Knox Blocks

I never remember what proportions of Jello and Knox Blocks go in this recipe.  I made them a couple of weeks ago, though, and this recipe turned out just right.  Better write it down before I'm scratching my head and wondering again in a month.  Evan remembers this treat from childhood, and loves it.

Knox Blocks

3 envelopes Knox gelatin	4 cups boiling water
4 pkg. (3 oz. each) Jello

Mix gelatin and Jello in a heat-safe bowl.  Pour in boiling water and stir briskly until completely dissolved.  Pour in a 13x9 pan.  Cool in fridge for 4-5 hours.  These are very firm blocks, easy to eat with your hands!

You can choose any four flavors of Jello.  We like 2 boxes of grape and 2 boxes of cranberry, but it's fun to try new combinations!

Fudgsicles

I made these about a month ago, and it's kind of ridiculous that I haven't made them again. They are so yummy, and not that much work.

Our fancy-dancy popsicle molds.

The tongue is getting ready to taste.

In the heat, the best place to enjoy a popsicle.

This recipe is from the book On a Stick! by Matt Armendariz.  I found the recipe when Smitten Kitchen featured it.  (I doubled the recipe because... four kids in summer, duh! so if you want a single recipe, Smitten Kitchen's got it up here.)  I'd like to try other recipes from the book.  They look like a lot of fun, plus Evan bought 1000 Popsicle sticks in a crafting moment this spring.  They are going to be hanging around here until I am a grandmother if we don't get creative.

Fudgsicles

1.5 ounces (1/4 cup) choc. chips	2 ½ cups whole milk
2/3 cup sugar	Large pinch of salt
2 T cornstarch	1 tsp. vanilla
3 T unsweetened cocoa powder	1 T unsalted butter

In the bottom of a heavy saucepan, melt the chocolate chips over very low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth.  Stir in sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, milk and salt and raise heat to medium.  Cook mixture, stirring frequently until it thickens, between 5 to 10 minutes (Smitten Kitchen said it took her five minutes-- I used all ten minutes, maybe because it's a doubled recipe).  Remove from heat, add vanilla and butter and stir until combined.

Set aside to cool slightly then pour into popsicle molds or Dixie cups.  Freeze 30 minutes, then insert popsicle sticks.  Freeze the rest of the way (several hours).

Chicken and Stuff

I have a messy pile of recipes sitting beside my computer, waiting for me to type them up. So I grabbed three that might sort of go together as a meal.  And that's about as thought-out as this post is.  Although it's taken me a month to get this all typed up, which is really pathetic.  I typed up most of it one night, but the computer shut down and lost it, and then it's just sat there, this forlorn little tab I never close.

This, however, is worth waiting for. This is my favorite marinade recipe for chicken. It comes from my mother-in-law's family, so I guess I could call it Pikcilingis Chicken. Usually we just refer to it as The Really Good Chicken.

Really Good Chicken

• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 egg, beaten (for any size recipe-- do not double this part)

Mix all ingredients together and marinate chicken breasts for 30 min. to overnight to 2-3 days (I know you're not supposed to leave meat in marinade that long, but it really does get excellent, without that mushy texture they always warn you about when they talk about over-marinating.  Four days gets a little dicey and vinegar-y.).  Grill (preferred) or bake.  Serve with jasmine rice, Rice-A-Roni, potatoes, whatever your little heart desires.

Creamy Buttermilk Coleslaw (from Cooks Country)

• 1 medium head green cabbage, cored and shredded (I use my salsa chopper)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 8 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 T sugar
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Toss shredded cabbage and carrots with 1 tsp. salt in colander set over bowl.  Let stand until wilted, about 1 hour.  (It's amazing how much liquid comes out of there!)  Rinse cabbage and carrots under cold water, drain, and dry with paper towels.  Transfer to large bowl.  Stir in remaining ingredients, plus salt to taste.  (I have been lazy and not bothered with rinsing, draining and drying the cabbage after the salting, and it was fine.  I figure a lot of the salt ends up in the exuded liquid.  Refrigerate until chilled, about 15 minutes.

I was never much of a coleslaw fan, but I could eat this stuff like candy!  Evan, who is a bit more of a connoisseur, says it's some of the best coleslaw he's ever eaten.  Cooks Country knows whereof they speak.

