Meme's Creamed Lettuce

our garden lettuce is coming in and so delicious and abundant. in trying to use it up, i'd been trying to think beyond the regular garden salad and remembered meme gamby's creamed lettuce.  she made it often for thanksgiving and christmas and always used this hand beater. 

 
it is one of my precious belongings, simply because it was hers. it always conjures up a picture of her making her sour cream dressing and having my dad taste it to make sure it was right.

i made some this weekend...a simple recipe and just as good as i remembered.

3 T. vinegar
3 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream

beat with love in an old glass hand mixer and serve over lettuce.

In a Rut

i often find myself in a cooking rut, rotating the same tried and true recipes. so i've been trying to expand my horizons...finding new recipes...using ingredients i've never used before....
i always use frozen brussels sprouts and cook them according to directions. last week i sauteed fresh brussels sprouts and garlic in olive oil and butter. wow. a whole new world.

a few days ago i treated myself to this special issue of victoria magazine. "bliss" is a pretty good description. sigh....

in it i found a recipe for butternut squash and fennel mash. i've been especially looking for vegetable recipes so this caught my attention. 

 photo from victoria holiday bliss magazine 2011

also, i've never used either ingredient before. so i stopped on the way home and bought the fennel and squash and made it for dinner yesterday. it is really good!  so if you want to try something a little different, here's the recipe.


butternut squash and fennel mash
from victoria holiday bliss magazine, 2011


8 slices bacon
3 T. butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 head fennel, trimmed and chopped
1 small butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and chopped
3 tsp. coarse salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 C. milk
1/2 C. heavy whipping cream
garnish: crumbled bacon and fresh thyme leaves

1. in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook bacon for 8-10 minutes, turning frequently, until browned. remove bacon, reserving 3 tablespoons grease. cool bacon completely; crumble and set aside.
2. add butter to reserved bacon grease. add garlic, and cook over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. add fennel, squash, salt, and pepper. cover with 1 inch water. bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer over medium-high heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender.
3. drain in a large colander; return squash and fennel to pot. stir over medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until dry. add milk and cream; mash with a potato masher until creamy, or desired consistency is reached. garnish with reserved crumbled bacon and fresh thyme leaves, if desired.
(makes 6-8 servings)


i followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. this is definitely something i would make again. 
i served it with steamed haddock and a side salad. 

Jeff and Cereal, and a Really Good Sandwich

it's so funny how the littlest things will spark a memory. i often think of my nephew jeff when i eat breakfast. jeff and my son adam are about the same age, and were real buddies growing up. when jeff stayed with us i had to be sure i had more than one kind of cereal available. if i set out, say five boxes of cereal, he had a bowl of a mixture of some of each. i used to laugh and shake my head. guess who now can not eat just one kind of cereal?  when i have cereal for breakfast, it's a bowl of spoonsize shredded wheat, cranberry almond crunch, and go lean crunch. topped with blueberries or bananas depending on what's available. i wouldn't think of eating just one kind at a time. 
cheers, jeff!

i've covered breakfast, so i want to share with you a delicious sandwich for lunch.  nothing earthshakingly new, but so good.  for years one of my favorite summer sandwiches has been toasted cheese and tomato. sorry...grilled cheese and tomato. i asked my grandkids once if they wanted a toasted cheese sandwich and they looked at me like i had two heads. anyway, next time you make one for yourself, add a layer of pesto. i didn't grow any basil this year so i just used store bought. i also used amish made whole wheat bread from my trip to the farmers market.  
talk about a yummers, easy sandwich. 

also, i've come to the conclusion that in order to become good at food photography one must not be hungry.  when shooting my cereal all i could think of was to get a couple good shots before it got soggy. i hate soggy cereal.

and while shooting the sandwich i hurried for a decent picture because i was starving and wanted to eat it while it was still hot. you really get a lot less choosy.

i need to work on my timing.   

Mrs. Murray's Zucchini Relish

remember this?

well, now the basket is almost empty. i made zucchini relish this week. you have to understand. this isn't just any relish. it's the best you'll ever eat. even if you think you don't like relish. when my son-in-law first became a part of our family i offered him relish for his hotdog. he told me he really didn't care for relish. and i said, "just do me a favor...try a little bite of my zucchini relish. if you don't like it, i won't be insulted. it's just that it's different enough from traditional storebought relish to be worth a taste."  he tasted it, and i've had to keep him supplied with it ever since.  
i got the recipe from mrs. murray, another neighbor at another house than my zucchini cake recipe. that sentence makes no sense but i hope you know what i mean. 

 

mrs. murray's zucchini relish

grind on coarse blade:

    10 cups zucchini (seeded and unpeeled)

      4 cups onions (i had a combination of red and white onions on hand)

      2 peppers (a combination of green and red make it pretty)

combine in large bowl, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt, cover and put in frig overnight. in morning, rinse with cold water and drain well in colander.

prepare syrup: 

   2 1/2 cups vinegar

   6 cups sugar

   1 T. dry mustard

   1 T. cornstarch

   1 T. mustard seed

   1 T. tumeric

   1 T. celery seed

   1/2 tsp. black pepper

heat syrup until sugar is melted. add syrup to zucchini mixture, bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. fill hot jars and seal. 

the first time i made this recipe years ago, it made 6-7 pints. 

i now usually make a triple batch and have found that a triple batch of the relish to a double batch of syrup is perfect and makes 15-16 pints. 

this is a delicious way to use up that overabundance of zucchinis you usually end up with if you have any plants at all.  enjoy!

