While trying to sleep last night, (yes it was one of those insomnia nights), I tried to think of what to write for my next post. Listening to the rain I started thinking of growing up on the farm during one of the stormiest falls we ever had.

I can't remember how old I was, but I do remember the Columbus Day storm, October 12 because the school I was going to dismissed classes so children could go home and be safe with their parents. What the school didn't know is when I got home, I had chores to do outside in the barns feeding the younger calves milk, breaking bales of alfalfa feed into stalls and feeding grain to the older calves. The moto around our house was, "if you don't feed the stock, you don't eat."

The wind was howling and blowing and I could hardly walk the 150 or so yards to the barns. I jumped up into the grainery, got the feed and when I jumped down, a part of the barn roof flew by and hit the ground next to where I was standing. Talk about being scared! I never told my parents about my close call and hurried back to the house to eat supper.

When I got back home, the electricty had gone out, and my mother had the old Coleman camp stove out and was heating baked beans so that our family could have something to eat for supper. Its a good thing my mother had made something simple for supper and all she had to do was finish it up on the outdoor stove. My mother always made fresh homemade bread to go with baked beans and the rolls had been sitting out for their final rising before baking. That night we didn't get any fresh bread because the oven didn't work and I remember how disappointed I was because there's nothing better than fresh homemade bread with soup or baked beans.

I've made my mother's baked beans many times and have received compliments on how good they tasted and comments like, "What did you put in those beans?" So here's the most simple baked bean recipe there is. Any one can make these beans. All you have to do is add a bit of love and a store bought loaf of fresh artisan bread.

Momma's Baked Beans

1 bag baked beans (rinse the beans and let them stand in water to soak overnight)
3-6 hamhocks or you can use a ham bone with ham still on it
1 diced onion
1 carrot, diced

Drain the beans you have soaked overnight and place them in a large stockpot. Add the hamhocks, onion, carrot and 1 teaspoon of salt. Fill the stockpot up to half full. Cook this until the hamhocks start to break down. This will take anywhere from 2-3 hours.

Add a sauce of 1/3 cup molasses and 1/3 cup ketchup. Taste the beans to make sure they have enough flavor. You may need to adjust the sauce mix by adding a bit more molasses or ketchup, but the above recommendation should work.

Mix into the bean mixture. Continue to cook the beans until they are thickened and tender. If you have too much liquid, you can always take some of it out before adding the sauce. Once the mixture has thickened, you're ready to serve. (If the sauce doesn't thicken, you can always use a slurry. This is a mixture of 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 1/2 cup water. Mix the slurry and add it to the bean mixture a bit at a time until you get the thickness you want in the sauce.)Be sure to take the meat off the hamhock bones and add it back into the beans. Of course, beans taste best after they have been in the fridge for a day so if you can wait, you can put the finished beans in the fridge and reheat them the next day. These beans also freeze well.

You can also use a crock pot to make these beans and cook them all day. When you get home after work, your meal is ready. This recipe will feed a large family of 6 people. Enjoy and stay dry.

A tribute to my Mom....

I've seen several of my Facebook friends posting a photo of their mothers this week in honor of Mother's Day. So I also changed my profile picture to my mother. This picture was taken at the last family gathering we had before both my parents went to be with the Lord.

I wanted to share some of my fond memories of both my grandmothers and also my mother while I was growing up. During the 1950's and early 1960's, a girl growing up needed to know certain things such as cooking, sewing, and general homemaking. This knowledge was accepted back then because it was a woman's role to get married, take care of the house and have children. If a woman worked outside the house, it wasn't career orientated but to keep a woman occupied until she got married and had children. Back then, careers weren't an option in my family.

I remember my mother getting both myself and my sister involved in 4-H cooking and sewing clubs during our growing up years. I have to toot my own horn because I won several blue ribbons in cooking and sewing plus actually had a chance to go to the State Fair with both my cooking and sewing. By the time I was 12, I knew how to make bread, muffins, cookies and cakes. There were some mornings, I'd get up early and make muffins for breakfast so the family could have something fresh and hot. Our family also got into the habbit of making chocolate cake every Saturday along with the fresh Zwiebach. This helped to boost my confidence and the family came to expect me to bake on the weekends.

Both my grandmothers and mother helped me to learn along the way. Grandma Thiessen helped me with the housekeeping part, Grandma Reimer helped me with cooking and baking, and my mother was the rock that I leaned on when I made a mistake and didn't know how to correct the mistake. I got to the point where I could figure out how to fix things that normally would flop or go wrong. I used this philosophy in sharing with my children that even if you make a mistake, you can recover and make a positive. Even in food.

