"Pretty Eggs"

Pansy posted this in response regarding his cooking method for the eggs in the photos.  They are not fried, but rather steamed in butter (how delicious is that?):

"hey katherine yer morran welkom for the fotoz they tranzlayte well in the blogosphere i dod wanna menshun the eggs aren't actually fried though for justa few moments thay do fry in the buttur but once the whites firm up around the outside edges i tayke some scalding hot water & very carefully add very small amounts all around makin shur notto pour the water on the uncooked egg whites once the mass of eggs begins to floppa bout i reduce the heat to very very low (on the stove top in the fotoz that would be about 1&1/2 to 2) place a lid over it all & tippit to let out the steam as the eggs slowly cook when the yolks turn white itz tyme to remove the eggs from the pan yummy my favorite nana who taught me this manner of egg cooking called these her "pretty eggs" my brothur & i still cook eggs this way & i shud add if the eggs are removed quickly much of the buttur remains in the skillit ps. the yolks should not be crumbly or dry dry yolks make me sad :("

And there you have it, from the poet himself.

Hermity Katherine

Holiday Tuxedo Bars

My friend Sunny used to make such good tuxedo brownies.  This is a variation on that old fashioned recipe, jazzed up for the holidays.

Click here for printable recipe through google docs.
Brownie base:
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon rum
2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave (remember not to fully melt, partially melt then stir until the rest melts). Cool slightly.
Beat eggs and sugar, and rum and gradually add chocolate mixture.
Add flour, baking powder and salt.  Beat well. Pour in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan.  If you want to remove these from the pan ensemble to cut on a board, you may line your pan with aluminum foil, leaving enough on the edges to lift the brownies out when they are finished.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. Do not underbake as the layers will fall apart.  Remove from oven and cool.
While brownies are cooling, make...
Rum/Eggnog filling
3 oz. softened cream cheese (not the whipped stuff)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 Tablespoons eggnog
1 Tablespoon rum
4 cups confectioners sugar (more if needed)
Beat first 4 ingredients well, gradually add sugar until consistency is like super-thick and fluffy frosting.  Spread on cooled brownies.  Refrigerate while making...
Chocolate Glaze
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup eggnog
Gently heat eggnog in saucepan.  When it's hot enough to melt chocolate, remove from heat, add chips and stir vigorously, briefly returning to low heat if necessary.  Spread over chilled brownies and filling.
Chill for another hour, then slice. If you cut them sort of small (and you will want to, because they are rich), you can get 48 bars.

These are an all-afternoon sort of affair, so if you make them while you have other projects going (oh, say, wrapping packages or shopping online or entertaining your 5 year old grandson), it will make for a lovely afternoon of yumminess and joy.

Cranberry/Pistachio Cookies

Printable recipe click here.
Ingredients:
1 package Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix (in the cake mix aisle)
1 package (4 serving size) instant pistachio pudding mix
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries (sweetened)
1 cup vanilla baking chips
Oven 350 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients, beat in melted butter and eggs.  Stir in pistachios, cranberries and chips. Mix well.  Drop by teaspoon full onto pammed cookie sheet.  Bake 11 minutes.  Cool on rack or board.

This was a recipe my granddaughter and I found in a magazine.  It called for more cranberries and nuts, and no chips; since we are allergic to following recipes exactly, we decreased the cranberries and nuts and added the vanilla chips.  It suited our taste perfectly.  These really are very good cookies.

Spaghetti Sauce Recipe for Freezing

Click here for printable recipe!

We had a bunch more tomatoes ripen up so I needed to make something with them.  I decided I would make them into spaghetti sauce.  The recipe is not exact measurement but gives you a place to start.  Feel free to add or subtract your favorite spices.
2 tbsp Olive Oil
6-8 pounds of tomatoes (peeled) directions below.
6 garlic cloves minced
1 smallish onion minced
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp seasoned salt
1 tsp curry
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4- 1/2 cup minced bell pepper
1. To peel the tomatoes bring a pot of water to a boil. Wash tomatoes then cut the top out of each tomato including the stem area.  I skipped this step for the little roma tomatoes.
2. Put tomatoes in the boiling water 1-2 min then remove and put in a bowl of cold water.  I did a handful of tomatoes at a time because they blanched easier, if you put them all in the pot you might have to boil longer to loosen all the skin.
3. In a large pot add your olive oil and saute the garlic, onion and bell pepper.
4. Lower the heat, you want to slow simmer the sauce.
5. Peel and add your tomatoes to the pot, takes a while to peel and add them all, so make sure to stir every once in a while.
6.Add the rest of the seasoning and stir.
7. To get the most out of the flavor simmer on low heat about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Test the flavor and add spices as needed.
8. If you like a chunky sauce then use a potato masher and mash everything to the consistency you like.
9. For a smoother sauce, process everything in a blender or food processor.
10. Put in freezer safe jars or containers.
11. For use, thaw in the fridge overnight and use like any other pasta sauce.

