From my kitchen

Dainty Lime Marmalade Recipe

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I don’t usually make marmalade until the winter, when citrus is in season.  (Although citrus is so refreshing in the heat of summer.)   However, I happened to have an abundance of limes, so what else was there to do but make a batch of Dainty Lime Marmalade ( in the wee hours of the morning, before the house heated up)?

Homemade marmalade couldn’t be easier – it only has three ingredients – limes, water, and sugar.  and It is so refreshing – wonderful on poundcake, over sherbert, or thinned out with a little water and used as a dressing for fruit salad.

Larksong’s Dainty Lime Marmalade

(this recipe makes a double batch – half to cook up now, half to freeze)

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Scrub 20 limes and zest them with a microplane into a large measuring bowl (this marmalade was named by Little Hen – I used to just call it “Lime Marmalade”, but the children and I prefer something more delicate than the traditional, large bitter pieces of citrus rind in the marmalade, so I started making it with a microplane, which produces “dainty” zestings. )

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Remove the bitter white peel from the lime.

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Section out the lime pulp from the tougher membrane.  (Squeeze the juice from the membrane into the measuring cup before discarding it – you’ll get a lot of extra juice this way.)

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Add the lime sections to the measuring cup and squish them up into smaller pieces (just wash your kids’ hands and let them squish the pieces between their fingers, if you like).  Add enough water to equal 8 cups of total pulp+water and pour into a heavy-bottomed pot.

Bring the lime pulp/zest/water mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer for ten minutes.  Turn off the heat and let cool thoroughly.

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At this point, measure out and freeze half (that’s 4 cups) of the lime-pulp (before adding sugar) that could either be made into a second batch of marmalade down the road, or be used in 1/2 cup amounts in other berry jams.

Now, either let the remaining pulp can sit in the fridge up to 3 days or you can make the marmalade straight away.  When you’re ready to make the marmalade, get all canning equipment ready and going on the stove.

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To the pot (which now contains 4 cups of cooked lime pulp), add 7 cups of granulated sugar.  Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Boil for approximately 20 minutes, or until jam is set (put some on a spoon in a dish, and set it in the fridge for a few minutes, to test the set).  Do not overcook – limes contain a LOT of natural pectin and you will end up tough sheets of pectin in your marmalade if it cooks too long.

Take the marmalade off the heat, and stir once every 30 seconds or so, for about 5 minutes, allowing the marmalade to cook and distribute the zest (this reduces floating zest in the finished product.)

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Pour into sterilized jelly jars, add hot lids and rings, and can in your hot water bath canner for 5 min (I like to put a dishtowel in the bottom of mine, to keep jars from clanging around as much).  Remove from bath and allow to cool fully.  The marmalade may be thin, but will continue to thicken over the next few days.

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Enjoy!

Oh, and check  out Cabbage Tree Farm’s Rangpur lime marmalade, and Christie’s Corner’s Scotch Marmalade.

Berry Pies

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Another family at church has welcomed  their first baby.   It’s our privilege to bring them dinner tonight (and ooh and ahh over their little boy), so the girls helped me bake some Blueberry-Raspberry- Marionberry pies to take for dessert (I love living in the Northwest!).

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Firecracker helped with the lattice top, and Little Hen shaped the edges (I love seeing a child’s hand in the process).

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We always make some extra dough so that the girls can make their own little hand pies, dusted with sanding sugar,  for a good morning snack.

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Some other yummy goodies with berries being made recently at Charming the Birds, and Imagine Childhood.

What’s your favorite summer berry recipe?

Strawberry-Banana Jam

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This was a first try for strawberry-banana jam, so I simply used the recipe from Sure-Jell’s website, instead of fiddling with one of my own (why reinvent the wheel, right?).

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The jam was beautiful, and very very tasty, and although maybe a little too sweet (I like some tartness to my jam, but the kids thought it was perfect).  I also found less of a problem with floating fruit than in other strawberry-based jam recipes.  This recipe is definitely a keeper (maybe with some more strawberries and one fewer banana, since the banana flavor overpowered the strawberry a little bit?).

