My First and Second Shoofly Pies

 Word of warning: if you don't like molasses, just skip this post.  

The Shoofly Pie is a Molasses Pie. No one warns you of this tasty fact.

"likely that the pie is named after a famed 19th century circus animal called Shoofly the Boxing Mule"

  

First Pie: I picked Taste of Home's recipe for a "wet bottom" Shoofly Pie (doesn't that sound great?!)...for no particular reason...they just made it sound fun...

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/shoofly-pie/

This version (although I may have overcooked it) was not exactly wet bottomed....it was reminiscent a moist molasses muffin baked in a pie shell (thanks, Aldi!)...I enjoyed it with a cup of coffee.

 

 

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Second Pie: We tried the recipe in "The Joy of Cooking"... As it sat on your plate, it began to weep....not uncontrollably,  as if it had a sad past and was trying to be brave and suffer in silence...

 

 

In general, I would say it was the better pie, although I would make either one depending on the occasion.  Right after I made this recipe, I found a list online of recipe variations/tweaking like adding ginger & spice to make it more a Gingerbread in a pie crust!  Sadly, while I copied notes, I can't find where I saved them now...or maybe I accidentally deleted the screenshot.....hmmm...

And this picture was just fun...so why not include it?! =)

Chicken & Corn Waffles (recipe too)

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/crunchy-cornmeal-waffles-recipe 


Cornbread v. Corn Chips.  Why not have Crunchy Corn Waffles???  These babies were just begging for a bowl of chili or soup!

Crunchy Cornmeal Waffles Recipe by King Arthur Flour  (HERE!)

Changes I made:

~ oil instead of butter

~2/3-1/3 parts Yogurt to Milk in place of the Buttermilk

~Organic Blue Corn Masa flour from Costco.com 

~And I did not use the spices the recipe called for, because the chicken was quite flavorful, so I was afraid the meal would have too many flavors going on, and/or clash with each other!

NOTE....these Belgian Waffles cook 6 or more minutes- until no more steam comes off.

One other thought: Leftovers weren't so great- too dry. We popped them into the toaster, but still not so good.  I think that next time I'd try to not have leftovers, OR I'd toast the leftovers and break them up for a cold breakfast cereal!  =)

 

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 For the Chicken:

After salt brining around 2# of Buffalo Wings (that's a cut),

pour off brine,

toss 2-3T Adrienne's Rub (or your favorite blend)

1cup water in pot

place the wings directly on the trivet in instant pot

high pressure 8-10 minutes, natural release 8-10 minutes

Have ready: a parchment paper covered sheet pan and the oven on high broil

(If you are making Crunchy Cornmeal Waffles with this dinner, start Waffles after pot comes to presser or during the release time....Belgian Waffles cook 6 or more minutes- until no more steam)

With tongs, carefully lift wings into bowl,

pour over about 1c butter sauce, carefully toss,

and place in a single layer, dividing out any remaining sauce if you like.

Broil, turn, broil.

EAT! (remember to dip your waffles in the butter/spice drippings!)

Our Butter Sauce:

about 1/2c butter, melted/browned is good

1/4ish cup ketchup

big squeeze mustard

2ish Tablespoons Adrienne's Rub

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 Happy Eating!

~Adrienne

Whatever Wednesday: Homemade Pickles

Pickles...what recipe? OH, That one- the one with the note?

Silly me!

I can't wait!

This year we used homegrown organic Munchers.

We found that wrapping them well in plastic wrap while they were still crisp from the plant before storing them in the fridge prolonged their shelf life dramatically, and so made it possible for us to save up enough to make pickles: 2 recipes, 3 times/jars.

(last year's pickle post: HERE)

I'm sharing from David Lebovitz: Cucumber Mint Cooler

For possibly the first time ever a blog post arrived in our in-box, we made the recipe, and I'm sharing it here with you, all on the very same day~ Thank you David Lebovitz! Get the Cucumber Mint Cooler Story& Recipe HERE!

What we did, used, thought about the Cucumber Mint Cooler:

Cucumber: 10 oz (3 homegrown organic Munchers)*

Fresh Mint Leaves: Chocolate Mint

Sugar: Costco Organic Sugar

Limes: Zest from 1 med Organic Orange from Azure & 2 ½ oz Organic Lime Juice (home-squeezed) Because: we had no limes- only fresh oranges and previously squeezed lime juice in the freezer.

