Raspberry/blueberry Jelly

 The wild raspberries are ripe and all over my yard. I picked about 6-7 cups, which was not enough for a batch of jelly. Then I noticed that I had 6-7 cups of blueberries that needed to be used. Hmm. Combining the two was a great idea. I did jelly because wild raspberries are very seedy. It is not super clear because I only used a strainer and not a cheesecloth. It is fine.

Raspberry/blueberry Jelly

12 cups fresh blueberries and raspberries

1 package (1.75 oz. - I weighed mine)

4 Tablespoons lemon juice (bottled because of regulated acidity)

5 1/2 cups pure cane sugar

Place berries in sauce pot with 2 cups of water. Simmer about 10 minutes until soft. Gently mash. Strain through a couple layers of cheesecloth or a very fine wire mesh strainer or a jelly strainer bag. Let the fruit drip for a few hours or overnight.

You need 4 cups of juice.  Add water, if needed.

Prepare jars, lids and rings. Heat water in the water bath canner.

Place 4 cups of juice in a pot. Stir in pectin and lemon juice. Bring to a rolling boil.

To boiling juice, add the sugar all at once. Stir. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and skim foam, if needed.

Pour into prepared jars with 1/4 inch headspace.

Wipe rims of jars and place lids and rings on jars. Tighten to finger tip tightness.

Place jars in canner and boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars carefully and listen for the pings of the jars sealing. Let the jars sit for 24 hours before labeling and storing. If any jars did not seal, put them in the fridge and enjoy them right away.

Oatmeal Cake

This is a great, old fashioned cake. It is especially good during the cooler months. The icing is more of a cooked praline, which is lovely.

Oatmeal Cake

Cake

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 1/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup shortening

 1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Icing

1/2 cup butter

3 Tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 - 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch baking pan and set aside.  Put the oats in a mixing bowl, pour the boiling water over them, and set aside for 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the shortening, sugars, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat well with an electric mixer, adding the soaked oatmeal.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat them into the wet mixture until the batter is evenly mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile make the icing.  Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan and stir in the milk.  Add the brown sugar.  Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook for several minutes, until it reaches the soft ball stage (about 235 degrees, or the icing forms a small ball when dropped into a glass of chilled water).  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the nuts.

When you take the cake out of the oven, turn on the broiler. Spoon the icing onto the cake and spread it evenly over the top. Place the cake under the broiler very briefly, just until the icing bubbles over the entire surface - it will only take moments..  Transfer the cake to a rack and cool, at least slightly, before slicing.

Louise Clementine's Baked Beans

Many years ago, before I was married, some dear friends gave me a this recipe. It makes the best baked beans in the land.

I still make them this way and always have great reviews.  It is pretty easy, but has a very long baking time. It is glorious. I have changed this to what I do.

Baked Beans

4-5 15 oz. cans of pork and beans (NOT baked beans)

1 lb. bacon, cooked, drained and diced

2 medium onions, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 3/4 cup ketchup

2 cups water (I sometimes use less)

Mix everything together in a dutch oven.

Bake 3-3.5 hours at 325 degrees.

If you can get leftovers, I think it is even better the next day.

Bean Salad

One of my favorite salads is bean salad. Could be 3, 4, 5 or whatever bean salad, it's up to you. My grandma made it all summer. It doesn't have mayo or eggs, so it is good in the heat. The longer it sits, the better it is. What's not to love.

This is how I do it.

Bean Salad

5 (15 oz.) cans of beans. I usually use green, wax (if I can find them), garbanzo, butter, kidney, black, whatever you like

1 purple onion, coarsely chopped

1 bell pepper (any color), coarsely chopped

1 large stalk of celery, chopped

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

2 T. balsamic vinegar

Rinse all the beans under cold water and put in a large bowl.  Add the chopped vegetables and stir. In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients.

Pour over bean mixture and stir it up.

Let sit - marinate - for a few hours, stirring whenever you walk by.

