Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Yummiest Blue Berry Pie Recipe Ever and Recent Wedding

My sister NeeKee gave me this recipe for blueberry pie and it's the bestest ever!!!  Everyone adores this pie...some people even steal it from funerals (snicker...Miss Riya!)....

Blue Berry Pie

1 pie crust
1 1/2 cups frozen Blue Berries
1 stick melted butter
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup all purpose flour

Put blue berries in crust.  Mix all other ingredients, pour on top and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees!
Wow that's easy!  But more yummy than easy!

Pictures from the recent wedding I did at the New Orleans Botanical Gardens....such a lovely night....the wedding was perfect!


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Pork Dumplings

I'm not a bit Asian...but My Family (including me!) loves Asian food.  I'm determined to learn the basics of their cooking....There's so much to learn, and each Asian culture has their own unique way of seasoning and preparing their food.  I love the simplicity and attention to aesthetics that the Japanese pay to their food....Really....I'm not even sure if the food I try in restaurants is really authentic....but I love the fact that there are lots and lots of veggies used in most dishes.  I love Thai food and the unique seasonings they use.....I know .....I'm rambling....but you get the idea.   I wanna learn to cook Asian food!  I am learning too!  Sometimes I even make up my own recipes....like ginger garlic shrimp on bamboo skewers....served over rice...yummmmmm

This recipe calls for Chinese cabbage, which I did not have at the moment....so I just skipped it.  My family devoured them!
Basically it's as easy as mixing up the seasonings and the ground pork.  I bought a large pork roast on sale and ground it myself using the grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer  (Did I ever tell you I adore my Kitchen Aid mixer?  It's without a doubt the most used small appliance in my kitchen not including the microwave.).  After making 54 dumplings I still had 1/2 the Asian pork mixture left, and a 1 pound and 1 1/2 pound ziplock bag for the freezer.
Put a heaping teaspoon of the mixture in the wonton wrapper, moisten the edges and fold over...

steam for 20 minutes and yer dun!!!  I used a bamboo steamer I bought from our local Asian market.  Hong Kong Market.
Here's the recipe:

Pork Dumplings

100 wonton wrappers
2 lbs ground pork
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I used more)
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tblsp thin sliced green onions
4 tblsp of soy sauce
3 tblsp of sesame oil
1 egg beaten
5 cups of finely shredded Chinese cabbage  ( I skipped because I didn't have)

Mix it all up then make those yummy dumplings!   Serve with fried rice, broccoli, egg plant...whatever!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

How To Make Pear Sauce!

My girls love apple sauce....So when I saw my pear trees dripping with pears this year I decided to make pear sauce!  It's really yummy and totally organic.  I modified the recipe for apple sauce in the "Complete Book of Home Preserving by Ball" on page 182.  I'll post the modified recipe at the end of this post.

I picked quite a few pears....peeled and peeled....
....chopped and chopped.....the water has citric acid in it to prevent browning.  You can also use lemon juice....
....cooked the slices until just tender.....
...pureed in the food processor until very fine (I love my old Pyrex bowls)....
....added some sugar, lime juice (I had frozen lime juice from the trees on hand)...and heated up the sauce....
Jarred the sauce....yummmmmm......
...canned the jars in a water bath....then....11 pints of yummy pear sauce to eat right now and later!

Pear Sauce Recipe
Makes around 11 to 12 pints

25 lbs (about) of pears peeled and sliced in chunks away from core
Put cores and peelings in your compost bucket!
3 cups of granulated sugar
4 tblsps of lime or lemon juice

Prepare jars and canner
(wash jars then boil to sterilize...I save the boiled water for canning later)
Cook chunks of pear until just tender (add enough water to keep from sticking)
Dip chunks of pear from water (discard or drink water) and puree in food processor until fine
Return puree to large pot
Add sugar and lime or lemon juice
Heat until bubbly
Fill prepared jars leaving 1/2 inch head space
Cap with prepared lid and band
Place in canner with water at least two inches above top of jars
Bring to a boil
Process 20 minutes at a rapid boil
Turn off heat and let set 5 minutes
Remove from canner and allow to cool!
Jars will make a popping sound when sealed
Do Not push down button that indicates sealing on lid