Food Friday – Brownies

March 28, 2014March 28, 2014 / handmadebyjo / 1 Comment

One of my absolute favorite things to do is cook for other people – especially baking goodies. There are times when nothing will do but chocolate. There is comfort in it, there are lifetime memories associated with it, chocolate is love.

I was asked to bring “brownies or something” to Paul’s celebration of life tomorrow. I immediately knew the recipe I would use. For years I had a reputation with my family members (especially my children) that I was the master of disaster when it came to baking brownies. As the girls got older they would bake brownies often using a mix. They had no trouble at all. Me, well let’s just say if it comes out of a box I am completely incompetent. I would burn them, or they were so undercooked they would be inedible. I think it was because I followed the directions, messed up and then over compensated on the next try. Amanda had it down, knocked off a couple of minutes for the particular pan she was using and they always came out perfect.

I took this as a challenge in the back of my mind, one day I would conquer my relationship with brownies. I read this recipe years ago in Yankee Magazine and it completely changed my outlook on brownies. It’s called Julie’s Brownies and really is the best recipe ever – deep chocolate, sugar crust, brownie perfection. The only caveat is it makes a HUGE batch.

The recipe starts off with 8 ounces of unsweetened chocolate and 3 sticks of butter set on low heat to melt together. I once made the mistake of using semisweet and although it was a near disaster there were many people who liked their cloying sweetness. (I wasn’t kidding about my problem with brownies).

While the chocolate/butter is melting butter your pan and sprinkle it with sugar. I just dump a mound in the middle of the pan and shake it around until the pan is coated, then dump the excess in the sink.

This has such a wonderful smell while it’s heating through. Once melted let it cool to room temperature.

Now I know not everyone likes walnuts in their brownies (or anywhere for that matter) so I chop about 3/4 of a cup to be sprinkled on half of the pan, this way everyone is happy. I buy walnuts and pecans in bulk, use a vacu-sealer and freeze a cup and a half per bag. I always have nuts for that impromptu baking session. That nut grinder? If you don’t have one get one, they are awesome and go right into the dishwasher.

Half a dozen eggs go into the stand mixer.

Along with 3 1/2 cups of sugar. You read right, 3 1/2. I measure carefully knowing this is another potential hazard for me – losing count.

Once the eggs and sugar are mixed you add the vanilla. I made this for Christmas presents a couple of years ago – it is amazing. There’s another disaster story that goes along with this. One time I was making these brownies, grabbed the orange extract and put in the two teaspoons – aarrgh. Those were an epic fail.

The chocolate/butter is added, then the flour and mixed until just combined.

Then poured into that nice sugar coated pan. This is a 12 x 17 jelly roll pan. That’s a lot of brownies my friends.

Before they go into the oven I sprinkle on the nuts. These look delicious and smell heavenly while baking.

And here they are out of the oven, perfect. Once cooled I will cut them into squares and arrange them in a basket to be delivered to the church tomorrow. Some of the people I love the most will be there and even though they probably won’t give a thought to who made the brownies I will know how much love was put into them.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

March 25, 2014March 25, 2014 / handmadebyjo / 5 Comments

There is a lot going on in the house at Fort Pelham Farm. We decided to turn the old bathroom into a pantry for now and the library will become a bedroom for my Dad who will be moving home in about 6 weeks. Yes, you guessed right, I will be in Rowe full-time starting in May. Not exactly the circumstances I had always envisioned but right now it is what it is.

This is the lovely bathroom that we used for years and years. It was time for it to go and boy was Bill excited about this project (not).

He pointed out that this is the glory part of home improvement – removing the toilet. Chester is making sure he is doing it properly.

Okay, I primed everything – don’t judge, we still have a ways to go.

Initial painting is done – the shelving I will be building this week. Another coat of paint still on tap but the project is moving along.

Did I tell you that I have dozens and dozens of jars of canned goods sitting on the floor in the living room right now with no home? Yeah, nice decor. That’s because they were stored in the library. All of that shelving had to come down to make room for Dad on the first floor.

Hello old friends – haven’t seen you in quite some time.

Before. These shelves were built in 1985 to replace the shelving that was there when we moved in. I’m assuming that was done because the room had lathe and plaster and it was what was the back of the bookshelves. Originally the shelves were on two walls in the room with a window seat under the north window.

