Fall means Persimmons

Fall has finally arrived, although with the warm outside temperatures around here, you can't tell it. One of my favorite seasons and with choices like cobblers, pies, and warm punches, fall is one of the best times to cook.

When my husband and I bought our home over twenty years ago, one of the things we liked were all the fruit trees in the big yard. We had apple, peach, and pear trees, a grape arbor, and wild blackberries. But, there was one tree that sold me on the house and that was the persimmon tree. It was the largest persimmon tree I had ever seen.

My memories of persimmon picking were the many times that my aunt would take my cousin and I with her to pick persimmons. None of the trees back then were as big as the one that stood in my future yard.

The apple, peach and pear tree are long gone, but the persimmon tree is still standing tall and full of fruit. Once they ripen and fall, I'll gather and run them trough the colander to get the pulp. I always freeze the pulp in 2 cup portions because that the amount used in my pudding recipe. One fall, I decided to freeze the pulp in zipper bags, which I found to be a big mistake. Once thawed, you can't get all the pulp out of the bag. Now, I freeze them in plastic freezer containers.

Persimmon pudding is nearly all I make from the pulp, but once or twice I like to try something different. By summer, if I still have pulp in the freezer, I like to make homemade persimmon ice cream.

Persimmon Pudding

2 C. persimmon pulp
2 C. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. cloves
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
1 stick butter or margarine
1 C. milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 - 2 C. flour

Grease and flour 9x13 inch pan. Mix all ingredients well. Pour into the pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees f.

Persimmon Ice Cream*

2 3/4 C. sugar
3/4 C. persimmon pulp
2 T. flour
8 eggs, beaten
1/4 t. salt
1 pint heavy cream
Milk

Mix together sugar and pulp. Add the flour, eggs, salt, and cream. Pour into an ice cream freezer and fill the container with the milk until the mixture is about 3 inches from the top. Churn according to freezer directions. Serve immediately when done.

* Please take caution in making an ice cream recipe with raw eggs. According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, between 1996 and 2000 there were recorded illness in more than 500 people that were traced to salmonella bacteria in homemade ice cream. You may want to substitute a recipe that cooks the mixture, or use an egg substitute that has been pasteurized.

State Fair Offers Unique Treats

I live in Indiana and every August at the Indiana State Fair food vendors try to come up with a new deep fried item. Past delicacies have included fried Twinkies, Oreos, Snicker bars, and ice cream.

This year's debut treat was something near and dear to my heart; my favorite drink, Pepsi. That's right, this year at the Indiana State Fair they served Deep Fried Pepsi.

Now I know what you are thinking because I thought the same thing. How do you deep-fry a liquid? After a little research, I found out how they did it. Fried Pepsi is actually dough in which Pepsi replaces the water.

The vendor at the State Fair took his a step further by not only putting Pepsi in the dough, but also in the batter that the dough is dipped in before frying. The result is a ball resembling a doughnut hole sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. The taste has a definite undertone of Pepsi taste. Some consumers liked it; some did not. Variations of final product included choosing from confectioner's sugar, cinnamon and sugar, or adding whipped cream.

A new regulation this year at the Indiana State Fair banned the use of trans-fat cooking oil. Even with the non-trans-fat oil, this treat is not one that you would want to over indulge in. As a snack for someone's occasional sweet tooth, it's perfect.

I have yet to try Deep Fried Pepsi at home, but I have included a couple recipes for other State Fair treats that, while again, may not be healthy they are a favorite.

DEEP FRIED TWINKIES
6 Twinkies
4 cups vegetable oil
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
flour for dusting
wooden sticks

Chill or freeze Twinkies for several hours or overnight. Heat 4 cups of vegetable oil in a deep fryer to about 375 degrees. Mix together the milk, vinegar and oil. In another bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and continue mixing until smooth. Refrigerate batter while oil is heating.

Push a stick into the Twinkie length-wise, leaving about 2-inches to use as a handle. Dust with flour and dip into batter. Rotate Twinkie until batter covers entire cake. Place carefully in hot oil. The Twinkie will float, so hold in under the oil with a utensil to ensure even browning. It should turn golden in 3-4 minutes. Deep-fry only one Twinkie at a time.

Remove Twinkie to a paper towel and let drain. Remove stick and allow Twinkie to sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Don't try to eat the Twinkie with the stick inserted. It will not support the stick. Makes 6.

