Bits & Pieces

This week rolled around quickly.  It’s not that I haven’t cooked or even had a plan for a post, but preparations for our upcoming Vacation Bible School at Parker Ford Church have been a little consuming.  Our theme this year is “Hometown Nazareth, Where Jesus Was a Kid.”  The week will focus on providing the kids with experiences from Bible times that will help them identify with Jesus as an actual kid.  One of those experiences will be…you guessed it:  food!  The children who attend will experience some of the same foods that Jesus ate…not 2,000 years old, of course.  I think that the only food that Jesus actually ate that would still be edible is honey.  It’s true.  Honey has no expiration date.  It’s an incredible food, and deserving of its very own post…but not this week.

Today I’m going to throw together a bumper crop of bits and pieces.  For those of you who have a touch of ADD, this will not be a problem.  For the rest of you, hang on.

STRAWBERRY PIE UPDATE
(click on any picture in blog to enlarge)

Third time’s a charm, right?  That’s how many times it took me to get it right.  I’m now convinced that when I doubled Grammy Renninger’s recipe, I did not double the cornstarch.  The result was a landslide…literally…of strawberries cascading from any semblance of slice-shaped piece of pie.

Attempt #2, (in addition to the correct amount of cornstarch), also included my first attempt ever at piecrust.

Not too shabby, but there is room for improvement.  It wasn’t quite moist enough necessitating several “crust repairs.”

The finished pie was much improved, but still a little “loose.”

Time was of the essence for try #3, so I reverted to a store-bought crust.  I increased the amount of cornstarch in the original recipe (3 Tablespoons), by adding an additional teaspoon.  That seemed to do the trick.  However, when filling the baked crust, I misjudged the amount of berries and the pie filling began to run over the sides.  I did what any pastry chef would have done.  I started to eat strawberries!

The pie was saved and the result was just right.

PATRIOTIC PARFAITS

I had this dessert all ready to go as a July 4^th post, but miscalculated by one week, so here it is.  (It seemed convoluted to save it for Labor Day.)  It’s incredibly simple and a perfect summertime dessert; not too heavy and filled with in-season fruit.

Mix 2 parts Cool Whip to one part unflavored or vanilla yogurt.  Whip until well-blended.  Layer fruit and mixture, topping with fresh fruit.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

KEEPING PICNIC FOOD COOL IN THE SUMMER

In a previous post, I told you about my friend, Don Trauger, who has a unique way to keep cold any picnic food that requires refrigeration.  Don invited his Sunday School class to his house for a picnic several weeks ago, and Don and his wife, Sandy provided an amazing spread.  

Check out the picture of Don and his application of two old sand or water tables from a pre-school.  They are lined with plastic and filled with ice.  Perfect!  And what a great idea!

PICKLED RED BEETS

Red beets are available now and will continue to be fresh through early winter.  Simply cooking the beets and serving them with a little butter and salt is a great way to enjoy them.  My mother has a great recipe for Harvard Beets, but that is more of a fall or winter dish.  Pickling them is incredibly easy, and if you throw in a few hardboiled eggs to pickle along with the beets, you’ll make friends.  I try to usually have pickled beets and eggs available for Thanksgiving as well as Christmas.  The beets above look huge, but are only slightly larger than ping pong balls.  They came from Renninger's Farm and were delicious.

Ingredients:

Equal parts of water, white vinegar, and sugar (start with 1 cup of each)

2 small bunches of fresh red beets (approx. 6-8 beets)

whole cloves

hardboiled eggs (optional)

Start by cutting off the tops of the beets.  Some people like to cook and serve beet greens, but I’ve never tried it.  Cut the leaves off just above the top of the red beet.  Put the beets in a saucepan and cover them with cold water.  The tops of the beets should be covered by about an inch of water.  Heat the beets to boiling, then reduce the heat, allowing a gentle boil.

While the beets are cooking, prepare the pickling solution.  A good starting point is one cup each of water, white vinegar, and white sugar.  Bring this to a boil, stirring occasionally to make certain the sugar is dissolving.  When the liquid is clear, turn off the burner and allow the liquid to sit.

 Occasionally test the beets with a cake tester.  When the tester pierces them without resistance, drain the beets and allow them to sit and cool.  After red beets have been cooked and allowed to cool, they can be peeled easily.  

Never use a vegetable peeler or knife to peel red beets.  Simply squeeze and rub the beet in your hands.  The outer skin will just come off, and the beet top will detach cleanly and effortlessly.  Cut the fibrous top off of the beets as well as the root tip if still attached.  You can pickle them whole, halve them, or slice the beets, depending on their size.  Place the beets in the container you’ll be using for pickling.  (Remember to allow sufficient space for hardboiled eggs if you desire.)  Pour the pickling solution over the beets and add 6-8 whole cloves.  If the liquid is still hot, that’s fine.  Refrigerate and wait at least 3-4 hours before serving.

Hard boiling eggs is one of those inexact sciences…at least to me.  Many people have given me insights, tips, and tricks, but I haven’t found one method that works all the time.  This is the best I have.   Give it a try if you’d like to include pickled eggs with your beets.

HARDBOILING EGGS

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover them with at least one inch of cold water.  Bring the water to a boil and almost immediately, reduce the heat to “low.”  Allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for an additional ten minutes.  During this time, prepare an ice water bath.  Use a slotted spoon to place the eggs in the ice water for one minute.  Remove the eggs and begin cracking them all sides by gently striking them on a cutting board or paper towel on your counter top.  Return the eggs to the water bath for an additional five minutes.  Pour off the ice water.  The eggs should peel without difficulty, and the yolks will be bright yellow and not discolored.

It seems as though whenever I attempt to use eggs from our chickens I have difficulty.  The shells just don’t want to come off.  However, if I use store-bought eggs, they generally hard-boil well.  Someone told me that this is because eggs in the grocery store have “been around” for a week or two.  In essence, the permeable membrane that an eggshell is, allows some moisture to escape and the eggs actually begins to slightly dry out.  If you’ve ever placed raw eggs in water and noticed that they stand on end, it’s because the air space has positioned itself at the top of the egg and is somewhat “locked” in place.  Check it out!