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Providence Acres Farm Cookbook

DIY Country Living!


A collection of the recipes and cooking tips from the Providence Acres Farm Blog

Table of Contents:
(See links in left pane)

Cakes Muffins Cookies Biscuits Pies and Pastry Misc Desserts Pizza Jellies Quark Buttermilk Using Fresh Squash and Pumpkin Using Fresh Rhubarb

Cakes

Tips for making a great cake:


1. Keeping an apple in the holder with the cake will help to keep the cake moist. 2. Use an electric mixer and beat the ingredients together extremely well. 3. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to see if it is done. If the toothpick comes out clean
and dry, the cake is done. I usually stick 2-3 of them into the cake in different places around the center area, just to be sure. If the cake is taken from the oven before it has cooked completely, it will fall flat and sink as it cools. 4. A cake that is overcooked, even by a few minutes, will be dry, so watch it carefully at the end. 5. Wait until the cake has cooled completely before putting the frosting on. Frosting will melt and run off the cake if the cake is still a little warm. If you are making a layer cake, it will take the upper layer with it. 6. Make certain that your oven is calibrated properly. Most electric ovens get hotter over time so that they are baking at about 375F when you put the dial on 350F. If you are mechanically inclined you can fool around with the thermostat inside the oven and adjust it in the right direction a tiny bit. We do this when we get another oven or when our oven is obviously too hot. You will need a good digital or oven thermometer to do this and it takes time. Adjust the thermostat in the oven a tiny bit, then turn the oven on until the light goes out. Use the thermometer to test the temperature in the oven when the light goes off, adjusting the oven thermostat slightly, over and over again until you get it exactly right. It could take an entire day to calibrate your oven, but its worth it! It makes a huge difference in baking to have the oven at the right temperature. It should be a few years before it needs it again, if ever.

Super Moist Pudding Cake From a Mix any mix, any flavor!
Directions for making any cake mix into a delicious and moist cake. Ignore directions on box. 1 cake mix full size, any standard flavor. Ignore directions on box. 1 standard package of instant pudding mix, flavor to complement the cake mix. 1 cup water or juice to flavor cake 4 eggs vegetable oil Directions: Mix all except the eggs together very well with mixer. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour into greased cake pans. Bake at 350F following baking times on cake mix box for pan size. Variations: If you dont have a pudding mix flavor to match the cake mix, use vanilla. Banana add 2 sm ripe bananas with banana cream pudding to yellow cake mix. Reduce oil to cup Butter pecan cake and pudding with maple frosting Black Forest Cake: Cherry chip cake mix with choc pudding! White cake mix with pistachio pudding mix and cup coconut added to cake mix. Carrot cake mix with vanilla pudding and cup plump raisins added (cream cheese frosting, recipe below). Orange Cake: orange juice with white cake mix and orange juice in frosting Apple cake: apple juice in cake with 1/2 cup finely chopped apple and apple juice in frosting

Simple Error Proof Frosting - Any Flavor


Basic ingredients for plain vanilla frosting for a standard large two layer cake: 4 cups powdered icing sugar 1/2 softened fat (butter, shortening, cream cheese) 1 teasp vanilla water or juice in tiny amounts Directions: ALL LIQUID IS TO BE ADDED LAST! Combine powdered icing sugar, vanilla and fat in mixer and process until fairly well mixed. Mixture will be dry and crumbly. Put in any desired additions here (see list below). Add water or juice, a tiny amount (1 teaspoon) at a time, mixing well after each addition until frosting has reached the desired consistency. Beat very well on high after all additions are made. Variations: All additions are to be added and mixed in well before adding liquid (water or juice) to frosting. Replace water with any fruit juice to match the cake Maple: add 1/2 cup maple syrup before adding water Chocolate: Add 1 cup powdered cocoa before adding water. Decrease powdered icing sugar by 1/2 cup Fruit: add 1/2 chopped fruit and mix well, before adding juice or water Note: Be careful adding fresh fruit to frosting. Some fruits will turn it brown and need to be refrigerated. Most berries are ok in frosting.

