Darienne
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For anyone interested in the topic, I highly recommend Something From the Oven by Laura Shapiro.
I looked up this title on Amazon and must read it. Memories came flooding back...my Mother who hated to cook getting a huge freezer with the 'freezer' plan. Tubs of really awful ice cream...which explains my lack of interest in ice cream...until this summer and my Cuisinart machine. Frozen peas and carrots. Yech. Dried out meat every night. My Mother-in-Law who had not so subtle or silent contempt for my Mother because my M-i-L cooked everything from scratch for 'her' family, including puff pastry and mayonnaise. She was the Good Mother. My Mother was the Bad Mother. And so on. I shake my head to recall it all.
I couldn't cook anything when I got married...not anything. My DH taught me how to cook. And then until a couple of years ago I spent as little time as possible cooking much of anything. We ate in a fairly healthy fashion, but not interesting at all. Of course, now my world has exploded and I love this new world with a passion.
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Ha! You passed the test with flying colors!
I couldn't edit my previous post, so here's a link to the recipe (couldn't find the original source, but this is the same recipe):
Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Looks delicious, but unfortunately for my current needs doesn't look like a candidate for freezing. But so yummy. Thanks, Merstar
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After making a batch of candied ginger from Andie's method I took a few left over knobs of ginger and poked them into a large pot of soil whose last resident had died. With the occasional dose of water they are all growing nicely. I get only late afternoon sun on my balcony so they will never get to a large size but I am looking forward to seeing what can be harvested in a couple months.
When did you plant and put yours out?
I just wish I had planted mine earlier and put them out. Next year....
Hmmmm...now I recall wondering just where I could put them. Our male dog will pee on anything that sticks up, even a blade of grass.
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I’ve been spending most of my weekends lately going to Reidsville NC to visit my grandmother who is in a rehab center working to recover from a stroke. Most of my childhood summers were spent in Reidsville with my grandparents on their farm. So many of my food memories, tastes and lessons were learned there. Either in my grandmother’s (or others’) kitchen, in the cafes that my grandfather took me for ‘dinner’ (lunch to Yankees) and at church suppers. Granddaddy had 80 acres and 30-some head of cattle, so we ate LOTS of beef. One of his friends had a huge vegetable farm and pigs. His tenants cooked exotic things like fried fatback and hog jowls and took me to tent revivals (slightly alarming to my Episcopal soul) where the food afterwards was always delicious, warm and always slightly damp from being covered with foil in the summer humidity. I remember my grandfather taking me along to the Tire company where he did business (along with a poker game) and, while he was busy I’d visit with the men in the factory, who would always buy me a Co’cola and a Tom’s peanut bar.
There is one pear tree left in my granddaddy’s orchard. Where there used to be almost two dozen assorted apple and pear trees. Snugged up next was a cow pasture where gathered the whole 30-some of them, chewing and drooling, their eyes entreating us to toss them the apple cores they loved so dearly. In spite of Granddaddy’s threats of switchings to come if I overfed them, I always obliged with a few. And never got the switch, either. Granddaddy was a tough talker, but soft inside.
Those apples were tiny and puckeringly tart – cooking apples, I suppose. They dried out the inside of your mouth like you’d been eating alum. Mostly, Grandma Jean cooked with them. But small, sour apples are still my favorites. The pears were small, too. Crunchy, with no pear-y juiciness. But they made the most divine pear preserves.
Granddaddy is gone now. Grandma Jean’s recovery from a stroke and return to home is questionable. The old log house and the huge, sheltering tree are gone and where there were cows and a barn and an old tobacco shed are new houses and a road (!!!). But the pear tree is there and Granddaddy’s shop still gives off a wispy scent of machine oil, hay and cigar smoke.
When I was there a couple of weekends ago, I dragged a step ladder out to the pear tree and picked all I could reach. I thought we’d eat what we could at home. But a couple of nights ago, I was driven to make some of Grandma Jean’s preserves. I had no business making preserves! I needed to do laundry and clean at least one bathroom. Or go to bed early. But I needed to make those preserves…I needed to TASTE those preserves.
So I peeled and cut up the pears:
I finally found a use for the useless (to me) Y peeler – it is wonderful for peeling extremely hard pears with very stubborn peels!
Added lemon juice and sugar and let them sit overnight:
Last night when I got home from work, I boiled them down and put them in jars, not forgetting to add the lemon slice that Grandma Jean always adds. Sometimes, when I make them, I add a slice of ginger, but not this time; this time I want HER preserves, not my version.
There weren’t a lot of pears. There was only enough for two jars:
One for me and one for Momma. I may never have these exact preserves again – it is a very old, gnarled tree – and who knows what will happen to it by next year. But for now, I have that jar and these preserves:
And they taste like sunshine and autumn and my grandparents and my childhood. All in one spoonful!
