Gooseberry Patch Cookbook & Buckeye Grove Farm Cheese WINNER!!

What a wonderful surprise when Renae from Down on the Farm emailed me to let me know I won her Gooseberry Patch Cookbook giveaway. Not only did I win the cookbook MOM'S VERY BEST RECIPES but she also included 1# of their Farmstead-Artisan Raw-Milk cheese from their Buckeye Grove Farm Cheese. It was Summer Swiss, I must say we were delighted. Nice flavor loved by young and old at our house yesterday. Two grandsons, ages 8 and 10 kept coming back for more. Papi didn’t have a chance to sample until this afternoon and his comment was “very nice”.

Here is the recipe that I use our cheese in. It calls for Cheddar, but I substitute it with our swiss cheeses.

Baked Fish Au Gratin

1 lb. fresh or frozen fish fillets, thawed ( I use perch, flounder, red snapper)1/4 cup dry bread crumbs 1/4 tsp. lemon-pepper seasoning 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Arrange fish in a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking pan; set aside. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and seasoning. Spoon bread crumb mixture over fish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts. Serves 4

This is from the Gooseberry Patch cookbook Speedy Suppers.

Renae is currently reviewing and has another cookbook giveaway for GBP Best-Ever Cookies Cookbook Review & Giveaway! Be certain to stop by her blog and enter to win this new cookbook, too.

Thank you Renae and Gooseberry Patch!!

Have a God Filled Day

Shirley

As The Deer

Part III - 1821 SESQUI - SAMPLINGS 1971

In the Autumn, the harvesting began. Onions were dug, turnips and cabbages stored, and fruits were dried. A one-acre garden patch in Fall Creek bottom yielded 125 bushels of sweet potatoes in one season, and 1,000 young apple trees, purchased for 6 1/2 cents each, promised the birth of fine orchards.

Long after other fruits were picked, the small, dull-orange persimmon fully ripened. Into late fall and early winter a tree full of the rich, sweet persimmon fruit would provide a treat for the hungry traveler or be cooked as a luscious persimmon pudding.

My mother-in-law made persimmon pudding for our family for many years. It is very labor intensive to remove the seeds, but oh so delicious. My oldest son called it possum puddin’. I’ve made it previously, but it just didn’t taste like “Grandma’s”.

Persimmon Pudding

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 cups persimmon pulp
• 1 cup milk
• 3 eggs, separated
• 2 1/4 cups sifted flour
• Dash of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream butter until very soft. Gradually add sugar. Add persimmon, milk and beaten egg yolks. Beat well. Sift together the flour, salt, soda and spices. Add to the persimmon mixture and beat well, then add vanilla. Beat egg whites to soft peaks and fold in very thoroughly. Put into greased 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Makes 12 large servings.

Mrs. William F. Freije Sr.

There was also the annual harvesting of nuts. Beech, walnuts, hickory and hazelnuts were gathered and cracked with rocks, bricks and sometimes a cold flatiron and hammer. This ultimately necessitated another “gathering of nuts”—now in bits and pieces scattered all over the floors and walls of the log cabins. The hours of patient searching, cracking and picking finally did pay off with such rich rewards as nutty pancakes and nut-filled meat loaves, along with nut-rich baked goods.

Black Walnut Cake

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup chopped black walnuts

Cream together sugar, butter and eggs. Dissolve soda in sour cream and add to mixture. Sift together flour and baking powder, add to mixture and stir in nuts. Pour into buttered and floured 9-inch square pan. Bake 40 to 50 minutes at 325 degrees. Frost with favorite caramel icing.

This Black Walnut Cake sounds delicious, since we grow our own black walnuts, think I should make this cake next Fall.

What a Way to End Your Birthday

Favorite grandson #3 ended his 11th birthday in the hospital with possible pancreatitis. We are praising God for a quick recovery with only a 2 day stay. Not the best way to end a celebration, but he was a trooper. We LOVE YOU Parker!!

I Won !!

I had so much fun participating in the One World One Heart blog hop. I found sooooo many interesting blogs around the world. What fun, so sorry I got in on the 5th and final year for it.

Yesterday I received a package from Dottie and I was so excited. I love her blog, it has so many wonderful ideas and tutorials.

She sent me a lovely book written and illustrated by Marjolein Bastin called “The Wonder of Birds”. It already is one of my favorite bird books. Dottie also included a generous 25% off coupon for her etsy shop, yea me. The other two books were won by another participant.

Even the note card she included is adorable. Don’t you think it would be cute framed?

This has been a week of “winning” so as soon as I receive the next package I’ll share about it with you. Here’s a hint, it will be yummy in more ways than one.

Shirley

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

I’ve been married to my sweetheart and best friend for 47 wonderful years. I must say our love grows with every passing year. When we married, that beautiful fall day, we had no idea what would be ahead for those two nineteen year old kids. We really were just kids. God has richly blessed us.

