Saturday, July 31, 2010
Meal 116
Breakfast!! Pancakes to be specific. Made with a box of bisquick. They were wonderful. But after I got them made I realized that we didn't have any pancake syrup, so we ended up using corn syrup instead. Anyone else remember doing that as a kid?
Meal 115
Meal 115 was ratatouille, herb bread, small meatloaves & blackberry cobbler. All recipes have been posted before...I think. Wait, maybe I've never talked about the cobbler process.
Here's what we do to make a cobbler: Add 1 quart of blackberries, 1 cup of sugar, & just a little water - I don't actually cover the berries - to a pan. Simmer this for awhile on top of the stove. Make a simple biscuit like pie crust - I actually used a biscuit mix this time. Spray a casserole dish with oil. Roll your dough mixture out big enough to cover the bottom of your casserole dish & still fold over to make a top for your cobbler. Transfer your pie crust to the casserole dish (this is definately the hardest part!) - cover the bottom & let the remainder drape over the sides of the dish. It if breaks off, like mine did, it's not a big deal, just pick up the pieces & lay them back on top. Your not looking for perfection here - besides, sometimes it's those imperfect cobblers that bake up to look the prettiest! After you've got you pie crust situated - pour the blackberries & sugar mixture into the casserole dish & then fold over the top of the crust. Sprinkle with a little sugar & bake until the crust is golden brown.
Our girls have actually won several blackberry cobbler titles at our local fair through the years & this is the simple process that they've always used. Sometime Dara adds a little butter to the top when she makes hers, but not always. The pics above are of cobbler they've made for the fairs.
Here's what we do to make a cobbler: Add 1 quart of blackberries, 1 cup of sugar, & just a little water - I don't actually cover the berries - to a pan. Simmer this for awhile on top of the stove. Make a simple biscuit like pie crust - I actually used a biscuit mix this time. Spray a casserole dish with oil. Roll your dough mixture out big enough to cover the bottom of your casserole dish & still fold over to make a top for your cobbler. Transfer your pie crust to the casserole dish (this is definately the hardest part!) - cover the bottom & let the remainder drape over the sides of the dish. It if breaks off, like mine did, it's not a big deal, just pick up the pieces & lay them back on top. Your not looking for perfection here - besides, sometimes it's those imperfect cobblers that bake up to look the prettiest! After you've got you pie crust situated - pour the blackberries & sugar mixture into the casserole dish & then fold over the top of the crust. Sprinkle with a little sugar & bake until the crust is golden brown.
Our girls have actually won several blackberry cobbler titles at our local fair through the years & this is the simple process that they've always used. Sometime Dara adds a little butter to the top when she makes hers, but not always. The pics above are of cobbler they've made for the fairs.
Monday, July 26, 2010
A month in review
It has been nearly a MONTH since I last blogged. I promise I have been cooking. The lag in documentation has been due to the "busy"ness of this time of year at the Farmer's Market. I know I've mentioned that we grow the vast majority of our food, including beef. But I'm not sure if I've mentioned that we also sell produce during the harvesting months here in Kentucky. April through October you will find us at the market selling everything from eggplants to watermelons.
The last four weeks our major crops have come in & we've also had a very busy baseball schedule to keep!
So, I'm going to recap some of our meals & get started back to blogging each one. We've eaten BLT's & lasagna several times in the last few weeks. Both made with our fresh tomatoes. These treats are definately highlights of the summer.
We've also had at least two or three meals centered around our green beans. Thanks to a market customer I've started preparing green beans in a simpler way. I simply snap off the ends & pull the strings (if there are any) - dump them into my crockpot with some country ham pieces & a little water. I let those simmer all day. Add some smashed new potatoes & fried corn bread & we're done.
Tonight we had those green beans, simply baked acorn squash (with just a little butter & brown sugar) & fried cornbread. I also baked a spaghetti squash - just to show customers at tomorrow's market what the prepared squash looks like inside & some of that ended up on Tony's plate too. I think it was his favorite part of the meal. The girls also fixed themselves a BLT to go with the meal.
I know that I've fixed the ratatouille again since last time. Tony is now a HUGE fan of that. We've also had his forever favorite of meatloaf lately.
One night some sauteed pork steaks were the center of our meal. I think we had silver queen corn & smashed potatoes with those - I know two starches aren't great for us....but it was a good meal.
My favorite meal that I can remember right now was when Wayne actually grilled some ribs over cedar. Tony had found a Kansas City rub that they used on the ribs. I also boiled up some "incredible" corn & helped Wayne cut up some other fresh vegetables for a grill basket. They were tasty. Actually the entire meal was.
Hamburgers have been pretty common around here too. Especially with the new potatoes & fresh dill pickles. My mom made 5 quarts of small whole dill pickles & we actually ate one whole quart in just a couple of days!
I've also made salsa from the garden this year & we've had several meals with that. It's so simple to open a can of refried beans - top those with some cheese & salsa - and scoop it all up with some chips.
We've also eaten some fresh fish caught on bank poles along the Green River this year.
The last four weeks our major crops have come in & we've also had a very busy baseball schedule to keep!
So, I'm going to recap some of our meals & get started back to blogging each one. We've eaten BLT's & lasagna several times in the last few weeks. Both made with our fresh tomatoes. These treats are definately highlights of the summer.
We've also had at least two or three meals centered around our green beans. Thanks to a market customer I've started preparing green beans in a simpler way. I simply snap off the ends & pull the strings (if there are any) - dump them into my crockpot with some country ham pieces & a little water. I let those simmer all day. Add some smashed new potatoes & fried corn bread & we're done.
Tonight we had those green beans, simply baked acorn squash (with just a little butter & brown sugar) & fried cornbread. I also baked a spaghetti squash - just to show customers at tomorrow's market what the prepared squash looks like inside & some of that ended up on Tony's plate too. I think it was his favorite part of the meal. The girls also fixed themselves a BLT to go with the meal.
I know that I've fixed the ratatouille again since last time. Tony is now a HUGE fan of that. We've also had his forever favorite of meatloaf lately.
One night some sauteed pork steaks were the center of our meal. I think we had silver queen corn & smashed potatoes with those - I know two starches aren't great for us....but it was a good meal.
My favorite meal that I can remember right now was when Wayne actually grilled some ribs over cedar. Tony had found a Kansas City rub that they used on the ribs. I also boiled up some "incredible" corn & helped Wayne cut up some other fresh vegetables for a grill basket. They were tasty. Actually the entire meal was.
Hamburgers have been pretty common around here too. Especially with the new potatoes & fresh dill pickles. My mom made 5 quarts of small whole dill pickles & we actually ate one whole quart in just a couple of days!
I've also made salsa from the garden this year & we've had several meals with that. It's so simple to open a can of refried beans - top those with some cheese & salsa - and scoop it all up with some chips.
We've also eaten some fresh fish caught on bank poles along the Green River this year.
So, all in all I think I've added about 19 meals to the count since I blogged last. I know that sounds like alot, but we really do eat at home alot when all the fresh stuff comes in. To all of you who have been asking me when I'm going to catch up on this blog, thanks for keeping me accountable!
114 meals complete.
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