Easter Recipes

 

Italian Easter Pie, Resurrection Cookies, Peanut Butter Eggs, and more

Recipes We Traditionally Use At Easter Time

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Peanut Butter Eggs

 

Peanut Butter Eggs

Our daughter used to make hundreds of these each spring.  She bought herself a new laptop one spring, with her profits!  We do not compromise on the peanut butter for these - for us, it's Jiff only.

My favorite melting chocolate were the wafers from A.C. Moore, before they went out of business.  I have never liked the brand from Michaels quite as well, although they do work.  Chocolate chips can be used in place of the chocolate wafers, too.  

2023 In Review - Our Favorite Recipes

 
A look back at some of my favorite new recipes from 2023

Candied Hot Peppers - "Cowboy Candy"

 
Cowboy Candy

Vintage Green Bean Casserole - From The Campbells Test Kitchen

 

Dorcas Reilly, who worked in Campbell’s test kitchen, created the recipe in 1955. Reilly’s dish was originally called the “Green Bean Bake,” and it gained its popularity when Campbell began printing the recipe on its mushroom soup cans.

“As one of the first full-time members of Campbell’s Home Economics department, Dorcas created ‘the mother of all comfort foods’ by simply combining two things most Americans had on hand in 1955: green beans and Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup.” 

Libby's Pumpkin Pie - The Tried & True Vintage Classic

 

Created in a test kitchen in 1929, the Libby's Pumpkin Pie Recipe created by Mary Hale Martin is still the classic no fail recipe that most use today.  The recipe has been on the can label continuously since the 1920s, with a very few small changes.  Read more of the history below [and see some of the  vintage labels and ads] but first, here's the recipe:

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Sourdough Cookie Recipe

 
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Sourdough Discard Cookie Recipe
Adapted from The Boy Who Bakes

Sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that is removed and discarded before feeding the remaining starter.   When I feed my sourdough starter, I pour the "discard" into a container I keep in the fridge.  That discard can be used in so many recipes - including crackers, waffles, pancakes..  and cookies.  

Fig & Pepper Bread

 
Fig & Pepper Bread, From First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

Our book club read First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen, this month.

It's a sort of cozy magic story, a nice, light,  fall read.  It's also book 2 in a series, which we didn't know when we chose it.. but it's perfectly fine as a stand alone book.

The book includes a recipe for a bread that is mentioned often - Fig and Pepper Bread.  What an interesting combination..  I was intrigued, so I made a loaf to take to book club.

 Not only is it pretty quick and easy to make, but it's REALLY good.  I love the uniqueness - and the sweetness of the fig really does pair so well with the kick from the pepper.  It's not something I would have ever considered making had it not been for this book, but now that I've made it, I'd definitely make it again!  Especially if I could find fresh figs...  In very rural central Pennsylvania,  I was lucky to find dried figs.  

Basil Salt

 

I saw this in a facebook post, and this year I have an abundance of basil, so I thought I would try it.  I love basil, it's definitely one of my favorite herbs!  Suggestions for using it include:

On Eggs, on Chicken, On tomatoes, in pasta sauces, in soups, in salad dressings, in pasta salads...

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The Recipe

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1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

2 cups of Kosher Salt

Place in a blender or food processor and pulse to break down the leaves.

Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a silicone mat) 

Bake for 30 minutes at 175. 

Break apart clumps, allow to cool, then place in a jar to store.

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Making & Canning Roasted Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

 
Roasting tomatoes, onions, and garlic for home made spaghetti sauce.

Everyone is always looking for the "Best" home made spaghetti sauce recipe.  But here's the thing - there is no perfect recipe.  There can't be one perfect recipe, simply because sauce depends on the tomatoes.  They are the star.  

What you add will depend on the tomatoes that year - some years the crops will be better than others.  This year we had SO much rain - rain nearly every day.  The tomatoes are not as flavorful as last year.  (We noticed the same with the sweet corn).    Is my sauce still good? Yes, it's quite good - but it's just not as good as LAST years sauce, when the tomatoes were absolutely fantastic.  

There's no amount of seasoning, and no secret ingredient, that  you can add to make up for lackluster tomatoes.

