Where Has Summer Gone?

Apple Pineapple Dump Cake

Goodness, what a summer! (Is it still summer?Is it all over? I've lost track.) After many, many months of barely seeing family—at least close enough to touch them—we had an uninterrupted six weeks of family in residence. And for one of those weeks, we had the entire family together. That hasn't happened in nearly two years. It was fabulous. But it's taken me a couple more weeks to recover from all the fun. 

We did some house swapping during this family time. Besides the farm, we have a lake cabin and its little sister cottage that sits a few feet away from the cabin. So after much moving around between "houses" it's been a bit of a treasure hunt to find things at home. Partly because we just forgot where things were. That was a long time to be away.

For most of the six weeks, we lived at the lake and let Mommy, J-Daddy and the little girls enjoy the wide open space at the farm. But they also had time at the lake to enjoy the water activities. Thankfully, the farm and the lake aren't too far apart, so we got to see them wherever they were.

The pandemic lockdown started just weeks after Little Lady was born, so Little Sister and Baby Girl had only see her once right after she was born. They were all excited to be together at long last. And Little Lady tried her best to do everything the big girls did. It was fun to watch it all.

We miss having them here, but it's also been good to settle down and do some of our regular things. One of the activities we've enjoyed during our year of stay-at-home is the virtual Chautauqua series from our local Chautuaqua society. Earlier this week we enjoyed a lecture on "Food Fads from the 1940s through the 1960s." I watched "with" a friend in Manhattan and we had so much fun texting as we listened, sharing our memories about many of these foods. 

If you are interested, the lecture is available on YouTube until Thursday, August 5th, 2021. Here is the link and the description from the Spartanburg County Library:

Food Fads from the 1940s through the 1960s

"Remember Jell-O salads and cheese sprayed out of a can? When every pantry held Velveeta and all the kids wanted to drink Tang? Join historian and author Leslie Goddard for a nostalgic look at the food innovations and marketing approaches that transformed how we ate at midcentury."

And you might think I made this dessert the night of the lecture to be on theme. I did not. To be honest, I REALLY wanted dessert that night and this was the only thing I could come up with that used ingredients I had in the house. In my mind, it's a desperation dessert. But it certainly checked all the boxes of the food fad lecture!

APPLE PINEAPPLE DUMP CAKE

1 (28-oz) can apple pie filling (the kind with extra fruit)

1 (20-oz) can crushed pineapple packed in juice

1 box yellow cake mix (the two layer size)

2 sticks (1 cup) of butter, melted

Spray or grease a 9x13-inch pan. (I lined mine with foil for easy clean-up. It was that kind of night.)

Dump ingredients into pan in this order: spread pie filling over the bottom of pan, pour crushed pineapple with the juice over the pie filling; sprinkle dry cake mix over the pineapple; pour melted butter over the dry cake mix. Don't stir.

Bake at 350º for 50 to 60 minutes, until golden brown.

You could swap the apple pie filling for another fruit filling. I've done this before with cherry pie filling. And you could sprinkle chopped nuts over the top before baking, too. We don't do nuts here any more, but the crunch of the toasted nuts would be a nice addition.

This is really rich, but it hit the spot. And hopefully satisfied my dessert craving for weeks to come. I would have added a scoop of ice cream to my dish if there had been any in the freezer. Of course, if there had been ice cream here, I wouldn't have made dessert!

REMINDER:  If you subscribed to this blog by using the email box that was on the right hand sidebar, remember that there are major changes happening to that service. I have read all of the alerts and to be honest, I didn't understand most of what they said. BUT if you used that sign up option, and find that in the coming weeks you are no longer getting any blog notices, that may be why. I think there are other feed services out there that you can use. 

And you can always find the blog by searching for it. thegrandmothergig.blogspot.com  Check in from time to time to see what's new.

 

Guest Blogger: Little Sister

Today's Grandmother Gig is written by guest blogger, Little Sister. She and her family are spending the week at the lake with us. We have been swimming, kayaking, tubing behind the boat, and enjoying night boat rides. The food has been excellent. I'm hoping I can also talk my son-in-law into sharing some of the recipes he has made this week. The whole family knows how to cook! Little Sister doesn't use a recipe for this, so she had to write the ingredients, the instructions and give her recipe a name.

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In Little Sister's own words....

 

I am 10 and a half years old. I love to cook for my family. I have always admired cooking for years. Mimi calls me Little Sister on her blog. I started learning to cook when I was 3. First, in my play kitchen. But I really learned to cook real foods at age 6. 

