Sour Cream Waffles

These waffles are dead simple and absolutely delicious!  


5 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar

1 cup  flour
1/2 tSP  salt

1 cup sour cream

4 tbls  butter, melted and cooled

vegetable oil or extra melted butter, for the waffle iron

berries and whipped cream optional.

Beat the eggs and sugar together for about 5 to 8 minutes. 

Combine the flour and salt. 

Add alternately into the batter half of the flour mixture. the sour cream, and finally the remaining flour mixture. 

Gently stir in the melted butter. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes before making waffles.

I recommend serving these with berries, but anything will be fine.

German French Toast with Applesauce

This recipe is pretty much just like I've always made French toast, and I'm quite amused that it is called German French Toast.  I serve my French toast with whatever people want.

3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon plus 1 dash cinnamon, divided
Dash salt
3 tablespoons sugar
8 thickish slices of white bread
1 eight-ounce jar applesauce

In a small baking dish, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, dash cinnamon, and salt until well blended.  Mix together the remaining cinnamon and the sugar. Set aside.
Dip each roll or slice of bread in egg mixture long enough to get quite moist, but not overly soggy. 
Fry over medium heat until bread starts to brown. Turn over to brown the other side.
Heat the applesauce.
Serve the French toast topped with warm applesauce and butter on the side.

Sally Lunn Bread

I first made Sally Lunn bread when we lived in Hong Kong in the early 80's.  I think that it was for a Thanksgiving dinner with lots of international friends at our house, or something like that.  I made it thinking that it was an old American recipe.  I thought that because I found the recipe in my 1953 Betty Crocker Cookbook.  But later I came to realize that it was a British recipe, though they don't have total claim to the recipe, as Sally Lunn was actually a French Huguenot, which would explain the bun's similarity to brioche.

In 1999 we took three of our daughters to England and while in Bath we discovered the Sally Lunn Bakery.  The day before we had visited the Jane Austen Museum, which was newly opened.  We had a delightful time there and chatted with a lot with the people running the museum.  It was possibly at their suggestion that we went to the Sally Lunn.  I'm not sure.  But anyway, when we went for tea and buns at the Sally Lunn our daughter Annie wore here Regency Dress which I had made for her.  She actually wore the dress the whole time we were in and around Bath.  So we were in the lovely second floor tea room of the Sally Lunn, sitting by the window and eating our lovely Sally Lunn buns and feeling very much like we were in a Jane Austen novel, when a young woman dressed in a beautiful Regency outfit came into the room, looked straight at us, walked towards us and said hello to us in a manner indicating she knew who we were.  Talk about feeling like being transported back in time.  We were thrilled.  It turned out to be one of the young ladies from the Jane Austen Museum.  She was there to pass out brochures to interest people in the museum.

In 2006, while on a garden tour with  my mother, I took her to the Sally Lunn Bakery.  She did not get it.  It was a very rainy day and it seemed a good thing to me to be sitting in a lovely tea room.  But anyway, this is a picture of my Sally Lunn bun when I had half eaten it.  I think my mother ordered tomato soup.  What looks like butter in the little cup is actually cream.  I ordered strawberry jam.  You can also get it with applesauce on top, which is also very good.

Sally Lunn Bread

14 oz flour, either all-purpose or bread

3/4 tsp salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon yeast

1 cup warm milk

2 Tablespoons butter

1 egg

1/4 cup water, or as needed

Combine the dry ingredients in a kitchenaid bowl.

Heat the milk, then add to butter to it to melt it.  This also cools it down a bit.

Put the milk, butter, egg, and water into the bowl and whip vigorously with the paddle blade.

It will not be a typical bread dough.  You wouldn't want to turn it out on to a board and knead it because it will be too sticky.  If it isn't sticky looking add a bit more water. 

Scrape the dough into a nice lump of dough and cover the bowl with a tea towel and let double in size.

This should take about an hour.

Butter generously a small tube pan, or whatever you have.  I found my 8 inch tube pans at Goodwill.  A not too big bundt pan should do.  You want the hole in the middle bit.  But then, the Sally Lunn buns are baked in a 2 inch high cake pan.

When the dough has risen, punch it down a bit, let rest a few minutes, and the get the dough into your pan of choice.  Let rise until double, then bake at 400 (?) degrees for about 30 minutes.

