Blog

October 2, 2011 - Quick Puff Pastry

Everyone loves puff pastry, but no one really wants to make it from scratch. Do they? This is not real puff pastry, but a good, quick imitation that makes great turnovers or pocket sandwiches. It can be used with sweet or savory fillings. I got the recipe from a friend’s mother whose family were 4th...
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October 1, 2011 - Julie and Julia, My Way

Last February I picked up a copy of Best of the Sunset Cookbook, 101 Top Recipes. As I thumbed through it and saw all the delicious looking dishes, I thought to myself “I could make every recipe in this magazine.” I decided to do just that. I would make the recipe, post a blog entry...
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September 30, 2011 - October 2011 Monthly Contributor Giveaway

Farm Bell Recipes blog contributors are eligible (and automatically entered!) in a giveaway each month in which one contributor will be drawn (by random.org, using the days of the month that posts run) to receive a prize. Each month’s prize (and previous month’s winner) will be listed here, in a blog post on the Farm...
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September 29, 2011 - A Homemade Go-Gurt Discovery

I’ve been making my own yogurt for awhile–from my own cow’s milk, to boot! I love it. I started making yogurt in a crock pot and now I use this yogurt maker, which has me spoiled by its auto shut-off and lack of required attention to temperature. I also love making my yogurt in individual...
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September 27, 2011 - A Calzone with What You Have

Last week, when I used my new Danish Dough Whisk, I made a whole wheat with rye dough. As it was rising, I was feeling creative and needed to make something for dinner. I had some bread dough rising and some leftover chicken in the fridge. And a jar of Oliverio’s Italian Style Peppers in...
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September 26, 2011 - Having Fun is Hard Work!

Planning anything with my friend Linda is like an overload on the idea of having “eyes too big for our stomach”. Only it’s not about eating too much…well, sometimes it is, but I’m not getting into that right now. It’s about thinking we can fit 68 hours of activity into an afternoon–with time to spare!...
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September 25, 2011 - A Failure and a Triumph

Kellyb’s post the other day about not being perfect reminded me that I promised LauraP I’d write a post-Retreat-This-Is-What-I-Learned-Its-So-Awesome post. Oddly enough, it reminded me, because one of my first attempts was a complete failure! But I’ll post in here anyway, in hopes that someone else will have more success than I did. Cincyjojo brought...
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September 24, 2011 - A Pinch of Friends

I made this cookbook for all Retreat attendees–the first recipe being Friendship Cake. The friendships made on CITR, FBR, and the forum are very dear to me. Then today, these beautiful, shiny measuring spoons showed up in my mailbox. Aren’t they so unique? Sweet Sonia found these Blessings spoons and they reminded her of the...
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September 23, 2011 - Spi-Rolls, Any Way You Want Them

The other day, my niece, Sam, showed up at my house with these. They’re chicken spi-rolls from one of our local pizza shops–filled with chicken, bacon, and mozzarella cheese all rolled into a pizza crust with a ranch dressing on the side. Also, on the menu is a pepperoni spi-roll–you guessed it, pepperoni and cheese...
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September 22, 2011 - Canning Utensil Kit Giveaway

A gift for you! A reader, who chooses to remain anonymous, emailed me recently to offer a Ball canning utensil kit. It’s a new, in-package, never opened kit she received–and she already has a set of these utensils. So she thought of you! And asked me if I would give it away for her. Well,...
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September 21, 2011 - What I Didn’t Do Today

The days when I am home and not at work are busy days for me. I’m a woman on a mission. I rarely sit and do nothing. I have plenty of canning, dehydrating, preserving, baking and cooking that need to be done. I normally make a list of what I want to do the next...
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September 20, 2011 - National Punch Day

Today is National Punch Day! I have a punch recipe that I use almost always. The kids love it. The grownups love it. It’s simple, too, as most punches are. How to make Pineapple Sherbet Punch: Pour 46 ounce can pineapple juice in punch bowl, then a 2-liter of Squirt. Give it a swirl together....
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September 19, 2011 - My Top 10 Favorite Things to Do with Biscuits