I have seen my Mom and Dad made guacamole for like forever. So I wanted to learn how to make it. Usually we always have a taco Tuesday so I have had a lot of practice making guacamole. It is really simple, so Mimi let me be a guest on her blog so now I can share my recipe with you. 

Mean Green Guacamole

MEAN GREEN GUACAMOLE

(All measurements are approximate. I use one avocado per person.) 

6 avocados

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cumin

a squeeze of lime juice

cilantro, optional (but I don't use it because Daddy and Daddy-O don't like it)

First, cut avocados in half and scoop out of shells. Then cut them into cubes. Put in medium mixing bowl.

Second, add diced tomatoes and onions. 

Third, sprinkle spices over avocado mix. And add the lime juice.

Last, get a spoon and stir until is well blended. As you stir, the avocado will mash up some. My daddy doesn’t like it smooth, so I leave it chunky.

Serve immediately with chips, so the avocado doesn’t get brown. 

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While Little Sister was cooking, Baby Girl was out taking photographs. 

This sunset photo was my favorite.

Photo by Baby Girl, age 7

All Things Peaches

Peach Cobbler

Driving down to the lake yesterday I passed the peach stand. If I could have stopped to make a photo I would have. It's a shed right on the highway beside a long driveway that leads to the house of the peach farmer. Baskets and bags of peaches line the shelves. And it's all on the honor system. There's a bucket for you to drop your money in when you get your peaches. Daddy-O picked up a couple of bags for us last week while we had enough family here to help eat our favorite desserts.

We had quite a week with Little Lady and her family at the farm. It was her first time visiting since she started walking, so she was able to explore every inch of everywhere. We spent the rest of last week after they headed home undoing our temporary baby proofing. Every available surface held something that had been set up out of reach.

We had time for a couple of days to catch our breath, then we moved to another porch. (Morning coffee on the porch is the best.) The other family arrived yesterday for their farm vacation. Those city children love nothing better that staying where there is plenty of room to roam and ramble. So we moved to the lake cottage for a while. I have my coffee beside me this morning while I write to you. Daddy-O is always ready to pour me a refill.

But before we get into gear with this next family (we are plenty close enough for lots of visiting) I want to share the recipes I made last week. Our peach season here lasts quite a long time as different varieties come in, so these will likely make another appearance on our table. Whether that table is at the farm or at the lake.

This is the recipe we've all used for years. Follow the directions exactly—especially the "no stir" part. And be sure to use a 2-qt. baking dish. Don't grab that 9x13 dish you use for everything else!

PEACH COBBLER

3-4 cups of sliced fresh peaches

1 ½ cups sugar, divided

¾ cup plain flour

2 tsp. baking powder

Pinch of salt

¾ cup milk

1 stick butter

Put 1 cup sugar on peaches.  Set aside.  Melt butter and pour into a 2-qt. baking dish.  Mix remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and milk. 

Pour batter into melted butter.  DO NOT STIR.

Spoon peaches over top of batter.  DO NOT STIR.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden brown.

And then there was peach ice cream. There is a long story about the ice cream making last week that ended with me now owning a new countertop ice cream machine. And realizing we need to replace our ancient freezer.

Peach Ice Cream

But all you need to know is that this is the easiest ice cream recipe ever. Todd first made a fabulous vanilla ice cream. His recipe involved a lot of steps, used a vanilla bean and cream cheese. It was perfection. I will happily eat his anytime he makes it. But you know me, I mostly do easy. This recipe is ready to pour into the ice cream maker in minutes.

This ice cream tastes like the kind my mother and daddy used to make, but it's been tweaked to make a smaller amount since the countertop machines (the kind where the container is stored in the freezer) make 1-1/2 to 2 quarts. And it does not use raw eggs like Mother's old recipe. In current day cooking "rules" raw eggs are a no-no.

PEACH ICE CREAM (no eggs)

1 (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk (like Eagle Brand)
1 (12-oz) can evaporated milk
1-1/4 cups whole milk (I have also used low-fat but it's not as creamy)
about 1 cup of cut up ripe peaches (I used 2 large peaches) 
2 tablespoons sugar
a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice (about a tablespoon)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

pinch of salt

Use a whisk to mix the 3 milks together thoroughly and chill for 30 minutes. (I just put my cans of milk in the refrigerator ahead of time.) Mash up peaches with fork until there are no big pieces left. Stir in sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Mix peaches with milk mixture. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to appliance directions. Freeze until done, about 20-25 minutes.

At this point, it's very soft. You can place the ice cream container (removed from maker) into the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm it up a bit. Or, transfer to a plastic container and freeze it.



These early variety peaches never got very soft, so I ended up using my handheld immersion blender on the peach/sugar mixture. Mashing with a fork wasn't happening.

