By Jomay Steen

We held a memorial service for my mother last week at Faith. Along with friends and relatives who paid homage to Mom, the supportive hugs and pats on the shoulders and words of condolences were the platters of comfort foods.
In the five days that I was home, the ladies of Faith went into their kitchens to bake, simmer and stew a gorgeous feast for an entire town let alone our small family.
A teardrop ham shouldered next to a roaster of cabbage and beef stew, an enchilada casserole topped with guacamole slices and black olives, crowded chicken chow mein pushed next to the authentic fried bread, plates of lemon bread with blueberries and whipped cream, cookies, glazed doughnuts and deep dish apple pie.
But my favorite was Iverne and Jim Halloway’s chocolate cake.
Tender, moist with a thick, creamy chocolate frosting, it satisfied the chocoholic in me and comforted me with its velvety smooth texture and rich, dark flavor. I haven’t caught up with Iverne to get her recipe, but I wonder if you have a recipe to share.

From Hershey’s.com:
HERSHEY’S “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cup HERSHEY’S cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
“PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING (recipe follows)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.
VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13×9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.
THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.
BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.
CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

“PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” CHOCOLATE FROSTING”
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

By Tanya Manus

It’s time to revisit a retro classic - deviled eggs.

We had a potluck the other day to wish our departing reporter Jeremy Fugleberg farewell, and the assembled foods, like our staff, was diverse. There was vegan fare next to little smokies, apples with homemade caramel dip, tator tot casserole, Boston cream and fruit pie. And a lot more. But the item on the menu that really sparked a conversation was the deviled eggs.

They disappeared quickly, as co-workers talked about how seldom this perennial favorite actually appears at potlucks and picnics anymore, despite the fact that deviled eggs have been so beloved that they inspired legions of deviled-egg trays just for serving them.

I confess I did recently try to throw away my friend’s deviled egg trays during her recent move. She surely didn’t use them, did she? But she said yes, she did, because she is the deviled-egg maker for her family at holidays and special occasions.

The next time you’re asked to bring a dish to a picnic or barbecue, get out your deviled egg tray - or borrow your friend’s - and revisit this classic. Your dish could be the talk of the party.

Easy Classic Deviled Eggs  (courtesy of the American Egg Board)

6 hard-cooked eggs

1/3 cup shredded taco-seasoned cheese OR Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 sour cream

3 tbsp. green onions

Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Remove yolks to small bowl. Reserve whites. Mash yolks with fork. Add cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and green onions; mix well. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of the yolk mixture into each egg white half. Refrigerate, covered, to blend flavors. Before serving, garnish eggs with chopped chives or minced green onions.

Helpful hints: Combine egg yolks, cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream and green onions in 1-quart plastic food-storage bag. Press out air and seal bag. Press and roll bag with hand until mixture is well blended. Push filling toward bottom corner of bag. Snip off about 1/2-inch of corner. Squeeze yolk mixture from bag into egg whites.

Picnic, barbecue or tailgate tip: Prepare filling in plastic bag, as above. Carry whites and yolk mixture separately in cooler. Fill eggs on the spot, pressing filling out of snipped corner of bag.

By Tanya Manus

We’ve been eating a lot of BLTs at our house lately. In a household like ours, where schedules change often and mealtime varies, having all the ingredients pre-assembled - including the bacon - makes it easy to have BLTs any time.

Right now, we’re enjoying fresh lettuce from a friend’s garden. We try to keep lettuce and sliced tomatoes ready to go on a plate in the refrigerator, along with a packet of bacon we pre-bake ourselves.

You could buy pre-cooked bacon, of course, but pre-baking bacon doesn’t take a lot of time and you can use the kind of bacon you prefer. In our house, we like to use the thick-sliced variety. Simply lay as many strips as will fit on your broiler pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, turning bacon after 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on several layers of paper towels.  As it cooks, the fat drains away, the strips of bacon seem to shrink less, and you can prepare more bacon in less time than if you fried it.