Raisin Bars

Filling:

• 2 ½ cups raisins
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon

 Bar: 

• 2 cups rolled oats
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup coconut
• ¾ cup butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium saucepan, heat raisins and water to boiling; simmer 15 minutes, then drain. Stir in applesauce, lemon juice and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar and coconut. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press 2 ½ cups of the crumbs into a 13x9 ungreased pan. Spread raisin mixture over the crumbs. Sprinkle on remaining crumbs and press in lightly. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely and cut into bars.

I made these one time right before we went on a trip with the Cottens, and they didn't last long around the kids.  I was looking for this recipe the other day, and couldn't find it anywhere-- only to find it days later, neatly typed up on my computer.  Disconcerting!

Raisin Bars

The other day, I found of can of raisins that had been lurking in the back of the pantry until it was mighty near its expiration date. I knew I had made raisin bars one time that were a hit with the kids, but as much as I racked my brain, I could not think where I had found that recipe. Now, a week after making a ginormous batch of oatmeal raisin cookies, I found the recipe-- actually typed into my computer and ready to print. This only stiffened my resolve to try to actually get more recipes typed up and PRINTED OUT! And, hopefully, some up on here.

Raisin Bars

Filling:

• 2 1/2 cups raisins
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Bar:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 3/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium saucepan, heat raisins and water to boiling; simmer 15 minutes, then drain. Stir in applesauce, lemon juice and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar and coconut. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press 2 ½ cups of the crumbs into a 13x9 ungreased pan. Spread raisin mixture over the crumbs. Sprinkle on remaining crumbs and press in lightly. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely and cut into bars.

And, the oatmeal raisins cookies weren't a bad way to use raisins, either. And it's hard to improve upon the taste of this cookie dough. This is the recipe that is printed under the lid of the Quaker Oats cylinder.

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350°. Beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on sheet 1 minute; transfer to rack.

Retro Jello!

I discovered Jello salads the other day, when someone who grew up eating Marilyn's layered Jello salad wrote and asked me for the recipe. I got the recipe the same week my nieces were coming, so I decided to try to make it for the kids. I didn't have a Jello mold, so I used my Bundt pan. After about 17 boxes of Jello (okay, maybe 6), the kids were impatient, so we just ate it without finishing filling the pan.

Then Bethaney helped the cause of Jello by buying two Jello molds at the thrift store. The top picture is her mold-- sort of a snowflake. The bottom picture is mine-- polka-dotty! I finally, on the third try, learned how to unmold the Jello. As you can see in the top picture, half of the mold melted because I did it wrong.

Anyway, here is the recipe if you, too, want to make a dessert that would make you snicker if you saw it in the pages of an old magazine! :-)

Depending on the size of the Jello mold, you'll need 5 or 6 of the small boxes of Jello, whatever flavors you want to use. To the first package, add one cup of boiling water. Then, divide the Jello-water mixture in half. To one half, add 3 T sour cream. To the other half, add 3 T of water. (Marilyn said she put ice cubes or cold water in, but I found it set in the bowl before the layer in the mold was firm. I used warm water and that gave me more time.) Put the sour cream mixture on the bottom of the mold and refrigerate. (I might do the other layer first next time-- the bottom picture looks a little sickly with the light purple color.) When it is firm, add the other mixture on top. Then, when that layer is set, boil some more water and start over with another flavor!

This obviously is not a quick recipe, but it wasn't really that much work. Every couple of hours during my day, I would just mix up another box of Jello. When I was done with the whisk and measuring cup, I just rinsed it in water and left it out for the next batch-- I can't imagine washing everything thoroughly in between, and it's Jello, for Pete's sake. Practically indestructible.

One of the trickiest parts is unmolding the finished salad. What worked for me was running a knife around just the top layer to loosen that up a bit, then dipping the whole mold in a sink of hot water for 5-10 seconds. (I have pitifully lukewarm water, 5 seconds will probably do it with regular hot water.) Put a plate over the top, and invert!

I don't think I explained this recipe very well, but hopefully it becomes clearer as you do it. And beyond the showiness of it, it is yummy! The kids loved it, and so did I. I have to admit, the idea of sour cream with Jello was off-putting, but just think about cream and Jello, and it sounds better! :-)

Gingery Goodness

I love using ginger in recipes. I have several ginger cookie recipes I will have to post at some point, but I've been using ginger in some interesting fruit dishes lately.

