• Autumn days…

    October 24, 2013 / 10 Comments

    The weather has turned cool here at last.  The trees are finally wearing their Autumn shades of gold, crimson, deep ruby and russet orange. It is time to drag out the sweaters and place a warmer blanket on the bed.  My favorite time of year, Autumn makes me happy.  It brings back memories of harvest festivals of years gone by…apple picking…apple dumplings…homemade apple pies.

    autumnredleaf

    My daughter purchased two bushels of apples, and tomorrow I will help her turn those apples into delicious apple butter!  Years ago, when we lived in Indiana, my sisters and my niece Sharon came for a visit.  We traveled to Nashville, Brown County, Indiana.  It’s a wonderful little town with quaint shops, resident artists and wonderful food.  There, at the Nashville House Dining Room in the historic Brown County Inn, I had some of the best oven baked apple butter I have ever tasted.  I came home and tried to duplicate it and actually came close.  Now, years later, they actually share the recipe here!

    Tonight, I will go with my daughter and her family to “The Great Pumpkin Party” at church…just as we did last year.  The large church is equipped all over (indoors) with all sorts of fun events for children – including different “jumping” houses and games.  There are also pony rides outside.  They love it and it is so much fun!

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    My thanks to those of you who’ve stuck with me through this “postless” last month.  Excuses?  I’ve been traveling and spending time with precious grandchildren – both near and far.  These days, I am also traveling back in time as I spend hours working, once again, on my family history.  Yesterday, I found myself missing Dot, my late oldest sister and the one who dreamed of being able to trace our ancestors as far back as possible.  We were actually “stuck” on Mama’s maternal grandmother, Mary Frances Cooper.  I wrote for her death certicate.  Fifteen years ago – that was how you had to do it.  There were a few clues but also the wrong first initial of her father.  The information about her was being given over the telephones of yesteryear.  Her father’s first name was Vincent.  My Dad was listed as the informant and gave the individual asking for the information the letter “V”.  Over the phone, “V” can sound like “B” and that’s what they wrote down!  In the old days, they used a lot of initials for first names and that can throw a curve.

    Yesterday, I finally traced Mary Frances Cooper’s family all the way back to her immigrant ancestor and my 6th great-grandfather, William Cooper, who was born in 1669 in Warwickshire, England!  He immigrated to America and arrived in Virginia with his wife Elizabeth Lawrence in 1718!  The find was so bittersweet…for I wanted to share it with Dot.  I hope she knows.  There are more branches of this family tree to complete now.

    I’m rather surprised to say that THIS is my one-hundredth post!  I’m looking forward to sharing more of my Sweet Journey Home and I thank you for following along with me…

     autumnleaves

  • Mama and the pizza…

    August 2, 2013 / 1 Comment

    A little Friday “flashback”…originally printed in My Southern Heart…the Stories

    It was the late 1950?s. We were living in the small house on Victor Drive with the sunny windows and the knotty pine dining room with two built-in corner china cabinets.

    It was a time of early rock and roll, dancing and pizza. Our first introduction to pizza was from George, a big, strong, dark-haired cajun planter from Louisiana. All these years later, and I remember George Broussard like it was yesterday. He was Glenda’s boyfriend and Glenda was Dot’s best friend. So we all spent a lot of time together in that little house on Victor Drive.

    George had a booming voice and a great laugh. His conversation was sprinkled with a few cajun words here and there, and he loved to kid Mama. One weekend, he brought a large, filled-to-the-brim pizza over for lunch. We’d never even seen a pizza. I have to admit, at first glance, I had my doubts. All these years later, I’ve had the best Chicago pizza in downtown Chicago…so I’d have to say I know good pizza. I don’t know where George got it, but that was some pizza! Mama took one look at it and had her doubts too. It, obviously, wasn’t Southern vegetables and cornbread. She almost didn’t try it, but she did…and she fell in love with George’s pizza. The best I recall all these years later, I’d say it was a thin-crust, SUPREME pizza and it was, indeed, delicious.

    Quite frequently after that, George would arrive with Glenda on his arm and toting another gift for Mama…a pizza supreme. I’m not sure George ever knew that Mama became a serious pizza fan after that. She would make it from scratch from time to time; but when she was in a hurry, she’d resort to Chef Boyardee.  Not too sure George would have approved of that…

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    Added note:  Memories are a funny thing.  I wrote this post a few years ago and, since then, I’ve been trying to pinpoint the year(s) more accurately.  It could have been the early sixties, because I remember that George and Glenda gave me a pair of really nice charcoal gray pants from the Clothes Horse on Poplar Avenue for graduation in 1963!  Just don’t ask me what I did yesterday!

