FLOUR

     I cannot believe it is the middle of October already!  Our area has begun to have some cooler day and night temperatures mixed in with days when you think it is still summer.  It has been enough of a change to make one believe the crisp days of Autumn are upon us, especially those kids waiting for Halloween.  This recipe for Monster Cookies has been a favorite for a long time.  I know treats are expected to be handed out in wrapped form, but for a party, sleepover, or your own family, these cookies are great piled high on a plate.  They won't be there for long!  (The first three recipes are from a cookbook published in the mid-1980s by the First Baptist Church Youth Choir of Sikeston, MO.)

MONSTER COOKIES or M&M COOKIES

1/2 c. margarine, softened

1 c. sugar

1 c. + 2 T. firmly packed Brown Sugar

3 Eggs

2 c. Peanut Butter

1/4 t. Vanilla

3/4 t. Light Corn Syrup

4 1/2 c. Regular Oats (uncooked)

2 t. Baking Soda

1/4 t. Salt

1 c. Candy M&Ms

1- 6 oz. pkg. Semisweet Chocolate Chips

     Cream butter, add sugar, beat well.  Add eggs, peanut butter, vanilla & corn syrup.  Beat well.  Add  oats, soda, salt, stir well.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Drop dough by spoon 4" apart on greased cookie sheet.  Bake 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  Cool - Dough may be kept in refrigerator for several weeks.  Cookies may be frozen. 

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       I really like granola.  It's a crunchy cereal mixture with a rolled oat and syrup base.  The dried fruit, nuts, and spices can be changed to your liking.  It can be made sweeter with the addition of chocolate or peanut butter chips, for example, but I prefer the more natural wholesome tastes like in the following recipe.  I especially like how the sweetened condensed milk helped these bars to have a chewy texture.  They are also sweet without being too much.

GRANOLA BARS
3 c. Quick or Old Fashioned Oats, uncooked
1 c. Peanuts
1 c. Seedless Raisins
1 c. Sunflower Seeds
1 1/2 t. Ground Cinnamon
1 Can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk (not evaporated)
1/2 c. Margarine or Butter, melted

      Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line 15 x 10 inch jellyroll pan with aluminum foil; grease.  In large bowl combine oats, peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds and cinnamon.  Stir in milk and margarine or butter until well blended.  Pat mixture evenly into prepared pan.  Bake 25 - 30 min. or until golden brown.  Cool slightly; remove from pan, peel off foil.  Cut into bars.  Store loosely covered at room temperature.  Makes 50 bars.   
(I don't think I'll get 50 bars here.  My serving size must be different.  I wonder why???)

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     Another cookie recipe below, but what could be more appropriate at this time of year than a snack with the word "football" in the name. Remember to make them ahead of your next game day gathering.

FOOTBALL NUT SQUARES
About one cup flour
1 c. Sugar
1 c. Sweet Butter, softened
1 t. Vanilla
1 Egg, separated
1/2 c. Nuts, finely chopped (pecans, walnuts, or a mixture)

      Combine all ingredients except egg white & nuts.  Mix well, preferably with your fingers.  Pat the dough evenly into a greased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 jelly pan.  Prick dough all over with a fork.  Beat egg white until foamy.  Brush over surface of dough.  Sprinkle with nuts.  Bake in a preheated 275 degree oven until golden (about 1 hr.)  *Cut into squares (about 48), remove from pan, and cool on wire rack.  *Must be cut when they are still hot, then remove from pan.  This is a really glorified shortbread.  It improves with age and should therefore be made 5-7 days ahead. 

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     This last recipe does not have the ingredient of flour.  However, it is an easy and appropriate fall candy treat for your family or friends.  I know numerous recipes for Haystacks have appeared over the years.  My sister learned to make these from a friend and then made a batch for our family.  I was probably about 10, but still remember how good they were and that they really did look like their name.

HAYSTACKS

1 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 c. peanut butter chips

1/2 c. salted peanuts

2 c. chow mein noodles

     Melt chips on 50% power in microwave, checking every 30 seconds. Gently stir in peanuts and chow mein noodles.  Drop onto waxed paper (or parchment) by teaspoons.  Let harden until set.

