Homemade Lemon Shake-ups

There are things that just shout, "Summer!"  Among those shouters are sultry days, lightning bugs at night and the county fair.  One of my all-time favorite county fair memories is standing in line among many friends and other fair-goers at the Lemon Shake-up booth.

Ah, the lemon shake-up!  That refreshing concoction is the perfect summertime elixir.

It's satisfying in many ways to buy your "made fresh-while-you-wait" shake-up at the fair (chatting with friends in line and supporting your local 4H are 2 ways I just thought of).  I've found another delightful way to enjoy this quintessentially summer refreshment:  homemade .... in my kitchen (added bonus:  with the "help" of my grandchildren).

Here's how I do it....

For one lemon shake-up (about a 16 oz serving)

A quartered 1/2 of a lemon (halve the lemon across its middle ~  then quarter the half)
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups crushed ice (I'm not precise here... using my cupped hands as a giant scoop - twice)
1 cup water

I placed the 4 quarters (of the half) of the lemon in a quart-sized wide-mouth canning jar.  With a wooden crushing thing that had once belonged to my late mother-in-law (it's in the photo above), I mashed the lemon pieces to release the juice, oil and pulp.  I then added the sugar, ice and water, screwed lid on jar and proceeded to shake. shake. shake.  I poured it all ~ rind, seeds, some undissolved sugar and all the rest of the bright, tart, sweet amazing goodness ~ into a tall glass.  I sipped to assess and then passed the wonderful summertime potion to all the other little eager lips waiting for a taste.... and then started the next lemon shake-up.

++++I even taught them to exhale a satisfied "aaaaaah"  after each swallow.  I supposed I'll have to "unteach" that someday.++++ 

Creamy Cucumber Salad

I'm so sorry I've been away so long.  Ever since we've become empty-nesters,  I've lost some of my zest for cooking.  {Cue the sad music} ...Here are a few reasons why -- sniff sniff --It's just the 2 of us now, we eat out with (& without) friends so often, there's no one to help with clean-up  (yeah, well Cowboy doesn't like to help).  I decided just THIS WEEK that I'm going to change my ways.   What my bossy, overbearing conscience said to my soft and pining heart was, "Hey!  So you're not cooking for 5 people!  So what?!  You don't know how to divide by 2 and make supper for you and your Cowboy?"   The bossy conscience is right.  {you can cut the sad music now}.

Introducing a recipe for 2....



When I was growing up, my grandmother would make a simple and delightful cucumber salad with thinly sliced cucumbers & onions, sugar, vinegar, some water....and I remember...ice cubes (to chill it quickly, suppose).  My Cowboy was not a big fan...so I changed it up a bit.  Here is the FOR TWO version of my...

 Creamy Cucumber Salad

Ingredients -

Dressing
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper


1 long cucumber (slender is better)
1/2 of small onion (cut in half between stem end and root end)

In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, sugar, vinegar, dill, celery seed, salt & pepper.  Peel and thinly slice the cucumber.  Thinly slice the half of the small onion and separate into rings.  Add the cucumber and onions to the sour cream dressing.  Refrigerate a couple hours so the cukes can absorb the dressing.  Sometimes we can't wait that long - eating it right away is still good.  Ice cubes would not be a good idea.

We're finishing up the 2nd cutting of hay today.  That usually happens at the beginning of July around here.  For some farmers in the area this is their 1st cutting.  The rain has been brutal for Indiana and the whole Midwest.  Rain is in the forecast for this evening and the next few days.  Pray for everything to go smoothly- no injuries or breakdowns. 

I'm glad to be back on my blog.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

The dawn's rosy hues lasted only moments followed by light sprinkles that transformed themselves into stinging sleet.  No matter!!  I enjoy the gray days perhaps more than I do the sunny.  The coziness of my kitchen beckons and I am happily obliged to heed its call.  Pumpkin whoopie pies are baking and the house is filled with the spiced perfume of Autumn.....welcome, November, you season of thankfulness!! 

Does your heart not swell with the joyous memories of Thanksgivings past?

