Scottish Oat Scones

Yesterday I attended our bi-weekly Ladies Bible Study at the home of RuBu.  A nice time of study, reflection, discussion and ... well, food and fellowship.  

RuBu makes a habit of staying away from processed sugar and other nasties, and keeps it real with serving us a welcoming platter of fresh fruit.  Yesterday, however,  she made cookies.  Lovely, crisp dainties with only goodness as their ingredients. ... Note to self:  Get the recipe ...   They were delicious.

Yesterday morning I, too, happened to be in a baking mood, and decided to whip up some Scottish Scones and Honey Butter to bring along.  The ladies approved and ate them up.  The scones  were easy to make with ingredients I had on hand, tasty, and yet filling as well.

Honey Butter:  Softened butter mixed with some honey.

I've included the recipe in case you wanted to give them a try.

Scottish Oat Scones

1½	cups all purpose flour
2	cups rolled oats
¼	cup sugar
4	tsp baking powder
½	tsp salt
½	cup currants or raisins
1	egg, beaten
½	cup butter or margarine, melted
⅓	cup milk

Directions

1. Put first six dry ingredients into large bowl. Mix. Make a well in center
2. Beat egg until frothy
3. Mix in melted butter and milk. Pour into well. Stir to make soft dough
4. Form into two 6” to 7” circles. Place on greased baking sheet. Pat to about 1/2” to 3/4” thick
5. Score each top into 6 pie shaped wedges
6. Sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar before baking
7. Bake in 425 oven for 15 minutes until risen and browned

A while ago my friend Janet from Washington Lavender gifted me with a jar of their sugar n' lavender.  I sprinkled the scones with about a teaspoon of the mixture before baking.  Yup, put them over the top for sure. 

Food Storage Trainer

Do you have a personal Food Storage Trainer?  I do.  Her name is Crystal and she is amazing.

Recently I have started frequenting a Mormon Cannery.  (A what?  Look is up yourself.  You may have one in your area, and they are worth checking out.) Through searching the internet looking for a cannery location, I came upon Crystal's blog.  She is young, busy with little children, and yet has time to put together a terrific blog.  Videos and recipes, and all sorts of information to pour over.

Over the past few months, I have tried many of her recipes.  In fact yesterday, I wowed the family with a Pineapple Upside Down Cake made with ... wait for it ... garbanzo beans !  Okay okay, Crystal told me to use white beans, but I didn't have any.  With a can of garbanzo beans on the shelf, I did what I had to do.  Yummy.  I was going to take a picture, but it's all gone.  Below is Crystal's picture.  I hope that she doesn't mind me borrowing it.  

She put hers in muffin tins for individual little cakes.  I was lazier than her, and popped mine in a 9x13 pan.  All was well.  Below is her recipe.  I tweeked it a bit only to make it easier to read.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (20 oz) can pineapple rings, drained with juice reserved ( use crushed pineapple if making cupcakes)

Maraschino cherries

 

1 cup butter, softened (or 1 cup white bean puree)

2 cups sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

 1/2 tsp salt 

 

1.  Combine brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter; spread on bottom of greased 9×13 inch pan. Place pineapple rings and cherries on top. 

2.  Cream the remaining 1 cup butter (or bean puree) with sugar. Add vanilla and eggs and beat well.

3.  In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture. 

4.  Beat in 1 cup of the reserved pineapple juice. Pour batter over pineapple rings and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

5.  Cool slightly, serve warm. To serve, flip individual cake pieces over to show pineapple. Top with whipped cream if desired.

 

Serves 12 happy people

If you want to make cupcakes. Simply spread the brown sugar butter mixture on the bottom of 24 greased cupcake pans (you won’t be able to use liners for these). Divide crushed pineapple and cherries and place on top of mixture. Pour batter on top to 2/3 full. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then turn over.  Serves 24

Try this recipe and check out her blog.  Enjoy!

Poisoned Cookies

Tonight Johnnie-Girl is going to see a movie with a bunch of fellow fun-loving young adults.  At their last 'get-together' it was reminisced how they had previously snuck an entire pie into the movie theater, divided it up onto plates and handed it out to their group.

Illegal ? - YES 

but also daring and wildly diabolical

In an attempt to continue tradition, Johnnie-Girl baked up a big batch of  contraband movie treats. 

