Blog

August 26, 2010 - Cuckoo for Cookie Bars

I’ve been on a cookie bar kick ever since a reader sent me this recipe: Salted Nut Bars. I made them right away and thought I’d died and gone to heaven. They are hands-down the best cookie bars I’ve ever had. They’re made with a cake crust with toppings of melted butterscotch chips, marshmallows, Rice...
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August 25, 2010 - Making Grape Pie

When Carolyn made a recipe request for a Concord grape pie, I remembered immediately that I had a recipe I’d been dying to try for some time. It comes from one of the little old ladies at church, which means it has to be good. I posted the recipe and Carolyn tried it out right...
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August 24, 2010 - Quick, Easy Lunch for Company

Georgia serves meals to company in the sun room off the back of her little house, with the big views out onto her flower and bird garden and pond beyond providing a lovely ambience. She keeps the table there set all the time. All the time. She’s always ready for company! Her go-to quick and...
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August 23, 2010 - Pancakes Fit for a King

If you like crepes, you’ll love this old family recipe for German Pancakes. Unlike most of the German Pancakes I’ve stumbled across, these contain no potatoes. They don’t have any leavening either, which makes them quite different from your run-of-the-mill breakfast pancake. I first learned to make these as a young bride, taught by my...
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August 22, 2010 - Making A Family Cookbook

I’ve always been traditional in my attitude toward homemaking. For example, our family likes to eat dinner together around the table. I wanted my kids to learn the value of that tradition and be able to carry it on into their own families one day if they so desired. That meant they needed to know...
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August 21, 2010 - Make Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict is one of those simple dishes that turn breakfast into something special. It’s nice for company, and even nicer on an ordinary day for no reason at all. Eggs Benedict is a combination of toasted bread, ham or Canadian bacon, poached eggs, and creamy, delicious hollandaise. The weekend is a great time to...
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August 20, 2010 - A Cake for Mrs. Leeper

I’ve been eyeing this recipe ever since I first opened my Treasure Trove collection of vintage war-time recipes. I love the name Defense Cake. On further study of the recipe, I determined it was basically a sponge cake, renamed for the era and the patriotic effort these women at home were immersing themselves in to...
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August 18, 2010 - A Very Noodle Experience

Late one Sunday night I got a phone call. “You’ve been recommended to me as a family that would be a good option for taking a Japanese exchange student. His family cancelled and we desperately need another one. They fly out in one day.” I was stunned. I wanted to both hang my friend and...
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August 17, 2010 - Fried Green Tomatoes

Frost is just around the corner and when it hits it usually leaves us with with many, many, many green tomatoes. It’s a good thing they will ripen off the vine, most of them anyway. We have so many green tomatoes right now that we decided to fry a few of them. First I sliced...
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August 16, 2010 - No-Bake Treats to Beat the Summer Heat

Hi, everyone. My name is Tina from Mommy’s Kitchen. First off, I wanted to thank Suzanne for letting me contribute a guest post here at Farm Bell Recipes. My favorite recipes are old-fashioned favorites and southern classics. You know all those recipes that remind you of home. Mom’s meatloaf, granny’s pies from scratch, or a...
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August 15, 2010 - How to Make Basic Whole Wheat Crackers

Most summers I complain about the excessive heat and humidity, but keep on sweating through it. Hearty meals give way to light summer fare–fresh vegetables eaten raw or steamed, quick-cooking stir-fry, cold sandwiches, and lots of fresh, locally produced fruit. Lately, the heat has made me too queasy on many days for even my favorite...
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August 14, 2010 - Ode to Tomatoes

Twas the night before canning and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even my spouse. The children were nestled and snuggled all down. Just the mention of tomatoes and they’d sleep with a frown. When down in the basement arose such a clatter, as I carried canning jars and tried not...
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August 13, 2010 - In a Pickle, a Watermelon Rind Pickle

