St. Lucia Day Buns

A tradition in Sweden, and in our home, these delicious buns are served on December 13th, St. Lucy's Day. When the girls were little, I dressed them up in a white robe and red sash, with a crown of holly. They loved to "make the coffee" - just push this button, dear - and serve these buns to Papa and Mama in bed. Now I serve them with hot tea as dessert after a dinner of Swedish meatballs.

St. Nicholas' Day

Jolly Old St. Nicholas, lean your ear this way.
Don't you tell a single soul, what I'm going to say.
Christmas Eve is coming soon, now, you dear old man,
Whisper what you'll bring to me.
Tell me, if you can.
- Christmas song

I don't know why this song has such a special place in my heart. Perhaps it's because my Nana used to sing it to us in her soft voice when we were little children. There is something charming about the simple, gentle melody - one that I used to find myself singing very quietly to my babies as I rocked them to sleep surrounded by the soft lights of the Christmas tree.

The idea of a jolly old elf never seemed to quite live up to the stories I heard as a little girl of a kindly old bishop secretly leaving bags of gold on the doorsteps of poor families to prevent their daughters from being sold into slavery. No wonder the Church made him a patron saint of children. The stories of his generosity have inspired millions over the centuries, and many traditions surround his feast day.

On St. Nicholas Day the kids waken to find a treat in their shoes that we put in front of the wood stove. Usually the treat is a little bag of chocolate coins, but some years it is a piece of homemade fudge wrapped in foil.

Once school lessons are over, the preparations for dinner begin. We usually celebrate with Greek food - avgolomeno soup, Greek chicken, spanikopita, and a large Greek salad. Then there is Bishop's Bread for dessert. Unfortunately, due to crazy sports schedules, I was pressed for time this year so the Bishop's bread will have to wait until Christmas.

Adventual Ale

Tis' the season for my husband's Adventual Ale. Made with malt, hops, and honey, it has undertones of orange, ginger, and cinnamon - flavors reminiscent of the East.

Adding the malt. Extra sugar raises the alcohol content, but makes a thinner beer.

Adding the hops to the boiling brew. There is a rich aroma of malt in the air.


Checking the specific gravity. 'Tis very scientific, you know.


Straining the mash.


Even Penelope can't wait!


Pitching the yeast.


Fermentation took about 2 weeks.


Taking a sample before bottling.


Now the bottling process begins. The kitchen smells like a brewery at this point.


Capping the bottles. These are then placed in a warm room for a week or so to carbonate before being moved to the cellar.


Waiting in silence, waiting in hope...

Christmas or Plum Pudding

"Stir up Thy might, we beg You,
O Lord, and come..."
- Advent Collects

"O, Come, O Come, Emmanuel..."
- Traditional Latin Hymn, 9th century


So begins the prayer for the lighting of the wreath this first week of Advent. Historically in merrie olde England, this day (or technically the Saturday evening of the week before Advent) was known as "stir up" Sunday. This was the day that the Christmas pudding was prepared. Families gathered in the kitchen, and beginning with the head of the household and then down to the lowliest maid, all would stir through the batter and make a wish. The pudding was then steamed and stored away to be served as Christmas dessert.

In Medieval times, the recipes for the puddings varied from home to home, but always included spices and dried fruits that evoked memories of the exotic East and the Magi. Thanks to the returning Crusaders who brought with them the treasures of the East, these once unknown ingredients became part of English cookery.

Last Christmas, in a nod to our English ancestry, I served a Christmas pudding that we set alight at the table. It was truly a sight to behold. This year however, I decided to bring the tradition back of stirring up the pudding on the first weekend of Advent. I used a suet pudding recipe that belonged to Joe's Nana. And so we come full circle - blending the past with the present - and finding ourselves grounded by and in tradition.

Roasted Tomatoes

Our tomato harvest was great this season. I planted about 45 pots of tomatoes of different varieties - some heirloom (thanks, Andrew!), salsa, Roma, and cherry. I had the firm resolution not to do to myself what I did last year in planting 90 tomato plants and was determined to thin out the seedlings even if it killed me. But, unbeknown to me, Joe lovingly separated all of the seedlings one morning before work, and when I next went out to the greenhouse I found over 100 plants growing strong. 109 to be exact - Edmund helped me count them after they were put out in the garden.

