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< Back Switchel (Haymaker’s Drink) Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: Serves: 6 Level: Beginner About the Recipe Ingredients 1 gallon water 1 cup molasses 1 ¼ cup vinegar (white or apple cider – you choose) 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon ginger Preparation Mix and serve, preferably cold. Previous Next

< Back Caramel Corn The melt in your mouth part of Homemade Caramel Corn is really true, you know. It’s hard to get the perfect taste to caramel corn because all people like it different ways. But for our family? We’ve found it. This recipe is perfect for us, with sweet caramel and just a hint of saltiness Previous Next

< Back Homemade Maple Syrup Prep Time: 1 min Cook Time: 5 min Serves: Level: Beginner About the Recipe Ingredients 2 cups sugar (2 cups white OR 1 cup white, 1 cup brown OR 2 cups brown) 1 cup water about a ½-1 teaspoon of maple flavoring – or more or less to taste (I don’t measure) a glop of corn syrup Preparation Add all ingredients and stir periodically until it comes to a full boil. Serve on French toast, waffles, pancakes, or anything else that requires syrup. My favorite combination is 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown. The brown sugar just makes it have a little richer flavor. The real reason that I like that combination is so that I don’t forget the recipe; I just have to remember 1:1:1 (white, brown, water), flavoring and a glop – very simple. The corn syrup trick works with anything that can go sugary.

< Back Boiling Turkey Bones Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 12 to 24 hours Serves: Level: Beginner About the Recipe Ingredients For the Broth… – 2 lbs carcasses and mixed bones (your left over Holiday turkey) – 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar – 2 & 1/2 quarts cold water Optional Veggies… – 1 medium onion (with skin, chopped in half) (optional) – 1 bulb garlic (with peel, cut in half) (optional) – 2 stalks celery (with leaves, roughly chopped) (optional) – 1 carrot (with ends, unpeeled, roughly chopped) (optional) Optional Herbs… – 1 bay leaf (optional) – 1/2 bunch fresh parsley (optional) – 1 or 2 sprigs fresh thyme (optional) – 3 or 4 leaves fresh sage (optional) Preparation 1. Place the bones in a large crockpot along with the vinegar and water. Add the veggies and herbs, and let sit for 30 minutes so the vinegar can begin pulling the goodness from the bones. (This is not a huge deal; if you start your stock at night before you go to bed and donít want to wait, just omit this step.) 2. Set the cooker on low and cook for 12 to 24 hours. 3. The next day, strain the stock in a colander. Put the stock in the refrigerator to allow the fat to rise and solidify on the top (see Recipe Notes below). Skim the fat (save it in zippered bags in the fridge or freezer for gravies and for flavoring S meals). Separate the stock into cup-size portions and freeze in zip-lock bags for future use.

< Back 2-Ingredient Fermented Oranges Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 5 Minutes Serves: 1 Quart Level: Beginner About the Recipe Preserve oranges when they're in season using the lacto-fermentation method. You'll be happy to have the bright flavor of citrus in a ready to use form for cooking! Ingredients 5-6 medium-sized oranges 3 tablespoons salt (sea salt or kosher) Preparation Cut the fruit Make four equally spaced, vertical cuts almost to the center of the fruit. You want the core to hold the fruit together, but the deep cuts allow salt to enter the fruit. Alternatively, cut each orange into eighths. For traditionally cut fruit Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt on the bottom of the jar. Put a teaspoon of salt in the center of each fruit. Add fruit to the jar, pressing down to release the juices and pack tightly. When the jar is full, press to make sure the solids are covered with liquid. If necessary, top off with filtered water. Place a weight on the fruit to hold it under the liquid and screw a lid on loosely. Ferment at room temperature for 2-3 weeks. For fruit pieces Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt on the bottom of the jar. Place eight pieces (one entire orange) into the jar and sprinkle on one teaspoon of salt. Continue layering in this manner, pressing the fruit to release juices. When jar is full, press to make sure the solids are covered with liquid. If necessary, top off with filtered water. Place a weight on the fruit to hold it under the liquid and screw a lid on loosely. Ferment at room temperature for 2-3 weeks. Notes You don’t need any sort of starter culture for this recipe, but if you have liquid left over from another fermenting project, you can add a tablespoon or two to help kickstart the fermentation process. If you’re inspired to get creative, you can feel free to add a variety of dried spices. Black peppercorns, bay leaves, cloves, and cardamom are all possibilities. This recipe can be made in upcycled jars. Theres no need to use a mason jar (though you can). I do NOT recommend using a pretty wire bail jar, as the salt in the brine will cause the wire to rust. If you reuse a jar with a metal lid, place a piece of waxed paper between the lid and the jar . You can use this recipe to ferment a variety of citrus: lemons, tangerines, grapefruit are all game. Previous Next

