Hot Buttered Cider Batter

A blast from the past for me, this recipe is easy and so delicious it's hard to not indulge all the time. When we lived on Adak Island, 1400 miles off the coast of Alaska, our dear sisters at church were all sorts of creative geniuses with food and home decorating ideas. I was introduced to this recipe through them, yet didn't take it with me when we left as I was calorie conscious and a bit silly, really. As we get older though we think back on fond memories and times with good people, so this tasty treat surfaced from that back corner of my little brain. Where does one go to find anything these days but Pinterest, so of course I found my way this recipe there, hurray!
I did a test run on my dear hubby and daughter the other night, which was a hit, so I'm back at blogging and sharing with you. I hope you give it a try, it's a wonderful way to warm your holiday nights, or days.

HOT BUTTERED CIDER BATTER

1 Stick of real butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 t. each cinnamon and nutmeg
2 cups vanilla ice cream, softened

Sweetened whipped cream

In a mixing bowl beat the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the spices and and blend, then add the ice cream and mix. The butter, sugar mixture might stick to the bowl so be sure and scrape it down as you mix in the ice cream. Spoon into a freezer container and keep frozen until ready to use. Add two heaping tablespoons to each hot cup of cider and top with a dollop of whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg. 16-20 serving portions.  Enjoy!

Spicy Mixed Veggie Relish

Look at all that veggie goodness! pickling cukes, carrots, celery, onion red and green bells and roasted peppers all soaking up a delicious syrup of sweetness and spices. 

As usual I didn't follow the recipe, mostly due to lack of all the right veggies, but hey, I had surplus of things that needed to be used so it's all good. I doubt that anyone will be picking the relish apart....lol.

I used brown and white sugar and a combo of cider and white vinegar and added a pinch of cloves to bring the flavor level up and wow, it's good! (I'm practicing showing confidence. How am I doing?)

With all that being said, I will share the recipe I found and my changes. Either way, I think this recipe is a winner for hotdogs, burgers pulled pork sandwiches, tuna or potato salad. Anyone else getting hungry?

Spicy Mixed Veggie Relish

Ingredients

For the Relish:

• 8 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced (about 2 quarts diced) (I used pickling cukes and minced celery, about half and half)
• 2 cups of chopped onion
• 3 green bell peppers, chopped ( didn't have all the peppers I needed so I minced some carrots to make up the difference.)
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 large can of pimento, drained and chopped, optional ( I didn't have this on hand but had some Anaheim peppers, 6 to be exact, that I roasted, peeled and minced)
• 2 tablespoons of kosher salt
• All told you should have about 3 quarts of finely chopped veggies.

For the Syrup:

• 1 quart of white or cider vinegar (I did half and half)
• 4 cups of granulated sugar (I used 1 1/2 c white sugar and 2 1/2 c dark brown sugar)
• 2 teaspoons of finely minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons of mustard seed
• 2 tablespoons of celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, or to taste, optional (I used 1/2 t. )

Instructions

In a large glass or plastic bowl, mix together the cucumbers, onion and peppers; toss to mix well. Add salt, stir, cover and refrigerate; let stand 6 hours or overnight, stirring occasionally. Drain well, but do not rinse.

In a large pot, mix together the vinegar, sugar, garlic, mustard seed, celery seed, and turmeric. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly until sugar is dissolved. Add in the drained vegetables and red pepper flakes, if using, return to a boil, reduce to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer relish into sterilized jars and top off with syrup. Seal, refrigerate, or process for canning. Makes about 6 pints.

To Process for Canning: Sterilize jar and lids. Prepare a hot water bath. Pack hot pickles and liquid into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles. Add lids and rings and process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Becoming Self Reliant - Part 1

 I was fortunate to have a mom who was willing to teach me whatever I wanted to learn. I know it probably annoyed my sister to death as Mom always tried to include her in whatever I was interested in, whether it was crocheting, embroidery, cooking or art, but Joanne was more interested in playing outside and running with her friends. That wasn't my cup of tea so I spent a lot of time with Mom, learning domestic diva skills.
It's been fun to see a resurgence in hand made and hand crafted clothing, jewelry, aprons, and the re-purpose, re-cycle, re-use movement. I grew up with folks that naturally thought that way, but we lost those skills somewhere along the way.