Dark Chocolate Cake


The Best Chocolate Cake You Will Ever Eat 1 3/4 cups flour 2 cups sugar 3/4 cups cocoa 1 teasp salt 2 teasp baking soda 1 teasp baking powder 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk or 1 tablesp vinegar in 1 cup of warm milk, soured 1/2 cup oil 1 teasp vanilla 1 cup coffee, plain or flavoured Directions: Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out dry. Do not over bake and make sure it is done!! This will require you to watch the cake carefully for the last few minutes of baking time, occasionally testing it until it is perfect. The key to a truly fabulous cake is to take it out of the oven at exactly the right moment.

Strawberry Cake
This truly is the most delicious and moist strawberry cake I have ever eaten. 1 white cake mix, ignore box directions 1 tablsp flour 1 packg strawberry Jello powder cup vegetable oil cup water cup chopped strawberries 4 eggs

Directions: Mix the cake mix, flour, jelly powder, vegetable oil, water and strawberries together thoroughly. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one. Divide mix between three greased round cake pans or bake in one long 9" x 12" greased pan. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Add frosting when completely cooled.

Strawberry Frosting
cup soft butter 3 cups powdered icing sugar cup chopped strawberries Directions: Put sugar, butter and strawberries in bowl first. Mix together well. Slowly add water a tiny bit at a time, until desired consistency is reached. If the icing is too thin add a bit more sugar.

Muffins

Tips for making great muffins: - Mix wet ingredients together well and mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
When you put the two together, be as gentle as possible. Fold the two bowls together just until barely mixed. Over mixing will make them tough. Do not over bake. Use the toothpick method to determine doneness listed in the cake tips. Remove from hot pan immediately Use muffins papers whenever possible to prevent over browning.

Pumpkin/Squash Muffins
1 cup squash, cooked and mashed 1/3 cup oil 1/4 cup light corn syrup 3 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon mace Raisins (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Mix the wet ingredients together in a big bowl. Then mix the dry ingredients together in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones until well mixed. Spoon into muffin papers or a greased muffin pan. Fill quite full as they don't rise a lot. Bake at 350F for 20-23 minutes until barely starting to brown on top.

Banana Muffins
2 cups flour 2 teasp baking powder 2 teasp baking soda 2 cups ripe mashed bananas 1 cup mayonnaise Directions: Mix dry ingredients together, in large bowl. In separate bowl mix together all other ingredients well. Very gently fold them together, mixing as little as possible. Be very gentle with the batter. Bake in preheated 350F oven for 12-14 minutes for medium muffins.

Carrot Raisin Muffins


3 cups grated carrot 4 large eggs 2 cups flour 2 teasp baking soda 1 teasp salt 2 teasp cinnamon 1 teasp vanilla 1 cups sugar 1 cup oil 1 cup golden raisins 1 cups nuts or sunflower seeds

Directions: Preheat oven to 300F Bowl #1: Mix carrot, seeds and raisins Bowl #2: Mix flour, soda, salt and cinnamon Bowl #3: Mix sugar and oil. Add eggs one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds after each one. Add flour mixture to this and stir only until barely blended. Add carrot mix and fold in until blended. Bake 20 22 minutes for large muffins.

COOKIES

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies


Preheat oven to 350F

1 lb butter, 2 cups melted (I do this in a glass 2 cup measure in the microwave, 2 mins) 2 cups white sugar (you can lower this for less sweet cookies) 2 cups brown sugar, packed into measure 2 cups rolled oats 1.5 cups light weight commercial cereal (Spec K, bran flakes) 1/2 cups combined ground and whole grains (quinoa, flax, ground nuts, etc) 4 eggs Mix these altogether in extremely large bowl. Then add:

2 teaspoons vanilla 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoons baking powder 5 cups flour 1 cup your choice combined raisins/nuts/shelled sunflower and squash seeds/chips (choc, butterscotch, peanut butter)

Mix into dough. You will need to drop the spoon and use your hands at some point. Roll into balls. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 11-13 minutes.