Pinch of salt: I used the 'pinch' spoon- yes, I really did! =)

Serving- we tried 2 ways (we forgot the ice):

1. 3 oz each “base” & water- good, but a bit harsh.

2. 3 oz each “base” & water, and 1 oz Tequila- it was better, the alcohol smoothed it a bit.
   

Note: Quite minty- it's rather like drinking a roll of Mentos, lol!

*We liked the citrus/mint/sugar balance, but felt it could use more cucumber- another time, we'd add a 4^th or 5^th =)

Another note: We think that it would be better as a dinner-party-drink...(with or without alcohol, depending on the guest list) possibly even turned into a FROZEN DRINK, served in smaller servings, and maybe up the alcohol ratio.

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 Happy Eating!

~Adrienne

Food on Friday: Nut Brittle (Recipe, too!)

Mmm~

 I LOVE the look of boiling sugar~ delicate and promising!

This recipe came from Deb over at SmittenKitchen, go get it: HERE!

Changes made:   Brown Sugar,  and 3/4 cup EACH chopped almonds, broken pecans and cashews. (that was too many) No pretzels, because we did not have any.  Mom ground Celtic Salt over the chocolate before we popped it in the freezer.
Note: Deb's right: have all your ducks in a row before, because it goes quickly.
Our thermometer is not accurate, and on our stove it took almost 20 minutes of cooking, and testing by dropping bits into the cold water to get to the proper stage.

Our home is too humid right now, we have to store this candy in the freezer.   =)
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Hmmm, Well....mine did not turn out quite right, we could not "stretch" it, so we just patted it out.

Aldi Dark chips...we had to pop the pan under the broiler to make the chips melt!

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 Happy Eating!

~Adrienne

Apple Hand Pies

I just found these pictures, I completely forgot to share them with you! Oops....

 

Jonathan came over in December 2017, and we tried out my Tupperware hand-pie makers. =)   We made the pie crust & apple filling ahead of time, and then we whipped these treats out after dinner!  It was a fun evening.  =)

Frozen Peach Sangria/Daiquiri (Recipes too!)

I've shared 2 Strawberry Daiquiris with my Mom that Robert X bought us after long, hot, stressful political activities like "Our State Convention", and I enjoyed them very much.

After so many years of not much political involvement, and not even seeing Bob, I've given up on having another Strawberry Daiquiri...that said, when you have a peach tree given to your family by friends, you find yourself looking around each year for something new to make with them. 2020 brought us the Frozen Peach Sangria/Daiquiri!   

After looking at the following 2 recipes, we forged our own path...very classic of us, lol!

What we did (3 servings):

Blend:

4ish cups fresh Beeman Peaches (skins left on)

3 T. sugar and/or agave syrup 
1/2 cup Orange Juice

Add and blend:

1/4 – 1/3 cup Rum

2- 2 ½ cup Ice

Quite Peachy.  Rather Good. 😋

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1. White Peach Sangria -Bobby Flay: (RECIPE HERE) 

2. Frozen Peach Daiquiris -The Woks of Life: (RECIPE HERE)  

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 Happy Eating!

~Adrienne

Note:  Another time we made
Frozen Peach Sangria (2-4 slushy like servings)

Blend:
12 oz frozen Peaches
1 cup Orange Juice
4-6? T. Sugar/Agave 

 Add and blend:
8 oz Apple Wine
2 cups Ice

Orange Gummy candy: AKA "Turkish Delights" (recipe, too)

I tried making Orange Gummy candy for the first time yesterday...I used the Ideal Candy cookbook...I know they are not perfect, and I would want to tweak the recipe if I made it again. 

I really like the ease of this recipe, and the ingredients: no corn or coloring!  

P.S. per Jonathan's suggestion, I did VERY carefully cover a few of these candies in Aldi dark chocolate, and then tossed them in the freezer to speed up the firming, and stop the gelatin melting...and forgot them. They froze. But, the chew of the frozen candy was nice!  Yes, chocolate covered was quite nice, thanks for the suggestion, Jonathan!

 CHANGES we made: Mom suggested I add 1/2 tea. Orange Flavoring- I'm glad I did! Also, instead of buttering a pan, we sprayed coconut oil on wax paper lined pan. And we cooled it in the fridge.  A healthy quantity of powdered sugar on top  and then a pile underneath made cutting a breeze.

 WISHED I had: Used OJ concentrate instead of just juice- I think that the flavor would have been better. And I would use 1 tea. OF next time!