Don't like peach ice cream? Use this recipe and change the fruit. (We love the strawberry version.) Or, double the amount of vanilla if you want to make vanilla ice cream. Cookies & Cream also works. Just add your crumbled Oreos after the vanilla ice cream mixture is about half frozen. These ice cream makers have an open top so you can do that while it's running. 

Google "no cook ice cream" for other flavors. Although I haven't tried increasing the amounts to make a big churn of ice cream, I don't know why that wouldn't work.

When Mommy and J-Daddy are in residence at the farm, he shows off his cooking skills with gourmet meals each night. (I hear that he loves my big kitchen.) And we get to enjoy many of his creations. That's a major treat. Looking forward to seeing what he makes this time. 

Maybe it will involve blueberries. I picked these right before we headed to the lake. The first bowl full from our dwarf blueberry bushes. Little Sister and Baby Girl are in charge of keeping them picked now.

And now....back to my coffee. "Daddy-O! Would you bring me a little more, please?"

 

A Week Of Family And Food

Summer supper—pork tenderloin, orzo spinach salad, grilled corn, sautéed apples.

What a week! We had Little Lady and her mama and daddy in residence here at the farm for a whole week. We had not seen her in far too long. Last time we saw her in person, she barely had hair, she wasn't walking, and she had maybe four teeth. Now you can see the curly hair. And she walking AND talking. (Some words that you could understand, many words that we can understand.) And has too many teeth to count. 

We caught up on things that Mimi does best. Like reading books, snuggling....

...making music, singing songs (Wheels On The Bus is a fav)...

...and spending time on the porch.

Little Lady explored the farm as she waddled over every inch of the front and back yards.

And she got her first tractor ride with Daddy-O.  

That was a big hit! 

Mimi worked a little magic on the christening gown. 

Because of the pandemic, we are having a christening a year later than we planned. 

Thankfully the gown still fit—except around the neck. 

I added ribbon so that we can tie to fit instead of using the traditional gold pins.

It's going to be quiet here this week without those little feet pattering around the house. But we are thankful for the family time we enjoyed. Family time outside around the farm and family time around the table as we shared meals and stories. Here is the menu for one of those meals:

Because my friends have said they liked having recipes for an entire menu in one post, I'm adding another set. I cooked many meals—so many meals—while they were here, but this dinner was the favorite. All recipes we have used before but this combination is worth recording. We grilled the pork tenderloin and the corn, but both of those can be done in the oven. We've done it both ways.

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There are so many good ways to cook pork tenderloin. There are several recipes here on the blog. But hands down, this is our family's favorite. For us, it's one of those never-fail recipes.

BOURBON MARINATED PORK TENDERLOIN

2-1/2 lb. pork tenderloins (usually one package contains 2 tenderloins and is about this weight)
3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup bourbon
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced (I used 2 teaspoons of jarred minced garlic)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
 

Pat tenderloins dry. Combine soy sauce and remaining ingredients in a gallon ziploc plastic freezer bag or shallow dish. Add tenderloins. Seal bag or cover dish and chill 4-12 hours. Turn once or twice while they marinate. Remove pork from marinade, discarding marinade.

Grill, covered with grill lid, over high heat (400 to 500 degrees) for 30 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat reads 155 degrees, turning occasionally. Remove from heat; cover with aluminum foil and let stand 10 minutes or until thermometer reads 160 degrees.
 

It's also good cooked in the oven, if you don't have a grill, or if it's raining, 
Put tenderloins in an oven that has been preheated to 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until thermometer reaches 155-160 degrees. Let rest before serving.

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We absolutely love this dish! If there is an issue with feta in your household, you can sub crumbled goat cheese like we did this time.

ORZO SPINACH SALAD

1/2  box (16-oz) orzo, cooked according to package directions
1/2 bag (5-oz) baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/3 cup chopped red onion (use the amount that you want)
4-oz. container crumbled feta cheese (or crumbled goat cheese)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper (I used a few grinds of fresh pepper)

While orzo is cooking, mix the dressing--oil, vinegar, basil, pepper. Set aside.
Drain orzo thoroughly when done. Stir in chopped onion, spinach and feta. Whisk dressing again. Pour dressing over the pasta and mix to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

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The corn was perfect with this supper.  Daddy-O started it on the grill about 15 minutes before he put on the tenderloin. It all was done at the same time.

GRILLED CORN

fresh ears of corn, shucked and cleaned

Lawry's seasoning salt (or your favorite seasoning)

black pepper

Place an ear of corn on a sheet of foil. Add a couple of pats of butter, sprinkle with seasoning salt and pepper. Roll it up tightly, twisting the ends so the butter doesn't leak out.