And being a smart young thing, it soon dawned on her that cookies do not last very long in this household.  What's a girl to do?

A simply constructed warning  sign was soon atop the cookies

It worked like a charm ... but did have us all wondering ...

For those who dare here is the recipe that she used.  It has been modified slightly from the 'Company's Coming' cookbook entitled Cookies.

Oatmeal Chip Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 cups rolled oats

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup medium coconut

Cream butter and sugar together.  Beat in eggs 1 at a time.  Add vanilla.

Add remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet.  Bake in 350 F oven for about 8 to 10 minutes.

Makes 5 dozen

Important Note:  The above mentioned cookies are POISON FREE

Quick Chicken Pot Pie

Today I decided to convert many of my recipe card, scrap paper, and computer printed recipes to My Demy.  It takes time, but it is so worth it.  If you didn't get a chance to see my post on my new kitchen gadget, check it out here.

So for tonight I was inspired to make Quick Chicken Pot Pie which was on a tattered and stained recipe card.  It was a family favourite when my kids were growing up, and I pleased the family again tonight by making it.

It's simple to make and simple comfort food.

Chicken Pot Pie - Serves 6

Carrot and potato simmering away

Add chopped onions to carrots & potato



Meanwhile cook the chicken

  

Cut butter into the dry ingredients

 

Add milk and stir to make soft dough

Add condensed soup, stir and add to casserole dish

Pinch off dough and 'plop' on top to cover

Bake ... but don't burn top  :o)

Quick Chicken Pot Pie

1 medium carrot

1 medium potato
----------------
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 small onion
---------------
1 can mushroom or cream of chicken soup
2 cups cooked chicken - chopped
1. Chop carrot and potato and cook in small amount of salted water until tender — about 10 minutes
2. Add peas and onions and cook a few more minutes
3. Do not drain, add mushroom soup and meat. Heat through
4. Pour into greased casserole
5. Spoon biscuit mixture evenly over top
6. Bake uncovered at 425 F for 20 – 25 minutes

Biscuit Topping

2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
---------------------------
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cold
1 cup cold milk

1. Mix together first 5 ingredients
2. Cut in butter. Stir in milk

Caught in a Little White Lie

Dreamer emailed me this story ... not sure where she got it,

but it's worth sharing with you and giving you a chuckle.

The Church Bake Sale Cake

Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church  Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa, but forgot to do it until the last minute.  She remembered it the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix and quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack up for Scout camp.

When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured and she exclaimed, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!  This cake was important to Alice because he did so want to fit in at her new church, and in her new community of friends.  So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake.  She found it in the bathroom - a roll of toilet paper.  She plunked it in and then covered it with icing and crushed candy.  Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect.

And, before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 am and to buy the cake and bring it home.

When the daughter arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold.  Amanda grabbed her cell phone & called her mom.  Alice was horrified - she was beside herself!  Everyone would know!  What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, ridiculed!  All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back.

The next day,  Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would attend the fancy luncheon / bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a good time.  She did not really want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at the fact that Alice was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa, but having already RSVP'd, she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home.

The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old south and to Alice's horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert!

Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake!

She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "What a beautiful cake!"

Alice, still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say ...

"Thank you. I baked it myself."

Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good.”

My Demy

I can hear you asking ... What's a Demy? 

Well, for those that know me well,

I  L-O-V-E  kitchen gadgets.

The more the merrier, I say.

I love them and I use them all,

but this latest one clearly outshines the rest.

It's MY DEMY.

Odd name for sure, but what a wonderful tool.

It doesn't slice or dice,

but it will store 2500 of my recipes

all in an ultra organized little storage unit.

My Demy is about 8" by 5 1/2" and sits beautifully on my kitchen counter.

You can angle it either way (see picture to left) and the display flips for easy viewing.

It also has three different font sizes, and a substitute ingredients program, three built in timers, and a measurement converter ....

and the best thing yet ... I can even figure it out without the help of my kids!

Check out this web site .... My Demy (for more information on this gadget) ... and Key Ingredient (where you go to load your personal recipes to put on your new gadget).

~ * ~

Oh and don't forget to pick up one of these babies at Costco.

Canadian Costco they sell them for $198.00.  Don't know about the USA Costco price.

To me it is well worth the price

No more running around from one recipe book to another for all my fav recipes.

