Clove Cookies

Several visitors commented on the clove cookies, so let's take a look at the recipe!  Gail says it's an easy one . . .
 
1 stick melted butter
1 cup sugar
Mix together well and add
1 tsp vanilla
Mix & beat in 1 egg

In separate bowl, mix
1 cup flour
1 tsp ground cloves

Combine two bowls.  Drop by level teaspoon onto lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake 350 about 8 minutes or until edges start turning golden.  Cool on pan only 30 sec, then remove.
Makes about 4 dozen.

This week is our last week of the 2014 season and Saturday is Closing House, our biggest sale of the year and lots of so-long-til-spring hugs!  Be sure to pick up cloves from The Farm pantry :) 

Let It Snow!

Is this not the cutest little snowman to ever visit The Farm?!?  
Here he's staked out over a Swiss  & Green Onion cheese spread that's been known to bring rave reviews from family, co-workers, and even a three-year-old grandson.

Combine 3 cups (12 ounces) finely shredded Swiss cheese with  1/4 c chopped green onions, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp white or cayenne   pepper.  Mix in just enough mayonnaise to hold it all together--about 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Serve with your favorite cracker.   The grandson's favorite is Multi-Grain Club Crackers :)  

Christmas Open House 2012

The Cinnamon Cranberry Punch was a hit.  So were Shannon's cookies and muffins--especially the red velvet!

Cinnamon Cranberry Punch

Steep 4 regular tea bags in 1 quart of water for five minutes.  Add 2 cups sugar and 1 cup red hots.  STIR!

Add another quart of water, two 64 oz bottles of cranberry juice, and 2 cups of pineapple/orange juice.

Serve cold for punch.  Or serve warm with a cinnamon stick.  And if you share with your friends, they'll ask you for the recipe :)

More Pie Please

"Perfect Peach Pie" or "Perfect Strawberry Pie"

Crust:

1 1/2 C flour

2 1/2 T sugar   

1/2 t salt

2 T milk

1/2 C oil

Mix minimally & press into pie plate with large spoon (fingers work too).  Bake @ 325 til golden.   Easy!

Filling:

1 C sugar

1 C water

3 1/2 T corn starch

dash salt

Cook & stir til clear (3-5 min).  Add 3 T dry peach jello.  Cool a bit.

Layer sliced peaches (4-6) & filling.  Cool in fridge.

Serve w/whipped topping.

Also great as chocolate or banana cream, etc.

This crust is so good, you might decide you never ever  have to roll out a pie crust or buy a pie crust from the grocery again!  

Fruit Pie

How long has it been since you're had real, home-made strawberry pie?  Too Long??  Yeah, here too.

This was made with a combination of an old old recipe from a church cookbook--still one of the best places we know to find a tried-and-true recipe--along with a new crust  & topping recipe from Cook's Illustrated.  CI always has gorgeous recipes that tell you exactly why you should follow the directions they give.   But try as they might, some of us are going to have our way with the recipe and make it our own way :)

Crust:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 Tblsp sugar
1/4 teasp salt
8 Tblesp unsalted butter  (confession:  the above crust was made with salted butter, so the added salt was omitted)
2 ounces cream cheese
Coat a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray.
Beat butter and cream cheese in a large bowl about 2 minutes.  Add flour and combine on medium-low speed until mixture resembles course cornmeal, about 20 seconds.Scrape down sides of bowl and increase mixer speed to medium high and beat til dough begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds.
Save about 3 Tbls of the dough for the rim of the crust. Roll out  into a long thin rope and place it around the rim of  crust, pinching to make a fluted edge.   (A good idea, which turned into a bit of a mess, so this step was also omitted.) Press dough evenly over bottom of pie plate towards sides, using heel of your hand, working up the sides to evenly distribute.  If you use the reserve-rope method, good for you!  If not, pinch around the edge to make a little flute for the edge.  Cover with plastic wrap and let chill for one hour.
Heat oven to 325 degrees and pierce bottom of crust several times with a fork.  Bake til golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.  Cool. 

Strawberry Filling
1 cup mashed strawberries
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup cold water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
red food coloring
1 1/2 qt fresh strawberries. hulled and sliced
Blend the mashed strawberries with sugar and cornstarch.  Add water and cook until desired thickness.  Add lemon juice and a few drops food coloring; cool.  If too thick, add a little water.  Put fresh berries in the pie shell and pour mixture over top.   Refrigerate til ready to serve.

Topping:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Tblsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Wtih mixer running, add cream and whip until stiff peaks form.

And there you have a really really good strawberry pie.  And even though local strawberry season is over, we're heading into blueberry season and how long has it been since you've had real, home-made blueberry pie?  :)

Lunch!

Kynda, Barb, Gail, Cheryl

What are you doing to make it through these cold dreaming-of-spring January days?   We thought maybe lunch at Panera would be a good way to touch base during this off-season.     We missed Sue and hope she's feeling better!