Biscuits

Sour Cream Biscuits


Bake in 425F preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, depending on size of biscuit. 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 cup milk

Sour Dough Biscuits


Bake in preheated 375F oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on size of biscuit. 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 cup shortening 1 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup sourdough

Directions for Sourdough and Sour Cream Biscuits:


Please use a dish with a light coloured bottom. These recipes are for using a glass dish which usually prevents dark bottoms on biscuits and cookies. Mix together all dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt until well blended. Cut in the shortening. This is not pastry so you can cut it in until it is well mixed. Add wet ingredients called for in recipe of choice (milk, sour cream, sour dough) to make a very sticky, wet dough. You will use a lot of flour on the rolling surface and on your hands and utensils but it is worth it. Moisture is very important to make moist biscuits. Flour a flat, clean surface with a layer of flour. Dump out the dough onto the floured surface. Liberally flour your hands and gently shape the pile of dough into a cohesive lump. Do not use a rolling pin. This dough is very soft and easily shaped with your floured hands. You will need to add more flour to your hands from time to time. Flatten the lump of dough until it is about 1" thick and shape it into a square with fairly straight sides and corners. Flour a sharp knife and cut into 2" squares. You will need to continuously add more flour to the knife to keep it from sticking to the dough, probably a few times just cutting one line.

Squares are much more practical than circles. You don't need a glass or cutter to make squares, so you have one less dish to wash. Also, when making round biscuits, the leftover dough will need to be reworked slightly and flattened again, making those last few biscuits tougher and dryer. Grease a glass dish. It is important to use a glass dish when baking biscuits and cookies to prevent the "dark bottom syndrome". I know I have said this already, but it is important. Gently lift the biscuits and add them to the greased, glass dish, separating them by at least 1".

These will flatten and spread a bit in the pan, so make sure they are taller than you want the baked biscuits to be, shaping more with your hands as you add them to the pan. Add a tiny piece of butter to the top of each biscuit. Bake in a preheated oven for about 15-18 mins. Take them out when the top is lightly browned. If the biscuits are the usual size, the inside will be done. If you have made them very large, you may need to bake a bit longer.

Sour Dough Starter


1 package active dry yeast 2 1/2 cups warm water 2 cups flour 1 tablespoon sugar Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water. Stir in remaining 2 cups water, flour and sugar. Let stand at room temperature until bubbly, stirring 2-3 times per day. Keep in lidded container in refrigerator. Feed after use: 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar and stir. Leave overnight before sing again.

Pies & Pastry

Pastry Recipe:
5 cups flour 4 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 lb lard or shortening 1 egg 1 tablespoon vinegar 3/4 cup milk, approximately In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together until well blended. Cut in fat with pastry blender, leaving it fairly rough and not totally mixed, sort of like baby peas in flour. In a measuring cup mix together vinegar, egg and add enough milk to make 1 cup of liquid. Add wet ingredients slowly to dry ones, stirring as gently and as little as possible. It is these tiny, unmixed pieces of fat that make the flakes in the baked pastry, so you want to keep them intact and not make it any smoother than you have to while working it and rolling it out. It will take a bit of work with floured hands to get it into a cohesive dough that can be rolled. Do not add more liquid, just take the time to gently knead it with your hands until it is blended enough. It will form a good dough when mixed enough. Do not use a food processor for this or you will end up with hard bread, not pastry.

Divide this dough into five equal balls. Use one ball for one pastry. If making a pie with a pastry top, use another pastry ball for the top. Keep the trimmings, as the trimmings from all five balls should make a good sixth pastry, if gently handled. If you want to do this, don't use the left over pastry for little turnovers filled with jam. Put each ball into a small freezer bag and freeze until needed. Take out the day before to thaw. Keep refrigerated until needed. (Microwave thawing is not recommended as it is too uneven.) Heavily flour a flat surface for rolling. This is not a cake. You can mix as much flour into it as you need to and it won't affect the outcome. Pastry is meant to be dry. So use a lot of flour and it won't stick to the rolling surface. Another trick to keep it from sticking while you roll it is to keep it moving. Turn the circle continuously while also adding more flour underneath as needed. If you are rolling and it feels like it might be starting to stick in one area, gently lift that corner, add more flour and turn the dough to spread out the flour under it.