Needless to say, I had hundreds and hundreds of tomatoes come harvest time. We ate as many fresh tomatoes as we could, sold some at the farm stand, and gave some away. The rest became tomato-peach salsa, regular salsa, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, roasted red pepper spread, and dried tomatoes. One delicious recipe for a roasted tomato sauce came from a book Joe borrowed from someone at work. It was a book on raising pigs, but the author also included recipes for vegetables from his farm produce.

Roasting tomatoes was not a new concept to me - the roasted red pepper spread also called for roasting a few Roma tomatoes in the recipe. But I had never thought of making a large quantity of sauce out of the tomatoes. Once tried, though, I realized that I had stumbled upon a delicious, and easy, alternative to the pizza sauce I had made last year. The flavor is unique - deep, and garlicky. It is wonderful on pizza.


Roasted Tomato Sauce

Cut Roma or other Italian style tomatoes in half, and lay in a baking pan. Add 4-6 garlic cloves still in their skins to the pan. Drizzle with olive oil. A full bodied flavored oil works well. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Place in a 400 degree oven and roast until the tomato skins begin to blacken. Cool, and press through a sieve. I made mine in large quantities and canned the sauce according to The Ball Blue Book.

Making Apple Cider

Family and friends gathered at my brother and sister-in-law's Achorn Farm last weekend for a cider pressing party.We brought about five bushels of apples from various trees around our little place and the neighbor's trees. (Our neighbor was very gracious, allowing the boys and I to carry away nine five-gallon buckets full of apples for apple butter several weeks ago.) The weather was perfect for an autumn day - sunny and warm.I think it is safe to say that everyone had a great time talking, playing, eating good food, and yes, sampling mason jars of fresh cider. We went home with about 6-1/2 gallons of sweet cider, some of which I froze for Tess and Mary's return at Christmas. I will probably siphon some off from the large carboy to make homemade vinegar - far superior to the vinegar we are used to from the grocery store. The rest we are hoping to ferment into hard cider. Many thanks to MM and CG for their wonderful hospitality.

Oktoberfest Dinner

I am ashamed to see that I have posted nothing since last April. The busy spring and summer months have now become the slower days of autumn, and at last I have time between gardening, schooling, soccer games, and canning to post a recipe or two. The following Hillshire Farm recipe, with only minor changes, is a family favorite, one I have been making for nearly fifteen years or more. The flavors of apple and sauerkraut blend beautifully with the sausage in this hearty dish - perfect for those cool autumn evenings.

Oktoberfest Dinner

1-2 lbs. kielbasa or smoked sausage, cut in 3-4 in. pieces
1-2 tbs. butter
1 med. onion, cut in wedges
1-2 16oz. packages of sauerkraut
2 apples, cut into wedges
4-6 medium potatoes, cut in large pieces
1 c. apple cider

Lightly cook onion in butter in a deep dutch oven. Remove from pan. Brown sausage in butter, and remove from pan. place potatoes in bottom of pan. Cover with lightly cooked onions, apples, sauerkraut, and then sausage. Pour cider over everything. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until potatoes test done with a fork. I avoid stirring this during cooking to prevent the apples from falling apart, but it does not affect the flavor if you choose to stir.I have also done this in the crock pot, browning the meat and slicing it before hand. If you are rushed for time and want to bring this casserole to a pot luck, I've had success in lightly cooking the potatoes in water prior to adding them to the crock pot. This speeds up the cooking time of the potatoes, but still allows for them to absorb some of the flavor from the cider. Serve with lots of apple cider or a good German beer. Enjoy!

A Broccoli Recipe

Broccoli seems to me a vegetable that one either loves or hates. I remember as a child hating the texture of broccoli - it always seemed so limp and lifeless. What I didn't know at the time was that it had probably been overcooked. Thus the disgusting texture.

It was not until I had my first taste of Chinese food that I realized broccoli was a vegetable not only tasty to eat, but highly versatile as well. Its health benefits are well known, and it is now a staple vegetable in our home. I am always looking for new ways to prepare it. Here is a great recipe that uses raw broccoli. The additions can be as creative as you are. I adapt this depending on what goodies I have in my cupboard.

Broccoli Salad

1-1/2 - 2 lbs. broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1-2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I like the extra sharp variety)
1/2 c. raisins (I use craisins)
sunflower seeds to taste
bacon bits to taste

Mix all of the above in a large bowl. Add dressing. Serve.