Gail showed up bearing gifts--an embroidered pillow, an armillary sundial for the garden, and a box of melt-in-your-mouth caramels with the recipe attached.

We know you'll want to see the recipe for these beautiful caramels, so here it is:

Gail's Caramels

1 cup butter
1 lb. (2 1/4 cup) brown sugar
dash salt
1 cup light corn syrup
1 15 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 candy thermometer!

Prepare the pan first.  Line a 7 x 12 glass plan with foil and then butter it.

Melt butter in heavy pan.  Add sugar and salt.  Stir in corn syrup.  Add milk, sitrring constantly.  Cook and stir over medium heat to firm ball stage (245 degrees) 12-15 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour hot caramel in the foil-lined pan and cool completely (overnight in the fridge).

Using a thin, sharp knife, cut into 15 x 5 rows.  These will fit nicely in 4" x 4" pieces of wax paper.  Twist ends.

These are delicious!  And they make such a sweet gift for your friends when you go to lunch :)

How To Make Spiced Apple Cider

If you've ever been to a Fall Open House at The Farm, you've probably tasted our tried-and-true cider recipe.  Lots of people have asked for it, and we're happy to share it below.  But if you want a convenient, everything-you-need  kit, we've got those made up for you!  How easy could that be?   Just add apple juice and simmer on the stove. 

If you want to make your own, here's what you need to do:
Combine in  a large stockpot:
2 tsp. whole cloves and 2 tsp. whole allspice (in a tea ball or simmer bag)
1/3 cup brown sugar
One gallon of apple juice or cider (no difference according to our taste tests)
2 or 3 cinnamon sticks and 2 or 3 orange slices
Simmer together for a half hour.  Yum. . . .and your house is gonna smell great too!

Cake!

  Here's an easy-to-make yummy chocolate cake recipe that's one of our favorites.   Try it next time your friends are coming over.  Or maybe you don't even need a special reason--just make it a cake day!

Cheryl's One Bowl Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour,  2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa

2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt

Combine these dry ingredients and stir in:

1 cup oil,  1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk + 1 Tbls vinegar)

2 eggs, 1 cup hot water

Batter will be rather thin.  Pour into a greased  9 x 13 pan and bake 350 degrees for  35-38 minutes.  Let cool and frost with:

Gail's Chocolate Mocha Frosting

1 stick butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa, 1/4 cup brewed liquid coffee

dash of salt

Beat til light & fluffy.  Add more sugar or coffee as  needed for consistency.

Corned Beef from Meg Higgins

When we got together at Christmas, Meg Higgins brought the most beautiful--and delicious--corned beef ever.  So in honor of St. Pat's Day this week, here's her recipe-- originally published in Country Living Magazine 25 years ago. 

Btw, have you ever wondered why they call it "corned" beef?  It has something to do with the way they used to brine the beef with "corns" of salt.   You really can find most everything on google now!  Okay, here it is:

1 corned beef brisket (about five pounds, which will serve 8-10)
2 sweet onions
6 whole gloves  oops, make that 6 whole cloves
6 pepper corns
2 lg. bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
Place the following in a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours til very tender.

Glaze:
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1T dijon mustard

Allow meat to cool a little in juice, then move to a shallow pan.  (Save juice to cook cabbage or potatoes later.)  Cover meat with another shallow pan and weigh down with cookbooks or something heavy overnight in fridge.  This ensures neat slices.  About an hour before serving, slice meat as thin as possible and place in rows in shallow pan.  Spread with glaze and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, til glaze is bubbling.  Serve traditionally with mashed potatoes, cabbage, and carrots.   So good!

And if your spice rack needs replenishing these days, check out The Farm kitchen. . .  You'll find the ones called for above, as well as a wide variety of other spices that will wake up all your favorite recipes:-)

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

The Menu

Darrell Watson has been organizing an annual bonfire for his friends at Parkway and Lakeside Churches of Christ for the last TEN years!   Wow!  It was great to welcome them back again this year.

Darrell shared his recipe for spiced apple cider with us--

1/2 gallon of apple juice and 1/2 gallon of apple cider

1/2 c brown sugar

1 sliced orange and 1 sliced lemon

A scoop each of whole allspice, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and cloves  (He gets all his spices from The Farm's pantry, of course!) 

Everything went into an enamel pitcher that was placed in the bonfire to steep. The smell was heavenly!

Also on the menu--hot dogs with chili (which was also simmering away in the fire) and of course, s'mores!

From The Kitchen

One of The Farm's favorites soups, perfect for a chilly fall day!

Taco Soup by Liz's Friend

--1 pound ground beef, browned

--1 can black beans, including liquid

--1 can corn, drained

--1 can diced tomatoes

--1 pkg taco seasoning (dry mix)

--1 pkg hidden valley ranch dip (dry mix)

--3 cans water

Mix all together and heat throughly.  Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheese and taco chips (we like scoopers the best).