If the dough starts to crack while rolling it, roll it in the other direction, leaving that crack on the outside edge. Watch the dough carefully while rolling to prevent large uneven cracks and keep it turning. When you have a ball rolled out that is the right size for your pie tin, roll it up onto the rolling pin. Lift pin and dough onto the pie tin and unroll in place. Trim edges around outside of pie tin, with about 1/2" left over outside edge. When the top pastry is added, fold this extra edge over the top and seal with water and a fork. This pastry can also be used for turnovers, apple dumplings, etc. etc. It's just very good pastry.

Fruit And Berry Pie Filling:


Measure how much your pie tin will hold by filling it with water and pouring that water into a measuring cup. Most 9" pie plates will hold about 4 cups of filling. Wash, peel, core, pit, seed, chop and generally prepare fruit and berries as you would for pie. Make enough berries to fill your pie tin, measured as above. Add from 4-8 tablespoons of flour depending on how watery this particular cooked fruit/berry usually is. Add 1-2 cups of sugar depending on the tartness of this fruit/berry and how tart you like your pies. (Any type of berry will usually need the full 2 cups.) Stir together in pot on stove and bring to a boil before adding to pastry. Do you often find that you have to overcook the pastry to get the filling completely done? This step will avoid that. You can even cook it halfway before putting it in the pastry. Don't add cold filling to a pastry shell and expect it to cook before the pastry burns. If you are pre-baking the pastry shell for a custard type filling, bake it full of dried peas to keep it from losing shape in the oven. Optional ingredients: - 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon - always add this to apple pies. - REAL butter in small bits under top pastry (Please people, use real butter here. It's PIE, after all. What's a few more calories...) - Small amount of sweetened, condensed milk for creaminess or REAL cream (see "butter" above.) - Nuts or shelled sunflower seeds - Raisins - good with apples and nuts - Pineapple (What goes well with Pineapple?)

Squash Pie
1 1/2 cups squash, cooked, mashed and unseasoned 1 teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon 3 eggs 2 teaspoon all purpose flour 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon mace 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup milk Mix all dry ingredients together. Add squash. Beat eggs in another bowl and add milk to eggs, then add to squash mixture. Pour into an unbaked pastry lined pan. Bake at 350F until firm in center, about 1 hour. These pies are delicious with a ring of toasted marshmallows around the outer edge!

Miscellaneous Desserts
Squash Dessert Squares
1/2 cup shortening 1/4 cup sugar 2 cups squash, cooked, mashed and unseasoned 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup brown sugar 3 eggs 2 cups all-purpose flour Preheat oven to 350F. Grease square pan. Beat together shortening, brown sugar and white sugar until light. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in squash. Combine dry ingredients and gradually stir into beaten mixture. Spread in greased pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool in pan. Spread with orange icing (optional). Cut into bars.

Bavarian Jello
I call this "Bavarian" Jello because that is what I heard it called when I was a kid. It's flavoured jelly powder (Jello) mixed with whipped cream and it's delicious. It is a quick, easy, frugal yet fancy dessert. I make it a lot in the summer in the heat but also now, when strawberries are on sale at the store. To make Bavarian Jello you make up a jelly powder box according to the directions on the box. Mix one package with 1 cup of boiling water. This is easy when you keep a kettle on the woodstove. I always have boiling water on tap. Stir it until it is dissolved. Then add 1 cup of cold water. I put chopped ice in the 1 cup measure before I add the cold water. It makes the jelly powder "set" more quickly. When it is almost set, or half set, use an electric mixer and beat it with whipped cream. Put into whatever container you want to use and put it in the refrigerator. It will harden in a few hours. I like to layer it with clear jelly powder and fruit in glasses. I used tumblers this time, as it was just a special dessert for hubby and not for company. If I am making it for company, I use the stemmed wine glasses.

