We have a mulberry tree in our backyard. It has been growing now for a few years and bears a decent amount of fruit. The kids love to run out back and pick the berries at random times. The other day Franny was outside long after the others had tired of picking berries, and came in suggesting that I come out and pick berries to make a pie.

There was no bone in my body that felt like whipping up a pie on a warm summer day. But he was so enthusiastic and sweet, it felt completely wrong to give into my own lazy desire to play sloth. I examined the tree, as he washed out a container for our pickings. He was the holder, I was the picker. Slightly taller than Lootie, who had the farthest reach of the three boys that were picking earlier, I was able to get to spots that still had some nice, ripe berries on them.

Not enough for a whole pie, but I had a bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer to supplement, and was pleased to have the opportunity to put them to use in a pie. Frozen blueberries are a common staple at our house, but I’ve yet to have actually made a pie with them. I used this recipe from Crisco for a Bluebbery Pie as a base for the pie we were making. I say “base” because of my inability to stick directly to the recipe when baking. I did my best to stick close to this one, though.

I had about 2 cups mulberries and the rest blueberry.

Franny was in charge of stirring, but he got sidetracked by the guinea pigs. I picked up the scent of bubbly, boiling fruit on the verge of burning, and ran to the rescue. It had started to scorch on the bottom, but thankfully not enough to taint the flavor of the filling.

I used the double crust recipe, but it didn’t seem make enough for the bottom and the top. So I enlisted in my standard oatmeal topping (oats, sugar, molasses, butter, cinnamon, salt and a dash of vanilla).

Initially I started to roll the dough for the crust, but that didn’t last long and soon I was using my preferred method — my fingers to press the dough into the dish.

Franny helps with the filling.

Top me off!!!

Ready for the oven…

Franny holds up our creation.

It was fantastic, and I’m not a big fan of fruit-filled pies. Thank you Franny for suggesting we make pie. I’m so glad we did.

I found this recipe for doughnuts and we’re making some.

Quick Doughnuts
Ingredients:
4 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour milk or buttermilk

Sift together flour, salt, soda, cream of tartar and spices. Cream shortening and sugar; add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add milk and then sifted dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly until smooth. With as little handling as possible, roll dough out on floured board 1/4 inch thick. Let stand for 20 minutes. Cut with 2 1/2 inch cutter or glass bottom, and use a small cutter for the middle. Fry as above. Makes about 3 dozen doughnuts.

Below are some pictures of our doughnut adventure; don’t expect perfection.

They turned out pretty good, although I was a little nervous because some were a bit doughy in the center and the recipe involves eggs. They are darker, too, because I used a majority of whole wheat flour (a staple in this house), and a bit of cocoa powder. And I don’t have a picture of use eating because it was a regular old feeding frenzy.

I’d like to make these again at some point, but boy, my stomach feels like lead and I’m sure to have a heart attack within the hour.

(reposted from 2005)

In 2006 I wrote about a Cold-Brew coffee concentrate that you could easily make at home. After switching over to WordPress, it got buried. But it is one that is worth re-visiting…

After reading a magazine about cold-brew coffee, I thought it would be an interesting project to try. The article boasted of a less-acidic/bitter brew, yet still strong and tasty – but noticeably smoother. With a multiple batches under my belt, now, I am ready to share some information.

I knew there was an appliance (called the Toddy Maker Cold Brew Coffee Maker) that I could purchase to make the coffee, but decided to take a more rustic approach. If I can accomplish a decent cold-brew coffee without spending any money or cluttering up my house with yet another appliance – I’d be a happier woman.

There’s instructions out there, most conflicting. Here you will find instructions to how I made cold-brew coffee with success.

COLD-BREW COFFEE INSTRUCTIONS

I put coffee grounds (nothing special – store bought ground OR your favorite whole bean [set your grind to percolator]) into a glass measuring cup. The ratio I used was 3:1, water:coffee. (You can simplify by doing 1 pot-worth of grounds to 16 oz. water, if you’d like.) I stir mine, though others will say not to. I don’t see how letting dry coffee sit on top of water is going to do anything for you, hence my decision to stir the mixture, making sure all the grounds get wet.

After stirring the mixture, I covered it and placed the container into the fridge for minimum 12 hours.

After the waiting period, I give it one more stir; filter it to get rid of the grounds. (I use a mesh tea-strainer to filter the grounds out. I’ve also had success with first filtering through with a veggie colander, and then using the mesh filter.)