And I laughed all while I cut the candy...it was pretty funny! 

 As I was making them, I kept thinking 1) Jonathan B should be here, I can't believe I'm doing this without him- he would think this was fun! and 2) I can see myself trying to make my own gummy snake someday!

~Happy eating!

Adrienne

Food on Friday: Frozen Biscuits

I thought that I'd share our families #1 reason for buying cream from our local dairy is: making our own frozen biscuits!
 (we "knead" & pat them out in wax paper, so there's less mess/easier clean up, and cut them in squares- so no odd shapes to deal with)

 OH, you can freeze them in a single layer or stacked with wax paper in between! 

     The baking time is usually the same frozen or not: 10-11 minutes! 

~Happy eating!

Adrienne

Mom made candy~ Mocha Pecans (recipe too)

She cooked it "too long", and forgot the vanilla, but it is good anyway!  😋😋  It took about an hour. (oh, and she left out the spice, because we just could not imagine them in it, lol!)

(NOTE: if you want to salt the top, put a little less IN the candy)

Almond Flour Pumpkin Pancakes (recipe too)

We started with Elana's Paleo Pumpkin Bread recipe, and tweaked it.  Recipe here: https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-pumpkin-bread/ 

Changes Mom & I made:

-Substituted oil in place of one of the eggs

-Used 2T. Honey & 1T. Maple Syrup

-Doubled the Salt

-Added a splash of Milk- 2 times to make it runny enough to make pancakes.  (It was thick- pour less, spread it out carefully)

-Spice change: 2t. Cinnamon, 1/2t. Ginger and 1/4t. each: Clove/Nutmeg/Allspice.

-Cook low and slow.  REALLY slow.  Like 15 minutes on the first side, and 10-15 on the second side.  (yes, it took forever)

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Served with butter & homemade & home-strained yogurt mixed with Cinnamon & Sugar & Salt.

Food on Friday: Blueberry Gateau

We baked a Blueberry Gateau on the last birthday weekend~ and ate it all up yum!  
Follow the link for the recipe: http://pearls-in-the-kitchen.blogspot.com/2015/07/blueberry-gateau-recipe-too.html

Order Party Truffles!

 Want to make a statement at your next party?  Add Birthday Candles to the Truffles of your choice for just a dollar extra!  (Party Truffles are available any time of the year)
Perishable.....refrigerate.

2 kinds to choose from:

~Chocolate 'oreo' Truffles
~Peanut Butter Chocolate 'oreo' Truffles

$20 for a whole batch, add a dollar if you want candles.

These truffles would look great standing around a cake or dessert, on top of a cake, or in lieu of a cake!

Peter's Cake

Peter's Cake. Just the way he "ordered" it: 
1) a lemon cake that
2) looks like a "stump" 
3) that's NOT frosted
4) with a 3 foot long gummy snake coiled on top! 

...I think that he liked it!    This was the first "fun/crazy" cake I've baked or helped bake in a LONG time- I really enjoyed the challenge.  I'd seen these and other gummy snakes EVERYWHERE, until I went to buy one. Then I could hardly find one.  (Visit HERE for a better photo of the cake, and for the details about the cake!)

~some of the components~

Lemon Curd "crumb coat"  (worked well!).

~making the marzipan mushrooms~

 Peter, Hannah & Jonathan came to the party- I sent them home with leftover cake.  =)

 

 

The 3' gummy snake came from nuts.com: HERE.

First Pecan Pie of the season!

Lovely weather today~ we went and picked 49lb of pecans at the Alford Family Farm in Emory!
We cracked almost enough for the pie- 7oz (1&3/4 cups) good pecans, 9oz trash/shells/very few bad pecans...not bad!  =)   The picking was easy too!

 

After a bit of thought, I realize that this was my very first time ever to bake a pecan pie.

(I made pecan tarts last year (recipe here), but this is my first actual pie!)

2 cups FRESH pecans lightly toasted @ 375, broken

5 Tablespoons BROWNED organic butter

3 large organic eggs (from our chickens) 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup organic sugar

225 ml (between 3/4 &1 cup) organic maple syrup

Bake 35-45 until "firm on edge, center set but quivery like jello when pan is nudged".

Thoughts: Should not have toasted the nuts*. It was too sweet.  But the maple flavor was good!

(Really brown butter----smelled SO good!)

 

~Mom's homemade pie crust recipe here~

*Grandma would say, toast the nuts going in the goo, and put raw nuts on top.