Cabbage Dill and Egg Salad, Snickerdoodles and Doodling About

Another day at home, doing homey things. I could get very used to this.

Biggest thing on the to-do for today was planting the big garden, and it's done: three rows of sweet corn, two and a half of tomatoes, a half-row of squash, a row of green beans (Tenderettes, my favorite) and a row of sunflowers.

I've got several painting projects in progress too, so that will be the focus for the rest of today. While I waited for Larry to get back from town--he had to get some electric fence wire and chicken feed--I made salads for lunch and cookies. The salads were delicious. I served them with chicken I fried yesterday and homemade lemonade. We truly eat like kings here.

One of the salads was potato salad, pretty much the standard recipe of cooked potatoes, chopped celery, fresh dill, chopped dill pickles, chopped chives, mustard (I used spicy brown), salt, pepper, and mayonnaise.

The other was a new recipe. I remembered a book my mother gave me years ago that had a recipe for cabbage, dill and egg salad. I went from memory and we loved the result.

Here's my recipe. All measures are approximate.

Half a small cabbage
3 small green onions
3 boiled eggs
fresh dill (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup)

Chop the cabbage as fine as you like. Chop the onions and dill; slice the boiled eggs.
Mix all together. Then dress to your taste with:
homemade mayonnaise--or use a vinegar and oil dressing. I used my homemade mayonnaise and we loved it. Homemade mayo has a different flavor and consistency than the store-bought; it's lighter and not as thick.
Also add to your taste:
salt
black pepper

The cookies were Sinckerdoodles, an old standard and a favorite. I posted the recipe here almost ten years ago, even before I got my beloved Tappan range. I have been making cookies about once a month, and they are such a nice addition to the mid-morning coffee break.

I packed up a bag of the cookies for Larry's physical therapist when she came for a visit today, so we will consume a lot less of the calories! We will miss the visits from these bright young home health workers when he is released from their care. It's been a bright spot in our days, something that surprised us both.

Red Spirea, Marguerite daisies and Stella lilies

Next week my routine will be changing as the summer storytelling schedule begins in earnest. for right now, I am enjoying the daily small joys of housekeeping, gardening, and domesticity. This is truly the good life.

wild daisies

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Cookies

One day last week the coupons booklet from the grocery store arrived. These come every couple months or so, and usually have some good recipes along with the coupons. This time the booklet had lots of lemon recipes, and the one for Lemon Shortbread Cookies jumped out at me.

I made them on Monday and they are about the best cookies I've ever made. So light and crisp, with a nice zing of lemon. They were easy to make too.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup of softened, unsalted butter
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 packed tablespoon lemon zest
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Yellow decorative sugar, if you have it. I didn't so I substituted regulat granulated sugar

In a mixing bowl of stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Add zest, lemon juice, flour and salt and combine well. I set my mixer on low and let it do the work. Form onto 2 or 3 logs about 1 1/2-2" in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for 2 hours. (I skipped this step--the dough was firm enough to slice easily without chilling).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you skip the chilling step, preheat the oven before you start mixing the cookies.

Unwrap and roll in the decorative sugar (or granulated sugar). Slice into 1/3" slices and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cookies look dry but not brown on top (I lifted one and checked the bottom--if it was a golden brown, I figured they were done). Cool on a rack and store in an airtight container. Makes (they say) 4 dozen, but I ended up with about 30 of the yummiest cookies I've ever tasted.

Four days later they are still as fresh and crisp as the day I made them.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Molasses Cookies, Molasses Making, Molasses Folklore

Sometimes you just get a craving for something. For me the something was molasses cookies. Big soft, raisin-y molasses cookies. Today it is rainy and thundery and chilly, perfect for baking.

I found the recipe I wanted in Joy of Cooking, after a search through my recipe box and two favorite cookie cookbooks. I altered it slightly and they came out just as I envisioned, plump and soft and spicy.




