Blind Pig & The Acorn

Buttermilk Pie

 
I had never tasted Buttermilk Pie before my cooking class last week, but I came away knowing the recipe would be one I would use again and again. Buttermilk Pie is considered a southern recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 tablespoons plain flour (all purpose)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 cups buttermilk
• a pinch of nutmeg
• a 9 inch pie pastry

 
Heat oven to 425 degrees and bake pie shell for 4 minutes-remove pie shell from oven. Decrease oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs and sugar together until thick

 While beating-add melted butter, flour,

vanilla,

buttermilk, and nutmeg.

Pour mixture into pie shell, being careful not to over fill. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes-or till pie is done.

After baking allow pie to chill in frig before serving.

If you're looking for an easy quick pie to make-that's really good-this is the one. The recipe goes to gather quickly-and the taste is amazing.

If you give it a try-let me know how you like it!

Tipper

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Preserving Mountain Flavors Day 4 - Let Them Eat Pie

Today's cooking class was all about the pie. Nanette taught us how to make a flaky delicious crust-then came the pies. One of the prettiest was a lattice crusted strawberry rhubarb pie.

 

There was Miss Cindy's Blueberry Pie-with a fancied up crust design.

A savory caramelized onion and blue cheese pie.

A lovely star studded mock pecan pie and a host of others:

• Aunt Mary Jo's Apple Pie was a hit
• There was a lemon chess-and a chocolate chess-both equally yummy
• A buttermilk pie
• A fresh strawberry pie
• An old time vinegar pie-that was surprisingly tasty

If you've ever had a buttermilk or vinegar pie-please leave a comment with your thoughts or tips.

We're done with pies-next up beets and cucumbers!

Tipper

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Preserving Mountain Flavors Day 2

Today's cooking class was all about Strawberry Jam. I didn't have time to take any photos-but the basic recipe we used was equal parts of crushed strawberries and sugar; and the juice of a half a lemon. We measured the sugar and strawberries by weight-not by cups.

I found the jam process, my co-teacher Nanette Davidson used, very interesting. Instead of sauce pots we used large saute pans. First we heated the sugar in the pan until it just started to clump; then we added the crushed strawberries to the pan (we had already stirred the lemon juice into the strawberries).

The reason for heating the sugar first-was to lessen the time it took to cook the mixture-therefore keeping the strawberries from completely cooking away.

We cooked the mixture over medium high heat-stirring constantly. The tricky part was knowing how long to cook the jam-you want it thick enough to set-but not so thick it gets sticky. Nanette taught us to place a saucer in freezer-then when we thought the jam was getting close-we placed a small spoonful on the cold saucer. After it had set a minute or 2 we ran our finger through the jam-if the trail of our finger stayed clear-the jam was ready. If the trail of our finger filled in-then the jam needed more cooking.

Since my bunch likes plain strawberry jam-I stuck to the basic recipe. Some of the other more adventurous students added mint, rhubarb, and other spices to their jam.

After lunch I taught the class to make the easiest biscuits ever-and the best black walnut cake ever-Arsh Potato Cake. (if you missed the recipes for either biscuits or the cake-just click on the words to read them)

So whats up for tomorrow? Blackberry Jelly-and an Apple Stack Cake. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Tipper

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Chocolate Cake With Kraut - What?

From the minute I saw Leon Patenburg's recipe for Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake I knew I had to try it. I thought it might be tasty-I mean I already know I like cakes made with left over mashed potatoes and cakes made with tomato soup. But chocolate cake made with kruat-I had to find out for sure.

The day I made the cake, I tried to be secretive with my ingredients so I could make the rest of my bunch guess what was in the cake. But The Deer Hunter saw me bringing a jar of kraut up from the basement so I ended up telling him from the start. He said "What!? a cake with kraut?" I said "yep."

To make a Chocolate Kraut Cake you need:

• 2/3 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 1/4 cups plain flour (all purpose)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sauerkraut (rinsed and drained)

First-cream butter and sugar together.

Add eggs one at a time-mixing well after each. Add vanilla-mix well.

Sift together dry ingredients.

Alternately add the dry ingredients and the water-mixing well after each addition.

Stir in one cup of kruat that has been rinsed and drained. If your kraut is coarse in size-I would suggest chopping it to a finer consistency. Most all the kraut cooked up in the cake-but a few of my coarser pieces stuck around.

Pour mixture into a well greased/floured bundt pan-or you can do like Leon and use a dutch oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or till done. (it took 40 minutes in my oven)

I melted some semi-sweet morsels with a bit of butter and poured it over the cake for an easy icing.

 

So was it good? YES! The cake is delicious-very moist-dense-and chocolaty. Its so good you really don't need an icing. Its the type of cake that goes perfectly with a cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk.