     To find the recipe for the delicious King Arthur flour pizza pictured above, go here.

  • My favorite banana bread…

    July 6, 2013 / 6 Comments

    From November 1980 – November 1990, I worked as a Child Psych RN at an inpatient facility for children – both a heart-wrenching and immensely rewarding experience.  I worked with an amazing staff there and, from time to time, we would celebrate an event at the hospital with a potluck meal.  One particular nurse would always bring this absolutely delicious banana bread – filled with small chunks of banana, crushed pineapple and fragrant cinnamon.  She adamantly refused to share the recipe!  Bear in mind that this was before the days of the world-wide-web and search engines.  She promised that if she ever left she would share the recipe with all of us.  The day finally came that she turned in her resignation due to her husband’s job transfer.  I must admit I said “we’ll miss you” but (secretly) couldn’t wait to get my hands on the recipe!  As promised, she did, indeed, share the recipe with us before she left.

    And I, of course, shared it with anyone who wanted it…

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    Favorite Banana Bread

    3 cups all-purpose flour

    2 cups sugar

    1 teaspoon soda

    1 teaspoon salt

    1 teaspoon cinnamon

    1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

    3 eggs, beaten

    1 & 1/4 cup vegetable oil

    2 cups mashed ripe bananas

    1 (15 & 1/4 oz.) can crushed pineapple, DRAINED

    2 teaspoons vanilla

    Combine the dry ingredients.  Stir in (optional) nuts and set aside.

    Combine the remaining ingredients and add to the dry ingredients – stirring just until moistened.

    Spray 3 loaf pans (9 x 5 x 3) with Baker’s Joy (or similar product).

    Makes small loaves.

    For larger loaves, use two loaf pans.

    Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes – 1 hour based on pan size and oven.  Just watch closely.

    Enjoy and feel free to share the recipe!  😉

  • A journey to bread…

    July 5, 2013 / 3 Comments

    Years ago, I had a friend who had a “bread ministry”.  Several times each week, Pat baked at least six to nine loaves of bread at one time. A few of the loaves she kept for her family. The rest of the loaves went to friends and strangers…who soon became friends as we did.  After our move to Kentucky, she and her husband were  among our first friends there.  We first met on a Wednesday night at the church supper where Pat presented my husband and me with a loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread.  She gladly shared the recipe with me, and it was not until I actually made the bread that I realized what a gift of time she gave.

    We moved away several years after that and, over the coarse of time, lost touch.  The recipe was also lost over the years.  In the course of moving into my condo in the Midwest, I found Pat’s recipe!  I’m looking forward to making fresh loaves of bread again – that look just like the ones I made a few years ago below.  

    When you begin this journey to bread, keep in mind that it will be several days before you’re enjoying that first slice of delicious sourdough bread with butter…and maybe some delicious homemade jam.  It will take patience to wait long enough for the starter to have developed enough to bake your first loaf of bread.  In the meantime, you’ll faithfully feed your new starter and take care of it.  It will be worth it.

    When “baking day” finally arrives, your home will be filled with the inviting aroma of freshly baked bread.  Golden loaves of wonderful sourdough bread will reward you for waiting…patiently or not.

     Sourdough Bread Starter

    3 packages yeast

    1 cup warm water

    Combine the above ingredients and refrigerate, covered, for 3 – 5 days.  

    Remove starter from the refrigerator and feed with the following starter feed:

    3/4 cup sugar

    3 tablespoons instant potato flakes

    1 cup warm water

    Mix well and add to starter.

    Let stand out of refrigerator all day (5 to 12 hours).

    Mixture will be very bubbly.

    Take out 1 cup to make bread and return starter to refrigerator.

    Keep in refrigerator 3 – 5 days and feed again.

    If not making bread after feeding starter,

    throw away (or share with a friend) 1 cup to avoid depleting starter.

     sch_noitems_leaf

     Sourdough Bread

    1/3 cup sugar

    1/2 cup Crisco vegetable oil

    2 level teaspoons salt

    1 cup starter (potato flakes fed)

    1 & 1/2 cups warm water

    6 cups all-purpose bread flour

     In a large bowl, make a stiff batter of the above ingredients.

    Grease another large bowl and put dough in and turn over (oily side up). 

    Cover with foil and let stand over night.  Do not refrigerate.

    Next morning, punch the dough down and knead a little.

    Divide into 3 equal parts and knead each part on floured surface 8 – 10 times.

    Put into greased pans and brush with oil.  Cover and let rise 4 – 5 hours.  All day is okay.

    Bake at 350 degrees for 30 – 40 minutes (depending on your oven).