The LDS church recently put out a publication "Daughters in My Kingdom" a veritable jewel of wisdom and knowledge, designed to enhance what we women do best. On page 51 of this publication there is a side note box with tips on becoming self-reliant. In light of the turmoil going on today in the world I was drawn to what is listed in the box. So today I'm going to tackle the first tip which is "Learning to love work and avoid idleness".
Vacation versus being home and working, most would say no contest there, but have you ever noticed and perhaps it's my type A personality, that when on vacation, sitting around gets old quickly. Okay, I might be the only one here....lol. Really though, it's okay to take a break from work, but there is a pervasive thought that being a domestic diva and all that goes with that is boring and just not fun. Having raised a few children myself, or dealt with them in our home, I can attest to how hard it can be sometimes. I think though, we tend to dwell on the negative and not look at the positives, such as hugs and kisses from little ones, having the opportunity to be creative in the kitchen, decorate our homes the way we like, create something uniquely us. I love how so many young moms are getting into sewing and knitting and crocheting, and how many folks are discovering the joy of raising a garden and eating the fruits of their labors. It's refreshing to see all the DYI shows on TV and publications in the stores on raising farm animals, making cheese and bread and so on. There are other ways to take the work we do and make it enjoyable, like having a purpose when we cook, perhaps adding extra ingredients to take an extra casserole to a sick friend, or as in the case of the collar you see above, bring joy to the receiver of a hand made gift. My mother-in-law loves to watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune as well as Who Want's to Be a Millionaire so I sit with her at night and crochet. She loved the yarn I was using to make this, which for me was a test of my skills, so it became a gift for her. I can't just sit and watch TV unless I have a bowl of popcorn or something to occupy my hands, and popcorn 5 nights a week would not be a good idea as much as I love it. Mom lost her husband recently so sitting with her is the least I can do, and since she doesn't see well enough to do most things we understand her need to keep her mind active by the shows she watches.  Learning to love work is not as hard as it seems, and avoiding idleness can help us find what we didn't know we could do, as well as bring joy to someone else.

Foodie Friday- Warming up with Split Pea & Ham Soup

 The other morning we woke up to this, 6 inches of white fluff after a night of blowing snow at almost whiteout conditions. Two days prior the temps had been at 66 degrees, sheesh! I just happened to bring a bag of split peas to my mother-in-laws', already knowing that it would cool down for a day or two, so I was able to satisfy my hankering for split pea and ham soup. We had an over abundance of ham left over from the funeral, and gave away as much as possible, fed the troops with more, and still had a bit to use up. I waited a week as I didn't want us to suffer from ham overload, we already have enough hams in our family.

Here's a recipe I created from browsing other recipes and reaching into my memory bank of watching my mom and stepmom, both excellent cooks. I had to make a substitution or two as my mother-in-law doesn't keep much in the way of herbs and spices around. It's easy and quick to get started. I must say, this came out sooooo yummy and is the perfect comfort food on a cold and stormy day. Serve with crusty french bread, fresh fruit and you have a meal to live for!

SPLIT PEA & HAM SOUP

2 cups dried split peas, sorted and rinsed

1 ham bone, if available

2 cups diced ham - use good quality ham, not the cheap stuff

1 medium onion, diced

2 large peeled and coin sliced carrots, quartering the larger coins

3 stalks of celery, diced

2-3 tablespoons of EVOO or extra virgin olive oil

1 quart chicken stock + 1 quart water

1 teaspoon each thyme, tarragon or mint, lemon pepper

1 bay leaf

2 dashes cayenne pepper  and a dash of seasoning salt if needed 

In a large soup pot over medium heat add olive oil and veggies, cook until tender. Add ham and bone and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to a simmer and let soup bubble gently until the peas break down, about an hour or so. The soup should be somewhat thick when stirred, but not gloppy, yes that's a word. :-) Taste to see if you need any seasonings, and serve with warm bread and fresh fruit. Serves 6-8. Enjoy!

Chili Green Beans

You read right, Chili Green Beans is a wonderful concoction Mom came up with when we had an over abundance of green beans one year. I don't often have fresh green beans so I haven't made this much over the years, but we had a few in our Oregon garden and bought some from our favorite produce stand on the way back to Utah last week. Kent was a bit leery of the whole idea, we were too when Mom first served them to us, but he ate 4 bowls of it and wanted more. I loved it when Mom made it, but have had to come up with my own version as we don't have her recipes. So here's my version. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Chili Green Beans

1 lb. burger
2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped celery
1 bell pepper, chopped
4 c. fresh green beans, cut into bite size pieces
2 t. each seasoning salt and cumin powder
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. each italian seasoning and dried basil
3 T. mild chili powder
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1 pint canned tomatoes
1 pint tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 c. water
1 chopped jalepeno, if desired

Brown burger and then add chopped onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic, saute until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover and bring to bubbling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn down to a simmer and let cook until green beans are done. Serve with corn bread.

