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Autumn Favorites
By Tamera Bastiaans
One of my favorite autumn memories would have to be
coming home to the smell of apples and dumplings on a rainy day. My mom
always made a pot as soon as she saw it start to sprinkle. She didn't
know how much we expected it until one precipitus afternoon when I came
tromping through the door with my friends, sniffed the air and
proclaimed "See! I TOLD you she'd make them!" Unbeknownst to my mom, I
had been bragging on the bus that I liked when it rained because my mom
ALWAYS had apples and dumplings for us when we got home. None of them
believed me and challenged me to prove it. That was just one of the many
times mom came through for me!
Tamera's Mom Shares the Recipe!
Oh my goodness, I made up the recipe for Apples and Dumplings.
I just peeled and sliced apples, put them into a pan with water, sugar and cinnamon. Cooked them till tender. Thickened the juice with a small amount of cornstarch, then made the dumplings with the bisquick recipe (2 cups Bisquick and 2/3 cup milk, but added a bit of sugar and some cinnamon.)
Dropped the mixture by spoonfuls (about 10) onto the apples, covered with a lid, and let them cook on the lowest setting till the dumplings were done (about 10 minutes).
Served the apples over a dumpling, and sometimes served them with a scoop of ice cream.
~Love,Mom
Another favorite autumn memory would have to be seeing dad come home from Grandma's house, "in town" bearing homemade persimmon cookies. Since he worked in town he would always stop by to visit and in the fall, she usually sent him home with a tin. That was one thing about Grandma, she was never without an empty tin to send something home in! I NEVER hear of anyone out here in Southern California making anything with persimmons anymore. In fact, I often find them a little difficult to locate. Since I have inherited Grandma's recipe for persimmon cookies, I look at it as my job to be sure to find persimmons each fall and spend a few hours peeling, pureeing and freezing the pulp, so that I can make my dad some of these wonderfully moist, delicious cookies when my parents come to visit! Here is Grandma's recipe.
Persimmon Cookies
1 cup persimmon pulp, strained
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 can raisins, optional
Cream Sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl. Add egg, pulp and soda. Stir well. Add all dry ingredients. Add walnuts and raisins last. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
About the Author
Tamera is a stay-at-home-wife who loves to cook, read, write, garden and craft. She has a free email newsletter called Tamera's Tea Time Talk and Culinary Chatter. If you would like to sign up for her newsletter click here.
SeptemberLady "Born and have lived in Southern MD most of my life. My husband and I just finished building a new home on the family farm, where I hope to retire in the near future.
My interests: Doll collecting, cookbook collector (especially old ones), antiques, family/friend get-togethers, cooking/baking, flower and vegetable gardening, bird-watching."
Memorial Day: Backyard Grilling Memorial Day signals the start of barbecue season. Everyone wants to light that fire and charcoal that first meal. A few tips might pre- vent your entree from becoming a "Burnt Offering."
Read these tips for plenty of grilling ideas, make this year's barbecue perfect!
Growing and Using Garlic Chives Garlic chives, Allium tuberosum, is a hardy perennial (Zones 3-9) that will grow to about 12 inches high. The stems are skinnier and flat, instead of hollow as are regular chives, with greenish white blooms that are about an inch wide and not as rounded. They bloom in the summer rather than spring. The bloom stalks grow much taller than the leaves, sometimes up to 30 inches.
The stems and blooms are both edible and have a mild garlic onion taste. I've noticed many writers will list this as primarily as an Asian herb, as they are also known as Chinese chives, Chinese leeks, ku chai (China) or Nira (Japan), but it has many other uses as well!
The Perfect Porch Swing Perhaps it is the soothing rhythm or the reassuring creak of the porch swing that attracts us. Perhaps it is the companionable silence or quiet conversation. Or maybe swings simply remind us of more genteel times.
Although porch swings can be purchased in a wide range of materials, the most common are wicker and wood. You can also make your own porch swing from one of the myriad of woodworking patterns available at garden centers, hardware stores, or on the Internet.
Memorial Day: Backyard Grilling
Growing and Using Garlic Chives
The Perfect Porch Swing