Good times usually involve family, friends and food!

Was cleaning out some more papers from waaaaaay back on the weekend and came across a recipe for 'Baker's Mix-Easy Chocolate Cake'.

I pulled this recipe out of a Canadian Living magazine when I was a newlywed in 1983 and used it many times before it was packed up for a transfer. I thought I had lost it - so happy to have found it again!

This cake was perfect when I got together with Joy for tea and it was there through happy and sad times. Wedding planning, baby announcements or health issues - Joy, tea and this cake made anything better, especially if it was still warm.

Don't believe me that chocolate cake can make things better? Mix this up and share it with a friend or your family and see for yourself!

Enjoy!

Noonan Family Christmas Baking Day!

It is March, but I have been meaning to post some of our Christmas Baking Day recipes and came across them today while cleaning out a cupboard.

For a few years now, Mom, Megan and Katie have gathered at our home early in the morning the first week in December and we have baked non -stop until the last batch comes out of the oven about 6pm.

Here are the recipes for some of the cookies we have made the last few year - it will take more than one post to showcase the yummy recipes we have made. Watch for more soon!

Brown Sugar
Shortbread

 Katie's Brown Sugar Shortbread

1 c. butter, softened

1/2  c.  packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice

1/8  tsp. salt

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

Nonstick cooking spray

Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, apple pie spice, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Gradually beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour.


Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet. Coat the bottom of a cookie stamp with nonstick cooking spray and dip the stamp in granulated sugar. Flatten each ball of dough, imprinting the pattern.


Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Makes about 36 cookies.

Layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up
to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Toblerone Shortbread (aka Rocky Mountain Shortbread)(original recipe from Canadian Living)

2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. instant dissolving (fruit/berry) sugar
3-1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. rice flour
2 c. coarsely chopped Toblerone chocolate

Beat sugar and butter till fluffy and light coloured. Mix together flours and then add to butter mixture, with wooden spoon mix just until combined. Reserve 60 larger pieces of the toblerone, add remainder to the dough, combine. Drop 1 rounded tsp onto ungreased baking sheet, flatten slightly, press one chunk on each cookie. Bake 325 degrees - 20-25 mins, let cool slightly before lifting off pan.

Store at room temperature for up to one week or freeze for up to 3 months.

Megan's Peppermint Chocolate Fudge

2 c. milk chocolate chips
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/4 c. crushed candy canes
dash salt

LINE 8- or 9-inch square pan with wax paper. MELT chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt in heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in peppermint extract. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with peppermint candy. CHILL 2 hours or until firm. Remove from pan by lifting edges of wax paper; peel off paper. Cut into squares. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cherry Biscotti

1/2 c. softened butter
3/4 c. white sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. almond extract
3 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. chopped candied cherries
1/2 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped white chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in almond extract. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in cherries and chocolate chips.

Shape dough into two 10 inch long loaves; place rolls 5 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet; flatten to 3 inch wide. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until set and light golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, cut the loaves diagonally into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange slices cut side down on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until bottoms begin to brown. Turn and bake an additional 5 minutes or until browned and crisp. Cool completely.

Melt white chocolate, stirring until smooth. Drizzle cookies with melted chocolate. Store in tightly covered container.

Pickles, kuchen and cropping - oh my!

A bit late posting this - but it has been a busy week!

Last weekend was a great time to catch up on a few things - including making a batch (two!) of Maritime Mustard Pickles. I have posted the recipe on here before - but in case you forgot how appealing these pickles are to the eye as well as the taste buds - here is a reminder!

Megan and Will have a plum tree in their yard - and every year, they have lots of plums to give away. Mom usually makes Plum Peachy Jam and does some baking with them - I usually just eat them.

But thanks to a recipe shared by a facebook friend, I thought I would try making a Plum Kuchen. In the past, I have found the cake a bit dry and not really worth the time to make. This one changed my mind! It is moist and delicious - lots of plum flavour plus a nice streusel topping.