A few years ago I made this FUDGE TRUFFLE CHEESECAKE http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/fudge-truffle-cheesecake/Detail.aspx for our Valentine Dinner. Even though it might be a little late, I thought you might enjoy it tonight or on another “special” occasion. It was my first attempt making cheesecake and I must say, it was delicious. Believe me, it was not the last time I made the recipe. HEAVENLY!!!

I haven’t tried this one yet, but a healthier CHOCOLATE DECADANCE is found at http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chocolate_decadence.html. Think we need to try this one too.

A good verse to live by for life in general, but especially dealing with marriage follows:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. I Corinthians 13:3-7

Have a LOVE Filled Day

I Will Praise You In This Storm

This song is my testimony today. Even though the storm of physical issues rages about me, I still praise my Saviour "In this Storm". "I don't know about tomorrow, but I know who holds my hand." I am resting in the knowledge that God is in control and He knows the answers even when the doctors don't. Thank you for your prayers.

Oh the Places We’ve Been–Memories of EGYPT

Fourteen years ago this month Papi and I were privileged to travel in Egypt for a few days after a tour in Israel. We were very interested in making this trip because Papi loves Ancient History and we had some acquaintances that were from Egypt.

One of my most favorite doctors is from Egypt and he took care of my mother for a few years while she was in a nursing home. Dr. Famy never wanted anyone else to take call for his patients and was available 24/7 for their needs. It was too much for him and so he is now teaching, but what a wonderful compassionate man he is.

The other acquaintance was with a family who had two children i n the Day Care Ministry where I was director. Two, more beautiful children, I have NEVER seen. Susie and Tamer were in elementary school and I can still remember Susie’s sweet voice singing in a musical we presented. Her parents told me they had no idea she could sing like that.

Well, on to the memories of Egypt. We’ll never forget the SPEEDY trip our convoy made across the Sinai Dessert from the Israeli/Egyptian Border to Cairo. There were several tour buses along with an armed guard vehicle in the front and one in the back. We also had an armed guard riding in the back of our bus. The buses stopped for nothing and all traffic pulled to the side of the road to allow the convoy access. The drivers kept changing the position of their bus in the group of buses, we never did figure out why.

Of course, it was exciting to cross the Suez Canal on a barge, but I cannot recommend the bathroom on the western side.

In fact, I’m not sure if this is the Ladies’ Room or the Men’s Room.

Oops, guess it was the men’s. You see our line was VERY slow and the bus drivers began honking their horns to leave and with several of us still in line, well, we made use of the empty Men’s Room. It didn’t make much difference, they both were horrible.

The traffic in Cairo was UNREAL. Even though they did have traffic lights, no one paid attention to them. You just honked your horn and the most daring, biggest, loudest driver had the right-away. Since we were in a bus that was usually our vehicle. Actually, our bus sideswiped a car and knocked off a mirror, but no one stopped, we all just kept going. Of course the tourists who were seated close to the impact certainly had a big surprise. Everyone shared the same road including the donkey cart and Mercedes.

My heart broke to see the children living in such poverty.

Everything. everywhere, seemed so dirty due to the sand. We even were in a sand storm one day.

I’ll close for now but will share more memories and photos of Egypt in a future post. Thank you for traveling this memory road with me.

"OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD" - Jars of Clay by eydely gospel channel

Truly GOD is Awesome. I'm so thankful He is the one who is in control. Have a blessed day in the Saviour.

Part II - 1821 SESQU-ISAMPLINGS 1971

"We wouldn't a lasted long without corn meal," reminisced one Hoosier pioneer. "Corn bread was our staff of life. For several years we had it in some form for breakfast, dinner and supper, never tirin' of it. Sometimes a few coals or a little ashes would get in the cookin', but that didn't matter; we thought it just helped season it some."

Corn Meal was capale of producing a variety of dishes bearing an equal variety of names. THe recipes were similar; variations depended upon where the families came from, what supplies were on hand and how the resulting batter was cooked.

There was hoecake, a Southern dish that had moved North with the settlers and was originally baked on a hoe. Johnnycakes, some said, was a corruption of "Journey Cake" because it was a convenient food to carry in a saddle bag. Others said the name came from the Indian word for a thin griddle cake, "jonakin." It usually was corn meal mixed with water, salt and butter and baked on a clapboard tilted up before a fire. Local settlers fixed something they called johnny hoecakes, basically a sweeted johnnycake plus flour.

A corn dodger was again made from much the same batter, but was generally baked in a spider (a skillet) with legs) or on a griddle.

Old-Fashioned Scrapple

1 1/2 pounds lean pork
4 cups cold water
2 cups milk
2 cups corn meal

Cover pork with water; bring to boil, then simmer until fork tender. Grind pork. Mix water, milk, corn meal and salt to taste. Bring to boil and cook until thick, stirring almost constantly. Add the pork, mix well and cook togetheer for a few minutes. Pour into a 8 x 4 x 3-inch loaf pan and refrigerate overnight. Slice and fry until crisp. Serve hot with butter and syrup. Makes at least 10 servings

NOTE; While reminiscent of the past, these recipes have been updated for today's cooks and kitchens.