Scottish Oatmeal Cakes

 Scottish Oatmeal Cakes

October 29: National Oatmeal Day

Highlander’s Mum has a well-stocked shelf of Scottish snacks, such as shortbread and oatmeal cakes, to share with family and friends who drop by to visit. We prefer to eat more of her sweet buttery biscuits than the bland ones. But once in a while, the oatmeal cakes are a nice change when she spreads them with her homemade jams or tops them with cheeses. Try the traditional Scottish oatmeal cakes as a breakfast biscuit, a tea time treat or a snack for National Oatmeal Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Glasgow Guide)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup oatmeal
  • 1 cup self-rising flour (see Notes)
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • ½ cup milk

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the oatmeal with the flour. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and rub it into the oatmeal and flour with your fingers. Mix in the brown sugar. Moisten with milk to make a sticky dough.

Scottish Oatmeal Cakes

Transfer onto a sheet of floured wax paper. Sprinkle the top of the dough with a little flour. Place another sheet of wax paper on top. Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with a round cookie cutter or rim of a glass. Re-roll the dough and cut more rounds.

Scottish Oatmeal Cakes

Place on a a greased baking sheet. Prick the top of the rounds with the tines of a fork. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven. Let cool completely on a wire rack. The oatmeal cakes should harden to a crisp while they cool.

Scottish Oatmeal Cakes

Notes

  • If not using self-rising flour, then use 1 cup all-purpose flour sifted with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon baking soda.

Bologna Sandwich

Bologna Sandwich

October 24: National Bologna Day

Bored with a basic bologna sandwich? Then fry it up for a fuller flavor! Although we do not eat luncheon meats very often, we do have a bologna sandwich as an alternative to ham, turkey or roast beef sandwiches. We eat it plain out of the package but, on the rare occasion, we do fry up the bologna slices. The hot meat melts the cheese for a tasty treat on toast.

Oscar Mayer, the company which processes a variety of luncheon meats, claims that about 2.19 million bologna sandwiches are eaten every year. That is equivalent to 6 million per day!

Whether or not that statistic is a bunch of baloney, join the many millions today who are eating a basic or fried bologna sandwich in celebration of National Bologna Day.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • bologna slices (we used Oscar Mayer brand)
  • cheese slices (we used a lactose-free American cheese)
  • bread slices (white or wheat, toasted or untoasted)
  • condiments (mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, etc.)
  • vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes and onions)

For a basic bologna sandwich

Spread a condiment of choice on each slice of bread. Add cheese and bologna. Put vegetables in the middle, if desired. Top with the other slice of bread.

Bologna Sandwich

For a fried bologna sandwich

Slit a cross in the middle of a slice of bologna to prevent it from curling and bubbling up in the center. Heat a skillet (no oil is necessary) and fry each side of the slice of bologna until browned. Place between two slices of bread with the cheese. Condiments and vegetables may be added, if desired.

Bologna Sandwich

Notes

  • Fried bologna sandwiches are popular in the Midwestern and Southern states.
  • Bologna (also spelled baloney) is a large sausage inspired by the Italian mortadella, which originated from the city of Bologna.
  • Watch Oscar Mayer’s classic commercial featuring “the bologna song”. Since the original jingle aired on television in 1973, the company has attempted to revive its bologna advertising campaign. Several subsequent commercials still show kids singing the catchy tune. Look at the lyrics on the Lyrics Mode site and sing along!

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

October 21: National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day

We always enjoyed fall at the farms when we lived in northern Illinois for five years. During the harvest season, the farmers would host festivals and open houses to showcase their bounty of vegetables. We had fun sampling the ciders and hot cocoa, buying fresh-baked pies and other goodies at the country-style marketplace, watching people get lost in the corn maze and purchasing a pumpkin for Halloween.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Highlander would carve jack-o-lanterns out of it instead of pureeing the pumkin for pies, soups and cakes (although once in a while, he would roast the seeds for a snack). We just use the convenient canned pumpkin in recipes, such as cheesecake. We make them mini-sized to share at social gatherings during the season. Mini pumpkin cheesecakes are perfect for Halloween and Thanksgiving and especially on National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day!

Recipe

(Adapted from Karo Syrup)

Ingredients

  • 24 gingersnap cookies
  • 1 ½ (12 ounces) blocks of cream cheese
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1/3 cup corn syrup (we used Karo brand)
  • whipped cream (we used Cool Whip brand)

Directions

Place a gingersnap cookie on the bottom of 24 cupcake liners. In a large bowl, cream the cheese with the sugar and corn starch until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin pie spice. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the pumpkin.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Blend in the corn syrup. Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners. Tap the bottom of the muffin tins to let the batter settle smoothly.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Bake in a preheated oven at 325 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until just set. Remove from the oven. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until firm or for at least an hour. Garnish with whipped cream (optional).

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Notes

  • Illinois is among the top pumpkin-producing states in America. The town of Morton, home to the Nestle brand pumpkin packing plant (and where more than 90% of canned pumpkins eaten in the country are processed), is known as the “Pumpkin Capital of the World.”
  • The pumpkins pictured above are from Randy’s Vegetables. We have also visited Kuiper’s Family Farm and other pumpkin patches in the past while living in Illinois.
  • Search our blog for other pumpkin recipes.