Christmas Cookies, Candy and Nuts

    Christmas  Cookies
   If all the cookies baked in December were laid side by side they would go across the United States two times.  (Just teasing, I haven’t the vaguest.)
Cookies at Christmas are as all American as apple pie.  What else can you give the mailman or the cleaning lady? (I know the answer to that, too.)
   The holiday season is a time of sharing, if you have something to pass on to others it makes you feel better.  So we make cookies and candy.  My
mother-in-law  was the best candy maker that ever was, so I never moved in that direction.  My mother baked cookies, raisin filled cookies, If you were hungry or bored you knew where the cookie jar was.
   I have baked cookies, some good and some that stayed in the oven a minute too long. There was a time when girls joined 4-H and learned to bake cookies.  They baked batch after batch before they got the perfect one that meant a blue ribbon or perhaps a champion ribbon.  I hope young girls are still baking 4-H cookies.
   As I share these recipes with you, remember if the first batch doesn’t turn out to suit you, someone will eat up the evidence and you can try again.
   Johnnye is a retired Home Ec teacher who still likes to bake.  She gave me
some good tips.  Always use cane sugar, not beet sugar (the sugar bag is clearly marked). Find the recipe that you like and add different things to it.  Her recipe came from  Martha Stewart Living.    The recipe can be adjusted for thin &crispy, soft & chewy, or light and cakey.
                                         Johnnye’s Cookies
Thin & Crisp
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter softened
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar

Soft & Chewy
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar

Light & Cakey
1 ¾ stick unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
Plus
2 ¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse ssalt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs, room temp.
2 cups chips, (any kind) I used Heath Bar Chips
Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour and baking soda.  In mixer bowl beat butter with both sugars until light and fluffy.  This takes awhile.  Add salt, vanilla and eggs.  Beat well.  Mix in flour mixture, beat only until combined.  Add desired chips.
Drop on parchment paper on baking sheet.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes, still soft in center.  Cool on wire rack.
Butter should be soft, not hard or runny.

   Meme and her granddaughter bake gluten free cookies.  Here is her recipe.

T.J. means Trader Joe’s.
1 cup T.J. creamy Salted Peanut Butter
1 cup T.J. organic sugar
1 T.J. large egg
1 T.J. teaspoon baking soda
1 T.J. teaspoon vanilla
Addt. Sugar for rolling
Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients in bowl.  Roll walnut size balls of mixture into addt,.sugar.  Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet.  Using a fork slightly press down on balls and create a crisscross pattern.
Bake for 10 minutes, let cool for 5 minutes, transfer to cooling rack.

  Mark likes to make his version of  peanut brittle during the holidays.
           Salted Carmel Cashew Brittle
1 cup Brown sugar
1 cup light Karo
Cook in the microwave 4 minutes
Add 1 cup cashew nuts, mix, and cook in microwave 3 ½ minutes
Add 1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon carmel flavoring
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla, cook in microwave 2 minutes
Add 1 heavy teaspoon baking soda, stir and immediately spread on parchment paper.
Cool, break apart.

   My baking has been pretty easy, but tasty.
                     Linda’s Spiced Nuts
1 pound pecan halves
1cup sugar or Splenda
1 large egg white
1 Tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Combine egg white and water, beat with fork until frothy.
Add pecans and stir until well covered
In separate bowl combine sugar, cinnamon and salt. Combine with nuts.
Spread on parchment paper on cookie sheet.  Bake at 300 for 30 minutes, stirring at 10 minute intervals.  Cool, that’s it.
   My Southern Sis has cookies down to a science.  Her husband had a side-line mowing business and at Christmas they wanted to share with their customers.  For 30 year, she, her daughter, daughter-in-law, granddaughters, and for many years, our mother baked cookies and shared.  Here is one of her favorite recipes.
                                       Pistachio Crinkles
½ cup unsalted butter softened
1 1/2cup granulated sugar, divided
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond flavoring
1 large egg
¼ teaspoon liquid green food coloring
¾ tespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup finely ground roasted, salted pistachios
1 cup P. sugar
In large bowl beat butter, 1 cup sugar and extracts until fluffy (3-4 minutes)
Add egg and food coloring, beat well.
Wisk flour with Baking powder and salt.  Gradually add to butter mixture, beating just till combined.  Add the pistachios, blend well. Chill until firm.
Roll into 1 inch balls, then in ½ cup granulated sugar, then in P.; ;sugar.  Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes.  Makes about 24 cookies.  Enjoy.