The possibilities are endless for this sauce, add meat, add other veggies, it is all up to you.  This recipe suites my tastes.

"I'm Not Telling" Pie

Yesterday Hermity Christine posted that fabulous pie filling recipe...  not to be outdone, I went to work today to create something equally as impressive -- and I do believe I succeeded!
We told the Old Farmer that this is "Apple-Peach" pie, when in reality is it --- you guessed it --- ZUCCHINI!!  I used some of the remainder of our cue ball squashes for this, as they peel, core and slice and end up looking suspiciously like sliced apples or peaches...  *wink wink*

Ingredients:
Crust for a 9" single crust pie
Filling:
5 cups peeled, cored and sliced zucchini
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon cinnamon (yes, I said tablespoon, we are trying to create a diversion)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup lemon juice
Topping:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cold butter


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Boil zucchini, just covered in water, in a saucepan over medium high heat for 15 minutes.  While this is boiling, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl.  Drain zucchini (don't be too neurotic about this, you want it a little juicy).  Add zucchini and lemon juice to sugar mixture.  Toss to mix well. Pour into prepared pie crust.  For topping, in a small bowl, use a fork to cut butter into flour and brown sugar until crumbly.  Sprinkle over the top of the pie.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until topping and crust are golden-brown.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Click Here for Printable Recipe!
Woops, the photo is sideways.  Ah well, you get the idea.  We consumed half of it for lunch, and the Old Farmer (a zucchini despiser) a) loved it and b) did not know the difference.  And I'm not telling....

Canning Apple Pie Filling Recipe

Today I finally got around to making the apple pie filling and canning it.  I am quite excited about having it, but peeling all the little bitty apples that were given to me was a pain in the butt!  Or more like pain in the hands.  This recipe makes 5-6 quarts, it made 5 for me.

Apple Pie Filling for Canning
3 c. granulated sugar
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. cornstarch
4tbsp apple pie spice or (4 tsp. cinnamon,1/2 tsp nutmeg,1/4 tsp cloves,1/4 tsp allspice)
1/2 tsp cardamom (optional) I like this but not everyone does.
2 tsp salt
10 c. water divided
3 tbsp lemon juice
6 pounds of apples-give or take
quart size canning jars

In a large pan mix sugars, pie spice,cardamom, salt and 8 c. water. Mix well and set aside.
Mix 2c.  cold water, lemon juice, and cornstarch with a whisk and set aside.
Sterilize canning jars, lids and rings.
Peel, core and slice apples.
Pack the raw slices into hot canning jars, leaving 1" of headspace.
Bring sugar mixture to a boil, then stir in cornstarch mixture and whisk it quickly.  When the white of the cornstarch disappears ladle, the mixture over the apples leaving 1/2" of headspace.
Gently remove air bubbles and add lids and rings.
Process in waterbath for 20 min, +10 minutes if over 6000 ft in elevation.
Remove and let cool 24 hrs, then check for seal.  Any that do not seal need to be refrigerated and used right away.

Add 1 qt jar of filling to your favorite crust, bake and now you have apple pie.


Click here to go to google documents and print the recipe card.

Printable Recipe Cards

I am working on making it so you can click on a link to go and print the recipe through google documents.  It will take me a bit before I get the right template for easy printing of recipes but I wanted to let everyone know it is happening:)  Please be patient as we work through this process.  We are also going to be updating the look of both On the Table and the main Hermity Farmer-Women page soon as well.  I will try not to have any disruptions for everyone but as we all know computers are finicky creatures, lol.
~Christine~