ELSIE SMITH'S PEACH COBBLER

It may be harder for me to write a post than usual now that we have adopted two male kittens. They were content playing on the floor until I started typing this. Then they both jump up on the couch and start typing themselves. Parker is content laying down beside me and Charlie is still restless. They slept most of the afternoon so I don't expect them to go to sleep again.

I had to stop to check on the peaches on our peach tree and discovered the deer feasted on the low ones last night. When I came back up, the kittens were still running around. Surprisingly they settled down but I couldn't get my laptop back and running so frustrated I gave up and Wayne and I watched Hinterland on TV. The kittens went back to sleep and slept through the whole show, but as soon as the show ended, they woke up. Parker wanted to help me out but I told him NO and so he and Charlie are playing. 

I won't spend too much time blabbing and just get to the recipe I want to share with you so I won't have to stay up too late. I had some delicious ripe peaches I had bought and wanted to use and since we love peach cobbler so much, I picked this recipe from a collection cookbook from Naperville, IL. I bought the cookbook because Friend Janice said the roommate for one of her granddaughters was from there. Anyway, the recipe made a really delicious peach cobbler. After making it, the only change I would make the next time would be adding more peach slices are making it in an 8 - inch square dish and not pouring on all of the batter because we like more peaches in our cobbler. Otherwise, it's fantastic even using the sugar substitute erythritol.

ELSIE SMITH'S PEACH COBBLER

Filling:

1     tablespoon cornstarch

1/4  cup brown sugar

1/2  cup cold water

3     cups fresh sliced peaches (I did peel mine.)

1     tablespoon butter

1     tablespoon lemon juice, optional (I did add)

In a saucepan, mix the cornstarch, brown sugar, and cold water.

Add peaches.

Cook and stir until mixture thickens.

Add butter and lemon juice.

Pour mixture into a baking dish 8 - inch square up to 7 x 12. (Read paragraph above recipe.) Set aside.

Crust:

1     cup flour

1     teaspoon baking powder

1/2  teaspoon salt

1/2  cup sugar, divided (I used 2/3 cup erythritol, divided)

2     tablespoons shortening, melted

~1   cup milk, enough to make a batter to pour

Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together into a bowl.

Add 1/4 cup sugar (or 1/3 cup erythritol). Add shortening and blend until flour is coarse and crumbly.

Add milk until mixture is thoroughly moist and almost runny. I added almost a cup of milk to get the batter the consistency I wanted.

Pour over hot cobbler fruit. (If you are using a small baking dish, I would not use all of the batter.)

Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup sugar (or 1/3 cup erythritol) over the top.

Bake in preheated oven about 1 hour until brown on top.

Recipe note: As a child I watched my mother and grandmother make this. There was no written recipe and I had to watch her and stop her with each new addition so I could reproduce it with the same taste. Even today, when I make it, I can picture both of them in the kitchen adding a dab or a pinch of this and that.

Here are some pictures of Charlie and Parker. I had to call my husband to come in and play with them so I could finish writing this. It's like they know we are going to be leaving to go to bed so they get real active.

Parker

Charlie

PINEAPPLE OOEY GOOEY CAKE

 A few weeks ago I had the misfortune to be on an electric bike when I shouldn't have. I had only ridden it one other time several years ago and I had a similar problem. My problem is I can't seem to stop the darn thing. The other time, I stopped when I rode into our friends' motorhome. The bike hit the side of their motorhome and I just went sailing off the end of it and landed right on my bottom on the ground. Surprisingly nothing was hurt except maybe my pride. This time it was a short wall surrounding a neighbor's mailbox.

We were checking them out because we were considering buying them from our friends. I was so nervous about just getting on the bike. It took me a while but I finally managed to get on the seat with my feet on the pedals and took off. Our house is almost at the lowest spot on our street and the hill going north is just steep enough that I can't quite make it to the top on a bike, any bike. Because of that I started off on the bike with the speed on the lowest setting (1). I made it up the hill without any problems and turned left down the street to make the block. About half way down the street I got to thinking that if I made the block that meant the last turn to get to our house was a long steep hill that I wasn't ready to try yet. I could just picture myself crashing and burning coming down the grade. What could I do? I wondered. My first quick thought was to make a U-turn in the street and go back home. I really wasn't thinking about the grade I would have to go down when I made the turn. 

