U-pick Farms and Canning in Little Rock, CA

I don't advise you go picking fruit in the desert during the hottest weekend of the year. BUT you might get a deep-fried Twinkie and venison jerkie out of it if you stop by Charlie Brown Farms.
http://www.charliebrownfarms.com/
Both exceeded expectations.

Admittedly, Alissa, my co-canner and wanna-be farmer for the day (also sporting a horrified look that I was actually going to eat that Twinkie!), and I did have a good time although threatened with heat stroke, overly amorous dogs and unripened fruit. We managed to get enough fruit for batches of apple and plum butter, spiced peaches with vanilla, and peach liqueur. Truly, a bumper crop. 

Plum Butter  from "Well Preserved: Small Batch Preserving for the New Cook" by Mary Anne Dragan

Makes 5 to 6 8oz jars

"Serve this mellow, richly flavored butter with roast pork or turkey, or as a spread on fruit or nut quick breads."

12 cups coarsely chopped, pitted plums (we used sugar plums)
1 cup water
4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Combine the plums and water in your preserving pot. cover and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until the plums are tender. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat. Puree in food processor.

Prepare the preserving jars.

Return the puree to the preserving pot. Stir in the sugar until iti is dissolved. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the mixture is somewhat thickened. Stir in the spices during the last 10 to 15 minutes of the cooking time. Test for doneness if desired.
Remove from heat. Spoon the butter into hot, sterilized jars, leaving a 1/4" head space. Release the air bubbles. Wipe the rims clean. Seal according to manufacturer's directions. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Boiled Peanuts

Apparently, you might be a redneck if....
-You're from Ocala, Florida which among other things has a drag-racing museum.
-The swamp was your playground as a child.
-And, you boll your own peanuts. (No, that isn't a typo, that's the way my Momma says it. It just doesn't sound right any other way.)
Or so I'm told.
I would totally disagree, because:
1. I have never stepped foot in that museum!
2. The swamp was just there. What's the difference between a very wet playground filled with gators and sidewalks with fast-moving cars and homeless folks?
3. I am only boiling my own peanuts because I can't get them out here. And since when does making something yourself make you a hick? It's not like I've got a moonshine still out back, although I totally want one!
If these things make me a redneck then I'm cool with that.

Anyway, back to the peanuts.
It takes 16 whole hours. Yep, 16. 8 happened while I was sleeping, 'cause soakin' is best done unconsciously. Other than the time, boiling peanuts ain't so bad. It does take a lot of your attention, but it ranks low on a difficulty scale. Water and salt are your only other ingredients.
I hear tell that boiled peanuts actually have some health value as boiling releases phytochemicals and maintains the presence of reservatrol (associated with the reduction of heart disease). Whew, those are some mighty fancy words, but that new internet thing says those are good things.
I had a lovely vision of myself stirring a big pot over an open flame, me in my flannel and boots, but I live in an apartment so my vivid imagination would have to do. Plus, you need friends and beer to help you wile away the time. Maybe next year.

Lee Brothers recipe for boiled peanuts.

The 100th Fan Contest

My friend, Jed Weiss, in Brooklyn, NY won the 100th Facebook Fan contest! Congrats, Jed! Isn't his little girl adorable?!
What does he win, you say? Well, now that you mention it, he wins the BEST EVER Banana Bread!! Delivered right to his door courtesy of the USPS!!!
Thanks to everyone who posted my page on their Facebook walls, ahem, my mother and my cousin-once-removed. You guys really know how to make a girl feel special!

Family & Dumplings

So you know when you're just having a hard time and home is 3,000 miles away? When the place you live will never feel like a breeze swaying the Spanish moss or sound like cicada humming their way through your day or rain cooling off your afternoon?

My family, as far away as they are, came through for me this week. Even relatives that I'm not all that close to, went out of their way to try and help me out. I think I need to call out to home more often, hearing those accents, ones tinged with country, while they make me ache, are also a comfort. Letting me know that yes, they're still there and I can 'come on home' anytime I want.

Well maybe you've never left home or maybe home became somewhere other than the place you were born, but we all have food that reminds us of home - wherever that is or however you choose to define it.
A food that reminds me of family is dumplings. My Momma makes big fat ones and my grandmother made small, noodle-like dumplings. Both were/are delicious.
I found this recipe for Chicken n' Dumplings on Smitten Kitchen a couple of years ago and it's one of my favorite dishes to cook for guests.

Chicken and Dumplings with Leeks and Tarragon
From Smitten Kitchen via Cook’s Illustrated
CI notes that you should not use low-fat or fat-free milk in this recipe, and that you should start the dumpling dough only when you’re ready to top the stew with the dumplings.

