Category Archives: Family Recipe Friday

Family Recipe Friday – Mom’s Pumpkin Bread

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Mom newspaper recipes copyHere’s my sweet mama showing off some baked goods in the newspaper. Mmm-mm, she was a goooodd baker!

Mom newspaper recipes copy 2I love that cookie jar! It still sits on the refrigerator in Mom’s and Dad’s kitchen. It’s at least as old as I am – guess that’s why I like it so much. Of course, this old newspaper photo doesn’t do it justice.

We had recently moved to Joplin when this article appeared in the paper. I don’t know how it came to be. Guess I need to ask Dad if he remembers. Being a small city, I suppose it was pretty common to have news about the movers and shakers in the community – like the new assistant manager of the Sears store and his wife – featured in the paper. lol

I’m not going to post the whole article as there is just a little too much personal info that I don’t have permission to share, but here’s the headline.
Mom newspaper recipes copy 3. jpgMom shared two recipes – Pumpkin Bread and Maple Butter Twists. I don’t know what the third thing is on the counter, but it could be a second Maple Butter Twist with a slice cut out and shared with the newspaper person.

In our ESL class the day before Halloween, we had a discussion about the different ways pumpkin is prepared around the world. When I mentioned that I make pumpkin bread, one of the students asked if I would share the recipe. I’m going to share it on our group Facebook page today in hopes that some students will follow my lead and share some of the dishes they talked about in class – pumpkin curry; a pumpkin dessert made with fruit, cinnamon and milk; honeyed pumpkin seeds …. I hope they will!

Mom newspaper Pumpkin BreadOnce Mom found this recipe, she made it every year – mostly in the fall and at Christmas. She liked to frost her pumpkin bread with buttercream icing. At Christmas time, she would add a few sliced candied red and green cherries on top to decorate. Many loaves of decorated pumpkin bread were given as gifts at Christmas.

I make it every year too. It’s just so good and must be made. But I usually don’t frost it. It’s fine just the way it is.

One thing I notice her recipe doesn’t say is to grease the pan. I usually line the bottom with waxed paper or parchment paper too, so that it pops right out.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon each of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon
1 cup salad oil
1 cup water
2 cups mashed pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Method:
Add ingredients, one at a time, in mixing bowl and blend well with an electric mixer. Bake for 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees in a loaf pan, 9 by 5 by 2 3/4 inches. Turn out of pan at once. Frost with powdered sugar icing flavored with almond extract.

I usually use canned pumpkin – the slight difference in measurement doesn’t make a difference. Mom and Dad would often cook and freeze fresh pumpkin to use for pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie.

I’ll share the recipe for Maple Butter Twists another day.

What is your favorite pumpkin recipe?
Family – let’s hear every story you can think of concerning pumpkin and pumpkin bread!

Family Recipe Friday – Blender Custard Pie

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I recently renewed my subscription to a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. Besides a weekly delivery of fresh, organic veggies and the occasional fruit, I decided to add eggs to my subscription.

I’m going to have to cancel the eggs.

When I placed the order, there were three of us living here and all of us ate eggs. Then my daughter started eating vegan, making only two of us. Now she’s at college, so vegan or not, there would still be only two of us. And the two of us just don’t eat a dozen eggs in a week. I keep forgetting to cancel the eggs a week prior to delivery as required. Oh well.

Blender Custard Pie

Blender Custard Pie

I’ve been thinking I’ll do a lot of baking and fill up the freezer. Hasn’t happened yet – but there is always hope.

Today I was thinking about all of those eggs that should not go to waste and decided to make a custard dessert that my mom frequently made. I’m not sure where she got the recipe. I’ve made it many times myself. One reason we like it so much is because it is SO easy – and it tastes good.

Blender Custard Pie

Butter and flour pie pan.

Put in blender:
4 eggs
5 or 6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup coconut
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1 teaspoon coconut flavoring

Blend and pour into pie pan. Bake 1  hour (sometimes 50 minutes is enough) at 350 degrees.

4 eggs down! Dozens to go!

DSCN3470Meanwhile – butternut squash are taking over the counter in our kitchen while I have directed my attention to veggies with a shorter “shelf” life. Mom’s recipes will be of no help. I don’t know that Mom has ever cooked (or eaten) a butternut squash.

 

 

Family Recipe Friday: Patriotic Picnic Platter

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When my kids were little, we watched Sesame Street every day. And I subscribed to Sesame Street magazine. I wish I still had a complete issue around here to help me remember the kinds of articles and activities between the covers – many that we probably did together.

One thing I do remember is the “Kids in the Kitchen” section. Here’s a page I saved from the July/August 1989 issue. At the time, I had a three-year-old and a 6-month-old.

Recipe Sesame St Flag platter

The only food on this page that I ever served was the Patriotic Picnic Platter. And I made it year after year after year after year for the 4th of July.

Of course, when my kids were little, they didn’t like potato salad or tomatoes or cucumbers, so I came up with my own red and white foods to fill in the stripes. I have used strawberries, sliced hot dogs, red grapes, cauliflower, white cheese, and cherry tomatoes. I wonder what else? Oh – apples! They serve double duty. You can use them for white or red stripes. One thing that always remained the same was the upper left-hand corner filled with blueberries and topped with some miniature marshmallows. I use an open Tupperware sandwich container to keep the berries in a square. I prefer that everything be finger food, but use your imagination and let me know how your patriotic platter turns out.

1989.07.04 AngelaOh my. I just went looking for a picture from July 4, 1989 and I found one. I started to add the story behind it here, but it deserves a post all its own. Later!

 

Happy Independence Day!