Here's how I made them:

Old-Fashioned Molasses Cookies

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Beat til soft:  1/2 cup butter. (I used light butter because that's what we had. I guess Larry bought it.)

Add gradually until light and creamy: 1/2 cup white granulated sugar.

Beat in: 1 egg, 1/2 cup molasses. I used sorghum molasses, my favorite for cooking.

Have ready: 1/2 cup buttermilk (I used 2% milk with a teaspoon of vinegar added).

Sift together: (I did't sift) 2/12 cups cake flour (I used all-purpose flour), 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp each cinnamon and ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp salt.

Add the sifted ingredients alternately with the buttermilk in 3 parts to the molasses mixture.

Beat til smooth after each addition (I had to add about 1/2 cup self-rising flour because the dough seemed too wet for cookies).

Add 1/2 cup raisins if desired. Drop by a teaspoon on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake 8-12 minutes.

The recipe said it would make 40 2" cookies. I got about 30, but some of mine were pretty big.

**********************

Now if you want to know how to make sorghum molasses, check out this post I wrote almost 10 years ago.

For a new twist on fishing (with molasses) check out this story.

Molasses featured in a variety of old folk remedies. Some swore by molasses mixed with sulphur and taken internally to cure "the itch" whatever that may have been. Others say this remedy will cure worms, also something I care not to think about.

It was also used to make a natural laxative: "“Old fashioned laxative recipe by Nurse Brown, Sanford Mills”: ½ pound each: figs, prunes, dates; 2 cups molasses; 2 ounces powdered Senna. Put figs, prunes, dates through coarse meat grinder. Mix powdered Senna with molasses. Then add ground fruit and mix good. (Take night and morning until relieved)." From the What Grammy Knew blog.

There are, according to this website, many health advantages to blackstrap molasses.

I remember the old-timers around here talking about drinking Switchel when working in the hayfield. As I recall, they used a mixture of vinegar, sorghum molasses and water, but here is a more complicated and probably tastier recipe.

More molasses recipes at Brer Rabbit Molasses' page! But I think their molasses might be the dark blackstrap kind. I'll use their recipes, but stick with my sorghum 👩

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Holiday Cookies!

Yesterday was baking day. Today was cleaning up, putting away, putting up the pumpkin and more work on the booth day. But I promised recipes for the cookies I made, so here they are:

First recipe: Italian Cookies. I got this recipe from a friend and loved making them. These were easy, easy. The only down side was dipping them all in the glaze, since the recipe made about 80 cookies. I mixed these with my KitchenAid mixer and it worked great.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening (I didn't have any so I used all butter)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons baking powder (yes, 5)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons anise extract or vanilla or lemon extract.

 Melt the butter and shortening together; then add the sugar and mix well. Add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Mix in the extract. Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed mixture gradually; if the dough is too sticky to roll into a ball in your hand, add a little more flour but remember the dough should be very soft. Roll the dough into small balls (about 3/4-inch diameter or smaller); the cookies raise quite a bit due to all he baking powder. Place the balls on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies should be lightly browned on the bottom but the tops will still be light. Remove from the cookie sheet to a wire cooling rack and let them cool completely before glazing.

Glaze:
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons milk

Mix milk gradually into the sugar to make a thick glaze--you want it to be thick, not runny. Place waxed paper under the cooling racks to catch dripping glaze and scattered sugar or else you'll have a mess.

Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze and sprinkle with colored sugar or your choice of toppings. You will want to dip a few and then sprinkle the sugar as he glaze will harden pretty quickly. Allow to set until the glaze hardens, and store.

Second recipe: Chocolate Orange Shortbread. This is from Better Homes and Gardens Cookie Classics cookbook. Lots of delicious recipes in this book, and this is one that is quick and easy to make.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I like unbleached best)
1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
2/3 cup butter (no substitutes)
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 to 1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel (use a zester for best results)
Granulated sugar

In a medium mixing bowl stir together the flour and powdered sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling together. (I cheated and used my KitchenAid andit worked just fine--this mixture is pretty stiff and I was tripling the recipe). Stir in the chocolate pieces and orange peel. Form mixture into a ball with your hands ; return to the bowl and knead until smooth.

