Jelly Doughnuts!

 

The Pres is off today, persevering on our front porch project. 

It was the perfect day to get up and make jelly doughnuts.

I have no idea where I got this recipe 20 years ago. Now that I remember how delicious they are I'll make them more often. But it takes almost 3 hours and makes about 20 doughnuts at a time, so it's not something for every day unless you've got a bigger family than ours. You want to share these with some special people.

After their second rising, they get deep fried for about 2 minutes.

After draining them on paper towels they get rolled in sugar.

 It is tempting to eat them just like this. 

But don't skip the jelly step.

 Even if, like me, you make a botch of the jelly part. It would be nice to have a pastry bag or an injector to get the jelly in without making a mess, but who minds a little bit of jelly on the sides?

Even Fidget, the notorious jelly-hater, liked the one I gave her with raspberry preserves in it. But her favorite one had honey inside instead. 

 Jelly Doughnuts

with apologies to whoever developed this delicious recipe. If I knew your name I'd put it here.

makes 14-18 

1 pkg yeast

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup warm water

1/3 cup room temperature butter

3 TB sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk, scalded

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/2 cups flour (it took me 3 1/2 cups so don't be alarmed if it takes you that much too)

jelly- I used Polaner All Fruit Raspberry seedless, Market Pantry Blackberry Seedless jam and Smucker's Orchard's Finest Northewest Triple Berry Preserves

sugar

frying oil

In a large bowl combine yeast, 1 tsp sugar and water. Let stand  until foamy, 5-10 minutes. In a small bowl combine butter, 3 TB sugar, salt and milk; cool to room temperature. Stir milk mix into yeast mix. Add eggs and 1 3/4 cup flour; beat vigorously. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Turn dough out and knead 8-10 minutes. Clean and grease bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to grease all sides. Cover and let rise til double, about an hour. Place parchment paper on cookie sheets. Punch dough down, roll out to 1/2" thick. Cut dough with a floured 2 1/2" biscuit cutter. Place dough circles on the baking sheets. Cover and let rise til double, less than an hour this time. Fry risen circles of dough at 350 in a deep fryer approximately 2 minutes or until brown. Fry 5 at a time. Once drained onto paper towels, roll doughnuts in sugar. Then cut a deep slice in the doughnuts and fill with 2 tsp jelly. Enjoy!

For more inspiration visit the fabulous showcase of yeast breads and sweet goodies at Yeast Spotting's blog,  www.wildyeastblog.com

Shaker Pickles

We got some beautiful cucumbers at the farmers' market two Saturdays ago and made these bread and butter pickles. They sit out on the counter and are ready after a week. We had some of the most simple and delicious sandwiches imaginable last Sunday after church, with these pickles. The best part is that they are sliced much thinner than store-bought pickles. Thanks to Mumsy and sister in law Traci for sharing their recipe and wisdom.

Shaker Pickles

4 sliced onions
sliced cucumbers to fill a gallon jar
3 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups vinegar
1/3 cup salt
1 1/2 tsp powdered alum
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mustard seed
1 1/2 tsp turmeric

Mix onions with cucumbers and place in gallon jar. Mix remaining ingredients well and pour over jar contents. Cover and shake vigorously. Shake once daily for 6 days, and they will be ready to eat on day 7. After they are ready you can put them in smaller jars and keep them in the refrigerator. You can also blanch carrots or cauliflower and add.

Appetizers in Abundance

We're already one week past our family's 3rd Annual Appetizer Weekend. What fun we had! That week I'd spent a lot of time in the kitchen making brownies ( here's the recipe from the Hershey's website), blondies and breads. Several friends earned their black belts in karate so I made them goodies to celebrate.

One of the moms gave me a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Even after a week these were still so pretty and cheerful in the dining room. I wish I'd gotten a picture with all the roses in it when they first arrived. 

On to appetizer weekend!It was our annual family party and I had such a good time planning for it. Here's what I made:  Friday night we had Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps, Rotel cheese dip and chips, mini crab cakes and broccoli and cauliflower in dip. 
Saturday breakfast was French toast dipping sticks and syrup and strawberries.
At lunch I made Asiago cheese dip and glazed chicken wings, and Fidget's friend Sky came to sample the goodies.

