A Souper Weekend!

This is going to be a souper weekend! Tonight we are having dear friends for supper. On the menu, Beef Barley Soup, a loaf of Blue Cheese Sourdough Bread (from my favorite little artisan bakery) and Apple Tart and Coffee for dessert.

On Saturday we are attending a Soup Feed. I’m bringing a crockpot of Cheesy Wild Rice Soup and some of my homemade rolls.

With the temps dipping into the 20°’s and threats of snow, all this soup is just what is needed.



Beef Barley Soup
(Printable Version)

1 pound boneless beef top round steak, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) beef broth
2 cups water
1/3 cup medium pearl barley
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cup fresh mushrooms
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, brown beef in oil; drain. Stir in the broth, water, barley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour. Add the mushrooms, carrots, celery, onion and parsley; cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender. Stir in peas; heat through. Yield: 9servings.



Apple Tart
(Printable Version)

Crust:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream

Filling:
About 6 medium apples, peeled, pitted, and sliced
3 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla

Glaze:
1/2 cup apple jelly
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Whipped cream, if desired

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Crust: Place the flour, butter, and sour cream in a food processor and pulse to combine. When the dough has formed a ball, pat with lightly floured hands into the bottom and sides of an ungreased 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and 1/2-inch sides, or a round au gratin dish. Bake for about 18 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Let cool while preparing the filling.

Lower the oven temperature to 350°F.

Filling: Peel and thickly slice the apples. Arrange the apple slices in overlapping circles on top of the crust, until it's completely covered. Overfill the crust, as apples will shrink during cooking. Combine the egg yolks, sour cream, sugar, and flour and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture over the apples. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, until the custard sets and is pale golden in color. Cover with an aluminum foil tent if the crust gets too dark. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack to cool. When cool, remove the side wall of the pan.

Glaze: Combine the jelly and cinnamon. Spread with a pastry brush over the top of the warm tart. Serve the tart warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Thank you to Michael at Designs by Gullum for hosting Foodie Friday!

Bless My Home

Bless My Home

Fill my home, dear Lord, I pray
With blessings from above,
But…most of all…I ask that it
Be always filled with love.

May those who step within my door
Find happy hearts inside,
And, Lord, please may my door and heart
Be ever open wide.

May all who gather round my hearth,
Find kindness glowing there,
And may each soul who dwells within,
Love and contentment share.

So, bless my home and bless each one
Who dwells or steps inside,
And may I find beneath my roof
That peace and joy abide.

Carice Williams (published in Ideals Magazine, 1972)

Tempt My Tummy/Tasty Tuesday

The October 2009 edition of Martha Stewart Living has a great article in it on cast iron gem pans. I am a huge cast iron fan and am especially fond of gem pans. Mostly, I use them for making cornbread gems in. You can find them in so many fun shapes and the antique ones are just treasures. I just love the pictures featured in the magazine. They really show off what beauties these really are.



Today I thought I’d share yet another recipe from Judith Fertig’s Prairie Home Breads. I baked these in a cast iron gem pan. So yummy! Almost like a cross between a muffin and a cake donut. I have determined to get my gem pans out more often and to use them more for everyday baking projects instead of just when I’m trying to do something special.

Old Fashioned Graham Gems

1 cup milk
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
¾ cup graham or stone-ground whole wheat flour
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Topping:
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 2 cast iron gem pans (use mini-muffin pans if you don’t have a gem pan), set aside. In a small bowl, combine the milk and cider vinegar; set aside to sour for a few minutes. Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs to blend, then whisk in the sugar and butter. Whisk in soured milk. Stir in the dry ingredients, ½ cup at a time, until you have a stiff batter. If you are using a cast iron gem pan, preheat your pan, if not, skip that step, spoon the batter into the prepared gem cups (or muffin cups), filling them 2/3rds full. In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients. Sprinkle about ¼ tsp on each gem. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the gems have risen and pulled away from the sides of the pan. Serve warm.




I found these great tips on the internet. Although she refers to them as Gem Scones, this must be a term used outside of the US. They really have nothing to do with scones.

Baking in a Gem Scone Iron by Pauline Smith

What is a Gem Scone Iron?-
Also referred to as a "Gem Scone Tin" or a "Gem Scone Tray". These are very solid metal baking trays, with hemispherical indents for baking little cakes in. The older ones are made of cast iron. They are heavy! More "modern" ones are made of cast aluminium. They are still quite heavy!

Looking after a gem scone iron-
The first thing to know is, don't drop it on your foot. It will hurt! The second thing to know is that cast iron, although very strong, could be a little brittle, so a really sharp fall could break the iron. How do I know? I managed it! There's not much chance of that though, I think I am just gifted in that area. The third thing to know is, if your iron is made of iron, don't let it rust. After a good wash, get it totally dry (I usually pop it back in the warm oven to bet bone dry before putting away). You could also put a really thin smear of oil on the iron.

Baking with a gem scone iron-
Preheat your oven, and while you make your mix, put the scone iron into the oven. Greased but empty. It will get VERY hot. Just as the mix is ready to go, pull out the scone iron, fill it very quickly, and pop it right back. The iron will be so hot that the base of the scones will be cooked almost immediately. On a good day, your little cakes will be baked in minutes, and will pop out, almost spherical! Oh, and here's a note - "gem" scones are nothing like "scones". "Gem scones" are a little round cake; scones are cut from a rolled out dough.

Thank you to Jen for hosting Tasty Tuesday and Lisa for hosting Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday.

To Market, To Market

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again, dancing a jig;
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog;
Home again, home again, jiggety-jog
To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,
Home again, home again, market is done!