This one pictured is strawberry. I made up one box of strawberry jelly powder and left it clear. When it was set I spooned it into the glasses along with some fresh strawberry pieces. I then spooned in the Bavarian Jello with whipped cream. I saved some whipped cream to put on top too, and a few fresh strawberries for the top, as well. You can make any flavor that you like. Raspberry is great, as is cherry!

EASY MINT ICE CREAM


For one pint, wash and dry one cup of leaves -- we prefer peppermint -- and discard stems. Using the back of a wooden spoon, crush leaves together with 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar resembles wet sand. Stir in one cup each of milk and heavy cream until sugar dissolves; refrigerate for 2 hours. Strain the mixture, discard solids, and freeze in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Raspberry Cobbler
A cobbler is a baked fruit dessert without a bottom. A flan is a baked fruit dessert without a top. I have been using this cobbler recipe since I was in high school. Its the best one I have ever used and it is so simple and easy! The dough is very thick and is just spooned on top like biscuits. 4 cups sweetened berries or enough to fill a loaf pan about 1/3 full. 1 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup soft butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup milk

Directions: Combine dry ingredients with butter in a mixing bowl then add the milk and mix with mixer until well blended. Spoon on top of fruit in loaf pan. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes.

Pizza

We LOVE pizza, especially homemade pizza. I have a good recipe for the dough that makes in my breadmaker. Well, it makes up to the "roll it out" stage. This dough recipe uses a cup of beer for the liquid which gives the dough an especially "yeasty" flavor that is really delicious! It can be flat so you can save a cup of beer in the fridge for awhile, planning to make your own pizza dough.

You can put as much cheese as you want on your own pizza. You can put whatever toppings you like and as much of them as you want, on your own pizza. It is more trouble than buying delivered pizza but it is a LOT cheaper. It is more trouble than buying a frozen pizza from the grocery store, but it is a LOT better.

You don't have to use a breadmaker for this, its just easier. I let the dough mix and knead in the breadmaker. If you are using a breadmaker for this and are putting the ingredients in early in the morning to mix and knead later, or even the day before, it is important that the ingredients be put into your breadmaker in this order. This keeps the yeast away from the liquid, salt and sugar until it is ready to mix.

This is the pizza dough recipe: This recipe makes one extra large pizza or two small pizzas 1 cup beer or 1 tablespoon shortening 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour in Canada 1 1/4 teaspoon yeast

Put all ingredients into machine in the above order. Put machine on "dough/pasta" setting. When cycle is complete, remove dough and roll out to fit bottom of pan. I have a pizza stone, but I bake this in a pizza pan with bacon grease in the bottom. You can put melted butter in it instead, for a crispy crust, but we like it in bacon grease. I know, bacon grease is not healthy. Pizza is not "healthy". If you are eating pizza, with cheese and sausage anyway, you might as well add the bacon grease too. Walk it off :-)

While the dough is kneading in the machine, you can be gathering and chopping all the toppings. We use grated mozzarella cheese, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon and sausage (no pepperoni). I dry the very thin tomato slices between paper towel so they don't add more water to the pizza and I like to cook the onions and peppers in the bacon grease slightly so they are not crunchy on the pizza.

I used Italian sausage for this pizza because that is what I had, slicing them thinly before putting on the pizza. These were left over from two days ago. I prefer spicy breakfast sausage, myself. Because this is mild Italian sausage, I sprinkled a little black pepper on it before baking and some thyme, as well. I like to add thyme to everything I cook because of its antibacterial properties.

