Two Wildflowers

Shaker Style Meyer Lemon Pie

What makes a Meyer lemon so special? 

Here is a picture of these lemons that only come into season for a short time.  

The top cut lemon is a California lemon fresh off a tree; the bottom is a Meyer lemon.  Notice the white pith under the outer skin is thinner, which means less bitterness from the pith.  I have had success making this pie without Meyer lemons if the lemons are freshly picked.

Filling Ingredients:

4 Meyer or fresh picked lemons

2 cups of cane sugar

4 extra large or 5 large eggs

Pinch of salt

Scant splash of vanilla

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Needed:

A double pie crust

 

Slice lemons, skin and all paper thin, discard both lemon ends where the pith begins.  Remove seeds.  In a glass or plastic bowl (no metal) lightly toss the lemon slices with sugar.  Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.  Bring back to room temperature the next day.

 

Crack eggs into a separate bowl (take out about 2 tsp of the white to use for egg wash on crust).  Beat eggs well, until blended and smooth yellow.  Add a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla; gently fold in the sugar with lemon slices.  The filling is now ready for your crust.  Use a well-sealed double crust, brushed with egg white and dusted with “sanding sugar” which has large crystals.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Let cool to enjoy.  Refrigerate any leftovers, but they won’t last long!

 

 

 

 

Beaded Fringe Lamp Shade!

$27.00 a little glue, plus 30 minutes . . . Voilà!

 

 

 

I purchased this little candlestick lamp and shade for about $25.  I liked the size, but was not to thrilled about the ho hum shade.

 

I made a trip to our local Dollar Store the other day, and while I was looking about I saw these plastic “crystal like” beads attached to a ribbon, and instantly thought of my lamp. Nowhere on the package did it tell me how long the strand was, so I had the clerk open it so I would know.  I needed 2 packages . . . ching ching $2.00!

 

So while my husband went out for a bike ride, I decided to put the fringe on my shade. I finished first!

I gathered my favorite glue to use on fabric, a measuring device, a little clothespin and my scissors. Out in the fall sunshine on the deck I went to work.

This is the fabric/craft glue I love to use.  Whenever have those 50% coupons off at the fabric/craft store and can’t fall in love with anything, I buy a bottle.

Next I measured the circumference of the shade and length of my trim to make sure I had the right amount, just a double check!

Looking very close I noticed one side of the ribbon had a more finished appearance and the other a “wrong side” look. I made the choice to use the" wrong side" to glue to the inside of the shade, leaving the nicer side where it might be seen.  This also allowed the glue to help hold the thread snug that attached the beads.

You can see the thread that holds the beads was knotted, and I knew cutting it would be like knocking over a pile of cards, and the beads would come off, and I needed to cut it so I could continue the pattern of the short strand of beads then the long strand. I used my mini clothes pin to hold the thread in place, then cut close to the knot leaving a tail of thread securing it to the ribbon with some glue while the pin was still attached.

I then folded on edge over about ¼” and glued the cut edge on top of the folded over ribbon, matching the spacing and pattern of the beads.

 

Now I had a long single strand of beads to set this aside to dry while I washed my hands, found a tooth pick to use for little glue dabs, and removed the plastic shade cover (I always smile when I see people leaving these on shades), taking notice of where the BACK of the shade was located. This would also be my back seam when done.  With a clean surface under the shade I turned it over to go to work (kind of like a lamp surgeon!).

Starting at the FRONT seam (opposite the obvious back seam), I tacked with glue the center of my long strand of beads.  This would allow me to finish at the back and hide the fact the bead pattern would not be consistent when I finished. I then glued the ribbon down a few inches either side of the center front, and flipping the beads to the OUTSIDE as I worked.

I carefully put a bead of glue about 6” long at a time, then glued the wrong side of the ribbon to the glue, leaving about 1/8” of shade lining visible along the edge, always making sure the beds fell to the outside.

I finished the back by gluing the raw end of the ribbon down, then a folded over end (like when I joined the two strands together).

I quickly assembled the shade on the lamp, before the glue dried completely, to see if the beads hung down and straight. You can see from the picture below I had just a little bit of “fixing”, but the glue was still wet enough to fix it.  Good thing I did this check!