Shape the dough into 1 1/4" balls. Place balls 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a glass dipped in granulated sugar, slightly flatten the ball to about a 1/2" thickness. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, just until the bottoms start to brown. Cool on the cookie sheet for one minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Makes about 28 cookies.

According to the recipe, these can be packed in a freezer container and stored for up to one month. Just take out of the freezer and thaw in the container for about 15 minutes before serving.

Those were the two I made yesterday, along with the brownie bites. For those, I made my usual recipe but baked them in the small size muffin tins. When they were about 3/4 of the way baked, I added a small chunk of semisweet chocolate in the centers, then let them finish baking. The only problem I had was getting them out of the pans. They really wanted to stick! I used spray cooking oil on the pans, but wonder if butter would have been better. Any suggestions?

So now my cookies are packed and ready for my trip to Virginia this weekend to bake fruitcakes with my sisters. We'll swap (and probably taste-test!) our cookies too. Can't wait for the fun to begin!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Vintage Thursday:

Time to show you some more finds! This pretty 50's vintage recipe box was found at a thrift shop. It is covered with kitchen graphics and the inside looks like it was never used. Pink seems to be a color in favor with those doing retro and vintage kitchens. This week a set of pink plastic canisters I listed sold in 2 minutes, so I am hoping the same buyer might come back by and see this little box.

I've been exploring the world of vintage handbags recently, and have a few offered for sale on eBay. This one sold quickly. Its soft velvet and tapestry stripes in rich brown really caught my eye. It was made by a company called Bienen-Davis, and is probably a 60's or 70's vintage.

The pattern on this large metal tray is called Blue Onion. It's in demand by those who decorate with blue and white. I liked the shape of this tray and the openwork detail. It's big too!

This find took some elbow grease. A lovely Gorham silverplate bowl, it was made for the Metropolitan Museum as a reproduction of a 17th century piece by Jacob Boelen. I found it at a flea market in a box of junk. After 20 minutes and much silver cleaner it looks beautiful again. 

I am still trying to identify this charming little crockery pitcher/cruet. I think it may be Hull or McCoy--anyone have an idea? I also think it's vintage 1930's or 1940's based on the colors and the way they are applied. There is no mark on it to help with identification. If you can tell me more about it, I'd sure appreciate it.

Anthropomorphic teabag holders were probably once part of a set that came in a little rack.

These 6 glasses were my best find recently. I knew they were carnival glass but the painting on them looked odd to me. Was it added by someone later on? Or was it original to the pieces? It took over an hour of searching to find the answer: it was put on at manufacture, and the glasses were either Fenton or Northwood, and probably from the 1920's or earlier, made as part of a water set that included a lovely, very striking pitcher. The price of the complete sets took my breath away. I listed them on eBay for a reasonable amount because I didn't have the pitcher and I hoped someone who needed to complete a set would buy them. In two minutes, they were sold--and to a man who owned a pitcher but needed the glasses! Could I have made more on them? Probably. Was I happy with what I sold them for? Absolutely--and the glasses are now reunited with the pitcher, so it's a hapy ending all around.

I've found lots more, but that's enough for today. Visit my eBay site if you want to see more. I've been adding some clothing today, another somewhat unfamiliar area for me but you know, clothes don't take near the packing or worry of glassware.

Back to adventuring on eBay. Oh, and I did do other things yesterday; I got 24 quarts of pears canned with my neighbor--my pears, her sugar, my free gas, her company :)--and I made 6 pints of spiced pears too. The link is to the recipe I posted a couple years ago, but word to the wise: DON'T PUT THE SPICES IN THE JARS--unless you want brown pears :( They tasted great but looked not so great. This time I followed the instructions and removed the spices before jarring up my pears. The result is lovely golden pears in golden syrup, and so delicious. And this fits with my vintage theme because spiced pears is certainly a vintage preserve!

