Cat Campbell/For The Madera Tribune This cookbook has been used a lot during the last 36 years, as evidenced by all the smudges and creases. We were a 4-H family and enjoyed it very much. There is a cookbook, one of those spiral bound fundraiser types, that I use quite often. It is called, California Cooking: Favorite Recipes of 4-H Families. I bought it March 10, 1990, during Madera County Demonstration Day held at the Madera Fairgrounds. My oldest son, Matt, was in the hors

Thelmadatter, Wikimedia Commons Portuguese sweet bread is tender, light and irresistible. My family likes to make holiday breads, usually at Christmas time and Easter. This past Christmas, I had plans to make an Italian panettone yeast bread, enhanced with raisins, citrus peels and other aromatics. We also add pine nuts. I did not get to make any this time, because I came down with my first case (that I know of) of COVID-19. That pretty much took care of just about all of my

Courtesy of Suzy Hazelwood/Wikimedia Commons  Smooth and creamy is a good way to describe a slice of cheesecake. There is an old TV show called Golden Girls, most of us are familiar with. Every time the gals are having a problem, it seems the first thing they do is get a cheesecake out of the refrigerator. I know that cheesecakes don’t really solve problems (except for coming to the rescue for a popular dessert), but I never say no when someone offers a slice. I must admit th

Evan-Amos, Wikimedia Commons Fresh, juicy oranges are great as snacks, or as ingredients in recipes, any time of year. Oranges are good any time of year, and we are lucky they are available whenever we want them. I can remember my grandfather on my dad’s side of the family, telling me that when he was growing up, it was a real treat to get an orange in his Christmas stocking. Back then, oranges were not easy to come by like they are now. Hearing about that made me appreciate

Cat Campbell/For The Madera Tribune A big jar of refrigerated, crispy pickled cauliflower and carrots is an irresistible snack. Okay, it’s pale (except for some of the newer, more exotic colors) and depending on how it is cooked, can be rather blah in flavor. But cauliflower can be surprisingly tasty and versatile if you give it a chance. Every New Year’s Day, my family uses cauliflower in our traditional feast of bagna cauda (pronounced like BAHnya CAULDah). We cook minced o

Cat Campbell/For The Madera Tribune Fruitcakes are best when allowed to age a few weeks. The flavors mellow and blend. There are two camps of people when it comes to fruitcake: one group loves it and the other group hates it. I have not yet figured out which side holds the majority, but like most everything else edible, fruitcake manages to hold its place in the food world. To be fair, I have to admit that I, a fruitcake lover, have tasted some versions that really would have

Ceeseven, Wikimedia Commons Crab meat makes a delicious filling for fried wonton appetizers. For those who would like to ring in the New Year with some nibbles, here are a few tried-and-true recipes that have been kicking around in my family for years. So far, nobody has gotten tired of them, but perhaps they are just too polite to complain. Whatever the case may be, they always manage to disappear. They are not like the chocolates my cousins used to take one bite of, then hi

grongar, Wikimedia Commons Who can resist biting into a freshly-baked cinnamon roll? Most of us love the scent of spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger, as evidenced by the popularity of scented candles, room fresheners such as sprays and potpourri, and the aroma of comfort foods like spice cake, cinnamon rolls and other such things. Does anyone remember the once-popular craft of making pomanders? Those were the fragrant oranges studded with whole cloves all the