Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Curse You, Danielle Bean!!!
Just kidding! I love Danielle Bean, and I love Faith & Family magazine, of which she is the Senior Editor. I am just complaining (in jest) about the burned cookies which resulted from following the directions for the Gingersnap recipe in the latest (Nov/Dec 2007) issue. I had to reduce the time the cookies spent in the oven to 8 minutes instead of 10 - 12 minutes. I am sure it's my oven's fault, not Danielle's:
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Baby, It's Cold Outside
This is what it looks like outside:
So this is what we did inside:
Yep! It's time to make Christmas cookies! Today we made Gingersnaps, and hopefully in the coming weeks we'll make Rum Balls, Springerle, Pine Bark, and Christmas Eve Mice. If we do get around to doing all that, I'll post pictures and recipes.
Here's the recipe for Gingersnaps (adapted from Faith & Family magazine, Nov/Dec 2007 issue)
2 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. each ground ginger, cloves, and cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup shortening
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 Cup molasses
granulated sugar for rolling
Preheat oven to 375*F. Greese 2 baking sheets. In a bowl, mix together the flour, spices and salt. In large bowl, cream the shortening, brown sugar, egg and molasses. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until well blended. Pinch off 1-inch-sized pieces of dough and roll into balls. Roll in granulated sugar and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten cookies with the bottom of a glass. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes*. Let cool on wire racks.
* 10 minutes was too long in my oven: I had better luck with 8 minutes.
So this is what we did inside:
Yep! It's time to make Christmas cookies! Today we made Gingersnaps, and hopefully in the coming weeks we'll make Rum Balls, Springerle, Pine Bark, and Christmas Eve Mice. If we do get around to doing all that, I'll post pictures and recipes.
Here's the recipe for Gingersnaps (adapted from Faith & Family magazine, Nov/Dec 2007 issue)
2 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. each ground ginger, cloves, and cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup shortening
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 Cup molasses
granulated sugar for rolling
Preheat oven to 375*F. Greese 2 baking sheets. In a bowl, mix together the flour, spices and salt. In large bowl, cream the shortening, brown sugar, egg and molasses. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until well blended. Pinch off 1-inch-sized pieces of dough and roll into balls. Roll in granulated sugar and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten cookies with the bottom of a glass. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes*. Let cool on wire racks.
* 10 minutes was too long in my oven: I had better luck with 8 minutes.
Fried Green Tomatoes, Anyone? Please?
My Father-In-Law's greenhouse yielded quite a bounty of tomatoes this year, as you can see.
Unfortunately, the growing season in our part of the country does not allow ALL the tomatoes to ripen, so now we need to do something with the green ones. Does anyone have a recipe or two for unripened tomatoes, and will the recipe freeze well?
Here's Ian making salsa with some of the red tomatoes. Yummy! That will go into the freezer.
This is the recipe we used for the salsa:
Tomato Freezer Salsa
5 large field tomatoes, peeled
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 green onions, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped*
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 Cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1. Coarsely chop the tomatoes and place in a sieve over a bowl to drain extra juice.
2. Heat oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet.
3. Add onions, jalapeno pepper and garlic; cook for 7 minutes or until softened but not brown, stirring often.
4. Let cool.
5. Stir in drained tomatoes.
6. Stir in lime juice, salt, and pepper.
7. Spoon into tightly sealed plastic containers and freeze for up to 4 months.
* For a little bite of spiciness, keep some of the seeds and put them into your salsa with the jalapenos. The salsa we made had NO heat whatsoever without the seeds.
Unfortunately, the growing season in our part of the country does not allow ALL the tomatoes to ripen, so now we need to do something with the green ones. Does anyone have a recipe or two for unripened tomatoes, and will the recipe freeze well?
Here's Ian making salsa with some of the red tomatoes. Yummy! That will go into the freezer.
This is the recipe we used for the salsa:
Tomato Freezer Salsa
5 large field tomatoes, peeled
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 green onions, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped*
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 Cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1. Coarsely chop the tomatoes and place in a sieve over a bowl to drain extra juice.
2. Heat oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet.
3. Add onions, jalapeno pepper and garlic; cook for 7 minutes or until softened but not brown, stirring often.
4. Let cool.
5. Stir in drained tomatoes.
6. Stir in lime juice, salt, and pepper.
7. Spoon into tightly sealed plastic containers and freeze for up to 4 months.
* For a little bite of spiciness, keep some of the seeds and put them into your salsa with the jalapenos. The salsa we made had NO heat whatsoever without the seeds.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
New Christmas blog
Here is a new blog dedicated to spreading the True Meaning of Christmas! I hope you will visit and find some good ideas for this coming Advent!
Idea #20 says to buy an oplatek - if you want to see what oplatki are or buy some, go to my husband's online store Aquinas and More and see!
Idea #20 says to buy an oplatek - if you want to see what oplatki are or buy some, go to my husband's online store Aquinas and More and see!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Pioneer Tough
On Thursday, Sept. 20 I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at home, with the assistance of 2 midwives, my husband and my Mother-In-Law. I was in labor since 6 that morning, but hard labor didn't come until almost 10 that night, and Maria Isabel Andrea was born shortly after.
On Sunday, Sept. 23 we drove into town and went to Mass. Afterwards we went to the parish hall for donuts and coffee. We met a couple of families with lots of children, like us, and one man looked at me incredulously when he found out how old our baby was and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you are pioneer tough!"
I laughed about it then, but after Mass we spent the afternoon and evening at my In-Laws' house where they were having a farewell-to-summer party. I didn't do much more than sit around nursing the baby, but I spent the next few days groaning and staying in bed as much as I could. Not too pioneer-like at that point!
On Sunday, Sept. 23 we drove into town and went to Mass. Afterwards we went to the parish hall for donuts and coffee. We met a couple of families with lots of children, like us, and one man looked at me incredulously when he found out how old our baby was and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you are pioneer tough!"
I laughed about it then, but after Mass we spent the afternoon and evening at my In-Laws' house where they were having a farewell-to-summer party. I didn't do much more than sit around nursing the baby, but I spent the next few days groaning and staying in bed as much as I could. Not too pioneer-like at that point!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