I'm linking again to Colorado Lady's Vintage Thingies Thursdays. so be sure to visit her blog and check out the other great posts on vintage items.

Yogurt

I started making yogurt again a couple months ago. Years ago, when we had milk cows and the boys were all home, I made yogurt by the gallon for a couple of years. Usually we had it with granola and added homemade jams for sweetener. I stopped making it when I started working, and the cows were gone around the same time.

A couple people asked about how to make it. There are several tutorials online for the process. I can show you, though, how I do it.

First step is to heat the milk to 180-185 degrees. I use 2% milk, but you can use whole and probably skim too. I use a candy thermometer for measuring the temperature, and I also use a double boiler because milk will scorch quickly if it's not stirred constantly while heating. I was lucky enough to find my double boiler at a consignment shop for a couple dollars, and I have also seen them on eBay for reasonable prices. Put water in the bottom of the double boiler, milk in the top. I use about 2 quarts of milk for each batch.

While the milk is heating, the jars need to be washed and sterilized. I heat water to boiling and pour it in to the jars. I put the lids in a pan and bring them to a boil too. I have a variety of small jars I use, including jars that once held things like marinated artichokes. These have to be very, very clean--any residue of pickling liquid or spices will ruin yogurt. For this batch, I just used my half-pint canning jars. I re-use old lids, since they don't have to seal, they just need to keep the yogurt for slopping out.

I stir the milk off and on while I'm getting the jars ready, and as the temperature gets higher, I stir it almost constantly, probably the last 2 or 3 minutes. When the temperature has reached 180-185 degrees, I take it off the stove, remove the bottom part of the boiler and pour off the boiling water. Then I refill the pan with cold water and put the top part back on it so that the milk will cool more quickly.

When the milk has cooled to 110 degrees, I stir in some already-made PLAIN yogurt. This is the culture, and if you use store-bought yogurt make sure the label says something like this:

You need that active culture for your yogurt to thicken. I use an old hand mixer for this, but a whisk or fork would probably work too.

Then the yogurt is ladled into the sterilized jars, the lids are put on and tightened, and I put them into a pan of very hot tap water.

The next step depends on your house. I am able to use my oven to culture the yogurt because my pilot light is always on and the oven stays at the perfect temperature--around 110 degrees. So you need to find a place that works in your house. I have heard of people using crock pots with hot water in them, and just turning it on every so often to keep the temperature even. Keeping the jars in a pan of hot water works for others, but you'd need to keep the temperature even. A sunny window on a warm day might also work. I've wondered about a heating pad--putting it under or around the jars. I'm sure there are many other creative methods of doing this.

The yogurt needs several hours to be thick and ready to eat. I usually make mine in the evening and by the time we get up in the morning it's ready. Generally expect it to take 4-8 hours to thicken.

When it's ready we put it in the fridge. I like mine sweetened and usually add some homemade jam to the jar before eating (this jar has pear conserve added--yum!). Larry prefers it plain, and says it reminds him of buttermilk.

That's all there is to it--a lot of hurry up and wait, as my mother would have said. But the end result beats anything you will get at the store, hands down.

Pings!

It's not the sound of a bell, or of a computer test. It's a cookie.

I found this recipe on Holly Hall's blog--she'd posted a photo of an old label that had a great molasses cookie recipe on it. I printed it out, intending to make the molasses cookies but then I saw this recipe for Pings. Since I was going back to work the next day, I decided to make a treat to pack in my lunches.

The cookies made the transition a little easier for me, and were a bright spot in my day. They were fun to make too.