So what type of tomato do you want for sauce?  Most will tell you San Marzano.  And if I were buying them canned, that's what I would look for myself.  But, my mother plants between 400 and 700 tomato plants every year, in numerous varieties.  By hand.  Oh yes, that's insane, plain and simple - she's in her 70s now, and finally cutting back on how many she plants not because of her age, but because so many of her customers have now passed away - not as many people can tomatoes anymore.  

One wagon of plants.  All planted from seed, started in racks on a large sunporch.

But, because I have access to so many varieties - I mix them up as much as possible.  I like the variety in my sauce.  I do use some romas - but I am not dependent on them and  frequently will make sauce without them.  

My suggestion is always to shop local.  Don't try to make sauce with grocery store tomatoes.  Find a local farmer who will sell you half a bushel of local grown tomatoes.  A farmers market is often a great place to start looking - but make sure you ask where their tomatoes came from.  Many of our local farm stores, and even some farmers market stands, buy their produce at auctions - produce shipped in from other states for the grocery stores.   Trust me - I attend the local produce auction here.  I see the trucks unloaded, it's often the exact same thing stocked in the big box stores, being purchased by the farmers market vendor.  [some local produce is also sold at this auction...  our Amish neighbors sell their produce there - so it's not all from another state.  ]

Planting by hand.

Roma tomatoes, what my mom calls "sauce" tomatoes, are shaped more like a pepper than a tomato, not as round.  They are thicker, with less water and fewer seeds, making a thicker, creamier sauce.

Once I have chosen my tomatoes - usually a good mix of varieties - I core them, and place them in pans, along with cloves of garlic and sectioned onions.  I sprinkle it all liberally with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder (scant amounts of garlic.  Garlic and herbs can make a sauce bitter if overcooked, so go easy on the seasoning at this stage)

The above photo shows a mixture of pans, but really the baking pans are best.  there will be  LOT of juice, and you will likely need to clean your oven if you use cookie sheets..

Roast at 450 until they are well, good and roasted.  I never time these things - I think a lot varies by the size of the tomato, the number of items in the oven, how accurate your oven temperature is..  I'd tell my kids to cook them until they smell done [I say the same about sticky buns] - but apparently cooking by smell is not normal.  A good rule of thumb is to check them in 30 minutes.  If they look close to done, add some herbs if you want (basil, oregano, maybe a little thyme and garlic) and cook them another 10 minutes or so. 

Then pull them from the oven  I drain the juice from the pans right into my crock pot /pan /roaster, where my sauce will go.  

Then let the tomatoes cool enough that you can touch them to remove the skins.

I remove the skins and drop the tomatoes right into my ninja (a regular blender would work).  Puree the tomatoes, pour them into the pan/crockpot/roaster where the juice is.

I puree the roasted garlic and onion and add it to the sauce, and this is when I will add more herbs - often just a bottled italian seasoning mix.  I don't add much.  Keep it simple.   Add, taste, add, taste...   I know some prefer exact measurements, but what if your basil is more potent one year than the next?  Or if the tomatoes need a bit more salt one year?  You just have to add, and taste!

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The Seasonings I Typically Add:

Remember, the olive oil was on the tomatoes when I roasted them, that's already in there.  So is the roasted garlic, and roasted onion, that I cooked right with the tomatoes.

- Celery Seed

-Fresh chopped Basil and Oregano - or dried Italian seasoning mix.  Or a little both.

- Salt and pepper

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 I sometimes add a little tomato paste - maybe a can or two per a roaster.   Sometimes I don't add it at all - it depends on the tomatoes.  The more romas I use, the less likely I am to add paste.  

Because I roast the tomatoes, I do not add sugar.  You can taste it and make that decision, but roasting the tomatoes pulls out the natural sugars, it's rare that they would need any added.

Sauce goes into the electric roaster on the right - some of the tomatoes I put straight into sterilized jars to can as whole roasted tomatoes for chilis, soups, goulash...

I leave the seeds in my sauce.   There are methods for removing the seeds - but I don't mind them.  I've read that seeds can cause sauce to be bitter, but I've never had a problem with that personally.

