OH YES, IT'S TIME TO BAKE PUMPKIN RAISIN COOKIES

We will be driving to St. Louis for

Thanksgiving joining our daughter

in law's family.  I will be taking

some desserts so today was the

day to get that done. 

Those that have followed this blog

have seen these cookies before.....over

and over.

I got this recipe many years ago

from Bev Meller

in Colorado Springs.

You can find the recipe

here at the bottom of 

the page.

This week I made myself another tea

cozy using a piece of antique bobbin

lace I purchased many years ago. I have

been learning a little about the hundreds 

of types of antique lace by following

a site called "The Lace

Museum" on Facebook.

  

 Here is 

the back side of my cozy:

So - if you have a need for a

dessert - be sure and try these

cookies:  I got 42 medium large

cookies out of this batch.

And so I wish you all a very

Happy Thanksgiving and say

I am thankful to the Lord

for His many blessings.

"TEA IN THE GARDEN" with The Serenade of the Cicadas

Welcome to the heat of July!

Time for a "Tea In The Garden": 

I slipped out today and set up a "Tea In 

The Garden" because tomorrow it is

 supposed to be 99 degrees and then over

 100 degrees each of the days this weekend.

I have some wonderful little peach

tarts for you to try.  We stopped at a

peach orchard on the other side of the

Missouri River and bought a box of

their peaches.

I read the new Victoria yesterday while

waiting in the car for my husband.  It is

all about Scotland and so many castles

and gardens  are included.  There are

also some wonderful

recipes for fall with soups and salads.

I am sure we love music at our

"Tea In The Garden" so today we

are being serenaded by Cicadas

which are very loud bugs that make 

a sound I can hardly describe to you

except to say that it can not be ignored.

(Especially because there are many of

them making this noise at the same time)

click above to hear him sing!

So I looked behind me as I was taking 

photos and saw

that we have some company:

As you can see - we need rain badly.

I had already made 2 peach

 pies with most

of the peaches

yesterday (recipe)

and added some

strawberries too.  One of 

these pies went to our son and

family.

Please enjoy a tart and tea.

COMFORTING BREAD PUDDING

 Certain foods just evoke comfort and bring wonderful and familiar smells to the kitchen.

Today I baked a simple Bread Pudding and will share the recipe here.  I think you might already have these ingredients on hand.

Apple, Pecan, Maple, Raisin

and Cinnamon Bread Pudding

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes in a convection oven or longer in a regular oven and serves around 8 in a 

8 x 8 butter greased metal or pyrex pan

2 apples peeled and chopped and sautéed till tender in a pan with 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), combined with 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp maple extract, 1 cup milk, 2 large or 3 medium eggs, 4 cups of torn small bread slices, 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup raisins

So now you have a simple dessert!

I did not have any regular bread so I used

(2) two day old rolls, a thick sliced of day old homemade bread and some raisin bread slices combined making 4 cups of pieces of bread.

...yes, I still added 1/2 cup raisins

If you don't have any apples - no problem!  You could use peaches, plums, etc and you

only need to melt the butter but not saute them  

WHO LIKES TO TRY NEW RECIPES?

 Do you like to learn?  One of the things

I have realized in growing older is that

our flesh can really rebel against learning

something new.  

One of the things you can do is READ a recipe and try it - something new.  This helps you keep your brain sharp.  I did a very simple

recipe today.....I apologize for the fact that

I write on my cookbooks but as you can

see I was thinking that next time I make

 these I will substitute those clear wrapped Kraft 

caramels for the sugar:

I took these to a Seniors meeting at

church and they loved them!  I think

they would be lovely on an Afternoon

Tea Tray too.

I did check on the tearoom and sadly

found

it to be closed.

NATIONAL AFTERNOON TEA WEEK for "Tea In The Garden"

Welcome to National Afternoon
Tea Week and tea time celebrations:

Today I noticed 3 ripe peaches on the

counter and decided to bake the Peach 

Kuchen recipe I saw in the July/August

issue of Victoria.

After setting up my little tea time in the garden,  a little bunny came by to 

check things out:

It is quite hot out today, humid and

this little vignette will happen fast.

We will enjoy the Kuchen!

I hope you get a chance to celebrate

National Afternoon Tea Week.

I am sharing a photo collage from a

tea I had last Sunday for some new friends 

 down in my "underground" tea room:

This was my first experience at baking

some Gluten Free items for this tea
and I found it a good experience as

 3 ladies were GF.  These photos were at the end of course  as like many I was so busy I forgot to grab my camera.

STEPHANIE'S SWEET LEMON LUSH DESSERT

This week - Wednesday to be exact -

 I saw this wonderful recipe on

Stephanie's blog :  The Enchanting Rose

It was love at first sight and since we

were going to have company for a day - 

I gave my husband an addition to the

grocery list as he was going out the door!

This recipe (click on the link above) 

is so wonderful and makes

a huge 9 x 12 dish!  I hope you love

 it as much as we did.

Our company asked for second helpings!

IT'S FRUIT PIZZA TIME

Today I am sharing a FRUIT PIZZA

 that your family

 and friends would love to have

 you make them!

 THIS IS A FUN DESSERT! 

This will make 2 great fruit pizzas:

You will need the following: 1 pkg yellow cake mix, 1/4 cup water, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup chopped nuts (or eliminate if allergies) Mix together until stiff and thick. This will make 2 pizza rounds. Bake in 2 buttered and floured pizza pans at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Watch carefully for browning. Cool completely!