Back then, my grandmothers and mother had "special" drawers designated for flour, and sugar. So that when you went to use the ingredient, all you had to do was scoop out the ingredient from the drawer and use it.

Okay, so I have to admit since I'm now making cookies for the gun club, I've reverted back to what my grandmothers and mother used in the kitchen. Gone are the cannisters and I now have my flour and sugar in a drawer ready to use. This way, I can purchase large quantities of flour and sugar and not have to go to the store so often.

Now you might think all the older women in the family did was teach me how to cook, sew and clean. This statement is definitely wrong because they taught me so much more like how to solve problems, and their unconditional love was a lesson in itself. My talents in the kitchen are a great tribute to the women I grew up with, but the love they shared with me meant more than all the cooking, cleaning, and sewing in the world.

So how do I segway into a recipe? The recipe I'm sharing is one coming from one of my huge failures. I remember crying because my cake didn't come out of the pan like it should have and I wouldn't be able to frost it. My mom came to the rescue and helped me make a trifle. So next time you screw up on making something, make a trifle. You can make a trifle out of brownies, cookies, or anything that is baked. One of my favorite is Angle Food cake.

Who would have thought you can make something good out of a failure! Thanks Mom, Grandma Thiessen and Grandma Reimer for setting such great examples of loving Christian women.

Chocolate Trifle

1 chocolate cake or cake of any kind, already cooked
1 pint of whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 package of instant chocolate pudding or you can use vanilla pudding
2 cups cold milk
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts (use your favorite nut, such as filberts, walnuts or almonds)
1 large clear glass bowl

Whip the cream until soft peaks and then add the powdered sugar, and vanilla. Set aside. Also beat the 2 cups of milk with the instant pudding and set aside to set up.

Break up the cake into large bitesize pieces and place on the bottom of the clear glass bowl. Add a shallow layer of the whipped cream, then a layer of the coconut, and nuts. Add the next layer of instant pudding. Repeat this layer two more times ending with the instant pudding. Sprinkle the top with any remaining coconut and nuts. Chill until firm. To serve, use a large spoon and place it in a bowl. This is so yummy. You can switch it up and do the layers in any order and up with the whipped cream if you wish. This isn't set in stone so put your own twist on the recipe.

"COOKIES, COOKIES, WE WANT COOKIES"

"Cookies, Cookies, we want cookies." This is what my husband came home to say last Friday. He said, "Some shooters (Gun Club shooters) came into the office looking for cookies and there were none." I guess the supply I sent earlier in the week was sold and club members are starting to expect cookies in the retail store and office.

All I could think of on Friday was making breakfast for our church crew and started cooking and baking in preparation for breakfast for our Worship, Production and Pastoral Staff. This means I was going to make breakfast for about 50-60 people. So I told my hubby I was going to skip making more cookies until after Easter. After Easter, it took a couple of days to regroup, recooperate, and feel rested.

Today, I got my thinking cap on and tried to come up with a new recipe for the gun club. I've made Ranger Cookies, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Triple Chocolate Cookies (this is also a new recipe I developed). These are cookies that are normal and not very inventive. I didn't just want to make one of the cookies but tried to think outside the box of what ingredients went well together.

My friends and family know I LOVE ALMONDS!!!!! So I thought, "What if I came up with an idea incorporating almonds, oranges and white chocolate chips." I started putting ingredients together and hoped they would turn out yummy. Once my cookies were in the oven, the wonderful aroma of baking cookies filled the house and I think the cookies will be a hit.

My hubby came home unexpectedly and tried one and commented, "These are really Good!!!"

On Facebook, I asked my friends to give me suggestions for a name, and one friend indicated that creamcicles sounded good. I'm using that name plus adding a bit more so people will know what's inside these cookies. Here is the new cookie called:

White-Chocolate Almond Creamcicles

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream

Cream the above ingredients together until light and fluffy. Add the zest of 1 large orange (about 1 tablespoon) plus 1 teaspoon orange flavoring and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Add:
2 1/2 cups flour (You can use 1 cup whole wheat flour to add more texture)
1/2 cup ground raw almonds

The dough will be a bit stiff but not too stiff. Drop by spoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Makes about two dozen cookies.