Pings mix the sharp tang of lemon mixed with the sweetness of coconut for a crunchy on the outside-soft on the inside cookie that tingles taste buds and soothes the sweet tooth. These would be good summertime cookies, or you could dye the coconut by shaking it in a bag with food coloring to make pretty Easter or Christmas cookies.

The recipe called for finely grated coconut which I didn't have; I think the cookies would be even better with finer coconut, however. I also mixed coconut into the dough because I mis-read the recipe--I would do that again on purpose.

Holly's blog, Mama Says Vintage, is a trip back in time to the 50's when women cooked at home and sewed. She offers vintage photos, recipes and lots more in a well put-together blog that is always interesting to read. Stop by and say hello--I bet you stay a while longer browsing her posts.

I know that many of you are good cooks because I see the results on your blogs.

So: The West Virginia State Fair is compiling a cookbook for the 2010 State Fair. I think that all of you cooks out there should submit something!

I have seen to-die-for cakes, salads, jellies, pies, rolls,

cobblers, breads, side dishes....you know who you are. Why not submit a recipe or two and share that talent in the State Fair Cookbook?

They are looking for recipes in the following categories:
- Appetizers & Beverages
- Soups & Salads
- Vegetables & Side Dishes
- Main Dishes
- Breads & Rolls
- Desserts
- Cookies & Candy
- This & That (preserves, jams, special dietary needs)

The proceeds from sale of the cookboks will benefit the State Fair Endowment which, which according to their website, "provides long term funding for Career & Scholarship Advancement Initiatives, Youth Educational Enrichment and Agricultural & Competitive Exhibit Premiums."

There is a form on their website you can download to submit your recipe.

Then mail the form to:
PO Drawer 986, Lewisburg WV 24901

Or Fax it to:

304.645.6660

Let us all know when your recipe is selected!

Chocolate-Orange Biscotti

I planned to do a major part of my holiday baking on Saturday, but the weather outsmarted me. Sunday we had planned to go out-of-town but the weather kept us home from that too. So we outsmarted the weather and baked on Sunday instead.

This was my first attempt to make biscotti, and I don't plan to wait too long before I make it again. I found the recipe in a cookbook I bought at the library's used book sale. There are so many good recipes in there I could probably make cookies once a week all year and never repeat one.

Two-Tone Biscotti from Better Homes and Gardens Cookie Classics

(click on this title to go to the book at Amazon.com. There are copies for sale there for seven cents! Amazing).

2/3 cup butter (did we measure exactly? Well no, but this is what the recipe calls for)

1 1/3 cups sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla (we used my homemade--yum)

4 cups all-purpose flour (we used unbleached)

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces, melted and cooled (we cooled it a little, not much)

1 cup finely chopped hazelnuts ( had black walnuts so we used them instead--delicious!)

1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high for 30 seconds (we were at my son's house, no mixer; insert strong arms and much beating). Add sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer (ha!). Stir in remaining flour.

Divide the dough in half. Place half in another bowl. Into half of the dough stir the melted chocolate and 1/2 cup of the nuts. Into the other half of the dough, stir the orange peel and the remaining nuts.

Divide each half of the dough into 3 portions. Withe lightly floured hands, shape each portion into a rope about 14 inches long. Place a rope of each color side by side on an ungreased cookie sheet. Twist ropes around each other several times. Flatten slightly to a 2-inch width. (Well, we missed this twisting and flattening part completely, which might be why some of our loaves didn't hold together well, but separated into two parts--which were still delicious. But mind you do this part--there's a reason for it!). Repeat with other ropes, placing twists about 4 inches apart on the cookie sheet.

Back biscotti in a 375 -degree oven about 25 minutes or until lightly browned, Cool on cookie sheet for 1 hour or until completely cool.

Transfer loaves to a cutting board. Cut each loaf crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Lay slices, cut side down on the cookie sheet. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 10 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake for 10-15 minutes more or until dry and crisp.. Transfer cookies to a wire rack.; cool.

