Peach Pie Delight!

It’s the end of summer here on top of the mountain.  I have to admit, this time of year is the most delightful time of year!  I love so many changes about it, the cooler temps being probably the best!  And thank goodness the temps were lower today because we had quite a task here on the ranch.  A heavy task.  Five ton heavy to be exact.  Yessiree, five ton of hay.  We loaded and hauled five ton of hay today.  And it was hard work!!  So I thought my family might be deserving of a good yummy treat after all that hard work.  (Okay, okay, I helped my husband load the five ton, when it came time to unload, I only helped with two ton…but still…..that’s a lot!)

When we got home, I had some peaches teasing me in the fridge.  I ate one yesterday and it wasn’t quite as sweet as I liked for fresh peaches, so I knew that a pie would be the perfect use!  

I am “borrowing” the directions for the crust from my other blog.  Same crust, super yummy!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In food processor (or in a bowl using a pastry cutter) put 11 Tbsp butter.

Add 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 cup powdered sugar (yes – that’s one of the best parts!)

Pulse until nice and crumbly.

Add 1 tsp vanilla and slightly less (1 tsp less) water

Pulse again until dough pulls into a ball.

Set aside to rest (preferably in refrigerator).

While that’s resting, let’s work on the filling!

Peel and slice five peaches.  In bowl, add 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla.  Mix together.

Now lets work on the crust.  This crust is super yummy, but very very delicate and messy.  This pie doesn’t look or prepare in a “proper” way, and I’m completely okay with that!

Using a piece of parchment paper, roll pie out into a circle about 14” in diameter.

Carefully flip crust and paper onto a cookie sheet.  Remove paper.

Place filling in center of crust.  You will have to work quickly and fold up the edges.

If you have any leakage of the filling, press the bottom of crust to “seal” edge.  Again, work quickly.

Sprinkle with sugar (I like turbinado (“Sugar in the Raw”) because of it’s coarseness and depth of flavor or evaporated cane juice).

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Slice and serve with a dollop of fresh churned vanilla ice cream! 

If you serve it still warm, with the ice cream melting, the tantalizing flavor melts in your mouth to divine summer sweetness with a touch of crunchy bliss.

Just Another “Mom” Job

Here on the ranch, my Mom duties are expanded upon the duties my Mom had when I was a kid.  I think I must have been pretty spoiled, we always went to someone else to have our manes maintained.  (ha – like that alliteration??)  But not around here.  I’m pretty sure my husband has never paid for a haircut in his life.  His Dad gave him hair cuts growing up, and for a while after we were first married, until I learned how to do it.  Of course, there were a few unfortunate self-attempts along the way (of which he was nearly banished for life from ever touching the clippers again – we need not go there….)

However, because it became my job, I’ve learned a lot about cosmetology.  I’m almost ready to rent a station at the local beauty shop!  (Okay, not even close).  But I can save my family a fair amount of money along the way.  I mean, really, how do you think I have a craft, scrapbooking and coffee budget?  Why saving money on haircuts of course!!

Well, 10 years of experience on boys cuts really wasn’t really enough to prep me for a little girls head full of curls.  But by golly, I have this silly thing about wanting to know how to do things I can do myself!!  So everytime I have my hair cut, I watch like a hawk the person cutting.  I watch every move so I can learn by observation.  That’s my favorite way to learn, studying and then replicating.  (Of course – I think I also need to watch so I can better learn to verbally communicate with the stylist because my last three haircuts have not gone as I *thought* I explained………)

Where is this story going you ask?  Good question.  I think I’m rambling on because today was hair cut day in our house.  And it’s always a day I feel great success on! 

My first victim, er, client was fantastic!  Smiling the whole time.  Friendly.  Tipped well (“I love you Mom” is a great tip!)