Let cool just a bit, then turn out and place on a plate, as the bread looks like a cake.

Left-over Sally Lunn bread is great toasted and topped with jam or applesauce.  This picture is not of my bread, and it's probably twice the size of the one I make, but it gives you a good idea of what you're making.  I'll get a picture of mine in here as soon as I get one.  Mine has a finer crumb and the top is smooth and rounded.

If you double the recipe it will go into a 10 inch tube pan and will cook for a longer time.

Sunomono - sweet and sour cucumber salad

This has been a family favorite for a long time.  We first tasted it in Szechuan restaurants in Hong Kong.  A very small dish of it would be served along with deep fried peanuts and kimchee as an appetizer before your food arrived.  As soon as you sat down you would be given some of these things, like chips in a Mexican restaurant.  

My recipe is my own, as I can find none like it.  But I think I got my original idea form the Complete Asian Cookbook by Charmaine Solomon, which is my all time favorite Asian cookbook.  I got the book on a sale table at Swindon Book Co. in Hong Kong, one of my absolute favorite bookstores.  It's still located at 13-14 Lock Road, Tsimshtsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. When I would be going to have lunch in Hong Kong with Riley we would often meet at Swindon's.  Then in Portland when there was a very lovely bookstore called Scribner's in Pioneer Place we would say we would meet for lunch at Swindon's and we always knew that we meant Scribner's.

Sunomono

a cucumber, peeled, seeded and quartered lengthwise.

Take the strips, hold them together and cut them in quarter inch pieces by cutting on the diagonal.  Don't make thin slices, as that makes the salad all wibbly wobbly, and you want a nice cucumber crunch.

rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper
sugar.

These last ingredients make the dressing.  The best thing is to make it to your own taste.  It's meant to be sweet, but not too sweet.  It's meant to be sour, but not too sour.  You need a pinch of salt, and a dash or two of pepper is always nice.  The salad tastes best if made fairly soon before serving.

You can add any extra ingredient you like to this salad.  I think that for my children the simplicity worked very well.  But for complexity you can add radishes, seaweed, sesames, bell pepper, scallions, ginger, etc, etc.

Rhubarb Custard Pie

.
I love this pie. It always makes me happy to eat it. I'm not exactly precise about how much rhubarb goes into the pie because when you are at the store buying rhubarb you don't know exactly how much to buy and I'm not about to throw away any rhubarb.

2 discs of pie dough

approximately 4 cups of cut-up rhubarb

3 eggs
3 tablespoons milk or cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoons butter for dotting over the filling.
I tend to forget this from time to time.

Preheat the over to 375 degrees.
Get the rhubarb cut up and in a bowl.
In a smaller bowl combing the eggs, milk, sugar, flour, and nutmeg.
Pour the egg mixture over the rhubarb and gently stir to coat the rhubarb.
Roll out the first pie dough disc and place into a 9 inch pie plate.
Pour in the rhubarb mixture.
Dot with the butter if desired.
Roll out the second pie dough disc into more of a square than a circle and cut into strips about 1/2 inch wide.
Layer the strips over the pie in a woven fashion. I always start at the middle and work in alternate directions to the edge.
Bake until nicely browned and definitely rather bubbly. If it isn't bubbling it isn't done. This will be around 50-60 minutes. It takes just a little longer to cook than you might think.

Variation: Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Pie

Use equal parts of rhubarb and strawberries, and follow the recipe as above, but maybe using a little less sugar, as the strawberries are not sour.

Saint Patrick's Day Bundt Cake

.
This is not my normal kind of cake, as I almost never use a cake mix. But I first tasted something like this at a family get-together, and I asked for the recipe. This is a modification, in honor of St Patrick's Day, and I only make it on St. Patrick's Day.

1 box yellow cake mix (I like Duncan Hines)
4 large eggs
1 small box instant pistachio pudding
some freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup cream sherry

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour one large or two small bundt pan(s), or tube pan(s). As with most cakes it will cook in any kind of pan you like, you just have to watch the time.
Combine the cake mix and the pudding mix in a large bowl, and give it a good stir. Add all the remaining ingredients into the bowl and beat until nicely combined, but don't over beat. Pour into the pan(s) and bake about 50 minutes for the large bundt pan, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool a bit on a rack, and then turn out of the pan before it's completely cool. If you let it cool completely it becomes rather difficult to remove.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

An apple orchard with Mount Hood
in the background.