< Back Pie Crust Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 25 Minutes Serves: 10 Level: Beginner Ingredients Pie Crust 1 stick unsalted butter frozen, grated on the large side 1½ cup all purpose flour 1 tsp salt ¼ cup sugar ½ cup ice water Hand Pies 1 1/4 cup pie filling of choice 2 Tbsp egg whites 2 Tbsp turbinado sugar Preparation A Great Pie Crust is Key I use an all-butter crust recipe because I prefer using simple ingredients, and I get a pretty good result without shortening. Here are some of my favorite crust making tips. Freeze and Grate Your Butter My trick for getting the butter to produce a flaky crust is keeping it ice cold. I freeze the stick completely, and use the larger side of a box grater to shred my frozen butter. Simply tossing the butter in the dry ingredients produces the “pea-sized” texture that you look for when cutting-in. With less time to warm up, the butter retains its frosty temperature. Water Works Best, but Bourbon is Good, Too Then, I used water for this recipe. In the past, I have used ice cold bourbon, vodka, vinegar, and water. Vodka and vinegar didn’t do anything for me. Bourbon is AMAZING. It helps with the flakiness and it adds a fun extra flavor. But for our hand pies, we want something basic that will fit any filling. So, this time, we’ll use water. Do Not Over Mix Your Pie Crust Dough The last thing that ensures you’ll get a great crust is how you mix it. You want to drizzle in the water a little at a time, using your fork to distribute moisture. Once you start to see the dough forming, dump it onto the counter. It will likely still look very dry. Keep the ice water nearby. Working with a bench scraper you’ll dig under the dough and fold it. Turn the mass 90-degrees, and fold it again. You’ll continue doing this until your dough smooths out and you can tell layers are forming. Usually, this is because you’ll fold, and the side will crack, exposing flaky layers. At this point, you should still have a cold dough that is fully incorporated and kind of smooth looking. Wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge to rest for 1 hour. Why Do You Rest Pie Dough in the Fridge? The reason you need to rest the pie dough in the fridge is two-fold. First, you want to make sure your dough is super cold before it goes into the oven. Cold pie dough makes for flaky pie crust. The second reason is that your dry ingredients are not fully hydrated just after mixing. They need a little time to get to know your water and butter. Once they soak up some liquid, they’ll form a better gluten layer. This makes the pastry layers between the butter layers more structured. Structure sounds odd, but within the layers, it keeps your dough from being soggy and hard. More Reasons to Love Hand Pies Now, let’s be honest: just because it’s homemade, that doesn’t make it healthy. But it does mean I have more control over the sugar, and I know it’s not filled with artificial colors or other weird things that aren’t real fruit. The other great thing is that you can do whatever flavor you want! Now, honestly, cherry, peach, and apple pies are our favorites, we could totally do this with any flavor imaginable. How Do You Pick a Flavor? The original version of that post involved turning that pie filling into hand pies, a cheesecake, and a really good ice cream sundae. At the time, it seemed like too much fun for one post. But you know what? It created an opportunity to branch out. And if you don’t feel like making your own pie filling, you can pick up a can from the store. It will work just fine! You could even use fruit preserves. Do You Need to Do Anything Special to the Pie Filling? With the Amaretto-Cherry Pie Filling, or with canned filling or jarred preserves, you can use them right out of the can/jar. With a homemade pie filling that usually cooks down in the oven, you need to do a tiny bit more work. With apples and peaches, in particular, you need to cut your fruit into much smaller pieces. Think about the size diced peaches are in fruit cups. The second thing you need to do is cook down the liquid with a bit of thickener. For my Southern Peach Pie filling, I made up my filling in a sauce pan and brought it to a simmer to reduce the liquid by half. Then, I collected about 2 Tbsp of liquid and stirred in 1 tsp cornstarch. I mixed that slurry back into the filling. Once the filling was very thick, I poured it into a Pyrex bowl with a lid and refrigerated it until it was cold. Remember, you want your pie dough to stay cold, so you also want to keep your filling cold, too. This way, your crust maintains its integrity. Are There Any Cool Tools to Use for Hand Pies? You’ll notice that on my cherry pies, they’re a little more rustic. I simply crimp the edges with a fork. This method is easy and accessible. On my peach pies, though, I used an old Pampered Chef ravioli press that my mother-in-law gave us. I looked for a good alternative, and the next best thing is this 3-inch ravioli stamp. You may still want to use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to get your pie crust cut out. Then, you’ll place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center of the bottom crust, brush the edges with egg, and lay the top crust on top. Line up your ravioli stamp and press down for a pretty crimped edge! I’ve already mentioned that a good bench scraper is super important and I definitely recommend that you use one in your crust making to avoid heating up the dough with your hands. This is the one I like best . How Do You Serve Hand Pies? There’s one last very important question to answer. How do you serve these happy, little hand pies up? Well, I recommend letting them cool first. This is just to avoid burning the roof of your mouth on the molten filling. But, they are wonderfully warm! Scoop up a bit of vanilla ice cream, too, and enjoy! I also like them at room temperature with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. The best thing about hand pies is that you don’t need a plate or a fork. So, you can enjoy them snuggled up on the couch during a good movie. or huddled under your mom’s desk because there’s thunder. So, whether you’re making these for a picnic or a rainy night in, you can enjoy your hand pies however you want. INSTRUCTIONS Pie Crust Whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar with a fork. Shred in the frozen butter and lightly toss in your dry mix to coat. Add in the water (not the ice) starting with 1/4 cup. Still using your fork, stir to distribute moisture. Once you can convince a somewhat dry clump to stick together, dump the bowl out onto the counter. Using a bench scraper, fold the crumbly mixture over onto itself until it is smooth and hydrated. Work quickly so it stays ice cold. If your dough gets warm, put it in the fridge for 10 minutes before continuing to fold it to shape. Once you've achieved a mostly smooth surface (but the sides where you've folded may have cracked and show flaky layers), wrap in plastic wrap or beeswax food cloth. Rest in the fridge for 1 hour. Hand Pies Preheat the oven to 375°F. Roll out the pie dough to ⅛ inch thick. Use a 4-biscuit cutter to cut out 20 circles. You may need to collect the scraps and reroll them. To do this, stack the scrapes and roll. Do NOT squish them like PlayDoh or you'll lose the layers. Place the circles on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Spoon 1½ Tbsp of the pie filling into the center of 10 of your circles. Brush the edges with egg whites, and then cover with the other 10 circles of pie crust. Use your fingers to press the top crust down onto the bottom crust. Crimp the edges with the fork. Brush more egg white all over the tops of the pies. Sprinkle on turbinado sugar. Use a paring knife to poke a small vent hole in the top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before serving. Previous Next

