Tag Archives: Recipes

Cooking Collard Greens: A Family Tradition

24 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Since October first, life has been a little crazy here in the mountains. Hubby was scheduled for a simple procedure that turned out to be not so simple, leading to tests, more doctor visits and complete but temporary diet changes.

At one point he was only having clear liquids such as jello, broth and clear beverages. I have to confess that the days of clear liquids were a mini no cooking vacation for me.

Eventually, the clear liquids worked and he is on the mend.

What I really want to write about today is collard greens. I have wonderful memories of cleaning and preparing collards with my mom and I look forward each fall to going to the produce market to choose a couple of bunches.

According to my mom, the secret of tasty collard greens is they must be harvested after the first frost, or at least once the temperatures drop into the lower 40s.

This week, the temperatures dropped and on one of our fun road trips for doctor visits, we stopped and shopped. I bought two double, lovely bunches.

My mom taught me to cut the bottom stems off, then run a knife along the leaf stems to remove them. I prefer to do this messy job on the porch but the day was too cold for sitting outside. The weather forecast for the following day was warmer and i stored them in the refrigerator.

On Collard day I gathered up knives and the necessary paraphernalia and set up on the porch.

The first two bundles went by quickly. As I began the third bundle, I began to think I may have bought too many. By the time I finished the final bundle I was sure I had bought too many.

I put 2 bunches of collards in the kitchen sink and began swirling them in the water. Fortunately they had a scant amount of dirt and only required one wash.

I have the large pot my mom used to cook collards in and I was able to fit all of the washed ones into the pot.

Then the nightmare began. I like my collards to be tender and these collards would not cooperate. I think I cooked them for three hours.

Then I had to chop them up.

I use a Rada hand chopper. It does a good job. I love all of the Rada products.

Photo credit Rada website.

Finally that batch was finished and put into the fridge. I washed the second batch and that was as far as I got. I left them out to drain the water off them and went to bed.

The next day I decided there had to be a better way than my mom did it.

I asked Grok if collards could be cooked in an electric pressure cooker. Grok said yes and even gave me cooking instructions. Using the pressure cooker was so much easier.

The cooked collards are now sitting in my fridge and in the morning I will divide them up for the freezer.

I should have enough collards to last until next fall.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2025 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Peaches!

29 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Peaches are my favorite fruit. Always has been and probably always will be.

“This year’s peach crop in the South is exceptionally delicious. We’re fortunate to enjoy freshly picked peaches at their peak ripeness. However, peaches destined for shipping must be harvested before they fully ripen to ensure they arrive in good condition.

Ripe peaches are fragile. We have learned to wrap them in bubble wrap if we are taking them to Florida. Our daughter was visiting last week and took some home to her neighbors. She received a text this week from the neighbor saying she had one for lunch. It was the best peach she had ever eaten.

I made three batches of peach ice cream and still have a 2 quart batch in the freezer. We try to eat low carb and clean ingredients so we/I make our ice cream. I have two of the freezer bowl machines. I bought this one several years ago and it works great.

Photo Credit Amazon

The machine capacity is a little larger than a quart. After a few years I decided I would like a larger capacity machine. On the other hand, I didn’t want to give up kitchen space for a second ice cream maker.

Ninja has an ice cream maker, the Creami. I looked at it several times but it simply didn’t appeal to me.

Someone on social media mentioned the Kitchen Aid mixer offered a mixer bowl attachment with a two quart capacity.

Photo Credit Kitchen Aid

For a few weeks I argued back and forth with myself. The tipping point was that aside from the ice cream paddle, there would be no parts to store.

I have had some blips learning to use it. As I was making my first batch, I didn’t seat the paddle correctly. As the ice cream thickened the paddle slipped out of place. The machine began flinging ice cream over the side. I wish I had taken a picture.

Overall I am very satisfied with the attachment.

In anticipation of our daughter’s visit, I made a batch of peach ice cream in each machine. I am mulling the idea of making a vanilla or chocolate base and dividing it between the machines. By adding different mix-ins I would have two different flavors.

I haven’t limited my peach enjoyment to ice cream. I made a peach coffee cake, peach bars and no bake peach cheese cakes. (My daughter made the cheese cakes.)

I found most of my low carb recipes at All Day I Dream About Food

Grok AI is my source for different flavors of low carb ice cream.

Peaches are going away but apples are coming!

Mutsu is my favorite apple. Do you have a favorite?

