Lunch and a Surprise Gift

Today I was invited to lunch by my oldest daughter and her long-time friend, S.E.  We met at the Silverton Cafe (Cincinnati),  home of extraordinary double-decker sandwiches. After we had ordered, S.E. handed me a beautiful gift box and this was inside:

This 3-1/4 inch pie looks so good you can almost smell the home-baked aroma.  S.E. hand-carved this out of basswood and painted it in a very realistic way.

The holder was her ingenious idea of a piece of an old bed spring.

The carving and painting are beautiful front and back.

The gift is especially touching to me because S.E. remembered that I love to bake pies – a real treasure.

And the sandwich was delicious!

Read Full Post »

My Favorite Corn Relish

We’ve had a sensational corn season here in southwest Ohio.  Every week, I drive to my favorite farm market, Blooms and Berries in Loveland, Ohio, and pick up some great bi-color sweet corn.  Many times this summer, my daughter and I have had a supper of corn-on-the-cob, a big tossed salad and some kind of cobbler or Brown Betty made with fresh fruit – now, that says summertime!

Whenever I had an ear of cooked corn left over, I cut it from the cob and put it in a bag in the freezer.  Finally, today I had enough to make my favorite corn relish.  When I was a child in the 1930s-40s, the items I loved the most on the dinner tables of my grandmothers and my great-aunt were the pickles and relishes, and corn relish was my favorite.  This recipe from a book called FANCY PANTRY comes the closest to what I remember from those long-ago days.

CORN RELISH

• 3-1/2 cups fresh corn kernels*
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
• 1 Tblsp. pickling salt
• 1 Tblsp. dry mustard
• 1 tsp. mustard seed
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 3/4 tsp. celery seed
• 1/8 tsp. ground hot red pepper
• 1-1/4 cups cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water

*You can substitute thawed frozen corn (drained) or well drained canned corn if fresh isn’t available.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine the corn, onions, red and green pepper and celery.

Add the brown sugar, pickling salt, mustard, mustard seed, turmeric, celery seed, hot red pepper, vinegar and water.  Stir everything together and place pot on medium-high heat.

Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Lower heat and simmer mixture partly covered until it has thickened slightly – about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Ladle relish into hot sterilized jars, seal, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, counting the time after the water has started to boil again after inserting the jars. I like to use an asparagus steamer for processing just a jar or two.

This batch makes about 3 cups of relish.  I filled a one-pint jar and processed it.  A half-pint jar was filled and not processed, but will be refrigerated.  In either case, allow the relish to cure for two weeks before using.  The refrigerated version should be used within two weeks after the curing time.

The pint jar will be stored away for Thanksgiving when I like to have on the table a sampling of pickles and relishes that I’ve made that year.   Here are some other pickles and relishes I’ve made this summer that I plan to have on my Thanksgiving table this year:

• Watermelon Pickles
• Spicy Bread and Butter Pickles
• Harvest Relish
• Fresh Corn Zucchini Relish
• Dill Spears
• Sweet and Sour Pickle Sticks
• Zucchini Relish

This is a good website with information on canning.

Read Full Post »

Missouri Peach Preserves

My son and his family live in a suburb of St. Louis.  A Christmas gift they sent me one year was a copy of their church’s cookbook which contained a recipe for peach preserves.  This is my adaptation which I named Missouri Peach Preserves in honor of its city of origin.

MISSOURI PEACH PRESERVES

• 4 cups fresh peaches *
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 Tblsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract

*I used 6 medium size freestone peaches

Measure sugar into a bowl and lemon juice into a cup and have on the stove, ready to use.

For easy peeling of peaches, immerse peaches in a pan of simmering water for about 30 seconds, drain, and peel will slide off easily.  Remove pits, slice peaches and place in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven.  Over medium heat, cook peaches, stirring occasionally, until they start to bubble.

Add the lemon juice and sugar, stirring over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

Bring mixture to a full boil and then cook at medium heat for approximately 10 to 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.  Peaches should be soft but not gummy and syrup should be starting to thicken.  Stir in almond extract.

Pour into a crock or heavy bowl (not metal) and let stand overnight.

The next morning, reheat the preserves to boiling.  Remove from heat and immediately pour into sterilized canning jars**.

Seal with lids/caps and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes, counting after the water has started to boil again.  For a small number of jars, I like to use an asparagus steamer for processing.

Carefully remove the processed jars to a wire rack to cool.

