worse than caffeine...

...and by worse, I mean far, far better.


Seriously--this is addictive stuff for any peppermint fan, and it just so happens that I am a lover of all things peppermint. No, lover doesn't really cut the mustard. I'm a peppermint-infatuate. A peppermint-fiend. President of the Peppermint Fan Club. You get the picture.


These things being said, it's no surprise that I only allow myself to make this treat once a year. Self-control seems to fly right out the window when my tongue hits that first creamy, sweet, minty bite. It's imperative that the candy be bagged immediately, securely tied with a double-knotted string, and into the hands of my friends and neighbors as soon as possible.


Did I mention that this fudge is kinda tasty?

I-Can't-Stop-Putting-This-In-My-Mouth Mint Fudge
(based on this recipe)

12 ounce package vanilla chips
16 ounce can vanilla frosting
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
8 drops red food coloring
crushed peppermint candies or candy canes or a smattering of peppermint sprinkles

Line an 8-inch square pan with wax paper. Melt the vanilla chips in the microwave, stirring until smooth. Mix in the frosting and peppermint extract. Spread the creamy goodness into the prepared pan. Drip the food coloring over the fudge and swirl decoratively with a knife. Sprinkle with crushed candies and chill until set.

Good luck trying to pace yourself.

read more words!

roll me out the door

My ideal roll has a soft and fluffy interior and a crusty, crunchy, browned exterior. Believe it or not, Eb accomplishes this quite nicely.


It's pretty easy, too--I simply use my recipe for whole wheat sourdough bread, but instead of dividing it into loaf pans, I pinch off little balls and let them rise in a round cake pan.


Voila--the resulting rolls are just the way I like 'em.


They pair pretty darn well with some pepper jelly, too...


...as does turkey, ham, cheese & crackers, and a heck of a lot of other things.


It's good stuff. Magical, even. Maybe if I can wrest the recipe away from the fella (yes, fella) who made it, I'll share it with ya'll.

read more words!

back in black

It's been far too long since Eb made an appearance, wouldn't you say? Never fear, he's still alive and kicking, and he's currently contributing to some very moist and magnificent muffins.


I've found that you sure don't come across the combination of bananas and blackberries very often, and that's too bad. The sweetness of the bananas nicely balances the tart, tart, tarty-tart blackberries. Throw in some of that tangy sourdough flavor, and you have a real winner on your hands (and in your mouth)(but hey--not on your hips).

Added bonus: Blackberries have a knack for making foods right purty, too.


Blackberry Banana Muffins
(adapted from this recipe)

1 1/2 cup banana baby food (ah, perks...)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sourdough starter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line your baking vessel or choice (I used a mini-muffin tin and a mini-loaf pan. Apparently mini = marvelous.) Mix the oil into the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add in the sugar, egg, vanilla, and starter. Stir in the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the blackberries, and stir until just incorporated. Divide the mixture into the prepared pan(s). For mini-muffins, bake for about 20 minutes. For mini-loaves, bake for about 25 minutes. For loaves, bake for about 1 hour. Rely on the toothpick test. My yield was 24 mini-muffins and 6 very short and squat mini-loaves.

read more words!

apple of my eye

I love apple pie.


Love. It.

It's truly my dessert of choice, and all modesty aside, I make a fierce one. And by fierce, I mean wonderfully-crusted, cinnamon-scented, and jam-packed with apple goodness.


I'm not sure why the apples look like sweet potatoes...perhaps they've been stained by the years of contact with cinnamon. Niiiice.
(And yes, that is indeed extra cinnamon sprinkled on top of the apples.)

Mamboree and I had a massive apple pie filling canning session a couple of years ago, so I haven't had to cook one up from scratch for a good while. I also have a go-to crust recipe, but I mixed it up a bit for this particular pie, using a combination of butter and shortening rather than all shortening. I've read that butter contributes to flavor while shortening is key for texture and that blending the two makes for a perfect crust, but that wasn't what I found. I think I'll stick with the old stand-by for a bit longer.