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2025 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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Let’s Eat! Tacos and Sopapillas

9 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I learned to eat Mexican food quite early.  I don’t remember my Mother making anything but enchiladas, but we ate out at Mexican restaurants quite often.  It took me a while to learn to eat guacamole and enjoy it, but now it’s one of my favorite foods!  I never try to make it myself, but our favorite Mexican restaurant in town makes the best!  I have a friend from Albuquerque who owned a health food store and eatery one time, and she just whipped up the best guacamole I’ve ever eaten!  Wish I’d gotten her recipe!

In any case, I had a sopapillas recipe from my Aunt Jessie, but was a bit difficult and time consuming to make, so didn’t do that too often.  I did make enchiladas quite often however.  While we were living in northern Maine for 13 months, we met a family across the court from us who had a Mexican heritage, and she made really good Mexican food.  She shared her recipe for tacos and sopapillas, which have been my family’s favorite for a long time. 

I don’t make the sopapillas that often, but they are a great compliment to the tacos.  They puff up nicely.  Bite off one corner of a sopapilla and pour warmed honey into it…and yummm!!  Lots of Mexican restaurants use sopapillas as a “dessert,” but that’s not what I use them for.  I could make a meal of them!  As a matter of fact, when our girls were growing up, they really didn’t like the tacos, so whenever I made that meal, their meal was the sopapillas!  However, they’ve both grown to love all kinds of Mexican foods.

TACOS

1 finely chopped onion, sautéed in 2 Tbsp butter (or olive oil)

Add and simmer until most of the juice has cooked out:

½ cup V-8 juice

3 peeled minced green chilies (one small can)

1 cup shredded cooked chicken

⅛ tsp thyme (or less, according to your taste)

½ – ¾ tsp salt

Dash of cayenne

Stand taco shells up in a 9”x13” pan; fill each shell with cooked mixture.  Top with chopped tomatoes (or not) and shredded cheddar cheese, and lettuce if you desire.

Bake in a 350º oven until cheese is melted.

(I doubled this recipe for 12 tacos shells)

Credit Google Search, Pixabay and Taco Time Again Taco

SOPAPILLAS

1¾ cup sifted all-purpose flour (unbleached is okay)

2 tsp baking powder (NOT BAKING SODA)

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp shortening (Crisco) – use the stick kind – easier to measure

⅔ cup cold water

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in mixing bowl.  Cut in shortening (I have a pastry blender that I use).  Mix with your hand to get the “feel” of all the shortening mixed in.  Add the water and mix thoroughly to make a stiff dough.  

Knead the dough lightly until it is smooth.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at least 10 minutes. Longer than 10 minutes is okay – it only makes the dough softer.

Roll the dough very thin (about ⅛” thick) into a rectangle.  Cut into 3” squares.

Heat the oil in a large pot until it is very hot (385º – 400º on a deep-fat-frying thermometer).  When hot enough, drop a few squares of dough into it.  Turn frequently so that the sopapillas will puff up evenly.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  

Serve hot with warmed honey.

Credit Google Search and isabeleats.com

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat! Breads and Dinner Rolls-Part 2

2 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

There was a time, growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that we would go to our church on Wednesday evenings for dinner.  We had some amazing cooks there, and  what they made was delicious.  But what I remember the most was the dinner rolls they made – absolutely amazing!!  I still remember that yeasty taste, and have tried to find a recipe that is even close to those.  There is one I found called “Schoolhouse Rolls” that comes as close as I can find to that taste.  Here’s the recipe:


School House Rolls

 (makes 24 rolls)


1/2 C. powdered milk 
2 pkgs. active yeast
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. shortening (do not use oil or butter, shortening only)
1 1/2 C. warm water
4 C. all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 C. water along with 1/2 tsp. sugar in a small bowl (smallest bowl of three nested bowls.  Allow to foam. 

 Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, add the shortening and blend. 

 Add the foamed yeast to the mixture.  Add the remaining water and blend well.

  Remove the dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a floured surface.  Kneading the dough a couple of minutes and form it into a ball.

Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover and let rise until double in size. 

 Punch down the dough, knead again for a couple of minutes and divide the dough in half. 

 Roll out each half to 1/2″ thickness.  Cut with a biscuit cutter and place on a greased baking sheet, or pull into small balls, place two in each greased muffin tin, to make Dolly Partons.  Let rise again until double in size.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown on top.  Around 10-12 minutes. Brush with melted butter.

