Homemade Butter

 I saw a lovely recipe in Organic Gardening magazine and today seemed like a good day to make some home-made creamy butter.

I was surprised how simple this is! Start to finish it took about 35 minutes, and would be less the next time since I know what to do. The only ingredients are organic whipping cream. I used 1 pint, but 1 quart will make 1 lb of butter.

Pour cream into mixing bowl and turn on hand-mixer. You will need to mix for 10-15 minutes so get your kids help!

Mixture goes through several stages. First, like whipped cream then like stiff peaks.




Finally it breaks down into cottage-cheese looking
blobs. The butter will stiffen and you will see it getting wet. When it clumps and watery milk pools form in the bottom, turn off mixer.

Using a rubber spatula, press butter to squeeze out "butter milk". Carefully pour out as much as possible. It will not be thick like the kind you buy, but can be used to bake or drink. Now "wash" the butter with ice water. Pour 1/2 cup ice water over the butter and keep pressing it against the side of the bowl. Repeat this several times until the water runs fairly clear. This will stop the butter from spoiling and it firms it up .Make sure water is ice cold.

Continue kneading butter and squeezing liquid out. I used my hands in the end and patted it and squeezed.

Baking Bread

We found a real homestyle recipe in The Gooseberry Patch Farmhouse Christmas
It is Oatmeal Molasses Bread... yummy!  Sweet and even better brushed with melted butter hot out of the oven!

The recipe makes 2 loaves..

1 1/2 c. boiling water            1/2 t. sugar
1 c. long cooking oats           1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
2 T butter                             1/4 c. molasses
2 t. salt                                 approx 5 cups all purpose flour
1/4 oz yeast pack (I used 2 small ones)
3/4 c. warm water                1 T. melter butter

In a bowl, combine first 4 ingredients; cool.  In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Sprinkle with regular sugar. Add oat mixture, brown sugar, molasses, and 3 cups flour; mix well. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic.  Place into greased bowl; tunr once to grease top (I used olive oil) Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour. Punch down dough. Divide in half; shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans (9x5). Cover and let rise until doubled (30-45 min) Bake at 375 for 30 to 35 min or until golden brown. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Brush with melted butter. Makes 2 loaves. YUM!

Gingerbread Boys & Girls

We baked gingerbread people today. They came out so cute!  I found a recipe from my other grandma which I never used before. They came out delightful!


The girls had fun decorating and I did too...Happy Holidays!




yummy in tummies...

GingerBread Boy Cookie Recipe

1/2 cup shortening (i use butter)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup Grandmas unsulphured molasses

1 egg yolk

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt    1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves     1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Cream the butter, sugar, and molasses. Add egg yolk, mix well.  Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Stir in flour mixture, mix well.  Chill. Roll out portion of dough 1/4" thick on lightly floured board. Keep rest of dough chilled. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bale 350 for 8-10 min.

Makes about 2 dozed 5" boys.  If you wish, place decorations on before baking.**

2nd annual Apri "tart" festival

This is a recipe handed down from my grandma who passed a few years ago. We spend an entire afternoon laughing and baking and thinking of her. It is a sour dough crust with baked apricot center- yum!

If you plan to make it, start early or cook the apricots ahead of time (they take 2 hours)

Apricot filling:

2 boxes 11oz. of apricots

1/2 cup sugar

  Cook apricots in large saucepan over med. heat just covered in water. You will need to keep adding water as these will cook for 2 hrs. After about an hour, and the apricots are soft, add the sugar and turn heat down to med/low. When totally soft, remove from heat and cool.

Crust

6 cups flour   1 cup sugar

1 cup butter   1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp lemon juice (fresh)
1/2 tsp salt
8oz. sour cream    4 eggs slightly beaten
Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl mix wet.
Slowly combine in mixer or by hand until dough forms. Keep dough chilled
until ready to use.
Roll on floured surface about 2 inches wider than pan. Cut excess off to make
strips. Scoop a thin layer of apricot mixture, add strips and bake about 15-20 min
at 350. Should be lightly browned. Enjoy!

Molasses Cookies

Wonderful recipe you could use throughout the holidays! Very easy and fun for the kids..

Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 brown sugar 1/2 regular)

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cloves, ginger, salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Combine butter, sugar, egg and molasses in a large bowl.

Combine flour, baking soda, & spices in medium bowl.

Mix together until well combines. **Put in fridge for at least

an hour until hardened.

Scoop into 1' balls and press down slightly on cookie sheet.

Bake 6-8 minutes at 375.

Caramel Apples

Every year we make these wonderful delights.. I found a "healthy" recipe (as healthy as can be in this case!) At least it has all natural ingredients...

Watch that caramel, as it can burn little fingers and it is HOT!

Favorite Caramel Apples

1 cup finely chopped peanuts

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup corn syrup (I substituted 1 cup white sugar mixed with 1/3 cup water & 1/8 tsp cream of tartar)

1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk

Dash of salt

1 tsp vanilla

10 tart apples washed, dried and stuck with wooden craft sticks

Melt butter in 2-quart saucepan; add brown sugar, corn syrup (or sub)and salt.

Cook over med heat, stirring occasionally until mixture comes to a full boil (10 min)

Stir in condensed milk. Continue cooking, occasionally stirring until candy therm says 245

or a small amount dropped into ice water forms a firm ball ( 20-25 min)

Remove from heat, add vanilla

Dip apples into caramel mixture. Dip 1 end into peanuts (use a cookie sheet or shallow bowl)

Place onto buttered wax paper and let set.

