Vanilla Extract Update

Here is the update I promised on my Homemade Vanilla Extract. It has come along quite nicely in only two months, don't you think?

Stay tuned for another progress report in a couple more months. . .

Grilled Ham & Cheese with Pineapple

The next time you grill a ham and cheese sandwich, try adding a couple slices of pineapple. Tastes great!

Strawberry Congealed Salad

While organizing my Mother's recipes last week, I realized a need for a catagory which does not exist in my own recipe files. And that is, "Congealed Salad". Thinking about it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart. I can just see my Mother and her friends at their church luncheons and bridge club meetings eating congealed salads and aspics on beautiful china with real silverware.

Strawberry Congealed Salad
1 1/4 cups coarsley crushed pretzels
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Mix together; press into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool.

8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. Cool Whip
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Whip together and spread over cooled pretzel crust.

2 cups water
6 oz. package strawberry Jello
16 oz. strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

Boil water; add Jello, then fruit. Allow to thicken. Spoon over top of crust and cheese layers.

Chill until firm.

Versatile Blogger Award

Susi at Susi's Kochen Und Backen Adventures presented me with The Versatile Blogger award. Yay!! I got an award! Thanks a bunch, Susi. I really enjoy your blog.

The guidelines for accepting this award are...
Thank the person who gave it you
Tell 7 things about yourself
Pass the award on to 15 bloggers, whom you have recently discovered, and think are fantastic

OK--so here are some things about me:

• I don't have a stand mixer or a food processer -- I have a very simple kitchen.
• I am nice to Service Workers and I'm a good tipper.
• I'm not a distracted driver and I let others cut in front of me.
• I always have 2 books going, one in the house and an audio book in the car.
• I smile and laugh a lot and find humor in everyday situations.
• I am very observant.
• I think the word "foodie" is dumb.
• I like quiet.

And without further ado, I pass this prestigious award along to:

Cooking Stuff

Needful Things

Plain Chicken

Big Dude's Eclectic Ramblings

Dave's Home Cooking

Mom's Sunday Cafe

Cook Woman Food

Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

Never Enough Thyme

Modern Comfort Food

Kitchens are Monkey Business

I hope you will enjoy these blogs as much as I do.

Rattlesnake Beans

I brought these green beans home from Alabama. Although I don't recall ever seeing these beans, my Mother tells me that her parents used to grow them. I suppose that puts them into the catagory of "heirloom" beans, although I'm not sure exactly what that means.

These beans are not the slender variety of green beans found in the produce department of your grocery store (although I like those very much). These beans are hefty. These beans are "string beans" and "snap beans" because that is exactly what is required of them. They have thick strings running down both sides of the beans which must be removed. Then they are snapped into manageable sized pieces.


If you have ever been served green beans which have not been stringed, you know how unpleasant that can be. So please take your time and be thorough when removing the strings from the beans. Also know that these beans take a little longer to cook than those aformentioned supermarket green beans.



Once the beans are cooked, the purple mottling disappears and they look like any other hot climate summer string bean. I prepared my beans very simply, with a bit of leftover ham, sweet Vidalia onion, and new potatoes.

Summer Green Beans with New Potatoes
2 lbs. green beans
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 cup diced ham
10 - 12 new potatoes
Water
Salt and Pepper

Combine approximately 4 cups water, the ham, and the chopped onion in a large pan. Bring to a boil, lower heat, then simmer while preparing the beans and potatoes. Add stringed. snapped and rinsed green beans. Cook for about 30 minutes. Scrub potatoes with a vegetable brush and cut a strip around the middle with a vegetable peeler. Add to the pot along with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the potatoes and beans are tender, checking and adding more water if needed. Serve with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.