This recipe is one I clipped from the newspaper years ago (it's from Bobby Flay's book "New York City Cooks"). I think I tried it years ago, but I used dried ginger because I didn't have a ginger grater. I now have a spiffy Microplane zester, and the fresh ginger is awesome! The pears were excellent, but they are mild enough in flavor, I think you would be hard pressed to notice the difference between pears and apples in this recipe. Use whatever is cheaper, or what kind of tree you have in your backyard!

Pear and Ginger Crisp with Spiced Whipped Cream

Topping:

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 4 tsp. granulated sugar
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 6 T butter, softened

Filling:

• 1 1/2 T grated fresh ginger
• Juice of two lemons
• 2 T grated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 6 medium pears, peeled, cored, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices

Spiced Whipped Cream

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 T sugar
• 1/8 tsp. each ground cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375°. Butter baking dish. (I used my cute little pan-- 9x7, maybe?) Toast pecans in over for about 8 minutes and set aside. When cool, chop into desired consistency. (I like mine really fine, although the recipe calls for a "coarse" chop). In another bowl, mix flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt. Use a spoon (or pastry cutter) to slowly stir in the butter. Add pecans.

In another bowl, mix ginger, lemon juice, sugar, salt and sliced pears. Turn into prepared baking dish and cover with topping mixture. Bake until topping is crisp and pears are soft when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 40 minutes.

Whip the cream and then beat in sugar and spices.

The pears, awaiting the topping.

A lovely serving, with the whipped cream!

Wow, this was good!

The whipped cream was excellent, too. I was worried it would be too spicy, but there was just a hint of spice while maintaining the coolness of whipped cream.

The next recipe is from Orangette. I loved her recent book, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table. I doubled the recipe, since I had bought a big bag of plums at the farmer's market the week before.

Plum Crumble

Plum Spices:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 T all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger (I found this in the gourmet spice section at Wegmans, but for you Albany folks, Evan says Candy Kraft sells this!)
• About 24 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted (I bought freestone plums, they are SO much easier than the other ones I bought this summer.)

Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 eggs, well-beaten
• 14 (!!!) T butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium bowl, whisk together the seasoning for the plums: the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger and crystallized ginger. Add the plums and gently stir to coat. Arrange the plums skin side up in an ungreased baking dish. (Same cute baking dish as the pear crisp, which was probably too small. Maybe a 13x9?)

They do NOT look pretty right now, even accounting for the terrible light.

In another medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the topping. Whisk to blend well. Add the eggs. Using your hands (I did a first stir with the pastry cutter), mix thoroughly, squeezing and tossing and pinching handfuls of the mixture, to produce moist little particles. Sprinkle evenly over the plums. Spoon the butter evenly over the topping, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is browned and the plums yield easily when pricked with a knife or toothpick. Let cool some before serving with creme fraiche (I still have yet to ever try this!), thick yogurt, or whipping cream. Or vanilla yogurt. Mmm...

This topping is excellent, and the plums are prune-y and gingery. Delicious!

The next recipe is from Cook's Country, one of my favorite food magazines. I read Marilyn's copies, and then I subscribe to the online archives. It's the best gingerbread I have ever had! The only change I made was to the liquid for the cake-- the recipe called for 3/4 cup stout. I had no idea how to go about buying that amount of beer, and I decided I could find some acceptable substitute. I searched "alcohol substitutes" but didn't find much to help me in a recipe dessert. The usual answer was chicken broth. I thought about what other flavored waters were available-- tea seemed the perfect answer to a gingerbread recipe!

Bold and Spicy Gingerbread

Cake:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 16 T (2 sticks) butter
• 2 T ground ginger
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground allspice (I don't have allspice; mixed equal parts ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper, and that worked fine!)
• 1/4 tsp. finely ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 tsp. fresh ginger
• 3/4 cup molasses, "robust" or "dark"
• 3/4 cup black tea

Glaze

• 1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 3 T ginger ale OR orange juice OR lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ground ginger

Heat oven to 375°. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat until bubbling. Stir in ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Whisk eggs, sugar and fresh ginger in large bowl until light and frothy. Stir in melted butter mixture, molasses, and tea until incorporated. Whisk flour mixture into egg mixture until no lumps remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and gently tap on countertop to release any trapped air bubbles. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cook cake in pan 20 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet. Let cool completely.

