This book is where my mother lives for me, she died suddenly when I was 17.  It is worn and falling apart but it is beautiful with sweet memories of my mom, Della. Opening it and finding the recipe I want is beyond wonderful for me and is used often. I sat on the counter while she followed recipes out of it and as you can see she let me write in it as she cooked, baked or did the canning.  I always pretended I was writing recipes and mom would dictate them me.  If you look close you can see recipes that mom's friends had given her.  Elenor Dingman, Pauline Eastman, M.E. Harris, Genevive Maxson and many others.  I have also added recipes from Pam, Cookie and Grandma Angeline Bryant to the book.  
        I have a set of mom's knitting needles, size 6 that get used frequently, another skill she taught me.  This is why I love the garden, lawn work and yes my chickens, everything she loved and enjoyed doing.  You see living on a farm most of my life and like an only child that was entertainment ♥  I had three brothers, 16, 17, and 25 years old when I was born ;)  that is why I felt like an only child.

       I'm sure you all have a memory or memories that take you back to that carefree, loving and safe place.  If you do I hope you find peace as I do going back if only for a minute.

The Recipe Book

This is what -8 degrees looks like today.  No skin showing when it gets this cold!  My chickens love the stale bread we buy them at the local discount bakery.  In return they give us beautiful brown or white eggs.  This week they have started laying more which means a few dozen for our faithful customers.
Cream puffs on the baking list today.  The farm fresh and free range eggs make them so light and fluffy :)
The standard cream puff recipe I use:   In a sauce pan melt 1 stick of butter with 1 cup of water and an 1/8 tsp. of salt.  Bring to boil and then stir in 1 cup of flour stirring until mixture leaves the side of the pan.  Remove from heat, put in mixing bowl, cool slightly.  Add 4 eggs one at a time and beat til incorporated.  Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet (I use parchment paper) and bake for 30 minutes in a 400 degree preheated oven.  Then poke a whole in the puff and return to oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  cool and fill with your choice of filling or my filling recipe.  dust tops with confectionary sugar or chocolate frosting.
My filling recipe:  In saucepan combine 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, stir in 1 1/2 cups milk, cook over medium heat stirring constantly til thick. In small bowl beat 6 egg yolks, beat a small amount of cooked mixture into eggs, then add back into the cooked mixture and cook another 8-10 minutes until thick. This is called tempering the eggs so you don't cook them into lumps ;) Remove from heat stir in 2 tsp. vanilla and 2 TBSP of butter. cool and fill puffs.  Or add coconut or bananas and fill a baked pie shell, top with meringue made from the egg whites ;)  Put in oven at 400 degrees til meringue peaks are lightly brown.