Here it is, all done!  I had to take it inside and light up the lamp to see how it would look in its new home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Night, It Is Time For Pizza

It was a warm evening out on the porch here in the California Sierra Foothills. Dusk was coming and as we sat talking the subject of what to eat became the topic. Pizza was the answer!  Thank goodness I can work my way around a kitchen pretty well.  No recipe, but 1 1/2 hours later, with about 20 minutes of hands on time, here is was greeted us, hot from the oven. As my husband said, "This looks and taste just like my Italian grandma Fulvia's pizza." Now that IS a compliment!

Oh yes, while the pizza dough was proofing and then baking, I was enjoying my zero gravity chair on the deck with a good book.

Wedding Treat Cookie Recipe Testing!

Cookies as "take homes" from my daughter's wedding is my current little project. She is getting married in the "Northern Passage" at the Memphis, TN Zoo. During the reception they will feed the polar bears, so we are thinking of polar bear tin cookie cutters  with little recipe tags along with a message from Laurel and Zach.

                                
You can watch here one of the bears get a treat Polar Bears Eating 

This video view is from the room where the reception will take place.

So today I tested this recipe. I don't have the bear cutter, so I used this cute little tea pot cutter. True, fluffy tea pots are not very desirable, but the idea is what I am after!  My cookie "tester" was anxious for me to be done with pictures.  

So do they look polar bearish fluffy?

  Pecan Sugar Polar Bear Cookies

½ cup butter at room temperature (not melted)

½ cup granulated white sugar

1 egg

½ tsp. vanilla

½ cup pecans ground to the consistency of corn meal

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1 cup all all-purpose flour (sifted after measuring)

1/8 tsp salt

½ tsp. baking powder

                                                                                 ½ cup confectioner’s powdered sugar

With electric mixer cream butter until fluffy, add granulated sugar, egg and vanilla. Mix until blended.  Add ground pecans.

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.  Add dry mixture to wet until blended.

Separate dough into 2 balls, wrap and refrigerate several hour or more.

Using a board dusted with flour roll a cold ball of dough until about generous 1/8” thickness.  Use Polar Bear cutter, dust cutting edge in flour first, then cut out design and move gently to parchment or silpat covered cookie sheet.  Work fast so dough says cool.  Bake at 300 degrees about 13+ minutes (longer if needed) but watch carefully.  Remove cookies from oven and immediately dust with confectioner’s sugar while still hot on the cookie sheet.  Let cool before removing.  Enjoy!

 

Momma's Welcome Home Chocolate Chip Cookies

With the kids grown and out of the nest, I don't dare bake these very often anymore. But today I had to say thank you for a little request of someone who went way beyond my request.  Remembering how much fun these were to make (and eat)  I am posting my version of chocolate chip cookies.

 

Momma's Welcome Home Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Hint:  Take egg and butter out of the refrigerator several hours before starting the                   process.
           Cookie scoops are a great inve$tment if you bake muffins and cookies often.  

1/2 cup Butter that has been left out to assume room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla 
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1 cup sifted all-purpose flour, sift after measure for this recipe
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunked pieces from a bar 
1/4 cup corn flake cereal crush lightly (frosted flakes work well too!)
Optional:
1/2 cup broken nuts of choice

1.  Before staring to mix, set oven to 375 after placing racks in center of oven.
Prepare 2 cookie sheets with non stick parchment paper to other quick release surface pad
Retrive a 3 Tablespoon cookie scoop = yield of 15-16 3"- 4" uniform cookies (see picture)

2.  With an electric beater cream the butter until smooth, adding in both sugars, egg and vanilla. Blend JUST until combined, scrape bowl as needed.

3.  In a separate bowl shift together flour, salt and baking soda.  With beater on low slowly add these dry ingredients until blended, scrap bowl as needed, but do not over mix.

4.  Remove beater from bowl.  Sprinkle the corn flakes, chocolate and nuts over mixture and fold in by hand until distributed through the dough.

6.  Scoop dough, scraping on bowl edge excess in scoop.  Distribute 8 cookies per cookie sheet.

7.  Bake at 375 for 13 minutes, or until golden. Turn pan around half way through baking if needed for even baking.  If you bake both pans at one time, trade locations of the pans.

ALWAYS allow cookies to  set just 10 minutes on pan before removing to finish cooling on a rack.

Enjoy!

 Mechanical scoops allow you to control the size and shape of cookie making for fingerless distribution of dough for both cookies and muffins.  I use these scoops for other things also, making truffles, mellon balls and pretty mounds of things like cottage cheese on a salad. My husband thinks they are for ice cream, and that works too! It is a true mulitasker!  You can find them easily online, and several sizes are very useful to own.