There was another time when a friend gave me a recipe for rolls for breakfast.  The neat thing was, the rolls were frozen!  I could purchase them frozen from the store.  The night before I wanted to make them for breakfast, I would get out my Bundt Pan.  I would put together sugar and cinnamon, dip the rolls in melted butter, and roll them in the sugar and cinnamon mix.  Then place them, stacked, in the Bundt Pan.  When all the rolls were in place, I would spread the remainder of the sugar/cinnamon mixture over the rolls (if there was any left), then pour the remainder of the melted butter over it all.  Cover with a dish cloth and let it rise overnight, then bake in the morning!  Yummmm!  

To add bread to a supper meal, I would take those frozen rolls (I can’t find them here in Florida, much to my distress!), place two frozen rolls in each cup of a muffin tin, brush with melted butter, then let them thaw and rise together, and bake when they had sufficiently risen.  

To help them rise, I would heat the oven to about 250º, then turn off the oven when we put the muffin tin in the oven.  They would thaw and rise nicely! We called them “Dolly Parton” rolls – for obvious reasons!  But BOY were they good!

One lady in our church would always bring her squash casserole to church dinners.  I asked her one time if she would share her recipe.  Her comment was “I’ll give you that recipe if you will give me the one for your dinner rolls.  They taste just like the ones my mother used to make”  I was embarrassed to tell her they were frozen rolls!  But we shared recipes, just the same.

Credit Google Search and aseasyasapplepie.com

Long time ago, I was given a recipe for “Dilly Bread” that included Dill Weed in the dough as well as cottage cheese.  It was usually made in a round, squat loaf, rather than in a loaf pan.  I thought it was quite good – a bit different from normal.  Fred, of course, wouldn’t eat it because it had the cottage cheese in it.  So I didn’t make it very often – and haven’t done so in many years. But the memory is there, and I can almost taste it…  Here is the recipe:

DILLY BREAD

1 package yeast – dissolved in ¼ cup warm water

1½ cup cottage cheese – warmed

3 Tablespoons sugar

1½ Tbsp minced fresh onions

1½ Tbsp butter

2 teaspoons dill weed

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp baking soda

1 egg beaten

2½ to 2¾ cups all-purpose flour

Mix all ingredients – add flour gradually until very stiff

Cover – let rise about one (1) hour

Punch down and place onto baking sheet, shaping into a round loaf

Let rise another 40-60 minutes

Bake at 325̊ for 40-50 minutes.  Cover with foil after 15-20 minutes

Brush with butter and salt

Credit Google search and Farmfreshforlife.com

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat-Desserts

19 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

PIES – PART 3

Another pie that I have made in the past, but not recently, is Pecan Pie.  I really do like a good Pecan Pie, and this recipe makes one of the best Pecan pies I’ve ever eaten.  It was given to me by a friend – another U.S. Air Force wife – while we were living in northern Maine (Loring AFB) in 1967-1968.  She is a good ole Mississippi girl, and knows her stuff when it comes to baking.

It’s definitely a good recipe for Pecan Pie; if that is your taste.  Give it a try:

PECAN PIE

Beat well:     3 eggs

Add:                    1 cup granulated sugar

                   ¾ cup dark Karo syrup

                   ¼ cup butter

                   1 tsp vanilla

                   1 Tbsp cold water

Beat well.

Add 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans.

Put in uncooked pie shell.

Bake at 370̊ for 45 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean.

FOR DEEP DISH PIE OR 10″

Add:              1 extra egg

Then add:    ⅓ cup sugar

                   ¼ cup dark Karo

                   1 Tbsp butter

                   ⅓ tsp vanilla

                   ⅓ Tbsp water

Also add:      ¼ – ⅓ cup pecans

Bake at least one (1) hour 10 or 15 minutes.

Credit Google Search and chefscottcookbook.com

                                        ~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Lets Eat-Desserts

5 Jan

akingSUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills 

PIES – PART 1

Okay…I said pies, but I have one more cookie recipe that I want to share.  It’s a favorite of mine even if I don’t make it very often.  It is soooo easy!  Got the recipe from an old friend of my Mother’s from Dallas, Texas days.  I’ve just always known them to be called “White Cookies.”  There are probably other names for them, but that’s what I call them.  Here they are:

WHITE COOKIES

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

⅔ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts

1 package butterscotch morsels

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350̊   Put aluminum foil on the oven rack.

Whip the egg whites until they are stiff and very dry

Add ⅔ cup sugar to the egg whites and whip

Add 1 tsp vanilla and whip

Fold in 1 cup chopped nuts

Fold in 1 package butterscotch morsels

Lightly spray the foil with PAM.  Drop the cookie mixture by teaspoon onto the foil covered rack

Turn off the oven heat as you put the rack in the oven.