   The women of the Edwards Memorial United Methodist Church in Liberty have been doing a Cookie Walk for about 25 years.  They sell about 500 dozen cookies each year, plus some candy.  To paraphrase an insurance advertisement, “They know a thing or two about baking cookies.”  Sally is famous for her Candy Mice and she shared this information.

                                     Candy Mice

Chocolate Kisses (I usually use the milk chocolate and sometimes the Hugs.  The dark chocolate is O.K. but does not match the chocolate dip and the eyes do not show up as well.
Chocolate flavored almond bark
Vanilla flavored almond bark
Maraschino cherries with stems
Sliced almonds
Red decorating gel
Place cherries on a paper towel to drain.  Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
Mix 2 chocolate almond bark  squares and 1 vanilla almond bark square with 1 Tablespoon of oil, heat in microwave until melted.  This will do approximately 25 mice.  Hold cherries by the stem and dip into melted chocolate mixture to cover the cherry.  Lay chocolate kiss on its side and press dipped cherry onto the bottom of the kiss with stem towards the back looking like a tail. Insert 2 small almond slices between the cherry and the chocolate kiss for ears.
After completing all the mice, apply eyes using the red decorating gel.  I found it helped to put a drop of the gel on waxed paper and use a toothpick dipped into the gel to apply the eyes.  If you use Hugs Kisses you can make eyes with the melted chocolate and add a drop at the tip for the nose.

   Will the mouse eat the cookies?

   No, somebody ate the mouse!




 

Food, Children and the Holidays

   It’s half-past Thanksgiving.  Let’s evaluate and review how things went.  The cooperation and comraderie   of people involved was super.   A+. 

   The food was hot when it was supposed to be, cold when it was supposed to be; (no mean trick).  It was traditional with a touch of nutritional. (Three relish plates).  

   There were naps after dinner, as was expected.

   There was shopping with bargains after 6 P.M.

   I suppose there was football, can’t say for sure.

   There was a call for Tums.

   There was plenty of turkey; left-overs for sandwiches and soup.

   Each one here had his  favorite food. Mine was definitely  cranberry salad. The tartness goes with the heavy foods.  We have it only on Thanksgiving. 

   The hot wassail was good before dinner, with dinner and after.  

   Somebody brought a peanut butter pie that was unexpected and delicious.

   Mark’s noodles, a staple at family dinners, were done just right.  

Food got an A-.

   Although we did a lot of advance preparation, we could have done more.

Pumpkin and pecan pies were baked the day before.  Dinner rolls were baked, frozen 3 days before.  The sweet potato casserole could have had more advanced prep; as could the dressing.  I shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to put the wassail together.  

   Being with the babies was worth all the work.  One year old Vivie pretending to be a dog, crawling along the floor, making noises was precious.  The picture of my 6 great-grandchildren (plus one momma who snuck in) was memorable.  Each one special.  

   I’ll share some of my favorite recipes.

   We changed the original Turkey Chowder Recipe. Just make it simple.  When you have gotten as much meat off the carcass as possible, put the bones in a pot of boiling water and simmer for hours. Then throw the bones away and you will be left with turkey stock plus a little meat.  To this add chopped vegies (saute them first, if you are a purist) .   Add some rice,  Old Bay seasoning or herbs, and when it seems about right, add a can of celery soup. You may want to chop some of the turkey meat and add to the soup. A nice big pot full .

                                                Wassail

3 quarts of orange juice

1 quart cranberry juice

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

3 sticks of cinnamon

12 whole cloves

Simmer for an hour (or less if you’re in a hurry)

It would be nice if you tied the cloves in a cheesecloth bag.  

                                 Cranberry Salad

1 pound fresh cranberries, frozen, then finely chopped

2 cups sugar

1 ½ cups boiling water

1 6 oz. pkg. cherry Jello

1 cup finely diced celery

1 cup crushed pineapple (drained)

1 cup chopped nuts

Bring sugar and water to boil.  Dissolve Jello in water.

Add other ingredients and refrigerate,  stirring occasionally to keep well blended.  

