Christmas Cheesecake Bars

Christmas Cheesecake Bars
Dorcas Annette Walker

As a minister’s wife a major part of Christmas holidays has always been taken up directing Christmas programs. I quickly discovered that no matter how well you plan and practice for perfection it is the children themselves that give your Christmas program its unique twist, often at unexpected moments. I’ve seen small sheep walking around on two legs instead of four, being more interested in yanking off their headdress than baaing like sheep, and wise men appearing in all their glory with gifts for baby Jesus minus their crowns. One Christmas program a fight broke out in the middle of recitations when a boy standing in line decided he had waited long enough and without warning marched up to the mike and wrestled with the boy trying to say his piece demanding, “Move over! It’s my turn now.”

My first introduction to Christmas programs going in a different direction than planned was in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Since the small church only had one switch to control all the lights, one Christmas I put candles everywhere (including along the altar) in order to give a candlelit program. All went well until the children lined up in front of the altar started singing, “Away in a Manger”. One wiggly little girl kept moving around until suddenly in the midst of our song she screamed out, “Help me, I’m on fire!” I quickly checked her- she had only felt the heat of the candle and panicked- while trying to keep the song going. My husband jumped up and ran over to investigate while “Away in a Manger” quickly faded away as all the kids crowded around the girl yelling, “Let me see! Where is she burnt? Is she really on fire?” Yet despite all the crazy things that can go wrong during a Christmas program, unfailingly the wonder of the angels appearing to shepherds on a hillside always shines through.

Today my daughter is grown and directs Christmas programs herself. Last Sunday we went out to Nashville to see her church program. I was enchanted to see one squirmy little girl’s white choir top with a gold bow become twisted until it looked like a rumpled bib while a couple of small boys, minus their choir tops, did somersaults on the platform as the older children tried to say their pieces- I told my daughter afterwards that the rowdy boys would make perfect sheep. It wasn’t until the first sound of the bells being played by the children with Christmas music that everyone’s attention was arrested. As the sound of bells rang out around the manger, once again the spirit of Christmas came alive to celebrate the miracle of a tiny babe born in a stable.

Christmas Cheesecake Bars

1 pkg graham crackers crumbled
1 stick margarine melted
3 tb sugar
3 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
3 eggs
1 c sugar
1 c yogurt
1 tb self-rising flour
1 tsp vanilla

Mix crackers, margarine, and 3 tb sugar together. Press firmly in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Bake for 5 minute at 350º. Meanwhile beat together until smooth all the other ingredients adding the eggs last and pour onto the top of the baked crust. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the center is almost set. Let cool, refrigerate, and chill thoroughly. Cut into squares and decorate with decorating gels and sprinkles. Makes 18 bars!

Weekly tip: For a perfect cheesecake: soften cream cheese to room temperature before beating, don’t overbeat the eggs- will cause falling, test for doneness by gently shaking the cheesecake –don’t use a knife or toothpick- as over baking causes cracks across the top, and to cut use a sharp knife dipped in warm water!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Peanut Butter Brittle

Peanut Butter Brittle
Dorcas Annette Walker

How well I remember snow days when my children were small. It seemed like an endless parade: wet mittens, coats, and muddy floors, getting everyone all wrapped up and outside to play only for them to turn around and come back inside. By noon the excitement of no school had worn off and my little angels would start to snarl at each other like tigers. I found the best remedy was to get out some bowls and spoons and begin making up a batch of cookies. Even if the camel’s heads were a bit lopsided and the recipe made only half the amount- thanks to little fingers sampling the cookie dough- it kept my kids occupied and happy. Not only did we make memories together, but I ended up with Christmas cookies. Whenever frigid winter winds are howling outside, there is something comforting about working in my kitchen. I always like to stock up ahead on items needed for holiday baking so I don’t have to venture out when bad weather hits. This week during a snowstorm, I made up a batch of Peanut Butter Brittle.

Don’t think I’m bragging, but my family and I believe that my homemade Peanut Butter Brittle is quite superior to any store bought. The other year when I first made up a batch I thought it had flopped when it didn’t turn out rock hard. The candy tasted delicious and disappeared so fast- not to mention being easier to chew- that I had to make up another batch. This year I made a double batch and before it had even hardened my husband and son were trying to snitch some. With a success like that I don’t care if my Peanut Butter Brittle never gets teeth-busting hard. Don’t get discouraged or give up if a recipe doesn’t turn out perfect. You may accidently stumble onto a brilliant idea.