FRIED SNICKERS BARS

Full size Snickers Bar
Funnel Cake mix
vegetable oil
wooden sticks

Push the wooden sticks into the Snickers bar from the bottom about half way up and freeze until solid. Mix together the funnel cake mix for the batter and dip the frozen Snickers bars into the batter. Fry until golden brown. It should only take a few minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Top the bars with powdered sugar.

Magic Food

I've never really liked magic. When a magician would be on television, I found that to be a good time to get a snack from the kitchen. I remember a series of shows that revealed the secrets of many magic tricks. I never watched them.

As much as I dislike magic, when it comes to food magic, I'm all for it. The recipes I've included are so cool. You mix the ingredients together and when the dish is done, you will be surprised at the outcome.

Pudding Puzzle Cakes

2 T. butter or margarine
1-oz. square unsweetened chocolate
1 C. all-purpose flour
3/4 C granulated sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 C. milk
1 t. vanilla
1/4 C light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 T. unsweetened cocoa

Pre-heat oven to 325 F. Spray six 6 ounce custard cups with cooking spray. In a small saucepan melt butter and chocolate, stirring often until blended and smooth. Remove heat and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/2 C. sugar, and baking powder. Add milk, vanilla, and chocolate mixture until blended well. Spoon the batter into the custard cups.

In a small bowl, stir brown sugar, the rest of the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and 1/3 C. water. Mix well. Spoon about 1 1/2 T. of the mixture over the batter in each cup. Bake 20-25 minutes un tops spring back when lightly touched.

To serve, unmold pudding by inverting each cup onto individual dessert plates. Serve warm. Decorate with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, if desired.

Magic trick: While cakes bake, they separate into a chocolaty cake and fudge sauce.

Apple Pie Surprise

Filling:
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 C. raisins
2 T. grated lemon peel
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. baking mix
3/4 C. milk
2 T. butter or margarine, melted

Streusel Topping:
1 C. baking mix
1/2 C. chopped walnuts
1/3 C. light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 C. butter or margarine, melted
1 pint vanilla ice cream, optional

Preheat oven to 250 F. Filling: in an 8-inch square baking dish combine apples, raisins, lemon peel, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside. Mix together eggs, granulated sugar, 1/2 C. baking mix, milk, and 2 T. melted butter. Pour batter over apples and set aside.

Topping: In a bowl, stir together 1 C. baking mix, walnuts, brown sugar, and 1/4 C. melted butter. Sprinkle evenly over apple mixture. Bake for about 55 minutes or until it's bubbly and golden brown. Serve warm, with a scoop of ice cream.

Magic Trick: A flaky crust forms while the pie bakes.

Fourth of July Celebrations

The Fourth of July was always a great time in my family. When I was young, every year we went to my aunt's home for a picnic. She lived in town and the parade went right by her house and with her big yard out front, we kids had plenty of room to run and play.

My aunt and uncle never had any children, so there weren't too many toys to play with, so we usually had to bring our own. Two things they did always have for us were a badminton set and lawn darts. My cousins and I loved lawn darts. Who knew back then how dangerous they were? We were lucky we didn't put an eye out.

Everyone usually arrived around noon to get things set up and wait for the parade, which never started on time. We knew when it was coming because the police car or fire truck that always lead the parade would blast its siren, then we could hear the band playing. We'd run to the end of the yard and get ready. Oh, but the best part was the candy. Almost every float would throw candy to those of us on the sidewalk. Of course, our parents panicked every time we ran out into the road to retrieve some.

After the parade, it was time to eat. Most of the people in town followed the parade to the fairgrounds where you could find just about any kind of carnival food you wanted. Instead of doing that, we all stayed at my aunt's and had a picnic.

That was 35 or 40 years ago and the small town no longer has a July 4th celebration. But, now that I have a family, we have our own celebration by inviting family and friends over and cooking out on the grill. My favorite is barbecue chicken and I have included my old family recipe for the sauce and also instructions for preparing corn on the cob for the grill.

Barbecue sauce

1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. catsup
1/2 C. lemon juice
1/4 C. Worcestershire sauce
Garlic power, to taste

Layer ingredients in a large measuring cup in the order above. Sprinkle garlic powder on top and mix well. About twenty minutes before chicken is done, apply sauce to each piece. This makes enough sauce for about two chickens.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

There are several ways to grill corn. Someone told me that they put husk and all on the grill andwhen it's done, they pulled the husk away and the silk is so crispy that it just crumbles. I have never tried that. I have heard of pulling the husks down and removing as much of the silk as possible and then putting the husks back up, soak them in water and place on the grill. I prefer to clean the corn of all silk and husks and rinse in cool water. Spread butter or margarine over the corn and sprinkle with salt. Roll each cob up in aluminum foil and place on the hot grill. Turn frequently and cook them for 15 minutes.

