Farmgirl Follies

Ode to Babysitters

Posted by Farmgirl on December 1, 2009  |  4 Comments

 

Three sets of sticky hands and she thought to stop and take a photo.
A precious, adorable photo that shows teamwork and compromise and fun.

 

 

A tray full of peanut butter balls.
Made with healthy things like crunchy peanut butter, wheat germ, honey and rolled oats. And so what if the youngest pastry chef is sporting stickers all over his face and rolling peanut butter balls into um … logs.

 

 

 

Last week she helped my girls organize their closet. This week they’re baking cookies and working together in harmony, and smiling and laughing.

I think she’s Mary Poppins  in disguise.

Toodles to noodles

Posted by Farmgirl on November 19, 2009  |  2 Comments

 

Another Iron Chef competition under our belts. Last night’s featured ingredient: noodles. Who knew noodles could be prepared in such tasty and diverse ways! It was a truly delicious meal.

The little urchins who claim me as their mother were first in line at the food table. Imagine.

 

 

 

So many choices … like broccoli ramen noodle salad.

 

 

And cheesy, creamy, ooey-gooey noodles …

 

 

And chow mein noodles smothered in chocolate and red sprinkles. My oldest daughter made these. I think she ate 10 of them before the competition. They were yummy.

 

 

Fettucine noodles with alfredo pesto and pepper …

 

 

We enjoyed buttered noodles submitted by last month’s winner.  And Farmboy presented spaghetti noodles with meatball & mushroom bourbon sauce. The man knows how to saute mushrooms … it’s an impressive process that involves Worcestershire and soy sauce, bourbon and salt and pepper. Mmmmmm.

 

 

Once upon a time I made a typical tuna noodle casserole, but I added peas and water chestnuts to make it healthy. Does that make it healthy? I hope so. Anyway, my youngest daughter fell in love with it. She proclaimed it her favorite dish forever.

I was making a grocery list this week and she said, “Mommy, don’t forget to buy water chestnuts for my Iron Chef entry.”

Water chestnuts?

“I’m making my favorite! Tuna noodle casserole with water chestnuts. And hey, [sister], I’m putty peas in it—na, na-na, na-naaaaa-na.”

Oldest daughter hates peas. “Go ahead!” She said, disgustedly. “I just won’t vote for you!” And then WW III ensued.

Youngest daughter made the dish, however. Just the way she loves it … and it was delicious.

 

 

I submitted buttermilk apricot noodle kugel. Different. Tasty. Almond-flavored and fruity. It earned me a second-place nod from the judges.

 

 

Our hostess prepared chicken and noodles—the ultimate feel-good food. Next time I’m sick, I’m calling her. This was the third-place dish.

 

 

She also made these. Her haystacks were made from rice noodles. She used both milk chocolate and dark chocolate.

 

 

Guess who took first prize? Mmmm hmmmm. You can’t beat chocolate.

 

 

If you’re counting—and perhaps these ladies are …

 

… we managed to use seven types of noodles in the competition: rice, chow mein, spaghetti, thin spaghetti, fettucini, egg noodles and wide egg noodles. Did I leave any out?

Awesome!

 

But not as awesome as nanny love …

 

 

… or daddy love.

 

 

Or family love.

 

Family love is the most wonderful thing of all. And I’m so thankful for our hostess who started this new family tradition. It involves three generations of cousins and brothers and sisters and children and grandchildren. And they’ll remember it always.

Start your own new traditions. You’ll never, ever regret it. And it just might be a tasty surprise!

Farmgirl’s Apple Donuts: downfall of humankind

Posted by Farmgirl on November 5, 2009  |  1 Comment

Yes. They are THAT good. I’d show you a photo, but someone — or somebodies — ate them all.

According to this Web site, November 5 is National Doughnut Day. In celebration, I’m offering you my super-secret-always-under-lock-n-key Baked Apple Donuts recipe.

I know. I love you lots.

First, a few tips: the batter is very thick — a pastry bag works best. Don’t have one? No problem. Spoon the batter into a quart-sized plastic bag, snip off the end and squeeze. You’ll also need a donut baking sheet or pan. Mine is more of a mini-bundt style donut pan.

