State Fair Blue Ribbon Bread and Butter Pickles Several years ago I had a bumper crop of cucumbers. I decided I needed to find a pickle recipe I liked since Mom’s didn’t really bring back images of pickle love. I started Googling recipes that had won at a state fair. If I am going to spend the time, money, and effort to make something, I want to make sure I have the best… Read More
Quick and Easy Corn Chowder
Originally I posted this Corn Chowder recipe as a way to use fresh corn which is so plentiful here in Iowa at the end of the summer. However, the other day as I was thinking about recipes that would be easy to make from pantry and freezer items I realized this would be an easy and delicious choice. This recipe has been adapted from several church cookbooks in my vintage cookbook collection. Because I like… Read More
The Great British Bake Off Inspired Me to Bake a Cake…
I have been binge watching The Great British Baking Show this winter — all seasons and the Christmas shows and it made me think I wanted to be a better baker. It has inspired me to start a cake project and to begin with recipes in my grandmother’s handwritten cookbook. One of the cakes they talk about all the time on The Great British Bake Off is a sponge. While digging through those old family recipes… Read More
Tequila Lime Grilled Chicken for a Dinner for Two
Last night my husband wanted Mexican for supper, but I was getting tired of the same old beef tacos and burritos — I wanted chicken and I wanted it grilled. So we compromised — a grilled chicken taco salad. I didn’t have a recipe and really wasn’t in the mood to search through my cookbooks and online sites — so I punted. A few weeks ago I made a Mexican Street Corn Salad that had… Read More
Stories of My Mother…Episode #623: The Great Escape
A few weeks ago my sisters and I flew out to Washington for a visit with two of my older brothers and hang out at the lake with them. We spent a lot of time laughing at family stories over delicious meals with lots glasses of wine and beer. We grew up in a crazy, big farm family in Iowa — our parents had twelve kids (9 boys and 3 girls) over seventeen years. A… Read More
Summer Strawberry Ice Cream Perfection
Last year for Father’s Day I gave my husband a Cuisinart ice cream machine. Well, I might have given it to myself, but only so I could lovingly hand make him fabulous ice cream. I made all kinds of ice cream last year, but it is August and I am just pulling it out for the first time this summer. I’ve been a bit of a slacker on the ice cream front I must confess… Read More
Finding Julia Child in Paris….and crepes on every street corner!
Julia Child is my food heroine. We have so much in common — we are both a little awkward, late bloomers in life, have an obsession with butter and things fly when we are in the kitchen. I loved Julia’s show “The French Chef” which PBS ran in reruns for years. Her charm was that she just kept on going when things went wrong — she flubbed her flips, burned things, murdered lobsters and… Read More
Church Cookbook Classics: Ice Pick Lemon Cake
Do you have recipes from your youth that conjure up mouth-watering memories? This cake is one of those for me. Mom would make this one in the summer and I just couldn’t keep my hands off of it. I just took teeny, tiny pieces every time I walked by it — they don’t count right? Cake Mixes with Jello and/or Jello Pudding became very popular in the 60’s, although cake mixes were invented in the… Read More
Blackberry Balsamic Vinegar Chicken Salad Recipe
Hot Damn Sam!!! I lost weight this week and it feels great. Granted it was only a pound and that may not seem like much, but getting the first one is huge for me. I don’t have those water weight issues so when I lose a pound I know it’s real — it can change everything for me – having some success gives me lots of new energy to continue and do the next thing! Another… Read More
Cheats Puff Pastry Recipe from The Great British Baking Show
The Farm Girl Attempts Cheats Rough Puff Pastry Recipe from The Great British Baking Show and It Works! I don’t know about you, but I adore The Great British Baking Show. It is my favorite baking show of all time — the tent is gorgeous, the decor is totally charming, the contestants real and diverse, and the food looks to die for! Everyone is nice to each other and helpful, unlike some of the other… Read More
Easy Butter Pecan Ice Cream
My husband would eat ice cream for every meal if I let him, so for Father’s Day this year I gave him a Cuisinart Electric Ice Cream maker. However, he has yet to make any ice cream — so I guess the gift was really, I will make him homemade ice cream every week. Butter Pecan is one of his favorites and I have struggled with many of the custard recipes — there is a… Read More
Pineapple-Mango Chili Jam
Recently I purchased an electric canner to replace my old water bath canner. I have been eyeing them for some time to make canning all of the lovely things from my garden easier. You would think a good farm girl like me would relish putting away 20 quarts of pickles or tomato juice. NOT…I am a small batch canner. I like variety and with grown kids, my husband and I just can’t eat a… Read More
Herb butters fresh and real!