From this batch, I got three half-pint jars and a half-cup bowl which was not processed and will be sampled first.

Note:  After sampling, I can report that the preserves turned out very well.  The consistency for spreading on hot toast or biscuits is just right straight from the refrigerator.

**Click here for a good website on canning and preserving food.

Read Full Post »

Summer Lunch for the Ladies

My two daughters were here for lunch before going swimming in my neighborhood pool.  I wanted to have something summery and light and decided to have corn-on-the-cob, Pecan Spinach Toss Salad, and Pineapple Cups.

PECAN SPINACH TOSS SALAD

• 2 cups orzo pasta
• 3 cups boiling, lightly salted water
• 5 cups fresh baby spinach (about 5 oz.)
• 5 oz. crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup toasted pecans
• 3 Tblsp. olive oil
• 1 Tblsp. lemon zest
• 3 Tblsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Grinding of black pepper

Add orzo to the boiling water, bring to a boil again and cook for 6 minutes.  Rinse in cold water and drain.

Put spinach, cheese and pecans in a very large bowl or pot and add orzo.

In a small jar, mix together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper – put a lid on the jar and shake well.  Pour this dressing over the salad and toss well.  I let the salad set for about 30 minutes and served at room temperature, although cold leftovers were also good.

WARNING:  This makes a lot of salad – it would be good to take to a potluck or family gathering.  We three each had a big serving for lunch and each one had another large serving to save for supper.

This recipe is adapted from one in Susan Branch’s AUTUMN cookbook.

I’ve been organizing my huge collection of cookbooks and this dessert recipe jumped out at me from a 1939 Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook.  There are a lot of recipes in the cookbook, but my favorites are always the Round Table Recipes from readers which were clipped from the magazine and inserted in the cookbook binder.  This one is from someone in Connecticut in November, 1940.  Her comment, “Double surprise!  Comes cake, then custard hiding pineapple!”, which describes the dish exactly. This is a nice, tasty, light dessert – just right for lunch or supper.

PINEAPPLE CUPS

• 8 oz can pineapple tidbits, drained (reserve juice)
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• Dash of salt
• 1/3 cup juice drained from an 8 oz. can of pineapple tidbits
• 1-1/2 Tblsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tblsp. grated lemon peel
• 1 Tblsp. butter, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tblsp. milk
• 2 egg whites, beaten stiff

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Have 3 small ungreased individual baking dishes at hand.  Boil water to pour into a flat pan with a lip that will hold the 3 dishes.

Drain juice from pineapple can into a cup – should measure approximately 1/3 cup.  Set aside

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, flour and salt.  Add the lemon juice, lemon peel, cooled melted butter and milk, whisking until smooth.

Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Place tidbits in the bottom of three individual casseroles.  Divide batter among the three dishes and pour over the pineapple.  Place the dishes in a pan with a lip containing an inch of hot water.

Bake @ 325 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Pineapple cups are best served warm or at room temperature.

The buttered corn-on-the cob, the Pecan Spinach Toss Salad and this Pineapple Cup dessert made the perfect ladies’ summertime meal.

Read Full Post »

Oatmeal Prune Muffins

Almost 30 years ago, I bought a cookbook specializing in muffins to send to my daughter-in-law in St. Louis for her birthday.  Before it left my hands, I copied down a lot of the recipes to try some day.  I’m just now getting around to this one.

OATMEAL PRUNE MUFFINS

• 1 cup water
• 1-1/2 cups chopped, pitted dried prunes
• 2/3 cup uncooked old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup Canola oil
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. grated orange peel*

*I always keep small containers of orange, lemon and lime peel in the freezer.  Just a few minutes of thawing time will give enough for the small amounts needed in cooking and it tastes like fresh grated peel.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease or line with paper or silicone 12 muffin cups.

In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil; remove from heat.  Stir in prunes and oats; let stand 20 minutes.

While mixture is cooling, in a large bowl whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Stir oil, beaten eggs, vanilla and orange peel into prune mixture in saucepan.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add prune mixture and stir just to combine.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups; bake @ 400 degrees F for  20 to 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean.

Remove muffin tin to wire rack.  Cool 5 minutes before removing muffins from cups (I like to remove the silicone cups from the muffin pan right away).

Remove muffins from pan or silicone liners to rack to cool.

Makes 12 muffins

After muffins are cool, store in an airtight container like this 45-year-old Tupperware piece.

Muffins also freeze well.