 

 

100 Years Ago Today

My mom was born 100 years ago today!  If she had lived another year and 10 months we would be celebrating this special day with her!

 

This picture of mom was taken on her 3rd birthday in front of the long cabin where she was born!

Red Tomatoes . . . at last!

 

I have been moaning to and talking behind my GREEN tomatoes backs, I guess they got tired of me talking about them!  

This past Sunday morning look what greeted me here in the sierra foothills!

No, this is NOT Photoshop!

Early Girls (hahahaha!)

Monday morning was even better!

 

Here Comes the Bride ~ Wedding Dress Shopping

I flew back to Memphis in the dead heat of a July summer!  Something I did for my daughter, not for the muggy weather.  We went to a bridal fair, wedding dress shopping and to see the venue for the wedding.

We had fun at the bridal fair, but didn't find much we were all that interested in.  

We did get a chance to use a photo booth (like old school) that seems to be "the thing" all over again.   It is always risky to take pictures with your young beautiful daughter, so I did the old photo booth ham it up shots..she did the darling posed ones!

We left the fair and went to just try on wedding dresses to discover the style and colors were her best.  We didn't know just yet if the wedding dress was to be made by very capable hands, or what even looked good to consider as far as style.  She told me she wanted lace and some bling to the dress, which was interesting to know. It was nice to get in the air conditioned building, and that is all I cared about at first!  Soon we were being helped with "what is your budget" to what syles, colors, etc.  We had fun looking and trying.  My daughter is quite tall (5'11") so I was concerned about length, thinking maybe a tea length dress might be the answer.  So the trying on started.  This is not the dress, just a sample of what we went through. 

We were just not getting "the look", so "the mom" went for a little walk to see what she could find.  The minute I felt the quality of THE DRESS I knew we were in danger.  It was beautiful and in her size and the right color of off white that looks best on her and and and it was EXPENSIVE!  But for a reason I could not find (and trust me, someone who teaches clothing construction knows what to look for) it was 1/2 price. (Maybe someone goofed on a special order?) I handed it to my darling, and asked her to humor me and just try it on. Her response was, "Oh Mama, you know I don't even want to try on a dress that is unaffordable!"  I smiled and begged just a little.

She came out wearing THE DRESS.  She glowed and I cried happy tears, the tears reserved for just these happy mom moments.  The fit was perfect, the length just right which left us was pleasantly surprised since it has a beautiful scalloped laced hem.  Then came the veil, well she is not the long veil type so this is what she will wear, only not in bright white.  It a Fasinator worn off to one side, with a little veil, flowers, bling and feathers.  Oh, and it was fun telling her, after the selections, that her parents were buying her dress!  I won't spoil her day by posting THE DRESS.
  

Oh and you are probably thinking...that hair!  Well, having an artist daughter is always interesting and who knows what color it will be for the big day!

We went to see where she will get married...here is the back of the entrance.  Full pictures will come from the actual wedding! 

 

The hard part for me is I live so far away from my daughter during this planning time.  She is so capable, which is a blessing since we will be able to mostly just enjoy her wedding day.

The happy couple!

Julia, and the Reality of Cooking Shows

bon appétit

I happened on a 1971 Julie Child's show on the Cooking Chanel this past week. Hearing her voice caused me to kick off my garden shoes and sit down to watch as I sipped on the iced coffee I'd come inside to drink.  Julia was making pizza dough. As I started to watch she was "messing around" with getting the kneading hook attached to her stand KitchenAid mixer.  As the camera pulled away, in its black and white glory, there was Julia, dusted from chin to table top in flour with her hand towel tucked into her apron tie!  Soon flour dusted the air.   I loved it!

Viewers miss lots of cooking reality with TV shows today!  Julia's kitchen was cluttered, had a magnet covered refrigerator with a demonstration electric cook top and wall oven in a mix of surface finishes (Gasp!).  Today the designer kitchens just have gas cook tops and ovens. These shows always have "perfect pans", the cooks are always spotless (I wonder how many of the same tops are behind scenes waiting to be worn, as needed), they wear long cuffed sleeves, no aprons, perfect hair, and never say the wrong thing.  As Julia proceeded with her show she made mistakes, like saying 14 ounces instead of 14 inches, and corrected herself without someone calling for a retake!  Her pans were bent and worn from use, and yes she struggled with some elements of her show, chuckling as she went, but that is what made her so real, and so much fun to watch.