My second client, well, I shall let the pictures speak for themselves!!  No amount of cutting could improve the scowl.  I’m beginning to think her face is just permanently stuck like this!  I mean, really, analyze the details in the before and after.  Sure, a fantastic cute cut by an awesome mom, but face is.still.stuck.in.grump.mode…..and she wonders why we call her Grumpison??????

But I’ll let you be the judge.

Oh, no, it progressed to be worse in the after!  But, I was very happy to have the curls return (underneath the scowl)…

Um, does anyone have any happy pills I can give this girl?

Bummer, I guess I’ll just have to go tickle it away.

Chocolate Syrup

As I sit here looking outside that the clouds rolling through, seeing the beginning changes of summer to fall and listen to my kids playing in a different room, I reflect on how much has changed the last year.  Because, it’s been a year since I blogged on this blog.  And a lot has changed!!  Well, at least a lot in how and why I do things. And there are less animals on ye ole’ ranch now.  But that’s it.  Oh, wait, one more change.  A 1986 Ford F350 “man truck” now sits in the weedway as well.  But that’s about it.  I think.

Over the last two months, I’ve been pondering bringing this blog back.  Back from banishment.  I have so many things I’ve learned that I want to share.  They’re not new things, but as I’ve learned, sometimes it just takes motivation from someone you know to instill change in you.  So, I was thinking that if I can blog these simple things I’ve learned to create a healthier life for me, I might be able to encourage some of you to do the same.  And just as much as anything, I need an online backup of my recipes.  You see, I way too often spill on my printouts (or don’t even write them down).  But really, I blog to inspire, and to be real.  If a “real” person can make changes, then I hope you can see you can too!  I’ll never to pretend to be super healthy or anything of the like.  Most of the nutritional community would probably say I’m still too much in the consumerism mindset.  But I think I’ve reached a balance of still being “real” and seeking to have a healthy lifestyle.  And of course, I honestly and firmly believe that the first step in anything of such is being active. But we can talk about that later!  Let’s get on to something yummy!

I’m thinking we should celebrate with some chocolate!  Anyone up for a round???  This recipe is a deep delectable chocolate flavor, full of body and so much richer than the “other” stuff.  One mocha with this, and you’ll wonder where it’s been all your life!

Chocolate Syrup

This recipe is really easy and will put any commercially produced chocolate syrup I’ve ever had to shame!  I dare you to try it!

1 1/2 cups water

3 cups sugar (I use evaporated cane juice, but if you are on a budget, white sugar works just as well – evaporated cane juice does give a little richer flavor, a molasses touch)

1 1/2 cups cocoa powder

1 tablespoon vanilla (I make my own, you can find the recipe here)

1/4 tsp salt

2 tablespoons agave nectar (*see note)

(*The jury appears to be out about the health factor of agave nectar.  I’m not even going to begin to say I know the pros and cons, but I can tell you this.  The recipe needs a liquid sugar that is a different molecular structure from sugar to keep it from crystalizing.  The recipe I modified this from called for corn syrup.  However, about 5 months ago, I eliminated corn (in all forms) completely from my diet, thus corn syrup is not an option.  I first tried honey, but the syrup still crystalized.  I’ve had success with agave nectar though, so it’s what I am currently using).

In a small pot, boil water and sugar.  Whisk in cocoa, salt and agave nectar.  Whisk until cocoa is completely dissolved and there are no clumps.  Reduce heat to simmer and reduce until slightly thickened.  Stir in vanilla.  Cool, pour into squeeze bottle (from cake/candy supply aisle), or pour into jar.  If using plastic bottle, be sure to let sauce cool before pouring in.

Use for mochas, chocolate milk, over ice cream or whatever!!  Store in refrigerator for up to three week.

(ha – can you see how much I dribbled over the edge of the jar as I tried to let it drizzle with my left hand and photograph with my right?  Yeah…funny for you, not so much for me to clean!)