Yes, that is indeed extra, extra cinnamon sprinkled on top of the crust.

With my extra dough, I used cookie cutters to make some stars and cute little men. Gingerbread men? Pshaw. Give me pie-crust men!


As you wish.

Of course, the pie was consumed with a schlop of vanilla ice cream, but since I haven't figured out how to take a picture of ice cream before it melts into oblivion, there is no photographic evidence. You'll have to take my word for it.

Canned Apple Pie Filling (with just a hint of cinnamon)
(yields about 7 quarts)

4 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
10 cups water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
6 pounds apples of choice, peeled, cored, and sliced

In a large pot, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add salt and water and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add lemon juice.
Sterilize canning jars, lids, and rings by boiling them in a large pot of water.
Pack the sliced apples into hot canning jars, leaving about a 1/2-inch headspace. Fill the jars with the hot syrup. Put the lids on the jars and process in a water bath for 20 minutes.

read more words!

smells like bean spirit

Most of my most beloved smells originate in the kitchen: hot apple pie (or, let's be serious, anything involving cinnamon), coffee, and Eb and his freshly-baked sourdough bread, to name only a few. One of my less-obvious favorites is the aroma of spicy baked beans as they bubble away in the oven.


I hesitate to say it, but isn't it unfortunate how something can smell so good at first, and then a few hours later be so foul and offensive?

[I'm sorry--is that distasteful blog content? Meh, it's a fact of life. But seriously, if you're repulsed, I apologize. My excuse is that I was raised sandwiched between two brothers.]

This is a recipe that I've tweaked and honed until it suits me perfectly. I'll bet you have your favorite version of baked beans, too, and I hope you'll agree--they're worth the inevitable trouble...

Blissful Baked Beans
1 15-oz can pork & beans
1 15-oz can northern beans, drained
2 cups Fordhook lima beans
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 10-oz can diced tomatoes with chiles, partially drained
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown mustard
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon oregano

Combine all ingredients and stir. Pour into large baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until amount of liquid of choice remains, stirring occasionally. Consume with a side of Bean-o.

read more words!

upside down or inside out

For some reason, German chocolate cake doesn't really excite me. I love both coconut and chocolate, so what's my deal? I wish I knew.


One of our Thanksgiving desserts was an upside-down German chocolate cake, expertly-made by my dear grandma. This is not to be confused with the inside-out German chocolate cake, which is different (but no less decadent), with multiple layers of coconut-pecan filling and a chocolate ganache. This upside-down version is simply and magically composed of pecans and coconut on the bottom of a frosting-less chocolate cake, speckled with blobs of cream cheese goodness (see below).


It was a big hit with my family (after all, you saw that behemoth box of chocolates we attacked). You and yours might like it, too.

Me? I'm sticking with apple pie.

Upside-Down German Chocolate Cake
(a la my Grandma Alma)
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup coconut
1 package German chocolate cake mix
1 pound powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup margarine, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan.
Scatter the coconut and pecans around the bottom of the pan. Prepare the cake mix according to directions on box and pour the batter over the nuts and coconut. Mix cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until well-blended and drop by spoonfuls onto the top of the cake. Bake for 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

read more words!

had enough?

Apparently, I haven't. I can peruse Thanksgiving post after Thanksgiving post after after-Thanksgiving post and not get tired of seeing your turkeys, cranberry sauces, and pies. What's more, I can eat our own leftovers for meal after meal after meal and still crave 'em the next day.


So, without further ado, here's (part of) our spread:


turkey--still good four days later


dressing--we don't call it stuffing unless it was actually inside the bird at some point


sauce of the cranberries


eggs of the devil


sweet potater casserole


cole slaw--the version that I've yet to match


the 4-pound box o' chocolates that we worked on all weekend...

Thank you, Thanksgiving!

read more words!