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Up next, plain-and-simple strawberry and strawberry-lime (and soon, the raspberries and blueberries will be in!)  I make about two batches a week during the summer, and my kitchen is always open for a jam-making get-together,  so come join me!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

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Well, I went and added to the long list of jams to make this summer.   After seeing Dianne’s,  Mary’s, Amanda’s, and especially Jayne’s, I couldn’t help myself.   I got up extra early to get the jam made before anyone woke up, and wouldn’t you know it,  somehow we’re mysteriously out of narrow jar lids!!  ACK!  So, with the fruit prepped, and sugar measured, I’ve got to run out to the store for lids.

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So after a slice of strawberry cake to go with my coffee (cake is breakfast food, right?), and a trip to the store, maybe I’ll get this jam finished!

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Tomorrow – Strawberry-Banana Jam!

Apricot Jam Prep

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With three young children to look after, I often don’t have the time to make a batch of jam start to finish,  so for the last two years, I have made jam in stages.   Today was prep day for Apricot-Orange Jam – recipe at the end.  (The girls were nabbing and eating apricots off the counter the whole time!)

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Apricots are so tender and can turn so quickly, I like to process them as soon as I get them home.  (If it must wait until the next morning, I lay them out in a single later on a clean kitchen towel, with all of the bruised or nicked ones to one side (afterall, these are still perfectly good for jam after the soft spots are discarded).)

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First, enough fruit is washed and chopped to equal 8 cups  (a few “less ripe” apricots are added in because they contain more pectin, and this old-fashioned jam uses only the natural pectin in the fruit.)  and put in a freezer zipper-bag.  Then, the orange zest (I always zest with a microplane – I can’t stand big, bitter chunks of zest in my jam!), freshly-squeezed orange and lemon juices, are added to the bag.  The bag is then gently mushed a bit to distribute the juice (this keeps the fruit from browning).

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All included ingredients – and the amount of sugar and pectin (if any) needed to make the batch of jam – are written on the bag, as are a few notes to remind me approximately how long to cook that batch before it sets up, etc.  Then, the bag goes in the freezer until I have time to make the jam – hopefully later this week!

Larksong’s Natural Apricot-Orange Jam

8 cups washed, chopped apricots

Zest of 1 large orange or two small juice oranges (zested with a microplane)

1/3 cup of freshly-squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

6 cups granulated sugar

Directions (this excludes the canner prep and jar sterilization, which must occur simultaneously) :

1.  Combine all ingredients except sugar ( that means everything that was frozen in the zipper bag) in a large, heavy-bottomed pan (I use my All-Clad).  Mash and cook on medium until apricots begin to steam and break down.  (At this point, depending on your preference, you could run the fruit pulp through a food-mill to remove the skins.  I think they are delicate enough to break down fine, and often keep them in.)

2.  Add sugar, and bring mixture to a boil.  Boil, stirring and scraping down sides,  for approx 25-30 minutes (candy thermometer should read 220 F), or until jam reaches the setting point (put some on a spoon, and set it in the fridge for a minute to see if it has set).

3.  Fill 9 to 11  one-half pint jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace, add lids and rings, and process in a rolling water bath for 5 min.  Store in a dark place, or jam may darken over time.

4.  Enjoy (I especially like it on a toasted English muffin with ricotta cheese)!

(If I can get the time, and find some more beautiful apricots, I hope to make and post the recipes for Apricot Brandy, Brandied-Apricot Jam, and Apricot-Lime Jam as well.)

P.S. -I am always up for a canning party.  Any Portlanders or Vancouverites, you are welcome bring your fruit and jars and we can make some serious batches of jam and salsa and enjoy each others’ company!

Cake Mix Cookies and an Announcement

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Well, first off, I’m approaching my 150th post here soon, and I’ll be having a little giveaway of my own.  Keep your eyes out for it in the next week or two and spread the word.

Now to the cookies –

I’m more of a bake from scratch kind of woman, but I ended up with a lot of devil’s food cake mix,  and have been trying to use it all up.   For tea this week, Firecracker and I ended up baking some Reverse Chocolate Chip Cake-Mix Cookies.  (The original recipe is here, but I made a few changes, below).