Dressing:

1 c. mayonnaise (I use Hellman's Mayonnaise Dressing with olive oil)
2 tbs. cider vinegar
1/4 c. sugar

April Fool's

We awoke this morning to the world blanketed again in white. An early spring storm brought about a foot and a half of heavy, wet snow into New England forcing schools and some state offices to close for the day. Papa, the boys and I spent the morning catching up on math lessons and exams to the scents of maple sap simmering on the little Waterford stove. Cups of hot coffee and various types of tea were consumed, laundry washed, and maple candy made on a pan of white snow. A general feeling of good will filled the air.




The only ones who seemed at all disconcerted by the weather were the ducks and geese who had been enjoying days swimming in the pond and playing in the mud. They became exhausted as they wallowed in the deep wet snow trying to make their way to the small spot of open water near the swamp on the lower end of the property. The ducks had to be rescued by the boys and returned to their pen in the barn where Mr. Drake Puddleduck happily chased our gander, Augustus Finkwaddle, round the pen for the rest of the afternoon.

A Wonderful Clean

My washing machine has been broken since Saturday. At first it didn't seem like a crisis. My machine is a Bosch front loader - highly efficient, quiet, easy on the water - a busy mother's dream. But what happens when the control panel stubbornly continues to flash E:04? Well, one checks the filter of course, and sure enough I found two screws, two hairpins, a nickel, and a broken chain. Unfortunately, this quick fix that had always worked before failed to solve the problem. Papa, Joey, and I cleaned drainage hoses of jelly-like gunk and still no results. Finally after about 15 gallons of dirty water spilled onto the floor over the course of 3 days, laundry piling up, and about a dozen towels soaked with gray water, I put up the white flag and called the repairman. He was the same man who had come the week before to fix the refrigerator. (When it rains it pours. I think I'm going to bless the dishwasher with holy water.) Long story short, the drainage pump is broken, and of course, it will be 3-5 business days before the new pump will arrive. Great.

Now comes the confession. I hate laundromats. Oh, I know, they work well for many people. But I have had many a bad experience with laundromats, and I didn't relish the thought of having to go. Neither did I relish the thought of having to pay more for a load of laundry than I would pay for almost a week's worth of cleaning here at home. Then again we were all in need of at least clean underwear. And socks. The situation appeared desperate. That is until I remembered...the Wonder Clean.

I don't know how many people recall the panic over Y2K. Suffice to say that my clear-headed husband carried the day in not getting carried away. We made a few bulk purchases of oatmeal, wheat berries, and rice, but on the whole we did't go overboard. We also purchased a Coleman lantern and a grain mill, both of which we still use regularly. The Wonder Clean was my only real "panic purchase." For, with a household of little children, I would need to get clothes clean. And so I became the proud owner of, well, a white elephant. For ten long years the Wonder Clean sat, first in the basement of the little white house, and then on a high shelf in the barn, neglected, forgotten. That is until today.

Although covered with dust the washer did not seem to have suffered from lack of use. After a thorough cleaning I loaded the empty drum with underwear and socks, added about a gallon of hot water, and one teaspoon of laundry detergent. Once the lid was screwed on tightly the fun began as the boys took turns rotating the handle of the washer each competing to see who could get the washer to spin the fastest. Ten minutes later (the instructions say only a maximum of 2 minutes agitation is necessary) we drained the wash water and added more water for rinsing. Round and round went the drum as lessons in the physics of inertia, friction, and heat conduction were discussed. Drain, wring and toss the laundry into the dryer and we were done. Everyone was amazed at how clean the laundry looked and smelled. The Wonder Clean had saved the day!





Will says we should do laundry like this more often. I say let's get that washing machine fixed soon! But in the meantime I will be grateful for life's blessings and count among them my little hand cranked washing machine. It really is a wonder.

Green Tomato Mincemeat

This is for my sister-in-law, Karen, who has demonstrated the patience of a saint while waiting for me to get my act together and post this.

I stumbled across this recipe years ago when I had a plethora of green tomatoes and no idea how to use them. Apparently it is a Yankee favorite since I was given several hand written cards with the same recipe by older ladies who were trying to answer a few questions I had on canning with suet. I did use the suet once, and then the following year decided to try the recipe without the added fat. I could detect no difference in taste or texture of the mince, and so I have continued to make it sans suet. I still follow The Blue Book's recommendation to process by pressure cooker. But I have also frozen the mince in 1 quart containers with good results. One quart of mincemeat yields one pie. I usually simmer the mince for about 20min. before I put it in the pie shell.