.
This is an old time Oregon recipe.

1 pie shell, unbaked

3 cups apple slices
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar
1 dash of salt
2 Tbls flour

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine and place into the pie shell.
Bake at 450 for 15 minutes.
Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake until the apples are partially cooked.

Then combine:

1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

Pour over the partially cooked apple pie.
Reduce heat to 325 and bake until set.

French Pastry Cookies

Two Sisters, or on the Terrace, 1881  

by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

I don't know where this recipe came from, but it was in my recipe box and was hand written by someone other than me.  It looks very tasty.

Dough:

2 cups flour
1 cup sour cream
1 cup butter, softened

Mix up the dough, divide into two balls, wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix:

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Roll out each dough into a circle and sprinkle with filling.
Cut into wedges and roll up like crescent rolls.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Rice Beef Stroganov

Portrait of Count Pavel Stroganov

Another old recipe. The card was written by Riley, and he put five stars at the top, so it must be good.

9 ounces of lean round steak, sliced thin and tossed in some flour.

Brown the meat, and then add:

2 cups water
1 package of onion soup mix
1/2 cup light cream
1/4 cup sherry
4 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup rice

 Cover and cook until the rice is done, about 20 minutes.

Eggplant Italiano

I haven't made this in years.  Found the recipe in an old recipe box.  It was one of my favorites in the past.  I got the recipe from Elli Patella, who was married to Denny.  Elli is Jewish and Denny is Italian, so I imagine she got the recipe from someone like her mother-in-law.

Marinera Sauce:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 pint of stewed tomatoes, mashed
salt, pepper, oregano, and sweet basil
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 eggplant, sliced
1 pound of mozzarella, sliced
Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil as lightly as possible.
Arrange the slices in a single layer in a large baking dish.
Bake in the oven while making the Marinera  sauce.
When sauce is ready, pour it over the eggplant, they layer the cheese on top, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.

note: if making for children, you can peel the eggplant.  Well you can peel it even if not making for children, if you like.

Gramma’s Special Rolled Cookies

.
This recipe was originally a winner in the Pillsbury Bake-Off some time in the late 50s or early 60s. I’m not sure what exactly the first recipe was like, but then my Mom is not known for tweaking recipes, and I got the recipe from her.  This might be the only recipe I ever got from her.

These are just about my favourite cookies. The only cookies that might beat it out for first are the macaroons at Ladurree in Paris. But what could compete with that?

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (new addition to the recipe)

glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup strong coffee
1/4 cup honey

ground almonds

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the zest and orange juice. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture. Divide the dough into about 3 blobs and wrap each with plastic wrap and form into flattened discs and chill for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Make the glaze by heating all the ingredients in a small sauce pan until the sugar melts. Roll out the dough to about 1/6 inch and cut with a cookie cutter. A crescent or moon is a very nice choice. Bake for about 7 minutes, until just golden brown. While the cookies are still warm, brush on the glaze and then liberally sprinkle on the almonds. Let the cookies cool and set.

You need to keep an eye on the baking cookies, as they can burn quickly, being so thin. Also, to apply the almonds I often just take the glazed cookie and turn it upside down on the dish of almonds to get a nice coating. Once the cookies are glazed, almonded, and cooled, they are sturdier.

Chocolate Roulade

.

my Christmas cake

I got this recipe from a friend in Hong Kong, Chris Duggan. Her family went to our church, St. Andrews, and we went to a Bible study at their house. Brian, her husband, was an engineering professor at the University of Hong Kong. They were from Birmingham England. She is an excellent British cook. This recipe is not like any other chocolate roulade I've seen. I've made it as our buche to Noel for years. I once made one five feet long for a co-workers 50th birthday, which of course is nothing compared to the one pictured below.
Cake:
6 eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 ounces cocoa

Filling:
4 ounces chocolate, like chocolate chips or bar
2 tablespoons liquid, like brandy

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Find a jelly roll pan, they seem to come in all sizes.
Grease the pan a little, then put in a piece of parchment paper that comes up over the edges of the pan.
Grease the paper lightly.

Beat the egg yolks and the sugar and vanilla until very light yellow.
Add the vanilla and the cocoa. This will make a rather stiff mixture.
Beat egg whites until stiff, but not too stiff.
Dump the egg whites into the bowl with the yolks and fold the two together.