For the glaze, whisk confectioner's sugar, ginger ale (or preferred juice) and ginger in bowl until smooth. Pour glaze over cooled cake. Let glaze set 15 minutes. Serve. Cake can be stored at room temperature, covered in plastic wrap, for two days.

I don't have a picture of this gingerbread, since I haven't made it since last winter. I still have some fresh ginger in the fridge, though, and the air is getting full of autumn, so I will be making it soon!

Sweet and Savory

This is sort of a hodge-podge of recipes-- things I have been making over the last several weeks, but haven't had the time to post here!

Remember this pesto? Here's one of the things I used it for...

Four Cheese Pesto Pizza

• 6 (6-inch) pita breads
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 T milk
• 6 T pesto
• 1 can ripe olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup shredded Fontina cheese
• 2 T Parmesan cheese

Place pita breads on ungreased cookie sheet. Mix cream cheese and milk until smooth. Spread on pita breads. Gently spread pesto over cream cheese. Top with olives. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake 7-12 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted.

Except, this time, I didn't have pita breads. Or Fontina cheese. And I hate olives. But, I did make a pizza crust (still working on finding a recipe I really like for homemade pizza crust!) and loosely followed these instructions for the topping. I also added chopped chicken, from the following recipe. I have followed the four cheese pesto pizza recipe exactly (except for the olives) in the past, and it was very tasty.

Cooked Chicken (from Rival Crock-Pot Cookbook)

• 2-3 pounds chicken breasts or parts
• 4 cups water
• 2 T chopped parsley
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 T minced onion
• 1 tsp. seasoning salt

Place all ingredients in Crock-Pot. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Remove chicken from water, discard bay leaf, and shred or dice according to your preference.

This is such a handy recipe for when those big club packs of chicken are on sale. I cook it (my big crockpot can take a doubled recipe of this), chop it up, and freeze it. It's great having cooked chicken ready for casseroles, and it also makes excellent chicken salad for sandwiches. And you can put it on pesto pizza!

I cooked one of my favorite chicken recipes last night--

Spicy Buttermilk Chicken

Marinade:

• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 T hot pepper sauce
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. salt

Mix together and pour over about 1 1/2 lbs. of chicken breasts or tenders. Marinate for at least four hours or overnight.

Topping:

• 1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 T flour
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 T olive oil

Combine topping ingredients and dredge chicken through the crumbs. Place chicken on a baking rack and let sit for 20 minutes, so that crumbs will adhere better. (I've skipped this step before without too noticeable a difference in the crumbs. Those twenty minutes are useful for working on other parts of the supper, though!) Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil on a baking sheet and place in oven. Heat oven to 400°. After about 5 minutes, place chicken on heated baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes (tenders will be done in about 20 minutes).

Last night, I served this with potatoes, because I had some neglected potatoes that were thinking about sprouting, but I usually serve this with jasmine rice. Both ways are yummy! I also did some of the tenders differently for my kids, who aren't as fond of hot things-- when I was mixing the crumb coating, I took about 1/3 of a cup of the crumbs out before adding the cayenne pepper and paprika. I'm not sure the paprika adds much heat, but it made it easy to see the less hot tenders-- they weren't as red!

Now, on to sweet things...

I found a recipe for this Millionaire's Shortbread in Hannaford's "fresh" magazine, which I stole from my mother. I wish we had a Hannaford's in our area, so I wouldn't have to resort to thievery-- it's usually full of good recipes! I wasn't crazy over this recipe at first, but every little nibble made me more of a fan. Elliott loved these, too.