Oma's Fruitcake Recipe

(Note from Tammy E: This was my grandma's (Oma's) fruit cake recipe with streusel topping. I have made it with plums, blueberries, and peaches. It is kind of a rough recipe as it was handed down, but it works and it is tasty!)

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar (or more if you want it sweeter)       
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk

Beat all ingredients together. Batter is a little thicker than most cakes. Spread evenly in greased 9 x 13 pan.

Streusel

1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour (to make it crumbly)

Mix together until crumbly. Sprinkle on top.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbly around the edges and very light brown on top.

Serve warm or cold. Good with ice cream or a bit of whipped cream.

After all that time in the kitchen, I spent Sunday with my 'scrapsisters' at a crop working on some of my scrapbook projects.

I am currently trying to get caught up with the circle journals that have been patiently waiting on my table - and worked hard to get one done. Like many of us, I have a hard time scrapbooking about myself and there are not many pages about me in our albums. I was happy with how this turned out - I even made a copy to put in our album.

 

Now if I can get a few more of those unfinished tasks on my fall to-do list done this weekend...

 

 





 

What to do with 27 Cups of Chopped Rhubarb

A sure sign of spring is rhubarb poking its red heads through the soil and then unfurling green leaves, slender stalks made into rhubarb pie or stewed rhubarb. It’s the first crop of the  new growing season, but it is also a great crop t harvest when the weather cools down and fall brings a bit more rain.

I picked all my rhubarb again yesterday - and came inside with a lot of it! So picked out a couple of recipes - two tried and true (family and friends) and one new one from the Company's Coming preserving cookbook.

27 cups of chopped rhubarb later, this is what I ended up with -  jam and chutney to brighten up the winter months and a dessert to take to a potluck supper tonight.

 

Easy Rhubarb Ginger Jam

 

15 cups fresh rhubarb, chopped

5 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 c. finely chopped candied ginger (more if you wish - I used 3/4c.)

1 pkg. (170g).  Strawberry flavoured gelatin 

 

In a large, non reactive pan, boil the rhubarb and the sugar for 20 minutes, stirring often to avoid sticking and burning.

 

Remove mixture from heat, and stir in the gelatin powder, mixing thoroughly until totally combined.

 

Pour the jam into hot sterilized jars and process.

 

Rhubarb Chutney

(Recipe adapted from Company's Coming Preserves)

  

8 cups chopped rhubarb                                           

2 c. cider vinegar 

4 c. light brown sugar

2 c. golden raisins

2 c. dried cranberries

1 c. chopped dates

2 c. finely chopped onions

1/2 teaspoon  table salt

1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger 

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

1 cinnamon stick, broken up

1 teaspoon whole cloves

 

Mix first 9 ingredients in a large heavy pot. Tie mustard seed, cinnamon stick and cloves in a double layer of cheesecloth. Add to pot.

 

Heat on medium, stirring often as it comes to a boil and sugar dissolves. Simmer, uncovered, for about 40 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Discard spice bag.

 

Fill hot sterilized pint jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Place sterilized metal lids on jars and screw metal bands securely. Process for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath.

 

Enjoy with cheese, in a sandwich, with pork or ham - or just from the jar!

Rhubarb Crunch

 

4 cups rhubarb, chopped

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup oats ( I use Rogers Cereal Oats)

1 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup melted butter
1 tbsp. ground flaxseed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

 

Chop rhubarb and set aside. Mix together the flour, oats, cinnamon, brown sugar and melted butter. Press one-half of crumb mixture into a buttered 9"x11" baking dish.

 

Filling:

 

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup cold water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Whisk sugar, cornstarch and water together in a glass bowl.

 

Cook until thick, clear, and bubbly. Remove from microwave and whisk in vanilla.  Sprinkle chopped rhubarb on top pressed-in crumb mixture in the baking dish.

 

Pour sauce evenly over rhubarb.  

 

Top with remaining crumb mixture.

 

Bake at 350 degrees until edges are bubbling and crumb topping is browned, about 30-40 minutes. 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 



Tried something new this week...

Mom and Dad have beautiful green grapes - and this year it seems like a bumper crop. We have enjoyed eating them but with Barry working, it seems like we can't keep up.