Easy Sneezy

Church Picnic - 2010

For the past three years our family has hosted the annual church picnic here at our homestead.  Potluck was the name of the game, and there was a delicious assortment of main courses, salads and desserts to share by all.

And the ALL included some 87 mouths to feed.

And we had a wonderful time.

Despite the lack of rain, which led to the crunchy fields of dead grass, we still had to mow the entire five acres in preparation for the picnic.  Amazing how the weeds can spring up to 8 inches high with hardly a drop of water to nourish them!

Dan the Man (Dreamer's boyfriend) was a great help Sunday afternoon.  Setting up tables and chairs, vacuuming down cob webs and ... well ... cheerfully doing the needed Poo Duty.

With two large dogs ... someone had to do it!

One of
the picnic attendees was this little bunny.  He/she was a hit among the young and old alike.

I don't want to offend anyone by posting their snap shot on my blog without permission, so I have opted not to share with you my church family.  ... And unfortunately I forgot completely to take pictures of the wonderful spread of food .... But I did think that I would show you an idea I came up with last year.  Little plastic containers of Jello.  With only about an ounce or so in each one, the kids LOVE them.  Easy and well received.

They hardly compete with the other decadent desserts that were offered, but they provided a certain twist and I am all for thinking outside the box even if it is just a Jello box!

All in all
the picnic was
a great success.

With the help of the entire church family,
it is an amazing way to give of yourself
in the spirit of hospitality.

Shaping Dough

Now, by no means do I consider myself an experienced bread maker ... but I occasionally try. I have two bread machines that aid me in the kneading, and then I attempt to shape loaves and buns from the finished dough. Although not pretty, my family eats it up.

~ * ~

Today I have had a chance to check out youtube.
I learn so much from others!
If you have a moment, check out this clip below.

Sugared Nuts

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD

Today Dreamer and I had fun in the kitchen and whipped up a few holiday Goodies
The main recipient will be the neighbour lady
who loves sweets yet doesn't bake often.
I know that she will be thrilled.
Christmas is a wonderful time to show love to your neighbours.
~ * ~

Anyway, I thought that I would share one of the recipes we made: Sugared Nuts. Sooo easy and sooo yummy. Sweet, but with a hint of savory. I took the recipe from Company's Coming: Gifts from the Kitchen.

SUGARED NUTS
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 large egg white
3 cups unsalted walnuts, pecans and cashews
(I subbed almonds for cashews)

Combine all 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to coat well. Spread out on a 11 x 17" baking sheet. Bake in 250 F oven for 1 hour. Cool completely. Store in airtight container. Makes 3 cups.

Thanksgiving 2009

Well another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Ours was not spectacular but our tummys were full and we were indeed thankful. With one child away at university, it didn't seem right about having a big dinner. We had therefore decided to go low key on the Monday festivities, and then spruce it up a notch when she comes home for a visit next week.

Now don't worry, I didn't forget the pumpkin pie! But this year I did shake things up a bit with a new recipe ... One right off the canned pumpkin wrapper. And you know ... It was delicious and EASY AS PIE!... so I decided to include it here for you to give it a try.

Magic Pumpkin Pie

1 - 9" unbaked pie shell
2 eggs
14 oz canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
300 ml sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 425 F. Beat eggs lightly in medium bowl. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves and stir until well blended. Blend in sweetened condensed milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 35o F and continue baking 30 - 35 minutes long or until knife inserted in center comes out clean Cool and top with lots of whipping cream or ice cream. YUM

Genius eagerly waiting for the eating to begin

Hubby and I came down to the table with almost matching shirts :o)

~ * ~

The last year has been rather up and down with my health ... I have intentionally left out the fact that my heart was compromised with a rare heart virus last year ... Maybe I will go into more details another time... BUT I can still say that God is good. And I share with Barbara Johnson by ending with her quote here:

"Something to be thankful for
is that you're here to be thankful."

Hope that you had a wonderful Canadian Thanksgiving, eh.

Squeezing Lemons

I was flipping through youtube clips

and came across this little nugget.

A chef from Gourmet Magazine

shows us how to properly squeeze lemons.

Totally worth the 1 minute 57 seconds.

Give it a view!

English Muffins Anyone?

