Pretty Pavlova

Pavlova was served to us in Estonia and Finland then I made it for a Relief Society meeting dessert and now make it at home.  It's been requested in place of birthday cake by our youngest.  Here is the Pavlova recipe I use.

Brigham Young's Buttermilk Doughnuts

I'm recording this here so I can try it.  My Father had cut it out of the newpaper, so I guess I'll make them for him :)  

Title: Brigham Young's Buttermilk Doughnuts

Description:
This version of Brigham Young's buttermilk doughnuts has
been modernized by Brenda Hopkin, head baker at the Lion
House Pantry restaurant. It was on the paper on Feb. 21,
2009. She halved the recipe, specified the amount of flour
and added more butter and soda. To see the original recipe
from Naomi Young Schettler, as well as Winifred Jardine's
version, go to http://MormonTimes.com.

Ingredients:
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, beaten
5 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
6 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
n a medium bowl stir together all dry ingredients and set
aside. Whisk together buttermilk, eggs and sugar. Add
melted butter and whisk again. Add dry ingredients and gently
stir together -- do not use a mixer. Dough will be sticky. Start
heating frying oil to 375 degrees. Roll or pat dough on a well-
floured board about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick. Cut with 2 1/2 inch
doughnut cutter. Form the scraps into a ball and reroll and
cut. (The dough could be cut with a knife or pizza cutter in
small squares or rectangles to speed up the process). Fry in
hot oil. Doughnuts will start to crack on top when they are
ready to turn. Remove from oil when golden brown. Drain on
paper towels. While warm, roll in or sprinkle with granulated
sugar as desired.

Number Of Servings:Makes 2 dozen doughnuts

Pres. Obama's Inaugural Luncheon Menu and Recipes

Today, Barrack Hussein Obama became our 44th President.  It would have been awesome to be in Washington D.C. to participate.  I was able to watch this with my parents in their home and my husband was able to watch it with his parents in their home by chance as he's there on business. What an historic day for our country!  We've recorded it to watch with our children. They have watched this process with us this last year or so.  

Although our nation didn't choose Mitt Romney as we'd hoped, today I watch two LDS politicians intimately involved in the inauguration, one Bob Bennett (R-UT) co-chairing the inauguration and Harry Reid (D-NV) toasting the President as the Senate Majority Leader. 

I just heard that the page that has gotten the most hits on the inauguration website is the one with menus and recipes for today's luncheon sharing what our new President and the First Lady and guests ate.  I would have enjoyed everything except the duck.  

Halloween Salads

We spent some time this Halloween with Governor Sarah Palin 

and ret. Quarterback Steve Young 

and their flip cell phones!

We had so much fun.  All of them attended our ward trunk or treat.  Gov. Palin was a little hesitant at first.

Steve Young even attended our ward Harvest party earlier.  And they all stopped by our kids' schools.  What a Halloween treat!

My husband and I also attended a couples Halloween party.  I was asked to bring a Halloween salad.  Although one can find many Halloween main dishes, breads, desserts, drinks, and even appetizers, one area lacking in Halloween choices is the category of salads.  I did find this orange and black Halloween salad recipe and decided to make it to share.  Here is a picture of how it turned out.  I think I was supposed to mix it altogether, but liked the look of the orange bed of "spider legs" and the sunflower seed "fingernails" and the black bean "eyeballs" this way.  I'm not sure why parsley was added, but you can read more about this recipe at the link above.   My friend has some more pics from the party. 

The recipe calls for plum vinegar, safflower oil mayonnaise and french herbs.  I was unable to find all of these here, so I improvised with fig vinegar, olive oil mayonnaise and used what french herbs I did have on hand.  French herbs include basil, lavender, rosemary, tarragon, thyme and winter savory.  They are optional, but do add to the taste.  It tastes best the same day.  

Another choice I had was from the kid cookbook "Gross Grub" by Cheryl Porter my brother's family gave me years ago for my birthday.  Every Halloween I get a kick out of reading these recipes, but they sound to sick to eat.  

Hairball Salad with Saliva Dressing
Kitty's thrown up some fabulously fiber-filled hairballs!

ingredients
1 large ripe avocado
2 cups alfalfa sprouts
5-6 large carrots, washed, peeled and grated
Italian dressing

tools you'll need
paring knife, spoon, mixing bowl, fork, carrot peeler, grater and 4 salad bowls

Cut the avocado in half. Use spoon to scoop out the single large pit. Scoop the avocado meat out of its skin and into a bowl. Add alfalfa sprouts to the avocado meat and mash with a fork. (It is okay to leave small lumps.) Set the mixture. Divide the grated carrots between four salad bowls. Using your clean fingers and a spoon, make walnut-size hairballs from the avocado mixture and arrange them on top of the grated carrots. Pour Italian "saliva" dressing over hairballs and serve. Serves 4 cat fanciers

Sicko suggestion -- squeeze ribbons of chocolate icing "hairball medicine" out of a paper cone and onto the backs of your guests' hands, to be licked off for dessert:)

Autumn Pumpkin Pancakes and Cookies

It feels like autumn, so this morning we started off with Pumpkin pancakes.  I happened upon this sisters recipe blog and found the recipe. Our kids really liked them and want them on Halloween morning too.  I served them with applesauce and cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top.  

