Over The River And Through The Woods

How much fun it is to get together to celebrate family events. This morning we almost didn't get together. We were hosting a coffee for a bride-to-be. The first people arrived here at the farm right on time. But then we waited and waited on more folks to come. The phone rang. And then someone else's cell phone went off. 

Two cars were lost. Yes, we are completely off the grid. Google, Mapquest, GPS, and whatever other directional tools are out there do not know where the farm is. I gave them new directions. Ten minutes passed and the phone rang again. They were still lost and had encountered another car also trying to find us. 

Daddy-O to the rescue! I had called him after the first "we're lost" phone call and asked him to come back to the house to help figure out where these cars were calling from. But after the third phone call, he told them to stay put and he would go find them. He did and then led all three cars to the farm. Thank you, Daddy-O. We only live six miles from town and we're about five miles from the interstate in the other direction. But in between are a gazillion little roads, one lane roads, and gravel roads--easy to get lost when you don't know the area.

When they finally got here, one cousin said, "We will just have to live here now. We are not leaving your house. Ever." They really think we live on the edge of civilization. Once they got here, I think they all had fun. Here are a couple of the recipes I made for today:

BLUSHING APPLE JULEPS
--recipe from SouthernPlate.com

4 cups apple juice

1 cup orange juice

1 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 jar Maraschino cherries

Place all juices in a 2-qt. pitcher and stir well.

Add in 3-4 tablespoons juice from jar of cherries and stir again. Chill until ready to serve.

Serve over ice, with a cherry in each glass. Garnish with mint or lemon balm.

SWEET POTATO BISCUITS

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup butter

1 cup cooked mashed sweet potato*

¾ to 1 cup buttermilk

1.  Combine first 3 ingredients.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly.

2.  Stir together mashed sweet potato and ¾ cup buttermilk; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.  (Add remaining ¼ cup buttermilk, if necessary.)

3.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 3 to 4 times.  Pat to a ½-inch thickness.  Cut dough with a biscuit cutter and place biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet.

4.  Bake at 425º for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden.

Yield:  3-inch cutter makes about 14 biscuits

            2-inch cutter makes about 36 biscuits (this time I got about 48 biscuits)

* 1 (15-oz.) can sweet potatoes, drained and mashed, may be substituted.

Note:  To freeze, place unbaked biscuits on a baking sheet in the freezer.  Once frozen, place biscuits in a zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze until ready to use.  Before serving, bake frozen biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet at 425° for 15 to 16 minutes.

This recipe is featured on the Meal Plan Monday Recipes linkup at SouthernPlate.com