Fall Break Fun

I'm sitting here this morning still in my pajamas, hot cup of coffee in my hand. It's so quiet today. Last week our house was full. Two of our granddaughters were on fall break and they spent the week with us. They are old enough now that they don't require constant supervision so it's pretty easy having them here. But it does change the flow of our day. 

We talked about a few things we could do and places we could go but their favorite thing is staying right here at the farm. Hoola hoops, bikes, tree swings still hold appeal for them 

And they love playing pickleball in our driveway. The weather cooperated and most days were perfect outdoor days. We did venture out a few times for lunch and shopping in our cute little small town square and a trip to the nearby big town for lunch and bookstore shopping.

 

Then it was back to the farm for music practice, baking, and explaining technology to the grandparents. Thanks to Baby Girl, I now know how to use google translate. They tried to explain the latest Gen Alpha phrases to the elderlies—without much luck. 

My favorite part of the week? Dinner on our porch each night. No television. Devices inside. Jazz music playing low in the background. And we listened. How much fun to hear them tell about starting their first year at high school and middle school. They laughed at stories of our high school days back in the dark ages. 

We kept our meals simple but each granddaughter made a dessert during the week. Little Sister (the one in high school) made apple dumplings early in the week and we enjoyed them for several days. (Check the recipe index here.) I have not made those in so long. It's a perfect dessert for fall. Baby Girl (our middle schooler) is dairy free so she couldn't have the apple dumplings. I made her a quick substitute in my new air fryer.

Cut up an apple and zap it in the microwave for about a minute until the apple is tender. Spoon cooked apple in the center of a flour tortilla. Roll it up and tuck in the ends. Spray lightly with cooking spray, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and air fry until it's hot and lightly browned.

This was an excellent dessert sub for her.  I'll make this for us one night soon. She said it was delicious.

But later in the week she wanted to make a dessert she could eat. Lemon might be her favorite flavor so she made a quick and easy lemon cake. I'm sure you've seen this recipe hack before. I have made "birthday cake boxes" for our food pantry with the two ingredients, but I had never baked one before.

Two-Ingredient Cake

I've linked an article from Southern Living that tells more about the cake and suggests many flavor combinations.

TWO-INGREDIENT SODA CAKE

1 box cake mix (we used lemon cake mix)

1 (12-oz) can soda (we used a can of Sprite)

Frosting of your choice (we used a canned frosting)

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease 9x13 baking dish. Empty cake mix into a bowl. Add soda and stir with a spoon until well mixed, about one minute. Pour cake into baking dish and bake according to directions on the box. 

That's it! Keep in mind that this recipe has no dairy AND no eggs. If you need a dessert for those with those food allergies, this is an easy option. I'd like to experiment with other flavor combinations. We don't usually keep soda in the house, but I guess I could buy a single can from a vending machine. 

 And while I'm sharing kid-friendly two ingredient desserts, here is one baked by the 5-year-old granddaughter when she was here earlier in the summer. Pumpkin doughnuts! She added chocolate chips to the recipe and skipped the powdered sugar.

Keep in mind that this recipe mixes best with a hand mixer. Your little baker might need help. The Two-Ingredient Cake can be mixed with a spoon. Super kid friendly.

PUMPKIN SPICE DOUGHNUTS

1 box spice cake mix (or yellow or chocolate cake mix—your choice)
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

Mix dry cake mix and canned pumpkin in a large bowl until thoroughly blended. Batter will be very thick. Spoon batter into a gallon ziplock bag. Snip off a corner of the bag. Squeeze to pipe batter into the greased doughnut pan. (I sprayed it with Baker's Joy.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 13 to 17 minutes, until done. (The size of your doughnut "cups" and amount of batter you add will determine the baking time.) To test, press the top of a doughnut gently with your fingertip. It will spring back when it's done. Remove doughnuts to a cooling rack.

Put about a half cup of powdered sugar in another bag. Add cooled doughnuts, a few at a time and shake to coat. Remove from bag and tap gently to remove excess sugar. 

Let the small baker eat a doughnut. Turn on Nick Jr. or Disney Channel and let the littles watch TV while you clean up the kitchen.


 For us, this recipe yielded 12 doughnuts and four muffins.

We'll Sing In The Sunshine

Sunshine Muffins

The name of these muffins makes me want to sing all the sunshine songs! 

How many can you name or sing?

I am so aware that it's been a minute since I've posted. It seems like these posts get further and further apart. Let's just blame it on old age. And staying busy with all the things that "old people" do. But I want to catch up a bit and get this recipe in my "recipe box" here. That's in case I can't find the paper that it's written on. I know it will always be tucked away safely here.

