Walnut Bread

This loaf, swirled with nuts  - is so easy to make and pretty too.  It's hard to believe that it only takes 1 minute to mix and get that marbled appearance in your full-size food processor.  

Walnut bread is popular in France, and is excellent with blue cheese butter or Swiss cheese.  It makes great chicken salad or ham and Swiss sandwiches too.   You can shape it into a round loaf or into a 4 ½ x 8 ½” loaf pan.  You do need to toast your nuts – the difference in taste is marked.  If you use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, your rising times will about double.

I keep roasted walnut oil in my kitchen, but if you don’t have it or can’t find it, use safflower oil.   (I bought mine at Whole Foods last time).  I've made this since the 80’s and although it’s not our regular weekly bread, its a favorite to make occasionally for good sandwiches or to serve with cheese or soup.               

Walnut Bread 

  1        Package  Instant Yeast (2 1/8 teaspoons)

     ¼     Cup  Brown Sugar

  13 ½  Ounces  Bread Flour -- 3 cups

  2 ½    Ounces  Whole Wheat Flour -- 1/2 cup

  1        Teaspoon  Salt

  3        Tablespoons  Toasted Walnut Oil

  1        Cup  Water -- (heat to 120°-125°)

  6        Ounces  Toasted Walnuts (1 1/2 cup)

Toast walnuts.  Use the steel blade for your processor.  Combine all but water and walnuts in processor bowl.  Add water slowly and process 40 seconds.  Add nuts and process 10 seconds.  Press any loose walnut crumbs into dough.  Let rest 10 minutes, in a warm place, right in the covered processor bowl.  Make into loaf, either round or for a greased 4 1/2 x 8 1/2" loaf pan, cover, let rise for 30 minutes or until the center of the loaf is 1 inch above the rim of the pan, preheat oven while letting dough rise.  Bake 30-35 minutes at 400°.  (If bread is browning too fast, tent a piece of foil over it, until it's done.  An instant-read thermometer should read 200°.)

Do not process too long with walnuts - dough should look marbled.

To toast nuts, spread them on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 12-15 minutes.  Let cool.

  "1 Loaf"

Per Serving: 132 Calories; 3g Fat (20.6% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 135mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Sunday in Iowa

Hair Sheep...or "hairless sheep"

My husband's nephew, Mark, keeps about 2 dozen of these sheep next to his folks' homestead.  They don't have wooly coats that must be shorn, but a hair coat.  They were checking us out as we looked over Don and Bonnie's gardens.

Our Newest Favorite Kitchen Tools

Myrna and I can’t resist new kitchen products and gadgets.  Here are some of our latest favorites.  We bought our own, we just like these - no advertising intended!

Myrna Says: 

As anyone who knows me can tell you, kitchen gadgets are my downfall.
Here are my newest favorites. The round-container egg slicer. It has three egg slicer inserts, half, sixths for wedges and slices. The best part is that they all fit together to store and take up so little room. 

The coated wire whip has a sturdy handle and works great in my new nonstick Calphalon pans. Nice size and I use it more than the larger coated wire whip I have, washes very well.

The pancake/cookies turner is my favorite find. I really like the one I have that I always used but it is all metal and so I needed to find something else. This is great! Small length handle from end to end which is what I liked about my other one. Overall length is 9 ½ inches. Not a long turner and this works so good to turn over easy eggs. I now have two of them and would not use any others. Great tool by OXO. 

The last and newest gadget is the green spoon holder. Clip it on any pan or bowl and it holds your spoon, whip, etc. over the utensil and not over the stove or counter. I am going to buy several more. I bought two, but my daughter took one and now wants another also. Great idea and one that works!

Sue says:

I can’t cook without a scale…my husband even uses one to weigh out our breakfast cereal right into the bowl.  My old scale is 20 years old and not made anymore, but it got lots and lots of use over the years.  I wanted a new one, and this Soehnle weighs up to 30 pounds, has an easy to read dial, and won’t shut off until you shut it off, one of my pet peeves about many scales – they turn off halfway through your recipe.  I wanted one I could use to weigh canisters of flour, and quantities of food for canning and freezing, but still measures 10ths of an ounce.  This is the one – if only it didn’t show every fingerprint!

These colorful silicone lids really work – and I have them in several sizes to fit my pans and bowls that don’t have their own lids.  It really almost eliminates plastic wrap.  They come in a variety of designs.  They can even be used as pot lids or in the oven, although I have not tried it.