(i also have a really good zucchini pickle recipe i'll be posting soon.) 

Zucchini Abbondanza!

if you've ever grown zucchini, you know that all it takes is a couple plants and a little rain and you have more squash than you know what to do with. however, i really wanted that abundance this year because i need to make relish again. but that's for a later post this week. 
that first zucchini has to go for zucchini cake. when my husband and i were first married we lived beside an older couple. one day mrs. reese came walking over with a plate holding two pieces of cake...zucchini cake with cream cheese icing. oh my, talk about good!  my husband said, "you have to get that recipe". 
i did. and now i think everyone in my family has it too. 

Mrs. Reese's Zucchini Cake

3 cup grated zucchini (keep skins on, remove large seeds)
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups oil
4 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts (hubby prefers walnuts, i prefer pecans)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

hand mix all ingredients together in one bowl until well blended. (that's the part i like most)
grease and flour tube pan. bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. 
when cool, remove from pan and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Pig Cake or Mandarin Ambrosia?

I am a fan of The Pioneer Woman.  Love her sense of humor, recipes and photography tips.  This past week she posted a recipe for pig cake. Yes. But it looked really good and springy and Easter-y, plus it used a cake mix which was a definite draw for me considering the busy weekend. So I made it for Easter dinner at Jill and Erin's house. It was very good. Moist. Pretty. It is recommended that you keep it in the frig because of the whipped cream in the icing, which would make it a refreshing cool dessert for hot summer days. I just have a problem with the name. I mean, pig cake?  So, in discussions on the front porch while partaking of said dessert, we decided that "mandarin ambrosia cake" was a more enticing name.

You can find the recipe here.

Old Bay Shrimp and Pasta Salad

This is a really good salad, straight from the Old Bay website. It can also be found on the large size Old Bay can. I had it at a friend's house, enjoyed it and asked for the recipe. It makes a very pretty dish too, with the red and green peppers.

Please don't be too critical of the "staged" food photo.  I was hungry, and therefore more concerned with speed than art.  This makes a good one-dish lunch, containing pasta, meat (shrimp) and veggies (celery, peppers and onions). I usually eat it on a bed of lettuce and accompany it with whole grained crackers. (It happens to be non-dairy too, for those with allergies; as it uses mayonnaise...just check your brand label.)

Very Vanilla

I'm making my own vanilla. It's so easy. The most difficult part is waiting for it to mature. I got the idea from one of my very favorite blogs....StoneGable.  It's a delightful combination of inspiring ideas for decorating, tablescapes, recipes, crafts and just sheer beauty.
This is the link to her directions, but take the time while you're there to treat yourself to a visit.  StoneGable

You need a pint of vodka, three vanilla beans, and a container. That's the recipe. With a sharp knife, split the pods through the length and add them to the vodka. That's it. Store in a cool dark place and shake once in a while. I've googled "making homemade vanilla" and all the directions are pretty much the same. The recommended waiting time varies from 2 to 6 months. Yvonne at StoneGable says 4 to 6 months. The initial investment is a little high (vanilla beans are a little expensive), but when you compare the high cost of a little tiny bottle of vanilla to the fact that you won't have to buy any for years, it's certainly worth it.
My vanilla is now about 3 weeks old and you can see how dark it is already. I recycled a sparkling water bottle. I'd like to find or make a label for it yet.

Pumpkin Dip...Yummers!

Always on the lookout for pumpkin recipes, as I preserve pumpkin puree, I wanted a recipe for a dip I could use with gingersnaps. I'd had it once before at someone's house.  I googled pumpkin dip and ended up with four slightly different ones. I don't know if I'll try the others or not, because the first one I tried is soooo delicious. I found it on a blog called "Closet Cooking". It was fast and easy to prepare. As good as it was right after making it, it was even better the next day. So try to make it a day ahead of serving and refrigerate.  My version is probably a little lighter in color than if you used storebought pumpkin because we grow the green striped long neck pumpkins for canning.

1  8oz. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1  cup brown sugar
2  cups pumpkin puree
1  tsp cinnamon
1/2  tsp ginger
1/4  tsp cloves
1/4  nutmeg

Beat with mixer until smooth.  Serve with ginger snaps.  (I would think it would be delicious with fruit, too)
Enjoy!!

Pickled Tink

I certainly haven't had much time to stamp lately. But I'm not complaining, because God has blessed us with a wonderful harvest this season and we've been able to put up a lot of food. My kitchen counters are full of pickles right now. We did 11 1/2 quarts of lime crisps, 4 pints of banana peppers, 21 1/2 pints of zucchini relish, and 20 quarts of zucchini pickles. In addition, I've made zucchini cake, zucchini bread, frozen grated zucchini for future cakes and breads, fried zucchini, and baked cheesy zucchini rounds. Plus, I have a recipe for zucchini soup but haven't made that yet. If anyone has a tried and true way to use zucchini, I'm open. :)

No Time To Blog

This is one of the reasons for being so behind in my blogging. The garden is starting to come in. This morning we finished up the last of 24 quarts of green beans from the first picking. I had a lot of help though. My husband, Erin and Jill all helped pick, snap and fill jars.