Spread the batter into the pan, and bake for about 20 minutes. Because pans differ, time differs.
Not long after taking the cake out of the oven, lift up the cake by the paper onto a cooling rack. When the cake is sufficiently cooled sprinkle granulated sugar onto the cake (not too much) and then place a tea towel over the cake and carefully flip the cake over. The gently peel off the parchment paper.  The cake can rest for a while like this.

Assembling the cake

Whip the cream and the sugar until nice and stiff, but not so stiff it's almost butter.
Put the chocolate and the liquid into a glass dish and put into the microwave for a little while, not long. You can sneak up on it.  Don't get the chocolate too hot as it can solidify. Stir up the chocolate mixture until smooth and using the back of the spoon, spread the melted chocolate over the cake.
Using a frosting spatula spread some, but not all, of the cream over the chocolate. Then, using the tea towel as a help, roll up the cake and carefully get it onto a platter.  Don't worry about any cracks, as the whipped cream will cover them.  Put on the rest of the cream. I like to reserve some of the cream so that I can pipe it on the cake, like around the ends and along the sides.

For a special decoration I like to add chocolate leaves on the top.  You melt up a handful of  chocolate chips with a dab of shortening.  Then get come camellia leaves, wash and dry them, and gently apply some chocolate to the bottom of the leaf, using the back of a small spoon.  Place the leaves on a small plate and put into the freezer for about 15 minutes.  Then carefully remove the leaves and place on the cake.  Be as artistic as you like.

pumpkin pie

.

1 unbaked pie crust


3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
15 ounces pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups half & half (light cream)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine all the filling ingredients.
Pour filling into the crust and carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 40 minutes.
The pie is done when a thin knit inserted near the center comes out clean.
When cooled serve with thick whipped cream.

Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbls sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine and beat until thick.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

One fall day I woke to the realization that Tyler Florence was going to be doing a book signing at Meier and Franks that morning.  That was the original huge department store in Portland, which has since been bought by Macy's.  Well I swung into action.  I was babysitting my one year old granddaughter that day so I got us both ready and we headed down town.  When we got there the line was very long, but no matter, we found the end and began our long wait.  Emily was a very good girl, and we enjoyed ourselves for the hour it took before it was my turn to talk to Tyler.  He was quite taken with Emily, as he had a 6 month old son at the time.  He especially liked her hat, and took down the information about the store in hopes of getting one for his son.  But I managed to get a question in: "What's your favorite Thanksgiving pie?"  He immediately said, "Chocolate  Bourbon Pecan Pie."  Well I was right on that as soon as I got home.  I served it at my Thanksgiving dinner that year (43 guests) and it was the first pie finished.  I'm not even sure I got a piece.  No, I did.  It was very small and I hid it in the cupboard for later.

Pie Crust:
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 tsp salt
3/4 stick butter, cold and cut into small chunks

1 Tbl shortening (this helps keep the crust consistent)
2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed

Filling:1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons bourbon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Crust: combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and shortening and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle on the ice water and work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Use your hand to press the whole thing together when done. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, flatten to a disc, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Cover the disc of dough with flour and roll out on a piece of waxed paper into a circle. It will be a little bigger that the waxed paper. Using the waxed paper, flip the dough over and into a 9-inch pie plate. Carefully press the dough into the plate so it fits tightly and tuck under the excess dough and crimp the edges.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Filling: melt the butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, remove from heat and let cool. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl until frothy and then blend in the sugar. Stir in the corn syrup, vanilla, bourbon, salt, and the melted butter mixture until well blended.

Arrange the pecans on the pie crust and carefully pour the egg mixture over them. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the filling is set and rather puffy. Cool the pie completely.

Apple Pie

.
I love a good apple pie. But I’ve found that most are too sweet for my taste. And I absolutely abhor apple pie made with canned apples. So if you like a sweet sweet apple pie, this isn’t it.

2 pie crust discs, unbaked
2 pounds of green apples, like Granny Smiths or Newtons
peeled, cored, and sliced thinly
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
2-3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cream or milk
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prep the apples and have them in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine the sugar, cinnamon, flour and mix well
Toss this mixture all over the apples and gently stir to mix well.
Roll out the first disc of pie crust and lay over the pie plate.
Put the apple mixture into the unbaked pie crust, and dot with butter.
Add the second crust, crimp, and trim. Add a few air vents by slitting the top.
Using a pastry brush or wadded up piece of plastic wrap, gently cover the top crust with some milk or cream.
Sprinkle sugar lightly over the top.  I like to use fat sugar.  But any sugar will do.
Bake for about 50-55 minutes.

