Bacon Jam

by Linda

Because this weekend is a big get out and BBQ weekend, I wanted to share a little recipe I stumbled on.

Bacon Jam

Have you ever tried it? Have you ever heard of it?

I had never heard of it but the words "bacon" and "jam" always catch my eye. Then I came across the words put together and I may have come up out of my chair.

You need this in your life. In the words of the Pioneer Woman- it'll make your skirt fly up!

In a good way!

And because it's Thursday, I've got a little cooking (really chopping) tip to share.

Are you ready?

This recipe apparently has been around and has many variations, but basically it is bacon (I need a moment of silence here please) and onions and some spices and liquids all cooked and blended together into the goodness that makes Bacon Jam.

Go here for the printable recipe I used or just google Bacon Jam and pick one that suits you best.

Because onions are involved, and they must be chopped, I'm going to give you my super secret onion chopping trick.

Light a candle and keep it close to your chopping. Not too close, you don't want your hair or clothes catching fire but close enough to your chopping that it takes away all that nasty gas onions release when chopped. It's like magic. The flame attracts the gas and it goes away. No more goggles or avoiding chopping onions. Chop, chop, chop all day, no burning eyes.

Your welcome

After all the chopping is finished, and the bacon (I need a moment of silence here please) is browned, you pour off all but about a tablespoon of grease to begin the cooking of the onions.

Please tell me you do not actually throw away this most useful and delicious grease. Lie to me. Thank you.

After the cooking of the onions and addition of the liquids, the bacon (I need a moment of silence here please) is returned to the skillet.

sidebar-

the recipe calls for pure maple syrup. yeah, if I was Martha Stewart I'm sure I would have a maple tree with a tap right in my backyard just for pure maple syrup, but since I'm not Martha, I have Mrs. Butterworth's in the pantry, we rough it over here

Just tryin' to sell the sizzle.

Then into the crock pot for 6 1/2 hours with the lid off.

true confession-

I did not leave the lid completely off, I have a fear of hard and dried on things in the crock pot once all the liquid evaporates

And so then we wait. I did have some errands to run and left the house while the crock potting was occurring. I smelled like bacon which is a good/bad thing. It's never good when you can smell yourself but bacon? IDK. Probably every stray cat and dog could smell me too and by the time I got home I had quite a bunch of followers.

not really

But the house smelled wonderful!

This Bacon Jam is sweet and savory and would be a yummy addition to the condiments at your weekend BBQ! Put it on chicken and burgers, a dollop on some scrambled eggs, or a flaky biscuit! It's just good!

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It's a Tea Party!

by Linda

One nice thing about grand daughters that are growing up way too quickly is that they love to have "real" tea parties. With "real" tea and "real" cake.

I am more than happy to oblige!

I do enjoy tea. Hot or iced, mostly iced because I live in an oven   On a cold winter day, is there anything better than a hot cup of tea?

No, I think not.

Of course, for a proper tea party, you must have cake.

Because who doesn't like cake?

anyone? anyone?

I think not.

Occasionally this poses a problem. What kind of cake? One grand prefers chocolate, the other prefers icing vanilla. I am a plain vanilla kind of girl but we can't always have our way now can we?

Or can we?

This recipe found it's way onto my Pinterest feed. It is simply an old-fashioned sugar cake, nothing hard or fancy about it. I thought it looked like a good cake for a tea party.

What I really loved about it was that it was baked in a cast iron pan.

Raise your hand if you have an old cast iron pan that makes everything taste better!

I inherited this one from my in-laws many years ago. My FIL always said that it made the best fried chicken. I use it exclusively to bake cornbread. It always makes perfect cornbread. Other baking pans have let me down but not this cast iron pan! Perfectly cooked cornbread with the best crispy edges ever!

So I printed out the recipe and immediately baked this cake. Because I am so patient.

This cake, baked in cast iron, bakes up very nicely and makes those crispy edges! I'll have an edge piece please! A little jam would be nice or lemon curd. Very slightly sweet, just perfect with tea. or coffee. or nothing, don't judge.

My chocolate lover has hers with Nutella and my vanilla lover just licks off the powdered sugar. Trophy husband likes this cake and he hates cake.