Reverse Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies

1 package devil’s food cake mix

1 large egg

1/4 cup strong coffee

1/4 cup oil

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Directions –

Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine wet ingredients thoroughly, then stir in cake mix until a stiff dough forms.   Gently fold in white chocolate chips until distributed throughout the dough.

Drop heaping teaspoonfuls onto a parchment or Silpat (love mine! Wish I owned two!)- lined cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until done.  (We prefered closer to 12 min, they were chewier, but at 15 minutes, they were crisp and good for dunking in a cup of tea.)

Not the best chocolate cookies I’ve ever made, but they were a thrifty, quick choice, and we did enjoy them very much with tea this week.

Comfort

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The ultimate comfort dinner – Scratch Chicken Pot Pie with a Parmesan-Whole Wheat Crust, served with our friend’s homebrew Imperial Stout, and Oatmeal Apple Crisp for dessert.

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Life is good.  A full day of cooking, and a full belly.  Maybe when I can summon up the energy, I’ll post my recipe.

Birthday

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Well, I turned thirty on Sunday.  My parents got me some wonderful birthday gifts, including restocking my spice and baking cupboard (for the best spices, go here).

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Thanks, Mom and Dad!!

Jam Sandwich Cookies

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A  simple sugar cookie recipe, made into sandwiches, some filled with homemade raspberry-lime jam, some with apricot preserves.

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I am so inspired by A-Friend-to-Knit-With‘s Cookie of the Week.  I have made several of her recipes, but our favorite -  her chewy peanut-butter cookies (I’ve made them more often than I should admit!).

While I don’t make cookies every week, some weeks we make 2 or 3 kinds!  In general, I’m more of a cake and pie girl, but children love cookies – the baking and the eating – so we make time (and room in our tummies!) for them.

Cheater Peach Cobbler

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What a treat – tasty fresh organic peaches in March!  We were given two boxes of fragrant peaches, and after eating some with breakfast, we made this “cheater” cobbler (the simple batter goes on the bottom, and you simply pour the peaches on top).

My favorite things about this recipe – it’s gooey and sweet with a crunchy top, it has NO eggs (great for when I happen to run out and need to make a dessert, or need to take a dish to our friends’ house where they have egg allergies), and it is quick and easy.  It is very rich, though, because of the significant amount of cream and butter for the size of the dessert.

I have used home-canned, drained peaches, and also peaches plus raspberries when I was low on fresh peaches.  The result may be a bit more gooey.

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Larksong’s Cheater Peach Cobbler

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter (as always, I recommend Tillamook), melted

1 cup plus granulated sugar plus 3 Tbsp

1 cup unbleached flour (or 1/2 unbleached, 1/2 whole wheat)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy cream (or if you feel guilty, use whole milk)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 ripe peaches, pitted, thinly sliced (I prefer mine unpeeled – the skin adds so much flavor!)

Directions – Heat oven to 375°. Pour melted butter into a 2 or 3-quart baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir to blend.

Stir in the milk and vanilla until blended. Pour the batter over the melted butter.

Toss the peaches with the remaining 3 Tbsp  sugar. Arrange the peach slices over the batter (The girls like to do this part).

Bake for 35 to 50 minutes, or until browning on top and set (a 2-quart dish may take longer to bake, since it’ll be deeper).

Coconut Macaroons

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I have checked out this book from the library at least 10 times.  I need to just go out and buy it.   So far, the girls and I have made close to half of the cookies  in the book.  We keep coming back to a number of them, but the coconut macaroons are simple and fun for children to make.  The girls enjoy shaping them into pyramids and we all enjoy the crunchy outside and soft, sweet inside.

The recipe is also online at Martha’s website

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Hope your day is filled with sweet treats and smiling children!

Pineapple Upsidedown Cake

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Ah, comfort food… we even eat this for breakfast sometimes.  I know everyone has their own favorite version.  This one is quite good, as are these individual ones made in ramekins, but I’m always trying out new recipes – who knows, it may be better than one I’ve used for years.