   Next, it will be cookies for Christmas   I   

  

Thanksgiving, Family and More

      Most of us don’t give thanks just in November.  But we give it more thought then, knowing things slip by without proper acknowledgement. 
   For instance, now I remember to give thanks for books.  Oxford Lane Library has become my third best friend.  I request a book and pick it up a few days later at the drive-thru.  My own bookshelf is full of treasures I can look at again and again.  Some years ago a friend gave me a copy of “Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions”, by Sarah Ban Breathnach.  Nostalgia plus lovely old pictures such as the one just below. 

   Of course, thanks for family is uppermost. The telephone calls on Sunday evening keep me connected with the girls and family in the south.  How long the day would be without them.  I just have one foot in the technology world, I don’t text or skype, so the old fashioned telephone is still important.
   I learn that prayers for my nephew’s daughter are being answered; her lung transplant operation is going well.  My daughter’s share  stories of their activities and where to find chicken noodle soup in restaurants in Indianapolis.  In case I have a cold and happen to be there. I’m thankful those places exist.
   I’m thankful for new recipes, for me they are fun.  They must call for cream and chocolate to get a second look, as the one below did.  It could have been better.  Next time I will adjust the ingredients a bit.  You know, a little more cream, a little more chocolate.

Peanut butter Pie with Chocolate

   Thanks to for flowers.  Each season has something special. In autumn I bring in a geranium and slips from begonias for the bay window.  Soon it will be time for poinsettias and amaryllis.  Who can resist their charm?

   I would be remiss if I didn’t give thanks for friends, especially blog friends.  What joy it is to share.
   May each of you have many things to be thankful for.

Butterfly Garden

   On a recent trip to Indianapolis my daughter and I visited the Indianapolis Zoo. 
   We never even looked at the animals, it was all about the gardens. The Conservatory, the Butterfly Garden,  is a national known attraction.

There are special doors with attendants to keep the tropical butterflies in the tropical garden.  The season for the butterflies is from March till November.   
Then, the air in the greenhouse is filled with butterflies amongst the croton, orchids, banana trees and other tropical plants.. 
   Senior Butterfly Keeper, Velda, is in charge of feeding the butterflies and she shared information with us.

Adult butterflies consume only liquids ingested through the proboscis. Besides the nectar from

flowers they feed on a concoction made for them.  1 can beer, 1 12 oz. can Gatorade, ½ cup sugar mixed together.  This is put in shallow dishes with brightly colored stones for them to rest on while they are drinking.  At the peak of the season one can observe as many a 2500 butterflies at one time, with as many as 40 different types in the 5000 square foot conservatory.

   They also feed on over-ripe fruit. 

The Julia butterfly likes salt

   There is another butterfly garden for native insects.  Monarchs, with their orange and black wings are one of the most easily recognized and common to us.
   Butterflies go through the 4 stage insect life cycle; the egg, the caterpillar , (larvae), the chrysalis and finally the butterfly.  Butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and bats are all necessary pollinators.
   It is a symbol of new life in the Christian sector.  I recall the large butterfly my husband painted that hung from the ceiling of our church at Easter. 

   

Black walnuts,

   Have you ever wanted to have a conversation with someone you have never met?
   I wish I could invite Sheila Pim for tea.  Her slender book, “Bringing The Garden Indoors” was published in England in 1949.  She was a garden columnist and her writing illustrated her expertise.
   Her country home must not have been a “Downton Abby”.  However, this quote gives an inkling of her household; “I threw out the dead flowers, Ma’am, says a housemaid, alluding to a work of art that has taken up half one’s morning.”

Thanks to Heritage, The British Review

   One wonders how many men helped in her garden and orchard.

Thanks to Heritage-The British Review

   But Sheila was no slacker, she could make jelly from currants, gooseberries, apples or what-have you.
   Between our sips of tea I would ask her about rooting begonia slips, how she keeps geraniums over and is she sad when the dahlias are finished?
   She wouldn’t know about black walnuts.  She had English walnuts.  Last week I picked up black walnuts in the hull and spread them on the gravel where the tractors would run over them.  It has been years since our children gathered them, the tannin staining their hands and gloves. (Wear rubber gloves when picking them up still in the hulls).

