Helen's Fruitcake

It's Christmas time and the stores were all out of those little bricks of fruitcake that my husband loves. It made me sad because he really wanted some. I decided that after searching several stores that the best alternative was to make him one myself.

A while ago I purchased a large lot of recipes from an estate sale of a woman named Helen from Burns, Oregon. She had faithfully collected recipes for years. How the family let them slip out of their hands I have know idea but I am glad they slid into mine.  One of the recipes was her version of a fruitcake. It was contained in a sweet letter she wrote to a friend named Gail and her husband (?) Chuck. Truthfully, I made my adaptations on the recipe, but I followed the bones of it.

Here is what I did:

(1) 8 oz. container of green cherries
(1) 8 oz. container of pineapple wedges (candied)
(1) 4 oz. container of diced candied orange peel
(1) 4 oz. container of diced candied lemon peel
(1) 4 oz. container of diced candied citron
(1) 8 oz. package of dried mango
(1) package of Craisins (dried cranberries)
(12) ounces of seedless raisins
(1) 4 oz. of dried cherries
(1) 8 oz. maraschino cherries
Mix all the above in a large bowl with 1/2 cup of flour.

In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together as follows:
(3 1/2) cups of flour
(1) teaspoon of salt
(3/4) teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
(3/4) teaspoon of ginger
(3/4) teaspoon of cinnamon

In separate bowl cream one pound of butter (Helen says use shortening but I used butter, because, well...BUTTER) with (2) cups of sugar.

Separate (6) eggs from their yolks and whites. Beat the egg yolks and add them to the creamed butter and sugar.

In separate bowl (I know, this recipe gets a lot of dishes dirty!) combine the following:
(3/4) cup of honey
(1/4) cup of unsulfured molasses
(1/3) cup of juice (Helen says you can use wine, brandy or grape juice. I used pear juice because it was all that I had)

Alternate adding honey/molasses/juice mixture to the creamed butter/sugar/egg yolks with the sifted dry ingredients until combined. (I did this in my Kitchen-Aid but it was a struggle because it is a large amount of batter)

Once the above is combined, take the leftover egg whites and beat to stiff peaks. Fold in the fruit and the egg whites into the batter. Okay....let's get real right here. It was HARD at this point. I had to go get my 19 year old son to do the stirring. Combining that much fruit (and yes, it looks like TOO much fruit but it's not) is very difficult into that much batter. It takes a very strong arm. I was worried when I started to fold in the egg whites but discovered it was essential as well.

Place into a greased tube pan and bake in a 250 degree oven for a minimum of 2 1/2 hours.

Underneath the fruitcake, keep a pan of hot water for the first 1 1/2 hours of baking time. Be careful taking the hot water out of the oven.

Check the fruitcake with toothpicks to see if it comes out clean. Be patient. It takes time. Depending on your oven it may take longer to bake than mine did (or shorter, start checking for doneness at 2 hours).

Take out of the oven when done, loosen the sides with a butter knife and flip out on to a plate after about 10 minutes.

The verdict? My husband likes it. Even my son, who does not like fruitcake likes it. It's too much candied fruit sweetness for me BUT my men are happy so I am happy!! Thanks Helen!

Smoked Ham and Lentil Soup

I wanted to make a hearty soup that I was sure was going to be enjoyed and be easy to re-heat as needed for my family and for some sweet friends.  As I wandered around the grocery store I discovered some heirloom rainbow carrots. They looked interesting so I decided to make them the basis of my soup.

The carrots were lovely. I peeled them with my potato peeler and sliced into rounds, not too thick and not too thin. I used the entire bag.  After rinsing I put them in the bottom of my soup pot and added just enough chicken stock to cover and set them to boil. As soon as they began to boil, I turned the heat back to medium low and let them simmer while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

As the carrots were gently simmering I began to chop the ham.  Ham is a very interesting subject for me. Sometimes I like to bake it myself for hours and hours all day with my own special blend of seasonings. Sometimes I realize that I do not have time for that so I seek out special hams at the store that have excellent flavor.

This is the ham that I purchased. I bought a half one that was perfectly smoked. While my carrots were simmering, I chunked the ham into small bite size pieces. When all of the ham was completely chopped, I added them into the pot with the simmering carrots.

Into the pot next after the ham addition, I added 16 ounces of chicken stock and one stick of real butter (you really are not surprised I added butter, are you?).  As the next addition to the pot is lentils, I needed more liquid for them to absorb than just the chicken stock and butter that the carrots and ham were bathing in.  To the pot I added 8 cups of water. Because I used a rainbow selection of carrots I also decided to use two colors of lentils. To the carrots, ham, chicken stock and water I added one pound of green lentils and 3/4 pound of red lentils.

I brought the above combination to a boil again and then immediately turned the heat back down and let the lentils simmer gently with the carrots and ham for about twenty minutes. Honestly, do not overcook your lentils. This is the very reason that I pre-cooked my carrots. I knew the carrots would need longer than the lentils.   I also added a small amount of cayenne pepper and a healthy shake of Soul Seasoning.

