 1 can (15 1/2 ounces) Italian seasoned diced tomatoes Coat your crock pot and lid with cooking spray. Trim excess fat from lamb shanks.

Heat olive oil in skillet and brown lamb shanks on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes total.

Into the crock pot place the onion, garlic, celery leaves, carrots, salt and pepper and half the dill. Then add the meat, the remaining dill and pour tomatoes over all. Cook on low at least 6 hours, up to 10 hours. Serve with roasted sweet or white potatoes, noodles or couscous. Garnish with cherry tomatoes and additional dill sprigs.

Serves four.

Herbed Green Beans 1 1/2-2 pounds fresh green beans or frozen, cut on angle 4 slices pancetta or bacon, diced 4 tablespoons fresh sage, thinly sliced 4-5 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves stripped 2-3 sprigs thyme or lemon thyme, leaves stripped 4-5 garlic cloves, grated 1 can (about 28 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained Dash of freshly grated nutmeg Sea salt Freshly ground pepper Cook green beans in salted water until tender-crisp or to taste; drain and shock in ice water. Drain again.

In large frying pan brown pancetta; remove meat to a paper towel and pour off fat.

Add herbs and garlic to pan and cook gently over low heat a few minutes to release oils. Add tomatoes and cook 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in green beans and bacon and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Heat through.

Serves eight.

Meatballs With Rye Crumbs 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 medium onion, grated 4 cloves garlic, grated 2 teaspoons fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried 1-2 teaspoons sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 pounds mixed ground sirloin and ground prime chuck (see note) 1-2 cups dry rye bread crumbs Olive oil 4 cups marinara sauce In a large bowl, mix the eggs, onion, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Add meat and mix lightly with your hands or a fork. Add bread crumbs a little at a time until the mixture holds together and isn’t too wet.

In a frying pan, heat a thin coating of olive oil. Working in batches, form meat into ping pong-sized balls and brown on all sides. Remove to a rack and drain onto with paper towels.

In a separate pot, heat marinara sauce. Reduce to a simmer, add meatballs and cook 20 minutes. Serve with pasta.

Serves eight.

Cook’s note: You may substitute ground turkey, chicken or pork for the ground beef. Use small holes on a box grater to grate the garlic.