Homemade Applesauce

"Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me in the shadow of your wings."

Psalm 17:8

I've been making applesauce each year for I don't know how long. Where I live there are plenty of apples every fall. Just about any kind you could want. I always mix apples for my applesauce because they each have their own quality. Now some apples I never use, like red or yellow delicious, or Rome apples. It's not that I have anything against them, they just seem more like eating apples than cooking apples. I have an absolute passion for a good yellow delicious with cheese, and they make a nice tart tatin also. But anyway, I always include either gravenstiens, or newtons, or granny smiths. The rest that I include are usually very red, because those add sweetness and color.

Obviously one doesn't need a real recipe for making applesauce, and it's all about taste. But for what it's worth here's the ratio I used.

25 pounds of apples, about 5 pounds each of 5 different kinds, some green, some red

2-3 cups of white sugar, you can use brown sugar if you like
1 tablespoon cinnamon, whatever kind you have
5 cups of good natural apple cider




equipment needed:

good paring knife
a large bowl, I use a McCoy bowl

two large pots with lids and a heavy bottom, like a brazier or a rondeau - if you use a pot with a thin bottom you will likely burn some apples

a large slotted spoon, or just a large spoon
a food mill

a smaller sturdy bowl for setting the food mill over, I use a smaller McCoy with a spout and a handle


a large roasting oven - they've been making the same thing for decades, mine holds 20 quarts and I can use it just like any oven.

20 pint size jars, preferably wide mouth, with matching rings and lids

clean tea towels for wiping off the rings and lids and jar rims, and for setting the jars on
a large ladle for scooping the hot applesauce into the jars
a large pot with water to put on the stove with the lids and rings in it to sterilize them
a canning funnel

a canning pot, filled with water



a jar lifter - essential for getting the jars out of the boiling water

twongs or a magnetic stick for getting the lids and rings out of the boiling water












Now you must admit that's an awful lot of things, just to can up some applesauce. But that's the way it is.

Day One:

The first thing to do is get the apples all cooked up.
Fill the sink with cold water and put in a load of apples.


Taking the paring knife and the apples one at a time, quarter the apple, and for each quarter remove the stemy bits and the seeds, and cut it in half the long ways. So what you have is that each apple is cut into eight wedges. When you've got that batch cut and trimmed, put into a big pot, add a cup of apple cider, put on the lid and cook on medium to low heat until the apples are all nice a mushy. While the first batch is cooking, cut and trim the next patch. If the first batch is done cooking (check every so often) before you are ready to cook the second batch, just turn the heat off and leave for a bit.



Then, when you have the second batch cooking, start to process the first cooked batch in the food mill. Place the food mill over the smaller McCoy bowl, then fill the mill with mooshed apples and grind away, putting the applesauce into the roasting oven when the bowl fills. When you are done mooshing the whole batch, clean the food mill so it's ready for the next batch.

Notice the different colors of sauce from the different apples?

Continue like this until all the apples are cooked. Then add the sugar and the cinnamon. Give the mixture a good stir to get everything intermingled, and turn on the roasting oven. Cook at about 300 degrees, until all the applesauce is nice and hot, and the sugar is clearly melted. Taste it and see how you like it. You can add more sugar or more cinnamon if you like. But remember, these things can be added later when you are serving the applesauce, as long as you heat it up a bit to melt the sugar.

At this point I turn off the roaster, put on the lid, and leave over night. This is because I am a bit weary and need a break. The applesauce will be just fine like this. Just don't leave it for days.

Next Day:

Heat the applesauce back up to a nice heat, but be careful not to over cook and scorch the applesauce. At the same time, put all the jars and rings into the dishwasher and run it. Then, when the sauce is nice and hot, and the jars are washed, prepare to put the sauce in jars and can it.

First, it's good to tie some twine onto the jar holder handles in the canner. This is so you can lift it out of the water without a major disaster. Get the canner about 2/3rds full of water and place on the stove and bring to a boil.