Does anyone else have a similar story? I'd love to hear it!
What a lovely story and what a good granddaughter and daughter you are!
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Some of my favorites (with tweaks):
Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
from Uncle Sam's Hilltop Lodge
posted at: http://www.recipezaar.com/Coffee-Cake-With...rry-Swirl-14125
Hello Merstar,
Unless I am mistaken, something is amiss here. There is no Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake at this URL, just a repeat of the Cranberry cake.
...or was this a test to see if I was paying attention or not?...
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Dear Gulleters all ...
CanadianBakin for the Greenspan recipe. Have printed it out.
RWood on silicone. Interestingly enough some of the pans have been altered somewhat. The loaf pan has a ribbed pattern on the bottom (cake top) but the bottom of the pan has been reinforced with buttressing and extra bottom. The bundt pan also has a pattern but I think the patterning material on the pan bottom is sufficiently strong to hold up. I'll let you know after I use it.
Merstar, Wow! That's a lot of coffee cakes. I'll look them up ASAP.
Answers all to a Maiden's prayer.
(and I am making a chart about how long how much batter cooks in what size pan at what temperature. Learning the system behind the recipe, instead of simply following the recipe. )
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Now, it's all about combining various frozen, boxed, canned and refrigerator-case food products in as little time as possible. -And the winning entries aren't anything that I'd want to serve.
Speaking of such like issues...I receive the monthly Kraft what's cooking magazine, thanks to a misguided friend.
One fancy dessert after another with lovely seasonal fruits...and Jello Instant Pudding or Jell-O jelly powder and to top it all off: yes! Cool Whip! Aarrgghh. Is there anything that tastes more of Crisco than Cool Whip? Sugared Crisco, that is.
At least, go buy some real whipping cream I want to shriek!!!
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I just added the Orange Cardamom Coffee Cake to recipegullet
.Thank you.
ps. I even have a brand new bundt pan. A friend was given a set of various silicone pans and she has re-gifted them to me. Nice friend.
I'm not crazy about using silicone except for the sheets which are such a boon. -
Well, I don't know about the profit part, but it is fun.
Andie's tutorial on how to candy ginger "Candied or crystallized ginger, my method" in the RecipeGullet section contains information on how to grow your own ginger. Of course I had to try.
Now keep in mind my reputation as a gardener is on a par with that of Godzilla.
Andie's instructions were very easy to follow and I obviously got them right. Drilled some holes into one of those 6" under the bed plastic containers and planted 9 pieces of ginger which had little buds on them. Now I have 14 shoots growing in my southern-facing office. One shoot is even 3 feet tall. Now I did plant them too late and also I am in Zone 4 and so I don't really expect a bumper crop. But I shall have something to candy late in the fall.
I should add that I have to turn the container every few days or they all grow towards the sun. My gardening friend, Winnie, told me it was too late to put them out so I have kept them inside.
Oh, I also have a few little Calamansi/Kalamansi/Calamondin/Kalamondin shoots growing in the window.
As always, my thanks to my candying mentor, the Ginger Lady, Andie.
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Just to clarify: Bake Shop Muffins isn't my recipe it's by Joanne Chang who owns Flour Bakery & Cafe and she publishes in Fine Cooking magazine. She is just in the editing process of her first book. I can't wait!
Regarding size of pan...it makes a generous 12 muffins. I make the recipe into 18 when I want a smaller, more regular sized muffin so I think it would be too much batter for a single loaf pan. You might fit it in a 9x13 pan. I think I would top it with streusel or something. Just seems more coffee-cake like to me that way. BTW, I've never tried this so I don't know for sure that it will work.
Sorry that I incorrectly attributed the recipe to you. Of course, the correct attribution is printed right on top of the recipe in eGullet. I'm just a tad overwhelmed at present and didn't notice it.
I will try it this afternoon. I could try a 9x13 pan and then I would have to find out the difference in baking time, yes? I'll definitely add nuts to it. I have fresh cherries, oranges, bananas and fresh frozen blueberries and raspberries.
I have this pan with 8 small loaf sections in it. Perhaps the batter would fit that pan plus a regular loaf pan. Nothing ventured... I just have to be realistic about how I reach with each new venture. Maybe I'll buy a second 8 loaf pan.
Hmmm...I see what the recipe can entail in solids is not only 2 cups of flour but also 1 1/2 cups fruit, etc and 3/4 cup nuts giving a total of over 4 1/4 cups of batter. Quite different from only 2 cups of flour and no additions. I know it's elementary to most of you, but I thank you for your forbearance as I work it into my brain.