Green Tomato Mincemeat

2 qts. cored, chopped green tomatoes
1 tbs. salt
2-1/2 qts. cored, chopped apples (I don't peel them)
3-1/2 c. brown sugar
1-1/2 c. chopped suet
1 lb. raisins
1 med. orange (I chop the entire orange in the food processor)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 c. vinegar

Sprinkle salt over chopped tomatoes; let stand for 1 hr. Rinse and drain.
Cover tomatoes with boiling water; let stand for 5 min. Drain. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15min.

To can: Ladle hot mincemeat into hot jars, leaving 1 in. headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints and quarts 1 hour and 30 min. at 10 lbs. pressure in steam-pressure canner.

To freeze: Cool mincemeat and pack into freezer containers.

Yield: 10 pints or 5 quarts

Cheesy Garden Chowder

This chowder is a definite crowd pleaser. It makes a great lunch or a satisfying supper with homemade bread or popovers. I once made homemade bread bowls and served the chowder in style. It was quite a hit! Add more vegetables, if you like, and change up the types of cheese. I like to use cheddar, but a friend gave me some block American cheese and I used half American, half cheddar. I usually double this recipe so we can have it for lunch the next day.

Cheesy Garden Chowder

1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped pepper
1/4 c. butter (I use 2 tbs.)
1 c. each diced potato, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot
3 c. water
3 bouillon cubes
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. flour
2 c. milk
1 tsp. parsley
3 c. shredded cheese

Saute onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Add vegetables, water, bouillon, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 min. or until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, combine flour and milk, whisking until smooth. Stir into soup. Bring back to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. Add parsley, and stir in cheese until melted. Serve hot.


Will's Fabulous Popovers!

Irish Soda Bread

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, and our morning begins with the traditional Irish soda bread and strong Irish tea. We save the leftover bread for an Irish tea in the afternoon. This whets our appetite for dinner which I will blog about in the next post.

This recipe is from A World of Good Eating by Heloise Frost that once belonged to my Mom, and was the one she made every year for St. Patrick's Day. On its fifth printing in 1951, this little book always delighted me as a child. It wasn't the recipes, however, that held me in rapt attention. Rather it was the delightful illustrations that caught my eye. Plump, rosy-cheeked children and adults dressed in traditional garb jumped off the pages that divided the recipes by geography and culture. Fires burned brightly in hearths, grapes hung tantalizingly, and platters of food steamed. In every countenance was joy and contentment.

As a child I completely missed the connection between food and joy. Then again, perhaps I did not. Perhaps this realization had taken root deep inside my soul, to resurrect later in life as I began to cook for my own family. As I look through the recipes once again of this little culinary treasure, I am taken back in time to the kitchen and dining room in the big white house on Caughdenoy Rd. where most of our family activities took place.

The pages of this book, now yellowed and brittle with age still make me smile. Old recipes beckon like friends and new ones cry out to be tried. But what makes this book so dear, are the notes written in my mother's beautiful handwriting -"too sticky" on the doughnuts, or "double recipe + add 1/4 tsp. nutmeg" on the Swedish meatballs. She, too, had made the connection.

What follows is the recipe for Irish soda bread that I had copied from this cookbook when I ventured out on my own. Upon comparing the two recipes on the card and in the cookbook, I am at a loss for the changes I had made. Perhaps in a moment of dietary conscience, I felt I was making a healthier alternative by reducing the amounts of butter and salt. Whatever the reason, the recipe given below is the one that has become traditional in our home. Craisins replace the traditional fruit, since my children have an aversion to raisins in baked goods.

Irish Soda Bread

4 c. flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. butter
1 c. craisins
1 c. milk
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in butter. Mix eggs and milk. Make a well in the flour mixture; add milk mixture. Lightly mix together with a fork until most of the flour and milk is together.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead dough into a ball. Don't handle the dough too much.

Form into a ball and place in buttered pie plate. Gently flatten dough.

With a sharp knife, cut a deep cross into the top of the dough.

Bake for 50-60 min. or until toothpicks comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Serve plain, or with butter and jam, and lots of good, strong, hot tea.