Millionaire's Shortbread

Shortbread base:

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Caramel filling:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Lyle's golden syrup or dark corn syrup (I bought dark corn syrup, but I did see Lyle's golden syrup in Wegman's the next day!)
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2/3 cup (4 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8- or 9-inch pan. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to cream butter and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and beaters as needed with a rubber spatula. Mix in vanilla. Sift together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder and add to bowl. Mix on low speed until dough forms large clumps and holds together, about 1 minute. Using your hands, press dough gently and evenly into pan. Bake until top is golden and edges brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

While shortbread bakes, prepare caramel filling. Put butter, sugar, syrup and condensed milk in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 15 minutes. (I don't know if I had the heat too high or I didn't stir enough, but I had to throw my first batch out-- watch it!) Continue boiling, stirring gently and constantly, 4 more minutes. Mixture should darken to a light caramel color. Remove pan from heat and pour filling over warm shortbread. Let filling cool about 5 minutes, then sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let chips soften until they melt, then use a knife or spatula to spread melted chocolate over filling. Let chocolate set until firm, 2 or 3 hours (or 15 in this heat!) When set, cut shortbread into squares (or cut a little piece out of the pan every time you walk by!)

A couple of weeks ago, Evan was dreaming about the lava cakes he had eaten at the restaurant "99" while working away from home this spring. It took me about three minutes to whip these up, and Evan was eating them 14 minutes later! He wolfed them down too fast to take a picture of them (well, the kids and I helped, too) but they are the chocolate cakes with fudgy filling oozing out of them when you eat them. Excellent with vanilla ice cream!

Molten Lava Cakes (Kraft Foods)

• 4 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate (or 4 oz. of chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 6 T flour
• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 425°. Butter four 3/4 cup custard cups or souffle dishes. Place on baking sheet. Microwave butter and chocolate in large bowl on high for 1 minute or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Blend in eggs and egg yolks with whisk. Stir in flour. Divide batter among prepared custard cups. Bake 13 to 14 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. (Evan felt 12 minutes would be better-- more goo, less side.) Let stand 1 minute. Carefully run small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Serve immediately.

And, the cookie recipe I've made hundreds of times-- chocolate chip cookies. This is the recipe Evan's family makes. It's basically the Toll House recipe with oatmeal. Evan likes a steady supply of these for his lunches, and none of us are averse to eating the dough before it's cooked!

Evan's Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. water (I have NO idea why this is in the family recipe... makes you kinda wonder about those Whites-- you can probably safely omit this ingredient)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cup oatmeal
• 12 oz. (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour, soda, salt and oatmeal and beat until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Eat cookie dough raw, or place tablespoons of the dough on a greased cookie sheet and bake in a 375° oven for 9 minutes. Let cool in pan, if you like them chewy.

There's no recipe attached to this activity, but we made some creamed corn this year! We came home from Altamont with four garbage bags of corn. (Thanks, Knaggs!)

Evan husked it all, with lots of help from the kids.

I then boiled it, about a dozen ears at a time, for 2 minutes, dunked it in ice water, and let drain on the drainboard.

I then used my handy-dandy Lee corn-cutter and creamer to take all the corn off the cobs.

All 95 cobs, eventually. This was early in the process.

I froze it in plastic Ziploc containers, and got about 6 1/2 quarts. It sure will be delicious this winter with a little butter and salt!

All this writing about food has made me hungry! Time to go check out the kitchen before bed...

Last Thursday's Supper

Last Thursday morning I went to the farmer's market in Syracuse. While I always love the farmer's market, it's usually a little overwhelming to consider going there. I discovered the secret-- don't go on Saturday! On Saturday it is crowded, and there are lots more vendors selling things other than fresh produce. This Thursday, I parked right next to the market, breezed through selecting yummy things, and was out again quickly! That's really key when there's three kids with you.

I have no idea what to do with eggplant at this point in my life, but I just loved the colors, so I had to snap a picture.

Cheyenne eating one of the little plums we bought.

It isn't ALL fresh vegetables-- there's some pretty yummy fresh-made doughnuts we had to sample!

Aren't these pretty little plums? They were destined for plum torte.

