My first iron-rich recipe experiment was a success! Lloyd loved them, as did his mama! Now I’m seriously eyeing a blowtorch for creme brulee . . . what else can I use a blowtorch for (other than, you know, welding)? Old Fashioned Egg Custardfrom The Fannie Farmer Cookbook * 2 large Egg Yolks * 3 large Eggs * 1/2 cup Sugar or Rapadura * 1/8 teaspoon sea salt * 3 cups Milk * 1-1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract * Nutmeg To the left – chocolate egg custard. Mmmmm. See variation details below. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 1-quart baking dish or 8 ramekins. Set a shallow pan large enough to hold the baking dish or ramekins in oven and fill it with 1 inch of hot water. Heat [... To read more, click here ...]
Apr 222009
These are by far my favorite holiday treat. I love them. I always was so excited each year when Grandma would come visiting with her coffee cans full of sweet treats. Now it is my turn to pass on the tradition and I look forward to making these each year! Grandma Elsie’s Chocolate Coconut Balls 2 pounds confectioner’s sugar1-1/2 cup shredded or flaked coconut1-1/2 cups chopped pecans1 can sweetened condensed milk1 teaspoon vanilla1/2 pound butter, melted12 ounces of dark (bittersweet) chocolate chips2 Tablespoons coconut oil Place sugar, coconut, pecans, milk and vanilla in a bowl. Pour melted butter over all ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer. Refrigerate and chill mixture 3-4 hours. Once chilled, roll into balls the size of walnuts and place on a cookie sheet. Chill [... To read more, click here ...]
Dec 182008
I am terrible at making traditional fudge. You think fudge would be no big deal for me, seeing as how I make several varietities of candies for the holiday’s every year, and I’ve conquered my fear of the candy thermometer in various buttercream recipes via Daring Bakers, but I have never conquered fudge. That “soft-ball” stage I hear about? A myth I’m sure. Whenever I try a new fudge recipe I either wind up with crunchy, crystallized fudge (yuck!) or basically a highly stressful to make ice-cream topping (because the fudge doesn’t set). Long ago I decided to stop trying new recipes and stick with my old faithful, which I’m sharing with you below. This recipe was originally found in an old family cookbook (named “See’s Fudge” but I’m concerned [... To read more, click here ...]
Dec 152008
This recipe is a family favorite. My grandma used to make one or two batches of these a year and bring them as gifts, along with a batch of her famous fudge, in coffee cans for Christmas. I’ve since taken over the tradition and these are always met with love and thankfulness to everyone they meet. These are an act of love, as they certainly take some time to make, but with extra helping hands it makes the process easier! Plus, I only make these once a year, (my annual candy making Saturday!) so it is well worth the effort! Packaged up in some seasonal tins, this is a special family treat I’m happy to share! Grandma Elsie’s Buckeye’s 3 pounds confectioners sugar2 pounds creamy peanut butter1 pound butter, softened2 [... To read more, click here ...]
Jun 292008
June’s Daring Baking challenge has come and gone, and was very much enjoyed at this house! This month’s challenge was a Danish Braid. A yeasted, layered dough (think puff pastry, but easier) this challenge brought out a lot of firsts for me. 1) First time making a layered dough.2) First time using cardamom3) First time using a real vanilla bean And can I tell you how gorgeous the dough smells? With the cardamom and the vanilla and the orange zest and juice, it is like a cross between a walk through an Indian spice market and a creamsicle. It smells divine. I wanted to dab it on my neck and wear it as a perfume; I’m sure that it would have enticed nibbling . . . Though initially a bit [... To read more, click here ...]
Apr 282008
A girlfriend of mine just recently had her second baby, Welcome Baby Landon!, and after a few weeks of baby hibernation, we decided to set up a play date at her home for LL and her oldest, Hudson, to play and the mama’s to visit! I was planning on bringing over dinner for her (yummy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Black Bean Avocado salad on the side) and wanted to bring over something sweet for dessert, but didn’t have much time to bake it. I went in search for a bar cookie recipe along the lines of my favorite oatmeal cookie, but had a hard time finding one. I gleaned from a few recipes online and winged it – and it came out fantastic! Here is my recipe for [... To read more, click here ...]
Mar 302008
Friends, family, loyal blog readers, I have a confession to make. I have joined a covert organization. An organization known to get a rise out of it’s members. An organization known to appreciate the sweet life. An organization that eats dessert first. I receive a mission (aka, recipe) once a month and, along with the other members, complete it to the tee, keep it mum (MUM I TELL YOU!), and post our results on the same day. It rocks my world. I am a Daring Baker. This was my first Daring Baker challenge this month and I was so excited when I saw the recipe – Perfect Party Cake from Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook “Baking: From My Home to Yours”with a meringue-style Buttercream frosting (recipe below). Since Lloyd’s birthday is on [... To read more, click here ...]
In middle school I had the biggest crush on a boy named Ben. The sort of thing where you ask your best girlfriend to go ask his best guy friend to ask him if he wanted to go to the dance with you, and then it’d come back in the same fashion. It took nearly a full recess to get the answer, and sometimes it wouldn’t get back to you in time so you’d have to wait until lunch to find out . . . the drama. Anyway, every year during PE during the winter months we’d have a session on square dancing, and Ben and I were normally partners (maybe it was a mutual crush on each other, because I vividly remember him asking to be my partner one [... To read more, click here ...]
Welcome to the Heartland! Reformed Urbanites, we are enjoying new life on a small family farm/homestead in the Midwest. Join us as we garden, cook, read and enjoy our boys; becoming better stewards of the Earth while raising our family.
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