Blackberry Jam
Pick blackberries and wash them in a big bowl of water to remove the leaves and bugs. Slosh them around and lift the berries out with your hands to leave the dust and debris behind. Maybe do this twice.
Measure the berries into a pot, measure and add about a cup of sugar for each cup of juicy blackberries into the pot. Stir to dissolve the sugar and mash some berries while you are at it. Heat to the boil and stir and simmer the jam a little while (5 minutes or 10) until it starts to thicken.
Meanwhile sterilize some canning jars* and put the lids in a sauce pan of hot water just off the boil to soften their seals. Pour the jam in the jars (leave about 1/3 inch of space at the top) and put on the lids then count the "pops" as they seal. Any jars that don't seal just keep in the fridge until the jam is all eaten up. It won't be long!
*What I do to Sterilize Jam Jars: I wash the jars first and set them upright someplace hot water won't damage, on the drainboard or in a roaster, sometimes on a cookie sheet. Then I boil a kettleful of water and fill each jar to overflowing with the hot water. When it's time to fill the jars with jam I keep my fingers away from the lip of the jar, sometimes use tongs to empty the water out if it is still too hot to handle. Easy Peasy.
COOKIES
The secret to nicely shaped cookies is to bake them on parchment. Let them cool on it also, just slide the parchment over onto a cooling rack. My favorite brand of parchment baking paper is "If You Care FSC Certified Unbleached Parchment Baking Paper." "Unbleached Totally Chlorine-Free"! FSC is the Forest Stewardship Council, in case you were wondering. :-)Link: FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
Unbelievable Peanut Butter Cookies
Just four ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix everything together, make balls of dough and roll them around in some granulated sugar. Use a fork to make the traditional peanut butter cookie design while you flatten the cookies a bit. These generally don't change shape very much while they bake.
Bake 13-15 minutes at 325 degrees F.
I use about a rounded tablespoon of dough for smaller cookies, usually, but if you want larger cookies, you can just bake them a bit longer.
Peanut butter and jelly variation: The reason this recipe follows the jam recipe is after you shape the cookies you can make a little dimple with the back of a tiny measuring spoon and fill it with some jam or jelly and bake it right in the cookie. I guess if you were to make the cookies larger you might make a thumbprint and fill that with jam. Even better!
Marcella's Oatmeal Cookies
These come out chewy probably from the molasses in the dark brown sugar.
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup vegetable or nut oil
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup raisins
[My brother Jim liked to add 1 cup walnuts and 1/4 tsp black-walnut extract.]
Mix up in order listed,
Drop on parchment-covered cookie sheet,
Mash with sugar on bottom of a buttered glass,
Bake for 12-15 minutes @ 350℉
Prairie Shortbread
Slow to bake, quick to eat!
8 oz. unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
2 cups flour
1 TBSP cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Sift flour, powdered sugar, and cornstarch together
Cream butter
Fold dry mix into butter
Mix with hands until hands look shiny.
Make square cookies & make holes w/ fork to make a design on top
or
Press dough into pie plate and mark into wedges with a knife and make holes w/ fork.
Bake @ 275℉ until firm and slightly browned, about 1/2 hour.
Ruby's Batman Cookies
Chocolate No-Bake Cookies
Combine in a medium sauce pan, and boil 1 minute:
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Milk
4 TBSP Cocoa
Remove from heat and add:
1 tsp Vanilla
Stir in:
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
3 Cups Rolled Oats
Drop spoonfuls onto parchment, let them cool and become firm and you can store them in the freezer after you have satisfied your craving.
Serves 1-2 ha,ha
PIES
Lemon Meringue Pie
Pre-bake a pie crust because the meringue bakes fast.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a medium sauce pan combine:
1 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Cornstarch
Stir in:
1 1/2 Cups Cold Water, until smooth.
Stir in:
3 Egg Yolks, slightly beaten
Stirring constantly bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 1 Minute. Remove from heat.
Stir in:
Grated Peel of 1 Lemon
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1 TBSP Butter
Spoon hot filling into pre-baked Pie Crust.
In a small mixing bowl mix:
3 Egg Whites, until foamy
Add: 1/3 Cup Sugar
Continue mixing or whisking until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over hot filling being careful to seal the meringue to the pie crust. Bake 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes until the meringue is golden. Let it cool to room temp before you slice it.
Cherry Pie
As easy as cherry pie!
This is the recipe from the label on a can of Oregon brand tart pie cherries
1 1/2 cup sugar, more or less to taste (I have settled on one cup of sugar. It seems perfect to me!)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cans OregoN Red Tart Pie Cherries, drained, reserve juice from one can (I add some extra juice from the second can, because I like a juicy pie!)
1/4 tsp red food coloring (optional) (I never add the food coloring.)
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional) (I always add the almond extract. It seems to make the cherries taste more cherry-like.)
1 tablespoon butter (or margarine) (I use unsalted butter)
Pastry for two-crust 9-inch pie (Pillsbury's pre-fab pie crusts make this Easier than cherry pie!)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Drain the cherries and reserve the juice from only one can. In a saucepan stir the cherry juice into the combined mixture of the cornstarch and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Gently stir in cherries and optional ingredients. Remove from heat. Pour filling into pastry-lined pie pan. Dot with butter or margarine. Place the second pie crust on top. Adjust crust, seal and vent. Bake 45 minutes or until crust browns and filling begins to bubble. If necessary, cover edges with aluminum foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent over-browning. Cool pie several hours to allow filling to thicken before slicing.