Fresh Plum Torte

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 12 plums (small deep purple, prune or Italian), halved and pitted
• 1 T sugar
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. cinnamon
• Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350° and spray 9- or 10-inch springform pan. (I used the 9-inch-- it was less dusty.) Cream together sugar and butter until light and creamy. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture with eggs and vanilla and beat well. (I didn't sift together the dry ingredients first, just dumped them in at that step. It worked fine, but maybe you like to sift flour!) Spoon batter into the pan and place plum halves, skin side up, on top of batter. They will sink as it cools. Batter will barely cover the bottom of the pan, which is as it should be! Sprinkle lightly with sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. (The first time I made this recipe I forgot to do this, and I did it when it came out of the oven. I almost liked it better that way-- the lemon juice was fresher tasting!) Bake torte for one hour, depending on pan (a black pan takes less time.) Torte is done when tester inserted in the torte comes out clean. (Mine was done in a little over 40 minutes, since I have a black non-stick pan.) Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes. Remove from the pan, cool to lukewarm, and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. (I didn't put anything on it, and it was pretty good plain. The ice cream may have helped the taste of the occasional overly tart plum, though.)

This was how it looked before it went in the oven. I think I used a few more than a dozen plums-- 14 or 15 maybe? Just cover the torte nicely.

Then, while the torte was baking, we got busy with the supper. Tori cut up the fresh green beans.

And I made Crispy Yogurt Chicken, from Pioneer Woman, slightly tweaked.

Crispy Yogurt Chicken

• Chicken pieces (I had tenders on hand)
• 2 cups plain, unflavored yogurt
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Herb of your choice (I was in the mood for Rosemary, snipped from my herb garden!)
• Juice of one lemon
• Salt
• Butter
• 2 cups Panko bread crumbs (these bread crumbs are awesome, but plain old bread crumbs will work if you're desperate)

Mince the garlic and herbs, and add them, along with the lemon juice, to the yogurt. In another bowl, mix the bread crumbs with a bit of salt, or seasonings. Shake salt onto the chicken pieces, dredge them through the yogurt and then through the bread crumbs. Place them on a cookie sheet or in a 13x9 pan. Put dabs of sliced butter on each piece. Now, Pioneer Woman says to cover with foil and bake for 1 to 1 and 1/4 hours at 350°. I'm forgetful and impatient, so I rarely bother with the tin foil, and the chicken will be cooked much sooner than an hour, especially if you cut your chicken into smaller pieces-- it just won't be as crispy. Depending on how rushed I am for supper, I have done this in as little as twenty minutes, or as long as 45 minutes. I also usually crank the heat up a tad-- 375° or 400°. If you do go with the foil, remove for the last 15 minutes of baking.

Here's the chicken, a-waiting to be baked.

What a yummy looking supper! That's jasmine rice we're having with the chicken. My in-laws often use this rice, and I'm a huge fan. With just a tad of butter and some salt, it's better than candy!

All year long, we eat frozen green beans quite happily. When these come along, though, we wonder how we were ever content with the frozen ones.

The finished plum torte.

It is quite moist, and SO GOOD! It's one Evan doesn't like, though. He's not a huge fan of plums. This is one of those dishes that does depend heavily on the quality of the plum. There were a few in this batch that were a bit tart, but the rest of the torte was excellent.

Okay, now I have to go to bed so I can get up in the morning and head off to the farmer's market again!

More Chocolate

These recipes are feeling left out, since they weren't included in my last post about chocolate. So, in the spirit of inclusion, here are two more yummy chocolate recipes.

The first recipe is chocolate dirt cake, which gets high marks from kids. I know dirt cake isn't exactly gourmet-- you usually throw some crumbled Oreos, chocolate pudding, and maybe Cool-Whip in and call it good. This recipe has some extras, like cream cheese, that make it yummy enough to serve to adults. You may, however, want to omit the gummy worms in the adult version. They're a little... different.

Marilla liked eating one of the extra Oreos while I made this. She did NOT, however, like me poking the camera in her face instead of getting her out of her high chair the minute she demanded it.

My other recipe is a fudge recipe. It was in our newspaper years ago, and I clipped it out, then didn't make it for three years. Part of the reason was that I had such an easy fudge recipe (Microwave fudge) that it seemed silly to look for another one. Wow, this is definitely worth the extra effort (and extra expense) to make it. It's called "Mamie's Fudge" (it was Mamie Eisenhower's favorite fudge recipe), but I think of it as "Moorish Fudge." One of our friends was here the first time I tried it back in April, and as she cut herself yet another little piece, she said, "This tastes like Moorish fudge." I was desperately trying to rack my brain, wondering if this was really an international delicacy, or whether "Moorish" was some sect like the Amish or something... Then I got that it was "More-ish" fudge because you always want a little more. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes. Even now, I picture it as "Moorish" in my head.