The roller is for tamping down those crumb crusts in pie pans or bar pans – slick.

And the stainless steel measuring spoons fit into my spice jars, include a ¾ teaspoon and 1/8 teaspoon size, and only cost me $5 at the outlet mall kitchen store.

And I have to second Myrna’s OXO turner…after I saw hers I bought 2, and my husband loves them for eggs, as they are a handy size. 

Family Favorites - Byerly's Wild Rice Soup

There is a great grocery chain in Minneapolis that has very nice dining rooms. This is probably their most popular menu item. Every time we visit there, we make a point of eating wild rice soup at a Byerly’s.  They use ham in their recipe, we like it better with canned chicken or turkey.  I often cook the rice a day ahead, or even cook a larger batch and freeze the extra to use next time; it freezes very well.
Byerly's Wild Rice Soup
1/2 cup Wild Rice -- uncooked
4 tablespoons Onion -- minced
4 tablespoons Celery -- finely chopped
1/2 cup Carrots -- very thinly sliced
3 cups Chicken Broth -- (homemade or made with water and chicken base)
2 tablespoons Sherry
2 Cups ham, chopped OR
1 Pint Canned Chicken or Turkey-- or 12 ounces purchased or 2 cups cooked
1 cup Heavy Cream -- or half and half
4 tablespoons Flour, All-purpose

• Cook wild rice in 1 cup of water or broth for 40-50 minutes; drain well. (I often do this during dinnertime the day ahead and refrigerate.)

• In a saucepan, combine broth, sherry, vegetables and chicken; simmer about 15 minutes. Add rice. Combine flour and cream, add to saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil; boil and stir 1 minute more until thickened.

Cost 2010: $4.56 or $1.14 per serving
Yield: "1 1/2 quarts" About 4 servings.
Per Serving: 491 Calories; 30g Fat (55.6% calories from fat); 27g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 132mg Cholesterol; 1017mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 4 1/2 Fat.

Crunchy Italian Bread Sticks

Our local Dutch bakery makes crunchy bread sticks and sells a lot of them – they always have them.  They are getting more and more expensive to buy, so when I saw this method  promising crunchy bread sticks I had to try it.  

Most bread sticks are soft, but these, like the bakery’s, are almost cracker-like.  
I won’t be buying any more – they are too easy to make.  I serve them with soup or pasta as a rule, if we can keep from snacking on them!  Store in an airtight container, they keep nicely for a week.        

Crunchy Italian Bread Sticks

     1       cup  Water -- 120°-125°
     1          Tablespoon  Olive Oil

  2 1/8   teaspoons  Instant Yeast -- 1 package

 11         Ounces  Bread Flour -- about 2 cups

     1       teaspoon  Salt

 2          Teaspoons  Garlic Powder  

 1 1/2    Teaspoons  Italian Seasoning
 2          Tablespoons grated Parmesan  

Add flour, yeast, salt and seasonings to mixer bowl.  Mix until just combined.

Slowly add warm water mixed with olive oil in a steady stream.  Mix until dough forms a ball and cleans the side of the bowl.  Change to dough hook or knead by hand about 6 minutes.  This is a "slack" dough that will be sticky.  Don't add a lot of flour when you knead.

Preheat oven to 300-325°. Let the dough rest in the bowl or on your board, covered, for 10 minutes in warm place.  Punch dough down on a slightly floured surface.  Divide in 2 pieces, about 10 1/2 ounces each.

Form into a rough rectangle, about 7" by 12", trying to keep an even thickness.. 

Cut the dough into 1/2" wide strips, 7 inches long.  Twist each strip into a spiral (or simply lay flat on your baking sheets) and lay them on two greased or  parchment-lined baking sheets (half-sheet size), leaving room between them.  Repeat with remaining dough.

When all the bread sticks are on the sheets, bake at 300-325° until they are nicely browned and crisp, about 40 minutes, turning them over halfway through baking.  Let them cool completely in the turned off oven.  (This is what makes them really crisp.)

40 bread sticks

2013 Cost:  60¢ per recipe.

Per Serving: 33 Calories; trace Fat (13.7% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 54mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fat.

Pear and Brown Sugar Crisp

  Fine Cooking recipe books are among some of my favorites. The cookie recipe that I use the most is from one of theirs and when Sue bought me the pie book, I was so pleased. All of the recipes though they might look like a standard are just enough different that they are lots of fun to try.