So what to do with some extra green grapes? I thought about grape jelly - but green grapes would make a clear jelly - not really what I would like on my toast.

Green grape jam? Marmalade? None of the recipes I found in my cookbooks or online really appealed to me until I found a recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks 'The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving' by Ellie Toop and Margaret Howard.

They had a recipe for Sherried Rosemary Grape Juice Jelly. I had the grapes to make juice with. I had the rosemary (mine is doing well this year). Pectin - check. Sugar - check. Sherry - nope.

Thought about it for a bit - maybe I could substitute the Sherry with something else. Checked out the cupboard and found a bottle (barely touched!) of Vermouth - and so a new recipe was born!

Green Grape Jelly with Vermouth and Rosemary

Ingredients:
1 cup (250 mL) dry sherry
1 cup (250 mL) white grape juice
1/4 cup (50 mL) strained lemon juice
3 1/2 cups (875 mL) granulated sugar
1 pouch liquid fruit pectin
1 stem fresh rosemary, thyme or other fresh herbs


Directions:

Place sherry, grape juice, lemon juice and sugar in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan.

 Bring to a boil over high heat and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in pectin.

Place one or two rosemary sprigs in each jar - depending on how much you like rosemary.

Ladle jelly into jars. Place lids and rings on jars. Process. Store in cool dry place.

Made 9 500ml jars.

Great as a glaze with lamb or pork or serve with a good cheese. Enjoy!

It has been a long time...

Just realized that it has been over a year since I posted anything on here. It isn't that I haven't done anything that matters in our home, just haven't made time to blog about it. I am going to try to blog at least monthly - after all, the reason for this blog was to leave a journal of sorts of our family - what we eat mostly :) But other things too - like what we do when we are together and what we do to make our house a home :)

So, it is September and that usually means harvesting and preserving. This year, the deer quite enjoyed most of my garden. Thankfully, mom didn't have deer and had lots to share - especially cucumbers for pickles.

Bread and Butter Pickles
(Recipe from the BC Women's Institute Centennial Cookbook 1958 - Granny had this one marked!)

3 or 4 medium cucumbers
1 large onion
2 tbsp. pickling (coarse) salt
1 c. cider vinegar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. turmeric

Slice cucumbers and onions. Place in glass or plastic bowl, sprinkle with salt and stir. Let stand for several hours, then drain well. Rinse and drain again.

In a large pot, heat vinegar, celery and mustard seed, sugar and turmeric to boiling. Add cucumbers and onions and heat through. Pack into sterilized jars and seal.

Makes 3 - 16oz. jars

Sweet Treats!

Summer has arrived and that means potlucks and visitors. I have some favorite 'go-to' recipes but always like to try something new, especially if I can use fresh fruit.

I was looking for a new recipe to use some of our raspberries for a potluck dessert and came upon a recipe  for 'Raspberry Pretzel Salad'.

I remember having a Raspberry Pretzel 'Salad' either when I lived in Utah or visited family in Idaho and Utah. Can't quite remember where or when - but I do remember how good it was. While I know this kind of salad is quite common among our Mormon family members, serving this as a salad seems odd in Canada!

I was excited to find the recipe and it was a big hit at our potluck supper. I took a couple of different recipes and combined them - and used whipped cream instead of cool whip - if I am splurging - it better be real whipped cream! Enjoy!

Raspberry Pretzel Dessert

Crust:

• 1 ½ cups crushed pretzels
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup butter, melted

Press into 9X13 inch pan and bake at 325 for 5 -6 minutes. Cool.

 Middle Layer:

• 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
• ½ c sugar
• 3 cups whipped cream (measure after whipping about 1 500ml carton)

Cream together cream cheese and sugar. Then add whipped cream. Spread on top of cooled crust.

Top layer:

• 6 oz pkg. raspberry jello
• 2 cups boiling water
• 3 cups fresh raspberries

Pour boiling water into jello and stir until dissolved. Add raspberries and mix well. Place in refrigerator until it is thickened. Then pour on top of middle layer. Refrigerate until firmly set.