Black walnuts and hickory nuts cuing

   Camden, Ohio used to have a black walnut festival where you could buy fresh kernels.  I think you can buy the kernels in the stores  later in the season.
   Hickory nuts are as close as my side yard. I picked up some of them, but shelling them is horrific.  Sheila would know how to do that.  I wonder, do they have hickory trees in England?
   But she knew how to store apples and pears.
   She wrote,”We have tomatoes in the airing cupboard, walnuts drying in the cool oven, bulbs in the cellar, apples spread out on trestles in the garage and woodshed and pears in drawers, on window sills, on bookshelves--because you have to keep an eye on pears.”
   From her I learned that apples need to be spread out for a week or two because at first picking they give off ethylene gas and should have air space around them.  Later they can be piled in boxes or shelves.  She said ripening fruit should not be kept airtight.  Also, tomatoes keep quite well by pulling up the plants and hanging them by the stalks.
   Can you imagine what her sheds and house must have been like?
   I wish I had some apples to pick and spread out.
 


































































































































































































Have you ever wished you could have a conversation with someone from a different time and place?  I wish Sheila Pim, a garden columnist000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.……………………………................










   Have you ever wanted to have a conversation with someone you have never met?
   I wish I could invite Sheila Pim for tea.  Her slender book, “Bringing The Garden Indoors” was published in England in 1949.  She was a garden columnist and her writing illustrated her expertise.
   Her country home must not have been a “Downton Abby”.  However, this quote gives an inkling of her household; “I threw out the dead flowers, Ma’am, says a housemaid, alluding to a work of art that has taken up half one’s morning.”
   One wonders how many men helped in her garden and orchard.
   But Sheila was no slacker, she could make jelly from currants, gooseberries, apples or what-have you.
   Between our sips of tea I would ask her about rooting begonia slips, how she keeps geraniums over and is she sad when the dahlias are finished?
   She wouldn’t know about black walnuts.  She had English walnuts.  Last week I picked up black walnuts in the hull and spread them on the gravel where the tractors would run over them.  It has been years since our children gathered them, the tannin staining their hands and gloves. (Wear rubber gloves when picking them up still in the hulls).
   Camden, Ohio used to have a black walnut festival where you could buy fresh kernels.  I think you can buy the kernels in the stores  later in the season.
   Hickory nuts are as close as my side yard. I picked up some of them, but shelling them is horrific.  Sheila would know how to do that.  I wonder, do they have hickory trees in England?
   But she knew how to store apples and pears.
   She wrote,”We have tomatoes in the airing cupboard, walnuts drying in the cool oven, bulbs in the cellar, apples spread out on trestles in the garage and woodshed and pears in drawers, on window sills, on bookshelves--because you have to keep an eye on pears.”
   From her I learned that apples need to be spread out for a week or two because at first picking they give off ethylene gas and should have air space around them.  Later they can be piled in boxes or shelves.  She said ripening fruit should not be kept airtight.  Also, tomatoes keep quite well by pulling up the plants and hanging them by the stalks.
   Can you imagine what her sheds and house must have been like?
   I wish I had some apples to pick and spread out.
 


































































































































































































Have you ever wished you could have a conversation with someone from a different time and place?  I wish Sheila Pim, a garden columnist000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.……………………………................




























   Have you ever wanted to have a conversation with someone you have never met?
   I wish I could invite Sheila Pim for tea.  Her slender book, “Bringing The Garden Indoors” was published in England in 1949.  She was a garden columnist and her writing illustrated her expertise.
   Her country home must not have been a “Downton Abby”.  However, this quote gives an inkling of her household; “I threw out the dead flowers, Ma’am, says a housemaid, alluding to a work of art that has taken up half one’s morning.”
   One wonders how many men helped in her garden and orchard.
   But Sheila was no slacker, she could make jelly from currants, gooseberries, apples or what-have you.
   Between our sips of tea I would ask her about rooting begonia slips, how she keeps geraniums over and is she sad when the dahlias are finished?
   She wouldn’t know about black walnuts.  She had English walnuts.  Last week I picked up black walnuts in the hull and spread them on the gravel where the tractors would run over them.  It has been years since our children gathered them, the tannin staining their hands and gloves. (Wear rubber gloves when picking them up still in the hulls).
   Camden, Ohio used to have a black walnut festival where you could buy fresh kernels.  I think you can buy the kernels in the stores  later in the season.
   Hickory nuts are as close as my side yard. I picked up some of them, but shelling them is horrific.  Sheila would know how to do that.  I wonder, do they have hickory trees in England?
   But she knew how to store apples and pears.
   She wrote,”We have tomatoes in the airing cupboard, walnuts drying in the cool oven, bulbs in the cellar, apples spread out on trestles in the garage and woodshed and pears in drawers, on window sills, on bookshelves--because you have to keep an eye on pears.”
   From her I learned that apples need to be spread out for a week or two because at first picking they give off ethylene gas and should have air space around them.  Later they can be piled in boxes or shelves.  She said ripening fruit should not be kept airtight.  Also, tomatoes keep quite well by pulling up the plants and hanging them by the stalks.
   Can you imagine what her sheds and house must have been like?
   I wish I had some apples to pick and spread out.
 


































































































































































