This time around I made a sour cream version, since I happened to have quite a bit in the fridge.  The recipe is here, and it was SO good – I will certainly use it again. (I omitted the almonds, due to allergies to them in our family).

Happy baking!

Vulcan Red Chard

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I know it isn’t the most romantic food in the world, but when planning my garden for the year, I always order lots of Swiss Chard (especially Vulcan Red, and Brightlights, and Fordhook Giant).  It looks so beautiful in the planting beds, requires little help, is extremely cost effective to grow, and some years here in the NW I can get it to keep growing right through the winter.

More importantly, it is very healthy, full of vitamins, and I use it a lot in cooking (second only to my beloved Russian Red Kale) .  I often chop it into any stew we’re having (adding the stems about 20 min before the greens, since they take longer to cook).  My favorite recipe (the kids love it, too!) comes from Cook’s Illustrated Nov 2004 issue – Balsamic  Chicken with Swiss Chard and Tomatoes.   It is a little involved, however (honestly, though, aren’t most Cook’s recipes??).  If you’d like one,  I can get you a copy.

Chard is also great just steamed by itself and topped with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil, or lemon juice and capers.  Not to mention the possibilities in stir fry!

I’m glad we make room for a little patch in our garden and our diet.

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PS – there are many tips of the hat to yummy greens lately (some kicked off by Shining Egg‘s Green Week, I believe)- A Friend to Knit With,  In the Kitchen, Hurrayic, Orangette’s Broccoli Soup, and many others.

New Frosting

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I know it seems that I’m a bit frosting obsessed  (Sour cream, mocha , honey cream cheese, you name it, I love it!), but let’s be honest, a good frosting really does makes the cake.

So, how had I -a confessed frosting addict- never heard of Marshmallow Cream frosting until recently?  One of my husband’s coworker’s had made cupcakes with the creamiest, yummiest frosting, and I asked her what her secret ingredient was.  She replied, “Marshmallow cream!”

Below is my chocolate version, but the original is here.

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Larksong’s Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

1/2 cup room temperature sweet cream unsalted Tillamook butter

1- 7 oz jar of marshmallow cream

a handful of chocolate chips (I actually used a Lindt Chocolate Snowman I had left from my Christmas stocking, I just chopped it up.)

16 oz confectioner’s sugar

1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa

3-4 tbsp whole milk

Directions –

1. Sift confectioner’s sugar and dutch cocoa together in a bowl.

2.Melt chocolate in the microwave in 15 second intervals, stopping to stir in between, until melted.

3.In Kitchenaid mixer with whisk attachment, beat the melted chocolate, softened butter and marshmallow cream until fluffy and combined.

4.  Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa mix, then trickle in the milk until desired consistency is achieved and frosting is fluffy.  Spread on chocolate cake or cupcakes.  Makes approx 3 cups.

Banana Sour Cream Cake

The night before last, while waiting for our kidney bean and brown rice stew to finish simmering on the stovetop, Little Hen asked if we could make a cake to serve after dinner.  We didn’t have much time, and I was pretty tired, so we went for one of our easy favorites – Banana Sour Cream Cake.  It’s a simple sheet cake, but very moist and very tasty. 

My version uses whole wheat flour and, of course, bananas, so I can justify it as a “healthy” dessert.  I have made it with yogurt instead of sour cream when in a pinch (but then, I substitute cream cheese frosting for the one I have listed below).   My original recipe below, with a few changes I made this time in parenthesis:

 Larksong’s Banana Sour Cream Cake

 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat flour

1 cup Bob’s Red Mill unbleached white flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup unsalted Tillamook butter

1/4 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs (I had medium on hand, so I used 3)

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3  very large or 4 medium bananas, preferably overripe

2 Tbsp lemon juice (although, last night I used lime juice, because limes have been the frugal choice of late.  No one could tell the difference.)

Directions –

1) Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter and lightly flour a  9 x 13 inch cake pan.  In a Kitchenaid mixer with beater blade, cream butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy.   

2) Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat until quite fluffy (I find this step quite important when making a cake with whole wheat flour.  It helps prevent an overly dense cake).

3) While above is mixing, in a separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

4)To the mixer, add the sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and bananas.  Beat until combined. 