Apple Crisp

We picked some apples at the Long Branch Education Center, but they were a bit gnarly looking, though tasty! I was worried the family may not pick one up and eat due to its looks, so what does any baker do in a case like this? Make apple crisp!

Here is a very simple recipe.

4-6 cups chopped apples (skin off or on)

1 cup flour

1/2-1 cup brown sugar (dependng on apple tartness)

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1/3 cup melted butter

cinnamon

Put apples in a 8" square baking dish (buttered)

In a bowl mix flour, sugar, baking soda and egg. Sprinkle over apples evenly.

Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon. Bake at 350 for 30-40 min.

Baking- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love baking projects! *wink*

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies(from The Frog Commissary Cookbook)

1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups oats (rolled or "quick," but not "instant")
2 cups chocolate chips (about 12-oz.)
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the milk and the vanilla extract.In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Either by hand or with the mixer on low speed, gradually beat the flour in to the sugar mixture until just incorporated.Stir in the oats and chocolate chips by hand.Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, placing about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread.Bake at 350F for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and light golden at the center.Cool on baking sheet for at least 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.Makes 4 dozen.re is the recipe:

Lots and Lots of Waffles!

I made a double bath of these Wonderful Waffles to freeze. Much more economical and organic ingredients! Here is the recipe. It is from Super Baby Food book I have used since my girls were babies.

Separate 2 eggs. Mix is this order:

2 beaten egg yolks
1 3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup melted butter ( I always cut this in half and use applesauce to make up the rest)
****secret ingredient*** add a few shakes of cinnamon!

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form (I put a bowl in freezer then put egg white in, helps speed up the process) Fold into rest of ingredients. Bake in preheated waffle iron.

Peach Cobbler

This recipe is just too good not to share... If you have peaches at their peak, this will be amazing! The following is with the sugar cut in half..I made it previously and it was too sweet. This time, fantastic! My peaches were very ripe..

*Boil peaches for 60 seconds, remove, then plunge into icy water. Skins peel right off. Cut and chill butter for later.

6-8 fresh peaches-peeled, pitted and sliced 1/4 brown sugar

thin wedges 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp fresh lemon juice 1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 tsps corn starch

Preheat to 425. In large bowl combine above ingredients. Toss to coat evenly and pour into 2 quart baking dish. Bake 10 minutes.

Meanwhile..

1 cup all purpose flour 1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar 1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup boiling water chilled and cut into small pieces

Topping: 3 tblsp sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon= mix together

Combine flour, sugars, baking powder and salt. Blend butter in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water just until combined (not too wet)

Remove peaches from oven and drop spoonfuls of flour mixture on top (we took small amounts and spread them all over) Sprinkle cinnamon sugar topping over entire cobbler.

Bake until topping is just golden, approx. 30 min.

Tomato Muffins

Fresh from the garden..ripe juicy tomatoes, but what to do with them all? Muffins!

Recipe:

2 cups flour 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tblsp sugar 1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 tsp baking soda 1 egg

1 tsp Italian seasoning 1 cup chopped tomato

Heat over to 400. In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients. In a small bowl mix buttermilk, butter, egg, and tomato. Pour wet into dry and stir just until moistened. Fill greased muffin tins and bake approx. 20 min. Serve warm with a touch of butter! Yum!

Shrove Tuesday

Had a wonderful plate of fluffy, crisp pancakes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. Since we were out of maple syrup, I substituted frozen cherries and cinnamon sprinkled with chocolate chips! A very big hit with the 6 year old crowd.

Chocolate Scones

We baked these wonderful scones last week and they were gone so quickly *wink* that the girls wanted to make more. So, they each got their own mixing bowl and added the ingredients and made their own. We varied one batch due to running out of orange juice. I substituted milk and we added cinnamon, they were great! Here is the recipe.

1 3/4 cup flour 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed & chilled
1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or mini chips
2 tsp baking powder 3-5 tbsp orange juice
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease pie plate or baking sheet.
In a large bowl, whisk together the four, sugar, baking powder and salt. With a pastry blender or large fork , cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in chocolate chips. Mix in orange juice to form dough. You may have to add a bit more to make it stick together.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Pat or roll into a 9 inch circle about 1/2 inch thick. Put into pie baking dish or cut with biscuit cutter and place on baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven about 10-12 min until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

*with about 3-5 min left in cooking you can sprinkle some course sugar on top for added taste!

Windowsill Herbs

I am always using fresh parsley in my recipes. It adds such a crisp taste and added iron too! Our climate is mild enough to grow it all winter, so I try to keep a bunch handy on the windowsill.
It is especially wonderful in my Israeli cous cous.
2 cups boiling water
1 cup cous cous (large pearl or Israeli)
pinch of salt
fresh chopped parsley
grape seed oil

Heat oil in saute pan and lightly toast cous cous. Add water and cover, simmer about 15min. Add parsley halfway through simmer time. Remove from heat and fluff with fork. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and salt to taste. Perfect side dish or main meal (tastes great with toasted chick peas)

Three Kings Day

I baked a Buttermilk -Maple Spice cake this morning hidden with a special Fairy Coin. The lucky one who gets this piece is "king for a day" and gets to decided what fun thing we do!

Lily was the lucky winner. We spent the day drawing horses and birds and enjoying Daddy's homemade pizza. Sharing our gifts of love and time together was a day well spent.

Grandma's Apri-Tart

We spent a chilly Saturday exploring a recipe handed down from my grandma.

3 generations of bakers and the better part of the day later, the apricot tart was complete.

Wonderful holiday memories.