< Back Conker Soap One of the abundances of the autumn or fall season is horse chestnuts – the non-edible chestnut relative. If it’s not edible, what use can it possibly have, right? Well, horse chestnuts have an amazing superpower – they are incredibly rich in saponins, which makes them a fantastic soap. How does it work? Horse chestnut leaves and seeds – the conkers – are rich in saponins. Saponins are a group of naturally occurring plant glycosides (phytochemicals) that are present in foods such as soybeans, peas, chickpeas, mung beans, peanuts, kidney beans, and lentils and are said to have cancer-fighting properties. This isn’t relevant to horse chestnuts though, since they aren’t edible. What saponins also do have, however, is detergent qualities that foam when mixed with water. Method one – soaking Thinking that the soap might need some time, we put leaves and seeds into two different containers and left them to soak for two days. Interestingly, the colour of the water came up completely differently in the two. It also has a ‘thick’, smooth feeling, to touch, a little like glycerin. When it came to testing it out with the kids, we poured the contents of both tubs into a bucket of warm water and swirled it around to make a brilliantly foamy concoction. The truly fascinating thing about this particular session was how the younger children dipped conkers on strings in and out of the bucket for almost a full two-hour session, watching as the agitation of the water made it soapier. Method two – smashing We realized with further sessions that there may not always be the time to soak leaves and seeds for days, but if you crush the conkers, either through playing conkers – a game that actually originated here on the Isle of Wight – or bashing them with a stone or hammer, it achieves the same effect – drop them into hot or cold water and agitate, and away you go! So much fun for little ones! That’s great… but so what? You can actually use conker soap in washing your laundry. This is really significant when you think about soap nuts and how they are touted as being environmentally better , yet are shipped in from places like India – and the impact that must have on local supply too. Why, when we have something perfectly usable right here! To make soap nuts into a laundry soap: Collect as many conkers as you need (40g should see you through about 3l or six washes, so work out how much you might need) seeds without their shells, and crush them with a hammer or stone. Place them in a dehydrator or oven on low heat. They must be completely dry or they will go moldy. Once they are totally dry you can keep them in a sealed tub for as long as you need. To make the laundry soap, place 40g of the conkers into 500ml boiling water and leave to soak for about half an hour. Pour the liquid through a sieve and you can reuse the conkers two or three times. The liquid will become weaker with each soaking, so use the first soak for dirtier laundry and the second and third for less soiled goods. Used up conkers will be white as their yellow color is leached out. Keep the liquid in the fridge for up to a week, using about 250ml in each wash – and you can add a drop of your favorite essential oil if you miss a fragranced washing liquid. One note of warning – this will potentially make your whites whiter, but it may also dull your darker colors with prolonged use. Previous Next