& FLOWER 

     On the flower front at my house, my mums I bought about a month ago are all finally open.  I guess I've been impatient for their color, but also appreciative of it as well.  Because we all know that this time of year is the last chance for flowers to shine on the outside.  So get out and enjoy them before they are all gone.  I still think there are some blooms that are truly at their best in the fall.  I attribute their good looks to the cooler temperatures and the lessening of strong sunlight.


     In the past couple of weeks I have been trying to get some of my indoor plants ready to come back inside for winter.  I had seven orchids when I put them on my porch in June this year. (I know, I know.  I plan on giving some away.)  But after dividing and repotting, I now have nine.  There is a definite possibility of three more after one of my larger plants blooms.  That would make 12, yikes!  I'm passing this information along so that everyone will know raising orchids at home can be done.  I've touched on this before, but again, if I can do it, anyone can.  One can purchase a blooming orchid and enjoy the blooms until they're gone.  But don't give up on it.  I've had one more than five years and every time it blooms it is as lovely as before, if not more beautiful.

By the way, after I did all this repotting of orchids, almost every one of them starting putting out shoots in preparation to bloom as you see with this one.  They must have had enough light, or water, or both, or wanted more room, or I was holding my mouth just right.

     The majority of my orchids are phalaenopsis.  One is a cattleya.  I purchased four at different times from a local home and garden center that have gradually grown and increased to what I have now.  I chose each one from the discounted shelf and all were without live blooms at the time of purchase.  There were pictures of how the blooms should appear on their tags.  I figured a reasonable discounted price was worth giving each of the orchids a try.
     What I have learned from research and also caring for them is that one should attempt to give their orchids an environment as close as possible to their original one. 
     1. When they need water, give them a good drink to where it flows from the bottom of their pots.  They key is to let them drain though.  Orchids do not like wet feet.  I water when the soil feels dry.
     2. When they need repotting, it is good to use an orchid mix available from garden centers.  Or you can use potting soil mixed with perlite.  I have used both, but most of mine now are potted in plain potting soil and performing okay for me.
     3. I do not fertilize them regularly.  Honestly I  try for spring and summer, but once during the summer is usually what I do.  
     4. Lastly, place them in an area that gets indirect sunlight.  Remember they are considered tropical and originated from plants grown in a humid, warm environment that receives filtered sunlight.  I have had success using my north and south windows.
     Consider trying an orchid.  The blooms are so gorgeous you wonder how such a delicate plant can evoke such beauty. 

UPDATE ON HARVESTING SEEDS:  I have been drying seeds since my last blog post.  Fortunately my husband and I have not needed to use my bottom oven, so that is where they are!  I check on them regularly.  All seeds should be harvested dry as these were.  The seeds I have now are zinnia, white coneflower, and oriental lily.  I am about ready to bring in beautyberry and orange milkweed.

 

     

     I've been trying to think of something different to bake for farmers' market since it is now Autumn.  I found a recipe for a granola bread, actually called "Aunt Melissa's Granola Bread" from my copy of The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. 
      This is the neatest book, filled with bread recipes made with yeast, but with a dough that is housed in your refrigerator until you need it.  I wrote about making the Master Recipe in April this year which I then used to make a boule, known as an "artisan free-form loaf."  The Master Recipe can remain in your refrigerator for up to two weeks.  So in other words, any time during a two-week period, one can use some of the refrigerated dough to shape and bake a loaf of bread.  The years of work done by authors Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois eliminate much of the time-consuming process of bread making.