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Assuming it's for 12 muffins, there are tons of websites out there that offer pan conversions and hints for baking. I'd start with a 9" loaf pan, and bake it for however long a standard loaf cake bakes.
Thank you.
It's not just not knowing the answers; it's not even really knowing the questions. But I am learning quickly. At this rate, I'll stay quick of mind forever.
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I did a variation of the rice milk sherbet in Frozen Desserts by replacing the cream and part of the rice milk with coconut milk for a vegan friend and she was very happy with it. I like the original version better but it contains heavy cream so I couldn't use it for her. That's about the extent of my experience with vegan ice cream.
Hi Tri2Cook,
I take it that you mean Migoya's book. Which I don't have. However, I do have some various vegan recipes which I have scrounged from here and there.
Thanks.
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Thanks, Kerry.
RWood: I agree with no yeast. My whole purpose is to stay off my feet as much as possible right now and have something to freeze for the onslaught of people and dogs who are coming to the farm next weekend for the Annual Dog Weekend. All eGulleters invited, BTW. (No, no coffee cake for the dogs.)
Also I would love your Orange Cardamom with pecans. I absolutely adore cardamom.
Please.CanadianBakin: Looked up your recipe. Am not fond of chocolate in muffins or coffeecakes. But thanks.
OK. I need know some basic stuff. Take the Bake-Shop Muffins recipe by our own CanadianBakin in Recipe Gullet:
16 oz flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp soda, 1/2 tsp salt. 9 3/8 oz sugar, 5 oz butter, 8 1/2 oz milk, 8 1/2 oz sour cream, 2 large eggs, 1 large egg yolk. Additions: up to 1 1/2 cups fruit or chocolate and 3/4 cup nuts. plus vanilla or spices. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 mins.
To make this into a coffee cake, what size loaf pan would I use, and would I change the oven temperature and would I bake it for longer? Maybe it is not a simple transition. I don't know. I am hoping to learn.
Thanks.
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Made two batches of mini-loaves with the Blueberry Muffin recipe from Randi which she originally found in Glamour Magazine.
The first batch I messed up royally. Came out that purple gray color. Strictly my fault. Resolved: never run to another room to answer the phone while mixing muffins because your DH has taken the portable from its stand in the kitchen.
Second batch: bee-oo-ti-full. Lovely little loaves with nice pale crumb and whole blueberries in them...mixed in frozen as directed.
A breakfast treat for DH? Not quite. Now he tells me that he doesn't like cooked blueberries anyway and he doesn't like cake muffins and he thinks the recipe is too sweet. And I didn't put nuts in them and he likes nuts in everything. End of report.
I say, let him make his own muffins!
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Found this title today: Lick It! Creamy, Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love by Cathe Olson. It appears that I cannot get it through Inter Library Loan and I am loathe to buy cookbooks, sight unseen.
Has anyone else tried any of the recipes from this book?
Has anyone tried any vegan ice cream recipes with say, coconut cream or rice or nut milk or whatever.
And what about using Agave syrup for the sweetener?
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Ok here's my 2 cents:
I have owned both chest freezers and uprights, frost-free and manual defrost, and I used to sell them for a living.
I would never own another chest freezer or manual defrost.
1. As someone else mentioned, manual defrosting is a pain, and unless you do it often (and no one does) any energy saving is wasted.
2. The big detractor for me with a chest freezer is that stuff gets buried and forgotten on the bottom. Then you end up throwing it out when you discover it years later. This negates any cost savings of the chest freezer vs. an upright very quickly.
3. The chest freezer is a large horizontal space. In a garage, that's where you put stuff. Which of course means it has to be removed to access the freezer. Plus it's space lost. An upright saves valuable garage floor space, plus you can stack stuff on top without affecting access to the freezer.
4. Get a frost-free upright. The shelves may be (depending on the model) adjustable. Not the case with a manual defrost upright. You can also get glass shelves which I highly recommend. Soft food can "droop" around the wires in the shelves and then freeze, locking the food to the shelf. Doesn't happen often, but a pain when it does.
5. Get a good vacuum sealer. Food will last much longer in the freezer.
Hooray for mgaretz. My sentiments exactly. Now is this freezer of mine would just quietly die... No, otherwise I cannot do it.
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Extra freezers in uncooled garage/shed space are common in hot-as-Hawaii south LA. Chest-type freezers are more energy efficient to operate, and they definitely maintain a freezing temp longer than an upright during a power loss (always a concern during hurricane season). In any case, fill up any empty space in your spare freezer with containers of water--the surplus ice adds cold mass & makes the whole system work more efficiently. A packed freezer, unopened, will stay below 40 degrees for 4-5 days without power. Stuff on the edges will defrost, but things buried in the middle will stay frozen.
edited to add: my parents' spare freezer, outdoors in an unheated storage closet, is still going strong after 20 years. The exterior got rusty after year 10 or so from the humidity in the air, but a quick coat of krylon took care of that.