To prepare the coffee I used a similar ratio, but that will depend on your own tastes. I put the concentrate in my mug, and put some fresh water on the stove to warm. I didn’t heat it to boiling, but to the point where steam is escaping. Poured this over my concentrate.

That’s it. Very simple. Generally used 1 cup coffee to 3 cups water and it makes enough concentrate for a day or two. Obviously depending on your ratio of concentrate, you will need more or less to make your coffee. The more times you do it, the better you will be able to make the mixture to suit your own preferences. You can store this in the fridge for up to a week.

Bottom Line:
I really like cold-brewed coffee. It is a simplified, less wasteful way to make coffee (I don’t like coffee that has been sitting on a heating element) and the smooth taste very much appeals to me. This would be a great way to make coffee while camping or traveling.

Misc. Findings:

- Preferred type of coffee grounds used is a percolator-coarse ground, the better the coffee, the better the end product
- “Brewing” coffee more than 12 hours (I went as far as 22) did not alter the taste of the concentrate
- “Brewing” coffee at room temperature rendered a more bitter coffee, though some might like this more, I preferred the refrigerated version
- To strain I used a tea strainer, you can use cheesecloth or whatever strikes your fancy

If you have suggestions or tips, feel free to contact me.

When the day is not going your way – bake, bake I say!!

And I did.

Chocolate chip cookies, to be exact. In fact, The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I was a good girl and actually made the recipe (almost) exactly as stated. The only variance was using a 1/4 cup of dough for each cookie pair instead of 1/2 cup. I used dark chocolate chips, too, since that was all I had. But I followed the measurements like a champ. Not easy for me. My mind flitted to adding some chopped nuts… a dash of oatmeal. But no, instead I used restraint.

Chewy, sweet, super-dee-duper simple. Can’t ask for much more. I’m not sure it is the recipe that is unique or the simplicity or what, but it is a hit. I did learn that by rolling it in a larger ball, separating the two and leaving the craggy top face up, you end up with a nicely textured cookietop. Very pleasing.

Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted & cooled until warm
1 c brown sugar, packed (I make my own brown sugar)
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Heat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
-Whisk dry ingredients together; set aside. Mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined. Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients & mix until just combined. Stir in chips. Roll scant 1/2 cup dough into ball (I used 1/4 cup); pull into 2 equal halves. With jagged surfaces facing up, place dough onto cookie sheet, leaving ample room between each ball. Bake until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden (about 15 min. for me). Cool on cookie sheet for a couple minutes, then transfer to wire cooling racks. Makes about 4 dozen.
A yummy treat for my family, made from scratch that I was able to shop my pantry to make. Perfect.

My mom frequently made pudding for desert when we were kids. She would spoon it into the Buffalo China bowls, or glass dessert dishes. The combination of the dishes and the pudding are imprinted in my memory.

Glass dishes.

Wanting a simple desert I could make from scratch, and also to create the same memory for my own children, I decided to give homemade pudding-making a try. There are all kinds of recipes for chocolate pudding on the internet. Liking to keep things very simple, I chose the chocolate pudding recipe from Hillbilly Housewife. It uses simple ingredients to achieve a delicious desert.

Buffalo China bowl filled with pudding.

The kids absolutely love the pudding. I haven’t used another recipe yet, since this one has been a hit. I double the batch so we can have it for dessert more than once.

The pudding cooks up pretty quickly, and is edible as fast as it cools. One of the interesting aspects of making pudding is that it is reminiscent of soapmaking. The pudding, when ready, resembles the step in soapmaking when the soap comes to a trace. Yum.

Pudding “trace.”

Cookie-making day, today. Actually, I think I’ll be making cookies for a few days, considering I didn’t start making them until 8pm.

Here is the first recipe – one of my favorite – “Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies” (link), or “Peanut Butter Blossoms” – whatever you call them, I love them. The recipe below is from the Hershey site. They have a decent list of recipes there. Worth checking out.

Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients:

* 48 HERSHEY’S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 3/4 cup REESE’S Creamy Peanut Butter
* 1/3 cup granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* Granulated sugar

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

The recipe made about 48 cookies and were very easy to make. The only thing I would change is to let the cookies cool a bit before putting the chocolates on. We had quite a few melted chocolates, and they took a while to firm up. Maybe a half-hour in the fridge for the chocolates would have been helpful. But it’s all aesthetics, because my boys will eat them no matter what, and actually liked it when they were melted. All in all, decent recipe. I might try the chewy version next time.