Time your cooking of your lentils carefully. Follow their cooking directions carefully. The key to this soup was simple. Tasty carrots, smokey ham, well cooked lentils and a touch of butter. Give it a try and enjoy!
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Pork Chops in Mushroom Gravy

It was a beautiful day to worship. How nice it was to see Carolyn, the wife of our pastor, at church today. She is an amazing and special woman.  Her husband had knee surgery and has been out for a few weeks. Now he has a pinched nerve in his shoulder. I feel bad for them. I know he is anxious to get back to work. They need lifted up and loved on. The best way I know to do that is to cook. Today I am making them some of my mother's pork chops and mushroom gravy, butter beans and honey rolls.

I start with some fresh center cut boneless pork loin chops, placed in a baking dish and liberally sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper. Next in the pan is some fresh white mushrooms wiped clean of their dirt and sliced. One family size can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup and one can of evaporated milk. Cover with foil and place in a 375 degree oven for one hour until the pork is done, the mushrooms tender and the gravy nice and thick. I take the foil off when there is about 15 minutes left so it can brown up a little bit and get good and bubbly.

Here it is in all of it's yummy goodness! My mother used to make it all the time except she did not add the fresh mushrooms.  That was my idea. I love my fungus! The butter beans are almost done and I need to wrap this dish up and get it out the door and get ready for church.  I hope you are heading to service today too!!

Fresh Butter Beans!

We went to the local Farmer's Market today for something to make for dinner.  It was a hot and busy day with lots of people shopping for fresh produce.  Today's list included Red Delicious apples, russet potatoes, locally grown onions, butter beans,  Vy's Pies , and to see if the quilt lady they advertised about was really my sweet friend Pauline.  I got lucky on so many counts.

Now for the confession:  I do not like Lima beans or butter beans.  Really and truly.  The real reason I picked up the butter beans today was for my daughter Paulina who loves them.  Neither she nor I had ever eaten them fresh.  The amazing revelation is that fresh butter beans taste NOTHING like the canned or dry ones.  They were amazing.  They were so good that my oldest daughter (who never eats anything green) loved them!

It all started with a small bushel of locally grown, fresh butter beans. I dumped them in the strainer and rinsed  well to get off all the little leaves and dirt.

Into the pan they went with just enough water to cover and some salt for flavor. They boiled for thirty minutes.  I drained them and added some butter (you really are not surprised, are you?) and stirred well so the butter melted.

The butter beans were wonderful! Needless to say, there were no leftovers. I am amazed that she and I both loved them.  A new favorite bean to our menu!!

The proof is in the picture. Billieanne....actually eating something green. I love my beautiful daughters.

It was a comfort food kind of night

Today was a sad day for my children and their biological father. His mother passed away last night and I pray that she is resting in peace.  Tonight was not a night to try something new and fancy so I did what any good Italian momma would do and busted out the pasta, the butter, the garlic and the bacon!

I put some garlic bread in the oven to bake while I made the rest of this quick and comforting dish.  One pound of bacon was put into a pan to fry into crispy goodness. One pound of pasta went into salted water to boil.  One and a half sticks of butter went into a pan so that I could clarify it into a wonderful sauce.  I smashed and minced 10 cloves of garlic.  While the pasta boiled and the bacon fried, I put the garlic into the clarified butter to marry and meld into garlicky goodness.

When the pasta was finished it was drained and put into a large bowl. The bacon was crumbled over top and I poured on the clarified butter and garlic. It was tossed together and served with the garlic bread.

Overall it was a very comforting meal that everyone enjoyed. It has been a sad day and bacon and pasta generally make things better. Maybe not the healthiest of meals but since we don't use bacon very often, I think it was okay.

Don't forget to tell the ones you love that you do love them. Also do not forget to share your faith with them as well. You never know when it will be too late.

Are you hungry?

I am sorry I have not posted in a few days! Things have been difficult.  I have not even cooked a meal in at least a week! As I work out of town, cooking during the week is rare.  I am usually spoiled to pieces by my sissy.  Last night she made some really yummy beefy rice-a-roni with some stew beef that she had put in the crock pot all day. :) It was good.

So why do I ask if you are hungry?  As hard as it is to fathom, a lot of children and adults go hungry in the United States.  The United States, home to McDonalds and "super-size me please!".  I got to wondering today if we take our liberties for granted?  Do we automatically assume that everyone has enough because we do? 

I can recall a time when I did not have enough.  I remember pacing the floor of my tiny kitchen wondering how I was going to feed my three children.  Through God's grace, food was provided.  Somehow, the ingredients that I found left over in my pantry were enough to feed three hungry little kids.

The next time that you sit down to eat, don't forget to pray and ask God to provide for others.  Then take it a next step and drop off something at your local food bank or your church's food pantry.  The excess you have today could actually come back around and provide for you or loved ones when you need it.  Love is action, not just words.  Don't forget to live out the love you have today.

Until this weekend, when I get to cook again!  Take care!