DO NOT OPEN the oven until the oven is completely cool.  I frequently do this in the evening, and let them sit overnight.  Remove carefully – they are delicate!

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now on to some of our favorite desserts – PIES!!  

I guess my favorite pie to make – and eat – is cherry pie.  Fred especially loves cherry pie, so it’s a labor of love when I make one for him.  And the best part is that I get to eat it, as well!

A history of cherry pies in my family goes back quite a ways.  Bosque Farms…cherry picking…cherry pitting with the hand-cranked machine Mother had.  Made a mess, but those pits just popped out, seldom missing any of them.  If it did miss one, when we found it in the pie, we just said that it proved they were real cherries!  Mother would wash and pit the cherries and freeze them, so she could make the pie just any time she wanted.

One of our favorite things was to make the pie on a Sunday afternoon.  Stop by Fitzgeralds after church on Sunday night for some home-made ice cream.  Then have the cherry pie with ice cream as a treat when we got home.  WOW was that good!

Below is my recipe for cherry pie.  It’s not exactly like my Mother’s, since I add Almond extract to the mix.  Fred really loves it that way, and I’ve come to love it that way, as well.  Mother didn’t like the taste, so she didn’t add it.  But this is good!

CHERRY PIE

1 cup granulated sugar

1 Can red sour pitted cherries                                                       

¼ cup flour 

¼ teaspoon almond extract                                                                           

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon  

1 ½ Tablespoons butter                                         

Crust for double crust (9″) pie plate

In saucepan, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and juice of the can of cherries.  Sift the flour into the mixture, resulting in no lumps.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils (about 7 minutes).  Remove from heat.

Stir in extract.  Stir in cherries.  Pour into a 9″ pastry-lined pie plate.  Dot with butter.

Cover with top crust; seal edges and crimp/flute.  Cut vent design in top crust.

Bake at 425º for 30-to-35 minutes until nicely browned and juice bubbles through vents.

Serve warm with or without vanilla ice cream.

Makes 6-to-8 servings.                       

Pie and photo by Judy Wills

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat!-Desserts-Cakes

15 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

DO-OVER

Photo Credit Google Search and allrecipes.com

Let me apologize for this posting.  Back on October 20, 2024, I wrote about my favorite pound cake.  At the time, I said I didn’t remember where I got the recipe.  Turns out (after I found the recipe in my recipe file) that I was given it by my now “famous” Mabel in Wiesbaden, West Germany.  I therefore would like to pass it along to my readers.  This really is the very best, most moist, sweet, delicious pound cake I’ve ever eaten.  For those who don’t like icing – this is the perfect cake.  It can be eaten plain – yummmmmm – or with a glaze, or fruit topping.  All is good.  So, here’s the recipe, and I hope it will give some enjoyment.

MABEL’S POUND CAKE

Cream:   

    ½ pound butter with

     2½ cups granulated sugar

    (After mixing well, turn mixer to “whip” and whip until “white”)

Add:             

 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition

  1 cup buttermilk – mix well with ½ tsp soda**

  3 cups sifted cake flour***

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla 

1 Tbsp warm water

DIRECTIONS:

Cream the butter and sugar well; add eggs, continuing to beat well.  Add the buttermilk and soda mixture alternately with the salt and flour.  Last, add the vanilla and warm water.

Pour into tube pan (Angel food pan – Bundt pan) and bake one (1) hour and 15 minutes at 325̊.

Serve either with or without icing.

ICING:

½   8-oz. can of crushed pineapple

¼ stick butter (2 Tbsp)

¼ cup granulated sugar

Juice of 1 lemon (fresh-squeezed if you want – I use thawed Minute Maid frozen

 lemon juice)

1   3-oz package cream cheese (or half of an 8-oz. package)

1 box confectioner’s sugar

Cook pineapple, butter and granulated sugar until “dry”; COOL!!

Combine lemon juice and cream cheese

Blend in confectioner’s sugar.

Add pineapple mixture

Mix well

Spread on cake

ENJOY!!

This cake doesn’t really “work” unless you beat/whip the butter and sugar mixture until it looks “white.”  The difference in color and texture is noticeable.

**I don’t usually have buttermilk on hand, so I make my own:

1 cup milk, mix in one (1) Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, stir and let sit.

