Pretzels

The pretzel is said to have been invented almost fourteen hundred years ago in a monastery in southern France where a monk frugally twisted leftover scraps of dough into a shape like that of arms folded in prayer, with the three openings representing the Trinity.  They were called pretiola, meaning "little reward" in Latin, and were given to children who learned their prayers.  The name evolved into brachiola, which means "little arms" and then to bretzl or pretzel when they became popular in Germany and Austria.

Sold by street vendors as early as the 15th century, pretzels were associated with good luck and even became part of wedding ceremonies, used in "tying the knot".  Pilgrims brought them to the New World and found the Indians eager customers, and a century later the Pennsylvania Dutch created the first commercial pretzel bakery in America.

From the beginning, pretzels were made, as the best still are today, of the simplest ingredients, the same as those for bread: wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt.  At first they were baked like bread, too, to be soft.  The story is that a baker fell asleep and overcooked a batch, resulting in the perfect, crisp, golden-colored pretzel.  No sugar, no fat and no cholesterol.

An excerpt from "Life is Meals" by James & Kay Salter.

With that said, I am going to offer a recipe from "Party Foods", presented by Home Economic Teachers and includes lots of recipes for Appetizers, Dips, Salads & Desserts.  This sells for $9.99 on my Amazon storefront www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks .  This recipe is a salad dressing that I have made many times.

Apricot-Sesame Dressing

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1 (5 1/2 oz) can apricot nectar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

In a small saucepan combine cornstarch, garlic powder, and ginger.  Stir in apricot nectar, vinegar, honey, and oil.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.  Add sesame seeds.  Cook and stir 2 minutes more.  Chill covered.

Makes 2/3 cup

Apricot nectar replaces most of the oil in this low-fat dressing.

Happy Cooking!