Makes about 70 (delicious!) biscotti.

That's one of the three recipes we tried from this cookbook and I will be making more in the days ahead. The directions are simple and easy to follow, even if I did sort of skip one part. You won't do that. The photos are beautiful. And for SEVEN cents? Good grief, get a copy!

Making Cookies with the Girls

Hannah and Haley were here this weekend. They like to cook, and they love to bake. We decided that such a rainy cold day called for one thing: cookies.

The girls donned their cooking uniforms--aprons. My granddaughters all seem to like to wear aprons and I think they're smarter than a lot of us who abandoned aprons long ago because they weren't cool. I've been looking for aprons for the past few years and now have a little selection to choose from. My clothes are the better for it.

It wasn't hard to decide which cookies to make. Hannah quickly opted for Snickerdoodles, and Haley chose chocolate chip. But...no chocolate chips! What I thought was a bag of chocolate chips in the cupboard turned out to be white chocolate chips instead. A quick trip to the computer yielded a good recipe on Cooks.com. Hannah hunted through my recipe box and found the Snickerdoodle recipe. We were in business.

Snickerdoodles

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (we actually baked them at 350 and they came out beautifully)

1 cup soft butter or shortening

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup wheat germ

2 1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour for these in the past and it's very good)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Cream together butter or shortening and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

Add and blend in vanilla and eggs.

Sift together the flour , wheat germ, baking powder and salt.

Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until well blended.

Form the dough into balls (about 1" diameter).

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon.

Roll the doughballs in the cinnamon.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned.

Remove from cookie sheet and place on wire cooling racks.

Makes 6 dozen, or so the recipe says. I don't think I've ever got that much from the recipe, but then a lot of them seem to disappear from the cooling rack!

A few lessons were learned, but none, fortunately, the hard way:

1. tsp means teaspoon, not tablespoon (as in "How do you get half a tablespoon of salt?")

2. There is a difference between baking soda and baking powder ( a family story about a cake I made when I was 12 testifies to the truth of this!).

3. If you accidentally put a tablespoon of baking soda in the mix instead of a teaspoon, you can scoop enough of it out that it won't ruin your cookies--if you catch the mistake before you mix the dried stuff together ("This is a teaspoon right, Granny? Because I like just dumped it in and it looks like a lot.")

4. Measuring butter or shortening is messy, really messy. You don't want to put your hands in your hair after you get this part done.

5. It's a bad idea to lift the mixer out of the mixing bowl while the mixer is still turned on. ("Oops! It's in your hair, Granny!")

6. Taking cookies off the sheet too soon will make them crumble. But they still taste good.

7. Men are tough on fresh, hot cookies. So are girls. And boys. And grown women. And dogs.

8. Baking makes a lot of dirty dishes.

9. If you blow on flour it will spread a long, long way. And makes you sneeze.

10. If you want to take your cookies home with you, it's a good idea to take them with you when you leave. Unless you have a Poppa Larry, who will deliver them to you the next day.

Mincemeat Tarts

Mincemeat is a grown-up taste; few children seem to like its rich sweet-sour combination of ingredients. When I was young, my mother made mincemeat pies and little mincemeat tarts every Christmas. I didn't like the pies because there was just too much mincemeat in one bite, but I remember loving the little tarts.

Mincemeat began as a way of preserving meat with sugars, vinegar and spices, and evolved into a dish that is usually associated with a traditional English Christmas. Cooking in America gives an interesting dateline of the history and folklore of mincemeat.

The tarts are really just miniature pies, and making them is a simple process. What you end up with is pretty, delicious and nowadays unusual addition to the holiday table.

I make my tarts using green tomato mincemeat. If you didn't have a chance to make your own mincemeat, however, there is still a commercial variety available at most supermarkets, usually under the brand name Nonesuch. It comes in either a dry, condensed package or ready-to-use in jars, usually in the pie filling section of the store.