The Not-So-Perfect Cookie

Like so many other people, it seems like I'm always trying a new diet to lose weight. When the Low-Carb diets first became popular, I decided to give it a try. Being one who loves recipes, someone told me about a low-carb peanut butter cookie recipe. I immediately thought my diet problem was solved. I could eat the cookies to satisfy my sweet tooth and still lose weight. It might have worked, except for the fact that the cookies were terrible.

When I took them out of the oven, they looked and smelled great. But, when I removed them from the cookie sheet, they looked like they weren't going to stay together. I got them on the plate in one piece to cool, but later, when I tried to pick one up, it crumbled. So did the next one and the next one. I gave up trying to keep one together and tasted the crumbs. It was bad, so bad that I scraped the remaining cookies off the plate and into the trash can. That was a first for me.

So much for my perfect diet. I did lose weight on that diet, but it was without any desserts. I no longer have that low-carb recipe. I think it went into the trash with the cookie crumbs. Instead, I have included my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe; full of carbs.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 C. shortening
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 t. vanilla
1 1/4 C. flour
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda

Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugar well. Add egg and vanilla. Beat well. Add shifted dry ingredients and mix well. Chill dough well. Then, form into small balls and place on cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork, making a crisscross pattern. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Our First Dinner Together

When my future husband, Steve and I decided to get married, he pointed something out to me, "I don't even know if you can cook."

He was right. I had never cooked for him. I was still in college and living at home with my mother. The need to cook for him had never come up. Steve and I always went out to dinner, usually for pizza and beer.

So, the challenge was on. My task was to prepare an dinner for him. On the other hand, I wasn't going to let this challenge be one-sided. He had to do something in return and my choice was that if he liked the meal, he had to do the dishes. He agreed, with an additional provision. He wanted a pecan pie for dessert.

While I didn't cook much, I did help my mother in the kitchen from time to time. One of the meals I liked to help prepare was baked chicken with mashed potatoes. It was easy and very little could go wrong. Unfortunately, I had never baked a pecan pie before, so I turned to mom for help. She had a wonderful recipe and I even took it a step further and planned on making the crust from scratch.

The following weekend was the test. I had everything finished when Steve arrived for dinner. He took a seat at the table and I brought the food over. It turned out beautifully and he enjoyed the meal. What he didn't enjoy was doing the dishes afterward, but that's a story. Below are the recipes that I used.

Baked Chicken

1 chicken, cut up
1 1/2 C cornflake crumbs
2 eggs
1/4 C milk

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. Mix eggs and milk in a bowl. Put cornflake crumbs in a second dish. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then roll in cornflake crumbs until evenly coated. Place on baking pan and bake for 1 hour.

Simple Mashed Potatoes

5 medium potatoes
1 stick butter or margarine
salt, to taste

Peel, wash, and dice potatoes. Boil in water until tender. Pour off water, and mash potatoes with butter or margarine until fluffy. To make potatoes smoother, add a little milk and stir well.

Pecan Pie

1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. butter or margarine
1 C. light corn syrup
1/2 t. salt
3 eggs
1 C. chopped pecans

Cream sugar and butter; add syrup and salt. Mix well. Beat in one egg at a time. Add pecans. Pour mixture into an unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350º for 1 hour, 10 minutes.

Pie Crust

1 1/2 C. sifted flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 C. shortening
4-5 T. ice cold water

Sift flour and salt together, then cut in shortening with a pastry cutter until pieces are the size of small peas. Add water one tablespoon at a time and combine with a fork. Once mixed, form the dough into a ball. Roll out on a floured surface to make crust. This makes one 9-inch pie crust.

Welcome

I love to eat and I love to write, so it only made sense to combine my two favorite things into a blog.

First, a little about me. I live in Indiana and am married with a daughter in college. In my day job, I am a manager for a computer company, but my dream career is writing. In addition to food articles, I'm hoping to publish romance novels and I have a little cookbook I am working on, too.

Like most of us, I need to lose weight. In my entries here, I will include some healthy dishes that could fit into most diets, but I won't forget the good foods either. I plan to also post recipes for high calorie desserts, high fat meals, and high carb dishes. Just remember to eat in moderation.

I'll try to post here at least weekly; maybe more, maybe less. Either way, I hope you like my articles and recipes.