Annual Friedapalooza Festival adds new recipe favorite

Every March my five sisters and I get together for the annual Friedapalooza Festival in Syracuse—a weekend of shopping, great food and dishing.

The event usually takes place around Sister Frieda’s March 3 birthday.

When it gets to be that time of year, there’s nothing like a little retail therapy mixed in with a heavy dose of comic relief to offset the symptons of cabin fever.

Add in some energizing carbohydrates, (A girl’s got to keep up her strength when on the prowl for a great bargain) dinner with Brother J.P., his wife Mary, sister-in-law Jan, and niece Lily and boyfriend Porter, and we had a recipe for a perfect weekend.

Other than showing up for the fest, our only other responsibility is to bring something pick-worthy to the table.

We couldn’t do without such perennial favorites as Sister Barbara’s homemade cinnamon rolls and an assortment of Trader Joe’s treats from Sisters Annette and Jeanette.

And this year Sister Betty brought along a vat of something called Texas Caviar that was so good that it has been added to the Great Dishes of Friedapalooza Hall of Fame.

Betty got the recipe from one of her fellow retired teacher friends. It’s very similar to a dip my friend Lynda Kellogg has been known to serve.

My friend Cathy Dibble said her neighbor Brian Bamberger’s version (which he called Adirondack Caviar) was a huge hit at their neighborhood block party last fall.

It’s loaded with vegetables and beans and can be served along with tortilla chip scoops or as a side dish.

And if you are trying to cut down on sugar, you can substitute Splenda.

Accompanying is Betty’s recipe. I have also included my mother’s recipe for Vegetable Lasagna that was expertly duplicated by Sister Barbara.

Ingredients:

1 20 oz. package frozen chopped broccoli

1 24 – 26 oz. jar tomato sauce (or 3 cups homemade)

2 14-16 oz. cans stewed tomatoes

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 8 oz. packs no-boil lasagna noodles

16 oz. shredded mozzarella

1 cup water

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Thaw broccoli under cold water and squeeze out excess moisture. Combine broccoli, sauce, sugar, stewed tomatoes and water. Set aside.

Spray 13” X 9” pan with non-stick cooking spray. Add 1 cup sauce and spread on bottom of pan. Layer noodles, more sauce and mozzarella. Continue layering (3 to 4 layers) finishing with sauce on top. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake additional 15 minutes.

Take out of oven and let rest about 15 minutes before cutting.

 

G2Me Recipe Yee-Ha That’s Good Texas Caviar Chop 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 4 scallions, and 4 celery stalks.

Drain 1 can pinto beans, 1 can black eyed peas, and 2 cans shoepeg corn and add to chopped vegetables. Set aside in large bowl.

 

Dressing:

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp. pepper

Put ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour mixture over veggies and beans and let it sit over night in refrigerator. Drain off dressing before serving. Serve as a side dish or with tortilla “scoops” as a dip