The Kitchen Door

I love old cookbooks.  Some of them are hilarious… the 60′s and 70′s seemed to find most home cooks dabbling in the “art” of aspics.  Ew.  Some of the really old cookbooks are a treasure and include things like “how to prepare a good chicken”. The first step is to “make sure his eyes are bright and his comb is red”.  The rest of the “recipe” is a bit graphic for this venue, hahaha.   I have my fair share of old cookbooks and I just love the feeling of nostalgia I get when I am recreating something that someone made for her family decades ago.  It’s a sentimental link to the past for me and I love corny stuff like that.

When Mike and I moved into the Hospitality House here and begun the renovations it would need in order to reopen its doors, I found in the attic crawl space an old Cadence International Cookbook.  I’m not sure how old it is because the front and back covers are missing but it is filled with wonderful recipes and pearls of wisdom from the missionaries that served through the years.  I love this cookbook and have decided it was meant to be mine.  :)  I will of course share the wealth of knowledge found within its time worn pages, with all of you.

This “No Fuss Focaccia” has become a favorite around here and so it will be the first recipe from the book that I share.  Actually, the actual name of the bread is “Idiot Bread” because of its ease in preparation. The thought is “One would have to be an idiot to mess this up”.  In my own defense, my yeast was no longer active… that is why I have renamed the bread.  >_<  Charlene Hauser is the submitter of this recipe and has been a missionary on the field for a few years (I’ll let her tell you how many).  She is a delight and quite the accomplished cook.  You’ll love the bread, it’s light, tasty, and best of all… easy.

No Fuss Focaccia

Idiot Bread

The Ingredients

• 1 package yeast
• 1 TBS sugar
• 4 cups flour
• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees is perfect)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter (melted)
• 1/2 tsp-1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp (give or take) of dried parsley

The Instructions

Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add sugar, salt and flour.  Mix well with a wooden spoon and spread in a greased 9x13 pan.  Let rise for 1 hour, then pour 1/2 stick of melted butter on top.  Sprinkle with garlic powder, parsley and Parmesan Cheese.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

By: The Kitchen Door as adapted from Cadence International Cookbook submitted by Charlene Hauser

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