I don't cook my sauce for a long time - maybe an hour or so.  The tomatoes have already been roasted... normally I am just leaving the sauce simmer a bit while I am waiting on the canner.  Remember, cooking your seasonings a long time - especially oregano, basil  and garlic, can make your sauce bitter.  If you want to cook the sauce down more, wait to add your herbs until its mostly cooked to the consistency you want.

One in the jars, add ¼ tsp Citric Acid or 1 Tbsp bottled lemon juice per hot jar

If your sauce goes bitter, try adding a teaspoon or so of baking soda.

Or a little sugar.

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HOW TO CAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE
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After using a large water bath canner for many years (I have my grandmothers old pan and rack) my parents bought me this steam canner for Christmas, a few years back - shown here without the lid on. I LOVE this thing. It's how I do all of my "water bath" canning now. https://amzn.to/3Ep4sSF

"Add ¼ tsp Citric Acid or 1 Tbsp bottled lemon juice to each hot pint jar; Add 1/2 tsp.  Citric Acid or 2 Tbsp. bottled lemon juice to each hot quart jar. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.

Process pint jars for 35 minutes and quart jars for 40 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars and cool. check lids for seal after 24 hours; they should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

The Ball Guide To Water Bath Canning [for acidic foods]  Can be found online here:

https://www.ballmasonjars.com/water-bath-canning.html

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STEAM CANNING INSTRUCTIONS

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Hot pack and fill jars according to directions for that food. Set each full jar on the base to stay warm while packing and filling the rest of the jars.

When the last full jar has warmed up for 1-2 minutes, place the dome on the base and slowly (4-5 minutes) increase the temperature setting of the stove until a column of steam 8-10 inches is evident from the small holes at the base of the dome. (If you are using a canner with a thermometer in the lid watch for when the dial reaches the appropriate temperature)

Begin timing the process. Follow the water bath canning recommendations adjusted for your altitude.

 Maintain the column of steam. The dome (or lid) should not bounce from the base during processing.

When processing time is complete, turn off the stove and wait 2-3 minutes before removing the dome. Remove the dome keeping it away from your face and body to avoid burns. 

Allow your jars to cool and seal as you would with water bath canning. Remove metal bands and store the jars in a cool dark place.

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Pulled Pork Seasoning

 
Pulled Pork Seasoning

I most often use this on a pork loin.  Coat the entire loin in this seasoning, cook it low and slow all day, then pull it apart with forks, letting it sit in the juices so the pulled pork re-absorbs the liquid and seasonings.  We often add bbq sauce to this meat when making sandwiches, or use it as is in tacos.  

I typically cook a large loin like this, then package it in quart zip lock bags to freeze and use throughout the month.  And when I mix up the seasoning, I tend to make enough for a quart jar full.  It stores well in the pantry.  To make a quart jar, take the recipe below x4 .

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Pulled Pork Seasoning Recipe

Use 1 tablespoon each of:

 cumin
 garlic powder
chili powder
 cayenne pepper
 salt
 ground pepper
  paprika

And add:
1/2 cup brown sugar

The cayenne and chili pepper will add a bit of a kick - you can use a little less of those if you don't like spice.  But if you are adding a sweeter bbq sauce to the pulled pork, it will usually balance out nicely as is.

I toss all of my ingredients into my ninja and mix them thoroughly.

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Seasonal Menu Planning - Fall

Seasonal Menu Planning, Fall 2023

Organizing My Recipes In One Note

 

How I organize my recipes, scans, photos, even my digital cookbooks, all in OneNote

Blackberry Clafoutis

 
Blackberry Clafoutis

A cross between a Puff Oven Pancake, and a crustless custard pie, with a silky smooth consistency closer to flan.

Zucchini in Peanut Sauce

Chicken over Zucchini in Peanut Sauce

(I'm currently in love with mid century modern glassware and dishes...)

This is never a pretty dish - that brown sauce is not overly appetizing in appearance.

But this is one of our favorite summer meals.  Even my husband, very much a meat and potatoes man, surprisingly looks forward to zucchini season when I make this.   I've been making this for a few years, slowly tweaking the recipe.  This year I sautéed the zucchini noodles rather than boiling them, and I like that so much better!

