Curried Pumpkin Soup During The Storm that WASN'T

On Saturday evening we celebrated Karen's golden birthday. I'm calling this year our golden birthdays as we turn 58 and we were born in '58. 

 Any excuse for a party.

Saturday was predicted to be very stormy so I chose comfort food for our menu.  For a starter we had curried pumpkin soup.  My sister, Kathi has made this recipe for years and I love this soup in the fall.  I think she got the recipe from a Junior League Cookbook.  Those leaguers always have good recipes.   I served the soup in teacups with pumpkin cranberry crisps and a Darigold sharp white cheddar.

I don't have any pictures of the cooking process.  On Saturday the weathermen were predicting doom and gloom and power outages so I was cooking quickly to have every thing prepped before I was without power.  Of course, now we know it was The Storm that WASN'T.

 Curried Pumpkin Soup

1 large onion, diced

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups canned pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups half and half

Sour cream and fresh parsley

In a large saucepan over medium heat saute the diced onions in butter until soft.  Sprinkle in the curry powder. Pour mixture into blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  Return to the sauce pan and add chicken broth, canned pumpkin. salt and half and half.  Heat through over medium heat. Do not bring to a boil or soup will curdle.  Garnish with sour cream and parsley flakes.

 I enjoyed leftover crisps, cheese and soup on Sunday during the Seahawk's game.  The leftover soup reheats nicely.  I am going to get to Trader Joe's for more crisps because they are autumn in your mouth delicious.

 The best part of The Storm that WASN'T was that I bought myself new rain boots.  And that the power didn't go out at our house so I was able to cook the birthday dinner in the house rather than on the BBQ grill and in the trailer.  Annie has a propane oven so that was plan B.  After the soup I served Pioneer Woman's Meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted broccoli and corn pudding.  I baked an Almond Cream Cake for dessert.  It was a pinterest recipe that was accurate until the frosting.

 I am thankful that there was minimal damage and power outages but honestly, The Storm that WASN'T  was a little bit of a letdown after all of the media hype. If the forecast is correct I will have plenty of opportunities to wear my rain boots this week.

Enjoy the soup recipe and stay dry!

Berry Delicious

It's strawberry season in Lynden, a magical two weeks in June.  The very best berries are the Hood variety and they are at their peak this week.  Hubby wants fresh berries everyday during their short season.  I can do that.

 Fresh strawberry margaritas on the patio, yes please!

 Strawberries on Grandma Dykstra's waffles.  Yes please!

Fresh strawberry pie?  Yes, please!  There is no photo, sometimes desserts get shared with friends and go too fast for a photo.  Trust me, it was delicious!  I use my raspberry pie recipe with fresh strawberries and substitute the 2 T. raspberry jello for strawberry jello.

I love the berries sliced with an Activia vanilla yogurt for lunch.  And I still need to make a Strawberry Pizza.

Oh, and the shortbread biscuits from the Lynden Dutch Bakery, got to have those with berries and whipped cream.  June is Dairy Month, and we celebrate with lots of whipped cream on our berries.

How about our Christmas favorite, Snow Salad with fresh strawberries?  Yum!

What is your favorite strawberry recipe?

Fair Week and Other Bits

Last week the Fair was in town.  I went on Thursday afternoon with my sisters and Mom.  Then on Thursday evening Hubby and I went in the evening with friends.  From a calorie standpoint, that was plenty.

My Grandpa had Belgian draft horses and they bring back wonderful family Fair memories.

One of my favorite NW Washington Fair bits is to visit the agriculture display and score some cookbooks.

This year Cheryl was on duty and she let me in the back room to take whatever I could find.  Oh my!  Yes, that is a butter cookbook.  Dairy and potato cookbooks=YUM!

 Sam came home this weekend and helped me clean the garage on Saturday.  Actually half of the garage.  It's a BiG mess and it's going to take two sessions.  Cleaning the garage is motorcycle storage payment at our house.  {evil laugh, bah hahaha...} This task makes young men want to sell their motorcycles.  We found some tiny treasures, little plastic soldiers and holsteins, among other things.  

