Bill & Eleanor Stavisky

My favorite sugar cookie recipe is from Eleanor Stavisky.  She was a great lady that taught me a few kitchen skills not to mention the fact she was my elementary music teacher.   Her husband Bill was the superintendent at Oswayo Valley.  In his early years he was the boys basketball coach and a damn good one from the stories told through the years.   My brother played for Mr. Stavisky.

Well as time passed, they retired, and we became friends.  It's funny because I was scared to death of them in school.  Not that they were mean, I was always afraid of getting in trouble ;)  Bill always had a beautiful garden across from our home in Shinglehouse.  Dick would go over to  visit and Bill would give him the ins and outs of gardening.  He would also leave bags of veggies with us.  He would pick up hickory nuts in the fall, crack them and give us a quart of perfect halves.  That was talent and patience, that was Bill

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Eleanor would send cookies to us quite often.  I tried a couple times to make them with her recipe but not as good as hers.  When I told her she said, come on down we are going to make them together.  It worked and we had a great chat.  What she told me always comes back when I think of her.  She said, you know I never thought I would get this old, she was 72 at the time.  There was sadness in her eyes but she added that she has had a good life and good children.  So Eleanor this post is for you, a good teacher, friend and wonderful lady ♥

I'm pretty sure, well 95% sure the cookies meet Eleanor's quality and 100% sure the grand kids will eat them without  complaining they don't taste good.

Happy Valentine's Day.  It's not the flowers or gift on this day that matters as much as the love everyday ♥

Bread recipes

Today I hand quilted to keep busy with a little baking in between.  Warm bread for supper which I held to 1 1/2 slices.  It amazes me the tall thin guy  can eat as much as he wants anytime he wants to and the short not thin gal has to keep tabs and limit the intake.. DARN FOR ME.

Well the bread is easy and delicious so why not pass it on ;)

This makes two loaves of white bread:  2 cups of milk scalded, add 1 TBS salt, 2 TBS sugar and 3 TBS of butter, let it cool in large bowl.  In  a small bowl add 2 pkg. dry yeast and 1/4 cup warm water. stir til dissolved.  Add 2 cups of flour to milk mixture and mix by hand.  Add water and yeast and 2 more cups flour, mix together.  Now 1 more cup of flour and turn out on floured board to knead and work in enough flour to make a dough, knead for 5 minutes and place in well greased bowl to raise. It should double in size, (about an hour).  Punch down, let raise 30 minutes. Punch down, shape into 2 loaves, put in bread pans, let it raize till double, bake at 375, it will be done when golden brown and sound hollow when you tap on the top of it.  butter the top while warm.

I also made two loaves of date and nut bread today.  It is so moist and I love putting it in the freezer for emergencies, like when company stops and I want to razzle dazzle them ;)  with something besides my JAMACIAN ME CRAZY COFFEE ! It defrosts so nice in the microwave.  Geez how did I manage without a microwave when the kids were little?  That would have saved time and dishes!

ok, here is the date bread recipe:  2 1/4 cups of boiling water, add 3 tsp. baking soda and 1 1/2 cups of chopped dates, cool for 30 minutes. Add 2 cups sugar, 3 TBS of melted butter, 2 beaten eggs,1 tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla, 4 1/2 cups flour and 1 cup of
walnuts. stir all together, pour into 2 loaf pans and bakefor 60 minutes at 350.

Mr. Roo

For the past two mornings I have done the barn chores bright and early which is way to early for me.  Especially when yesterday it was -9 and today -17 !  I will say it wakes ya up and clears the head ;)  The added bonus, 2 horses and 20 chickens/roosters are so happy to see me.  It takes 30-45 minutes tops.  I don't muck, that would double the chore time.  Besides why take the mucking fun from Dick. lol

Ok I got off track, this is about Mr. Roo.  He has been crowing like a real man while 
I'm getting their food and water ready (they have a heated water dish because they live like kings and queens).  Dick came back from night chores and said Mr. Roo is not acting himself  so he put him in the tack room for the night.  Now I am hoping Mr. Roo is just tired from all his strutting and taking care of the girls all day long.  He has 17 of them to keep an eye or whatever on!  We shall see if he just needed a peaceful, quiet night by himself.

I am amazed at the life I live!

         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.

This is not Sochi 2014 but it is Clara 2014.  At 64 we can still get out for a little fun and plenty of exercise.  The only way to enjoy life is to do anything and everything, as long as it's legal ;)

Swedish meatballs, Cheryl's version ;)

This is my version 1 lb ground veal, 1 lbground chuck, 3/4 cup fine bread crumbs ( I used boughten seasoned), 3 eggs, 3 TBSP wor hester sauce, basil, black pepper, marjorim, garlic powder in a large bowl. thenin a small bowl 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic chopped, micro wave 1 min. add to meat mixture. I also add a TBSP of beef soup base. mix, make small balls, fry in butter (everything is betta /butta Put these in crockpot. then add a couple cups of water to fry pan with 2 TBSP of flour, tsp of soup base and pepper. simmer til bubbly and pour over meatballs. I keep it on low for a bit and then on warm til ready to eat...

What inspires me

I love living in the country.  Windows are my best friends as they allow me to take in the beautiful view I have from each one in my home.  There is beautiful Clara Creek which is just a small stream that never goes dry even in the hot days of August.  Fall allows the bright colored leaves to gently flow down to the Oswayo Creek.  Winter has magical ice formations and what I call ice clouds floating under the surface.  Then comes spring with the winter melts which make the water look cloudy and spring trout season for an occasional trout to be caught. Finally the warm days of summer when the little kids can wade looking for crabs under rocks and minnows dashing here and there.  It is what inspires me when I look out my kitchen window, Clara Creek and 25 beautiful acres of pastures and tree filled hills.