Come on over! I saved a piece for you! Better hurry!

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Sugar Cake

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1  cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I think almond extract would be the bomb too!)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

4 large egg whites

confectioners sugar for dusting

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-cream shortening and milk for about 3 minutes

-in a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt

-add flour mixture to creamed shortening/milk in 3 batches, blend well after each addition

-add in egg whites, beat till combined

-bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, test for doneness

-cool completely, dust with powdered sugar

**I lightly oiled and heated my cast iron pan, I put a little (about 1 teaspoon) shortening in it and put it in the oven while it preheated, when the shortening was melted, I removed the pan from the oven and swirled the oil around to lightly coat the pan everywhere.

Enjoy!

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Only 10 more days for this months Focus! Faceless-selfies! Have you tried it? So much fun!

Can you tell what I like to do from mine?

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Tea is quiet and our thirst for tea is never far from our craving for beauty.

~James Norwood Pratt

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Cranberry Bread

by Linda

 

 

 

 

Today, I'm sharing a recipe that has been passed down for generations and it's still a good one. It's a simple straight-up cranberry loaf. Nothing fancy, nothing fussy.

 

There is no shortage of cranberry bread recipes on the internet. A Google search will reveal cranberry-orange, cranberry-apple, cranberry raisin, cranberry-pumpkin, cranberry-egg nog, cranberry-zucchini, cranberry-pecan, cranberry-walnut, cranberry-pistachio. It can be made into scones, muffins, soda bread, coffee cake. The sky's the limit.

 

But I bet my grandmother rarely strayed from this simple recipe. And why would she? It's delicious! Perfect toasted! Perfect with tea or coffee! Not too sweet! Just perfect!

 

First the recipe-

 

Cranberry Bread

 

1 cup cranberries

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla

 

Beat eggs, milk, butter and vanilla in a bowl

 

Combine dry ingredients in another bowl.

 

Blend egg mixture into dry mixture, add cranberries.

 

Pour into greased loaf pan.

 

Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees

 

Makes 1 loaf.

 

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That's it. Easy peasy!

 

Now for some tips and hints!

 

 

Because whole cranberries tend to sink in batter, chop the cranberries so they will be distributed throughout the loaf.

 

 

See all the bits of cranberries in there?

 

 



 

How about baking the cranberry bread in cute mason jars to give out as gifts at Chritsmas? The small mason jars will hold about a cupcake size piece of cranberry bread, perfect for 1 person!

 

 

If you want to make some mason jar cakes, spray the inside of sterilized jars with Pam, fill the jars about 2/3 full, use a deep pan to make it easier to get them in and out of the oven. Watch the cooking time, test with a toothpick, small jars only need about 20 minutes, medium jars about 30 minutes and large jars about 45 minutes. While the jars are baking, put mason lids in hot water to sterilize. As soon as you take the jars out of the oven, dry a lid and place it on the jar. Add the screw band. As the jar seals, you will hear a little pop. Once the jars are cool, test to be sure they are sealed.

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed cooking with us this month! If you would like to share a recipe, post it in the flickr gallery or on our FOLfacebook page.

 

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“You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients.”
― Julia Child

 

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Family Recipes and Traditions

 by Judy

On most days I do not enjoy cooking or baking.  All that meal planning, shopping, executing...ugh..  After so many years of marriage doing just that - well, I'm longing for a gourmet chef to come to my house and cook for me.  I wish I could be like the smiling cooks on the Food Network, but I am not.  When I bake, all the precise measuring, sifting and leveling necessary for a successful product makes me use every measuring spoon, bowl and pan in the house, or so it seems. 

So why in the world is this post titled Family Recipes and Traditions?  For some reason, when the cool temperatures hit, the leaves change color, and the cozy sweaters come out, well, that is the time of year I actually like to bake.  When I do, I love to bake the recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. 

Imagining my great-grandmother (Gammy), my grandmother (GG), or my Mother making the same recipe fills my heart.  I remember all the delicious breads, cookies, cakes and pies that all three of these special women have made for our family, and I am a sucker for tradition and family memories.  Choosing a few of my favorites and baking for my family makes me happy, and I am certain that Gammy, GG  and Mom felt/feel the same way. 