5)Add dry ingredients in two additions until just combined.  Then, pour into pan and bake for approx 30 min, or until cake tester comes out mostly clean (I find that a banana cake may not come out totally clean until it’s overbaked).  Let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting with Sour Cream Frosting.   

Sour Cream Frosting

4 tablespoons unsalted softened butter

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice  (again, I used lime juice.)

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups powdered sugar

In Kitchenaid with whisk attachment, beat together butter, sour cream, vanilla and lemon juice until creamy.  Sift in powdered sugar and beat until fully combined and fluffy.  This frosting is delicious and creamy, but soft, so I chill it before frosting the cake, and I store leftover cake in the fridge if the kitchen is warm.

Mayo Cake

My apologies for the lack of any decent pictures.  This is my sister’s birthday cake, my mom’s recipe.  It is the best chocolate cake EVER.  It makes a very dark, rich, moist cake, and is perfect with Mocha Frosting.

Larksong’s Mother’s Mayo Cake

1 C sugar

1 C mayo (Please, not Miracle Whip.  Ugh.)

1/2 C Dutch process cocoa

2 C unbleached flour

2 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1C hot water

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 F.  Butter and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan.  Mix first three ingredients.  Alternately, add flour and soda water.  Then add vanilla, stirring briefly until combined.  Bake for 45 min. (Don’t overcook, or it will dry out!  Just until the edges of the cake pull away from the pan.)

Let cool completely, and frost with Mocha Frosting (see below.)

Mocha Frosting (From The Joy of Cooking)

Sift together:

1 2/3 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp Dutch process cocoa

Beat in mixer until fluffy:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

Then, add in the sugar +cocoa until creamy and whippy.  To this, add 1/8 tsp salt and 3 Tbsp very strong coffee or espresso.  Beat for 2 min.  Then, beat in 1 tsp pure vanilla or 1 tsp rum.  Let stand 5 min.  Beat again briefly, and spread on cooled cake.  Enjoy!

I promise some decent posts the next few days – we’ve been doing some fun homeschooling stuff, had a great trip down the street to the beach, and Little Hen has been taking pictures with her new digital camera.  It’s so hard to be motivated to blog while on vacation, but I will make some time tonight after the kids are in bed.  Hope you have a relaxing day!

Snow Ice Cream – Tutorial

We had a beautiful, fluffy snowfall Christmas Eve morning.  My friend Joanne suggested we make some Snow Ice Cream.  So, the girls and I collected a huge bowl of clean, fresh snow, and set to it! 

Snow Ice Cream

You will need:

1 gallon fresh, fluffy snow, give or take.

2 cups whole milk or 1 cup whole milk + 1 cup eggnog (or for vegans, 2 cups hazelnut or almond milk would be tasty, don’t you think?)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 scant cup granulated sugar

In a very large bowl, combine the milk, sugar and vanilla.

Add in handfuls of snow until the mixture comes together.

Keep stirring, it takes a while!

Firecracker declares it, “Martha Stewart good!”

Enjoy!

Creamy Polenta Dinner

We finished this book, but the girls’ interest in all things relating to “life on the prairie” has yet to wane.  Firecracker had been asking all through the book, “What does salt pork taste like?”, so when we were in the area, we decided to visit the butcher at our local New Seasons to find some.

He didn’t exactly have salt pork, but recommended some locally made bacon that was very salty, not sweet, and contained no nitrites or dyes.  He said it tasted very different from packaged bacon – much more like salt pork.  We ended up buying the bacon ends, because they were $2/lb less expensive, and for our needs, they would work perfectly.  So, $2 later, we left the store with our “salt pork” and headed home.

Now, the Ingalls family also ate a LOT of cornmeal, so we did a little recipe search to find a cornmeal dish we would all want to eat.  We settled on creamy polenta.  I know it isn’t exactly what they would have eaten, because it had cheese, and was served with a tomato and bell pepper sauce, but it looked good to the three of us.  I wasn’t about to spend an hour and a half making a dish of which the girls wouldn’t eat more than one or two bites!