When you’re ready for a sandwich, reheat the bacon for about 30 seconds in the microwave. What a great grab-and-go summer meal!

By Tanya Manus

It’s rhubarb season, and several of my co-workers have been talking about their best rhubarb recipes, the ones that are tried-and-true favorites every summer. Thanks to my friend Irma and her namesake aunt, I’ve got a good old-fashioned dessert to add to the list.
Rhubarb Dumplings have been a treasured treat in Irma’s family for 49 years. The recipe was passed down from aunt Irma Davidson to my friend, Irma Koan, and her mother, Clo Trout, who love to make this each summer when fresh rhubarb is in the garden.
“As soon as the rhubarb gets tall enough, we pull some,” Irma said. “We also make strawberry rhubarb jam and rhubarb upside-down cake.”
Rhubarb Dumplings are a treat to make on a lazy summer day when you’ve got plenty of time. This dessert starts with lots of chopped rhubarb, and with pie crust made from Clo’s recipe. The pie crust dough is rolled out and cut into squares. The squares are filled with rhubarb chunks, topped with a sugar syrup and baked.

Irma and her family enjoy making the Rhubarb Dumplings. “It takes time, but it’s fun. We like to sing … and cook at the same time,” Irma said.
The end result is a dessert of flaky crust and tender rhubarb that “tastes like apple pie, but better,” Irma said.
I got the pleasure of sampling Irma’s family’s Rhubarb Dumplings just a couple of weeks ago, warm from the oven, served with vanilla ice cream. They’re very rich and hearty, and one recipe makes a plentiful batch. Irma sent me home with leftovers, and I enjoyed them the next day as a decadent breakfast pastry, too.

Rhubarb Dumplings
Roll out pie crust dough (recipe follows) flat and thin in a big sheet. Cut into squares about 3 inches by 5 inches, not too thick but not too thin.
In a bowl, mix 1 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon and 2 tbsp. flour. Stir well with a fork.
Cut rhubarb into 1/2-inch chunks. You will need 6 to 7 cups of rhubarb chunks. Put a small handful of rhubarb chunks, 1 pat of butter and 2 tbsp. of the flour mixture on each square of dough and pinch dough shut. Put each one in a buttered cake pan, pinched dough side down.
Make a thin syrup: In saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar and 2 cups water. Heat on low and stir. Carefully pour syrup on dumplings in pan.
Bake the syrup-topped dumplings at 350 degrees until light brown, about 35 minutes.

Clo’s Pie Crust
3 cups flour
1 level cup Crisco
Use your fingers to combine until mixture feels like cornmeal. In a separate bowl, beat one egg, 1 tsp. vinegar, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. cold water. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir with fork. Mix with fork and knead three or four times.

By Heidi Bell Gease
I don’t know about you, but when summertime comes I don’t much feel like cooking. It’s hot and I’d rather be outside.
That’s why I like to keep a bowl of pasta salad and a jug of iced tea in the fridge, ready for a quick snack or light meal.
Here’s one of my favorite pasta salad recipes. The original version came from the Rapid City Journal years ago.
If you have a favorite pasta salad recipe you’d like to share I’d love to try it!

Heidi’s Pasta Salad
8 oz. (3 c.) uncooked pasta (shells, spirals or penne work well - I like to include some Wacky Mac for color)
1 can tuna, drained (the original recipe calls for a 16-ounce can of salmon, drained with skin and bones removed - also very tasty but more rich)
1 c. thinly sliced carrots
1/2 c. green stuffed olives, halved
1 c. frozen peas, partially thawed
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c. red pepper, julienned
1/2 c. chopped celery

Dressing
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3 T. lemon juice
1 T. rice vinegar
2 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. dillweed
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Cook and drain pasta. Mix with 1 T. oil and refrigerate. Whisk dressing ingredients together, then add dressing to pasta, fish and vegetables. Mix together and chill 30 mins. before serving.