Blessings at Easter

Easter to some means the arrival of spring, fancy clothes, and Easter Egg Hunts. For my family, it is the heart of our salvation. God gave his only Son (John 3:16) to die for my sins. I am so thankful that God gave His most precious child and through Jesus Christ my sins have been forgiven. On the third day, God rolled away the stone and Jesus rose again. For me that means God has justified me as if I'd never sinned and I have eternal life. Without God's gift, my life would be empty. God has also promised that we will live with Him and have Eternal Life.

So this Easter, our family and church family celebrate this gift in different ways. The way I celebrate is to prepare a large breakfast for our folks at church who serve in the Music, Production, Band, and crew for the three services at church. I love to serve my church this way and pull out all the stops because they work so hard at sharing the gospel on Easter Morning. I will be making a couple types of croissants, morning buns, egg casseroles, fruit platters plus some type of dessert. I thought about doing the mini cheesecakes, but I think I'm a bit burned out on them so I might do a filled cupcake like I did for Jonah's first birthday.

One of the recipes my mother gave me while growing up was a quick butter croissant. This roll takes little prep time but the results are that everyone can't eat just one....When our family gets together, they tell me, "Mom, you must make those rolls that Grandma made." My folks are both in heaven looking down on us and I'm sure they remember all the family gatherings and great food. I'm also sure they are having the ultimate celebration of God's precious gift and the sacrifice that was made for us.

Quick Butter Croissants

Cut 1 cup COLD butter into 4 cups of flour and set aside in the fridge.

In another bowl, use 1 cup warm water and 1 package yeast and let the yeast sofften and bubble. To this liquid, add 3/4 cup evaporated milk, 1 egg, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup melted butter. Wisk together and add 1 cup flour.

Take the cold flour out of the fridge and add the liquid. Mix until just moistened. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge overnight or at least 8 hours.

When you're ready to make the rolls, Remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times to make the dough into a ball. Cut this ball into 4 portions. Shape the rolls one portion at a time and put the other portions back into the fridge until you're ready to shape the rolls.

Roll out one of the four portions until it is in the shape of a circle and about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the circle into 8 pie wedges and roll up the wedges from the outer to the inner creating a croissant. Place the shaped rolls on parchment paper and repeat with the other three portions.

Let rise for two hours and bake at 325 degrees until golden brown. You can also use an egg wash on top of the croissants made of 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water just before baking. This makes 32 rolls. Plenty to go around for everyone. Enjoy.

Gizmos, Gadgets, Crafts and a whole lot of fun!!!!

One of my daughters and I have a tradition of shopping together whenever we can. In fact, I like to help when asked for special occasions so this time, my daughter asked if I would go up to Puyallup and help prepare for our Grandson's first birthday. I thought we might be able to get a little bit of shopping in as well. Boy was I wrong.

My daughter had "this vision" for her son's birthday party and right away when I got to her house, she put me to work picking out all the green fruit loops from a HUGE bag of Fruit Loops. By the time I got done, it was time for bed. (We ended up not using them....lol) On to day two....I got up to find a "list" on the breakfast counter saying, "Have a cup of coffee first", then please do these things. All I could do was laugh because there were at least four to five things on the list. I was still chuckling even after the second cup of coffee.

To go along with "this vision", I brought some things from home I might need to make life a bit easier, i.e. disposable piping bags, apple corer, piping tips and a few other gizmos and gadgets. I have a weakness for gizmos and gadgets and when I find one I think will be cool to own, I make sure I can use that gizmo or gadget for at least one or two other things (at least I can justify the expense that way.) I couldn't even imagine what kind of crafts my daughter had in mind for this special party. We laughed together through making the marshmallow trees to mud puddles to elephant food to other unique things for the party.

After making a six inch two layer cake, my daughter and I made 18 cupcakes. I said, "why don't we fill them and make them cuter". So I took my cool gizmo apple corer and used it to take out the centers of the cupcakes to fill. I then thought about what kind of filling to put into the cupcakes and came up with my Mom's recipe for a quick chocolate slurry filling that she used quite a bit when I was growing up. My mother passed away last year and wasn't able to meet her grandson, but I thought this was a cool way for us all to remember her by. My mother and father would have been married 66 years on my grandson's birthday. So the recipe I'm sharing is my mother's chocolate filling. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

I'm sure my daughter will be posting pictures of all her cute ideas so be sure to check her blog often for the new post of the big birthday bash.

