Recipe Roundup

In “Cinderella,” the fairy godmother waves her wand, turning a pumpkin coach into a carriage. The pumpkin served as a vessel – helping Cinderella find her prince.

Like the fairy godmother, one woman's pumpkins help people find Jesus.

For two decades, Cheryl Erickson planted seeds in the ground. She hoped they’d grow to the heavens, or rather, help people find heaven themselves.
 

In May 1957, the magazine’s “Recipe Roundup” was born. Through the decades, the recipe pages in North Dakota Living have remained a reader favorite (as Lucille shares with us in her “Reader Reply”). We even published a series of cookbooks with the recipes featured in this magazine and shared by our cooperative members, readers and home cooks.

This month’s recipes come from the 1987 “REC Family Cookbook.” To celebrate 70 years of North Dakota Living, we made the original version of each recipe, plus a version with a new twist (see recipe notes).

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How can children have fun this summer while not forgetting the information they learned during the school year? Try exploring some kitchen science!

Kids may think they are making ice cream or fruit leather, but they’re actually engaged in food science, including biology, chemistry, math, physics and other scientific disciplines.

Whether you’re packing for a picnic or packing a lunch, these pack-worthy recipes are sure to please.

The picnic pasta salad is light and packs a lemony punch. It can be assembled and served in a large bowl, or try it layered in a jar for a picnic-perfect look and easy transport.

These delectable s’mores bars pack the nostalgia and fun to elevate this classic campfire treat. The bars can be individually wrapped and frozen for a grab-and-go treat or to pack in your picnic basket. Wrap in plastic wrap, then tinfoil for the campfire feel.

These recipes come from Black Leg Ranch in rural McKenzie, where six generations of the Doan family have built their lives in the cattle business. The ranch predates North Dakota statehood, having been homesteaded in 1882 by George Doan, and was the first to bring Black Angus cattle to the region. Today, the Doans raise Black Angus and bison, operate a 13,000-square-foot event space called the Copper Jewell Barn and even opened a microbrewery in 2018, which brews a line of craft beer using the ranch’s well water.

When my son was 4 years old and we were sharing a snack at the kitchen table, he looked up at me with his curious green eyes and asked, “What’s the name of this, Mommy?” to which I replied, “Almond Joy.” A big grin spread across his face as he exclaimed, “You eat the almond, I’ll eat the JOY!”

Carol Fey, a lover of cooking quick, simple meals, was raised in the small township of Coldwater, just 21 miles east of Ashley, on a grain and cattle farm.

Family life on the farm was quite typical for Carol: Being born into a farm family, you’re an automatic farmhand. Picking rocks, hauling hay and checking the cattle were regular chores. She recalls working in the field with her oldest sister for a time, before having to call it quits.

Thank you for faithfully sending the magazine from the local electric cooperatives. I especially appreciate the section on recipes.

That note was written by my grandma, Vivian Holten, in her recent Christmas card to me.

Bernice Duletski, a Capital Electric Cooperative member, was raised on a farm in rural Belfield, where the love to cook, gather and eat ran deep.

In the farm kitchen with her mom and grandma is where Bernice and her sister, Lydia, learned the skills and patience required to master the family recipes. Those same family recipes were compiled into a family cookbook, “Cooking with the Duletski Daughters,” which is still heavily used and cherished.