My thankful heart is craving Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.....

Note their sweet, rustic charm...I want them to look homemade!!

Cookie ingredients--

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar
2 egg, room temperature
2 cup pumpkin puree
4 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp kosher salt

Filling ingredients--

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions--

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and mix well.  Add pumpkin, mix well.  Sift together dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture until completely combined.  Using a small cookie scoop, drop cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 11-13 minutes or until tops of cookies spring back when lightly touched.  Remove to cooling racks.

For the filling, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth, light and fluffy, being sure to scrape the down the sides of bowl occasionally.  Gradually add the confectioners sugar, beating until smooth.  Add vanilla.  Increase the mixer speed and beat until filling is light, fluffy and spreadable.

To assemble the cookies-- spread a heaping spoonful of frosting onto the flat side of one cooled cookie and top with the flat side of a second cookie, making a sandwich.

 Makes 3 dozen cookie sandwiches.

Note:  there may be leftover filling....scoop some up with an index finger and wipe it onto your tongue!! ... or store the remaining filling in an air tight container and refrigerate for a week or so.

Right now I'm enjoying a cookie with a steaming mug of spiced hot tea....

 I'm hopeful for a snowy winter and thankful for a cozy kitchen.

Quest for the Perfect Biscuit - Farm Girl Style

Old-fashioned, time-tested recipes with their humble ingredients and prosaic instructions fascinate the folksy side of my personality.  When autumn breezes begin to blow, my culinary interests retreat inside to the coziness of my farm kitchen and the nurture of comfort food.  The foods most comforting to my soul come steaming-hot from my oven and involve flour and butter and sugar (and unapologetically add volume to my waist and other body parts).

I have a baking passion and lately I've been perfecting my biscuit recipe....



2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons cold lard, cut into small cubes (yes, you read it right>>lard!!)
4 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
3/4     cup of cold buttermilk


Preheat oven to 400 F.  Spray a 9in round baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. 





Combine dry  ingredients with a wire whisk.

Cut in lard and butter with a pastry cutter until mix looks like coarse crumbs....don't get too excited here, it's better to undermix at this point.  You will still see a few pieces of butter and lard--don't
worry about it. 





Pour buttermilk in all at once and mix in quickly and lightly with a fork just until the dry ingredients are all pretty much incorporated...again, don't overmix, you will still see some unincorporated flour...it's ok.




Gently gather dough into a soft ball and transfer to a well-floured surface.  With floured hands, gently pat the dough down to about an inch thick. 

Knead the dough as follows:  fold in half and gently pat out 10 times, sprinkling a little flour as needed- this produces a flaky texture. 


 

 

After the 10th knead, pat out the dough into an inch thick circle (3/4 inch to an inch, whatever) and cut the biscuits out with a 3in biscuit cutter.

Place in the prepared baking dish so that the biscuits touch each other.  Bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until tops are golden brown.  Remove from oven and brush the tops with melted butter.

Yield:  about 8, give or take

 

 

 

 

Sugar -n- Spice Muffins

Last night while I was multi-tasking.... http://hoosierfarmersdaughter.blogspot.com/2012/09/i-may-be-having-problem.html.

I came up with this post: 

Muffins:  I have a huge collection of muffin recipes.  Years ago I made 5 dozen muffins nearly every Sunday to share at church.  Here is one of my favorites.

Sugar -n- Spice Muffins

Sugar n Spice muffins
(a partial batch .... we ate some)
I got the cute gingham paper cups from King Arthur Flour
 

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil

Topping:
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400.  Place paper cups into muffin pan.  In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.  In another bowl combine egg, milk and oil, stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Spoon batter into muffin paper cups filling each about 2/3 full.  Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over the muffin batter.  Bake 15-18 minutes, or until muffins test done.  Yield:  1 dozen

Farm Girl's Iron Skillet Pizza

Pizza....homemade....from scratch.....in an iron skillet

This inspiring concept came from an episode of Martha Stewart.  I love iron skillets...I have lots of 'em, I use them almost exclusively in my cooking.  The one above was my grandmother's.  She used it for 70+ years.  Here's my version of the one from Martha's show:

Ingredients

                     6 ounces sweet Italian sausage
      1/2  of a small onion, finely chopped 
      1/2 of a small green pepper, finely chopped
          tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
         3/4 pound pizza dough (recipe below)
         1/4 cup tomato sauce
         2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
         Coarse salt
       6 thin slices pepperoni4
          4 ounces shredded mozzarella         

Directions

1.     Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Remove sausage from casings. Break into bite-size pieces. Saute over high heat until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.  Set aside.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and saute the onion and green pepper about 3 minutes.  Set these aside, too.

2.     Brush a 9 or 10" cast-iron skillet with 1 teaspoon oil. Press dough flat in the skillet, spreading to edge.

3.     Combine tomato sauce, garlic, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread over dough.

4.     Cook on the stove top over medium-high heat until bottom is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to oven; bake 3 minutes. Scatter sausage, onion and green pepper and pepperoni slices on top; continue baking until edge of crust is golden brown, about 8 minutes. As soon as it comes out of the oven, sprinkle the mozzarella over the top.

     Pizza Dough (this recipe makes enough for 2 pizzas)

    1 envelope of active dry yeast

    1 cup of water, 110 degrees F

    1-1/2 teaspoon sugar

    2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups flour

    2 Tablespoons olive oil

    1 teaspoon salt

     Dissolve yeast and sugar in water, let proof 10 minutes.  In a large bowl, combine  2-1/4 cups flour, olive oil, yeast mixture and salt.  Dough will be pretty wet.  Turn out onto a well floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary.  Coat the surface of the dough ball with butter (oh! Butter!!)  and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm, draftless spot.  Divide the risen dough in half.  Use one half to make your pizza.  Wrap the other half in plastic wrap, label and freeze for later.

    

Apple Pie Tarts

Rain finally fell on our pastures and hayfields.  The soil and our hearts sighed relief!  The past 2 days have been chilly though, by recent standards...mid 70s!!  low 80s!!  Brrrr.  A touch of fall is in the air (more like a slight hint of a dream of fall).  The kitchen beckons!

Today's offering.... wait, let's back up a few months....sorry, please indulge me.  For my birthday (on the first day of Spring) my daughters bought me these tiny tart molds:

How could they possibly have known that I wanted these cute things?
(It could have been the email I sent them with a link to a website selling them.....that's just one scenario).


Oh, and one more thing......I have been romantically involved with bite-sized desserts (you may recall that I've already mentioned that)....


So....ta da.... the newest addition to my wonderful one-bites


Apple Pie Tarts

This was the first attempt...and was a hit!  I served them to some friends who are to be married in a couple months.  The groom-to-be said, "A whole tray of these would make a perfect wedding gift."  Hmmmmm...that's easy enough.

I'm quite proud of them!  My recipe made 19 (I was shooting for 24...next time, I'll be more careful to divide the dough more evenly).











Apple Pie Tarts

Streusel topping
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
tiny pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into little cubes

Pie dough for a 9 inch pie

1 large apple (your favorite), about 1 cup
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 egg
1 cup half&half
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon


In a small bowl combine the 5 dry struesel ingredients.  Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Divide pie dough into 24 equal-sized balls and press each ball into the bottom and up the sides of 24  2-1/4in fluted tart molds making sure the sides are completely filled with dough.  Place the filled tart molds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Set aside.

Peel, core and dice the apple (about a medium dice).  In a skillet, melt the butter on medium heat and add the brown sugar, stirring till sugar is dissolved.  Add the apple dices and cook till they're tender, about 6 minutes.  Put about a heaping teaspoon of apple into each tart shell.

In a small bowl beat the egg and add the half&half and vanilla.  To this mixture add the sugar, flour and cinnamon, blending well.  Pour this over the apples, filling each tart shell.  Bake for 20 minutes then top each tart with streusel topping and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until the tops puff up and are golden brown.