Pickled watermelon rind is one of those things you either adore or you think those of us who do adore it are nuts! For me, it evokes childhood memories of being around some outstanding country cooks who didn’t waste anything. When the summer produce started coming in, that which wasn’t canned or made into jam,...
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August 12, 2010 - Seed to Berry in One Season

We have two different and new fruits this year, ground cherries and chichiquelites. Both of these fruits grow from seed to harvested fruit in one season! Both fruits are delicious in pies and jellies and I am also hoping they will make great wines, as well. Chichiquelites. I am amazed at the amount produced by...
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August 10, 2010 - Spicy Bean Balls (and Burgers!)

Yum. This past weekend, we had a houseful of teenagers. Weston and my cousin’s son, Madison, are good friends and they all share the same set of friends. Madison, with his girlfriend. Madison is getting ready to head off to college (West Virginia University), so together with my cousin’s wife, Sheryl, we threw the teenagers...
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August 9, 2010 - A Good Smothered Steak

Rich, beefy smothered steak is comfort food, with a long simmering time. It’s Friday food here at our farm, as long as there’s round steak in the freezer, although we make exceptions for guests and serve it on other days if the guests are special enough. Usually I prepare it in a big skillet on...
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August 8, 2010 - Bringing Loyalty Home

A month or so ago I read an article on the Smithsonian web site about our eating habits in the United States. That article talked about the way advertising affects our eating habits and how they try to instill brand recognition and brand loyalty on everyone so they reach for the “right” brand time after...
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August 6, 2010 - Flower and Herb Jellies

We use a lot of jams and jellies at my house. My guys eat it on toast and also on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It’s good as a topping for ice cream or a glaze for cooking meats, and the flower jellies make great gifts. A basket of homemade and unusual things from the...
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August 4, 2010 - Comfy & Cozy

Comfy and cozy are friendly adjectives. They may evoke thoughts of a favorite cushy chair, or soft blanket. They may bring back memories of a loving parent tucking you in and asking if you were cozy while snuggled in your bed. I feel a sense of warmth just typing the words. Food can be a...
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August 2, 2010 - We Be Jammin’

What to do! Have you ever gone to make a recipe and had too many variations to pick from? I’ve had quite the trouble with it lately. After 52 pints of straight raspberry low sugar jam, I wanted to make some variety. There are so very many variations that can be done with raspberries! And...
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August 1, 2010 - Grandma’s Peach Cobbler

For close to 20 years, my grandmother’s fruit cobbler recipe has rested on my kitchen shelf between the pages of an old cookbook that also belonged to Grandma. It’s the simplest of recipes, easy to remember, easy to make, and easy to adapt to whatever fruit is available. I don’t make it quite like Grandma...
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July 31, 2010 - The Best Chocolate Cake

This is the best chocolate cake you will ever eat! It is truly moist, dense and delicious, and so easy to make from scratch. When I was growing up, my mother’s best friend was a baker. This was her recipe. How to make the Best Chocolate Cake: 1 3/4 cups flour 2 cups sugar 3/4...
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July 30, 2010 - Instant Picklefication

I LOVE pickles! I love pickles so much that I have been working on pickling recipes for years in pursuit of the best homemade pickles I can make myself. If you aren’t a canner but still lust after great pickles you can make yourself–here is one pickle with two versions that’s the pickle for you!...
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July 28, 2010 - A Craving for Home

I’m an immigrant. In January of 2002, our family moved to Canada for my husband’s work. We thought it would be exciting and that we would try it for a few years. If it wasn’t what we’d hoped for, we could always move back. It was just a few hours by plane. But we loved...
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July 27, 2010 - Please Be Advised

If you have chickens…. ….they LAY EGGS. And lots of them. In other words, I need all your egg recipes. ALL OF THEM. The ones that use the most eggs. Go to Submit Recipes and give ’em over. Please. Help. Interested in contributing a guest post to the Farm Bell blog? Read information here for...
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