Anyway trying to make a U-turn was not a good idea. When I realized I wasn't going to be successful, I turned the wheel to go down the sidewalk. At the same time, I tried to press the button to lower the motor to 0 thus turning it off. The wheel wobbled and the next thing I knew there was what looked like a 3-foot wall around a mailbox in front of me and my wheel wobbled into it. The bike started falling to the right toward the mailbox, my body went with it and my right foot landed inside the wall, the pedal landed on top of my foot just below my toes, and my right arm was scraped the full length of my forearm on the 4 x 4 that the mailbox was resting on. About that time Wayne rode up on his e-bike and wanted to know why I was on the sidewalk. (I'm glad I can laugh about it now as I write this.)

Long story short, I walked the bike back to our house and our friend wanted to know why I wasn't riding it. I told him I couldn't stop it and crashed into a mailbox. He insisted I get back on it and I told him I wasn't. He repeated very seriously that I had to get back on it. (You know like when you fall off a horse...) I repeated to him - NO WAY. I was going into the house and put ice on my foot because it hurt.  

By now I am sure you are wondering why I am telling you this story. I will get there if you will just hang in there with me. I soaked my foot in cold water for 48 hours. The toes and the part of the foot where they are attached to my foot swelled up and I only had one pair of shoes I could wear. The swelling finally went down - mostly, but the toes stayed black and blue for quite a while. In fact two and a half weeks later, I was still having some slight pain and the skin over my ankle bone had turned blue so my primary care doctor said for me to go to a walk-in orthopedic specialty clinic and have them x-ray it. The result of that visit was there were no broken bones and I was told it just took bruises and injuries longer to heel when you were older. My reward (after being told I was old, I needed one) was to go across the street to the donut shop and get a donut. Wayne was talked into getting a piece of Pineapple Ooey Gooey Cake.

He loved it so much that he suggested (strongly) that I make it for the Tasty Bunch that were coming to our house for dessert five days later. (I tried to tell him that I had made Ooey Gooey Cake before and I could make it for him so he could choose something else, but he wouldn't listen to me.)

And that's why when the Tasty Bunch came over to our house last Saturday night for dessert and more conversation after eating out, we all enjoyed this delicious Pineapple Ooey Gooey Cake. I reduced the calories by using a sugar-free yellow cake mix and 1/3 less fat Neufchatel cheese for the cream cheese. Later as Friends Carol and Janice and I were discussing the dessert, I got out one of Paula Deen's cookbooks (Paula Deen Cuts the Fat) to see how she had "lightened" it up and was so intrigued by her recipe that I promised them I would make it again soon and compare the taste.

PINEAPPLE OOEY GOOEY CAKE

Cake:

1     package yellow cake mix (I used a sugar-free yellow cake mix)

1     egg

1     stick of butter (8 tablespoons), melted

Filling:

1     8 - ounce package cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat Neufchatel cheese)

1     20 - ounce can crushed pineapple, drained (I use crushed pineapple in its own juice)

3     eggs

1     teaspoon vanilla

1     stick of butter (8 tablespoons) melted

1     16 - ounce box (3-1/2 cups) powdered sugar

1     teaspoon cinnamon

1     teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking pan. Set aside.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer.

Make sure you beat until every particle is mixed in.

Pat the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside.

Make the filling, by beating the cream cheese and pineapple until

smooth in a large mixing bowl.

Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together.

Combine the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together and then add to the mixture.

Mix well.

Spread the pineapple mixture over the cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey. I cooked mine the full 50 minutes, but might have been able to remove after 45 minutes. Either way, the cake was delicious! Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

HONEY of an OAT BANANA BREAD

 I don't know why but the last bunch of bananas I bought, Wayne has not eaten one of them. Since I only eat them when they are really firm, that means I have a bowl full of bananas that are slowly ripening. (Have you read my post about bananas lasting longer? You don't want to miss this ONE.)

So that meant I had to start looking for some good sounding recipes using bananas. I checked out several cookbooks before picking this recipe called Honey of an Oat Banana Bread in one of my The American Country Inn and Bed & Breakfast Cookbook. The recipe was compliments of Aunt Polly. I don't know who Aunt Polly is but I best she's a super cook because this Banana Bread is really, really good. Wayne said he could taste the banana more than in a lot of banana recipes. Usually that is the case if the bananas you are using are more ripe, but that's not the case with my bread. I told him it had honey in it, so maybe that gave the bananas more flavor.