Jellies

Flower and Herb Jellies: 2 cups flower petals (or fresh young herb leaves) 2 1/4 cups water 1/4 cup lemon juice 600 oz liquid pectin (2 packages) or equivalent powder (You may find that the liquid works better for this purpose than the powder) 4 cups sugar Basic recipe: same amount of water as flower/leaf material. Twice that total in sugar. A little lemon juice. One package of liquid pectin per 1 cup of water used, before adding the flower petals and sugar. You can make jelly from whatever amount you have.

In a small saucepan, glass or stainless, bring the flower petals or herb leaves in the water to a boil. Cover and set aside. Let this sit overnight or for a several hours. Strain, squeezing out the all the water into the saucepan. Put the pulp into the compost. This water is called an "infusion". Bring the water to a boil and stir in the sugar until well dissolved.

Stir in the pectin and boil hard for two minutes. Pour into hot, sterilized jelly jars. You can sterilize the jars, seals and lids by boiling them or running through the dishwasher with detergent by themselves on HOT. Put on seals and rings. Set the lidded jars into a large, tall pot. Put enough water in the pot to cover the jars with an inch of water above the top. Boil for 10 minutes (start counting when the water is boiling). Remove jars from boiling water, let cool and remove rings. Store at room temperature. Refrigerate after opening . I use a water bath canner for this but its not necessary if you have a pot tall enough. If you use the short, little jam jars you might have a pot that tall. I use a smaller pot if processing just a few little jars.

Making Quark and Recipes

Ingredients 1 Gallon 2% milk 8 oz cultured buttermilk Directions For making homemade quark you'll need about 2 days. With this recipe you can make about 1 kg (a little over 2 pounds) of quark cheese. The texture of the quark depends on how long you drain it. The longer you drain, the drier the quark. If it got to dry just add some milk or whey for making it smooth again. Important: Only use very clean utensils. Pour milk ( in my experience 2 % or higher works best) in a large bowl. Use a plastic bowl with lid. No stainless steel bowls! Add buttermilk and stir, using a wooden spoon. Cover bowl with lid and let stand at room temperature (72 F) for 2 days. Do not move the bowl to achieve best results. After 2 days you've got milk that has been soured with the bacteria culture that you added in the buttermilk. Place bowl (still covered with lid) on a dishtowel lined baking sheet. Put it in the middle rung of the oven. Set temperature to just under 150 F and heat for 2-4 hours or lower temp and leave overnight. Now the whey will split from the quark. The whey is yellowish-green in color.

Line a strainer with cheesecloth and put the strainer on a bowl. Using a slotted spoon, fill the cheesecloth with the quark allowing it to drain.

Tie cheesecloth and strain quark by hanging it in a cool place. (the cooler the better) Keep the whey for a healthy drink if desired. Whey can also replace water in any baking recipe. It contains a lot of vitamins and goodness from the milk. After the quark is drained, store it in the refrigerator for up to 6 days, depending on the room temperature where the quark was drained.

Here are a few quark recipes

Quark cheesecake: Ingredients: 1 store bought frozen pie shell 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups Quark 1/2 cup confectioners sugar 2 Tbsp whole milk 2 tsp vanilla extract Preparation: Preheat oven to 375 Whisk eggs very well. Using a spoon, mix in Quark, sugar and vanilla. Pour mixture into an unbaked pie shell. Bake until the mixture is set in the middle, about 1 hour. Let cool. Serve chilled. Top with berries.

Quark Crumb Bars Uses one 9 x 13 pan Combine in a mixing bowl: 16 ounces quark 1 egg 1 cup sugar 1 t. vanilla 1/2 cup dried blueberries, cherries or raisin Mix well and set aside.