Dear HungryC,
What a great idea! Thanks so much.
Learn something new every day!! -
Following this thread made me curious...just how old is our old huge manual defrost chest freezer anyway?
I probably shouldn't tempt fate by writing any of this. I have hated our freezer for lo! many years now and would dearly love to buy a new upright freezer with auto-defrost and no pit from heck to dig into to find things...with my head in the freezer and my feet and rump sticking up in the air as I rummage around trying to get the package down at the bottom.
OK. We bought it in April of 1975...that's just over 34 years! Omigawd! How much longer can it last? We have been putting a 20 pound lead weight on it for almost 20 years just to keep the lid properly closed. Defrosting it is a two-person job which takes hours. But it lives! It lives!!! And it has given us great service. And until it dies, I am stuck with it.
I continue to pine for a new upright frost-free version.
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with the exception of tender herbs, most salads can be prepared ahead of time, without the dressings. Vegetables can be washed, blanched, cut, etc. a couple of days ahead, without a huge loss of quality. Make the dressing up, and keep them in the fridge. For complete ease of use, you could even package the dressings BESIDE the ingredients in the fridge.
Something to keep in mind, when freezing the casseroles, is to allow extra time for heating, if the casserole is frozen. After all... if you put 15 lbs of frozen stuff into a 400 degree oven, the oven temp is going to drop.
You might think about where the dirty dishes will be collected...
Thanks, Karen.
As for the dirty dishes...they go into the garbage can. A terrible collection of stuff into the bin. I had to promise years ago that there would be paper dishes...some one is bringing a biodegradable type from Delaware. I drew the line at cutlery and mugs. Cannot abide drinks out of paper or foam. I won't be doing the work this year, so it is not my call.
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DH and I are not hunters. We do know hunters in our area, east central Ontario, and they do not eat what they kill. Hard to take.
However, we know hunters in Utah and they rely on what they kill to get them through the winter. It's a way of life with them. That I can respect fully although it is not part of our life.
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Would you please explain exactly what 'muddling' consists of?
Jon's got it right. Muddling is just a term for bruising or crushing an ingredient to use in a cocktail. Some items you want to muddle pretty firmly, but mint you want to muddle gently. You can read about it here; note Katie's post after mine. Like Jon said, slightly bruised mint is going to bring out the flavors you want; crush it hard and you're going to get sticks and vegetables.
Hot or cold?Hot. Like Jon, I followed the Leibovitz recipe and did a hot steep for an hour. Before that, however, I took the leaves and lightly bruised small handfuls as I dropped them into the milk/cream mixture.
The ice cream turned out great, btw. I added a T of Benedictine for both flavor and texture, and frankly I couldn't be happier.
It's great to have so many mentors in each list!!! Thanks for the information.
A couple of years ago friends and I were making white chocolate mint ganache and the mint person minced the mint very very finely before anyone caught her. The truffles tasted good, but the color was hard to describe in polite terms!!
Mint ice cream should be next on my list...
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Darienne,
Check out the weight watchers thread as well. It's got some excellent recipes. Notably Jensen's link to a lentil soup that I truly love.
Will check out the WW thread. Love lentil soup. Ate the end of it for lunch. Lentil spinach soup. Now if only the DH would tolerate a bit of lamb in it.
Thanks, Kerry.
p.s. the blog was no longer. Do you have this particular lentil soup recipe? I can see that the WW version would have no lamb in it anyway.
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but I've yet to play with starches/gums as thickeners.
Now, I am pretty much a novice at all this, but have to say that I was totally blown away by the cornstarch ice creams/gelati . Whole milk and cornstarch only? Amazing!
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Will do.
In re crushing the mint, the cocktail crowd has pretty well established that only slight muddling is required, as the minty compounds you want are near the surface of each leaf. The vegetal, rooty compounts are deeper, and are released if you muddle too hard. So I'll probably do a very light muddle prior to steeping.
Would you please explain exactly what 'muddling' consists of? Thanks And thanks for the minty information.
Vegan ice creams
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
Actually, DH and I are probably the closest to vegetarians you'll find in this bunch. We were vegans for about 30 years until Ed's blood tests showed a deficiency of Vitamin B. Meat is still not a big food item, especially for me.
And no,
we have no vegan dogs in attendance.
I'll look up the website. Mostly I'm curious. I love the cornstarch/ milk based ice creams and wondered how coconut milk would fare. Not for the dog weekend though...too much of do to take on any new stuff.
Thanks.