EASTER RICOTTA CHEESE BLUEBERRY COFFEECAKE

http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2010/04/blueberry-ricotta-cheese-coffeecake.html


Easter is a time of new beginnings.  Ricotta is a fresh new cheese.  This coffeecake is wonderful anytime of the year, but is especially delightful to celebrate the end of the austerity of Lent.  Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!

GVSU STUDENT COMPOSITION COMPETITION OF 2013--MAGIC MUSIC

My Grandson, Bradley, won 3 out of the 4 awards given out at the Composition Competition at Grand Valley State University.

Bradley

 

The annual Composition Competition, try saying that three times fast, has very strict rules for the music the students write.  Each year the music is based on an exhibit in Art Gallery show.  One year the Gallery had a show based on the still wild area of the GVSU campus.  This year the music was created in response to the show, Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem:  Wonders from the American Museum of Magic.  Bradley's wonderful and funny composition " Houdini" won the audience favorite award.

 

CONGRATUALIONS BRADLEY!!!!

A BASKETFULL OF SCONE RECIPES FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY PLUS IRISH SODA BREAD RECIPE

LEMON BLUEBERRY OAT SCONES
http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2013/01/lemon-blueberry-oat-scones-with.html


MICHIGAN COTTAGE COOK COPY-CAT RECIPE FOR GREAT HARVEST SCONES
http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2012/09/michigan-cottage-cook-copy-cat-recipe.html



NELDA'S IRISH FRUIT OAT SCONES
http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2011/03/neldas-irish-fruit-oat-scones.html



SOUTH HAVEN BLUEBERRY SCONES
http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2010/08/south-haven-blueberry-scones-michigan.html

PLUS

 

NANA CONNELLY'S IRISH SODA BREAD

http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2011/03/nana-connellys-irish-bread.html

HOW TO MAKE A MOLDED EASTER LAMB CAKE OR EASTER BUNNY CAKE



Easter is coming early this year so it is time to think about preparing Easter baked goods.  The Easter Lamb cake is a tradition in many cultures and a joy for children.  It is really easy to make with the proper instructions which you will find in the following post: 

 http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2012/04/easter-lamb-cakes-when-i-was-growing-up.html

 

 

 

 The same instructions can be used to make an Easter Bunny cake.  Have fun and enjoy!!!!

 

 

 



MOM'S OATMEAL SHORTBREAD REFRIGERATOR COOKIES--PERFECT FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY OR ANY DAY.

MOM'S OATMEAL SHORTBREAD REFRIGERATOR COOKIES ALL DRESSED UP FOR CHRISTMAS.

 

 

 

 

This is a "Down Memory Lane" recipe from my Mom which is marvelous for St. Patrick's Day or any other day or holiday.  This refrigerator cookie is rolled in colored coconut or sprinkles to give the edges color and flavor.  The coconut or sprinkles can be the color most associated with a particular holiday you want.

 

 

 

 

I grew up with a family who cooked together especially at Christmas cookie time. My Grandpa would crack the shells of the nuts and pick out the nutmeats. Grandma would be in the corner of the kitchen working on the granite ware table making her cookies. She made the molasses cookies with a decoration of a couple of raisins in the middle and grape-jelly filled cookies. Mom worked on the kitchen table in the middle of the room while Aunt Irma chopped nuts and candied fruit, decorated cookies, and watched the oven. When I was really little, I sat on the back steps with my Cousin Margaret and watched.  I think this is the reason that I love cookies.  Lots and lots of cookies and cookie recipes.

 

 

MOM'S OATMEAL SHORTBREAD REFRIGERATOR COOKIES

This was one of Mom's old standbys.  The convenience of a slice and bake cookie with some oatmeal for nutrition, this shortbread recipe is a winner.  Mom would lightly tint the coconut with food coloring to reflect the holiday, light green for Christmas with yellow or pink for Easter.  She liked pastel tints never bright, garish colors.

3/4 c shortening

1/4 c butter, softened

1 c powdered sugar

2 t vanilla

1 1/4 c flour

1/2 t salt

1 c rolled oats

Shredded coconut or colored sprinkles

Ingredients:  Flour, powdered sugar, shortening, butter, salt, quick oats, and vanilla.