Sunday at lunch we had a few spring rolls and steamed dumplings. Sunday night we had potato skins, more spring rolls and everything else that was left over. Somewhere in there I also made bacon crescents for the first time, which were a bit hit. They were tiny fiddly things made out of refrigerated crescent rolls smeared with a creamy spread made with fresh-cooked bacon. Somehow I never found time for the avacado-stuffed cherry tomatoes, spinach-parmesan dip, or the sweet fruity dip I was going to make. But the list gets more ambitious every year.

It is such a joy to plan this special weekend celebrating my family every year. God is good to us to give us loving family relationships. No matter what our struggles or differences we can celebrate the family God gave us.

Rejoice and Be Glad- Harbor View's 2nd Annual Appetizer Weekend

I recently realized it had been over a year since our family's first annual Appetizer Weekend. It was a smash with our family and helped me focus on celebrating our family. Lately I've been busy making lots of baby booties for friends' babies, and this causes me to think about our family as well. God made our family, each of us, to be here together, and these people are such a blessing to me. I want them to know I am pleased to be the wife and mom that God made me to be. So, naturally, that means it's party time!

Here are the mini crab cakes before frying. The recipe said it made 32 but it made more like 40.

Rotel cheese dip (Fidget's request) simmering in back and in front pan, ground pork for steamed dumplings and spring rolls.

Hot stuffies (stuffed quahogs or clams- see this month's Martha Stewart Magazine, p. 140, for the recipe I'm going to try next time) from Anthony's of Aquidneck seafood market. Delicious!

Mini crab cakes frying in a few tablespoons of butter. The recipe I have looks like it came from Bon Appetit, but it isn't listed in their online recipe index.

Steaming the dumplings. A recipe I picked up on one of those twirly racks in the produce section at Walmart probably 10 or more years ago. 

The first of the golden shrimp and pork spring rolls.

Here is one of the Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps. I couldn't find chile paste anywhere in town, so I used hoisin sauce and these were so good I am going to make them again soon.  

Here's the menu from this weekend's Harbor View 2nd Annual Appetizer Weekend: 
Fresh Cut Veg with ranch dip
Hot Stuffies (stuffed clams with chorizo sausage)
Mini Crab Cakes
Steamed Dumplings
Spring Rolls
Artichoke-Stuffed Mushrooms
Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps
Spinach-Parmesan Dip with Bagel Bites
Rotel and Cheese Dip with Nacho Chips

 I love to practice hospitality. And I love giving. In all that I don't want my family to get lost in the busyness of serving others and showing them the love of Christ. So though I make dinner every day, sometimes I like to practice hospitality on my family and show them how special they are to me.  

Seize the day, I say. After all, This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24

A Friend at the Elms

Here are some pictures I took at The Elms this weekend, a historic home in Newport, RI. One of my very oldest, dearest friends came for a short visit and we jammed all we could into our time together. We got to knit (she made a sock, I worked on the Whisper sweater), cook (steamed dumplings, minestrone, roasted red pepper calzones, spinach manicotti) and bake together (ethereal bread and cinnamon- blueberry turnovers), and I was finally able to give her the painting of the Belgian post box that I recently made for her. 

She is a photographer and yet she didn't bring her camera. So she is going to have to put up with my snaps of the Elms and anything else I got in focus while she was here. 

Here is the stable, I think. After we left the fine old home we wandered the grounds and there were no signs telling us what was at the back of the property. We imagined being stable hands and living at the top of the building on the right, looking out the verdigris window of the slate roof.

We thought this whole thing made a super setting to a mystery we haven't written yet. We are always imagining mysteries. But now that she is a professional and I am a home schooling mom, we don't write as many stories as we used to. 

