Saturday, February 25, 2012

Melanies' helpful hints, tips and recipes

Greetings friends and family,

Another week has passed here on Grandpa's place and we have experienced all kinds of Indiana weather. Warm one day with thunder storms and cold and snowing the next. When the snow falls softly like a feather floating to the earth our family says it is our loved one's in heaven blowing kisses down upon us. Each kiss falling softly upon our face or the top of our head is a warm reminder of the love we share even on the coldest of days.

Earlier today I watched as my dog romped outside with the neighbors dog. They would run at each other like medieval knights during a joust trying to knock one another down. Only to end up rolling around on the ground then jumping up and starting all over again. My favorite thing is to watch them bounce up and down like they have giant bedsprings attached to their paws. Then they both decided to try catching the snow flakes and would snap at them as they fell. Oh the glee of being foot loose and fancy free. Maybe tomorrow I will try jumping up and down outside and catching snowflakes upon my tongue. I once heard someone say that we only grow old because we forget how to play. I'm beginning to think they were right.

Of course once my dog Rusty came back inside he had that strong smell of a wet dog. To counteract the odor I grabbed a fabric softner sheet and began to rub it over his hair. At that time I decided to make a note to myself "brush the dog" because the fabric softner sheet quickly began to look like a shag rug. He found himself a nice warm corner and curled up for a nap while I was busy with laundry, vacuuming and other household chores. Oh such is the dogs life!

One of the things I had to do today was clean out the vegetable bins of my refrigerator. I don't know about yours but mine seem to accumulate items that turn into things I no longer recognize. I believe one item was a cucumber that had turned into what appeared to be Ghostbusters slime. It is never fun to clean out that kind of a mess but one thing I do to help myself is to line my vegetable bins with plastic wrap. I remove the items from the bins that is still good and that I wish to save. I peel off the plastic wrap off while keeping the nasty items safely contained and I have a plastic shopping bag close by so I can drop the entire mess in the bag for disposal.  Also if you have any carrots or celery that has lost its oomph and has become rubbery. Dont' throw them away, rinse the vegetables in cold water then dice and put into freezer bags to use in soups. Once cooked you will never know the difference.

I also changed out the baking soda in my fridge to help control the odors. I use one of those plastic see through deli containers that you get for a single serving of potato or macaroni salad. I use a marker and write the date on the side of the container and then punch holes in the lid. Add my baking soda, replace the lid and slide to the back of my refrigerator. I try to change this out about every two months so I can keep the odors down. But wait! Dont' toss that container of used baking soda into the trash, dump it down your kitchen drain followed by some vinegar that you have heated. This will foam and help to boil out some of the gunk that likes to gather in the pipes.

Last week I received a request from my cousin Kathy that lives in Tennessee. She wanted to know if I have our Mamaw Truly's recipe for chocolate or lemon pie. Well unfortunately I don't have those recipes but Mamaw taught my mother how to cook and she makes alot of pies. So Kathy I hope these pies turn out to taste like Mamaws did when we would all gather around for her Sunday dinners. When mom was a little girl Mamaw would make the Chocolate pudding for breakfast and call it Chocolate Gravy.

Flaky Pastry (makes 4 single or two double crusts for pies)_
3 cups of All-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cup of shortening (butter flavored is really good)
1 teaspoon of vinegar (white or apple cider)
1 egg
1/3 cup of water

Directions:
Measure and sift the flour into a large bowl, using two butter knives, your fingers or a pastry blender cut the shortening into the flour until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle in the salt and in a separate bowl whisk together the egg, vinegar and water. Pour into the bowl with the flour mixture and toss together until the floour is moistened. Using your hands bring the mixture together to form a soft dough and form into a ball. You may need to add more water. Knead the dough 2 or 3 times and then roll into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the bottom of the refrigerator for one hour before rolling out into pie crust. Once chilled divide the dough into four pieces and begin rolling.

Homemade flavored pudding for pies (Vanilla, Chocolate, Banana, Coconut or Lemon)
3 eggs (beaten)
3/4 cup of white sugar
4 heaping Tablespoons of cornstarch
4 cups of milk (NOTE: If making Lemon use water instead of milk)
1 teaspoon or to taste of flavoring or extract (Vanilla, Banana, Lemon, Coconut)
1 Tablespoon of butter
Directions:
In a 3 quart saucepan mix together well the sugar, cornstarch and well beaten eggs. Slowly whip in the milk using a wire whisk to prevent clumps from forming. Place saucepan over medium heat whipping constantly so the mixture doesn't lump. When the pudding has thickened remove from heat and add in the butter and the flavoring. Pour into cooled pie crusts that has been baked at 375 degrees until they have become golden brown.

For a Chocolate pie you will need to add in a 1/4 cup of Cocoa Powder with the sugar and cornstarch. To make a coconut pie you will want to add in 1 cup of flaked coconut to the pie filling before pouring into the pie crust. If you're using pure extract vs. flavoring you may only need the 1 teaspoon.

NOTE: Sometimes the chocolate pie filling wants to become a little watery after setting. What I do to help eliminate that problem is to toss in about 1/2 a cup of dark chocolate chips into the pudding and let them melt before pouring into the pie crust.

Until we meet again God Bless you and your families,
Mel



1 comment:

  1. Love your blog Melanie! Good job. The recipes are great and I love the plastic wrap idea. Some of the stuff in my fridge looks like a science fair project. Thanks for your story, I felt like I was sitting there having a cup of tea with you. Looking forward to the next one...

    Rita Jackson

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