The Porch Swing @ Shady Creek Hollow

Hotdog Salad...Janice DeLoach Style

 

This is a wonderful salad invented by my lovely mother in law, Janice DeLoach. Unfortunately she is no longer with us. You can read more about her at my husband's blog, just click on the family link to the lower left. Anyway, she was great at trying new things and this was one of them. You make your favorite tossed salad and arrange it as a ring on a plate. You put a scoop of cottage cheese in the center and add sliced cooked hot dogs. My husband adores this dish, and he uses my Italian Dressing on it. The dressing recipe is listed under 'Recipes' on this site. I know it sounds weird, hot dog salad, but our family likes it.    

Grannie's 1880 Tea Cakes

My great grandmother [ born in the 1880s] obviously came from a very English background because these were the only cookies she ever made and no one was allowed to call them anything but 'tea cakes'. Now I've got her genealogy and I know her side of the family left the 'old country' long before the U.S. became a sovereign state, so I guess old habits really do die hard- especially in the South. Anyway hope you enjoy making these old time favorites.

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp water

1 tsp soda

1 cup buttermilk- sometimes I use plain milk that I've added a little vinegar to and let it set a few minutes to sour- it works fine

1 cup melted butter

3 tsp vanilla extract- or any strongly flavored alcohol

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

6 cups flour

Beat eggs and sugar, add soda to water stir in egg mixture. Add butter, then add buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in Baking Powder and Salt- add the flour. this is going to be sort of stiff but I still like to chill it for an hour. Make small balls, flatten with a fork dipped in sugar and bake at 400 degrees till they are very slightly brown. It makes a lot- 6 dz at least.          

Easy Frozen Yogurt

I like to make my own yogurt. It's pretty simple. Buy a carton of yogurt with active cultures, make up some milk with the dry stuff [non fat dry milk] plus tepid water- not hot- I usually make around four or five cups. If you want firmer yogurt make the milk thicker. I mix the milk and yogurt together with a whisk and then I pour the mixture into recycled yogurt cups or margarine containers. I put my heating pad on the counter set on Low. I put the containers of yogurt mixture on the heating pad and cover with a large metal bowl. I then cover the bowl with a towel and let the it sit over night. I start the process in the evening-  In the morning I have fresh yogurt.

The next morning I empty the yogurt into the big bowl and stir in fruit that I have blended in the blender, the amount is up to you but keep in mind fruit that is not well blended freezes into hard chunks. Any fruit will do canned or fresh, I don't recommend banana as it can look pretty brown and funky. Add sugar if you must. Then dump the stuff into a recycled ice cream tub and freeze. When you want to serve, take it out to thaw in the frig for thirty minutes prior to scooping.   

Home Grown Teas

On our 25th anniversary my husband took me on a wonderful train trip up the west coast from LA to Seattle on a luxury train named the Coastal Star Lighter. We had a lovely sleeping compartment and ate many wonderful gourmet meals all while watching the incredible scenery- everything from surf pounding the coast to snow covered mountains. it was wonderful. Once in Seattle we took the ferry to Victoria, BC and stayed in a magnificent old hotel there, I believe it was called the Princess. I say all this to tell you that was the place I had my first 'high tea'. I was hooked. There is something almost mystical about having a delightful cup of tea with light snacks in a beautiful setting. Once back home I made it my custom to have tea in a lovely old cup I bought at a garage sale at least several times a week. In fact any time my grown daughter or my mother is visiting we take tea, either on the deck if the weather permits or in front of the fire if it doesn't.

Now it didn't take me long to realize that I like herbal tea. And it was even nicer when I understood that the herbs I'd been growing for years made a nice tea, either alone or in combination. so with that said here are some of my favorites. I like to make my teas in a pot that was given to me by a neighbor as a wedding present. You warm the pot with boiling water swirled around it then pour this out. You brew the tea with a clean handful of fresh herbs to your liking and boiling water. Let it brew for five minutes covered with a tea cosy or tea towel. After you pour you can add lemon, sugar, or cream to your taste. Dried lemon peel gives a wonderful flavor also. If you have a dehydrator it is easily made, but it may be bought in bulk too. Below are some easy combinations of herbs.

Lemon Balm, Lavender, & Rosemary

Chamomile & Lavender flowers

Lemon Balm. Chamomile, & Lavender

Lavender & Rosemary

3 or 4 rose hips per cup of tea- I grow old fashioned Seven Sisters Roses just for this purpose- it makes lots of scarlet hips in the Fall. 

Most mints make a lovely tea. I especially like a chocolate mint in tea.

Here's a delightful tea made with dried herbs that can be bought in bulk from San Fransico Herb Co.

French Tea- Une Tisane Francoise

2 cups dried lemon balm

1 cup dried mint

1/2 cup dried lavender blossoms

Crush all, store in jar. Put 3 tbsp in coffee filter, tie to make a bag. Steep in tea pot with 6 cups boiling water- Let sit 20 minutes covered. This can be enjoyed warm or iced. One more tip- this makes a nice gift when presented in a small basket with a couple of garage sale tea cups and and embroidered tea towel. Or even presented alone as a filling to a garage sale tea pot.