Harvesting & Cooking Bok Choy - Recipes

 
Bok Choy in my garden. The reality, weeds and all.  :-) 

I should have harvested this a bit sooner - although I'm using it now and it's still fine, it's apparently better when it is younger, and smaller.  This is a QUICK crop - and it likes cool weather - doing best in early spring and late fall.  

Use Bok Choy in: Salads, as greens in your sandwiches, in omelets, soups, and stir frys.  

Stout Stew, Colcannon Potatoes, & Soda Bread - Our Favorite St Patricks Day Dinner

 
Irish Recipes From  A Pennsylvania Dutch  Farm Wife 

Who Almost Never Follows A Recipe

I 've read that the food most eaten in Ireland on St Patrick's day is "sausage and chips [fries]".    Because it's a festival day, and many families will eat out rather than cook.  So while I'm making Irish Stout Stew, Colcannon Potatoes, Soda Bread, and an "Irish" potato candy that was first made in Philadelphia...  those in Ireland are most likely eating sausage and french fries.

Easter Pie (Pizza Gaina)

Years ago a friend brought us an "Easter Pie" 

Her recipe, from her grandmother, uses  Ricotta, Romano, Pepperoni, Salami, Hard boiled eggs, Acini di pepe (a pasta), and salt and pepper.  (That is not what is shown here)

An Italian dish, this is also known as Pizza Rustica. There are dozens of variations of the recipe, and I make it a little differently every time.   They are most commonly filled  with ham, salami, prosciutto, ricotta, mozzarella, and romano cheeses.. Hard boiled eggs are frequently  used as well.

Some recipes layer the meats, others chop them and mix everything together.

Some  even add spinach, or artichokes.   Much like a quiche, you can make endless variations.

Note - many traditional recipes use "basket cheese".  Basket cheese is very similar to fresh homemade mozzarella, but many recipes offer ricotta as a substitute.  Either works.

 I rarely use a an actual recipe for much of anything, much to my daughter in laws dismay.  In recent years I've made more of an attempt to write down basic recipes that are the "starting point" at least.  This is the "starting point" recipe for my Easter Pie in 2020.  I'm going to try to remember to come back each year and add the different variations as I try them, but it took me until 2023 to finish this 2020 post... so we'll see how that goes.  :-)

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Basic Pizza Rustica - No Pasta Nor Ricotta

Ingredients:
1/4 lb slicing peperoni (sliced at the deli)
1/4 lb mortadella (bologna)
1/4 lb capicola or ham
1/4 lb genoa salami
1/4 lb prosciutto
4 hard boiled eggs
1/2 lb provolone (sharp or mild to your preference)
1 lb mozzarella cheese, fresh or regular or basket cheese if available
10 eggs, beaten
2 pk Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (or make your own!)
THIS MAKES TWO PIES

Prebake the bottom crust.  Layer the ingredients:

Pepperoni
Beaten Egg
Bologna
1/4 of the mozzarella
capicola
beaten eggs
provolone
sliced hard boiled eggs
prosciutto
beaten eggs
1/4 mozzarella
salami
rest of the beaten eggs
press down gently, top with pie crust

Brush the top of the crust with a beaten egg.

Some like to make this deeper, in a springform pan. 

 I like a deep pie dish for mine.

Cut vents into your top crust.  

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, then either brush with more egg, or cover with foil, and bake for another 45 minutes.

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Four Easy Ways To Make Wine Slushies - With Recipes

 
Wine slushies made three ways:
On the far right is a tart red wine slushy made with a local red wine and simple syrup, blended, and froze frozen.  In the middle is a peach wine, mixed with frozen peaches and a cup of rum, blended, and froze.  (I'd knock the rum down to half a cup next time, this one is a bit strong... ) and on the far right is red cat wine, poured into a flat container and sat in the freezer overnight.  This morning I pulled a fork through it to "stir" it into a slush.  

Purslane - How to Recognize, Harvest, and Eat

Purslane - Identification, Harvesting, & Recipes

You probably won't find purslane at your grocery store, and it's unlikely any of us planted it in our gardens. And yet, here in central Pennsylvania, as well as across most of the United States, you have probably seen it.  Many of us are pulling it out by the handfuls as a weed. In some farmers markets, this "weed" sells for $7 a pound. It's an incredibly versatile ingredient, with a lemony pepper taste, and it's really good for you too.