Mom Reimer's chocolate filling

1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 squares unsweetened chocolate (you can used unsweetened cocoa powder, but you'll need to increase the butter to 2 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup cocoa powder)
2/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix the above ingredients together and cook over low heat melting the chocolate. Once the chocolate is melted, turn up the heat to medium high and be sure to stir and sauce as it thickens. It will thicken quickly and bind together like an icing. Once it thickens like icing, take off the heat. Be careful not to burn the chocolate either.

Add 1 tablespoon softened butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Mix this together quickly and you're ready to use the icing. Use the icing while it is hot. Don't cook it down. This is enough to spread between two layers or fill 18 cupcakes. I put the icing in a piping bag to fill the cupcakes because it was easier to control the filling.

Ice your cake or cupcakes with your favorite buttercream icing. You can buy a can, but if you know me, I always make my icings from scratch.

Enjoy.

The wonder of grandchildren

I love all my grandchildren. Most of them are grown up so when twins were born two years ago, my hubby and I added to the grandchildren total. These twins live in Washington DC and we've only been able to see them a few times, but each time, the love grows. Our daughter will send us new pictures often, but its just not the same as holding those precious grand babies in our arms. The twins will be two in a few short months and watching them grow even via pictures has been a blessing. They change so quickly and I wish we could see them in person more often.

Then last year, we celebrated another baby that came to our family via another daughter and her husband. This family lives closer and we've had the priviledge of seeing this grandson more often. Again, we cherish those times when we get the opportunity to see our little ones and the babies amaze us with their abilities to talk, and share their love. The newest family member has a birthday next week when he will turn one year old. My daughter is going all out with a party, cake, goodies to eat and lots of people and presents for this little boy to enjoy. What makes this birthday special is that he was born on the 12th which is significant to both families.

As these new babies come into our lives, their parents have started to build their own memories and traditions. Never in my wildest thoughts would I have imagined to have so many grandchildren and great grandchildren. I had always wanted a large family with lots of children and grandchildren. God has blessed me beyond measure with the desires of my heart. Proverbs 3:5&6

In keeping with a birthday theme, the recipe I'm sharing is a simple basic yellow butter cake. I developed this cake and tweak it by adding different ingredients to switch it up and make it different, but the cake itself is a basic go to cake, and yes, its not from a box.

Pat's basic yellow Butter Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
Cream the above until it is light and fluffy.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk in thirds starting with the milk and ending with the milk and mix until smooth after each addition.

Mix all the dry ingredients together
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 cup regular milk - you can use non-fat or any other milk you want

Place in an oblong glass dish that has been greased (or sprayed) and bake at 350 degrees until the center is done. You can test the cake by sticking a toothpick in it and if it comes out clean, its done.

Frost with your favorite icing - you can purchase a can of frosting or use the following:

1/2 cup softened butter
2-3 cups Powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Milk to add until you get the spreading consistency you want - Use 1/4 cup or a bit more.

Unexpected Surprises......

I love surprises. I'm usually the one who does the surprising, but this time around, the tables were turned on me and I had no inkling of what was going to happen.

As most of my family and friends know, I had the priviledge of helping in a small way for a recent wedding with making some cheesecakes, doing some sewing and helping in general where needed. I even made some new friends in the process who are caring and wonderful people.

After the wedding the family of the bride surprised me with a 90 minute massage. It was totally unexpected and I was a bit overwhelmed by their generosity. What a nice gesture!

Then today in the mail, I received another unexpected surprise. The mother of the groom sent me a cupcake cookbook. Little does this person know that I have a tendency to collect cookbooks and again I was overwhelmed by this person's generosity. She said she saw the cookbook and thought about me. This mother of the groom is awaiting the birth of her first grandchild and one would think that person would have nothing on their mind but the new baby. To think of me and make time to send the cookbook through the mail tells me I've made a friend for life.

So the recipe I'm sharing in this post comes from my new cupcake cookbook.

Almond cupcakes

1 3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 pound butter at room temperature

1/2 cup walnut or vegetable oil
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup almonds ground and toasted
4 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan

In a large bowl cream 1 cup of the sour cream, the butter and oil. In a separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture, one third at a time. Mix thoroughly after each addition.

In another bowl mix the eggs, the remaining 3/4 cup sour cream and the extracts. Add the egg mixture to the batter in thirds, beating for 1 minute on medium speed after each addition.

Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full with the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Taken from Crazy about Cupcakes by Krystina Castella, published in 2006, page 49.