These muffins are a  very good combination of tasty and healthy.

Read Full Post »

Brown Velvet Cake

I’ve been going through my big collection of cookbooks and recipes to find any that might have been enjoyed years ago and then forgotten.  This one is a good example.

In December of 1988, I had clipped a recipe for Brown Velvet Cake but didn’t get around to making it until the summer of 1990.  The family enjoyed the cake so I made it again to enter in our local Harvest Home Festival, an annual Labor Day event.  There were always a lot of wonderful entries and I felt lucky to win a third place ribbon.  Then, I forgot all about the cake until the recipe surfaced last week in one of my binders.  I have a note, “My favorite chocolate cake”.

BROWN VELVET CAKE

The Cake:

• 1 cup of chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate)
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2  cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs plus 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 Tblsp. white vinegar in a standard measuring cup with milk to equal one cup)

To Make the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease well and lightly flour two 9″ round cake pans.

Combine the chocolate chips and boiling water.  Let stand, stir and cool.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter.  Gradually add brown sugar and granulated sugar, creaming well.

Add 2 unbeaten eggs and 2 unbeaten egg whites, plus vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture, mixing well.

Add dry ingredients to this batter alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.  Blend well after each addition.

Turn into the two greased and floured 9″ cake pans.  Bake @ 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes until a tester inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean.

Let cakes rest in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and let cool on the rack.

The  Filling:

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 Tblsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 cup undiluted evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
• 1 Tblsp. creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

To Make the Filling:

In a medium pan, combine the brown sugar and cornstarch.  Add evaporated milk, water and egg yolks.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and mixture begins to bubble.  Remove from heat, stir in all but 2 Tblsp. of the chopped peanuts, the peanut butter and the vanilla.  Set aside to cool.

The Frosting:

• 2 Tblsp. butter
• 2 Tblsp. creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 4-5 Tblsp. evaporated milk, undiluted

To Make the Frosting:

Cream together the butter and peanut butter.  Add the melted chocolate chips and vanilla.  Blend in the confectioners’ sugar alternately with the evaporated milk to spreading consistency.

To Assemble the Cake

Place one cooled cake layer on a plate and spread the top with the filling.

Place the second layer on top of the filling and frost the top and sides of the cake.

Sprinkle the reserved 2 tablespoons of chopped peanuts over the top of the frosted cake.

This makes a tall (3-1/2 inches) impressive cake …. and it’s delicious.

Read Full Post »

The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford

In 1984, I participated in a recipe exchange by mail and this is one of the recipes I received.  There are a lot of versions of this dessert with a lot of names, but since Robert Redford still looks good to me, I’m keeping it.  This is an easy dessert to assemble, should be made ahead of time and chilled, and is very rich and delicious.

THE NEXT BEST THING TO ROBERT REDFORD

Crust:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cut in small cubes
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Filling:

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 8 oz. carton of Cool Whip whipped topping, divided
• Small package of instant vanilla pudding (four 1/2-cup svgs.)
• 1-1/2 cups milk, divided
• Small package of instant chocolate pudding (four 1/2-cup svgs.)
• Block of Hershey chocolate bar or Ghirardelli milk chocolate bar
• Pecans for garnishing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

To Make the Crust:

Mix the flour, butter and pecans well.  Press mixture in a 9×9 baking pan.  Bake @ 350 degrees F for 15 minutes until lightly brown.  Cool

To Make Filling and Assemble:

Layer 1: Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.  Fold in 4 ounces (half of an 8-oz. carton) of whipped topping.  Spread over cooled crust.

Layer 2: Mix vanilla pudding and 3/4 cup of milk until thickened.  Spread over Layer 1.

Layer 3: Mix chocolate pudding and 3/4 cup of milk until thickened.  Spread over Layer 2.

Layer 4: Spread remaining 4 oz. of whipped topping over Layer 3.

Grate the block of milk chocolate over the top of the dessert and garnish with whole toasted pecans.

Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

This dessert won a ribbon at the Hamilton County Fair (Cincinnati) in 1984 and has been a favorite dessert in our family ever since.

I’m so glad I took part in that chain mail recipe exchange.

“Redford”, as we call it, was our dessert today when my daughters and grandchildren returned from swimming at Boomerang Bay (Kings Island, Mason OH).  We had another old favorite for lunch - Mom’s Tuna Melts.