Chocolate Dirt Cake

• 1 (6 oz.) pkg. instant chocolate pudding
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 3 /4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 12 oz. Cool-Whip, or 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped
• 27 oz. (1 1/2 pkgs.) Oreos (Original or DoubleStuff)
  
• Gummy worms, optional

This is a great recipe to do in the food processor, ir you have one! (I've had mine for 14 months, and I'm still passionate about it!) Obviously, you can get by without one for this recipe. First, pulse (or crush) the Oreos into fine crumbs and set aside. Then, cut the butter and cream cheese into little chunks, and place in the food processor bowl with the pudding mix, sugar, vanilla, and 1 cup of the whole milk. Pulse until blended. Use a whisk to stir in the remaining 2 1/2 cups milk. Fold in the Cool-Whip or whipped cream. Spread 1/3 of the crumbs in a 13x9 pan, then top with half the pudding mixture. Sprinkle another third of the crumbs over that, pour on the remaining pudding mixture, and finish with the last of the cookie crumbs. If serving to kids, strew gummy worms all over the top!

Mamie's Fudge (Moorish Fudge)

• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 can (13 1/2 oz.) evaporated milk
• 2 T butter
• 12 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
  
• 12 oz. German sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 jar (7 or 8 oz.) marshmallow creme
• 2 cups nuts (if you like nuts in your fudge-- I usually don't!)

Combine sugar, salt, evaporated milk and butter in saucepan; boil 6 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the chocolates, marshmallow creme, and nuts. Pour boiling syrup over the chocolate mixture and stir until the chocolate is melted. Pour into a buttered 13x9 pan. Let stand a few hours before cutting. Makes about 40 (very rich!) pieces.

Chocolate, STAT!

I am starting a new blog for the simple reason that I am tired of lugging my recipe box around with me when I go places. (Philistines have suggested I just lose contact with my recipes while I am away-- I ignore them.) I thought if I post a recipe at least every other day, within a year or so I will have all my recipes available on the internet for use whenever I need them.

The more I thought about how I like new recipes, though, I realized I will probably never catch up with putting them all up on here. However, I love food, and talking about food, and occasionally cooking food, so this blog will be fun for me. I will only post recipes I have actually cooked, and if I'm feeling ambitious, there will even be pictures!

Without further ado, here is a very important recipe. Not that I need to write down this recipe-- this is all in the spirit of passing on some advice for fellow chocoholics.

Now, I do believe in the philosophy of "Moderation in all things." I try not to have lots of junk food around at all times, but there are times when I really NEED chocolate. Sure, I could just swipe a handful of chocolate chips out of my baking cupboard, but why do that when there could be so much more with one minute of effort?

This recipe was introduced to me in my high school French class. While I love to parle francais, this may be the thing that I remember most from that class! This is... a chocolate sandwich. There are probably numerous variations on this French snack, but us Vaughans figured out the quickest, yummiest way to have a chocolate sandwich.

Throw a handful of chocolate chips and a meager tablespoon of butter in a microwaveable bowl.

Microwave 30 to 40 seconds. See how the butter is bubbling nicely?

When you first start to stir, it won't look like much.

Keep going, and it all comes together in a creamy spread!

Then, spread it on bread and enjoy! I love whole grain bread for my tuna sandwiches, but this works better on a sweeter bread-- I like potato bread. (Or potato hamburger rolls, if that is all that is in the bread drawer.) From the time the intense craving first hits until you are sinking your teeth into its yumminess, is about 90 seconds, tops. And if you are lazy and use a knife both to stir the chocolate and stir it on bread, it's pretty minimal dishes!

Another quick and easy path to chocolate indulgence is microwave fudge. Mom gave me the recipe when I first got married. It is also something that can be thrown together in a minute. It does take a while to chill in the fridge, but by then you'll have been able to lick the mixing bowl so the cravings will have subsided!

Microwave Fudge

• 1 (12 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12 oz.) pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
• Grains of salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Dump sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, salt and butter in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on "high" one minute. Stir until chips are melted and combined (you may have to microwave it another 30 seconds). Add the vanilla (the step I always forget), and pour into a buttered dish. Chill until set. In the meantime, grab a spoon, scrape out the mixing bowl, and enjoy!