Since I had to open a can of pumpkin and didn't use it all, my son is making Pumpkin cookies for FHE.  My son and his friend are baking them.  I found it on one of those sister's linked blog of recipes with other friends.  

It's so handy to have the internet to look up recipe ideas from. 

The cookies called for pumpkin spice, which I didn't have, so I googled for a substitute and found this 

Pumpkin Pie Spice Substitute
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/8 teaspoon EACH nutmeg and cloves can be substituted for 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.

Sunday Dinner

It's so nice to have help with the Sunday meal by everyone in the family.  Today I had help with the Pork Roast and gravy by my hubby.  When I was eating it I suddenly realized it tasted so familar. It was!  He'd snuck onto our RS Blog to get the recipe used for Kahlua Pork. 

Dessert, fruit salad, veggies, and biscuits were made by our kids and I did the mashed potatoes.  Our guests set the table.  

Since it was "Fast Sunday", where we fast for 2 meals and give the money we would have used for those meals to the Bishop, who gives it to those who need it as a "Fast Offering".   I didn't want to make rolls, because of the smells, before church, so we tried Drop Biscuits. Here is the recipe we used.    

Drop Biscuits<-----click here to go to the link

2 cups All-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening
1 cup milk
Preparation:

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is course. Add milk, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 1 dozen.

Our  youngest did a great job making his 1st fruit salad all by himself, as neither I nor Dad had much extra time to do much other than answer questions like, "Do we have more pears?" or "Can I add another banana?"  He was so proud of his combine fresh and canned salad of whatever we had on hand.  It was so worth the stickiness and peels on the table and floor:)

What has Relief Society done for you?

Tonight was our Relief Society Birthday Celebration!

It's always so much fun to get together with other women to share good food and good conversation and be entertained.

We celebrated the contribution the Relief Society has made to so many lives, so much so that the average Laurel would never realize its impact.

Table SettingsDon't you just love these centerpieces. I think she did such a beautiful job with them!

I'm thankful they shared the recipes of what we made and brought with us. So I have them handy for my use from any internet connection, any day, I'll share them here too. We served minestrone soup, rolls, and key lime pie.

Minestrone Soup
1lb hamburger, browned
2 chopped onions
2 T. green peppers
4 stalks celery chopped
2c. potatoes, diced
3 c. carrots, diced
2 c. diced tomatoes
1/4 c. barley
1 1/2 qt. water
1 c. tomato or V8 juice
6 whole allspice
1 bay leaf
1 t. sugar
2 T. parsley
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
salt, pepper, season salt, garlic salt to taste
Simmer 3-4 hours or put in crockpot for 10-11 hours on low or 5-6 hours on high.

I'd suggested sorbet to cleanse the pallet and they decided to serve it this fun way.

Frozen Key Lime PieFrom "Favorites" Crust: 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs 2 tablespoons sugar ¼ cup butter, melted Mix together and press into a 9 inch springform pan. Freeze for 15 minutes. Filling: 1 pint lime sherbet 1 pint Haagen-Dazs zesty lemon sorbet 1 pint vanilla frozen yogurt 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice Soften and mix together in mixer. Spoon into crust. ¼ cup coconut, toasted Fresh limes for garnish Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Freeze for at least 4 hours. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with sliced limes on top.

Favor
Easter colored candies served as the take home favor in fun carrot shaped boxes.

Program

Our program was two part -- first a play about the role of Relief Society and then 3 sisters shared how RS stepped in to help each of them. I know I've been helped by the Relief Society organization. It doesn't matter where I've lived or visited, I've found instant friends, enrichment and consistency.
I'm so grateful for Relief Society in my life.

3 Reasons to Serve Cherry Chocolate Trifle in February

Whether you want to serve a red and chocolate dessert for Valentine's Day or something cherry to honor honest George Washington's legend of chopping down the Cherry tree, try this delicious Cherry Chocolate Trifle.

February is also time for the annual LDS Stake Relief Society Women's Conferences. This recipe, served in the 90s at the Menlo Park, California Stake Relief Society Women's Conference, was a hit.