    Remove and brush with butter.  Cool on rack.  Wrap well and store. 

    Bread may be frozen

    Makes three loaves. 

     

    Parts of this post were originally published in My Southern Heart…but this post contains Pat’s original recipe.

  • Lemon pudding cake…

    June 17, 2013 / 1 Comment

    This is one of those recipes that has been in my recipe box for many years…along with the “Chocolate Pudding Cake” which is a post for another day.  No doubt, if you served this to my grown children, they’d remember it and smile…

    There is one fresh lemon in my fruit bowl right now.  I  remembered this post I did back in 2010 on My Southern Heart and I’m thinking about creating this for tonight – a light delicious dessert!

    This is a quick (well, except for separating the eggs and beating the egg whites but that’s an important step) and easy recipe.  It’s also delicious!  You could serve it with just a dollop of whipped cream if you’d like.  An 8? square dish serves four generously.

    Lemon Pudding Cake

    4 extra large eggs (or 6 medium), separated

    1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

    the grated zest (rind) of one large fresh lemon

    1 tablespoon melted butter

    1 & 1/4 cups white sugar

    1/2 cup all-purpose flour

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1 & 1/2 cups milk

    Lightly spray 8? square baking dish with vegetable spray such as Pam.  Set dish inside a 13? x 9? baking dish.  Bring enough water to boil to pour around 8? baking dish.  Be careful not to get any water in the baking dish. 

    Carefully separate the eggs.  Whisk the egg yolks.  Combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest and melted butter.  Beat with electric mixer until thick and lemon colored.  Combine the sugar, flour and salt.  Add this dry mixture alternately with the milk to the yolk mixture – beating well after each addition.

    Wash & dry the beaters & beat the egg white until stiff.  Combine the egg whites into the batter on low speed of electric mixer.  Pour batter into the baking dish (set inside the hot water dish – with hot water about 1/3 way up the sides of the pan.  You don’t want water in the dish.)

    Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.  There will be light, fluffy cake on the top & lemon pudding on the bottom!  Spoon into dessert dishes and enjoy…

  • Apple pie…

    March 27, 2013 / 4 Comments

    As I’ve mentioned before, cooking for one is no fun.  So, the only time I truly enjoy cooking these days is when I have my daughter and her family over for Sunday dinner after church.  Two weeks ago, I prepared a really nice dinner of baked ham, green beans, mashed potatoes, spinach & strawberry salad and homemade biscuits.  Dessert was the delicious apple pie pictured below.

    My granddaughters (ages 9 & 13) helped me prepare the salad and biscuits.  They love being in the kitchen and that’s a good thing.  I had made a 10″ homemade apple pie the night before and it turned out very well.  This is an excellent recipe.  In place of the spices in the recipe, I used 2 teaspoons of Tones Apple Pie spice.  It was delicious!  It was such a large pie, even after serving all of us, I sent half of it home with them!

    Now, I’m looking forward to cooking Easter dinner for them this Sunday…

    Perfect Apple Pie

    Recipe for double crust pastry: 

    2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut up

    1/4 cup vegetable shortening

    5-6 tablespoons+ cold water

    Sift together the flour and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut the butter and shortening into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Slowly add the water stirring with a fork…until the dough holds together.  Handle the dough “gently” so the crust does not become “tough”.  Divide the dough in half.  Sprinkle flour on to a pastry board or cloth and roll out the bottom crust.  Add your fruit mixture and then your top crust.

    applepie

    Apple Pie filling:

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

    4 tart apples (like Granny Smith)

    4 sweet apples (like McIntosh)

    2 tablespoons lemon juice

    1/2 up firmly packed light brown sugar

    1/2 granulated sugar

    1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour

    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

    1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

    1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

    2 tablespoons butter

    1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon cold water mixed

    (If you have Tones Apple Pie Spice, you can substitute 2 teaspoons of that for the spices above)

    Peel, core and slice the apples into a bowl.  Toss the apples with the lemon juice.

    Combine the flour, sugars and spices.  Sprinkle over the apple slices and combine well.

    Spoon the apple mixture into the bottom crust.  Cut up the 2 tablespoons of butter and scatter around on the apple slices.

    Place the rolled-out top crust on the pie.  Fold the top edges of the pastry over and under the bottom crust.  Crimp the edges to seal.  Cut slits in the top crust.  Combine egg and water and use pastry blush to glaze over crust.

    Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 425 degrees THEN

    *reduce* the temperature to 375 degrees.

    Bake until the filling is bubbly and the pie crust is golden – about 30 minutes more.  Ovens will vary.

    Enjoy!