Daddy-O and I were on grandparent duty about a week ago. Little Sister and Mommy were both away at the All-State Choral event. We spent a few days with Baby Girl—who is certainly no baby anymore. But she told me she liked the name. When they were here over the long Christmas break, she asked if we could make these muffins and we never did. She had made them here during Mimi Camp. 

The recipe came from good friend Joanne. She told me that her grandchildren love these. I can see why. And the recipe is easy enough for a 10-year-old to manage alone. Big thanks to Daddy-O who washed two sinks full of dirty bowls and pans when she was done. 😊

Seeing the handwriting of the one who shares a recipe makes it so personal. But handwritten recipes are nearly a thing of the past. I have mixed feelings about them. I love seeing recipes that my mother and even my grandmother wrote down. But my own handwriting is pretty awful and hard to read. And it's so much quicker to use a keyboard. Here is my legible version for you to copy and paste if you want to print it out.

SUNSHINE MUFFINS

1 box Lemon Supreme cake mix

1 (3-3/4 oz.) box instant lemon pudding mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

4 eggs

    Glaze: 2 tablespoon lemon juice

               6 tablespoons orange juice

               1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

               3-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350º. Mix the muffin ingredients together, blending well. Spoon into greased mini-muffin tins. Bake about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. (Baby Girl filled hers really full, so they took longer to bake.)

While muffins are baking, mix the glaze. When muffins are done, remove from muffin tins. Dip the mini-muffins into glaze while warm and place them on a cooling rack. (I put wax paper under the rack to catch any drips.)

I'm not sure how many muffins Joanne gets from this recipe, but it's a lot. That makes it a good party recipe. Baby Girl made 2-1/2 dozen mini muffins and 6 regular size muffins. 

Things have changed on the farm since Hurricane Helene blew through months ago. It has changed our lives. Downed trees are everywhere.Too many to count. Barns are in the process of being repaired or rebuilt. Our lake house is nearly mended.

The trees fell on all the fences, so the remaining cows were all sold. And this is probably the last hay that will be baled by Daddy-O. We are no longer a working farm. The upside of that is that Daddy-O got to come stay with me and Baby Girl last week while the others were away. He has a little more freedom now.

We used to dread "hay season" because it's such hard work. Long hours in the field on a tractor. And often the weather would complicate things. It would be too dry or too wet to get a good cutting. Or it would rain on the cut hay before it was baled. But I'll miss seeing these bales in the field. 

See the downed trees at the edge of the woods? There is still so much visible damage around. Crushed houses in town. Bright blue tarps on roofs. Huge up rooted trees in yards. Piles of debris are still visible although crews have worked tirelessly hauling away tons and tons of it. And I still remind myself that we were on the edge of the bad damage. 

Trifle Wrap, pattern from Helen Stewart

Knitting! You haven't heard me mention knitting in ages. That's because I don't knit as much now, but I have not completely stopped. I enjoyed a long weekend at a knitting retreat last month. And I just finished this large wrap for a dear friend. It's huge and soft and squishy. I hope it will feel like a hug from me when she wears it.

Cornbread In A Jiffy

 

Goodness! How did two months pass without me posting here? Time seems to go by faster as I get older. And we've been crazy busy. But I do have a new recipe I want to tuck into my "online recipe box"—that would be the recipe index here on the blog. 

Since my last post we have celebrated Christmas, New Year's and three birthdays. Had family in residence for most of those big days. Who has time to write with toddlers in the house? I spent a long weekend at a knitting retreat. And I had a mother/daughter weekend away for an early milestone birthday. More doing. Less writing.

Yesterday was the begin of Lent. In our small town the churches that are located next to each other on Main Street join together for a service and lunch on each of the six Wednesdays of Lent. Our church serves the lunch the first two weeks. Our menu is always the same. The first week is a soup and cornbread lunch. I made a new-to-me cornbread recipe yesterday in addition to my usual one. Recipe is at the end of this blog.

When the house emptied out after the December/January holidays I picked up my knitting again. Several little baby hats were mailed to other states for friends expecting new grandchildren. Next on my "to knit" list are hats for another grandbaby and a great-grand baby! I've lost count of how many I've made, but I know it hovers around 100 now.

A big reason I've not posted as much is that I'm been pouring my time into a bucket list item. I want to play jazz piano. I've played piano forever. But jazz piano is a different creature. Currently I'm taking an online class. An actual class that includes homework. I'm learning Summertime now. Not this sheet music version—this is my music from the 1960s—but learning the song structure and learning how to improvise. It's a challenge. I can feel sparks in my little gray cells as I learn so many new things!

Daddy-O has been busy with a lake project. It was time to replace the lake wall. No one expected a record amount of rainfall just as this started. It's taking a while. Fingers crossed it all gets done before summer.