  This recipe for Pear Crisp was the first recipe I tried. I had some lovely pears, Bosc, from our local HyVee store and we thought the crisp was so good. The pinch of cloves in the recipe gives it just the right hint of spice and it was quite simple to make. 

  I used individual dishes, but you can use one pan as the recipe calls for. Lyle ate his warm with ice cream and caramel sauce on it. That really set it over the top. We always have homemade vanilla ice cream in the freezer so this makes a special dessert of the crisp. Cream would be good on it also. If you can find pears, I highly recommend this.

Pear and Brown Sugar Crisp

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Topping

3 oz. (⅔ cup all purpose flour)

2 ½ oz. (5 tablespoons butter, softened)

¾ cup oatmeal, (instant or old-fashioned) Not the type in the envelopes to microwave

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

Pinch of salt

  In a food processor or mixer or by hand, combine the flour, butter, oats, brown sugar and salt. Set aside. 

Pear Filling

3 lbs. Pears (about 6 large) such as Bosc, or Bartlett, peeled, halved and cored

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

⅓ to ½ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground cloves

4 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

  Cut the pears into pieces about 1 inch long by ½ inch thick. In a large bowl, mix the pears, lemon juice, vanilla, ⅓ cup of the sugar. The cinnamon, cloves and cornstarch. Toss to combine. Taste and add more sugar if you like.

  Pour the pear mixture into an 11 x 7 ovenproof baking dish or into individual ramekins. 

I used 4, 5 ounce and 4, 7 ounce ramekins. Cover with the topping. Turn the oven down to 325° and bake the crisp until the top is golden brown and the pears are tender. 70 to 80 minutes, Serve warm or at room temperature. It took the full 70 minutes and the pears were not mushy, just tender.

Apple Crisp with Pecans and Orange

  The Fine Cooking Pie book had this recipe for Apple Crisp with orange and pecans. Sounded good and another twist on the taste of a plain crisp.

  We all felt it was very good. I must say, I thought the pear crisp was better, but that is just because I like pears. 

  Apples come in many kinds but I have yet to find one that is not good. I used Granny Smiths for this recipe, any good crisp baking apple would work, just do not use one that will soften too much. Some apples are good bakers and some are good for eating and some for apple sauce. Most cookbooks have a list of the different types or the Produce Manager of your grocery store can give you good tips on which apple to use where. 

  If you are craving a warm, old fashioned dessert, you can’t go wrong with this recipe.
When you find a copy of this cookbook, grab it and bake away. 

Apple Crisp with Pecans and Orange

Topping

1 cup all purpose flour (4 ½ ounces

⅓ cup old fashioned rolled oats

¼ cup plus 2 TBS. Lightly packed brown sugar

¼ cup plus 2 TBS. Granulated sugar

¼ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ pound, ½ cup butter

1 cup lightly toasted, coarsely chopped, pecans

Filling

3 lbs. Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and sliced ¼ inch thick

½  cup granulated sugar

2 TBS. Fresh orange juice and 1 TBS. Grated orange zest (from one orange)

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

If your apples are juicy, you can add 1 ½ tsp flour to mixture

  Mix all of the topping ingredients in your blender, adding the nuts at the very end, so they do not become too finely chopped. The topping can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Bring to room temperature before using.

  In a large bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients and gently toss until well-combined. Transfer filling to lightly buttered dishes or one 9 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan.

Press down to compact slightly into an even layer. Sprinkle the topping in an thick even layer all over the filling.

  Bake until the topping is a golden brown, the juices are bubbling around the edges and the apples are soft when pierced with the tip of a knife. About 50 to 60 minutes.

Best served the same day as baked. (though we ate some the next day and it was fine).

Appelbrood

I saw this recipe last year on the beautiful website De Gulle Aarde (The Earth's Bounty).  Hanneke made a simple roll dough, and arranged it in a tart pan with apples she coated with cinnamon and sugar.   I used my feather roll recipe with about the same amount of flour as she used for the dough, and simply made it in my food processor.  The size pan and baking time and temperature are the same.  Next time I may use a little less apple – I used about 10 ounces.  I did peel my apples, Hanneke did not.  She gave no measurements for the cinnamon and sugar, and I used the mixture my husband makes for cinnamon toast.  About 1/3 cup sugar to cinnamon for taste is probably about how much I used.