This past week has been dreay with overcast skies

Coolish weather

Blah Blah BLAH

Good time to try something new in the kitchen ...

~ * ~

How about English Muffins?

I found this recipe in a little cookbook

my mother-in-law gave me years ago ...

Roger's Bread Machine Cookbook

Easy English Muffins

1 1/4 cups water
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp margarine
1 tsp salt
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1/4 cup cornmeal for coating

Program for manual or dough cycle on your bread machine.

When cycle is complete, turn dough out onto floured surface

and roll out to 1/2" thickness.

Cut into muffins using an 3" round cookie cutter.

Dip muffins in cornmeal, place on a backing sheet

and let rise until double in size.
Carefully transfer muffins to medium-hot grill

and cook 5-8 minutes on each side.

Yield about 20 muffins

I didn't watch the grilling as carefully as I should

OOOoooOOOoooOOOps

But we were all very pleased with the outcome.
This recipe ... according to the family ...
is a Keeper!

Irish Stew and Soda Bread

It seems that every blog I visited today had some shamrock showing,
or special green dish displayed,

or some little leprechaun dancing upon their shelves ...

I am ashamed to say I don't have anything decorative

that even resembled

a St. Patrick's Day celebration.

How sad for me and how boring for my family.

~ * ~

Now, that was my confession part

and here is what I did manage to do today:

Irish Stew with Irish Soda Bread

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Irish Stew

1 tbsp olive oil

2 lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 large onion, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 parsnip, peeled and cut into large chunks

4 cups water, or as needed

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp dried)

1 cup coarsely chopped leeks

~ * ~

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large stockpot or Dutch oven, Add lamb pieces and cook, stirring gently, until evenly browned. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add the onion and carrots and cook gently alongside the meat for a few minutes. Stir in the water. Cover and bring to a boil before turning the heat down to low. Simmer for 1 hour or longer, until meat is tender.

3. Stir in Parsnips, potatoes, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes before adding leeks and rosemary. Continue to simmer uncovered, until potatoes are tender but still whole.

Serve piping hot and enjoy!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Irish Soda Bread

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup buttermilk

~ * ~

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet.

3. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

Serve hot with yet even more butter ..... Yummm!

Rice Wraps ?

This week end I had one of those ah hah moments. My little brain figured out how to do something. Well not entirely, but it was an adventure non the less.

We eat out for Chinese food quite a bit in this family. How they prepare some of the Dim Sum delicacies is waaaaay beyond me, but then I got to thinking. Spring rolls. How hard could they be?

I had in my refrigerator a bowl of freshly cut veggies for dipping. (A good healthy snack to have on hand when you have the munchies.)

I chopped some up with my Pampered Chef chopper and added a can of drained tuna.

Back to my pantry where I brought out these rice wrap "wafers". I don't know what you call them but I remember them being inexpensive and interesting when I purchased them.

I asked my Genius son to help me in the prep work. Here he is rolling them (like a steering wheel) in a bowl of warm water to soften. I don't have the link here but on youtube there is a short video of some guy doing the exact thing. I think that it was entitled "Vietnamese Spring Roll".

He shook the excess water off of each one and laid it on a cutting board for the next step. I filled each with a generous couple tablespoons of filling. Folded the bottom up, and flattened it down a bit. Flip one side in, then the other, and then tightly rolled from the bottom up ... like you were putting away a sleeping bag :o)




Place each rolled wrap on a platter until you have completed them all. While you continue with the rest, the wraps dry a bit and they sort of stick together so you might want to lay them on waxed paper and place so that they are not touching each other.

While this was happening, I had been heating some oil in a deep sauce pan ... I don't own a deep fryer. Popped them in about 4 at a time to bubble and sizzle and brown. This is the step that I don't quite understand. They didn't really brown like the ones I get at the restaurant. I don't know if it was the oil I used, the temperature or possibly that rice doesn't brown.

But I fished them out, let them drain on a cooling rake over paper towel and my family ate them all up with some plum sauce.

It's good for the brain to learn and do new things.

Cooking is a great brain exercise!

For next time I think that I will use shrimp, green onions, sprouts and shredded carrot for a filling. Also I may try baking them in the oven. Near the end the oil was dangerously popping and exploding all over the kitchen ... Yikes.

If anyone knows how to do this all properly ... please let me know.

I would love to hear from you.