Next you will be spreading cool-whip topping all over the tops of both pizzas. (If you like whip up some heavy whipping cream instead with a little confectioners sugar) Then begins the "fruity" part! Spread with your choice of blueberries, strawberries, grapes, etc. Arrange in a circle and yes you can put about any fruits you like here including melon balls, etc. Cut into pie shapes and enjoy.

IT'S A PARIS TEA TIME

I could also call this post "Boulanger Bernideen takes on  Boulanger Bruno Solques".....

A while back I did a post on the book  THE PATISSERIES OF PARIS 

I was especially drawn to a photo in the book of the very free form tarts made at Bruno Solques Boulangerie.....

this would be a bakery we would love to go

 to in Paris.  So here I tried my own rendition

 of his tarts and also here is the recipe

 if you would like to give it a whirl!

For the PASTRY SHELL of your tart you will need 1 2/3 cups of flour, 2/3 cups of powdered sugar, 2/3 cup cut up butter/cold, 1 egg beaten and 1/4 cup of water. (could be less water) I used a 10 x 16 jellyroll pan but when I do this again I will get a rectangular tart pan with removable bottom which is slightly smaller! Roll out the dough on a pastry cloth and unroll it into the pan.

This recipe would be perfect for afternoon tea! 

Here is the lovely filling:

1/2 cup of melted warm butter, 1 cup of sugar and 2 Tb cornstarch.   Mix these together and spread over the dough you have unrolled into the pan. O f course you crimp the edges of the dough  just like a pie. Spread the filling all over and lay the following fruits into this mix:

ALL FRESH FRUITS: 2 pears, peeled and sliced but kept together, 1 lb strawberries, sliced, 6 oz blackberries and 6 oz raspberries ( you could also do apples or blueberries)

Bake on center rack at 375 degrees for 30- 40 minutes.  Let cool before eating although we always dive in early!

  This is a repost from 2010 moved forward because we are moving to Missouri and I am

rather busy packing up!

ROSE SHAPED BAKED APPLES

I have seen these Rose Shaped Baked Apples and the videos of how to make them on face book for quite some time.  Last night I decided I'd better try them and they are easy if you pay attention to a few things.

I watched the video by Manuela M. several times on YouTube and then wrote some directions.  It only take 2 apples to make 6 roses. Buy a package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry and thaw one sheet.

#1 Cut 2 washed and unpeeled apples in half and remove all the core.  Red Delicious Apples were recommended but I used Gala.
#2  Slice very thin on a cutting board.  The reason it must be thin will be clear to you when you go to roll them up - thin means they will roll better.

#3 Fill a medium bowl 1/2 full of water and stir in 1/2 lemon juice making sure there are no seeds - put the apple slices in the bowl separating them
#4  Microwave the slices for 5 minutes (3 min was not enough for me)
#5 Stir 2 Tb water into 3 Tb apricot preserves and stir and microwave 1 minute

#6  unwrap the pastry and roll it out on a floured cloth about 1/2 larger
#7 Cut into 6 strips - brush strips with apricot
#8 overlay a row of apple slices with the tops of the apple pieces dropping over the side of the dough 
#9 mix 1 Tb ground cinnamon with 2 Tb sugar in a small bowl

#10 sprinkle over the apples - now fold down the dough in half and roll it up into a rose
#11 put this in a muffin pan which has been sprayed with pam
#12 Bake 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.  
SPRINKLE WITH POWDERED SUGAR OR SERVE WITH WHIPPING CREAM!

I would highly recommend these for a party dessert, Afternoon Tea Tray or Fall luncheon.  I am an amateur and I thought they were pretty easy.  At first the apples weren't tender enough to roll into a rose but I recooked them more in the microwave which is why I suggest 5 minutes!  Also, the apple slices must be sliced very thin - I had to go back and re-slice some of mine which were too thick.

"A PITY TO MISS SUCH A GOOD PUDDING"

Strawberry Charlotte Russe

The Dowager Countess had it right when she said

"It seems a pity to miss such a good pudding".

  

 I decided to make some Strawberry Charlotte Russe.  I noticed several recipe variations online and decided to put mine in little glass sherbert dishes.  If you have been watching Downton Abbey - you know all about Charlotte Russe from season three.  Here is my version which is super simple!

I am also sharing a lovely old glass sawtooth cake stand that I found last weekend while doing the flea markets in Fort Collins.  I didn't have a small one like this - so that is my excuse for buying it!

You might also enjoy looking at the "Best of Bliss" special edition by Victoria Magazine 2013 as they have a chapter of Elegant English Berry Puddings!

I also found the cup and saucer on the left

 to add to my collection of pink English

 ones to mix and match.

Here is what you will need to make 8 desserts:  4 cups of mashed fresh strawberries, *1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 envelope unflavored gelatine, 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream and 2/3 cup confections sugar, and 2 packages of 12 ladyfingers
*If the strawberries are summertime sweet - you can skip the 1/3 cup of granulated sugar!

#1  Heat the 4 cups of strawberries in a saucepan, add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 envelope of gelatine and bring to a boil,  stir well and remove to a large bowl to cool in the refrigerator

#2  In a deep medium bowl, whip 2 1/2 cups of whipping cream with 2/3 cup of confectioners sugar till stiff.  Save back 1/2 cup of this (after the whipping) for topping embellishment

Mix the cooled strawberry mixture together with the whipping cream

#3  Line each sherbert dish with 6 pcs of split lady fingers and spoon berry mixture in the middle.  Take the 1/2 cup reserved whipped cream and embellish tops - also embellish with pieces of strawberry.