 

 

Roll cookies in coconut, tinted with food coloring, or sprinkles.

 

 

In a bowl, cream shortening, butter, sugar and vanilla together.  In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt and rolled oats.  Combine creamed mixtures with dry mixture.  Chill.  On plastic wrap, form into two rolls about 2-inches in diameter.  Roll in shredded coconut. or sprinkles.  (I place the coconut or sprinkles on non-stick foil for easy application of the coconut or sprinkles.)  Wrap well and chill or freeze.  Slice into cookies; place on lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake in preheated 350 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes.  NOTE:  For those who do not like coconut, roll the cookie dough rolls in sprinkles.

 

Put shortening and butter in a bowl.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla.

 

 

 



Cream shortening, butter, sugar, and vanilla together.

Combine flour, salt, and rolled oats.

 

 

 



Put shortening mixture into flour mixture,

 

 

 



Mix well and chill.

 

 

Divide dough in half. 

 

 

 



Using a sheet of plastic wrap, form each half into a log-shape.

 

 

 

Wrap log in plastic wrap.  Chill.

 

 

 



This is a trick of mine.  Put coconut or sprinkles on a sheet of non-stick foil. 

 

 

 



Roll logs in the coconut or sprinkles.  With the coconut or sprinkles on the non-stick foil, they will not stick to the foil and all end up on the cookie log.

 

 

 

 



Wrap well and foil.  Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

 

 

 



Slice cookies and place on a lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.

 

 

 



Bake in preheated 350 degree F. oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

 

 

 



Cool baked cookies on a rack.

 

 

 



Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!

A SOUTHERN CHEF TELLS HOW TO COOK COLLARD GREENS



A slow cooker is a convenient way to cook greens.

A couple of weeks ago, I went with my friend, Judy, to the Spring Lake Library's program "The Taste of Soul Food." Nancy Rutledge from Grand Rapids Community College shared her knowledge of Southern slave and sharecropper cooking. Nancy learned how to cook in her Grandmother's kitchen. Her Grandma, who had 15 children, lived in the Carolina's and the boot heel of Missouri.

Nancy

Nancy told us that the name "Soul Food" comes from the 1960's when Soul Music was so popular. Soul Food is a wonderful example of the mingling of cultures which leads to "Fusion Cooking" as it is a blend of African, Native American, and American cooking.

During the time of slavery, slaves were given bits, pieces, and parts for food. From those unwanted parts of food, they created legendary food that is still very popular today.

Cornbread

With the abundance of food we have now, it can be difficult to understand how important some greens, pieces of meat, and cornmeal were to someone with a big family to feed. There wasn't enough meat to give everyone a bit of it. There was no butter to make the dry cornbread tasty. To give a taste of meat to a meal, what meat was available was cooked with greens, collard, mustard, turnip, etc. The liquid  used to cook the meat and greens was called "Pot Likker" and was used like a rich gravy.  To make the dry cornbread edible, the cornbread was placed in a bowl and topped with the greens and "Pot Likker" making a moist cornbread and a filling meal.

 

Nancy demonstrated how to make greens and brought to the program already prepared Cornbread, Pecan Pie, and Buttermilk Pie.  The Pecan Pie would have been a slave owner's dish as the pecans would have been dear.  The Buttermilk Pie is served in the spring with fresh strawberries.  Nancy told stories of her Grandma and remember fondly eating biscuits spread with lard and sprinkle with sugar, lard sandwiches, and liver mush which was ground liver mixed with cornmeal and cooked.





Pecan pie and Buttermilk pie

 

 

 

Nancy's Collard greens on cornbread, pecan pie, and buttermilk pie.

 

 

 



HOW TO COOK SOUTHERN COLLARD GREENS IN A SLOW COOKER
If you don't want to use a slow cooker, do not cook greens in an aluminum pan or a cast iron pan.  Use 3 quarts of water if not using a slow cooker.  To make the Chef's Salt called for in the recipe go to:
http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-make-basic-chefs-salt.html

2-2 1/2 qts. water
1 bunch collard greens
1 pkg. smoked turkey necks
1 T Chef salt
1 T seasoned salt
1 t sugar
1 T hot sauce, in Grandma's kitchen it would be homemade

Rinse any dirt off the collard leaves.  Fold leaf in half along the stem.  With a knife, cut on the outside of the stem to remove just the stem from the leaf.  Stack the leaves.  Fold in half, then fold in half again.  Slice (chiffonade) across the leaves to create ribbons.  Put water in slow-cooker.  Add smoked turkey necks, chef salt, seasoned salt, sugar, and hot sauce.  Cook on LOW all day.  Remove turkey necks and take the meat off the bone.  Return the meat to the greens.  Adjust seasoning and serve over cornbread.