In a second bowl combine: (mixture will be crumbly) 1 cup butter or margarine 3/4 cup sugar 1 t. vanilla 1 egg 1/4 t. salt 3 1/2 cups white flour Blend with a pastry blender. Measure out 2 1/2 cups of crumbs. Pat into a greased 9x13 glass baking dish. Push up about 1/2 inch of dough around the edges of the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes Pour quark mixture over baked crust. Spread evenly. Incorporate 1/4 t. baking powder into remaining crumbs. Spoon evenly over quark. Pat down very slightly. Bake 30 -35 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool before cutting. Roasted Red Pepper Dip Ingredients2 red bell peppers, halved and de-seeded 4 ounces Quark 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce fresh ground black pepper Directions Place the peppers skin side up under a hot grill until the skin is black (approx. 20 mins). Place them in a sandwich bag, seal it and leave for 10 minutes. Now you should be able to remove the charred skin really easily. Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours before serving, that allows the flavours to develop and blend. Serve as a dip with vegetables or bread. Quark Tirmisu Ingredients 24 dried sponge cake fingers 500 g Quark 4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar 150 ml strong coffee 60 ml Kahlua 3 cups mixed berries 100 g chocolate, finely grated Directions Combine quark and sugar in a bowl. Set aside. Combine coffee and kahlua in a separate bowl. Prepare 6 large,clean wine glasses. In the bottom, place one large tablespoon of the quark mix. On top of this place a medium sized amount of berries, just enough to cover. Break the sponge finger in half. Dip 4 halves into the bowl of coffee mix until soaked through. Remove and place on top of berries. Add a pinch off chocolate. Repeat until the glass is filled, at least twice. Top off with an extra layer of quark, a few berries and a generous grating of chocolate. Repeat with the rest of the glasses and chill until serving.

Making Cultured Buttermilk

Why should culturing buttermilk be difficult? I have been making yogurt for decades. Can this milk culture be any more difficult? It isn't. Its easier. The culture that makes "cultured" buttermilk will grow at room temperature! That makes it a lot easier to make than yogurt. No warming the milk and keeping it at that warmer temp for eight hours.

This is not real buttermilk. Real buttermilk is what farmers pour off the butter after churning. This is, however, what most people drink from the grocery store, called "cultured" buttermilk. It is a mesophilic culture growing in milk. This is the same culture used to make many cheeses. I bought a small container of cultured buttermilk at the store to use for starter. It is important to buy one with live culture. Only a small portion of this is needed to turn a bowl of milk into cultured buttermilk. The process takes about 24 hours at room temperature.

I used store bought 2% milk and let a bowl of it warm to room temperature. I then added about a 2" square amount of buttermilk and left it for 24 hours. Ta-da! Buttermilk! Thick and delicious!

Processing Fresh Squash and Pumpkin

Anything is better made with real cooked and mashed winter squash, either fresh or from the freezer - much better than the canned product! First, cut open your fresh squash and scoop out the seeds and inside. Save the seeds for roasting ;-) (Recipe below) Cook the squash. There are several ways this can be accomplished. Baking: Turned squash halves upside down in a pan with a little water and baked for about 45 minutes in the oven. Let cool and scoop cooked squash out of peel.

Boiled: Peel and cut into big chunks. Bring to a boil and cook for only 10 minutes. If it cooks in the water for too long, it will be too wet. Drain well and mash. A potato masher works well for this, as does a ricer. Or you can cook it in the microwave. I have never tried that as you can only do one piece at a time and I am usually processing many squash at once for the freezer.

When the squash is well done, mash it with a potato masher. What a beautiful bright orange this is! Lots of beta carotene! Baking is easier but if I have squash pies in the oven I will peel and boil.

Using Fresh Rhubarb

Rhubarb should be picked when the entire stalk is red. The green parts are not that good to eat since they are not ripe yet. If you pick it when it is green at the top and add that to the rhubarb you use, it will be extremely tart. The secret to good rhubarb is to use it only when it is ripe enough. Your rhubarb is going to be very tart, that's its nature. The bottom of the stalk should be a dark wine colour. The peel of the rhubarb cooks to a very tender state. When the rhubarb is cooked you won't be able to tell the peel from the rest of it, so it doesn't need to be peeled first. Its not like celery, where the peel stays tough and stringy. You will waste a lot of good fruit if you peel it first. Do cut any brown or black spots off, however. These have a bit of green at the top that will need to be cut off. Chop it up into little pieces before you cook it and it will be more tender and cook faster.

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