Butter, oh Delightful Butter

Few things in the savory food world make me happier than butter.  Delightful butter.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love a decadent piece of chocolate, in pretty much any form.  But in the savory flavors, it’s all about the butter.  I’m not even that big of a fan of bacon.  Tragic, I know.  But that’s just the plain simple truth…..But butter, butter on a fresh baked slice of bread or biscuit.  Butter melting in my mouth.  Ahh…..pure culinary delight.

 

However, a major travesty happened this week.  I didn’t have butter?!  Yes, that’s a question.  HOW did I not have butter???  Oh dear, that is a cardinal sin in the culinary world if I ever heard of one.  But I did have cream.  I’ve made a fair amount of ice cream this summer, so I’ve tried to keep cream in the fridge.  Oh, glorious heavy whipping cream.  I immediately thought maybe I could save the day, or lunch at least.

 

I quickly pulled out my stand mixer and went to work.  Mind you, at this point, it was all experimentation, no recipe or directions, just a good old fashion need for butter and basic food knowledge.  To my complete and utter surprise, it was extremely easy.  It left me questioning why I had never tried before?  Well, just for you all, I made more today and took some pictures along the way to share.

 

What you need:

Stand Mixer (unless you want to really tone those biceps and whip it by hand)

Whisk attachment

Heavy Whipping Cream

Salt

Strainer

Cheese Cloth

Large bowl to put under the strainer

Spatula

 

Measure 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and put in mixer with whisk attachment.  I added about 1/4 tsp of salt (but this is completely optional).

Turn that bad boy mixer on high and let it go!!

Let it whip for approximately 7 minutes.  Stop about every 90 seconds and scrape the bowl.  Now, I found that the third batch I made finished much faster, so the 7 minutes is just a guideline not a hard fact.

As you can see, it looks firmer than whipped cream here, but not yet butter.  It is starting to take on a very slight yellow tone though.

Now you can see what is on the whip is looking more like butter, just a bit farther to go.

Here we are – the cream is now whipped enough that it is separating into butter and buttermilk.  (Did you know buttermilk doesn’t have butter in it, it’s the byproduct of making butter?)

Stop mixing and get out that strainer.  While the cream is whipping, cut a piece of cheesecloth to fit in the strainer.  Yes, this part is very important.   Place the strainer over a bowl to catch the buttermilk as we strain it off.

Transfer the butter and liquid into the cheese cloth.

Use a spatula to force out some of the excess liquid.  You will need to use your hands (make sure they’re clean) to squeeze out the buttermilk in the cheesecloth, but I like to get the excess off first this way.  Once you’ve done this three or four times, pick up the corners of the cheese cloth and squeeze repeatedly until you do not get any more buttermilk out.  It took me about 2 minutes.  All told, this took me about 12 minutes to make, and that included stopping to take pictures. The end result from 2 cups of cream is 8 ounces of butter and 1 cup of buttermilk. (Have I ever said I love glass canning jars?) 

Put the butter in an airtight container and refrigerate.  Be sure to put it in something air tight because butter tends to absorb any flavors/smells in your refrigerator, and who wants fishy butter??? 

Enjoy!!!

 

Now, just because I’m a total geek, and yes, I do believe I have taken the culinary geekiness up a notch today, I wanted to give you a cost break down as well.  I only purchase dairy that is marked rBST free, thus these numbers might not accurately reflect what it would cost you. 

1 quart (4 cups) heavy whipping cream $4.49

This yields:  16 ounces butter (2 cups) and 1 pint (2 cups buttermilk)

Yesterday when I bought my cream, butter (also rBST free, for proper comparison) was $3.99 a pound.  That being said, the buttermilk would have had to be $.49 or less for it to have been cheaper for me to buy the butter instead of cream.