Aunt Melissa's Granola Bread

  
     I made the granola bread dough last Wednesday and then removed it from the refrigerator Thursday morning to prepare the pans and shape the loaves for baking.  I chose the granola recipe because I thought the fruity, nutty goodness of granola and oats would fill my kitchen with a delicious aroma, and that thought would entice my customers as well.  This particular recipe does not make many loaves, but did provide enough dough to make four small ones, a perfect amount to add to my farmers' market offerings.  If baked one at a time, this dough can be used over a five-day period.
    Despite my plans for this bread, I was anxious to taste it when it was out of the oven.  (Shucks, I couldn't help myself.)  One of the foil pans seemed a little lopsided, so I shaved off a piece before wrapping it for my market.  You know, I couldn't sell something without tasting it, right?  The bread bits were more of a tease than taste so afterward, I wasn't disappointed when I did not sell all the loaves. Now I could appreciate the real thing.   I cut a generous slice and slathered it with a decent amount of butter.  The first bite incorporated the sweet from the raisin granola, the hardiness from the oats, and the bread's own full-bodied texture.  I also put a little of the cereal along the top so that it would bake right in and crunch when someone would bite into a piece.
     I was delighted with the natural goodness of this bread.  The only thing that might have made it better would have been to use granola that was homemade.  Not a problem next time.  The recipe for Homemade Granola follows the bread recipe in the cookbook.  Below, the first link is to the actual granola recipe.  The second link will take the reader to information on the cookbook, which I also posted in April.  (P.S I have no ties to the websites.  I do not know the authors, nor do they know me.)

www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2011/01/21/the-best-granola-ive-ever-had 

www.culinarycovers.com/2009/10/artisan-bread-in-five-minutes-a-day-the-master-recipe/

 AND

  

     What is a popular Fall flower to you?  Most people would say chrysanthemum as the answer to this question.  In recent years, that long word beginning with a "c" is most often referred to as "mum" today.

       Do you have mums planted in your landscape?   I have had several mums through the years.  I don't believe I have ever planted mums like I have zinnias or marigolds.  I have acquired mums by purchasing pots of them from garden centers.  When the pretty blooms fade, I then plant them into one or two of my beds, usually at the back, and water and feed them until the next year when they bloom again. 

     The best things about mums are that there are many different types, several varied colors, and they last a long time.  Some people prefer to buy them new each year and treat them as annuals.  They bring them home and display them on porches, decks, and patios in their pots.  Mum pots can also be displayed in pre-dug holes of flower beds.  When the blooms fade they simply dispose of the plants.  Others grow them as perennials.  They may display their mums in pots around their home, but when the blooms fade they place them directly into their beds where they can live and grow for several years.

     Whichever way you choose, try planting mums for the beautiful flower shapes and long-lasting colors.  You will not be disappointed.

    The photo on the right shows a plant  displaying its seeds.  The black seeds in the top picture are from a blackberry lily.  It is the seed pods that give the lily its name.  The actual flower is small and orange with tiny spots, resembling nothing like a blackberry. 
     I usually just let the blackberry lily seeds fall to the ground, get picked up by the wind,  or transferred to other parts of the yard by birds.  This year however, I plan to collect some of the seeds in late fall and save them until spring.  I will then sow them in small containers to have more controlled new plantings.  I have had these lilies come up in some unexpected places.  I have also shared them with friends that have said the same thing.  By not collecting all of the blackberry lily seeds, I obviously will have some random shoots appear in my yard.  But allowing some new shoots to grow in a controlled environment and some to sow on their own, will assure I will continue to have these in my yard.

     The photo above is a seed pod from a hardy orchid.  I have read that seeds should be collected from flowers when the pods are dry.  The horizontal lines you see along this pod are really where the pod has already split and its seeds are visible.  I knew it would take no effort at all to break open this pod, but decided to watch it each day until one of the sections began to tear away.  Then I will collect the seeds. I also plan to sow these seeds in spring to have a more controlled environment for the new plants.  I will let a couple of the other seed pods drop and break open, but I will collect seeds from this one.  I have never owned a hardy orchid before and want to be sure I will continue to have this plant in the future.

     Some other seeds I plan to collect this year are zinnia, celosia, Butterfly (orange) milkweed, oriental lily, and coneflower.  Zinnia, celosia, and coneflower seeds come from their dry flower heads.   Butterfly milkweed and oriental lilies have seed pods.  I'm currently playing the waiting game to collect these seeds, but I'm already looking forward to next spring.

   

    

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