Most importantly: these are donuts. DO NOT, under any circumstances, use margarine in place of butter. It would be downright shameful! And I suggest you avoid red delicious and Granny Smith apples — they’re not juicy enough to impart great apple-icious flavor!

 

Farmgirl’s Baked Apple Donuts

Sift together:

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1-3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup Crisco (shortening)

Combine:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup finely diced apples

After baking:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Cut shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Set aside.
2. Combine: 1 egg, beaten; milk and apples. Mix well. Add to dry ingredients and mix just until blended.
3. Spoon batter into pastry bag and squeeze into 12 greased muffin, donut or mini-bundt cups; fill 2/3 full.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until done.
5. Meanwhile: melt 1/2 cup butter, set aside. Combine 12/ cup sugar with cinnamon. Mix well and set aside.
6. Remove donuts immediately from bake pan. Roll first in butter mixture, coating completely. Roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture.
7. Cool on wire racks.
8. Farmgirl recommends making 2-3 batches at a time. They disappear right before your eyes!

 

Hope you enjoy these naughty little bites of heaven!

Love,
       Farmgirl

Making waffles? Break an egg!

Posted by Farmgirl on November 3, 2009  |  2 Comments

 

My three-year-old is independent. “I do it MYSELF, Mommy!” is an extremely common phrase in our home. He insisted on breaking the eggs for Saturday morning waffles. And I let him.

I don’t care if there are eggshells in the batter or spilled yolks on the counter. He’s cooking. He’s feeling pretty darned important. He’s learning. Most importantly, he’s making a mess and that brings him great delight.

Note: it’s even more enjoyable if said boy is wearing Spiderman pajamas.

Saturdays are Waffledays around here. Farmguy makes waffles nearly every Saturday because the moment before Farmboy’s eyes open he says, “I want waffles!”

Every. Single. Morning.

The men of the mess kitchen treated the farmgirls to pumpkin waffles on Sunday morning.
They were delicious — try ‘em. You’ll like ‘em!

 

Autumn Pumpkin Waffles

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 2/3 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in large bowl. In a second bowl, add eggs, sugar, pumpkin, milk, and butter; beat well. Gently fold in the flour mixture. Spoon in about 3/4 cup of batter into the waffle iron. Cook each waffle for 4-5 minutes.

 

And remember: it’s ok to let them break an egg once in awhile!

 

Say cheese for a winning smile

Posted by Farmgirl on October 28, 2009  |  8 Comments

 

Round II. Oh, how good it was! Tonight was the second Family Iron Chef Competition. This little girl was the winner. Her cheesecake with blueberry topping took the cake, so to speak.

Iron Chef is a family-friendly game of cookery that always prompts smiles, laughter and of course, fabulous food. The rules are quite simple: prepare and bring a dish that includes the secret ingredient … this time it was cheese.

 

Mm, mm, good! As it turns out, cheese is quite versatile. From savory to sweet, comfort food to gourmet construction — we had it all.

Rich, sweet and tantalizing fudge entered by a Georgia cousin …

 

 

… muffins from a cousin in Texas … pumpkin rolls … cheesy potato soup … pasta. There were also little salads with feta cheese, blueberries and pistachios — inside parmesan cheese bowls. They were delicious and beautiful!

 

 

We sampled baked mac-n-cheese, asiago-pear-pecan quesadillas, barbecue chicken quesadillas, cheese roll-ups and pizza — made by our youngest entrant, age 5.

 

First we stuffed ourselves, then we voted. Then we crowned the new Iron Chef princess.

And then I started snapping photos of the happy people in the room.

I do it mostly because I enjoy taking photos of those I care about … but also because it’s fun to annoy my brother-in-law. If you stare deeply into his eyes you will see tiny daggers aimed for my forehead. See ‘em?

Hey … if he doesn’t want his photo taken he shouldn’t sit beside the most adorable folks in the room, right?

 

 

Our hosts were happy to say cheese!

 

 

As were the giggle club girls …

 

 

And after all of those friendly smiles, the competitors pulled out the maps and began to strategize for the next battle. Tonight’s winner chose November’s secret ingredient:

Noodles.

 

I need to let that ruminate for awhile. Then I’ll use my noodle (hehe!) and come up with something fabulous.

I hope!