Serves 6 to 8
Stew
5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Table salt and ground black pepper
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
2 medium leeks , white and llight green parts only, cut in half lengthwise and then into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, minced
6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen green peas
3 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon leaves

Dumplings
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons reserved chicken fat (or unsalted butter)

1. For the stew: Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of the chicken and cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and remove the browned skin. Pour off the chicken fat and reserve. Return the pot to medium-high heat and repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining chicken. Pour off and reserve any chicken fat.
2. Add the butter to the Dutch oven and melt over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the sherry, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the broth, milk, thyme, and bay leaves. Nestle the chicken, with any accumulated juices, into the pot. Cover and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and tender, about 1 hour.
3. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Discard the bay leaves. Allow the sauce to settle for a few minutes, then skim the fat from the surface using a wide spoon. Shred the chicken, discarding the bones, then return it to the stew.
4. For the dumplings: Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Microwave the milk and fat in a microwave-safe bowl on high until just warm (do not over-heat), about 1 minute. Stir the warmed milk mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until incorporated and smooth.
5. Return the stew to a simmer, stir in the peas and tarragon, and season with salt and pepper. Following the steps below, drop golf-ball-sized dumplings over the top of the stew, about 1/4 inch apart (you should have about 18 dumplings). Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the dumplings have doubled in size, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve.

To make the dumplings: Gather a golf-ball-sized portion of the dumpling batter onto a soup spoon, then push the dumpling onto the stew using a second spoon. Cover the stew with the dumplings, leaving about 1/4 inch between each. When fully cooked, the dumplings will have doubled in size.

It's "Chocolate Mint Insanity!"

Have you ever had a Mystic Mint cookie? I'm really sorry if you haven't. Nabisco used to make them and for some reason, at our Publix, they were always on the top shelf. At first, they always had them, then they became seasonal, and now they're flat out discontinued. Oh they were so good! My father and I especially loved them frozen.
For whatever reason, as I was filling an order for homemade "oreos", I felt compelled to tweak the recipe and make them "Mystic Mint"-style.

I added a little peppermint extract to the cream. I then made a chocolate glaze which I also added peppermint to. It's just one of those things you
have no idea will work or not, but you just have to do it. I popped those bad boys into the freezer for full effect.

Luckily for me, and Mystic Mint fans everywhere, they did work out. Deliciously.
I offered one to Julie my neighbor for taste-testing and she recommended the name, "Chocolate Mint Insanity", which I kinda like. I wish my Dad was there to try them out, too. He's got final say.

It All Began with a Bake Sale...

I've moved my old blog (KitchenLab) over to Buffington Road so that everything ties in nicely.
Let me know what you think! If you could 'follow' my blog, I would be most obliged!

Southern Appalachian Blackberry Dumplings

I heard about this book, "Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking" and immediately checked it out at the library. My mother's family hails from Southern Appalachia (Appalachia with an 'a' like 'cat'), specifically Western North Carolina, so of course my interest was peaked.

I quickly whipped up a batch of "Bryson City Cathead Biscuits" because I'm a part of the Bryson clan. I also made the "Sylva-Style Potatoes" the same day as I made these utterly delicious blackberry dumplings. My friend, Talia, was joining me for a spur of the moment home-cooked meal, so what better way to treat her than with some Appalachian specialties? She brought her healthy and tasty Veggie (sort of) Chili to round out the feast.

After we finished our chili and potatoes, I got to work on the dumplings. The blackberries I had procured from the luscious Wednesday Santa Monica Farmer's Market amidst chef chatter and the unmistakable voice of Laura Avery. This market is so good for the soul!

This was probably one of the easiest desserts I've ever made. If you like cobbler, you'll love these dumplings as it's basically cobbler made on the stove top rather than in the oven.

Bessie’s Blackberry Dumplings from the Smithsonian Folklife Cook Book via  “Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking” by Joseph E. Dabney

1 quart blackberries

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 cups water

Dough:

3 to 4 cups self-rising flour

½ cup buttermilk

1 cup shortening

½ cup milk

To make dumplings, fill a large mixing bowl almost full with sifted flour and make a hole in the middle. Mix in buttermilk, milk and shortening. Knead dough, then tear off pieces. Bring blackberries, sugar and water to a boil. Drop in dumpling dough. Cover and simmer until dough is done.

*I cut this recipe in half because a quart of blackberries was too expensive.

I used one small tray of blackberries, 2/3 cup sugar, ½ cup shortening, ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup buttermilk, and 2 cups White Lily Self-Rising flour. I would venture to say that butter would be a delicious substitute for shortening if you don't have trans-fat free version handy.