Since it is Fall, and all things pumpkin are found everywhere we look, I am sharing my favorite family bread recipe - Pumpkin Bread.  This is an easy recipe that produces a super moist bread that is great on a Thanksgiving table, or simply with an afternoon cup of tea.  I hope you enjoy, and if you have a favorite family recipe, please share it with us! Post photos of your finished product, and/or the messy process as you bake or cook, on the Focusing on Life flickr page, or our Instagram feed.   

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

1 and 1/3 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup pure pumpkin

1/3 cup water

1 and 1/3 cup sifted flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground ginger

I don't add anything to the batter, but if you'd like, 1/3 cup raisins, and/or, 1/3 cup chopped nuts can be added.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream the sugar and oil together, then add eggs, pumpkin and water and stir till combined.

Sift the flour and add baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and ginger and combine.  Add flour mixture to wet mixture and stir till fully incorporated. 

Pour batter into a greased bread pan and bake for 50 minutes .

Where Do You Go For Recipe Inspiration?

by Linda

 

 

Compiling a weekly menu is something I have enjoyed doing for some time. I like sitting down with cookbooks and recipes and putting together meals. This makes creating a shopping list and actual grocery shopping so much easier. I know exactly what I need and I know that when I am going to make something I will have everything on hand. But sometimes I need a little inspiration.

Today I'm going to share a few places I get recipe inspiration and I would love to hear from you where you find recipe inspiration!

And there's a recipe at the end of all this!

The internet is a huge resource. Recipes galore! Blogs and websites to explore. Sometimes this is a hit or miss situation. Of course everyone loves The Pioneer Woman and she has some great food on her website and a few cookbooks and don't forget about her show, but let's face it, she is cooking for an army of people that rustle cattle all day. I tread lightly here. The pictures both on the blog and in the cookbooks are very good. But let me just say, I made her recipe for mac and cheese, heavy cream, 2 cheeses, caramelized onions and ...wait for it...bacon. I died.

Lighter fare is abundant on Skinny Taste. Here the recipes run the gamut and feature Weight Watcher points as well as nutritional values. There is a website and cookbooks. There are paleo, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free etc. I have made many of these and find them to be pretty basic, simple and tasty. And tasty pictures too.

A cooking blog I have followed for a while is Smitten Kitchen. She or her spouse take the pictures which are very good. There is at least 1 cookbook. Let me describe Smitten Kitchen by sharing an excerpt from her about page-

"What I’m wary of is: Excessively fussy foods and/or pretentious ingredients. I don’t do truffle oil, Himalayan pink salt at $10 per quarter-ounce or single-origin chocolate that can only be found through Posh Nosh-approved purveyors. I think food should be accessible, and am certain that you don’t need any of these things to cook fantastically."

'Nuff said.

Real store bought cookbooks are an item I am very discerning about. If I get a recommendation for one, I will spend time with it at a bookstore and if, after perusal, I am convinced I will use it to make more than several dishes and use it frequently, I am loathe to spend cash money for it. I don't need anything else to dust!

Everybody has a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook  and Julia Childs "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" so those go without saying. Besides these and my own collection of recipes I use 3 other cookbooks almost exclusively.

Because, after cooking with Julia, everything tastes better with wine, butter and Vermouth, I recommend Dorie Greenspan's "Around My French Table". Dorie's been around a while and knows what she's doing. She divides her time between the east coast and Paris. I participated in a blog called French Friday's with Dorie where we prepared a different recipe each week from this book. It took 5 years to cook through it but is was fun. Dorie was there every week supporting and commenting. This cookbook is beautifully photographed. The food is delicious.

My friend Cathy Sly started a cooking group on Instagram this past January (#nowyoucooks) Each month we were to cook from a different cookbook. She led off with "Plenty" by  Yotam Ottolenghi and that's where I got stuck! I am still cooking from this book. It is vegetarian cooking and it is good. I have made several recipes and several recipes have been added to my menu rotation.

Surprisingly, I purchased another vegetarian cookbook. Surprising because trophy husband believes his meals need to include something that had a face. Protein I can cook, veg is where I need inspiration because salad-meh. "Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give a F*ck" is not only a good cookbook, it is entertaining. Just reading through a recipe always puts a smile on my face. Oh, and how does the food taste? you ask? That shit's awesome!