Read Full Post »

Oat Bran Sour Cream Muffins

I started out with a recipe from Joy the Baker, one of my favorite food bloggers, but made quite a few changes.  I switched out some of the high fat items and used oat bran rather than wheat bran.  Please note that this is not bran cereal, but oat bran such as we used to buy in health food stores and now is available in most groceries.  Joy said that her version improved after a couple of days and mine did, too.  Carefully packed on the kitchen counter, they will be delicious up to 5 days.  This is a nice breakfast muffin – not too sweet and full of healthy ingredients.

OAT BRAN SOUR CREAM MUFFINS

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup light sour cream
• 1/4 cup molasses*
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup oat bran (not cold bran cereal)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Grease/flour 12 muffin cups or insert paper or silicone liners.

In a medium bowl, place the oil, light brown sugar, egg and molasses.

*I used some pure natural cane molasses from Amish Country (Holmes County, Ohio) because I like its slight sorghum flavor.  Something like Grandma’s Molasses would also be good.

Whisk these ingredients until smooth.  Whisk in the baking soda and salt.  Stir in the oat bran and flour just until dry ingredients are absorbed.  Gently stir in the raisins and nuts.

Divide batter between 12 muffin cups.  Bake @ 400 degrees F for approximately 15 minutes – until tops are golden brown and a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Remove pan to rack to cool.  I like the silicone liners now that I’ve discovered letting the muffins cool in the liners for 5-10 minutes makes it easy to pop them out of the liners.

Allow muffins to cool completely on a wire rack.  Then store in a tightly covered container for up to 5 days.

Really tasty with a cup of morning coffee.

The next picture has nothing whatsoever to do with oat bran muffins, but I collect vintage linen and scottie items and had to share  this gift from my oldest daughter.  I love the ladies in the background enjoying their card game while poor hubby is coping with feeding the baby – a revolutionary idea back in the 1930-40s.

Read Full Post »

Best of Show Raspberry Cherry Pie

In 1983, I had won our big County Fair Pie Contest (Hamilton County/Cincinnati) and really didn’t want to push my luck by entering the following year, but my oldest daughter insisted it was my duty to defend my title.  So, I looked around my country kitchen, crowded with fresh produce, and decided to make a Raspberry Cherry Pie, using our home-grown black raspberries and tart red cherries.  I baked it on a hot Saturday morning, took it to the fairgrounds and when the contest was over, was told I was the first one in the history of the contest to win two years in a row.  I got a blue ribbon, best of show rosette, an engraved silver bowl and a half-bushel of apples.

The years went by and I was always baking something new for our Sunday dinner – never got around to making the prize-winning pie again.  Then, my husband was ill with Alzheimer’s and we had to leave our country home and the raspberry bushes and the cherry trees, so it has been over 25 years since I first made this pie.

A month or so ago, my online friend, Darlene, blogged about a dessert she had made using frozen tart cherries from Meijer.  I hurried to the store, picked up a bag of cherries and some red raspberries, and came home to bake an old favorite.  It was just as good as I remembered it.

BEST OF SHOW RASPBERRY CHERRY PIE

• Pastry for double crust 9″ pie (click here for my favorite recipe)
• 1 cup tart red cherries (I used frozen)
• 3 cups fresh raspberries
• 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 Tblsp. fast-acting tapioca
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 Tblsp. butter
• 1 Tblsp. milk

Preheat oven @ 375 degrees F

Measure one cup of cherries into a large bowl.  If cherries are frozen, they will thaw by the time the pie is completed.

To the cherries, add the raspberries, sugar, salt, tapioca and vanilla.  Toss to mix well and let stand for 10-15 minutes.

Stir fruit to distribute sugar and turn into a pastry-lined 9″ pie pan.  Dot with butter, add top crust and crimp to seal.  Cut vents and brush with milk.

Place on a flat pan to catch spills and bake @ 375 degrees F for 45-50 minutes until top crust is golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack.

I probably took a little more care in preparing a fair entry, but not much.  To me, the idea was that it should be one of my normal Sunday pies – with all its little rough spots and bubbling over.

In 1987, when we went to the fair, my daughter told me that one of her entries was going to be my birthday present.  When we got to the Hobbies & Crafts Department, I found she had made a miniature model of the Hamilton County Fair Pie Contest, correct down to the tiniest detail with ribbons, trophies, a table full of pies and baskets of apples.  It won a Best of Show Rosette for her.

Every year, I display the model during the county fair season and remember all the good – and hectic – times we had at the pie contests.

Read Full Post »