Cherry Chocolate Trifle

Ingredients:
In large glass bowl layer:
1/2 baked Devil's food cake, cut in 1 inch cubes
1/2 chocolate instant pudding (2 small packages made with 3 c milk)
1/2 large carton cool whip
1/2 can comstock cherry pie mix
Repeat layers

Directions:
Chill a few hours before serving.

This year we get to listen to Sheri Dew at our RS Women's Conference! I wonder what they'll serve at ours and what they will serve at yours.

What do you make with pomegranites?

It was time for the annual Ward Christmas Party. We had great local entertainment and it was fun to have the kids visit Santa Claus again. The youth served us potatoes and beef and the salads and desserts folks brought. I wanted to use some great pomegranites we had, so I looked around and chose

Pomegranite Apple Salad I found at http://kosherfood.about.com/od/koshersaladrecipes/r/pom_apple.htm. It was yummy and colorful.

INGREDIENTS:

• DRESSING (can be made days in advance):
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
• SALAD (make fresh):
• 1 head lettuce
• 1 pomegranate, seeded
• 1 green apple, chopped

PREPARATION:

DRESSING:
1. In a food processor, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard and onion. After the ingredients are well blended, slowly add in oil.
2. Pour dressing ingredients into a jar. Add poppy seeds and shake well.

Thanksgiving Day Spreads

Below are two spreads I learned at our Christmas Enrichment Meeting. I'm posting them since I'm making them both for the first time right now to take them "over the river and through the woods" to Thanksgiving Dinner.

Here's the Pumpkin Dip or Spread Sister Renee W. made.
1 (16 oz.) larger, sugar free Cool-Whip
2 (1 oz.) for 1 large fat free-sugar, free instant vanilla pudding
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
1 tsp. *pumpkin pie spice
Mix well and refrigerate. Renee served it with apple slices and says it also good with other fruit, toasted bagels, and pumpkin bread.
*Pumpkin Pie Spice Substitute. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/8 teaspoon EACH nutmeg and cloves can be substituted for 1 teaspoon ...www.cdkitchen.com/features/tip/409/Pumpkin-Pie-Spice-Substitute

Sister Kelly E. made Lion House cran-raspberry butter to go with our yummy Potato Knot Rolls which were demonstrated and sampled.

Lion House

Cran-Raspberry Butter

1 cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce

½ cup raspberry preserves

2 cups butter, softened

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl; beat on high for 5 minutes. Mixture should be creamy. Spoon into a dish; cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Makes 3 ½ cups.

You can buy Lion House Recipe Books at www.desertbook.com or www.amazon.com.

Thanksgiving Blessings Mix

Last year my visiting teachers brought me this treat when they visited near Thanksgiving. I thought it was yummy and a thoughtful idea. If you are looking for a thoughtful Thanksgiving treat to give a neighbor, friend or family member, try this.

Title: Thanksgiving Blessings Mix

Description:
Edible gift idea for Thanksgiving time.

Ingredients:
BUGLES: Shaped like a cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, a symbol of our nation's abundance.

PRETZELS: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country.

CANDY CORN: The sacrifices of the Pilgrims' first winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on just a few kernels of corn a day.

NUTS or SEEDS: Promise of a future harvest one will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.

M&Ms: Memories of those who came before us to lead us into a blessed future.

KISSABLES: The love of a family and friends that sweetens our lives.

Directions:
Mix altogether in a bag or container. Print out the message explaining the meaning and attach it.

It's "Spud Harvest" so it's time to glean, bake or mash, etc. some potatoes.

The kids are out of school for "Spud Harvest"! That's the name given to the time to harvest and the vacation from school to help with the harvest.

The "Activity Days" girls are out today "gleaning" the Bishop's spud fields. Last time they made bags they'll put the potatoes in to give to local needy families.

I have fond memories of this time of year working in the spud fields. I also remember going to the high school football games and buying piping hot "baked potatoes" at the concession stand. I like baked not steamed potatoes! When you wrap the potatoes in foil, they become steamed.

I like to wash the skins well, poke a couple of fork holes in each (You must poke each potato whether you bake or microwave them or they'll explode out of their skin) and sometimes roll them in salt. To me, the best way to bake potatoes is to bake them in a 400-425 degree oven for about an hour for 6 medium sized potatoes. Where I live you can buy a box of potatoes based on their size, so you can buy a box of 90s, 80, 60s, 50s, etc. The higher the number refers to how many potatoes fit in the box. I just heard another tip about baking potatoes. Put your potatoes in muffin tins, so that you can remove all of them from the oven at once by taking out the tin. Great idea!!