So these are my recommendations! Leave your favorites in the comments! Or make something and add it to the gallery, telling us about it in the description!

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If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen I made this recently.

Monster Munch

 

I found the recipe on the internet. Go here to check it out!

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"The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude."

~Julia Child

 

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A Food Photography Tip and a Recipe for Your St Paddy's Day Feast!

by Linda

 

Food photography seems like it would be so easy. The plate of food in front of you looks so good so you snap a picture and meh, not so good.

Once that picture is taken, you have lost at least 2 things. One is you made a three dimensional object into a one dimensional, at best two dimensional object and you lost the smell. Losing the smell is huge. Now you have to make you picture smell good! But how?

Of course, as with all things photography, lighting is key. Food pictures taken in dimly lit restaurants make you wonder why you actually ate what you photographed. It didn't really look that bad, did it? And some types of food just don't photograph well no matter what you try to do to them. Ice cream and mashed potatoes are two that spring to mind. Because they are white, they generally look like blobs in a picture.

Food looks best on plain, white plates. Not sayin' other colors/patterns won't work but white seems to be best.

Having as much of the food you are photographing in focus as possible helps. Sometimes a shallow depth of field works but you have to be careful that the food not in focus doesn't look bad.

Getting close to the food is a good idea. Focusing on the detail of the food will allow the viewer to identify what they are looking at and imagine the food is in front of them.

When you are photographing bread or cake, get close enough to show the crumb. (crumb is the word bakers use to describe the texture of the bread/cake, tight crumb, loose crumb. velvety crumb, etc) If you can see the crumb, you might conjure up memories in your viewer of something similar that they have tasted and you might just make their mouth water a little from that memory. It's not quite as good as actually smelling or tasting but if you can get your viewer to imagine the smell and taste, you have done a good job!

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I might get a little carried away each year preparing a St Patrick's Day meal, (Guinness beef stew, chocolate stout cupcakes with Irish cream cheese frosting and this bread pictured at the top) so I thought I would share a simple recipe I got many years ago that I worked very hard to adapted to serve with this meal. It is so easy, you will want to make it for other meals as well. And it tastes pretty good too!


Beer Bread

3 cups Bisquick
1 tsp sugar
12 oz beer (Guinness, any leftover beer should be consumed straight away)
pinch of salt

preheat oven to 375 degrees
mix all ingredients together
bake 1 hour

brush with butter when removed from oven

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May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light,
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.
~Irish Blessing
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Falling for Apples

by Linda

 

 

Summer is waning and fall is moving in. The signs are everywhere. Have you noticed the light changing? The sun is rising and setting in a different place on the horizon than in summertime. The birds and squirrels are making preparations. The trees are starting to show their beautiful colors. The pumpkins are showing up at the grocery store and so are the apples.

I don't know about you but seeing some of the varieties in the store makes me a little giddy. I mean there's something about it being the "forbidden fruit" and all. But the spectrum of color and flavor of each variety not to mention the apple that eats like a meal-honeycrisp. Have you tried one yet? You really should, but beware-at the size of a softball, 1 honeycrisp apple could feed your whole family. But sharing is a good thing, right?

Then there's all the things you can make with apples. Salads, pies, tarts, butter, cider, crisp, muffins, sauce. My FIL used to peel and chop about a dozen apples, toss them in a pot with a bag of red hots and cook it down till the candy was melted. yum-O! That is some good applesauce! When I was in high school, (ahem, pipe down in the back!) I discovered a recipe for tuna salad (with canned tuna) peel and chop an apple, add some chopped celery and a little mayo, the apple will take away that fishy taste canned tuna can have and add a nice sweetness to your tuna salad.

I found the recipe for these muffins on Pinterest and decided to make some for the girls to have for an afternoon snack. Riley asked if they were "healthy". A couple of hours later, my daughter had one and asked me if they were "diet".  Well, they do have apples, and oatmeal, you decide. It's pinned on our Focusing on Life Pinterest board-food and drink, here's a link to the recipe.

Are you tempted?