The hot new band-Burnt Toast & Cracklings (Chitter, Chatter, and friends) were over for a jam session the evening I made the cake-so I did get to play my game of 'can you guess whats in the cake'. It was unanimous-it tasted so good they didn't care what was in it.

Ever had Chocolate Kraut Cake?

Tipper

p.s. MOVIE UPDATE. The movie me and the girls are in-If I Had Wings To Fly took 1st place in the Appalachian Film Festival! It will be shown this week at Appalachian State University. If you live in the area-you can catch If I Had Wings To Fly at the Greenbriar Theater, ASU, Boone, NC on Thursday April 19th 2012 at 7:00pm. I hear an Asheville, NC showing is coming soon-so stay tuned!

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Easy Recipe For Making Violet Jelly

Since I mentioned making violet jelly in the rooster fighting post earlier this week, several folks have asked me to re-post the violet jelly recipe. It was originally published here on the Blind Pig in April 2010.

After a few folks told me they made jelly with wild violets-I had to give it a try.

So the other evening, me and this character headed for Granny's Violet Vale. In only took us a few minutes to pick 2 cups of violet blooms-that's how much it takes to make jelly.

Rinse off the blooms-then place them in a glass bowl-and pour 2 cups of boiling water over them. I looked at several recipes-they all varied about how long to steep the blooms. I went for the longest time. I covered the bowl with a plate and let it sit on the counter until the following day-when I planned to make jelly.

 

But as often happens in life-something came up. So I drained the blooms (discarding them) and put the purplish liquid into the fridge until today.

To make violet jelly you need:

• 2 cups of violet flower juice
• juice of 1 lemon 
• a box of pectin
• 4 cups of sugar
• jelly jars, lids, and rings (you need to sterilize all-and keep the jars hot-I used a pot of simmering water)

~first-pour the violet juice, pectin, and lemon juice into a fairly large sauce pan (when you mix the lemon juice with the purple violet juice-it immediately turns pink-might make a neat science project for school)

~heat the mixture until it boils-then add 4 cups of sugar

~while stirring-bring the mixture back to a hard boil-one that doesn't stop even though you're stirring it

~boil for one minute 

~ladle hot jelly into hot jars

~attach lids and rings

~turn jars upside down for 5 minutes-then turn right side up-the jars will seal as they cool-you can hear the 'pop' of each jar sealing

~if you feel more comfortable using a hot water bath to seal the jelly-place the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes

The recipe above made 4 small jars of violet jelly.

I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. I didn't think the the jelly would have much of a flavor other than being sweet. I was wrong, violet jelly does have a distinct flavor. I've been thinking of how to describe the taste-what have I come up with? Not much. It's kind of a herbal sweet taste-sorta like lavender but not quite. In the end I decided it must taste exactly like violet jelly-which makes sense don't you think?

Tipper

p.s. If you have any questions-leave me a comment or email me at tipper@blindpigandtheacorn.com

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Cream Cheese Danish

I first noticed this recipe for Cream Cheese Danish when the girls were in 2nd grade or 3rd grade. Their class made cookbooks-I can't remember now if it was a fund raiser or Christmas presents for parents-but the recipe was in the book.

8 years later I finally tried the recipe-and after I tasted it-I decided I should have made it much sooner.

You need:

• 2 10 oz cans of crescent rolls
• 2 8 oz packs of cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons sour cream

For icing:

• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon butter

• preheat oven to 350
• grease a 9 x 13 baking pan
• line the bottom of the pan with one can of the crescent rolls-I sorta flattened mine together into a large square before I put them in the pan

• mix together the cream cheese, sugar, lemon jucie, vanilla, and sour cream
• spread the mixture evenly over the crescent rolls

• top mixture with the other can of crescent rolls
• bake in 350 oven for 20-30 minutes or till light golden brown

The recipe called for mixing the confectioners sugar, butter, and milk together to drizzle over the danish-but I didn't even bother with it-they were so good they didn't need any icing.

Tipper

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The Husband Cake

I believe it was back last year that I first heard about The Husband Cake. We were discussing make do food recipes and Ethel, a Blind Pig reader, emailed me about the cake.

Ethel's family had been making the cake for generations, and since it doesn't require any eggs or butter it seemed like a make do recipe for sure.

More recently, Ethel and I were discussing the cake again-and she went asking around to see if she could discover the history of the cake for me. This is what Ethel came up with:

My Dad and Aunt Mary remember Grandma making this cake as far back as they have memories. According to Aunt Mary, it was  Grandpa who renamed the recipe Husband Cake, because he liked it so much. It is actually Tomato Soup Cake or Mystery Cake. Grandma was a busy mother of four and a dedicated nurse, so she didn't get time to bake very often. Poor Grandpa only got this cake maybe twice a year! Grandma passed the recipe along to Mom, and the fourth generation of our family is now enjoying it.