It took Mike and Bill all of about an hour to get this out of there. You will notice that Chester is always in the middle of things. I personally think he just likes having his picture taken.

Another work in progress. Mike will be repairing the walls and fixing the ceiling. The floor will have to wait, it’s too big a job for our time constraints.

I have to say that I’m not fond of renovation projects with a specific time deadline. Things are not done the way they should be, they are done in the quickest way possible. The pantry started out as a project for me. A temporary fix in a space that was not being used. The eventual plan with that room is for the walls to come down and have it be part of a more open kitchen – that’s down the road a bit. Kitchen remodeling is not for the faint of heart.

The other fact pushing this project along is we know spring will get here at some point and when it does we will not want to be spending any time indoors. While the weather is still wintry we can at least feel like we are getting something done.

Sunday Morning Bird Watch

March 16, 2014March 16, 2014 / handmadebyjo / 1 Comment

Okay, not just birds.

I’m going to miss the feeders – if spring ever arrives.

A Burning Question

February 20, 2014February 20, 2014 / handmadebyjo / 1 Comment

Chester doesn’t care if the snow is too deep to run in, he still wants you to throw that ball.

The photograph looks a little bizarre because he was moving when I released the shutter. I typed that line and wondered “Are we even releasing a shutter anymore?” Are we? This looks like a double exposure to me but I know it’s not. Hmmmmm . . . .

When the Weather Starts to Warm

February 4, 2014February 4, 2014 / handmadebyjo / 2 Comments

This winter has been brutally cold so far this year. This past weekend the temperature rose to the mid to upper 30’s and it felt like spring was on its way. It was the kind of weather when staying indoors is not an option and Bill decided it was time to cut trees.

Saturday’s tree is along the ridge going down to the back forty. The trees there have always been too close together and because they are on the east side of the garden and quite tall they shade the southern half of the tilled area until almost noon. There is a tree that we will keep for it’s shade and I will just plan the garden accordingly but this will begin to bring earlier sunshine where it’s needed.

The first thing done when felling trees is to look it over to make sure you have a good idea where it it will fall. This tree only had limbs on one side of it and was leaning over the bank so it was not difficult to discern where it would go. Bill made the first cuts on the side the tree would fall then sawed the other side as you can see in the video.

The next phase is to cut the limbs off of the tree

Once that was finished we use the logging winch on the back of the tractor to bring the log up to the spot where we will chunk it up and split it for firewood later.

Okay, originally I thought that this was a really pricey add on to the tractor but after about a month of tractor ownership you realize if you are going to use the bucket for anything you need weight in the back of the tractor. If you are going to work in wet, muddy areas you probably are going to need to winch yourself out at some point. If you are going to cut down large trees using a winch becomes a safety issue at times. It turns out that what I thought was a pricey toy really is a workhorse and we have never looked back. As you can see from the last video it has made Bill’s life a lot easier.

A New Way with Cauliflower

February 3, 2014February 3, 2014 / handmadebyjo / Leave a comment

Cauliflower is an amazing vegetable, it takes on the flavor of pretty much anything you cook it with. You can cook it soft and mash like potatoes, rice it, eat it just with butter. I read a recipe last week on Leite’s Culinaria for Buffalo Cauliflower and knew I had to make it.

There is nothing simpler than this recipe, really. I had a large head of cauliflower so it took closer to 50 minutes to roast and probably continued to cook a little as it cooled. It was that delightful crisp tender texture when I cut it into pieces. I used 1 cup of Frank’s RedHot Sauce and skipped the Sriracha (because that’s what I had). I also had some blue cheese dressing so this was truly the lazy man’s way.

Instead of wings on Superbowl Sunday I had cauliflower and didn’t miss the chicken at all.

A Neurotic Little Dog

January 22, 2014January 22, 2014 / handmadebyjo / Leave a comment

For some reason Sophie thinks the shower is just about as much fun as playing in the snow. If she hears the word shower she will run into the nearest bathroom and wait for you – in the shower. Doesn’t matter if it’s a walk in shower or a tub combo, when you turn the water on she will be waiting to get wet. She’s a weirdo. Judging from the way she looks in this photo she probably really wants a shower, she certainly needs one.

Snickerdoodles

January 21, 2014January 21, 2014 / handmadebyjo / 3 Comments

This is what I do on a snowy, winter day – bake cookies.

