I love October's

Virginia 2009

Hi friends! I am getting into the fall mood, how about you? This October, I'm so excited to share some fun projects I've been working on with you. In the next two weeks I'll be posting an upholstered chair I just finished plus a fun little giveaway, some whole wheat thick oatmeal cookies loaded with all sorts of goodies, and italian wedding soup with no-knead crusty bread. I love October! Also because this happens in October, https://lds.org/general-conference/about-general-conference?lang=eng , which inspires me/gives me peace for the rest of the year. I'll be watching with some family this weekend!

A fall arrangement for a church conference last year (I loved it without the sunflowers, but I had to use them)

Thanks so much for following along and for the support and comments!

Sunday Buttermilk Cornbread Waffles

My goal is not to solely have recipes on this blog, but I just have so many recipes we enjoy that I'd love to share with you. And after all, who doesn't like thick waffles on a Sunday morning? On a side note, I'm working on some craft/furniture projects I hope to post next week!

Have any buttermilk left from last post's fresh buttermilk cheese recipe? Why not make these delicious buttermilk cornbread waffles. If you ask my husband, Grant, I'm on a cornbread and buttermilk kick recently. I love the old fashioned warmth, taste, and texture it adds to everything. I even like the sound of the word buttermilk. Up until this recipe I hated making waffles- sad but true. No matter how much I oiled the waffle maker, the batter would stick! This recipe changed it all.

Cornbread Waffles (from Soul Daddy restaurant in L.A. NY and Minneapolis)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. sugar

2 1/2 cups buttermilk (I used low fat)

1/4 cup soybean or vegetable oil (I use the latter)

Directions:

1. Preheat waffle iron

2. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl

3. Add buttermilk and oil and whisk until smooth

4. Spray a heated waffle iron with cooking spray (or grease with small amount of veggie oil)

Add 2/3 cup batter and cook until crisp and lightly browned (We like them golden brown), 5-6 minutes.

5. Serve warm with maple syrup, buttermilk syrup (recipe below) or boysenberry syrup (a favorite of ours), or whatever you like! Or freeze for later!

I double the recipe, saran wrap these babies individually with a pat of butter on top, and stack them in a Ziploc in the freezer. Grant can pop them out in the morning before work and reheat them for a minute or so in the microwave and put some syrup on top. They freeze and reheat beautifully!

While we're talking about buttermilk, how about some fresh buttermilk syrup to go on top? I always hesitated to make this because every version I saw was loaded with sugar and tons of corn syrup, but some friends enlightened me to a recipe with less corn syrup that's a tadddd bit better... I guess it is supposed to be a treat after all ;)

Magleby's Restaurant Style Buttermilk Syrup

Ingredients:

1 cube butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 Tbsp. corn syrup

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Directions: Bring first five ingredients to a boil. Add baking soda. Boil 10 seconds and remove from heat immediately to avoid boil over.

Do you have any favorite syrup recipes? I'd love to hear! Enjoy and have a beautiful Sunday with you and your's! We'll be going to church, then just relaxing and having some Italian meatball soup (a husband favorite) with fresh crusty bread if all goes according to plan. Recipes to come!

Fresh buttermilk and ricotta cheese

Have you ever made fresh cheese? Not only is the taste and texture of fresh cheese just what you'd hope it would be, but as a bonus it's often less expensive than store bought.

Whether making buttermilk cheese or ricotta, the process is about the same and almost foolproof as long as you let the mixture get to the right temperature. You will need a thermometer and cheesecloth (found at Joann's or Michael's by the bunch as well as select grocery stores).

I love using fresh ricotta in ravioli or lasagna dishes (like the Pioneer Woman's lasagna or vegetable lasagna) and the buttermilk cheese with honey and crackers or fruit. The buttermilk cheese is my favorite and would be great with alternate toppings for holiday parties- you could get creative here.

(After you drain as mentioned in the recipe below, you can wrap up the cheese in the cheesecloth and refrigerate for about 15 minutes then carefully unwrap for a nice little round of cheese. The picture above was the first time I made it for Grant and I- I was concentrating more on taste testing;) You can also use the leftover liquid from the straining process (they whey) as a liquid substitute in baking. I've used it in bread recipes to add calcium.

Buttermilk Fresh Cheese- Country Living

Yields: 1 6-ounce round (If making for a crowd, I suggest doubling)

Ingredients:

1 quart Whole Milk

1 1/2 cups Low-Fat Buttermilk

2 teaspoons Kosher Salt

Directions:

Line a colander or a medium strainer with three layers of 12-inch cheesecloth squares and set in sink.

Combine ingredients in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and cook until mixture reaches about 180 degrees F and separates into white curds and translucent whey, about 8 minutes. Ladle contents into prepared colander and drain completely.

Gather corners of cheesecloth together and gently twist to press out excess whey. Serve immediately, or cool to room temperature before serving, about 10 minutes.