Oh my gravy!  Tons of junk.  I'm gong to the dump, to the recycling center, the thrift store this week.

Sunday morning Sam brought me a mug of soldiers and sang me a little ditty.

'Best part of waking up... is soldiers in your cup...'

I love That Sam I Am and his wit.

Enjoy your Monday!

Reunion Almond Berry Dessert

Besides those super rich brownies, I made an almond creamy fruit dessert for the reunion.  I got the recipe from Karen.  It's been in our church newsletter as we have a family with four girls in our church that used this recipe instead of wedding cake at three of their four weddings.  They serve it on cake stands and put one on each table for self service.  It makes for a pretty centerpiece too.

I made this dessert because Hubby's family comes from Ripon, California, almond country.  They had an almond farm in the family at one time.  So, to honor the past I went for something almond.  I say "allmond", they say "aahhhmond", anyway you pronounce it, they ate it.

*I made 1 1/2 of the bar recipe for two 9 inch pans- perfect!

ALMOND BARS
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup melted marg.
4 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp almond extract
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds (for bars only, please do not use for the wedding cakes)
Grease a 9x13 pan or a 9 inch round for the wedding or for a round pan.

Combine all ingredients except almonds.

Pour into pan.  Sprinkle with sugar and almonds for bars only.  Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes.  I had to bake mine much longer to get them done, Karen said that she did too.

*For wedding cakes use a 9 inch round cake pan.  Do not use dark cake pans.  They tend to bake the cake too dark and taste a bit dry.  Each recipe makes 4 cups of batter.  Use 3 cups of batter for 1- 9 inch round pan, so 1 1/2 the recipe for two cakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting/Filling
1-16 oz. package of cream cheese- I always use low fat.
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
(1 tsp. vanilla optional)
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and heavy cream on high for 1 to 2 min. until medium  soft peaks form.  Do not over beat.
*I made the filling at home and then put it in a ziploc bag in the cooler for the trip.  On Saturday I frosted the cakes with the cream filling.

I brought berries from Lynden, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.  I gently washed them and let them drain on paper towels.  Then arranged them on the cakes.  I love berry recipes.  Aahmond recipes too!

Lofthouse Copycat Cookie Recipe

Lofthouse Copycat Cookies

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

Cream together.

Add 3 eggs, 

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups sour cream

Mix in the dry ingredients.

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

5 1/2 cups flour+

After the cookies were mixed I divided the dough into two oblong inch thick pieces, wrapped them in cling wrap and put them in the fridge overnight.

The next day the dough is ready to roll and cut.  I use half flour and half powdered sugar on my rol pat, then roll the dough.  The Lofthouse cookies in the grocery store are thick so I made mine thick.  Use a generous amount of flour/powdered sugar.

 I keep my powdered sugar handy to dip my cookie cutters if they start to get sticky.

Bake at 425 degrees in a preheated oven for 8 minutes.  Cool before frosting and decorating.

I made two batches over the course of Love Week and tried two frosting recipes. 

Preferred Frosting

1 cup butter

1 tsp. vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

6 T. heavy whipping cream

Mix until light using a mixer.

 Obviously, I still haven't taken a cake decorating class.  I'm not sure if this recipe should be labeled Love Week or June is Dairy Month.  Either way, they are very good and much like the ready made cookies available at the grocery store, they are addicting.  It is humanly impossible to eat just one.

 *Disclaimer:  Of course, I found the recipes on Pinterest and tweaked them.

Happy Birthday Yogi

We celebrated my Dad's birthday today. We all love Dad's Birthday because his favorite meal is pic-a-nic food. Just like Yogi bear, "hey Booboo, let go find a pic-a-nic." Fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, a green salad, Ina Garten's corn salad, fresh crab legs and french bread. Yum! My Dad is smarter than the average bear.

I brought dessert. I remember Dad having a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream at night before bed so when I found the recipe for Neapolitan Layer Cake on Pinterest I knew I had to bake this special birthday cake for a special guy on his birthday.