What memories we made, listening to the self-guided audio tour and cracking up as we hit the buttons at the exact same time so we could hear everything in tandem.We spent a good time in the butler's pantry, imagining just how we would have liked it- or not- working there, on constant call, choosing the dishes for each gathering and doing all the other tasks necessary for the 8-12 weeks the Elms was open each year. No photography was allowed in the house, unfortunately. But outdoors was another story. We were fascinated by the circular tradesmens' entrance which was covered from above by wisteria vines so residents of the house would not have their view spoiled. 

I hope the fountains will be turned on when we return. I am going to take Fidget for a field trip one day soon. Her eyes are going to goggle when she sees this place. I am sure mine did.

It is already springlike here. I imagine the garden will look even better when the lush bright greens of spring return.

What a blessing is a lifelong friendship. I am so thankful for this week together. It was such a happy time. Fidget cried almost all the way home from the airport after the drop-off. We do hope our dear Aunty visits us again!

Beauty All Around

The two weeks we had with my in-laws went by so quickly. We ate seafood, barbecued, tried new recipes, and just enjoyed being together. I hardly know how to catch up with showing all we did. These pictures show just one day's events.

 

We went to the Green Animals Topiary Gardens and had a tour of the grand house on the property. Fidget's favorite part were the toy exhibits. One room was all doll houses. The woman who lived there loved children so she hosted a children's party every July. They still carry on her tradition. Too bad we missed it. I wonder if we'll be here for it next year.

There were dozens of animals and people created in topiaries on the property. Fidget delighted in running through them, back and forth. She even hugged the giant bear, right before we were told not to touch the bushes. Oops!

The dahlia garden was exquisite. I could have stayed there all day. There are times when I look back through pictures of all we've done and think, was I really surrounded by all that beauty? 

 The inventive scarecrows welcomed visitors more than scaring any away. 

 Even the gates at the property were distinctive.There was no way to photograph it all!

That same day, we switched gears after lunch and took a boat ride out in the harbor. Not only did we get a closer look at some historic places, we also passed Mirabella V, the tallest-masted sailboat in the world. She was in harbor for the International Boat Show over the weekend. This was the highest-priced boat there, on sale for 49 million euros! I wonder if they had any offers?

  
The first woman light house keeper lived and worked here.  Her father had been keeper of the light before her. I think this sounds like the perfect start to a children's book...

The far boat in this shot, we were told on our boat tour, is the one from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. We knew there was something familiar about it. There were so many beautiful boats and things to see on shore, it was hard to take it all in at once. Looking back, I wish I had more pictures. I am so glad we have at least three more seasons to enjoy here!

Snack Time

 Fidget is always hungry lately, a good sign of a growing girl. Here is a picture of her snack early this week. She adores tiny tomatoes and peanuts. 

 

The other night when making pastry for chicken potpies, I got the idea to cut the crackers out with Pooh cookie cutters. The recipe calls for refrigerated pie crust, which I do use on occasion, but I am a baker who loves to make anything involving dough. 

Making our own crust is more delicious, but how much better it was with lovable character crackers! It made snack time fun the next day too, when she got a leftover Pooh cracker. I think we're on to something. Our potpies will never be the same.

Gifts and Triumphs

 We celebrated the weekend yesterday morning with poached eggs. They may be run of the mill to some folks, but poached eggs are something I've never been able to get right in 18 1/2 years of marriage, not even when Mumsy bought me a real live egg poacher appliance that buzzed when they were supposed to be ready. Turns out these little nifties from King Arthur Flour are just what the baker ordered. Finally, eggs with runny middles for the Pres! Of course when they were done we sat down to eat and I forgot all about taking pictures.

 However there was plenty of time for pouring tea. Last week I talked to my dear old chip from high school, middle school, and come to think of it, elementary school, and she commiserated with me about my friend who'd died. And I commiserated with her about the tough eggs she works with down there in South Florida. Next thing you know, I'm unwrapping an extravagant care package from said chip.

 It came complete with hand knitted, cleverly embellished tea cozy, traditional British tea pot, tea, honey, diffuser and more.

Here's the inside fabric on the tea cozy. I've never had a cozy before and was surprised to find out that it really works. Not only that, a cutie like this one is sure to cheer me up no matter what the morning holds.