I put out a call for requests and this was one. Not having made these for many years I reached for my King Arthur Flour cookbook but knew instantly it wasn’t the right recipe. The one in my memory called for cream of tartar so I dug out the 1950’s version of the Betty Crocker and there it was.

The ingredients –

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose or unbleached flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
The shortening, butter, eggs and sugar are creamed together, then add the dry ingredients until incorporated (except the additional sugar and cinnamon). Couldn’t be simpler.
I use a tablespoon cookie scoop and place the dough ready for rolling on parchment paper. It looks like scoops of vanilla ice cream doesn’t it?
Mix the 1/4 cup of sugar with the cinnamon, roll the dough into balls and then coat with the mixture and set on the pan about 2 inches apart.
I line my baking sheets with parchment as well. Have I told you about my love affair with parchment? It changed my life a few years ago when I discovered I didn’t have to grease and wash my cookie sheets when I was done baking. (Ever notice how those pans never fit in a dishwasher or the sink?) This is the one time-saving device I would have a hard time giving up – that and the cookie scoop due to my ocds about size and shape but that’s a whole different blog.
Put the cookies in a 400 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, they will just barely be getting brown. This is another cookie that I drop the pan on the floor (see Soft Molasses Cookies).

Let these babies cool for a few minutes and serve warm, preferably with a nice cup of tea or coffee.
By the looks of today’s forecast I will be pulling out the parchment paper in Enfield tonight.

Snow

January 20, 2014January 20, 2014 / handmadebyjo / 1 Comment

Saturday we had the most amazing snowstorm. I have been whining lately about our January thaw. Mud season is my least favorite time of the year and I felt like we were in it last week. Everything was brown and ugly, not what I want to look at out my windows. Walking was a difficult slog.

This storm started suddenly. It was fairly warm out and the snow came down hard with huge flakes. Bill and I spent most of the day outdoors just enjoying its exquisite beauty. There is nothing the dogs like more than us being outdoors in the snow. Snow makes everything a whole new game.

Garden Dreaming

January 10, 2014January 10, 2014 / handmadebyjo / 11 Comments

This is the time of year when the grand garden dreams begin. It has been bitter cold out and I’m sad to say the only outdoor adventures I have had in the past month is taking the dogs out twice a day. The snowshoes are waiting in the shed for another good snowstorm.

Like every project I have I start with truly unrealistic plans and then pare them down as the time grows shorter. The list of seeds is pretty long this year with the hope that the spring weather will be decent and my plants will get a better start. I plan to start everything at home rather than buying starts anywhere, including my onions. In years past I just bought onion sets but last year I was unable to get Walla Wallas and was disappointed, this year I won’t leave it to chance.

There has been so much in the news lately about GMOs that I’ve decided this is the only way to go for me. I can’t source anything anymore, you just have no idea where anything comes from and can’t trust what you’re told for the most part. I never thought I would have to work so hard at knowing where my food came from.

I am fortunate to have grown up in a family that always had a large vegetable garden. We canned, froze or otherwise put by most of the food we ate. We always grew our own beef, had chickens for a spell and raised a couple of pigs one time. Having my food source close to me is nothing new but now there seems to be more of an urgency to it. I thought it was just me being a little paranoid but having talked to a couple of medical professionals who are seeing more cancers in much younger people I’m thinking I’m not being over cautious. When someone tells me they know of a 26 year old with breast cancer my first thought is their diet. We have had decades now where our protein sources are laced with hormones and antibiotics all in the name of increasing production. The same goes for our GMO crops. Corn is in everything – every thing. Even if you are trying to do right by your family if you are not reading labels (and reading into them) you simply don’t know what you are getting anymore.

So the grand plan is to plant a large variety in quantities that will get me through to the next harvest. Things that will keep in a root cellar, are good canned or dehydrated. In reading over the long seed list it would seem that my experiment for this growing season will be Dinosaur Kale and a savoyed cabbage. Spinach will be in the mix as well. I’ve grown it before but haven’t in a few years so it made the list. The garlic and asparagus are in the ground both of them are experiments in themselves albeit really long term ones.

This weekend I will spend some time sitting by the wood stove, drinking coffee, plotting out my garden space and ticking off the seed list to see what stays and what goes. I will also do a viability test on some of the seed I have just to see what I really need. I’ll try to sprout some of my popcorn as well because that was one experiment that worked particularly well.

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