Put corn on medium grill, not directly over the heat, for 30 minutes. Close lid of grill. Turn corn in quarter-turns as it cooks. 

You can also put the wrapped corn in a preheated oven, 350º-ish, for 30 minutes. It won't have the brown color that you get from grilling but it's as delicious. Jessica says that if she also is baking another dish at 375º or 400º, she slides the corn in with it at that temp.

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I just realized I've never put the directions for sautéed apples here on the blog. It's a family favorite. It was one of those things I would make these when I needed one more things on the plate. 

All of these amounts are approximate. Just used the number of apples you have. Or the number you need to feed the crowd around your table. Make the butter and sugar match. Like I said, these are more "directions" instead of a "recipe."

SAUTEED APPLES

6 apples, peeled and sliced

1-2 tablespoons butter

1-2 tablespoons brown sugar

ground cinnamon

a little water

Melt butter in skillet. Add sliced apples and stir to coat. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Add a little water. (The apples will release some liquid as they cook.) Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are as tender as you like them. I turned them low and put the lid on this time, to cook a little slower. 

The butter and brown sugar cook down to make a nice glaze. I don't use very much of either, although you can make it as buttery and sugary as you want to. 

Book Club On The Porch (No Book Involved)

Old friends are the best friends. We had so much fun yesterday. My book club girls came to the lake for an afternoon visit and supper. We take turns doing supper for our regular gatherings and usually a couple of us share duties.  But I told them that for this one time, I'd do it all. They just needed to drive down. Luckily our lake house is only about 25 minutes away from town.

If you've been here long, you know that at this point in my life, I cook easy meals. I like home cooked food, but I am not looking for complicated recipes. This supper was so easy to make. But it would have been harder to transport to Linda's house because it involved two slow cookers and seven pints of ice cream. It was a good choice for a night they were coming to me.

I thought of all sorts of desserts I could make for us. But homemade dessert didn't happen. I bought seven pints of Jeni's ice cream. I had picked up a little box of tasting spoons at the grocery store a few weeks ago. And after supper we had an ice cream tasting. These good ladies had never heard of Jeni's ice cream. It's a special treat. And a major indulgence! It's not available everywhere, but I can find it at Publix and Whole Foods. That makes me happy because years ago it was nearly impossible to buy. Unless you lived in Columbus, OH.

My original thought for supper was to make these same fillings and use soft tortillas. My brilliant daughter Jessica pointed out that it would be less messy if we made "bowls." Of course, she was right. 

Miss Doris asked if I would put all of our supper recipes here in one post. They have all been on the blog before but she said she would like to have them together. Here is our menu:

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When the ladies got here, I knew we would be visiting on the porch for a while, so I fixed a tray of nibbles. Apple and pear slices, bought cheese crisps and I made a double batch of these nuts. The nuts are the easiest thing ever.

TOASTED MAPLE PECANS

1 cup pecan halves

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Salt

Pepper, optional

Preheat oven to 375º. Line a sheet pan (I used a quarter sheet pan) with parchment paper. 

Pour maple syrup over nuts in a small bowl and stir to coat. Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper if using.

Toast nuts for 10 minutes then stir. Toast for another 2 minutes and taste them. Toast for another 2 minutes if needed. (Mine took the whole 14 minutes.) Let them cool before serving. Store in an airtight container.

Toasting pecans is a judgement call—they need to come out of the oven just before they are crisp because they will crisp up as they cool. 

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We have been making this recipes for years. I've used plain salsa. Salsa with corn and beans. It's your choice. But do choose a salsa you like. Different brands have different flavors.

SALSA CHICKEN (slow cooker)

3 or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar salsa (I used a 24-oz jar of black bean & corn salsa)
2 teaspoons (I just sprinkled some over) homemade fajita seasoning 
          OR 1 packet taco seasoning

Put a thin layer of salsa into bottom of crockpot. Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag, add fajita (taco) seasoning and shake to coat breasts. Put chicken into crockpot and cover with remaining salsa. Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Put shredded chicken back into crockpot and mix with salsa.

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Another easy, much used recipe. I made this on the stovetop, then put it in a smaller crockpot to keep warn until we ate. I quibbled about how much to make for six of us and ended up doubling the recipe. Needless to say, I'll be eating beans and rice the rest of the week. I think I could have used 3 cans of beans and the appropriate amounts of everything else and it would have been just right.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS

2 teaspoons olive oil
1-1/2  cup chopped red onion
1 red bell pepper, diced
1-1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 (15-oz) cans black beans
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped red onion for serving
I lime, cut into wedges
cooked brown rice

Heat oil in a large nonstick skilled over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 6-7 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and oregano, stirring to mix. Cook another 30 seconds. Stir in beans (with their liquid) and water. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to let flavors blend. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.