 Having lived in the Dutch community of Pella, Iowa, we have learned to love the bakery’s apple bread, but it is much sweeter than Hanneke’s recipe.  When we lived in Europe, we found that the desserts, at first, seemed disappointingly not sweet to our American palates, until we learned to like the good taste of the food without as much sugar.  We enjoyed her authentic Dutch recipe, and I am going to practice getting it looking perfect.   It reminds me of our Grandmother's Koffee Kuchen – good. 

Apple Bread (Appelbrood)

  6 2/3    ounces  flour, all-purpose

     3/4    Teaspoon  instant yeast

  2           Tablespoons  potato flakes

  1           Tablespoon  sugar

     1/2    Teaspoon  salt

  5           fluid ounces  water -- 120°-125°

  2           Tablespoons  salad oil

  1           Large  Apple -- peeled and sliced thinly (may use 2)

                Cinnamon

                Sugar

Mix flour, potato flakes, salt, yeast and sugar until just combined, 2-3 pulses.

Pour water and oil through small feed tube in a steady steam.  Mix until dough forms a ball and cleans the side of the bowl.

Continue processing for 60 seconds to knead. 

Let rise in bowl for 20 minutes.  Punch dough down on a slightly floured surface.

Stir down, cover and let rest 10 minutes.  Roll out thinly and cut into strips about 1" wide. 

Place in a greased 8" round cake pan lined with greased parchment paper on edge alternating with apple slices.

Fill the mold with the strips of dough and the apple pieces, which are dipped in the sugar / cinnamon mixture, until they are used. Let it rest for half an hour and then bake for about 20 minutes in an oven at 425 degrees.

Frost when cool with a powdered sugar glaze if desired or spread with warmed apricot jam, as Hanneke suggests.

Per Serving: 136 Calories; 4g Fat (24.6% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 135mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Sunday in Iowa

           Small towns in the Midwest invite people to stop 

and rest awhile with flowers and park benches

Fine Cooking Pies, Crisps and Cobblers

I found this book for Myrna - Fine Cooking  Pies, Crisps and Cobblers, with 59 excellent recipes along with lots of good hints for pie success and was really happy that she liked it so much.  I liked this pie book also…and I think you would too.  It’s enough to make me make a pie  – and I will for the holidays coming up.  

However, I really don’t need to make pie – we are on Myrna’s “Pie Route” – and get deliveries of pieces of pie often.   Myrna’s pie fans actually remind her when they haven’t had their favorite pie in awhile!!

So that’s why she’s making the pie and crisps from this great book.  Hope you'll find something you'll want to try too!

Apple Crisp with Pecans and Orange

Pear and Brown Sugar Crisp

Buttermilk Pie

Apple Cider Pie - Sue's favorite

Family Favorites - Homecanned Apple Pie Filling

This recipe is from my sister-in-law, Bonnie. It turned out really good. I sliced my apples into apple cider, an idea from my friend Effie, whose family owns a plant nursery and apple orchard where they sell hundreds and hundreds of pies every year. They peel and prepare apples on Wednesdays, soak them in their own apple cider overnight, and then make pies for the freezer on Thursdays.  You must use bottled lemon juice to get the correct acidity for safe canning.

I used my new super duper apple slicer (they sell them at King Arthur Flour and Williams-Sonoma) that slices either 8 wedges or 16 slices for pie. It made the job much easier and really works (the plastic center makes the apples go all the way through the slicer).
Apple Pie Filling

6 1/2 -7 quarts Apples -- peeled and sliced

1 1/2 cups Clear Jel -- or 1 cup cornstarch

10 cups Water -- or half apple juice or cider

4 1/2 cups Sugar

1 tablespoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Nutmeg

1 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Bottled Lemon Juice

Bring ingredients except apples to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly like syrup. Turn drained apple slices into syrup and quickly pack into jars.  Add 3 tbsp bottled lemon juice to each jar.  Leave 1"-1 1/2" headspace; don't overfill or the filling will ooze out of your jars.

Process in a water bath 25 minutes for quarts or pints, add 5 minutes for 1000-3000 feet altitude.

7 quarts apple pie filling

Try stayman, rome, golden delicious apples.

Cost Summer 2013: $6.72 or 96¢ per quart with purchased apples.