Fresh herbs, real butter…it doesn’t get much better. Julia Child said, ” With enough butter, anything is good!” Oh, so true. Many people are afraid of butter, but it is natural and real, so moderation is the key! That is why this is such a great trick — a little butter, some yumalicious herbs for extra flavor and you will be cooking like a pro and controlling the fat in your dish. Fresh herbs are… Read More
Easy Fresh Salsa / Pico De Gallo
Nothing tastes as wonderful as fresh tomatoes from the garden and if I have some ripe tomatoes I try to incorporate them with almost every meal. Tuesday night is taco night at our house and instead of the purchased salsa for our chips I made a quick and easy fresh salsa, that my husband called “magical”. The “magic” ingredient is really just the fresh garden tomatoes — you just can’t replicate that flavor. Here… Read More
Church Cookbook Classics: Purple Ribbon Cinnamon Bread
In a desperate search for a 4-H food project for our county fair, my mother suggested I make my grandmother’s Cinnamon Bread recipe. As a lazy teen, this seemed like a great idea — no trip to the store for special ingredients and it was easy to make. Snap! One less project to worry about for the fair. No one was more surprised than me when the judges gave me a “Purple Grand Champion” ribbon!… Read More
Spring Means Rhubarb Season
It is spring in Iowa and nothing green will be appearing for several weeks, even so, I am already dreaming of rhubarb. Rhubarb cake, rhubarb crisp, rhubarb jam, rhubarb pie, rhubarb wine all make up my version of sugar plum dreams. As a vintage cookbook collector, I spend hours pouring over cookbook pages, not only looking for treasured recipes, but for fun. Many are a greatly entertaining. A couple of things I’ve noticed in my purusing… Read More
Lemon Rosemary Chicken
If you are looking for a quick, flavorful chicken recipe this is a great recipe to put into your dinner rotation. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but it is wonderful with any pieces you have and love. It is also very forgiving so don’t worry about perfection — just toss it together and relax. I use a cast-iron pan to brown on top of the stove and finish in the oven, however, it can… Read More
America’s Test Kitchen Rustic Almost No-Knead Bread
I’ve been making a lot of bread lately, stress baking, but also learning how to make different kinds of bread. As a teacher in a past life, one of my goals with trying a variety of recipes is so that I can help others trying to stay at home not to need to make extra trips to the store for a loaf of bread. I have been looking for recipes that work well for beginners,… Read More
Social Distancing Recipe: Just In Time 10 Minute Jam
For the last few days — especially after I made biscuits, I’ve been wanting some jam. I had used up all of the jam I made last summer from my raspberries. After making my own lower-sugar jams even if I wanted to order it from the store — I’m spoiled and really don’t care for them anymore. One of the things about growing up in a family of 12 children is that you learn to… Read More
I Just Need a Cracker….
I am fortunate, I have plenty of good food in my fridge, pantry, and freezer. Living on the farm and just coming out of winter, you are used to stocking up in case you get stranded for days. However, I have run low on one of my favorite snacks — CRACKERS. I love all kinds of crackers, straight up, with cheese, peanut butter, bacon jam — whatever! So the search was on to find some… Read More
Got 4 apples? You Can Make Apple Hand Pies…
Do you know those 4 apples that have been rolling around in your fruit drawer in the fridge? Yes, I’m sure you do. They have been there for a while and no one seems to be interested in eating them fresh — they are still good, but maybe not as pretty as they were the day you brought them home. Here is a great way to use them for a delicious treat while you are… Read More
Breads You Can Make Without Yeast or Kneading
Many areas are finding grocery store shelves bare of bread and other items and many are homebound right now. If you have a few common ingredients in your pantry you can easily make your own bread without yeast or kneading. If you have self-rising flour great, but if you don’t King Arthur has this simple recipe to make your own using All-Purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Homemade Self-Rising Flour. These breads are not only… Read More
Veggie Soup
Are you and your family trying to stay healthy by doing some social distancing? Maybe even struggling to find foods in your local grocery store. You can make the most of what you have in your fridge, freezer, and pantry by making as much as possible from scratch. New to some of you and old school to lots of others. It’s hard to know where to start, but my suggestion is to start with the… Read More
No-Knead Rosemary Focaccia Bread from America’s Test Kitchen
This is my all-time favorite recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. This Italian bread is so delicious you will have to hide it from your brother who will eat an entire loaf before your guests arrive! It is crunchy, salty, herby, and soft in the middle. You can just eat it plain or it is really wonderful with goat cheese and bacon jam. (recipe for another time). I make it up in advance and freeze in… Read More
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