FLOUR

I have spent the last month on the computer working on the history of my family.  It has meant hours during the day and sometimes in the evening learning and making connections about my ancestors who first came to America and their descendants.  And I have only completed one of the four lines I plan to explore.  To say it is an interest or hobby is an understatement.  I really don't know how to explain what makes me "tick" in this way to be so interested in my background.  I was the grandchild that always wanted to see the old photos at my grandma's house.  I would dump them out on the floor and ask my grandma who everyone was over and over (Bless her for putting up with me!) until I learned all the names myself.

As I grew up, I was lucky to receive an abundance of information about this first line of ancestors from relatives who had been told of my interest.  This came in the form of tidbits of family lore as well as a little gossip inserted into letters long held, yellow note pages of part of our"line,"and copies of documents completed by those wanting to become members of historical societies.  With all of that and the help of certain websites, I have learned that most of this first line immigrated from England.

So in honor of those first ancestors, I am sharing a recipe for Colonial Gingerbread.  As you will see by clicking on the PBS website below and starting to read about midway down, "Gingerbread arrived in the New World with English colonists."  I have had this recipe for a long time and unfortunately cannot give credit as that has been clipped away.  However, this gingerbread has a fabulous rich flavor, is simple to make, and would go well with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate for a great finish to any meal.

COLONIAL GINGERBREAD

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup molasses
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
confectioners' sugar

ABOUT 3 HOURS BEFORE SERVING OR EARLY IN DAY:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour 9" by 9" by 2" baking pan.  Into large bowl, measure all ingredients except confectioners' sugar; with mixer at low speed, beat until blended, constantly scraping bowl with rubber spatula.  Increase speed to medium and continue beating 3 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl.

Pour batter into pan and bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool gingerbread in pan on wire rack.

TO SERVE:
Sprinkle top of cake with confectioners' sugar.  Makes 12 servings. 

www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-gingerbread/ 

& FLOWER

I realize it is still winter, but I also know the average vegetable gardener has already been through at least one seed and plant catalog.  He or she may have also noticed the seed packets that are now stocked in home improvement and department stores.  I have decided to start early this year and plant some seeds indoors in preparation for some of my summer vegetables.  I hope starting my tomato plants by seed will keep me on a better planting schedule.  There have been years when I have purchased young tomato plants and gotten them in the ground later, thereby making their harvest later and sometimes not as good.

There are two websites below that discuss starting plants from seed.  I like the first site because it tells exactly how to plant your seeds.  It talks about the kinds of containers to use.  I purchased a flat in a seed starter kit as shown in the picture.  Most of these are fairly inexpensive, however I believe any container could be improvised.  The second site delves into more specifics like why starting some seeds indoors is best, the types of containers, using a soil-less mix instead of potting soil, and transplanting seedlings once they reach a certain size.  

I used to help my mom plant seeds indoors.  She loved growing tomatoes the most and starting her plants by seed was what she liked to do.  It is a good activity in which to involve your kids as it teaches them about growing plants from seeds and the care it takes for the plants to produce their fruit. 

Planting tomato seeds indoors 

1.

www.almanac.com/content/starting-seeds-indoors 

2.

www.reneesgarden.com/articles/start_seeds.html 

 

FLOUR

     Hello everyone.  These are called French Breakfast Puffs.  They remind me of muffins, yet they have been rolled in melted butter and then a sugar-cinnamon mixture.  When you bite into one, you experience the vanilla-like flavor of the cake with its nostalgic, but mild nutmeg flavor.  That taste combined with the sweet crispy topping, I think, would be a welcome beginning to your Valentine's Day or any other special day when one might want a treat that is a little out of the ordinary.  French Breakfast Puffs are even historic.  According to Betty Crocker's Old-Fashioned Cookbook, copyright 1990 by General Mills, this recipe "was first published in the 1920s on Washburn-Crosby flour recipe cards.  The recipe came from Miss Esoline Beauregard in Florida, who sent it to Washburn-Crosby urging them to try her mother's recipe."

French Breakfast Puffs

1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Heat over to 350 degrees.  Grease 15 medium muffin cups, 2- 1/2 x 1- 1/4 inches.  Mix shortening, 1/2 cup sugar, and egg thoroughly.  Mix flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Mix 1/2 cups sugar and cinnamon.  Roll hot muffins immediately in melted butter, then in sugar-cinnamon mixture.  Serve hot.  15 puffs.

(I used a 12-cup muffin pan for this recipe and was happy with the results.  Also we have warmed the puffs that did not get eaten right away in the microwave.  They are still great.)

The Pioneer Woman also has a recipe for French Breakfast Puffs.  I have made them as well and they are amazing!  Follow this link to find The Pioneer Woman's recipe.  

www.thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/french_breakfast_puffs/

Whichever recipe you choose, ENJOY!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIFFERENT TOPIC -- Recently I was reminded of how well three products perform on cooking mishaps that most everyone has in their pantry and under their sink.  I let myself get sidetracked with a home project when I knew full well I had a pan on the stove simmering away.  Then I experienced that smell, you know.......that sickening almost like burned tire smell.  Of course I knew immediately I had let our vegetables burn and scorch the bottom of the pan.  And the stove top was crusted and messy with what had boiled over and begun to harden.  What a mess!  I had this mess to clean and also start over on our dinner.

     After turning off the burner, I put the pan in the sink and added water to the dry contents.   Everything was loose from the bottom and sides and I dumped it then began to think of the pan.  Instead of trying to add water and putting the pan back on the stove to cook away the burned-on pieces, I got out my mom's old standby, SOS pads.  I figured it was worth a try to use one first.  Sure enough, one pad scrubbed the underside and insides completely clean.  I could not believe how easy.  Thank you SOS makers, The Clorox Company of Oakland, CA.

     Then I began to wonder how hard it would be to clean my glass stove top.  My mind went to baking soda because the burned smell was still so prevalent in the room and now reaching into the rest of the house.  I liberally sprinkled baking soda over the crusty mess and was ready to leave it temporarily, but I decided to wet it and make a paste instead.  I began rubbing over the spots with my fingertips.  It didn't happen immediately, but then I noticed the baking soda was beginning to turn gray, meaning the mess was coming up!  The baking soda really helped, but there were still yucky places that were not budging.  Then I remembered what happens when you pour vinegar on baking soda, bubbles!  I found apple cider vinegar and poured it on the mess and the chemical reaction began.  I continued to rub only with my fingertips and eventually the whole mess was lifted and I was able to wipe away any signs of this cooking accident.

So if you ever find yourself needing a fix for an unexpected problem at your home, before running out to buy something, don't forget about what you already have.  

 

& FLOWER 

   

     This picture is of a crepe myrtle in my yard.  Recently during a few weeks of warmer temperatures, I noticed how some people were having their shrubs trimmed, including their crepe myrtles.  I meant to get back to my bushes before the end of fall, but here's what is waiting for me to give it back some dignity.  I am one to trim my crepe myrtles a lot.  One summer I cut back the seed pods three times and was able to get the bushes to bloom again and again.  But one look at this bush and all its visible extra shoots going here, there, and everywhere means I will have a mess on my hands if this bush doesn't get some needed attention.

     However, this year I will follow the advice of Southern Living's Senior Writer, Steve Bender, also know as The Grumpy Gardener.  Mr. Bender writes a gardening blog for The Daily South, a daily blog that features everything Southern Living covers.  Bender refers to the incorrect way of pruning crepe myrtles as "crepe murder," and I don't want to be known for that.  You can read about his methods of pruning at the site below.  Hopefully I will improve!

www.thedailysouth.southernliving.com/2015/04/09/how-to-fix-crepe-murder/