I always assumed that this was a WWII recipe, because there are no eggs or butter in it, and my grandparents married in 1945. When I Googled the recipe history I found that it's been around since the late 1920's. A lot of the recipes I saw called for eggs, butter and nuts. Maybe it was adapted later to fit the depression or war-time rationing. 

 

Now a days I make one of these cakes every two or three months. It's just flat-out scrumptious with its half-inch layer of cream cheese frosting, but the sweetest thing about it is the way Dad's eyes light up when I carry it in the house! 

Ingredients for The Husband Cake

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 can tomato soup
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cup plain flour (all purpose)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Frosting

• 3 tablespoons butter softened
• 1 package cream cheese softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3-4 cup powdered sugar

Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan or 2 round cake pans. Cream shortening; add sugar; beat till light and fluffy.

Add tomato soup-mix well; add water-mix well.

I must admit when I poured the can of soup in-I thought oh dear I've probably just wasted all this-I mean how will this ever taste good?

Sift dry ingredients together. Add to tomato mixture a little at a time and mix till smooth.

Spoon batter into greased and floured pan(s)-bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes depending on the pan size you use-and the way your oven cooks.

To make the frosting-cream butter and cream cheese till blended; add vanilla and powdered sugar mix well.

When I made the cake I used 2 round 9 inch pans. I was so anxious to see how the cake tasted-I tried to remove one layer as soon as it came out of the oven-it came apart in pieces. The other layer-I let cool a good 15-20 minutes and it came out perfectly.

To my utter surprise-the cake was delicious! Demolishing the first layer made the cake very hard to ice-but I finally got the icing smeared around most of it.

I had just finished cleaning up the mess when the rest of the family came home. After supper they all gave the cake a try-and they all loved it. I made them try to guess what kind of cake it was-The Deer Hunter and Chatter both guessed it was a carrot cake. They were all surprised when I told them it was Husband Cake-more commonly called a tomato soup cake. Chatter enjoyed the cake so much-she requested a piece be added to her school lunch every day that week.

So have you ever had a cake with a can of tomato soup in it?

Tipper

p.s. Thank you Ethel-for sharing the recipe-and your family history of the cake!

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The Best Apple Pie

Chitter has been asking for an apple pie-so over the weekend I made her one. The recipe I use makes the best ever apple pie and its easy-peasy too.

The recipe calls for a double crust-so either get out your favorite pastry recipe and whip 2 up-or do I like I do and buy a box from the refrigerator section of your grocery store.

I unroll one of the pie pastries and lay it in a regular size pie plate.

Slice your apples-I think I used 6 small apples for this pie-but I usually just slice up as many as it takes to fill the pie shell.

Cut a 1/2 stick of butter into cubes;

sprinkle the cubed butter on top of the apples, along with 2 tablespoons of plain flour and 1 cup of sugar (my apples were really sweet-so I backed the sugar up to 3/4 of a cup).

Next-gently lay the 2nd pie crust pastry on top. I fold it under the bottom shell-and give it a good pinch all the way around to seal them togehter.

Once I've secured the 2 pie pastries together-I go back around squeezing the crust between my thumb and index knuckle to give the pie a scalloped edge.

I brush an egg white on top of the crust-and cut several holes in it to allow steam to escape.

Lastly-I sprinkle sugar over the top and bake it for 1 hour in a 350 degree oven.

This photo is proof that its the best apple pie. I set it on the counter to cool-and when I came back to take my photo of the finished pie-almost half of it was already gone.

If you're a long time reader of the Blind Pig & the Acorn you may be thinking-"That is just like Miss Cindy's Blueberry Pie-but with apples." If you are-you'd be right! It is the same recipe-it turns out great no matter what fruit you use.

For a quicker-less heavy apple pie-check out Aunt Mary Jo's Apple Pie-its good too!

Tipper

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Miss Cindy's Bread

I'm a bread lover-I mean I'm a fool for bread! Most meals-I'd rather have the bread than whatever else is served. I like biscuits-I like cornbread-I like rolls-I like bread! When I try to think of someone else who likes bread as much as I do-Miss Cindy immediately comes to mind.

Like me, Miss Cindy likes all kinds of bread-especially if you've got some butter to go with it. When The Deer Hunter and I were first married Miss Cindy shared her sourdough starter with me-and for a good long while we both made sourdough bread. But somewhere along the way Miss Cindy decided to get a bread machine and give it a try. After she got the hang of using the machine-she found us one at a local thrift store and showed us how to use it. The bread machine makes good bread-it came with a cookbook which has recipes ranging from regular sandwich bread to elaborate Danish pastries.

