French Onion Soup – Cold Cellar Cooking
French Onion Soup Use an eight quart pan. I like an enameled Dutch oven.
Cranberry Nut Bread Recipe – On The Fire
Cranberry Nut Bread When I walked into the grocery store and saw big, beautiful fresh oranges on display my first thought was “Time to get out my favorite cranberry nut bread recipe.” That’s what everyone thinks of when they see oranges, right? Cranberry nut bread without orange zest and juice lacks flavor. Fresh squeezed orange juice and zest make all the difference. I double this recipe so I can share a loaf or keep one in the freezer for later….
Dutch Apple Pie – Streusel Topping
Dutch Apple Pie Dutch Apple Pie was known as Sour Cream Apple Pie in my house when I was growing up. It was a once-a-year treat, always at Thanksgiving. Pies in general, unless it was pumpkin pie, were a holiday treat. This might have made Dutch Apple Pie special in one way but the decadent, somewhat old fashioned, filling, deliciousness of this pie would have kept it special if we’d had it every week. It’s hearty, not overly sweet (cut…
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies – Autumn’s Favorite Cookie
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies I think Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies are a tad bit fussy at the baking stage but they are worth it! Preheat your oven to 325°, lower than usual for cookies. And, lay a sheet of parchment paper on your cookie sheet. That’s it, the fussy part. The rest is “normal.” Pumpkin Snickerdoodles are an awesome autumn treat with a cup of hot tea, coffee or chocolate! They pack up well to take on the road because they’re soft…
Creamy Tomato Soup Recipe – On The Fire
Creamy Tomato Soup Recipe After a long day of housework, bakery work, gardening and hunting, one of my favorite things to eat is a mug of Creamy Tomato Soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. This time of year there are ripe tomatoes to use up – they need to be eaten fresh, cooked into a recipe, canned or frozen. This soup recipe is simple and doesn’t require a lot of attention. You man use fresh or canned paste tomatoes (or…
Blueberry Muffins Recipe – Sweet Crunchy Tops
Blueberry Muffins Recipe Faaaaavorite blueberry muffins recipe! I made a batch before going to our camp for a few days this week. I went out to the dock to watch the sunrise at 4:25 am with a cup of steaming coffee (it was 45°!) and a gigantic blueberry muffin. Washington County, Maine produces something like 95% of the world’s wild blueberries, though these days they’re a highly cultivated but still wild in nature plant. The plants are low bush, growing…
Coleslaw Recipe – How to Change Up the Basic Recipe
Coleslaw Recipe What’s a picnic without coleslaw! I think of this coleslaw recipe in the spring and summer, and then again in the fall and winter. This really is an all-season side dish that suits a lot of meals. This spring we’re packing this in the cooler to take with us when we’re picnicking on the bank of a stream we’ve been fly fishing, and while we’re scouting for turkeys as the season is about to open. It’s always a…
Maple Walnut Pound Cake
Maple Walnut Pound Cake It’s maple season again. Our friends at Chandler’s Sugar Shack in Kossuth are tapping 4,000+ trees this year. It wasn’t that long ago that they started out with less than 200 and now here they are with a sugar “shack” the square footage (or more) of our house and thousands of thousands…and thousands of taps. I decided to use some of our syrup to make Maple Walnut Pound Cake. Oh my gosh. It’s just enough maple…
Eggnog Cookies with Creamy Frosting
Eggnog Cookies with Creamy Eggnog Frosting Growing up, Christmas was about food, visiting family, food, presents, food, and food. Mum spent days baking and making candy. The dining room table, so big it seated eight easily and ten if we squeezed together, was covered with sugary treats. I carried that tradition on for decades. Now, with a waistline I have to keep a very close eye on and only two of us in the house, I seldom bake sweets. Or…I…
Hot Pepper Wine Jelly – Appetizers
Hot Pepper Wine Jelly Hot Pepper Wine Jelly, also know as Christmas Jelly because of it’s beautiful red and green peppers, is my favorite holiday party appetizer. It’s also my favorite Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day and curled up on the couch watching a movie during a nor’easter appetizer. The zing from the peppers combined with the sweet sugar and the richness of sour cream is awesome. How Hot? You can adjust the heat level with your choice…