Ingredients:  Collard greens, smoked turkey necks, chef salt, seasoned salt, and sugar plus hot sauce.

To make Chef Salt go to:  http://michigancottagecook.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-make-basic-chefs-salt.html

 

The collard greens, I was surprised how many kinds of greens were available in my Yankee supermarket.

The hot sauce:  In Grandma's house, the hot sauce would be a homemade version of Louisiana Green Peppers.  Hot sauce of your choice can be substituted.

 

 

 

 

 The Dutch would add a pinch of nutmeg to the greens.
 

 

 



Fold the leaf in half on the stem.

 

 

 

With a knife, slice along the stem and remove it.

 

 

Discard the stem.

 

 

 

Stack and fold up the leaves.  I rounded them.

 

 

 

Slice across the leaves to form ribbons.

 

 

 

Nancy uses smoked turkey necks instead of smoked pork pieces because they are lower in fat.

 

 



Put all the ingredients in a slow-cooker.

 

 

 



Cook on LOW all day.



Remove the turkey necks and take the meat off the bones.

Return the meat to the greens.

 

 

 

Put some cornbread in a bowl.

Top with greens.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!! 



PISTACHIO PUDDING COOKIES WITH DRIED CRANBERRIES---A COPY-CAT RECIPE FROM THE VILLAGE BAKERY

PISTACHIO PUDDING COOKIES WITH DRIED CRANBERRIES AND NUTS

It's March.  Time to think green.  The joy of green grass under the melting snow and the green buds on bare trees.  The happy green of Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day with green beer and a green river in Chicago.  The glorious green of palms waving during the Easter Season. 

I sampled a cookie like this one at the Village Bakery in Spring Lake.  I decided I needed to make some of my own.  I used, for the first time ever, a pouch of sugar cookie mix.  I like to bake from scratch, but I am not too old to try something different as I also wanted a cookie that could be made in a hurry.


PISTACHIO PUDDING COOKIES WITH DRIED CRANBERRIES AND PECANS
You can use dry roasted pistachio nuts instead of pecans, but the cookies I had from the bakery had pecans in them.  Pecans are also cheaper than pistachios.

1 pouch (1lb.1-1/2oz) pouch sugar cookie mix
1 box pistachio instant pudding and pie filling mix
1/2 c flour
1/2 c butter, melted
2 eggs
1 c dried cranberries
1 c pecans, chopped

Ingredients:  Sugar cookie mix, pistachio instant pudding and pie filling mix, eggs, butter, flour, dried cranberries, and nuts.

 I put White Sanding Sugar on the unbaked cookies.  You could also glaze them or sprinkle with powdered sugar after baking the cookies.

Place cookie mix, dry pudding mix, and flour in a large bowl.  Mix well together.  Melt the butter and add to cookie mixture with eggs and stir until well blended.  Add dried cranberries and nuts.  Stir until mixed together.  Put parchment paper on cookie sheets or spray sheets with non-stick cooking spray.   Drop dough, using a cookie scoop or teaspoon, onto prepared cookie sheet.  Press down lightly on the top of the cookies.  Sprinkle with White Sanding Sugar.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F. oven.  Cookies are done when lightly golden brown on the edges.  Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove cookies to wire rack. 

Chop the nuts.

Put cookie mix, pudding mix, and flour in a mixing bowl.  Mix well.



Add melted butter and eggs.  Mix well.



Add dried cranberries and nuts.



Mix well.

Using a small cookie scoop or teaspoon, form cookies and put them 2-inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets. 

 Slightly flatten the cookies with your fingers.



Sprinkle with Sanding Sugar, if desired.  Bake in preheated 350 degree F. oven for 9 to 11 minutes until light golden brown around the edges.  Cool.



Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!!