I don't know about you, but slick perfect cooking shows lack an element of truthfulness in presentation.  Anyone who cooks knows mistakes happen and pans are not always brand spank'n new.  It's not the new perfect pans which are always the right size, the spotless best appliances, or the glamorous "tablescapes" that make cooking appear challenging and fun. It is the process cooks love. What made Julia so popular was her personality, fumbles and mistakes all coupled with teaching the process which is the “art of cooking”.

 

I think there is a lesson here.

Watch a Julia's show "French Chef" here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWiue-v7Sto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF5Cl8Joh5o&feature=related

Julia's kitchen today: Enjoy the tour

http://americanhistory.si.edu/juliachild/default.asp

 

Frosted Cornflakes Encrusted Coconut French Toast

They say what happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas. Well not so! We experienced a breakfast which served, out of this world, French toast.  I came home to work on that recipe.  This is the recipe I came up with, but I took it up a few notches by adding the tropical coconut twist.

                           

Frosted Cornflakes Encrusted Coconut French Toast 

Items needed:   

Large fry pan or griddle (use medium high heat)

Spatula

Whisk
Zip lock bag

Rolling pin

Two pie pans or deep plates

Measuring cups/spoons

Baking pan or cookie sheet with parchemnt of Silpat http://silpat.com/ liner

    

Oven set to 350 degrees

 

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

2 Tablespoon granulated sugar

1/4 cup Silk Coconut Milk "original" (Shake carton well) http://www.silkpurecoconut.com/

dash salt

5-6 slices of Texas Toast

2 cups frosted corn flake crumbs.

1 Tbs of unsalted butter per 2 slices of toast to lubricate fry pan

 

Heat oven and place lined baking sheet to warm.

 

Using one pie pan, whisk together eggs, Silk Cocont Milk, sugar and a dash of salt until well blended.

Using zip lock bag and rolling pin, crush one cup at a time the frosted cornflakes to about 1/8" size crumbs.  Place in second pie plate.

Heat fry pan and lubericate with 1 T unslated butter. 

 

Dip Texas toast in egg mixture to coat both sides and soak a little.

Dredge egg covered bread into crushed cornflakes.  Cover both sides well, pressing a little into the crushed flakes for good coverage.  The sides of the bread can also be coasted with crumbs if desired.

 

Place in warmed fry pan and cook until lightly goldened, turning once.  When each slice is done place on pre warmed baking pan in the oven. Repeat as needed to use up bread slices.

                  

Bake cooked toast for 20-30 minutes @ 350.  Serve hot!

 

Topping:

Powdered sugar

Warmed syrup

Sweetened shredded coconut flakes

 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, warmed syrup topped off with coconut flakes.

 

Serving Suggestion:  Serve on the side a fruit compote of mango, bananas, pineapple topped with whipping cream.

 

 

Beginnings

 

Beginnings are very short snippets on the starting lines of life.  A gun resounds at a starting line, a red light turns green, and a door swings opens.  It is that very instant when beginning can happen.

 

My mind swirls as I face this blank page!  Starting an essay always has a beginning!  My past “beginnings” lessons invade my mind. My known histories of joy or pain, work or laziness, success or failures are all lessons learned.  I drag these lessons to this page as I embrace writing, with anticipation of more lessons to be learned.

 

To me beginnings often follow a choice to discover.  For example I find a new cooking recipe.  I review the recipe, I think about its possibilities, and then I turn the page to another option, or make the choice to try making the dish.  This opportunity to choose trying something new leads to a beginning.  This path may abruptly end with failure, it may surprise me with delight, or it might intrigue me to take a few detours with the ingredients.  But it is the choice of beginning that opens or closes windows for learning.

 

Beginnings are also time markings of one’s life.  Beginnings mark specific moments on our personal clock or calendar.  I think back to a college acceptance letter, a first date, wedding bells, holding a new life in my arms, an accident, being hired, all as beginnings marked with a precise time.  I am also reminded a determined time passing may remove an opportunity for a beginning, if not grasped at an exact time.

 

It seems beginnings always have a fear of the unknown element attached.  Some love the thrill of the unknown, some hate the insecurity of a beginning, and some tread cautiously past a beginning to see what will happen.  Most people have probably experienced all these types of beginnings, and these moments in time are markers of who and what make us each unique and how beginnings have influenced our lives.

 

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This was written to take to my first writing workshop, January 3, 2011