I had a little filling left over; I made some apple crisp and topped it with homemade ice cream.  After baking, and cooling just a little bit, the filling was a perfect consistency and the apples were firm, not mushy.  Myrna tried a jar for apple crisp also, with good results.
Bonnie says her mother always canned apples, and then made juice for jelly from the peelings and cores.  Use it up,  do with less.

Jamaican Chicken

  We seem to be on a chicken diet lately. This recipe for chicken breasts from the Des Moines Symphony’s cookbook FanFare has a different flavor twist to it. 

  The oven time was right, however, I had to leave mine in too long and so it did dry out some. Still, I was the only one who thought so. The flavor is quite good and we will have it again. It was certainly easy to make and did not involve a lot of dirty dishes. This is always a plus in my book.

  Next time I will try it with skin on chicken breasts as it does not call for skinless and I think the skin on are always moister. However, you also add calories that way. This was one large breast from our local Fareway store’s meat counter and I cut it in 4 pieces. One for each of us and one for lunch tomorrow. With a baked potato, it was a easy meal and used all of my oven space. 

  If you do not like soy sauce this is not the recipe for you as you can taste the soy sauce even with a fairly small amount. However we all like it and I always have wine on hand so used that. I do think the lemon juice would be very good also.

Jamaican Chicken  

  Place 4 chicken breasts in baking dish. Mix ⅛ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup dry white wine or ⅛ cup lemon juice and two cloves of crushed garlic; pour over the chicken. Sprinkle generously with thyme. 

  Bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes. Baste every 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

*Keep in mind that soy sauce is salty.

Shoestring Chicken Salad

This is an old “ladies’ luncheon” recipe from the 50’s or 60’s.  I think I remember it from Jr. High Home Economics classes.  Don’t use salty canned chicken for this recipe – the potato stix, which I wasn’t sure I could even still buy, are salty enough.  Rotisserie or leftover grilled chicken is perfect.  Try this recipe for Homemade Cooked Dressing.

My husband and I both thought that a little cucumber would have made the chicken salad even better.   I enjoyed this old favorite again, and my husband, who hadn’t ever eaten it or the shoestring potatoes before, thought it was OK too.                 

Shoestring Chicken Salad

  1 ½       Cups  Mayonnaise -- or salad dressing

  1           Teaspoon  Vinegar

     ½       Teaspoon  Prepared Mustard

  1           Cup  Celery -- finely chopped

  10         Ounces  Chicken -- cooked, diced

  1           Teaspoon  Onion -- grated

  1           Cup  Carrots -- grated

  4           Ounces  Shoestring Potatoes

Combine dressing, vinegar and mustard with all other ingredients except the shoestring potatoes.  Just before serving, add the shoestring potatoes.

8 Servings

2013 Cost:  $3.70 or 47¢ per serving

  "Fan Fare"

Per Serving: 441 Calories; 44g Fat (86.0% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 38mg Cholesterol; 326mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 4 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Sherried Meatballs

 Quite a few of the recipes in the Des Moines Symphony cookbook FanFare are for a group. They do scale down easily and I tried this recipe for meatballs. The recipe can be used as an appetizer if you make the meatballs smaller or as a meal if you make them larger. They freeze well.

  We wanted them for supper so I scaled down the recipe to half and made the meatballs larger. If they are too large, they will not get done in the center, so do not get them much bigger than about medium size balls.

  There is no filler in the meatballs which is different, and if you use gluten free ketchup they are good for Celiacs. I always have sherry on hand so this was an easy recipe that could simmer while I did other things. We had them with scalloped corn and creamy poppy seed noodles. 

Sherried Meatballs

2 pounds ground beef (at least 85% lean)

1 tablespoon onion powder

½ cup dried parsley

1 cup catsup

2 tablespoon sugar

1 cup sherry

  Mix beef, parsley and onion powder. Shape beef into 1 inch meatballs. Brown in skillet and drain off far. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until sauce is thick (about 1 hour) or microwave at medium power for 10 to 12 minutes. 

YIELD: 50 cocktail size or 30 main dish meatballs

Linguine with Mushroom Shrimp Sauce

This sauce for this dish from "Fan Fare" isn’t as pretty as some red pasta sauces, but it tastes wonderful.  We like it with chili sauce and sherry, which I always have on hand.  If you don’t have tarragon, try some fresh or dried thyme.

 This takes just as long as it does to boil water and cook the pasta – it’s week-night fast but company special in taste.  Serve it in pasta bowls with a crisp green salad and some toasted garlic bread.