Conversations & Killer Ribs

Have you ever noticed how conversations are like a creative process unplanned? You start off with one thought that, depending on the shape the initial sentence takes, can change the whole dimension of the topic. The other morning we were talking about the dutch oven Killer Ribs my husband was going to fix for dinner that night. Because it's been so cold lately he decided to cook them indoors, in the oven. He was unsure about how well they would cook outdoors. He commented on the idea that it must have been tough for pioneers to cook outdoors at times and then moved on to seasonings, that for the pioneers probably consisted of salt and perhaps pepper, where as we use such spicy flavorings as Sriracha and most locals couldn't handle the spicy heat we like in our food which evolved into gratitude that we can choose what we eat every day, that also made us grateful for his work, and what a blessing it has been for us to live in Wendover, even though neither one of us really like it here, but hey there are nice people here, inspite of their aloofness at times, and we are lucky to be able to pay for our home in Oregon because of our situation here, and God sure has blessed us! All that from where he was going to cook the Killer Ribs.


KILLER RIBS-- DUTCH OVEN

1 bottle (14 ounces) ketchup
1/2 cup apricot or peach preserves
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Sriracha sauce
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 CHOPPED ONIONs
2 CHOPPED RED BELL PEPPERs
4+ LBS OF PORK RIBS, COUNTRY STYLE
2 T. CORN STARCH

KEEP LIQUID TO A MINIMUM

MARINATE FIRST -- THEN PLACE EVERYTHING IN DUTCH OVEN. COOK TWO HOURS

In a conventional oven, 1 1/2 hours at 375 degrees. serves 6 - 8

Stuffed Pork Chops with Creamy Sage Gravy

I have to start this by saying how pleased I am with my husband! The other day we found out our neighbor upstairs had the back window smashed out of his car. This is the second time he has had his car vandalized. We've had a few problems with this man, and he hasn't been the nicest person to anyone here in town. He likes to bag on our religion when he's at work and makes it uncomfortable for anyone to be in the teachers lounge because of his anti-Mormon stance. In spite of all his orneriness my darling husband went to him and offered $50 towards a reward to find out who did this. I'm proud of my husband for being able to look beyond the sour demeanor this person has, and offer to help.
As an aside , we probably already know who did this, as the teacher had a run in with a certain student who has become a punk. It's sad because this young man is smarter than most of the adults around him, and could really make something of himself if he had a good male role model in his life. Don't know where the dad is, but he's not in the picture, and there's no other men in his family circle to pick up the ball and run with it.
On a happier note, I was watching Sandra Lee yesterday and she had a recipe for stuffed chicken thighs. I happened to have some very nice thick pork chops out ready to prep for dinner so I decided to stuff them. As I always do I added a couple of things to my recipe and the pork chops turned out great! My husband was so happy with dinner that the recipe will definitely go in the must have again file. This recipe is for two, but you could double or triple it for your family's needs.

Stuffed Pork Chops with Creamy Sage Gravy Serves 2

2 inch thick lean pork chops
1/3 c. each minced apple, onion and celery
I clove garlic, minced
1 cup dried bread cubes, coarsely chopped
1/4 t. seasoning salt
1 sprig of Rosemary, stripped of half it's leaves
parsley
3-4 leaves fresh sage or 1/2 to 1 t. dried if not available
2 +2+2-3T. olive oil or bacon grease
splash of juice or water.
1 1/2 - 2 cups milk
In a frying pan saute onions and celery for 5 minutes in fat of your choice. Add apples and saute 5 minutes more. Add herbs and seasoning salt and a dash or two of black pepper. Toss in your bread cubes and add a splash of juice or water to moisten slightly. Stir.
Butterfly cut your pork chops so that it creates two flat pieces still attached on one edge. Spoon in as much stuffing as you can on one side, fold over other side and toothpick in place. You may have a bit left over. Save that.
Add 2 T. olive oil to your pan, and turn up to medium. After oil gets hot add your chops. Cook for about 10 minutes on each side, until they are golden. Remove and place on a plate. Put in the oven and turn to 225 degrees to keep warm.
Add 3 T. fat to your frying pan and 2-3 T. flour, to make a thick mixture. Brown lightly, stirring occasionally. Add a chicken bullion cube and sage. Then add milk 1/2 a cup at a time stirring and letting thicken. Only add as much milk as will make a nice creamy gravy. Season with a dash of seasoning salt and pepper if needed.

Minted Pear Lime & Apple Preserves

Minted Pear Lime & Apple Preserves

1 cup mint leaves, packed
3/4 c. water
4 cups unpeeled, grated bartlett pears
2 cups grated apple, any variety
zest of 2 limes
1/3 cup lime juice
7 1/2 cups sugar
1 box pectin
green food color

In a small sauce pan combine water and mint leaves. Bring to a boil, stir and take off burner. Let sit covered while you grate the pears and apples as well as zesting the limes. Strain mint water, squeezing the leaves to get all the juice. In a large pot combine the fruit, juices, lime zest and pectin. Make sure the pectin is dissolved before continuing. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil for 2 minutes. Add sugar, stir in and bring back to a boil over medium heat. Stirring frequently, boil for 4 minutes. Take off burner, stir in a couple of drops of green food color if desired and pour into sterilized jars. Yield 11 cups