Now, I must admit, I don’t regularly use buttermilk.  However, it’s because I just don’t buy it.  It seems that when I want it, I forget to buy it, and when I do buy it, I forget to use it.  But I know that if I have it as a byproduct that I’ve made myself, I’ll be more likely to use it.  I also believe you can purchase cream cheaper (you can bet it will be on my next Costco list), but at the very least, even for just the cost of the butter, it’s pretty darn near a wash.  (But I will update this with the price of buttermilk next time I go to Safeway to give a more accurate reflection).

Alright, enough with the numbers, I’m off to enjoy some butter on bread for lunch.  Ah……

Pumpkin Ice Cream with Cookie Crumbles

I simply love this time of year.  A crispness in the air.  The light changes.  And pumpkins.  Yes, I said pumpkins.  It’s September, and there’s a good chance anything I make now will have either pumpkin or cinnamon in it for the next couple months. 

Today, I was adventurous and made some Pumpkin ice cream.  And judging from the lack of talking and the continuous sound of spoons sliding against the bowls right now in an effort to get every last drop of melted deliciousness, I’m thinking it was a hit in our house tonight.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of ginger

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of cloves

pinch of cardamom

Mix together until sugar is dissolved.  Churn in ice cream maker for 20 to 25 minutes (or until churned).  Freeze for 1 to 2 hours until desired texture.

 

Cookie Crumbles

1/4 cup salted butter

1 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix together.  Press into baking dish.  Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.  When cool, crumble.

 

Serve ice cream, and crumble cookies on top!

Too Close for Comfort

We took the kids outside to swim about an hour ago and I looked up and saw what one never wants to see in the high mountain desert, smoke.  Called the fire guy, grabbed the camera and hopped in the car to see how close it was.   We do have fire prevention measures to employ, but you have to have time to do that.   And it’s not cheap being as how it’s a one time use, so we had to know what we were dealing with. 

 

Anytime you see smoke near your home though, it’s an immediate action mode to see if you need to do anything.

 

This is what I first saw.  The burned out trees are on our property, and I believe our property goes partly up that hill.  From our house, we couldn’t tell if the fire was on the hill or behind or exactly where.

 

In a matter of minutes it grew to this.  You can see that in the top picture it is only as wide as the bunch of three trees near the left center to the two lone trees on the right center. 

 

We jumped in the truck to go see what was going on and if we’d need to do anything.

  

As we drove (just about a mile down the road, but circling so we weren’t getting any closer to the fire, we could see it was a fair distance away.   And thank God the wind is blowing in the opposite direction of our house.  It appears to be about 2 miles from our house. 

We did see the fire crews coming through with a bulldozer between our land and the fire.  The speck of silver about 1/3 of the way up the right edge of this picture is our house.

I attempted to do a panorama to show the distance between our house and the fire.  The right side of the picture, the silver rectangle about 1/3 up the frame is our house.

 

We decided to come home and just keep an eye on it.  With the wind blowing away from us, and the distance, at the moment, it appears we are fine.  As I look out the window again to check it, it appears the crews have a good control on the fire.  Thank you guy – and thank you Lord!

Lake View Drive In

I admit it, I love to watch Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network.   Yup, love it.  It would be my dream to drive around all over the country and check out those places.   Of course, we have all sorts of silly dreams, like writing a book called “Where to Pee in Washington….”………..

 

Anyway, we were in Lake Chelan last week and it was dinner time.  Of course, the kids always love it when we’re in town at dinner time.  We’ve driven by this particular place for well over 7 years now but have never stopped.  We finally decided to take a gamble. 

 

   

And even if the food is only average, who wouldn’t love this view!!!!

 

It’s a good old beach drive in, or rather walk in.  You walk up, place your order and pick it up at another window.

Yes, it was a greasy spoon.  Kinda like the country song “99 cent heart attack” LOL….but a yummy version of it!

It reminded us of a place called Hal’s in the town we grew up in.  The food was nearly a spittin image (okay, that might be a gross comparison for food huh? LOL).  Even came with tarter sauce for the fries :).

And to top off the treat, we finished with some ice cream.  Ahhh….