Makes 8 servings.
CAKES
Pig Pickin' Cake
For the Cake:
One Box of Cake Mix
Yellow Cake mix is good, Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker.
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
I use walnut oil for baking, but it’s not essential.
4 Eggs
One Undrained Can of Mandarine Oranges (11 ounces)
DO NOT DRAIN!
The liquid is for the batter.
Mix the cake batter and bake. Follow the time and temp on the back of the box. Then check with a toothpick to be sure it's not gooey inside.
To prevent sticking just melt some butter in the bottom of the pan and spread it around with a paper towel. Don't grease the sides of the pan, really. You can just run a knife around the sides to loosen it after it is baked. You can make this as a sheet cake or make three layers with icing in between the layers. I've never tried cupcakes, but why not?
For the Icing:
One Large Can of Crushed Pineapple (8 ounces)
Slightly drained, but I usually add the juice back in.
One Small Box of Jello Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (3 3/4 ounces)
Or try the larger box (5.1 ounces). The difference is just an ounce and a little bit!
One Large Container of Cool Whip (8 ounces)
Slightly unfrozen so the pudding mix can get properly folded in and keep it stabile at room temperature. Try moving it from the freezer to the fridge the night before.
Mix the pineapple and pudding together, and then fold in the Cool Whip. Spread it around on the cake. Delicious!
Scones
Fried Rice
You'll need around 4 cups of cold cooked rice and about 2 cups of vegetables (bits of cold leftover meat or a scrambled egg could go into this too) Don't worry if you don't have scallions. Use some onions if you like them or leave them out if you don't. This is a very flexible recipe. Have some vegetable oil for cooking and some soy sauce (or tamari) and some cooking sherry (or mirin) for flavor. After you have prepared the vegetables--which is to say washed and cut the fresh vegetables into more-or-less uniform-sized pieces so they will cook evenly, and opened and drained any canned vegetables like baby corns or water chestnuts--heat up a couple of tablespoons of oil and stir fry the vegetables. You can add a little water (1/4 cup) while the fresh vegetables are cooking to steam them a bit and speed things along. Add any canned vegetables when the others are nearly done since they already are cooked and just need heating up. Then take the vegetables out of the pan for a little while. Heat another 2-3 tablespoons of oil and break up the cold rice and stir it around in the pot until it is heated through. I usually have to add the sherry and soy sauce now to keep the rice from sticking too much to the pan. Then for the grand finale add back the vegetables and mix them into the rice and scoop out a bowlful and eat it all up. So good and easy too!
Noodle variation: Cook up some noodles, drain & chill them. You can prepare the noodles in advance & toss them in a little oil just to keep them from sticking together. They will keep in the refrigerator like that for two or three days.
Cook some vegetables or a vegetable/meat combination as for fried rice. Call it Lo Mein if you just add the cold noodles to the pan with the cooked vegetables and stir them around until everything is hot.
If instead you add the previously cooked/drained/chilled noodles to a little hot oil and soft fry them separately before you combine them with the cooked vegetable mixture, well that is Chow Mein! Either way is good and tasty.
Heating the noodles right in the vegetables seems to result in a softer, moister texture for the Lo Mein.
Spicy Pinto Beans
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| click the recipe to see a larger, readable image |
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| From Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant by The Moosewood Collective |
Classic Basil Pesto
2 Cups loosely packed Basil Leaves ("Sweet Genovese" or "Fine Green") removed from the stem
½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive OIl
2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled
¼ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
¼ cup pine nuts or almonds or walnuts or pistacios
¼ cup Parmesan or Asiago cheese
In a blender or food processor purée the basil, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool. Add the nuts and cheese to the basil mixture. Process briefy until the pesto is smooth. Store in the fridge for a week or freeze in serving-sized portions.
I sometimes freeze it without the cheese and nuts and add those fresh when I use the pesto.
Nathalie Dupree's Marco Polo Pesto
from Nathalie Dupree's Matters of Taste
modified by me
3 TBSP Walnut Oil
1 to 3 TBSP Fresh Hot Peppers, seeded and chopped (or Cayenne to taste)
2 Cups Fresh Basil Leaves
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 to 3 TBSP Fresh Ginger, chopped (I keep ginger root in the freezer and use a microplane to grate it when I need some.)
1 tsp Dark Sesame Oil
1 TBSP Lemon Juice (or Dry White Wine)
Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
Purée oil, hot peppers (or cayenne), basil, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and lemon juice in a food processor or blender. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve over pasta or whatever else tastes good with pesto!
Link: Back to Happiness Is
2 Cups Fresh Basil Leaves
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 to 3 TBSP Fresh Ginger, chopped (I keep ginger root in the freezer and use a microplane to grate it when I need some.)
1 tsp Dark Sesame Oil
1 TBSP Lemon Juice (or Dry White Wine)
Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
Purée oil, hot peppers (or cayenne), basil, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and lemon juice in a food processor or blender. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve over pasta or whatever else tastes good with pesto!
Link: Back to Happiness Is
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