Our Life in Pictures

These are snapshots of our life - days full, bringing joy and contentment and LOTS of good food!  Enjoy your visit.

Blackberry Crumble

Individual Blackberry Crumbles (can be made with any in season fruit or fruit from your freezer or canning jars) is a perfectly simple ending to a summer meal.  I make the crumble ahead and keep it in the refrigerator, waiting to adorn fruit at a moments notice.  The crumbles take about 20 minutes to cook, making them perfect to pop in the oven when dinner comes out so they are ready to eat when the meal is finished.  I love blackberry and raspberry crumble best, although apple and pear make a fabulous fall treat.  The crumble topping is infinitely flexible, adding or subtracting ingredients depending on what is in your pantry.

Crumble
1 C cold butter
2 C flour
2/3 C sugar
2/3 C ground almonds (I used pecans)
pinch of salt

Combing flour, sugar, ground almonds and pinch of salt.  Cut in butter with a pastry cutter.  Store in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Cutting in the butter

Adding a little sugar and cinnamon to the berries

Berry mixture in ramekin pots

Going into the oven (350° for 15-20 minutes)

Ready for a summer picnic

Perfect topped with whipped cream

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Bacon and Cheese Frittata

When I was a girl, my dad made the most wonderful omelets in the world.  They were light and fluffy, packed with all kinds of good things.  When I grew up and went out in the world, I ordered an omelet in a restaurant, and much to my great surprise and consternation, they brought a flat, folded thing that bared no resemblance to the omelets of my youth.  Years later, I came to find that the omelets my father had made were in fact not omelets, but frittatas.  With our overabundance of eggs, frittatas are on our regular menu.  Leftover bacon, sausage and ham are regular features, as are onions, green pepper and cheese.  Whatever we happen to have in the fridge ends up in the skillet.  I love making these on the wood cookstove best, but they work well in a regular oven as well.

Frittatas
Eggs (I used 14 for a 10" skillet)
Cooked meat (bacon, ham, sausage etc)
Veggies (onions, peppers, mushrooms etc)
Cheese (whatever suits your fancy - cheddar, swiss, pepper jack etc)

Melt a tablespoon (or so) of butter in a cast iron skillet.

Mix eggs with a bit of milk.  Beat well.  Add meat, vegetables and cheese.  Stir well.  Pour into heated skillet.  Cook (without stirring) over medium low heat until the eggs begin to set around the edges of the skillet.  Put skillet into at medium oven (350°) and cook until eggs are set (eggs don't jiggle when you shake the skillet).  The frittata will be huge and puffy but will deflate as it cools.  Slice and serve with toast and potatoes.

Beaten eggs with bacon pieces

Adding chives and cheese

Pouring the mixture into the skillet

Transferred into the oven

Breakfast is served!

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Carmel Corn

Years ago, I went to a tupperware party at a friends house.  Now, truth be told, I am not a tupperware kind of girl, so I didn't come home with any new plastic gadgets, however, I did come home with a killer recipe.  Our hostess made carmel corn - in a MICROWAVE! no less, and it was awesome.  I wrangled the recipe from her and have been spoiling my family with it ever since.  It always turns out perfectly, takes very few ingredients and is lightening fast, and really, is better than any recipe we have tried.  It is cheating, I suppose, using the microwave, but it sure is convenient, especially if you are feeding hoards of locusts (our pet name for children when we have large gatherings).  Try it - you won't be disappointed!

Carmel Corn
1 C popcorn (popped)
1 C brown sugar
1 cube butter
1/4 C corn syrup
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 paper grocery store bag

Pop popcorn and pour into a paper grocery bag.  In a large, microwave safe bowl, combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup.  Microwave for 5 minutes, stirring halfway through.  Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to mixture and stir.  This will significantly change the consistency of the carmel.  Pour carmel mixture over the popcorn in the paper bag.  Stir through the popcorn.  Fold the bag and put in the microwave for 1 minute.  Mix popcorn again and put in the microwave for 1 more minute.  Pour the popcorn in a serving bowl.  Allow the carmel corn so sit for about 1/2 an hour to harden.  Break into chunks and enjoy.

The brown sugar, butter and corn syrup

Stir half-way through the cooking time

Ready to add the baking soda

After the baking soda was added

Carmel on top of the popcorn (in the paper bag)

Stirring carmel into the popcorn

Folding the paper bag to go into the microwave

Mixing at 1 minute (push around from the outside of the bag)

Ready to serve

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!