To serve, spoon beans over brown rice and sprinkle with chopped onion. Squeeze a lime wedge over each serving.

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I will be forever grateful to Al Roker from The Today Show. I started following him on Instagram during the pandemic and discovered he posts what he cooks for dinner most days. And those meals very often include "pasta cooked brown rice." Just a hash tag. I finally thought I'd see if I could find out what he meant. Google was all I needed. And I have not cooked brown rice another way since then.

PASTA COOKED BROWN RICE

brown rice (amount isn't critical, but I typically use 1-1/2 cups)

water

Bring a big pot of water to a boil.

Rinse uncooked brown rice. 

Stir rice into boiling water. 

Let boil 30-35 minutes. Drain into colander. (Make sure the holes are small enough to not lose the rice.) Put the rice back into the empty hot pot. Put a lid on it, pull off the heat, and let it stand for 10 minutes to steam. 

To finish the menu, I had chopped red onion, diced tomatoes, sliced avocado, and lime wedges for toppings. And we opened a bag of blue corn chips. If you count WW points (purple plan,) that is nearly a 0 point meal if you skip the avocado. And I am certainly not talking about the Jeni's ice cream!!!

If anyone is curious, our seven ice cream flavors were 

• Lemon & Blueberries Parfait
• Boston Cream Pie
• Blackout Chocolate
• Savannah Buttercream Mint
• Gooey Butter Cake
• Brambleberry Crisp
• Sweet Cream Biscuits & Peach Jam

Which was the favorite? Hands down, it was which ever one we were had in our mouth. They are all that good.

FYI, you can order Jeni's and have it shipped to you. Mommy and J-Daddy have done this and she says it arrived frozen. But it's way cheaper to buy it at the store!

 

Crab Cakes For Two (With Leftovers For Lunch)

Crab cakes

Yesterday was Mother's Day. It's that day when all the social media is flooded with pictures of family gatherings. Well, our family is too far apart for a one day get together so there were no big family pictures for us. I did enjoy FaceTime visits with the daughters and granddaughters. Thank goodness for technology.

But we decided to have a celebration for two. There are many ways to make a day special. I finally tried a recipe that I've had printed out for ages. We normally think of crab cakes as a restaurant treat but I thought I'd try making them at home. And while these are not as good as the ones at Pawleys Island Tavern (theirs are THE best,) they were very good. Good enough that I'm posting this recipe here so I won't lose it.

Another big plus for this recipe is that it can be assembled early in the day and refrigerated until it's time to cook and then the cooking is quick. And most of the kitchen clean up was done in the morning.

CRAB CAKES

2 large eggs

1 celery stalk, finely diced (about 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup finely diced onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1-lb fresh jumbo crabmeat, well drained and picked over

1 cup panko breadcrumbs 

1/4 cup canola oil

In a large bowl, mix eggs, celery, onion, parsley, mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire and Old Bay until combined well. Fold in crabmeat and panko crumbs. Shape into 12 small patties, about 1/4 cup each, and place on a tray lined with parchment. Cover tray and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours. (I think refrigerating most of the day helped the patties stay together.)

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium. Add 6 crab cakes and cook until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes per side. Move cooked crab cakes to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and put in warming drawer (or oven warmed to 250º and turned off) while the last 6 are cooked. 

Serve immediately with Remoulade (or tartar sauce) and lemon wedges.

I used another crab cake recipe months ago and figured out that for me, it worked better to break up the big solid lumps of crabmeat a little. I know that might be sacrilegious to do that after paying a premium for the lump meat. But that's how I like it. I still leave big pieces, just not huge ones.

After dinner last night I looked up the price of fresh lump crabmeat at Whole Foods. It was $45 per pound. This won't be a meal we have often, but it certainly could be a celebration meal for 6. The price would be comparable to serving steaks. I think these would make an excellent luncheon dish for you and your 5 closest friends. Serve the crab cakes on a nice salad of mixed greens instead of with dinner sides.

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To keep you (and me) from digging back through the recipes here to find the recipe for the remoulade sauce, here it is again.

REMOULADE SAUCE 

1 cup mayonnaise 

2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning 

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped 

1 tablespoon horseradish sauce 

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard (I used German mustard) 

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 

1 teaspoon Texas Pete hot sauce (or to taste) 

1 teaspoon lemon juice 

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix all ingredients and store in refrigerator.