My Peanut Butter Brittle is a quicker version of the cooked one and easy to do making a perfect gift idea when wrapped in a Christmas tin. You can substitute almonds for peanuts or any use other nuts, and replace one cup of honey for one cup of sugar. Make on a dry day as humidity tends to make the finished product sticky. Use pot holders or oven mitts when handling as the candy will be very hot. Preparation time for my Peanut Butter Brittle is around six minutes (depending on the wattage of your microwave cooking time may vary) and this recipes makes close to 2 lbs.

Peanut Butter Brittle

3 c sugar
3 c peanuts
1 c light corn syrup
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tb margarine
2 tsp baking soda

In a microwave-proof bowl, microwave on high for four minutes (stirring halfway) the sugar, peanuts, corn syrup, and salt. Mix in vanilla and margarine and microwave for two more minutes or until runny. Add baking soda and stir until the mixture becomes light and foamy. Pour onto two large cookie sheets covered with wax paper and spread the candy to about ¼ inch thick. Let completely cool. Turnover and break with a hammer. Peel off wax paper and store candy in an airtight container!

Weekly tip: If you are a chocolaholic, who thinks a bit of chocolate makes everything taste better, melt a couple squares of chocolate or some chocolate chips in the microwave, dip the ends of the Peanut Butter Brittle into it, and let harden for some one-of-a-kind candy!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Gourmet Hot Chocolate Mix

Gourmet Hot Chocolate Mix
Dorcas Annette Walker

An exciting part of Christmas is giving gifts. Our family tradition is to start placing gifts under the tree as soon as it is up. My youngsters loved touching, carefully counting and shaking presents to see if they could guess what was in them. By their teenage years I was using all sizes of boxes, weights, and items that would make noise in order to camouflage what was inside the wrapped gifts. Now that my kids are grown, I still like to keep them on their toes. For a couple of years I took turns choosing one to be “honored” by giving them a gag gift that involved starting with a big box with a slightly smaller wrapped present inside until they got down to a tiny final gift. Then last year instead of just selecting one person, I wrapped up all their presents that way. This year I plan to have a treasure hunt giving a clue to discover the first gift with the next clue attached to the gift etc. After all the hours spent wrapping presents it will be relaxing to sit back and watch my grown children race back and forth throughout the house searching for their Christmas gifts. I don’t want them to lose the anticipation and excitement of Christmas just because they are getting older. I am open to other suggestions to help keep the spirit of Christmas alive at my house.

Instead of just giving toys, I began when my children were little to give books by a favorite author and then to build sets of books each year. I get my practical side from my mother. When my daughter was a teenager, she would give me the size and colors of a couple carefully selected clothes within a certain price range that I would put back on lay-a-way. I initiated my son-in-law, Randy, on his first Christmas by giving him socks. It has become a family joke with everyone wildly guessing each year in which present Randy will find his socks. I always make sure not to disappoint him. In the first couple of years after my daughter was married her mother-in-law gave a large basket filled with toilet paper, paper towels, laundry soap etc. each Christmas. Last year my daughter she said what she really wanted most for Christmas was a new laundry basket. Like a loving mother I made sure that my daughter got the one she desired. By sharing lists of things that are needed or wanted our family avoids the hassles of standing in long lines after Christmas to return or exchange items.

My Gourmet Hot Chocolate Mix makes an ideal gift from the kitchen. This rich chocolate drink is perfect for wintertime. You can substitute a mocha-flavored creamer with one cup of instant coffee granules; add miniature marshmallows, two teaspoons of ground cinnamon, or chocolate/mint chips to the mix to make one-of-a-kind gourmet drink. Preparation time is ten minutes and this recipe makes around nineteen cups of mix.

Gourmet Hot Chocolate Mix

10 quarts powdered milk
1 (16 oz) coffee creamer
1 (16 oz) instant chocolate breakfast drink
1 lb powdered sugar
1 (5 oz) pkg cook & serve chocolate pudding
In a large container mix all the dry ingredients together thoroughly and store in an airtight container. Use ¼ c of mix to one c of hot water. Serve with marshmallows or peppermint candy canes!