To make this dinner you will need:

1 lb organic, no nitrite local bacon ends or salt pork, finely chopped

5 large shallots, minced

1 clove garlic, minced (I actually used elephant garlic, because it’s what I had on hand)

3 cups whole milk

7 cups cold water

1 bay leaf

1 cup shredded, hard, aged cheese (I used asiago, because it was on sale cheap!)

one large handful of kale or spinach

1 jar homemade spaghetti sauce

1 roma tomato, chopped

1 roasted red bell pepper, skin removed, and finely chopped

1 avocado sliced right before serving (because I had one on hand, you could add parsley or shredded cheese as a garnish instead, if that’s what you have on hand.)

Directions – First, very finely cube and then fry the bacon ends in the dutch oven.  Drain off and save the fat in the fridge (so good for cooking omelettes or hash browns) .  Set fried bacon off to the side. Add the shallots and garlic to the dish and cook on med. until caramelized.  Remove them, and set next to the bacon.

I used this basic creamy polenta recipe, but substituted 3 cups whole milk for half of the 6 cups of water.  I added the water/milk combo straight to the pot that had cooked the bacon, and therefore omitted the salt, because the bacon was quite salty. 

After the polenta finishes cooking, stir in 1 cup shredded cheese and one big handful of kale (from our garden) cut in a fine chiffonade.  Leave covered, on low heat until ready to serve.

While the polenta is cooking, in a separate pot, heat the sauce, plus tomato, red pepper, cooked shallots/garlic, and half of the bacon.

Serve the polenta with sauce on top, and garnish with more bacon and the sliced avocado.  

We ate half of the polenta for dinner, and the other half was poured into a 9×9 greased baking dish, and tomorrow, when it is set up after a night in the fridge, we will cut it up and panfry it for dinner.

Obviously, if you wanted a vegetarian dinner, simply omit the bacon/salt pork, and increase the salt.  You could serve it with cannelini beans for sufficient protein.

The girls enjoyed the dinner, but we talked about how Laura and Mary would have eaten something similar (sans tomato sauce) for breakfast, lunch and dinner most days while they lived on the prairie.   Little Hen said she sure was grateful for the variety in our diet.  She’s so right – we as Americans in the 21st century really are blessed to have such a huge selection of foods to enjoy.

Next on our Little House menu?  A good friend sent us this book for St. Nicholas’ day, so I’m sure there will be many more dishes to try!  The girls would like to make rabbit stew.  Hmm…where to get a rabbit in the middle of Portland without paying an arm and a leg?

Marshmallows

Homemade marshmallows we brought to the market Friday.  They are so light and special.  A real treat – handmade with love and far beyond anything bought at the store.  Wonderful dipped in dark chocolate, or melted into hot cocoa, or just as they are.   

Today we made another batch to give as Christmas gifts.   I know they made the rounds of various crafty mama blogs awhile ago, which is what inspired me to start making them in the first place – I have learned so many great crafts, and found so many great recipes from so many talented mamas!  You can find the recipe here.  (I also found out that you can substitute Kosher vegetarian gelatin in a 1:1 ratio for the regular gelatin in this recipe if that better suits your dietary needs.) 

Thes are so easy and so much fun for children to make (and enjoy!).  But oh, the clean up! 

And I didn’t even get shots of the powdered sugar clouds in my kitchen! 

On this unusually snow-covered, wintery day in the Pacific Northwest, we’re wishing you a mug of hot cocoa topped off with a big fluffy marshmallow!

Children’s Christmas Market

Our table at the Portland Homeschool Children’s Holiday Market, where our family sold homemade gift tags, peppermint bark, and marshmallows.  It was a wonderful venue for the girls to show off their projects, to raise money for various charities, and to network with other Portland homeschoolers.   

We raised $28 dollars for charity and sold nearly everything we brought (prices were kept low, so all children could participate in the buying as well as the selling –  $1 each, or 3 for $2).  We met lots of other great homeschooling/unschooling families.  The girls came home with tummies full of brownies and a bag full of homecrafted goodies they bought from the other kids at the market – fairy wands, playdoh, postcards, stationery, bean bags, chocolate lollipops. 