Miss Cindy wanted a basic bread for sandwiches-but one hearty enough to be served with a meal too. When none of the recipes she tried fit that description-she made up her own bread recipe.

Her recipe is so good I glued my hand written copy inside the cover of one of my cookbooks for easy access-I knew it was the only loaf bread I would ever make again.

You need:

• 3 cups of unbleached bread flour
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 heaping tablespoon of gluten
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 heaping tablespoons of peach or apple jelly (or 2 heaping tablespoons of sugar if you don't have or don't want to use jelly)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoon yeast

The best thing about using a bread machine-is you pour all the ingredients except the yeast in together (the yeast goes in a separate place) turn it on and forget it.

The bread machine Miss Cindy found for us is a Panasonic SD-YS200. Bread machines can be pricey-but by keeping an eye out at thrift stores and yard sales Miss Cindy has managed to nab several for friends and family at a good price.

Once I add the ingredients, I choose the Basic Bread option-which takes 4 hours. If I'm in a hurry or just want my bread faster-I choose the Rapid Basic Bread option which takes 3 hours.

I've never tried it, but I'm sure Miss Cindy's recipe would work well if you made it without the bread machine-just going by a basic sandwich bread's rise and bake times.

Once the bread is baked and out of the machine, I let it cool slightly and then slice the loaf down the middle long ways-so I end up with 2 smaller loaves.

Things I love about Miss Cindy's recipe:

• the addition of oatmeal and wheat flour make it a healthier bread
• it gives me an incentive to use up that last spoonful of jelly in the frig
• its very versatile-good for making sandwiches-but good with an entire meal too
• best of all-it tastes so good we usually eat half a loaf with butter as soon as it comes out of the machine

Tipper

 

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Chatter's Orange Slice Cake

Paul, Tipper, Granny Gazzie, and Steve

If any of the 3 Indian Princesses get hungry, and can't find something to please their palate at home-they know where to go-to Granny and Pap's house. There's usually leftovers in the frig-biscuits on the table-and cornbread on the counter. Not to mention-Granny has a stash of candy in a drawer-and a supply of Little Debbies in the cabinet.

We lived to far away from Granny Gazzie to raid her house for food when I was young. And I guess since I didn't spend as much time there as my girls do at Granny and Pap's-I never felt comfortable prowling through her cabinets or drawers for a snack. But Granny Gazzie did have candy to share-the 3 kinds being-orange slice, stick candy, and those foam like peanut shaped type things. As a grown up-I can never see those candies that I don't think of her offering me a piece around Christmas Time.

Over a year ago I came across a recipe for orange slice cake in my favorite Appalachian Cook Book: More Than Moonshine by Sidney Saylor Farr. The recipe immediately made me think of Granny Gazzie but I just never got around to trying it. Well a few weeks ago-Granny found the same recipe in the Nov/Dec issue of the NC Farm Bureau Magazine. She made the cake and shared it with us-and wouldn't you know it-my picky daughter Chatter loved it! She hasn't quit talking about it-so yesterday we made it together.

You need:

• 1 cup margarine or butter (I used butter)
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk with 1 tsp baking soda mixed in
• 3 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 box dates chopped fine (I used the 8oz. box)
• 1 can flake coconut (I didn't have a can-so I used a cup of coconut)
• 2 cups chopped pecans
• 1 10oz. jar maraschino cherries cut in half
• 1 pound orange sliced candy cut fine (I use the 14 oz bag)

I chopped up the orange slice candy-

while Chatter cut the cherries in half and

the mixer creamed the butter and sugar. Next we added the eggs one at a time-mixing well after each.

We alternately added the buttermilk and 3 cups of the flour-mixing well after each addition.

Next we mixed the candy, dates, nuts, cherries together; and added the remaining 1/2 cup flour coating all the ingredients well.

We added the flour coated items and the coconut to the batter and tried to mix well. Its a very stiff batter at this point.

The recipe said to use a greased and floured 10 inch tube pan-and bake the cake for 2 1/2 hours at 250 degrees. Since Chatter and I wanted to share our cake-we divided the batter into 2 regular size loaf pans and 2 mini loaf pans. We're were also impatient to see if it was as good as Granny's so we moved the oven up to 300 degrees. It still took well over an hour for the cakes to bake-of course the mini loaves finished before the regular size ones.

Even though the Orange Slice Cake takes some time and energy to make-it is very good-and the flavors make it seem perfect for this time of the year.

Chatter said we must make the Orange Slice Cake every Christmas from now own-she likes it that much. I told her she could be the special Orange Slice Cake maker and become famous for making it every Christmas-she said o.k.

Ever had the cake before?

Tipper

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