Just before Thanksgiving I was listening to talk radio (local) and people were calling in on a casual discussion of listener’s Thanksgiving menu choices. I listened, hoping to catch an idea for something new and different to add to our menu. Since I was in the process of driving around town running errands, whatever “new idea” sparked my fancy needed to be something very, very simple that I could retain in my brain until my next stop so I could write it down.

A lady called in and gave a recipe for a family favorite, “Sounds kind of grouse, but everyone loves it,” she said.

Prepared Cranberries
Small carton of Cool Whip
Sleeve of Saltines (crushed, or not)

Layer the three items in a glass dish. Simple, pretty, yummy.

I figured – why not?

I doubled the recipe. I made cranberries by taking 1 bag whole berries, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water (directions were on the bag), boiled, smashed, cooled.

This I layered with the other 2 ingredients, then covered and put it in the fridge overnight (the lady on the radio recommended this).

I did not like it. I think if I had used pound cake or even bread instead of the Saltines, I would have been OK. But the Saltines rendered a texture and taste I wasn’t fond of. I was hoping for the “sweet, salty, cake-like melding” that was spoken of on the radio, but it turned out with a texture of something in a day-old lunch box – to me. Everyone else seemed to like it.

It is a simple base idea, though, that could be used with another fruit (blueberries) or, like I said, a bread or cookie instead of the Saltines. So, though I might not make it exactly like the recipe says (or if I did, I would make it for a potluck or something), I will keep it in my “back pocket” of tricks to use creatively another time.

In reference to the banana bread post and the addition of molasses. I should clarify – it isn’t that there is molasses in the recipe, but that I make my own brown sugar by combining molasses and raw sugar.

MAKE YOUR OWN BROWN SUGAR
1T. Blackstrap Molasses
1C. sugar (I use finely ground raw turbinado sugar, you can use white instead)

Mix, mix, mix until you have – ¡voila! brown sugar.

So that’s my secret, of which it is not, really, a secret.

Of coarse, being the weather teased of fall, it was necessary to make more bread. This time I made pumpkin chocolate chip. I did take pictures, but they were all terrible and my family eats pumpkin bread too fast for me to try and get any others (unless a cakeplate full of pumpkin bread crumbs would suffice). You can make pumpkin bread, with your banana bread recipe. Just sub out the bananas for pumpkin, add some nutmeg & cloves, and there you go. It smells heavenly and tastes like autumn. Throw in a handful or two of chocolate chips and you have a real treat.

Tonight I made meatloaf (beef, breadcrumbs, onions, shredded carrots, chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne), acorn squash (halved, 1T. butter whipped with 1T. maple syrup dash of salt and pepper, smeared on the halves – don’t forget to scoop out the seeds first – put in oven at the same time as my 3-pound meatloaf, cooked on 350 for about 90 minutes), salad and hunks of Italian bread. Very good, relatively simple comfort food. Yum.

I had all intentions of making Stuffed Green Peppers. But, time ran away from me. And the peppers were beginning to give me the now or never look. So I improvised. And it was good. So I wanted to make sure I wrote down what I did so that I could do it again.

“Stuffed” Green Pepper Casserole

A double portion of Hillbilly Housewifes’ Yellow Rice Mix (prepared)
7-8 green (red, too would be pretty) peppers, washed and chopped into bite-sized pieces (about the size of a quarter)
1 medium onion chopped into dime-sized pieces
1 pound ground turkey or beef, cooked
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella and/or cheddar cheese (more if you’re a cheese-lover)
1tsp. of garlic powder (couple shakes)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Prepare rice as directed (best would be to prepare the day before and it be cooled, but we’ll take what we can get). Place peppers, onions and tomatoes in a casserole dish, sprinkle with salt & pepper, garlic; stir. Mix in turkey/beef and yellow rice to the vegetables; top with shredded cheese. Cover and bake @ 350 for about 30min. Remove cover and bake until cheese is golden and bubbly. Server with some biscuits.

All the flavor of stuffed peppers, but less of the fuss.

Be warned, this is dangerous… In the instant gratification kind of way. It is probably a good thing I don’t have a microwave. Recipe is from dizzy-dee.com.

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons cake flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil
1 Mug

Instructions:
Mix flour, sugar and cocoa. Mix flour, sugar and cocoa. Spoon in 1 egg. Pour in milk and oil, and mix well. Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (1000watt). Wait until it stops rising and sets in the mug. Tip contents out of mug onto saucer and enjoy!

I’d probably top this sucker off with some whipped cream and call it delish. If anyone tries it, lemme know.