My list: 1. Stick a hole in them with the end of a knife and pour molasses or honey inside. 2. Spread butter over them. 3. Put a sausage patty in there! 4. Jam, jam, and more jam. 5. GRAVY on top!!!!! 6. Put them on top of casseroles. 7. Eat them PLAIN! 8. Cut...
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September 16, 2011 - Tea Isn’t Just For Sipping

Almost two years ago, RoseH posted her mother-in-law’s recipe for Tea Bread to the old Community Cookbook on the forum. Her mother-in-law used to make this bread as part of the Cricketers Tea, which is taken by the cricket teams half-way through the match on a (hopefully) sunny Sunday summer afternoon. I made the bread...
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September 15, 2011 - Sumac Lemonade

Smooth sumac bob Smooth sumac shrubs [Rhus glabra] are invasive around here in southern Indiana. They grow from the root rhizomes–like iris do–to form large clonal colonies. These short trees get about 15 feet tall when they’re really happy. The branches ooze a white sap when cut. The good news is that they’re attractive and...
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September 14, 2011 - Pink Elbow Salad

A cheerful, healthful salad for any time of year. The original of this 50s recipe is most likely from Family Circle or Woman’s Day magazine. I loved it then, I love it now. It’s great for getting the veggie-averse to eat beets. Also great for getting whole-grain averse (“Eeww, why is the macaroni brown?”) to...
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September 13, 2011 - Grinding the Demos

Now that I’ve escaped from Stringtown crossed the flooded river and am home in Michigan, I can finally tell you about the antique commercial coffee grinder cincyjojo brought to the Farm Party! She had emailed Thursday morning before heading to WV to see if she could/should bring it. Well, YES, you can! I love antiques,...
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September 12, 2011 - Gluten Free Muffins without Xantham Gum

These are fantastic muffins! They rise high and are tender, moist, delicious–and gluten free! Most good gluten free recipes use xantham gum, which is very expensive, but this one doesn’t. I was thrilled to find a gluten free recipe with so much protein in it, too! Some of these flours are hard to find. I...
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September 11, 2011 - Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Sourdough gives a nice, old-fashioned flavor to the things you make with it. Cinnamon Rolls is one of my favorite things to use sourdough in. This dough is tender and flavorful, with butter and cinnamon throughout. How to make Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls: For the dough, you will need: 1 cup of sourdough starter 1/4 cup...
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September 10, 2011 - Braiding Onions

I grew onions this year! Lots of big beautiful onions for the first time! It is not, however, the first time I have planted onions, just the first time they actually grew into onions. Those are my onions in the picture above! Next year I am planting a lot more. I didn’t grow enough to...
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September 9, 2011 - Eleagnus Umbellata, The Autumn Olive

Eleagnus umbellata shrub – 10 feet tall Not long after we moved onto our place–after the former owner’s cows had been gone a while, and after we stopped raising sheep–we noticed more and more little shrubs with silver leaves popping up. Eleagnus umbellata flowers – April And they grew. They bloom in the spring and...
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September 7, 2011 - Preserving More than the Fruits of the Season

My childhood home didn’t feature any canning or much in the way of cooking at all. My mother was actually famous for her lack of kitchen skills. It was the room that “came with the house, sort of like an appendix”. There was an aunt, however, who was an inspiration to me. Aunt Kaye Diane...
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September 6, 2011 - Wild Grapes

We have wild grapes! We have probably always had wild grapes and I just didn’t know it. We have a large grapevine on our old TV antennae attached to the back of the house, but I have usually cut it down every year. Last year I left it alone, mostly due to a lack of...
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September 5, 2011 - Church Cookbook Pickles

I’ve never had luck growing cucumbers in my garden. Good, sweet corn and prolific cucumbers have evaded me. This year I decided to get a little nuts and planted 8 random varieties of cucumbers with the thought that, at least ONE has to work out. I now have enough cukes coming on to make small...
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