First, make your pie crust. It's easy, really. Here's my recipe:

Gather your tools: favorite mixing bowl, pastry blender, measuring cup, rolling pin, cutter for the circles, pastry board(or table or counter top or wherever you plan to roll out your dough), and muffin or tart pans.

Ingredients:

2 cups plain flour (not self-rising)

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup of butter (margarine or shortening can work; I like real butter)

about 6-8 tablespoons cold water (put ice cubes in the water to get it really cold. Really.)

Mix the flour and salt together. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or a fork (but the pastry blender is works best). Add the water, using only a little at a time, until the mixture will hold together. Divide the dough into two parts. Roll out on a floured surface to the desired thickness and size. (you may need to sprinkle a little flour on the dough as you roll it out if it sticks to your rolling pin, and add a little to the floured surface

Now if you were making a pie, you'd lift the pastry into the pie pan at this point for the bottom crust of the pie, then roll out the rest of the dough for the top.

But we're making tarts, so after you've rolled out the dough find something to cut it into circles. I used this one--I suppose it's a cookie cutter, but it was just the right size to cut the dough to fit into my muffin tins.

Line your muffin or tart pans with rounds of cut-out dough; then drop in spoonfuls of prepared mincemeat. (I used the green tomato mincemeat I made a few weeks ago.)

Roll out the rest of the dough and cut out tops for your tarts. (At the holidays I sprinkle the tops with red and green colored sugar. Yesterday I just left them plain.)

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the top crusts are lightly browned.

Remove the tarts from their pans as soon as they come out of the oven. The juices in the filling usually spill over the sides of the tarts during baking and if you leave them in the pans, the sugars in the juice will harden and you may have a difficult time getting them out in one piece. I use a dinner knife to gently loosen each tart from its pan and lift them out with the knife and one finger.

Then...eat! That's all there is to it.

The taste of these little pies sends me back to the old house in Manassas, the smell of pine and eggnog, the music of Christmas in the air, and everyone laughing and happy. It's a very good memory.

Bony Fingers

Melissa at the library made the most delicious treat for the program last night--Bony Fingers! Sounds terrible, tastes wonderful.

Here's how to make them for your ghoulish group:

Melt white chocolate. Dip large stick pretzels into the chocolate. Press a sliced almond or pumpkin seed onto the top of one side of the pretzel to be the fingernail. Let dry on waxed paper.

There you are--Bony Fingers! So simple, and absolutely delicious. I wish I had a photo, but I sort of...ate mine.

Here's an old favorite story to go with the recipe:

A boy was walking home from the store just as it was getting dark when he head something behind him. He turned around quickly and was scared out of his wits to see a horrible, bony creature following him. When the creature saw him staring, it said:

"Do you know what I can do with my long bony fingers and red, red lips?"

"No!" the boy shouted. He turned and ran as fast as he could, but he had to cross the street and there was a lot of traffic. As he waited for the traffic to pass, the creature caught up to him.

"Do you know what I can do with my long bony fingers and red, red lips?"

"Go away!" the boy screamed. He darted between cars, almost causing a crash, but at least he got away from the creature which was stranded on the other side of the road. He breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down. Just as he passed a shadowy doorway, something jumped out right in front of him! It was the creature, who looked at him with big staring eyes and said:

"Do you know what I can do with my long bony fingers and red, red lips?"

"AAAAGGGHHH!" The boy yelled as loud as he could and took off running again. But he tripped over a tree root and the creature caught up again. It stood right over top of him, pinning him to the ground with its bony legs and feet.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT I CAN DO WITH MY LONG BONY FINGERS AND RED, RED LIPS!" the creature screamed at him.

The boy laid on the ground, blubbering. "I give up! What can you do with your long bony fingers and red, red lips?"

"THIS!"

(and do a raspberry by moving your finger up and down over your lips to make a blib-blib-blib sound).

Yellow Squash Pickles

So pretty, and so good!