Keep in the fridge until it is gone.

 Caramel Apple Cake

It's that time of year.

Apple Cake

 

4 cups of peeled, diced apples (about 5 medium apples), I like granny smith

2 cups sugar

2/3 cups vegetable or canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 11X9 baking pan OR a bundt pan.

 In a large bowl, mix together the apples, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs.  Mix well. 

 

The apple are going to produce juice.  Trust me, don't change the order of ingredients. (been there, done that)

To the apple mixture, add the flour, soda, salt and cinnamon.  Mix until well blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 - 60 minutes.  Let cool slightly. Turn the oven on to broil.

Spoon the icing onto the cake and spread it evenly over the top. Place the cake under the broiler very briefly, just until the icing bubbles over the entire surface. This happens very quickly,

Transfer the cake to a rack and cool a bit before slicing.

Caramel Icing

1/2 cup butter

3 Tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Melt the butter in a medium size saucepan and stir in the milk.  Add the brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and cook for several minutes, until it reaches the soft ball stage (approximately 235 degrees or when a drop of the icing forms a small ball when dropped into a glass of cold water).  Remove the pan from the heat and stir inthe nuts.

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

I was in the mood for a sweet. I also had a loaf of homemade french bread that was getting old. Hmmm.

A new bread pudding was born.

Caramel Apple Bread Pudding

For pudding:

1 loaf homemade bread sliced in 1/2 inch slices, OR 6 large croissants, sliced

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 T. of butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 t. cinnamon (I didn't actually measure this, just sprinkle it on)

1 large apple, diced

2 eggs, beaten

pinch of salt

3 cups half and half

For caramel sauce:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup half & half

4 T. butter

pinch salt

1 T. vanilla extract

Generously butter a 11x7 or 13x9 inch baking dish.

Butter half of the bread and place, butter size up, in baking dish.

Sprinkle half of the sugar on the buttered bread. Top with half of the diced apples. Sprinkle cinnamon all over the apples.

Repeat this part with the remaining bread, butter, apples, sugar and cinnamon.

Beat the eggs in a bowl with the flour and salt. Add the half & half and mix.  Pour egg mixture over the bread.

Let the bread and egg mixture sit for 1 hour.

Cover the pudding with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool (or don't, I don't judge).

Serve with caramel sauce or sweetened whipped cream or ice cream, if you want.

Caramel Sauce

Mix the brown sugar, half & half, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook while stirring gently for 5-7 minutes, until it starts to boil. Add the vanilla and cook another 1-2 minutes to thicken a bit.

Take off of the heat and pour the sauce into a canning jar (it can take the heat). Refrigerate.

Plum Cake

Plum cake is my all time favorite cake.  Always has been, always will be.  It is a dense and moist spice cake.  It has a lemon glaze instead of frosting, which I love. It also makes your house smell better than the fall spice candles or oils AND you get cake!  

The recipe calls for plum baby food, which was easy to find 40-50 years ago.  Now, however, it is really hard to find.  So, with this rendition, I used baby food prunes.  What are prunes, you ask? Why, they are only dehydrated plums.  It worked quite well.  I have also, when plums are in season, pureed fresh plums.  That is also lovely.

Plum Cake

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

2 cups granulated sugar

2 jars plum or prune baby food, 4 oz. each OR 1 cup pureed plums

1 cup oil

3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a bundt pan.  I like bakers spray, which has flour in the oil spray.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

To the dry ingredients, add the remaining ingredients.

Beat until smooth, but don't over beat.

Pour batter in the prepared bundt pan.

Bake in heated oven for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for about 5 minutes.

Say a little prayer, and invert the cake on to a cake plate.

When cooled 5-10 minutes more, but while cake is still warm, drizzle the lemon glaze over the cake.

Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Try to save some cake for those that are worthy.

Lemon glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

juice of one lemon

Mix together and drizzle over warm cake.