Baked potatoes can be served so many ways. Growing up my brother would empty the potato out of its skin, mash it down on his plate and smear butter and corn on top of it. If I only ate half of my baked potato, he'd ask me if he could eat the other half with the rest of his meal. I like to keep bake potatoes in their skin and even eat some of the skin -- this is why you wash it well.

Names of potatoes:

spuds:
In Dec 2006, I discussed spudnuts, delicious doughnuts made with potatoes, on this blog.

taters:
I love to order tater tots vs. fries to eat, when they are available.

murphies:
I understand that my paternal Grandfather used to call potatoes this, since potatoes supposedly came to America with the Irish.

tatties:
When my husband lived in Scotland, they used to boil turnips with their potatoes and call it "nips and tatties". I really like the taste of these mashed together. I use about 2/3 potatoes to 1/3 turnips. Another variation is to add carrots. We were at a friend's house for Sunday dinner and the husband was making mashed potatoes, but he threw in some dehydrated carrots from their food storage. This combination also tasted great.

My Father tells us cream was often their gravy for mashed potatoes, since it was readily available growing up on the ranch. I like to combine red potatoes with yellow or other potatoes in the same mashed potatoes too. What do I add, whatever I have on hand -- anything from real butter to butter buds, minced garlic or garlic salt, cream cheese sometimes but always milk (if you warm it, your potatoes won't cool off as quickly). Smashed potatoes versus whipped potatoes seem more satisfying to me.

peruna:
This is the Finnish word based on the fact that potatoes came from Peru.

papas:
This is Spanish for potatoes of course, but we call my Dad's mashed potatoes Papa's papas.

"Massilan Pojat" The Massila Boys -- When my Mother was young, her Mother always read to them while they ate. Sometimes she had a hard time getting them to eat. It become a tradition to here this story about 2 magpies stealing shiny jewelry from the neighbors window as her parents got them to eat their boiled potatoes. My maternal grandfather liked his "Massilan Pojat" or boiled potatoes with just a little bit of butter on top of each bite her ate. We still call them this.

Share how you like your potatoes.

It's zucchini time, so lock your car doors!

Today, my Mother requested I find this recipe in her 1978 Relief Society cookbook and make it today since it's ZUCCHINI
time.

This time of year we are warned, "Watch out, lock your doors, or someone will fill your car with zucchini while you are at church on Sunday!"

Usually there is such an abundance of zucchini and we've experienced this, especially when we lived in Utah. Feel free to comment with your favorite zucchini recipe or story here! This year I have no garden, so actually I hope someone will give us zucchini. Today, I bought some to make this moist and delicious cake.

Title: Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 c. margarine
1/2 c. oil
1 3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. sour cream
4 Tbp. cocoa
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
6 oz. chocolate chips
1/2 c. nuts (optional)

Directions:
Cream margarine, oil, and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and sour
cream. Add dry ingredients. Stir in zucchini and nuts. Pour into
9x13 cake pan. Sprinkle chips on top. Bake 40-45 minutes at
325 degrees. (Moist and delicious!)

Two Grillin' Recipes

We had a fun evening as RS Sisters, listening to a former ward member share his love and secrets of grilling. He says in the 4 years he's been married, he's cooked all but a handful of meals. All the sisters sighed with jealousy. He said he used to really dislike school lunch and would come home everyday and he and his Mother would experiment with different tastes. He got really good at it and has been cooking ever since 3rd or 4th grade. I have one who also really dislikes school lunches and can hardly find anything he wants to make for home lunch, so likes to come home for "hot" lunch, so I was intrigued with his story.

It's the seasoning that makes it. We got to sample everything he grilled that night. Yummy! Here are two of the recipes that he shared:

Chicken:
Combine Italian Dressing,
Cilantro,
and Lemons and marinate for 2-3 hours.

Steak:
Combine Kosher salt,
rubbed sage,
Lawry's Seasoned Salt,
Garlic Salt
and rub on Steaks, Tri-tip, or Lamb before putting on the grill.

He buys his cuts in bulk and freezes them . He says they are so much cheaper that way.

Calculate your own family size's food storage needs

Prompted by Sunday's RS lesson on self-reliance, here is a link to a calculatorhttp://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm where you can instantly calculate your own family size's food storage needs.

Another good site is http://www.providentliving.org/content/list/0,11664,2003-1,00.html where you can learn about Three-Month Supply, Drinking Water,Financial Reserve and Longer-Term Supply.

Are we prepared? The blessing of a supply of food, drinking water, money, clothing, etc. comes in handy not only in a disaster (unless it's destroyed), but in times of illness or unemployment, in otherwards when cash flow is interrupted, but needs to eat drink and pay bills are not.