< Back Oyster Stew Prep Time: 2 min Cook Time: 5 minutes Serves: 1 Level: Beginner About the Recipe Ingredients 2 tablespoons butter 1-2 tablespoons flour (optional) 2 cups whole milk, half and half, or cream (depending on how decadent you feel) 1 - 8 oz. can Pacific Pearl whole cove oysters with juice Garlic to taste Salt and pepper to taste Preparation Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour to butter and make a light roux if you want the soup thicker, or skip this step if you want it more of a soup. Add the two cups of milk, the can of oysters with the juice. Add garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with toast or crackers. Previous Next

< Back Creamy Lemon Pasta Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Serves: 4 Level: Beginner About the Recipe Simple and delicious creamy lemon pasta ready in just 15 minutes! Also known as Pasta Al Limone, the beauty of pasta is how simple but flavorful the pasta sauce is. Perfectly cooked pasta tossed in a zesty and lemony cream sauce with a touch of salty parmesan cheese. Perfect to be served with roasted vegetables, fish, meat, or chicken. Ingredients 8 oz (225g) angel hair pasta (Capellini) 2 tablespoons butter 2 cloves garlic minced ½ lemon juice and zest ¼ cup heavy cream (double cream in the UK) 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ½ cup grated parmesan ¼ cup parsley chopped Preparation If you know how to make a few good pasta sauces from scratch, you will never run out of dinner ideas! I’m a carb-loving person and eat A LOT of pasta. It’s so comforting and delicious, I mean, who doesn’t love pasta especially when it’s generously covered with an amazing sauce? Lemon Pasta Sauce Ingredients To make this simple lemon pasta sauce, here’s what you’ll need: Pasta – I like to use angel hair pasta, but any type of pasta works here. Lemon – use fresh unwaxed lemons. Parmesan – the best that you can get your hands on! Butter and heavy cream – the cream can be substituted with half and half. Garlic, salt, and pepper. How To Make Lemon Pasta In a medium-sized saucepot, boil water and add salt after it starts boiling. Add your pasta, and cook according to the package instructions to al dente. When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. In a skillet , melt butter on medium heat and saute the sliced/minced garlic and lemon zest very lightly without allowing the garlic to brown. Add the heavy cream, lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute. Add the hot pasta along with a part of the pasta water, and toss it using kitchen tongs until the sauce is emulsified and coats the pasta. Keep on tossing and add more pasta water if needed until you reach the desired consistency. Remove from heat, and add freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley leaves. Toss and season with salt if needed. Serve warm with extra grated parmesan cheese and a little bit of lemon zest if desired. Top Tips For Pasta With Lemon A key step in this recipe is to cook the pasta until just al dente . The pasta will continue to cook as it’s tossed with the lemon sauce, so if you cook it all the way through in boiled water, it will end up overcooked. It’s important to reserve some pasta cooking liquid as you cook the pasta. It’s full of starch and used to loosen up the lemon cream sauce. I use angel hair pasta because I like the thin noodles with the cream sauce, but you can go for linguine or bucatini if you like. Storage And Reheating Instructions Fridge : Store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Reheat : Reheat the pasta in a skillet over low-medium heat, and add a splash of water to thin out the sauce. Do the same if using the microwave. Freezer : I don’t recommend freezing this lemon pasta, as I found that it breaks when frozen and reheated. Instructions In a medium-sized saucepan, boil water and add salt after it starts boiling. Add your pasta, and cook according to the package instructions to al dente. When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. In a skillet, melt butter on medium heat and saute garlic and lemon zest very lightly without allowing the garlic to brown. About 30 seconds. Add the heavy cream, lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute. Add the hot pasta along with a part of the pasta water, and toss it using kitchen tongs until the sauce is emulsified and coats the pasta. Keep on tossing and add more pasta water if needed until you reach the desired consistency. Remove from heat, and add freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley leaves. Toss and season with salt if needed. Serve warm with extra grated parmesan cheese and a little bit of lemon zest if desired. Notes: Salt the water to cook the pasta just like seawater. You might not need to use all of the reserved pasta water, see how much you need to make the sauce as you make it. You can substitute the heavy cream with half and half or light cream, but the sauce will be a bit thinner. Use freshly grated parmesan cheese as store-bought grated parmesan does not melt smoothly. Storing Tips Fridge : Store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Reheat : Reheat the pasta in a skillet over low-medium heat, and add a splash of water to thin out the sauce. Do the same if using the microwave. Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing this pasta, as I found that it breaks when frozen and reheated. Previous Next