Put the jar lids and rings in a large pot (large enough to hold the rings and lids), cover with water and heat up on the stove to sterilize. Leave them in the water and just pull out as needed, so they stay sterilized.

Then set a folded in half tea towel near the roaster, place the jars on the tea towel. Get the funnel and set on to a jar. Using the big ladle, scoop applesauce into the jar. Now hopefully your applesauce is nice and hot, so don't hold on to the jar, as it will heat right up. When the applesauce is to a 1/2 to a 1/4 inch from the top, remove the funnel and carefully place it on the next empty jar. The reason for carefulness is so that you don't get applesauce on the rim of the jar. This is why the wide mouth jars, they're easier to avoid hitting the rim (as well as easier for kids to scoop out applesauce later). Then take the clean tea towel, dip the tip of the edge into the very hot water, then touch the wet edge to a dry spot to make sure it's not dripping, and then use this hot wet edge to wipe around the edge of the filled jar to make sure that there is nothing on it. Then remove a lid from the water, carefully dry it off, and place on the filled jar. Next, remove a ring from the water, carefully dry it off, and screw onto the jar, and make sure it's on tight. This is tricky, as the jar is hot. Move onto the next jar, until all the jars are filled, or all the applesauce is canned up.

Then, when the water in the big canning pot is very very hot, and you have at least seven jars done, put the jars into the canner, lower them into the water. Make sure that the "not too long"

pieces of twine tied to the handles on the jar holding rack are sticking out of the pot. If there is not enough water to cover the jars, add water to about 1 inch above the jars. Bring to a boil, cover, and boil the jars for 12 to 15 minutes. The point is to get everything in the jars very very hot. When the time is up, using the twine, firmly grabbed onto, lift up the jars. Using the jar holder, remove the jars to a tea towel. Leave them there until they are cool.

Now the final thing is to be sure that the jars are sealed. The lids will make a click sound when they shrink into place. This can take a while, as it happens as the jars cool a bit. But the ultimate test to see that the lids have sunk down is to you tap your finger on the top of the jar. It should make a dull thud sound, and there is no movement of the lid.

There you have it - a whole years supply of applesauce.

My husband wants me to tell you that the applesauce warm on ice cream is very delicious. We also just eat it, or put it on toast, or pancakes, or French toast, or waffles, or crepes, or yogurt, or pork chops, or sausages, or ..... bon appétit.

p.s. At the rate my family is eating up the applesauce I think maybe it's maybe 9 months supply of applesauce, and I actually ended up canning 60 pounds of apples.

"Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness."

Jane Austen

Fruit Cocktail Pie

Another recipe from way back in the past. I think my mother used to make this, but I bet if I ask her she'll say "I don't know". But anyway, I think it is really yummy! Though perhaps a bit sweet for this day and age.

1 can of fruit cocktail, undrained
1 cup flour
1/2 - 1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and butter a pie plate.
Combine the non-topping ingredients and put the mixture into the buttered pie plate.
Mix the brown sugar and nuts and sprinkle on top.
Bake for about 40 minutes.
Cool.
Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

note: if you drain the fruit cocktail and don't use the liquid you will have a much more cake like  product and you might want to put it into a cake pan or a bundt pan or a loaf pan.

Fruit Cocktail Cookies

This is a very unusual recipe from out of my past.

1/2 cup buter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 can fruit cocktail, drained (probably a 16 oz can)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs.
Combine the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture.
Stir in the pecans and then drained fruit cocktail.
Put dollops onto a cookie sheet and bake for 8 - 10 minutes.

Spritzferdunkinginyournognwasail or Christmans Spritz

This is a cookie Riley and I came up with, I think I did the recipe and he did the name

2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs

1 Tbl vanilla
1 tsp almond extract

2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sale
4 cups flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs.
Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
Combine the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture.

These, of course, go into the spritz machine, which doesn't always work as well as one would like. Maybe chilling the dough might help, maybe not. Do the best you can.

Bake the cookies until done, but not browned at all. This is about 7 minutes.
Can make about 8 dozen cookies.

Morning Cake

I used to make this all the time when my girls were little. It's funny how one stops making things. This is a picture of me and my young girls on our front steps.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup milk


topping:
2 Tbls butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan.
Cream the butter and sugar and eggs.
Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
Add the dry ingredients alternately to the creamed mixture with the milk.
Spoon into the pan, sprinkle the topping on, and bake for 30 minutes.