For firmer consistency, transfer cheese, still in cloth, to a small flat-bottomed plate and let stand in refrigerator until cool, about 10 minutes. Unwrap and gently invert onto plate, discard cloth, and tent cheese with plastic wrap. Chill until 10 minutes before serving. Add toppings. Cheese will keep for up to 2 days.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese-

Source: Leslie Sarna

(Yields about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of cheese)

Ingredients:

1 gallon of whole milk- (next time I plan on substituting maybe 1- 2 cups of whole for buttermilk for a bit more tang, or following the food network recipe linked at the bottom for a bit more taste than this traditional recipe)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup distilled white wine vinegar (or regular white vinegar will work!)

*I easily halved this when I made it the first time.

Directions:

Pour the milk into a large stock pot and heat at medium low slowly so it doesn't burn.

Stir frequently. Heat the milk till it reaches 180 degrees.

Off heat and pour in the salt and vinegar. It will begin to curdle immediately.

Place a strainer over a large bowl and line it with cheesecloth.

Gently ladle mixture into cheesecloth.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

For a richer ricotta, try Alexandra Guarnaschelli's- which has cream and tangy buttermilk. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alexandra-guarnaschelli/homemade-ricotta-recipe/index.html

Enjoy!!

Banana Cream Pie

“When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it's not, mmmmmmmm, boy.”- Jack Handy

As Dr. Carl Sagan, a world renowned astronomer said, "if you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." It's funny how finicky, yet also easy, pies can be! We have two things going for us in this recipe- 1. This is not an apple pie. 2. This crust is easy!

This banana cream pie has such a delicious crust due to bananas added into the crushed graham mixture, and in my humble opinion, it made the pie. It also has a slight tang of sour cream in the bananas to balance out the sweetness of the custard and whipped cream. This pie was made by tweaking and adapting two recipes and I've posted my final below. Let's just say that after it was all gone, there were quite a few gentleman buzzing around the empty dish like flies, putting their fingers in the dish and licking them and the serving ware. I will definitely make it again!

The crust (adapted from Bon Appetit)

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I used almost 2 because that's what I had)

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup mashed banana 

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Preparation for crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and mashed banana in large bowl to blend. Add unsalted butter and stir to moisten evenly. Press onto bottom and up sides of 10-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Bake crust until set and pale golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely. While chilling and baking, I started on the filling.

The filling (adapted from Bon Appetit)

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups whipping cream (I reduced to 1 cup)

1 1/2 cups whole milk (Increased to 2 cups)

3 large egg yolks

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (I did not have vanilla bean, so I increased vanilla to 2 tsps)

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (without bean, increase to 2 tsps)

Preparation for filling:

With burner off, whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Gradually whisk in whipping cream and whole milk, then egg yolks. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add vanilla bean (skip if you are only adding vanilla extract). Whisk over medium-high heat until custard thickens and boils, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in unsalted butter and vanilla extract. Discard vanilla bean. Transfer custard to large bowl; cool completely, whisking occasionally, about 1 hour.

Stir custard to loosen, if necessary. Spread 1 cup custard over bottom of prepared crust (I spread about 1/2 cup).

Bananas- adapted from Bubby's Pie Company in NYC:

4 to 5 medium-size ripe bananas

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup sour cream

Slice the bananas ¼ inch thick to get about 4 cups and immediately toss them in the lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Stir in the sour cream gently. Layer the coated bananas in the pie crust, and flatten them gently over the 1/2 cup pie filling.

Add the remaining custard, covering the bananas completely.

Chill banana cream pie until filling is set- I refrigerated for about 4-5 hours. Add whipped cream if desired (mixed cold with 1 tsp vanilla and about 1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar). You can add homemade caramel or chocolate sauce if that suits you (I'm a bit of a traditionalist). Cut pie into wedges and serve. I chilled mine in the freezer for about 20 minutes to keep cool while serving. Enjoy :) It won't last long!!

Fall

"The hazy, cloudless skies of Indian Summer. Leaves scurrying down the street

before the wind. The cold shiver from an arctic blast. Indian Summer. The last

warmth of the sun. Chilly mornings and glorious warm afternoons. The Harvest

Moon. The Hunter's Moon. The Rainy Season. Dry corn stalks clattering in the

wind. The touch of frost on grass and window pane. The smell of burning leaves."

- Keith C. Heidorn

Since I can remember, fall has been my favorite season. Something about the crisp air, deep fall colors, soups, stews, fruit harvests and holidays just restores my soul. With Grant and my three years of marriage being spent in Florida and Arizona, I blame any moment of battiness on not having a true fall ;)- I lose my bearings! Since it is still in the 100's in Phoenix, I guess I just have to re-create it in my memory.

Around this time of year when I lived in Utah, I would go on rides with friends to gather fall leaves and berries, fill the garage (to my roommates chagrin) and create wreaths for family members and friends to hang on their doors. I was touched to see that my uncle still has his wreath hanging in his home four years later, the leaves perfectly dried preserving their matchless colors. Just for fun one year, my sister and I sold her mini pumpkin cheesecake brulee's and my wreaths at a farmer's market and had a blast. This week I wandered the craft aisles hoping for any replacement fall foliage I could use in a wreath for our new home, but no one can recreate the beauty nature already holds!

Well, welcome back fall. I'll take every bit of you I can get!

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot

What is your favorite thing about fall?