< Back Little Caesars Crazy Bread Prep Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Serves: 6 Level: Beginner About the Recipe Go crazy at home when you make your own crazy breadsticks like the ones at Little Caesars. Ingredients 1/2 cup warm water ~100° to 110°F 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast 1 package 1 1/4 cups water 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 cups (22 ounces) bread flour plus more for working the dough 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons butter melted 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Preparation Place 1/2 cup of warm water and yeast in a medium bowl and whisk together briefly. Allow the yeast enough time to bubble up and become active. This should take a few minutes. If the yeast is inactive, you may need to replace the yeast and try again. Add room temperature water and oil to the yeast mixture, and stir to combine. Place the flour and salt in a food processor, and pulse to combine. Add the yeast mixture through the tube of the food processor and process. The dough will form into a ball. Process until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, up to 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Gently pat out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangular shape. Cut the dough into two equal portions down the middle. Then make about 8 cuts horizontally across the dough. Roll each portion of dough into a breadstick. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and place the dough strips onto the baking sheet. Bake for about 18 minutes or until the breadsticks become golden. Mix the melted butter and the garlic salt. Brush the garlic sauce over the breadsticks and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Previous Next

< Back Everyday Waffles Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Serves: Level: Beginner About the Recipe Ingredients 1 ¾ cups flour 3 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt 2 beaten egg yolks 1 ¾ cups milk ½ cup oil 2 stiffly beaten egg whites Preparation Combine yolks, milk, and oil; stir in dry ingredients just until moist. Gently fold in medium stiff whites, leaving a few fluffs. Cook on a hot waffle iron and serve hot. Double or triple this recipe – trust me you will use it.

< Back No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Tarts/Pie Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: N/A Serves: 12 tarts/8 pie Level: Beginner Ingredients 1 can 14 ounce Borden Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk 8 ounces cream cheese 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional, but really good) 1/3 cup lemon juice ½ teaspoon vanilla 1 can/bottle of favorite pie topping or syrup (i.e., cherry, strawberry, blueberry, caramel, chocolate, etc.) Preparation Soften cream cheese and beat in a mixer to remove lumps. Add sweetened condensed milk, beating on high until mixture thickens. Add lemon juice and vanilla, and continue beating on high until mixture is quite thick and slightly fluffy. Stir in lemon zest. After placing it in a serving container, refrigerate for about an hour. Just before serving, top with your favorite topping and enjoy. For tarts : place muffin paper cups in a muffin tin and put a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cup. Pour mixture to about ¾ full in each cup. For pie : pour into pre-cooked 8 or 9-inch graham cracker crust and refrigerate for about an hour Previous Next