Weekly tip: For a holiday twist dip 24 large marshmallows halfway into a mixture of: 1 c powdered sugar thinned with 4-5 teaspoons of water and then roll in crushed peppermints. Let dry for a couple of hours on wax paper and thread with wooden skewers!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Old Fashioned Soda Cracker Fudge

Old Fashioned Soda Cracker Fudge
Dorcas Annette Walker

This month I will be giving recipes ideal for holiday treats or gift giving. Every year around Christmastime I set aside a day in my kitchen baking cookies and cooking candy. With holiday music soaring in the background and scrumptious goodies filling up my counters, Christmas for me really begins. I love giving homemade gifts of cookies and candy to friends and neighbors; something that quickly became a Christmas tradition for our household. In today’s fast-pace society of readymade items lining the shelves of the stores temping one to take shortcuts, Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to slow down enough to set aside some time to have a family night or friend get-to-gether with homemade food. While glittering lights and holiday sales try to tempt one to spend beyond their budget, why not determine to center this Christmas season on family and friends instead of commercialism? Instead of expensive presents, why not give the gift of time and something homemade? Expensive presents can never substitute for sharing oneself.

Fudge is usually a very sweet and extremely rich type of candy often flavored with chocolate. Even though there is no record of when fudge was first invented, fudge is believed to have been the result more than one hundred years ago of an accidental “fudged” batch of caramels as both caramel and fudge are cooked at a very high temperature and need lots of stirring. Fudge quickly became popular, especially on college campuses. Soda cracker fudge or peanut butter cracker fudge originated by using what one had on hand during the depression era. Another widespread item was cracker candy made by layering crackers on the bottom of a foil-lined pan, pouring the boiled ingredients over the crackers, baking for five minutes, chilling in the refrigerator until set, and then broken into pieces.

My Old Fashioned Soda Cracker Fudge is a simple and easy recipe to make that can use various ingredients for different twists. You can add one cup of butterscotch morsels, chopped walnuts, or pecans to this recipe or for chocolate fudge add: one (12 oz) bag of chocolate chips and substitute brown sugar for white then sprinkle on crushed peppermint candies. The possibilities are endless. Preparation time for my Old Fashioned Soda Cracker Fudge is around ten minutes (not counting cooling time) and this recipe makes about a dozen, one-inch pieces of fudge.

Old Fashion Soda Cracker Fudge

2 c sugar
½ c milk
5 tb crunchy peanut butter
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow crème
24 saltine crackers

Crush crackers in a blender and line in a buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. In a small saucepan bring sugar, milk, peanut butter, and marshmallow crème to a boil and cook for five minutes stirring constantly with a Wisk. Pour over crushed crackers making sure all the crackers are coated. Let cool until set then cut into one-inch pieces. Store fudge in a tight container as it will last a long time- if not eaten first!

Weekly tip: To get marshmallow crème out of the jar without a big mess first dip a large spoon into hot water repeating as necessary. This will cause the marshmallow crème to slide out of the jar and off the spoon with ease!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Holiday Cranberry Nut Bread

Holiday Cranberry Nut Bread
Dorcas Annette Walker

I’ll never forget my tenth birthday for two reasons. First it fell right on Thanksgiving Day, which didn’t seem to make it much like a birthday as it was overshadowed by a major holiday. Second instead of a small turkey that year my parents could only afford a duck. Even though our family was poor my parents invited a guest to share Thanksgiving dinner with us. I had the “honor” of sitting beside this scruffy fellow with unkempt long dark hair and scraggly beard that I had never seen before in my life, nor knew where my parents had come across this guy. Today I cannot remember man’s name, but one thing that stands out in my mind is the fact that while this fellow slurped, growled, and plowed his way through the food like a starved person, I barely touched mine. Since visitors were rare in our home and I was quite shy it was like sitting beside a big wild bear. To my ten year old mind, my birthday was a total disaster.

Little did I realize it then, but my parents were instilling valuable principles into my life. At that time going shopping with my father or mother was sooo embarrassing as neither one met a stranger in their life. My parents were always smiling and willing to talk to anyone. Years later my teenage daughter would say to me, “Really, Mom, do you have to talk to everyone? It is so embarrassing!” And no matter how poor we were when Thanksgiving and Christmas came around there was always someone worse off than us that we could help. The holidays are a perfect time to reach out to others. It never ceases to amaze me how a smile, a kind word, or a simple act of kindness can help make someone else’s day and at the same time lift your own spirits.

My Holiday Cranberry Nut Bread is an old Mennonite recipe that has become a favorite in our family. The sweet colorful moist bread with a subtle orange flavor filled with cranberries and nuts always signals that the holidays have begun. Instead of making a loaf you can also turn this recipe into cupcakes or muffins. For added richness slather a slice of Holiday Cranberry Nut Bread with softened cream cheese. Preparation time for my Holiday Cranberry Nut Bread is about an hour and this recipe serves twelve large slices.