Many thanks to Lyla, who put on the event!!  There are future events in the works, and we will definitely attend again!

Peppermint Bark

This is an easy holiday candy that preschoolers/primary-aged children can make with only a little supervision.  The entire project (minus chilling time) takes about 15 minutes.

You will need: 2 lbs white chocolate, chopped, or 2 lbs white chocolate melting chips,

about 10 candy canes, crushed (to equal one cup) (my girls put the candy canes in a large bowl, and went to town with a potato masher),

a double boiler and a jelly roll pan lined in parchment or waxed paper.

Melt the white chocolate in the double boiler (we added half, let it mostly melt, then added the other half – it was much easier for the girls to stir this way)

When chocolate is completely melted, stir in the crushed candy canes until thoroughly combined.  Immediately pour onto your jelly roll pan, smooth into an even layer, and place in the fridge to chill (about an hour).  Then, carefully snap into pieces and enjoy!

Take my word for it – this is yummy!

As an adult, I have really learned to love prunes.  Now, I know they have a bit of a stigma, but I have found that I prefer their flavor to that of raisins.  They’re quite good for you, and we love the complexity they add to pork dishes, chopped into various stews, and in cakes and bread.

This is straight out of Fannie Farmer (I know, I’m probably mentioning her too much lately, but I did say that I cook from her book or get inspiration from it frequently.)  The only thing I adjusted was the baking time – it took a full 20 min longer than the recipe said for a skewer to come out clean.

I took this to homeschool group and came home with an empty plate. 

Cornmeal Prune Loaf (yes, I fully acknowledge, it needs a better name, but that’s what’s in the book)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (I used 1 stick plus 1/4 cup shortening, because butter is really expensive right now!)

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 cup yellow or blue cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup dark rum (I subbed in orange juice, because my kids are eating this, and they don’t like the flavor alcohol adds to bread…except my fruitcake, which is drenched in brandy, and still Firecracker wolfs it down…)

1 heaping cup finely chopped, pitted prunes

Directions:

Preheat the oven 325 F.  Thoroughly grease a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.  With an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter until creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition (If you add all the eggs at once, you will end up with an undesirable consistency.  It really does make a difference.).

Combine the flour, cormeal, salt, baking powder, and stir them together.  Slowly add to the mixer, then add the rum (or OJ).  Gently fold in the prunes.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until skewer comes out clean (It took me 1 hr 35 minutes, and it was not over cooked, but I’d start with the minimum time and keep checking.)

Remove from pan and let rest 5 minutes before removing from pan.  Cool completely before cutting, or the loaf will crumble.

Enjoy with strong black tea on a cold afternoon.

Pear Upsidedown Gingerbread Cake

I make this every year at the holidays.  Firecracker and I made it yesterday for Thanksgiving.  She helped sautee the pears (local, organic, from Hood River) and make the reduction, measure the dry ingredients, and crack the eggs.  She is a super kitchen helper. 

If you make this, and have little kitchen helpers, I recommend cooking an extra pear for each helper -otherwise, you may find yourself with too few pears to top the cake.   Not much is more tempting than pears caramelized in butter and sugar!   

I have saved every issue of Martha Stewart Living since I began subscribing in 1997 (yup, back when I was a college freshman!).  This recipe is from the Dec/Jan 1997 issue, but I just discovered that it’s also here.  I leave out the extra tablespoon of freshly grated ginger, because I find that with it, the flavor is a bit too sharp for little children.  Also, it’s a little time-consuming, but the flavor of the caramelized pears with the gingerbread is delicious.  I served each slice with a dollop of honey cream cheese frosting.

Giving Thanks

A really lovely Thanksgiving.  A delicious meal, everyone pitched-in for clean up, the family played board games all evening.  The girls tucked themselves in a corner and played and whispered and giggled with their favorite 4 year-old cousin.  The baby and I even got an after supper nap.

Playing with pilgrim dolls.

 

 

 

 

BLESSING to God, for ever blest,
To God the Master of the feast,
Who hath for us a table spread,
And with his daily bounties fed;
May he with all his gifts impart
The crown of all – a thankful heart!

                     – Traditional Hymn