Dessert: Blueberry Buckle

The Blueberry Buckle is a delicious cake to pair with your morning coffee or tea.

Yum :)

 

Blueberry Buckle Recipe



My mom's ancient recipe book - The 1981 edition that she got for her wedding



It has seen better days :) I once left it on the burner. The spine is badly charred.


The Recipe:

Cake

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Topping

2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine

 Oven 350 degrees

Directions

- Cream 3/4 cup of sugar and shortening until fluffy. Add egg.
- Stir together 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add milk. Beat until smooth.
- Spread cake into a greased baking pan.
- Top with blueberries.
- For the topping, combine the remaining 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, and butter or margarine until crumbly. Sprinkle over blueberries.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes.
- Cut into squares and serve warm with coffee, milk, or tea.


 

Ingredients



The mixture should be the consistency of cookie dough




Top cake with blueberries


 

The topping mixture



Ready for the oven

Enjoy



The first dessert I ever made...

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe has been in my family for years. I can't recall the exact age I was when I first made them, but I know I was required to use a chair to reach the counter. They're simple. They're easy. And they're delicious.

The Original Recipe

                                                 
What I love about this recipe is that the cookies are extremely moist and soft. I HATE crispy, hard, rock-solid cookies. I know it is a matter of opinion on how you enjoy your cookies so hard cookie-lovers beware. This is not a recipe for you.



Ingredients

Milk Chocolate Chipits are better than semi-sweet chocolate chips :)




Keep the dry and wet ingredients separate.

As a kid, I definitely enjoyed making "sandcastles" with the brown sugar.

Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients

Mix ingredients and add chocolate chips

Roll dough into roughly 1 inch balls.

The best thing I ever bought was a cooling rack.
I would definitely recommend one.

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk :)

So here is the recipe:

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients together. Add chocolate chips. Cook for 7-8 minutes. Oven temp. 375 degrees.

Book Club Book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Authors: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow
Publisher: Dial Press Trade
Year: 2008


Loved! Loved! Loved this book! Don’t let the confusing title frighten you away from this book. I am still unsure how to properly pronounce Guernsey or what constitutes a potato peel pie, however Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows will have you wanting to visit and taste both.

 This novel is entirely composed of letters. After her copy of Charles Lamb’s Selected Essays of Elia lands in the hands of Guernsey native Dawsey Adams, Juliet Ashton finds herself being drawn to the small Channel Island. It is January 1946 when Juliet receives the letter from Dawsey thanking her for reselling her copy of the book. He further explains that this book saved him during the German Occupation on the island.

 Juliet, from London, is currently riding the high from her success of her book of collected newspaper columns during the war. When receiving Dawsey’s letter, she not only trying to recover from the effects of the war on the city, but she is also trying to move on and find a new topic to write about. She is intrigued by Dawsey’s mention of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and writes back to discover more.

What begins as a fake society to avoid punishment at the hands of the Germans, bands together this group of misfits and acquaintances into a hodgepodge family. Each society member writes to Juliet telling her of their struggles and reads during the war. Juliet begins to fall in love with each person she corresponds with.

One member she feels a particular connection is Elizabeth. Elizabeth is feisty, spirited, and the creator of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. She is also the only society member who hasn't contacted Juliet since she was taken by the Germans after trying to save a worker. Left behind is Elizabeth's young daughter who is passed through the homes of members until Elizabeth's hopeful return.

The relationships she develops with the people of Guernsey leads Juliet to the decision to go visit the island herself. What begins as a visit ultimately changes her life through the love of friends, a community, and a small child.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quick and easy read. You will not be able to put this book down and you will develop a new appreciation for hand-written letters (especially in our current era of poorly written text messages).

I should also note that this book was started by Mary Ann Shaffer who got sick while writing it and had to rely upon her niece Annie Barrows to finish it. Mary Ann Shaffer died in February 2008 (shortly before the book was published).

Current Read: Trinity by Leon Uris - An Irish epic that has already made me prouder of my Irish roots.

The World's Most Delicious/Frustrating Cake

 Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing


My cousin just recently graduated from university and for her party, she requested a red velvet cake. I made this cake six months ago for my mom's birthday. I had problems then and I had problems now.

Problems...

1. It is from scratch and has a very specific recipe. You are required to follow the recipe in the exact order.

2. It says it takes 25 minutes to bake...if you are under 45 minutes that is impressive. The batter resembles brownie batter and therefore you have to be careful not to overcook the edges.

3. The cake recipe has to be doubled. The cream cheese icing recipe has to be tripled.

4. The icing isn't easy to decorate with. If left in the fridge to harden, it becomes too difficult to pipe any type of design. If the icing is used at room temperature, all the piping begins to fall off the cake. Therefore your decorations have to be minimal and kept simple.

5. Because it is a cake from scratch, there are a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps. Therefore you use almost every dish, bowl, spoon, measuring cup, etc. and create a monster of a mess.


So why is it worth making?


Well I wouldn't do it for just anyone. It is a big undertaking. It took about 4.5 hours from start to finish (and it was a terrible idea to start at 10pm). However even with all the problems it gave me, it is probably one of the most DELICIOUS cakes I know how to make. The rave reviews from my family makes it worth it. But lets just say, if I agree to make you a red velvet cake...you know you are someone special to me :)

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Four-Layer Square Cake

Very Easy Flag Sign

Congrats Maddie

Buddy with the big yawn! My little helper who stuck it out until the early morning. Helped "clean" the floor :)

Gardening 101: Freshly Planted

I love to garden. And after working in greenhouses for five summers now, I have learned a lot. Since it is a big part of my life, I feel like this blog could use some garden posts.

In preparation for my brother's wedding next year at the house, my mom and I have been trying to prepare this summer. With my dad doing most of the heavy work, it is really coming together. These are just some photos from the beginning of the season. My mom took a lot of before pictures and we will have to wait for the afters. As the summer progresses, I know it is all going to come together.



White Picket Fence



Side Yard



Pond



 Fountain Rock and Arch



Front Yard



Coleus Patio Pot that I made at work for my mom

Gazanias and Marigolds

Patio Pots for my brother's house.

Summer Tarts

Raspberry Creme Tarts

Easy Summer Dessert :) And an excuse to use my new tart molds I bought from Kitchen Collection this past week. As a result, I am slowly killing my family with sugar and butter with all my dessert experiments.

Tart Molds - $10.99 (36pk) at Kitchen Collections

Keeping the Filling and Garnish Simple: Whip Topping and Custard with Raspberries

  Scandinavian Tart Recipe:

1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Egg Yolks or 1 Whole Egg
2 1/2 cups flour

Bake in 325 F degree oven for about 10 minutes. Cool and Fill.

***My mistake was using too much dough in each mold - This dough is similar to sugar cookies so it will definitely rise***

Delicious :)

Book Review for AmericaJR.com

Book: Sacre Bleu
Author: Christopher Moore
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher
Year: April 2012


Check out my review for this book at AmericaJR.com: http://americajr.com/news/sacrebleubook0704.html