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Sharing a Favorite!!

by Deanna

 As I am writing this it is the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving.  My table is set, the cranberries are cooked, the pumpkin roll is cooling on my walk-in refrigerator (aka the screen back porch) and the mashed potatoes are cooked and ready to be re-heated for the dinner tomorrow.  So when you read this all of this yumminess plus more will have been consumed on Thursday.  The day that we will have given thanks, taken many pictures, laughed at old stories, yelled at the dogs (there will be 4 here) and created new memories. 

I have shared my life with you both here and on my personal blog….most of it filled with joy, but sometimes sadness creeps in and I’ve shared that as well.  But one thing I have never shared is a recipe.  So today, I am sharing my favorite cranberry recipe, I love it, I make a double batch each year.  I hear some of you saying…. Thanksgiving is over, why cranberries, why now?. 

Well, I know that turkey is enjoyed as much at Christmastime as it is for Thanksgiving and since cranberries are in season for such a short while, and they are absolutely beyond a doubt the best accompaniment for your turkey, you need to make this and try it just once.  First it is easy peasy….I don’t do difficult anymore.  Younger yes, older no.  And second, it is a jubilation of flavors of cranberry, orange & cherry.

So here goes….See how I am trying to act like those food bloggers by showing you the ingredients first…but a Ree Drumond (aka The Pioneer Woman) I will never be.  But a girl can dream can't she?

Ingredients

·         1 bag cranberries

·         2 cups sugar

·         1 cup water

·         1 regular size box of cherry jello

·         1 large can of mandarin oranges

·         1 cup pecan pieces or more if you like nuts as much as I do

How to

·         Wash & drain cranberries

·         Place cranberries, water & sugar in deep pot (trust me you want something a little deep because when those babies start popping they can pop all over your kitchen)

·         Heat until berries pop

·         Remove from heat, add the pkg of jello and then mash those babies with a potato masher until they are a little pureed.  I like a few chunks in mine so I don’t beat them to death.

·         Add can of mandarin oranges, juice and all

·         Add nuts

·         Stir and refrigerate until ready to be served. It is a little jiggly so it's best to serve them in a small bowl rather than letting them run all over your mashed potatoes....just sayin. 

 I   I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with thanks and giving with added sides of joy and laughter. I hope your tummy was filled to the brim and you were so stuffed and felt like you couldn't possibly move an inch but still managed one small slice of pumpkin pie. Our small group here at FOL are so grateful for your presence here, we hope that you have a wonderful holiday season, and we give thanks to you, our readers.  

Halloween fun!

by Ima Goner

 

 

 

Happy Halloween my pretties!

 

Because it's Halloween, it's time for some bloodcurdling tricks and some eerie treats! Let's start with a treat, then I'll share a couple of tricks!

 

This treat comes courtesy of the scary Pinterest. One day, while perusing the mind control site, I was tricked into pinning this demonic dish.

 

I had heard of this treat before, knowing it as, ahem, "slutty brownies" (excuse my French). Each "brownie" was a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie with an Oreo cookie in the middle. I couldn't decide if the name was due to the nature of the treat or the means that one would go to get the treat.

 

But anyway...

 

BOO!

 

(just checking to see if you're still with me)

 

This version with a peanut butter cup instead of an Oreo cookie was beyond "slutty brownies", miles beyond. Imagine one of these babies, slightly warm from the cauldron with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. It's an unearthly experience!

(look! they are even smiling at you! trying to cast their spell on you!)

Look here for the recipe. (if you dare!)
 

Pure evil, I tell you! Look away now! Look away now before I give you my demonic tricks!

 

My tricks for this frightening treat are to use those fun size candy bars you have waiting for trick or treaters instead of peanut butter cups. (they will have plenty of other candy in their bags!)  Use different ones, mix them up! Make a batch of "surprise slutty brownies"! One brownie holds a Snickers! Another, Milky Way!  Like a box of chocolates! You never know what you're gonna get!

 

My SIL suggests putting Nutella in the center instead of the candy. Nutella! I warned him to never use that word in my presence! Nutella is an important part of every good potion!

 

Whatever you do, or don't do today, have a spook-tacular time!

 

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Did you know FOL is on Pinterest? yeppers! Find us here.

 

holla!

 

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