Now back to the new recipe. It was so easy. Yesterday I made two batches of my Corny Cornbread to take to church. Then decided it would be a good time to try this quick recipe also. The two of us in this household wouldn't eat an entire pan of it. But a church crowd might.

JIFFY QUICK CORNBREAD

2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 milk (whole, low-fat or fat-free)

2 eggs

3 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 375º. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray. (Spray the measuring tablespoon while you're at it.) 

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to mix. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated but do not over mix.

Pour into prepared baking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes until slightly golden brown. Do not overtake!

That's it. So easy to stir up. It's a very different texture that my usual. Different taste also. But it's was good. It's nice to have options. I pretty much like all the cornbreads but the sweet ones fall further down my list. Surprisingly, this recipe isn't really sweet. Keep this version in mind for a busy day!

Summer Round-Up (Part 2)

Strawberry shortcake
(see recipe below)

We enjoyed all the grandchildren here this summer. Both sets have been here more than once and there was some overlap. My photos are in no way chronological. I couldn't keep up. But I've hit the highlights. 

 

Front yard fun.

Jamming with the grands.

Cousin time.

More time with cousins.

(The oldest of the five graduated from college and has moved!

We miss her but glad she found her first job.)

July 4th dessert. Make this! It's so good. 

Little Sister (who is almost 13 now) made this treat.

Use scissors to cut up marshmallows for the skewers.

Lake girl.

Champion!

Summer lake days.

Boating and swimming.

Rainy day lake poetry.

Mending Daddy-O's shirt.

She's got skills.

Farm time.

Driving lessons.

Learning to weave.

Finish a potholder and get a Popsicle.

Outside as much as possible.

She baked this all by herself.

A new recipe learned at her summer cooking camp.

 And we were the lucky taste testers.

After attending a summer cooking camp, not-so-Little Sister recreated some of those recipes for us during their early summer visit to the farm. Luckily for us, it was still strawberry season here.

CLASSIC STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (makes 8)

2 (16-oz) containers of fresh strawberries, quartered

3/4 cup sugar, divided

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup cold butter, cut up

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 (8-oz) container sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar. Cover berry mixture and let stand.

Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add 2 tablespoon sugar, beating until soft peaks form.

Combine flour, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender (or two forks) until crumbly.

Whisk together eggs, sour cream and vanilla until blended. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. 

Drop dough by 1/3 cup portions onto lightly greased baking sheet. (Coat cup with cooking spray after each drop.)

Bake at 450º for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden.

Split shortcakes in half horizontally. Spoon about 1/2 cup berry mixture onto each shortcake bottom. Top each with a rounded tablespoon of chilled whipped cream and cover with tops.

Serve with remaining whipped cream.

There was some serious effort in this recipe. So happy that she (and both of her sisters) love to cook.

Summer Round-Up (Part 1)

Cupcakes with Easy Vanilla Frosting 
(decorated with mini chocolate chips by Little Lady)

What have you been doing for the last six weeks? It's been a busy summer here for Mimi and Daddy-O. We've had summer visitors since my last post. You can take a quick look at some of the things we did. And this is only with ONE set of grandchildren! I'll share the others in the next post.

I'm sure some good recipes will be missed but I'm trying to get caught up and  post some of the new ones we've tried this summer. Before I don't remember where I found them. This blog serves as my recipe box now.

Wading in the creek, a family tradition.

First boat ride.

Family trio.

The farm is a big playground.

Lake time.

Music lover.

Cousin time.

Good garden help.

She asked to bake. So we did.

 

I had a cake mix on hand 

which was enough for a 3-year-old to handle.

It was her idea to add mini chocolate chips to the batter.

But I had no can of frosting. Years ago when I had no frosting and was baking with the oldest granddaughter, we discovered the 1-Minute Chocolate Frosting which I've used for years now. (See Recipe Index.) But I wanted something even easier for this baking episode. This baker is 3.

A quick Google search found this recipe that is so much like the Chocolate Frosting (also in the Recipe Index) that came from a church friend years ago. I'm happy to add the vanilla version to my kitchen repertoire. It's delicious. And absolutely the easiest I've ever made.

EASY VANILLA FROSTING    (makes 1/2 cup)

1 cup powdered sugar (do not sift before measuring)

2 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

about 3 to 4 teaspoons of milk

Place powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Mix with electric mixer and combine for a few seconds.

Add milk slowly, a teaspoon at a time, until it's frosting consistency.

Beat on HIGH for about 15 seconds.

Be careful to add the milk a teaspoon at a time. If you add too much, you'll have runny frosting!

This barely made enough for one dozen cupcakes. (Confession—I threw out some of the batter. One dozen cupcakes was all we needed.) I think this could be doubled.