Saturday morning we got up and drove to Lincoln, NE (about 90 miles) to visit the Historic Haymarket. My dear friend, Rose and her family sell their beautiful melons and pumpkins there each year. I love Farmer’s Markets and have always wanted to make the trip and see this particular market. It was not a disappointing trip. We saw vendors selling produce of all sorts including some of the most warty, interesting looking pumpkins and gourds, food vendors selling ethnic yummys, crafts people selling knitted items, soaps, painted signs, baked goods, etc. We came home with pumpkins, squashes, a bunch of fresh basil, a loaf of artisan bread and a whole lot of sweet memories. I'll make it a point to visit Haymarket again next year!

And speaking of next year, my daughter and I will be offering our homemade soaps at our local Farmer’s Market starting next spring. Not a market that really compares to the Haymarket but a nice small town gathering. I make it a point to visit most Saturday mornings during the season.



Haymarket History (from www. lincolnhaymarket.com) Why Haymarket?
The ‘Haymarket’ name can be traced to Lincoln’s first decade. In the original plat of Lincoln of 1867, a ‘Market Square’ was designated between ‘O’ and ‘P’ Streets from 9th to 10th. That square was an open-air market for produce and livestock, as well as a camping ground for immigrants and general gathering place. Machines, wagons and animals thronged Market Square, along with land sharks, tin-horn gamblers and the other denizens of a pioneer town.



When the federal government decided to erect a post office and courthouse in Lincoln in 1874, the city and state donated the original ‘Market Square’ and moved its functions two blocks north, creating ‘Haymarket Square’ bounded by 9th and 10th, ‘Q’ and ‘R’ Streets. Scales were provided for weighing hay, cattle and produce. Haymarket Square continued ‘to provide space for the teams and wagons of country fold, a mart for hay and a camping ground’ well into the 1880s. It became the location for the first City Hall from 1886 until 1906. Today it serves a version of its original function as a city-owned parking lot.



The Haymarket name survives in the historic warehouse district immediately west of the old Haymarket Square. The Lincoln City Council designated the eight block Haymarket Landmark District in 1982, giving it recognition and protection as a major element of Lincoln’s heritage. The National Park Service subsequently certified Haymarket as the equivalent of a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the protection and privileges of that status. In 1985 Haymarket was selected as a demonstration project by the National Main Street Center. Haymarket is the first urban warehouse district to undertake that highly successful economic revitalization program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.



While we were in downtown Lincoln we dicided to visit Licorice International. Oh, was that fun!



Licorice in every size, shape and flavor you could ever dream of from all over the world. We came home with a Black Licorice Bridge Mix and an Australian Licorice that was wonderful. We also sampled some others that were just as good. A very fun side trip.

Foodie Friday ~ Prairie Honey Pumpkin Bread

Sharing another recipe today from Prairie Home Breads by Judith M. Fertig.


Last night the merchants of the historic downtown Hastings, NE hosted a very unique event. They held open house and gave tours of the living spaces above the old store fronts. I drug my youngest son out with me. What a great event and what interesting living spaces. There was also a terrific turnout. There were lots of folks taking the tour and I think both the bakery and the coffee shop did a booming business. It was very chilly and windy out. Before we headed to the downtown district, I whipped this up Prairie Honey Pumpkin Bread and we enjoyed it with spiced cider when we returned home.

Prairie Honey Pumpkin Bread

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups sugar
¾ cup wildflower or other pale amber honey
½ cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
¾ cup cooked pumpkin
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans and set aside. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar together into a large mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in the honey, water, oil, pumpkin, and eggs until you have a smooth batter. Fold in the pecans and raisins. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack.

Thanks to Michael at Designs by Gollum for hosting Foodie Friday!

The Farmhouse Pantry

THE FARMHOUSE PANTRY

From Prairie Home Breads by Judith M. Fertig:

In The Midwestern Country Cookbook, Marilyn Kluger remembers her 1930s childhood in southern Indiana before electricity eventually reached rural communities after World War II and the era she described came to an end. Here she recalls the farmhouse pantry.

The pantry next to our kitchen in the farmhouse had a look of delicious plenty. It’s pine-sheathed walls were lined with sturdy shelves that sagged gently under the weight of sparkling jars of garden vegetables, fruits, and jellies, the overflow from the cellar. Deep covered bins for pastry flour, bread flour, sugar, and cornmeal stood along one wall. On the table under the window were flat pans filled with fresh tomatoes from the garden or potatoes from the cellar, baskets of brown-shelled eggs, shiny tin pails of leaf lard, and earthenware crocks brimming with cream-topped milk. On the windowsill bloomed rose geraniums with the scented leaves, and blue-flowered chives.



I have an obsession with old-fashioned pantries. I can just see in my minds eye the 1930’s pantry that Marilyn Kluger describes in this passage. I’m sure I’ve been there but alas that pantry has never been my reality. Currently, my physical pantry is located in my garage. That is actually pretty convenient since the kitchen opens to the garage. I’ve set up stainless steel shelving to hold my overflow, lesser used kitchen equipment as well as my canned goods and large bins and canisters of dry goods and such. It is a system that works pretty well. After all PANTRY (defined as a room or closet in which food, groceries, and other provisions, or silverware, dishes, etc., are kept) doesn’t have to be that step back in time that my minds eye would like it to be. It is purely utilitarian in theory and is really more about what you have stored there than the actual space where the storing is accomplished. If I take a step back from my *ideal*, I can honestly say my pantry has "a look of delicious plenty".



Recently, I was introduced to Catherine Seiberling Pond’s Blog. It is lovely and I have enjoyed reading about her farm life. I have ordered her book In The Pantry and eagerly await its arrival. Look for a review soon and visit Catherine. You won’t be sorry you did.