EASIEST BARBECUE BEEF AND SAUCE

For me, bottled bar-b-q sauce is too sweet, and indeed, the first ingredient on the label is usually high-fructose corn syrup, a no-no in my diet, plus modified corn starch and caramel color or flavoring (other names for MSG) along with hydrolyzed anything.

BARBECUE SAUCE (enough for 1-pound ground beef or use as a basting sauce for grilled meats)

one 8-ounce can Muir Glen organic tomato sauce

¼ cup worchestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon Wright's liquid smoke (never seen any other brand)

1/8 teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon organic cane sugar

Mix and voila! As always, taste and tinker, if you like.

FOR THE BEEF

1-pound ground beef

one cup peeled chopped sweet onion

1. There is enough fat in the beef to put the beef and onion in a 10-inch pan, together. Don’t throw the entire pound in at once, instead, pull off  small chunks and add them to the pan.  Use low heat to get the red out of the meat, stirring with a wooden spoon.  Recipes always say “brown the meat” but what one wants to do is get the red out of it.

      2.  Pour in the sauce, reduce the heat to as low as you can.  I also use a “simmer-ring” 

           and tilt the lid of the pan. Cook for 30 minutes, checking and stirring every 10

           minutes.  Meat should be very tender.  If not, cook until it is.

4 servings

 Photos by Carol Guilford

Good on heated buns, nuked for 5 seconds, or with a side of organic, frozen corn heated with ½ tablespoon butter and a pinch of ground cumin. Trader Joe’s sells a can of non-genetically produced corn I like. 

EASIEST THANKSGIVING SWEET POTATO PIE

Photo by Carol Guilford

I am especially thankful this year because I had a freak accident and came through.

I fell off a truck, I kid you not. The truck wasn’t even moving. It was a mammoth Ford,  I slipped from the seat; my head hit the curb hard. So hard, I ended up in the emergency

room and a cat-scan. A week later, I had plastic surgery and a piece of my left eyelid was grafted onto the right one.

My appetite is returning. Gratefully, I share this sweet potato pie.

Preparation and baking time: about 1 hour. It may be prepared the night before, refrigerated and baked the day of the dinner.

Best Utensils: 4-quart pot and 10-inch pie plate

6-8 servings

4 large sweet potatoes

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained

1 large egg

½ cup orange juice (approximately)

marshmallows *

1. Scrub the potatoes, cover with water and boil over medium heat for 30-40 minutes, until they are tender. Drain, cool slightly before handling, then slip off the skins. While warm, mash in a large bowl with a potato masher.
2. Mix in the drained pineapple, egg, and enough orange juice to moisten.
3. Spoon the potato mixture into the pie plate, and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the pie is hot throughout. Top with the marshmallows, (I used 12) return to the oven, and bake until the marshmallows have melted into a crust (about 10 -15 minutes).

• I wasn’t pleased with the first “jet-puffed” marshmallows I bought, but I re-purchased at Whole Foods and the result was satisfactory.  I think those miniature marshmallows will work, too.  Let me know at guilfordcarol@gmail.com