***If you don’t have cake flour: 

 sift regular flour – measure out three (3) level cups, then take out 3½level Tbsp).  That is equal to cake flour.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Between Cake and Pie-Part 1

3 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

There are several good desserts that I like to make – and eat! – that are neither a cake nor a pie.  I don’t have a specific name for those types of desserts – just that my family and I and those who partake of them – enjoy.  Here are a few:

Apple Dumpling.

Credit Pixabay

Now, don’t get wonky about this – these are not your average apple dumplings.    Granted the crust is the usual pie crust – homemade is best.  And the apples used are whatever is a favorite – but “tart” apples are best.  The cinnamon and sugar is standard stuff.  But most people use a sweetened cream sauce of some type to top the dumpling off with.  But not these dumplings!!  No Sir!  My Mother had a warm sweetened lemon sauce that was poured over these dumplings that made the dumpling absolutely magnificent!!  Here is the recipe – try it yourself sometime!!

APPLE DUMPLINGS RECIPE

Place half a tart apple in a square of pie crust, about 6″ square.  Over the apple, put  one (1) tablespoon sugar, a hefty dash of cinnamon, and a pat of real butter.

Fold the edges of the pie crust together, and press, so that the juice will not run out while baking.  Mother (Agnes Lites) used to press it with a fork after pressing it together.

Brush the dumpling with melted butter.

Bake in a moderate oven (350º) about 30 minutes.

Serve with lemon sauce.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LEMON SAUCE

1 egg beaten

1 cup sugar

1 lemon rind – grated

Juice of 1 lemon

½ cup of water

Mix ingredients together, and cook over low heat, until it boils hard.  It is necessary to stir well at all times while cooking to avoid scorching!  Serve warm over Apple Dumpling.

Mmmmmmmm – delicious!!

From Agnes A. Lites [my mother]

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Let’s Eat!-Desserts-Cakes-Part 2

20 Oct

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Photo Credit Google Search and NYT cooking

I don’t remember just where I got the recipe for my favorite pound cake, but I made it often when we lived in Wiesbaden, West Germany, and the years following.  It was a bit time-consuming, as the “batter” needed to be whipped with an electric mixer (at that time I only had a hand mixer), until it turned “white.”  That’s a little difficult to describe, but the batter actually takes on a “white” look after being beaten for a while.  The cake doesn’t work well unless it gets to that point.  And the color change IS noticeable.  The other ingredients are added, then baked in an Angle Food pan, or possibly a Bundt pan, if you desired.  I liked the look of the Angle Food pan.  After cooling, the icing is made and applied.  It consists of softened cream cheese and crushed pineapple, as well as powdered sugar mixed together.  It became one of my favorite cakes to make and eat.  The cake itself was wonderful, but with the icing…yummmm.

I made that cake one evening when the Deacons from our church in Wiesbaden had come to our house for a meeting.  The cake went fast, many asking for seconds, in spite of how rich it was.  One gentleman came up to me and told me that he didn’t like pineapple…but this was the best cake he had ever eaten and would I give his wife the recipe??!!  

Since this was one of my favorite things to make, when we moved to Florida, I made it for one of our family gatherings.  Not one single comment – good or bad – from anyone there!  And so, I’ve not made it since.  No need to make something no one liked.

One of my favorite cakes to make, and an easy one, is what lot of people call Texas Sheet Cake.  I got the recipe from a friend, named Mabel, so I just called it “Mabel’s Chocolate Sheet Cake.”  The cake mixture is actually made in the 15″ x 10″ lipped pan.  Mix it all together, then bake.  While cooking, make the chocolate icing, with powdered sugar and pecans.  Put the icing on the cake when it comes out of the oven, then let it cool together.  I learned the hard way that it is tastier when it is completely cooled.  For some reason, it just doesn’t taste as good when it is warm.  Weird!  But this is a GREAT cake.

When Kraft developed its Miracle Whip salad dressing, they presented a cake recipe to help market the salad dressing.  Sounds strange, but it made the BEST chocolate cake ever – nice and chocolatey and moist – probably the most moist chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten.  It became my brother’s favorite cake.  There was also an icing along with the cake recipe that took a bit of work.  But it was well worth it.

Mother used to make the cake fairly often, especially when Bill (my brother) was home, but made it less frequently after he left home.  I believe I have made it once or twice, but not very often.  As I said, it is a bit of work, and I tend to be lazy!

When we were first married and Fred was studying at the Seminary (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas), we were poor students.  But somewhere I found this recipe for Lemon Jell-o Cake, and I remember making it often.  However, I haven’t made it in many years, but I remember the taste of it, and how much we enjoyed it.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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