Neapolitan Cake

adapted from:here and here

Strawberry Cake

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 oz. strawberry Jell-O

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

1 + 1/4 + 1/8 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. milk

1/2 T. vanilla

1/4 c. strawberry puree (I used frozen strawberries and pureed them with a bit of sugar in my magic bullet until smooth)

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add dry Jell-O. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Combine flour and baking powder and add alternately with milk and vanilla; beating until just combined. Blend in strawberry puree. Pour batter into one (9-inch) greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until done. Cool in pan 10 minutes, invert to rack and cool completely.

Vanilla Cake

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one (9-inch) round cake pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In another bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 22-26 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert to rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Cake

For the chocolate cake:
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. dark cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 large egg
½ cup black coffee
½ cup buttermilk
1½ tsp. vanilla extract

To make the chocolate cake, butter and flour the edges of a 9-inch round pan, shaking out the excess flour. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, vegetable oil and egg. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, blend in half of the dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated. Blend in the coffee, buttermilk and vanilla just until smooth. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

I try to use good quality cocoa when I bake, after all I want it to be worth the effort. A bit of coffee with chocolate just amps everything up a notch. When recipes call for coffee I use Starbucks' Via, easier than brewing a pot and very tasty. I make a cup and sip the leftovers as I'm baking.

I use the spray flour and oil combo, it's easy and it works great. As I have mentioned before, buttermilk in a recipe just amps it up to a whole new level.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cubes butter, softened

1/3 c. shortening, optional

1 stick cream cheese, softened

6 c. powdered sugar

3/4 c. strawberry puree (frozen strawberries with a bit of sugar, thawed and pureed)

2 tsp. strawberry extract (I didn't use any, I didn't have any and the strawberry flavor was fine without it.)

a few drops red food coloring, opt.

Cream together butter, shortening and cream cheese until fluffy. Add 2 cups powdered sugar. Add 1/4 cup strawberry puree, strawberry extract and food coloring and beat until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and strawberry puree alternately and beat until reaches desired consistency.

I put it in the fridge for an hour to chill it back down and firm it up prior to frosting the cake.

TO ASSEMBLE CAKE: Slice the strawberry and the chocolate cake layers in half horizontally. Trim the vanilla cake if you want it to be the same size as the strawberry and chocolate, if not, just leave it whole. I used the whole layer. Place one chocolate layer down on your cake board and top with either strawberry jam or strawberry frosting*. Top with a strawberry layer and top with more jam or frosting*. Top with vanilla cake, then more jam or frosting*. Followed by the remaining chocolate layer, jam or frosting*, then top with the remaining strawberry layer. Frost entire cake with strawberry frosting and decorate as desired. Eat immediately or store in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

*I used frosting only. I served the cake with Neapolitan ice cream, of course.

On this last shot I think my Dad is wiping a tear because Max is such a putz!

Happy Birthday Dad! Love you!

Snow Salad

Snow Salad makes for a white Christmas in spite of the rainy weather. Today I am sharing a family favorite Christmas recipe. I got this recipe from my friend Sheryl and I make it for Christmas Day. Last night as Max finished the leftovers we decided I should make it more. I am not sure why I don't make it during strawberry and raspberry season, or for Valentine's Day or for New Year's Eve or for birthdays. Next summer I am going to try it filled with fresh berries, no junket.

I use equal parts of water and sugar with a few tablespoons of a berry jello mix instead of the junket. I boil the water and sugar with a bit of cornstarch and then add the jello and take it off the heat. I cool it a bit and then add it to the berries. Otherwise I have not changed a thing about this delicious salad.

Snow Salad

1 pkg. unflavored gelatin

1/4 c. cold water

1 c. boiling water

2/3 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 16 oz. sour cream

1 8 oz. cool whip (thawed)

Mix the gelatin with cold water. Add boiling water, sugar and vanilla. Stir.

Add sour cream and cool whip.

Mold and set.

Since I don't have a jello mold I use my heart shaped bundt pan. I threw my Tupperware jello mold away one time in a fit of anger...