 Linguine with Mushroom Shrimp Sauce

  2         Shallots or 3 Green Onions -- finely chopped

  1         Cup  Fresh Mushrooms -- sliced

  1         Tablespoon  Butter

     1/3  Cup  Dry White Wine or Dry Sherry

     1/4  Cup  Water

  1         Tablespoon  Tomato Paste or Chili Sauce

  1         Tablespoon  Dijon Mustard

  1         Teaspoon  Chicken Bouillon Granules

     1/2  Teaspoon  Dried Tarragon -- crushed

     1/8  Teaspoon  Pepper

  12       Ounces  Shrimp -- peeled and deveined

  5         Ounces  Linguine -- cooked and drained

             Parmesan Cheese -- freshly grated

Cook linguine as package directs.  Meanwhile, prepare sauce.

In a 10" skillet or wok, cook the shallots and mushrooms in butter until tender.  Add the wine, water, tomato paste, mustard, bouillon granules, tarragon and pepper.  Bring to boiling.  Add the shrimp.  Reduce heat to medium.  Cover and simmer about 5 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked through.  Spoon sauce over hot, drained pasta; sprinkle with cheese.

3 Servings

Per Serving: 369 Calories; 7g Fat (18.1% calories from fat); 30g Protein; 40g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 183mg Cholesterol; 444mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 4 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Sunday in Iowa

A late garden on an Amish Homestead

Lots of tomatoes in the back, zinnias in the front
We are finally getting some fall-like weather!

Coffee and Tea

September weather and upcoming holiday entertaining got me thinking about making such basic beverages as coffee and tea.  Many folks patronize coffee shops for their caffeine, or use expensive “pod” type coffee makers, but for entertaining, I find I need a larger coffee pot, and a I have a tea pot too.  I also found this summer that I really prefer tea I make by steeping hot tea for iced tea instead of sun tea, which I made for many years.  The problem with sun tea is that the variation in sunlight and heat made it hard to get the strength I wanted, and I would forget to bring it in on time.

Here are some useful coffee and tea making tips.

• For maximum flavor, store fresh ground or whole bean coffee in the refrigerator for up to two weeks in an airtight container.
• Long term storage is best done in the freezer – I keep coffee beans up to a year this way with no loss of flavor.
• Unopened vacuum packed cans or packages of beans or ground coffee can be store in the pantry for up to one year. 
• For the best tasting coffee, always start with a clean coffee maker that has been washed with hot soapy water and well-rinsed.  Brew coffee with fresh cold water.
• You can store tea bags or loose tea at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 years.  Do keep different flavors of tea in separate storage containers.
• To make perfect tea, pour boiling water over one tea bag or a tea infuser containing 1 teaspoon of loose tea.  Allow to steep for 3-5 minutes until the strength suits you.   Remove the bag or infuser.
• My favorite way to make “quick” iced tea is to pour 4 cups of boiling water over 8 tea bags in a heat resistant container.  Cover and steep 3-5 minutes.  Remove bags and sweeten if desired.  Add 4 cups cold water or ice.  Chill until ready to serve.

Family Favorites - Warm Apples with vanilla sauce

We like this without the cranberries added and over ice cream. Good just to eat in a sauce dish without anything else. I usually prepare this dessert just before serving because I love the aroma in my kitchen as the apples cook. But, I have found that it can be made early in the day, refrigerated in a covered container, and reheated in the microwave for about 2 minutes on HIGH. The warm apples are delicious served over premium vanilla ice cream, with gingersnaps, or over slices of gingerbread cake. Or, top the warm apples with vanilla yogurt and add a sprinkling of granola or chopped pecans.

Warm Apples With Vanilla Cream Sauce

INGREDIENTS

Cooking Time: 15

Servings: 4

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/3 cup sugar

2 crisp, semi-sweet apples (such as Braeburn or Granny Smith), peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup half-and-half

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Ground nutmeg for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sugar; stir for about 1 minute or until it begins to melt.

2. Add the apples; cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the apples are tender and the butter is lightly browned.

3. Meanwhile, put the cranberries in a small microwave-proof custard cup with 2 tablespoons water. Cover with waxed paper and microwave on HIGH for 1 1/2 minutes or until the cranberries are softened. Drain any water remaining.

4. Stir the half-and-half, vanilla, and softened cranberries into the apples. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for about 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

5. Serve warm in small dessert bowls. Garnish with nutmeg.