I made three mini loaves instead of one 8 x 4 - inch loaf. I prefer to do that since it is just the two of us, I can freeze two loaves while we eat one. Then I can bring one out of the freezer whenever we want one. I found some erythritol in a grocery store and thought I would give it a try. It looks like sugar/Splenda/Stevia. It is a sugar alcohol that is 70% as sweet as sugar. The package recommended using it 1 for 1 in a recipe for sugar if you wanted light sweetness and 1-1/3 for 1 if you wanted to have more sweetness. The recipe calls for 2/3 cup sugar, so I used 3/4 cups of the erythritol. If you can't find it in your local supermarket, you can order it online. So far I am really pleased with it in my baked goods.

HONEY of an OAT BANANA BREAD

2/3     cup sugar (I used 3/4 cup erythritol)

1/3     cup shortening

2        eggs

1/2     cup milk

1-1/2  teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3     cup oats (I used Old Fashioned Oats)

1/2     cup honey

2        medium bananas, mashed

1-1/4  teaspoon baking powder

1/2     teaspoon baking soda

1-3/4  cups flour

1/4     cup nuts (I used walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease or spray loaf pan(s) (8 x 4 - for one loaf or three mini-loaf pans)

In a mixing bowl beat sugar and shortening together til smooth.

Add eggs, milk, vanilla, oats, honey, bananas, baking powder, and baking soda.

Combine thoroughly and

then add flour and

fold in nuts.

Spoon batter into pan(s).

Bake for 1 hour for one larger loaf or 40 to 45 minutes for mini-loaves. Test doneness by pressing lightly on center of loaf or by the toothpick test.

Allow to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes in pan(s) on wire rack.

Remove and finish cooling on wire rack. Wrap in foil. Can freeze some for later enjoyment.

Here is a tip you might want to try for mashing the bananas.

I peeled and added the whole bananas to the sugar/shortening mixture and

turned the mixer on to stir at first and then increased speed and letter the beater mash the bananas. Then I added the eggs, milk, vanilla, oats, honey, baking powder, and baking soda. Works great if your bananas are ripe. 

BLUEBERRY MINI-MUFFINS (NO SUGAR ADDED)

 I made these Blueberry Mini-Muffins for our Saturday morning special breakfast and then ended up giving most of them away to a darling little fan of my cooking. She wasn't with her mother when I gave them to her, but I hope Hazely enjoyed them. They are just the right size for her.

I did make the recipe sugar free which worked out fine with all of the wild frozen blueberries. I found a sugar substitute that I have been experimenting with. I like my stevia with erythritol that I found. Erythritol is a natural sugar alcohol that doesn't cause side effects and tastes almost like sugar. It has about 70% of the sweetness of sugar so while you can use half of the called for sugar if it is added with stevia, if you are using it by itself, it is recommended that you use 1-1/3 cups in place of 1 cup of sugar. I will be trying it in more recipes so hope you will check back with me in the future.

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BLUEBERRY MINI-MUFFINS - NO SUGAR ADDED

2     cups flour

1/2  cup sugar or 2/3 cup erythritol

3     teaspoons baking powder

1/2  teaspoon cinnamon

1/8  teaspoon salt

1     egg

3/4  cup milk

1/3  cup oil

1     teaspoon vanilla extract

1     cup fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray miniature muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar/substitute, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt with a whisk. Make a well in the dry ingredients so when you pour in the wet ingredients they won't go to the edge of the mixing bowl. (See picture below.)

Beat egg in a small bowl.

Add the milk, oil, and vanilla; mix well.

Add to dry ingredients;

stir with a wooden spoon just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Carefully fold in blueberries.

Fill cups with about 1-1/2 tablespoons of batter. A cookie scoop works perfectly, if you have one.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (I cooked mine the full 15 minutes.)

Remove muffins from pan by running a knife around the insides of the cups and

cool on wire rack. 

The recipe said it would make 36 mini-muffins. I only made 24 and then one mini-bundt muffin.

Batter can be baked in batches. Any batter not bake immediately should be refrigerated and baked as soon as possible.