Filling:

2 c. frozen berries, thawed

1 pkg. junket

Berries for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

We love the berry season and Hubby says he wants strawberries everyday when they are in season. It's a short season and we need to eat as many berries as we can. I can't argue with that notion.
For breakfast I have a smoothie, in season I go for the fresh strawberry option. Ice, water, vanilla protein, light yogurt and berries.

I have no photos of lunch as I just stand at the sink, rinse, eat repeat.

Last night for dinner I made Grandma's waffle recipe for dinner. Berries are at their finest on the waffles.

Grandma's Waffles
1 cup flour
3 tsp. baking pwd.
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg separated, I use 2 egg whites, 1 yolk.
1 1/2 cup milk, maybe a bit less if you want the batter thicker
2 T. melted butter

Beat egg whites and set aside.
Melt the butter,set aside.
Mix dry ingredients, add egg yolk, milk and butter. Fold in the egg whites.

I beat the egg whites with my hand mixer, then use the mixer to whip up the butter, yolk and milk and then on low to fold in the egg white. If you do it in that order you don't have to wash the beaters in between.

I don't have pictures of the waffles with berries and dairy because both of the phones were ringing as the waffles were ready and yeah, dinner got a little staggered and crazy.

Trust me though, it was pretty and delicious.

It's a Win Win

When I go to the Fair I always visit the Farm Friends display. It is informative and usually they have beautiful photographs. I am on the look out for the freebie cookbooks too. If a friend is working the booth I ask for the cookbooks. Farmers promoting a product have good recipes. It's a well known fact that if the product looks good and tastes good we'll buy it. It's a win win.

This year I was given a copy of Fresh by Darigold. Loved the recipes and the photographs are beautiful. Darigold had some copies left and donated them to the museum gift shop for us to sell. I priced them at $4 for you, less than the retail of $4.95 + $2.95 s & h. It's a win win.

This weekend my favorite Farm Friend left me two* copies of the new issue of Fresh on my desk. So when I got to work I had a nice surprise. Again packed with recipes and beautiful photographs. This copy is $5 and available here. It's a win win.

I feel a bond with Darigold, I buy a lot of dairy products**. And my house came from Darigold. When Mr. B built the Stone House he built it from the stone and brick of the old Darigold building. As they tore down, he carried it home and built up. That was around 1925. Two weeks ago when I got to work and a copy of this black and white photo was on my desk I was thrilled. Mr. Zuidmeer dropped it off for me. He knew I'd like a copy. He knew the history and my history and put it together. It's a win win.

I am thankful for my town and all the connections. Living in a small farming community is a win win.

*Shelly, I have your copy ;).
**I kept buying milk at my usual pace after Sam left, yesterday I realized I had four gallons in the fridge. I guess we don't drink a gallon a day anymore. Butter consumption has not gone down...

Ranch Potato Casserole

We love these taters, but they are not on the low calorie list. Be warned, delicious and dairy. All about the dairy. I should have shared this recipe when I had the June is Dairy Month Series. Now, I've thought of it, made it and have to share it. You don't have to wait until June. Try these and you'll thank me.

Ranch Potato Casserole


6-8 medium red potatoes
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. ranch dressing
1/4 c. bacon, fried and crumbled-Get real and buy *facon from Costco! Cut with a scissors and nuke it.

2 T. parsley- I use some dried chives too.
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Cook the potatoes until tender, quarter them, leaving skins on: set aside.

Combine the other ingredients and gently mix and top.

Topping:
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 c. slightly crushed corn flakes ( I use a ziploc bag and and my hand)

1/4 c. butter-melted
Combine the corn flakes and butter and sprinkle over cheese on casserole. Bake at 350 degreee for 45 minutes. Can be made a day ahead and baked just before serving.

I make a recipe and a half because I have a lot of hungry guys and they like leftovers. I just make one recipe of the topping.

These potatoes are a favorite served with grilled flank steak, caesar salad and roasted asparagus. Tastes like summer!

*Reminder- facon is the kirkland brand bacon that is precooked. My guys call it facon because they don't consider it to be real bacon unless I have slaved over a hot stove and made a big ol' greasy mess. Please don't call me or my sisters, from Costco and yell into your phone, "what's facon?" Think about how that sounds. I only mention this because it's happened.