8 cups sliced squash

2 onions, sliced in rounds

1 lb salt (yeah, that's a lot! I used about half of that)

1/2 cup diced red pepper

1 cup vinegar

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 tsp celery seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seed

Combine the squash and onion, sprinkle with the salt and let stand for 1 hour. Drain, rinse, well, and drain again to remove as much of the salt as possible.

Combine pepper, vinegar, sugar, and seeds. Bring to a boil and add the squash and onions. Return to a boil. Remove from heat, pack into sterilized jars and seal. Process using today's recommended guidelines.

Other sources of pickle recipes:

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning:

http://www.foodsaving.com/canning_guide/

Montana State University: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/foodnut/09304.html

Are old-time pickling recipes safe?

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/columncc/cc990430.html

Treats Complete

Baking is almost done--a few more batches tomorrow and I'll be finished. I've included two recipes that are easy to make, looke great, and taste wonderful.

Today it was Buckeyes, and since there was leftover dipping chocolate from that recipe, I dipped marshmallows and decorated them too. These might end up being an annual recipe--they're good (well, bad for you, I'm sure but good!).

Here's the recipe for Buckeyes. Talk about easy!

1 stick butter

1 box of powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

Mix these ingredients all together into a paste-like consistency. You will probably have to mix them with your hands. Roll into balls the size of shooter marbles.

Then melt 1 -12 oz package of chocolate chips with some paraffin (I didn't use much, but can't say exactly how much it was--maybe half of a stick? I've also made them without the paraffin, and I've used prepared dipping chocolate too) in a double boiler. When the chips and paraffin are melted, dip the balls into the chocolate with a toohpick, covering only the bottom half of each ball with chocolate.

Allow to dry on waxed paper. These are absolutely a favorite with my family.

Sugar cookies, home-baked but I cheated and used prepared dough. Hey, a woman only has so much time. Again, I had leftover chocolate, this time from the Chocolate-Covered Cherry cookies, so I used it as a filling and made star-shaped sandwich cookies with cherry-chocolate filling.

The date bars I made last week actually taste better a week later--which according to the old recipe I had, is how it's supposed to be. These are cookies made to keep for a while, or to send through the mail.

Peanut Butter Kisses and Yellow Plum Jam-Filled cookies, and cranberries ready to make Cranberry Bread. I made the Yellow Plum cookies last week with leftover crumb crust from the date bars, and I think I like these even better than the date bars. The white on them is powdered sugar--I tried it to see if I liked it, but decided I like them better without.

Peanut Butter Kisses

48 Hershey Kisses candies, unwrapped

1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup 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
Heat oven to 375°F.

Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended.

Add 1/3 cup 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.

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

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie (the cookies will crack around the edges).

Remove from the cookie sheet to a wire rack. Makes about 48 cookies (and if it doesn't, you get to eat the unwrapped chocolates!)

Christmas Baking

Today is the day! Time to start making some holiday cookies and such to give to friends and co-workers.

One of my all-time favorites is date bars, and I'll be keeping these for us home folks! My mother used to make them at Christmas, and I didn't like them much until I was in my teens. Then the rich bars became one of my favorites.

Here is the recipe. It's simple and I've never had a failure (although today could be the day--you never know...)


DATE BARS

Date filling:
3 cups of chopped dates
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup of water
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Mix these ingredients in a small, heavy saucepan and cook for 10 minutes or until thick. (Add walnut pieces if you like (I don't). Probably 1/2 cup to a cup, depending on your taste.)

Crumb crust:
In a separate bow, mix:
1 3/4 cups of oatmeal
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of butter or margarine
1/2 tsp cinnamon (this is optional, but I like it)

Mix the first three ingredients together; cut in the butter. Put half of the oatmeal mixture in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Spread the date filling on top. Cover with the remaining rest of crumb mixture.

Bake 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Cool slightly, then cut into squares while still warm.