Starting Again

Okay, its been forever since I posted and I had to shelve this idea for a minute or six months; but I want to start up again and hopefully stay with it! I think I was discouraged by the lemon cake, lol; but since then I have used Susanne's idea of parchment paper and it was, of course, genius. I just love cooking! And I got some GREAT new cooking things for Christmas, so methinks it is time to restart! I tried to make another blog at another site, but this one was so cute AND I already had done some recipes (a whole two? three?)...and since this is just for me and the girls anyway...I decided to just pick it back up. Life happens, right?? :) So here we go, take two on the original blog...with my girls by my side, lets see what happens! And yes, I give myself permission to mess up, look Upid-stay, and LEARN!! :)

Lemon Cake

This recipe was lots of fun to make, but had some issues at the end--so I need cake advice! (We had strep throat and Spring Break--sorry for the absense...) Lemon Cake is found on page 149 in the HCB (Heritage Cook Book). I picked it because we've been getting lemons in our box. My new favorite tool is a juicer I bought at K-Mart! Not a fancy one, just one for oranges and lemons...but its our first and I love it. I squeezed the lemon juice from my lemons and then grated the peel that the recipe called for. I really liked that this recipe used everything in the lemons I had. :) But, as you can see from the pictures--stuck to the pan! What is the conventional wisdom here? It seems like its always hit or miss for me--sometimes my cakes come right out, and sometimes they stick, and I can never figure out what I've done differently. And are you supposed to let them cool first, or not?? Also, and this was really interesting for me...it was a lot drier than the cake mixes. Cake mixes take the guess work out of things; but I am somewhat nostalgic for the times when a woman was known by how her cakes turned out! (grin) So...why would my cake be on the dry side? History note: this recipe was in the section called "Plantation Cooking." The section begins with, "Question: What do strawberry shrub, cracklin' bread, dirty rice, she-crab soup, pot liquor, hoppin' John, collards, goobers, roast oysters, Brunswick stew, scuppernong wine, cow peas, Chickasaw peas, hog jowls, flannel cakes, crabe cakes, poke salad, baked grits, sweet potato pone, benne brittle, persimmon pudding, and 'possum have in common? Answer: They are all delcious things to eat and drink and were all served on Southern plantations either at the big house or in the slave quarters." Interesting. :) Okay, FEEDBACK!! Tell me how to make fluffy cakes from scratch that don't stick! :)

Okay, pictures up! Anyone know how I can move them around in the order I want? Can't figure that out yet. See those 3 eggs? Those came from our new chickens!!

Also, I made the glaze after I posted that went with the recipe. It was made from powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon peel and some milk. IT WAS AWESOME. This cake didn't look pretty (still working on it), but it tasted GREAT. The kids loved the glaze. So did Larry, hahaha.

Glazed Oranges

We did our first recipe! Because Spring is a CRAZY time for teachers, I imagine that our start will be slow. But rest assured, we will make faster progress in the summer. :) Which, in case anyone is wondering, there are exactly 12 weeks until vacation begins. I'm just saying.

Our first recipe, on page 45. was chosen because of the ENORMOUS amount of oranges we get in our Abundant Harvest CSA box. The history blurb reads, "Orange seeds were first planted near San Diego, California in the 1780s, but it wasn't until the founding of the San Gabriel Mission around 1800 that orange groves were planted. The adaptability of the tree to the climate soon distributed the crop throughout the south of California. Today the citrus industry is California's most extensive agricultural enterprise." We seriously get 20+ oranges every week in the winter. This recipe was in the section labeled "Spanish Colonies" and as every good Californian knows--that's us. Thank-you Father Junipero Sierra.

6 navel or Temple Oranges; 1 cup dry white wine; 2 inches stick cinnamon, broken;3/4 cup of sugar; 10 whole cloves; 2 tablespoons of vinegar

The most difficult thing about this recipe was peeling six oranges. It may sound like I'm whining, but I needed to use the ones my kids weren't eating: big and tough skins. I used a paring knife. The recipe called for a spice bag made from cheesecloth--so I bought my first cheesecloth! That was fun. I scraped the membrane off the oranges and the peel I used in the bag.

I know we are used to sweeter dishes now than were available back then, but this dish was downright sour. I think I may have done something wrong; but then again, the main liquid was white wine and vinegar--so maybe not. One thing: the end of the recipe said, "In a saucepan combine the spice bag, wine, sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil, stir until sugar dissolves. Add oranges and peel. Simmer uncovered about 15 minutes, turning oranges often. With a slotted spoon transfer oranges and peel to serving bowls and discard spices. Top oranges with syrup; cool to room temperature."

Since syrup wasn't listed in the ingredients, I assumed it meant the sugar-wine liquid the oranges had been stewing in. Does anybody know if that was right?

Anyway, we had fun making it. We did not have fun eating it. :) That's okay; on to the next one!

Welcome!

Welcome to "Making Memories in the Kitchen"! The point of my blog is to chronicle adventures in the kitchen with my two youngest daughters, Mallory and Holly; with some guest apperances by my oldest daughter Cynthia and my aspiring food-critic son, Larry.


My little girls LOVE to cook! Every time I am in the kitchen, one or the other has dragged a stool next to me and is participating--Mom, can I do that? Can I do this? My 6-year old in particular has a fascination with cookbooks, and last summer we cooked some recipes out of a kids' cookbook she chose from the library.


Another factor in this story is the fact that growing up, I didn't really learn to cook. Like at all. Upon leaving for college, I could make tomato soup, brownies and toast. True story! I often try to remember how I fed myself every day in college, and I'm really not sure how that happened! After 9 years of marriage and five children, I'm now a pretty okay cook for my family; but I'm interested in branching out and trying some more difficult things. By doing them with my daughters, I hope to teach them what I never learned.


The final factor in producing the lovely blog you see before you was a reading inspiriation. About a month ago I finished the book Julie and Julia, which by the way is MUCH better than the movie and which also by the way I don't necessarily recommend. :p It has a lot of language in it that is definitely NOT a part of my everyday existence. However, the cooking part was a blast to read and it inspired me to do the same with my girls just for fun! What better way to improve skill and try new things--cook through a cookbook! I chose Better Homes and Gardens Heritage Cookbook which I bought off Amazon a few years ago, because I have a slight fascination with history; and in particular, the pioneer settlers of America. This cookbook represents the fares of many different settlers coming from many different countries; it begins chronilogcally and cooks through the history of dinner tables in America through about 705 recipes! Along the way, there are extensive passages of culinary history, which I'll share as we get to them.


Just a few more notes...I will be omiting some recipes, I'm guessing around 100 in all. I have no desire to eat Turtle Soup. Or even Jack Rabbit Pie. I'm game to try some crazy new things, but I don't want my family to throw me out of the house! I plan to start at the beginning and work our way through; I'll make notes of which ones I skip. However, I will also be using recipes that correspond to our Abundant Harvest box; we get a co-op vegetable box every week. For instance, its winter (the end of, but still), so in California, we're getting a lot of citrus in our box. I will try to do all the recipes that include lemons while I'm getting fresh lemons. So we'll be going through our book two ways similtaneously.



Those of you reading along with me, mostly because I invited you and pleaded with you to read about our journey--please feel free to add comments and advice! Maybe we'll get some guest chefs on here! But for now...let's start Making Memories!