Have you ever wished you could have a conversation with someone from a different time and place?  I wish Sheila Pim, a garden columnist000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.……………………………................

Autumn-food and more

   If you want to make the cook happy, just ask for her recipe.  Friends recently put a smile on my face when I took a pumpkin dessert to a club meeting.
Since this is a good month for pumpkin , I’ll share some recipes.
       A few years back Longaberger baskets were all the rage and women made trips to Dresden, Ohio to see the factory.  That’s where my sister, Brenda, got this recipe called  Dresden Pumpkin Crunch. (She didn’t get it from the factory, but from the other gals on the trip). It is a cross between a pie and a cake and so easy to make.
                                     Dresden Pumpkin Crunch
1 yellow cake mix 
1 cup chopped pecans                                   
1 16 oz. can pumpkin                                  3 eggs                               
1 12 oz, can evaporated milk                     3 t. pumpkin pie spice
 1/2t. salt
1 ½  cups sugar
1 cup melted butter
Whipped topping
Preheat oven at 350 degrees.  Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, spices and salt.  Mix well.  Pour into a 9 by 13 pan, (I used 2, 9 in square pans).  Sprinkle cake mix over batter, top with pecans, drizzle melted butter on top.
Bake for 50 minutes.  Cool and serve with whipped topping.

 
   Another good recipe for carry-out is Mother’s Lemon Loaf.

½  cup butter
1 cup sugar    Cream well and add
2 lightly beaten eggs
Grated rind of 1 lemon mix well
Sift together
1 ½  cups flour
1 tsp. Baking powder
Pinch salt
Combine this alternately with
½ cup milk to batter.  Stir well, but not too much
Bake in well greased large loaf pan. For 50 minutes
While cake is baking combine
¼ cup lemon juice (the real stuff)
½ cup sugar.  (Just mix, do not dissolve sugar. )
When cake comes out of the oven, pour lemon juice mixture over cake and let cool. This is good frozen and sliced very thin.  Wonderful!

   Here are some lines for the October birthday people. (lots of them).
   Count your garden by the flowers
   Never by the leaves that fall.
   Count your day by golden hours
   Don’t remember clouds at all.
   Count your nights by stars, not shadows
   Count your life by smiles, not tears
   And with joy on every birthday
   Count your age by friends, not years.
                                                      Anon.
There’s more!

When I take a walk back the lane I observe the field corn,  When the ears are hanging down, it is said to be mature.  As this picture shows, some are down and some are still erect.  No matter, farmers are in the fields. (Except when it’s too wet)

Pawpaw

   We went to the woods looking for paw-paw.  Not grandpa, but pawpaw.

And we found them.  This is the season for them to ripen; some had fallen on the ground and others were still hanging on the tree.
   The pawpaw tree is the largest edible fruit tree native to North America.
The tree has dark green foliage and a tropical appearance. You’ll know the fruit is ripe if some have fallen on the ground.  They should be soft  and may be light green to a shade of brown.  Similar to a banana.

 
   Pawpaws provided delicious and nutritious food for Native Americans, European explorers, settlers and wild animals.  They have a tropical flavor and are best eaten out of hand.  The flesh should be soft and the fruit should have a strong, pleasant aroma.
   Fully ripe they will last only a few days; They may be stored in the frig, or the pulp may be frozen.  We made a delicious smoothie by adding frozen strawberries and apple cider to the pawpaw pulp.
   They compare favorable with bananas and apples nutrition wise.
   Young trees are available from nurseries, but you need to plant 2 varieties for cross pollination.
   Do not confuse pawpaw with papaya; two different species.
   Now is the time to take your trip to the woods.