Holiday Cranberry Nut Bread

2 c self-rising flour
1 c sugar
1 c chopped cranberries
1 c chopped pecans or walnuts
1 egg
1 c orange juice
¼ c cooking oil

In a medium-sized bowl combine the flour, sugar, cranberries and walnuts. Add the egg, orange juice, and oil mixing thoroughly. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350º for 45-50 minutes until browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for five minutes before slicing!

Weekly tip: For a festive touch with your butter or cream cheese: flatten chilled butter or cream cheese with a rolling pin in between wax paper, cut with a lightly greased large cookie cutter, and drizzle with a bit of maple syrup or honey before serving!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Greek Yogurt

Greek Yogurt
Dorcas Annette Walker

Even though America has become the melting pot of diverse cultures, Thanksgiving is one holiday that unites us with the focus on food; the traditional turkey usually as the main centerpiece. Before Thanksgiving Day arrives my daughter and I will be busy each in our own kitchens cooking up storm. When our families get together the main hub will be my kitchen bursting with energy and laughter overlaid by a strong aroma of tantalizing smells that always draws the guys. Soon we will have to dodge bodies and shuffle for space while trying to make order out of all the chaos to reach my goal of another Thanksgiving dinner. Without fail my husband will ask, “Honey isn’t it time for dinner yet?” His question always signals that fact that once again I am running behind schedule. In desperation I will start shoving dishes into any nearby fellow’s hands pointing them to the table in order to give us room to finish up the last minute details. At last a spot will be found for each one to squeeze in around the table, grab hands to pray, and give thanks for another year of bounty, each family member, and the many blessings we daily enjoy.

A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, I get out all my recipes and cookbooks and start browsing to make up a menu choosing the dishes and desserts that have become a family tradition while pulling out and studying new recipes or ideas that I have collected. Holidays are a great time, when one is already spending lots of time in the kitchen, to try out something brand new. This year I decided to try a Greek Yogurt recipe that my sister gave. I always keep a batch of homemade yogurt in my refrigerator year round. Adding yogurt to casseroles with cream soups, cheese and macaroni, mashed/scalloped potatoes, puddings, and fruit desserts always gives the dish a creamier texture with healthful benefits added without changing the taste. The more I uses for yogurt that I find the more endless possibilities I discover. To add pizzazz to your holiday meals this year make up a batch of Greek Yogurt. Preparation time for the Greek Yogurt takes around seventeen hours (I let the yogurt sit overnight) and this recipe makes seven to eight cups.

Greek Yogurt

1 gal regular or 2% milk
2 c plain yogurt

Scald the milk, turn off the heat, and let cool slowly (about an hour). Gradually stir in the yogurt that has come to room temperature. Put the pan in the oven with the light on and let sit for sixteen hours without opening the door. Pour into four layers of cheesecloth covering a colander sitting in a pan. Let the yogurt drain for four hours in the refrigerator. Then ladle into sterilized jars or containers and refrigerate.

Weekly tip: Substitute this spread for your butter this holiday. Mix: 8 oz of softened cream cheese, 3 tb of honey, and ¼ tsp of cinnamon together until well blended, chill, and serve!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Fudgy Spice Cake

Fudgy Spice Cake
Dorcas Annette Walker

Originally called Armistice Day at the end of World War I, in June of 1954 Congress amended the Act of 1938 to officially make it Veteran’s Day in honor of American veterans of all wars. Each of us owes a great debt to the veterans living and dead for the freedoms we enjoy today. Veteran’s Day is a chance to stop our busy schedules, watch old glory wave high, listen to patriotic speeches, tap our feet to the music of parades, and pause for a moment to remember our veterans. Every year our church has a special Veteran’s Day service to honor the veterans with a home cooked meal in the fellowship hall afterwards. I made up a Walker-size cake for the church dinner this past Sunday. Next to the Walker clan’s love for their country is their love for eating.

The Walker fellows have a trait of not knowing their own strength or realize how intimidating they can appear when grouped together. One year when several of the family was meeting at the mission the crowd of men kept growing larger with each son’s arrival repeatedly asking Dad Walker, “Reverend, just how many sons did you say you had?” Dad loves to brag that he raised his own private body guards. The boys carry on the tradition of family tales. One time when their sister’s luggage was locked inside a small town bus station from her Greyhound bus arriving late at night after being delayed, the boys decided to break into the station and retrieve her stuff. A local cop spotted them and hauled them all down to the police station. After the chief of police heard the complaint, surrounded by four huge fellows that barely fit in the small station, he told the cop to let them go stating, “We don’t have enough man power to prevent these guys from breaking in.”

My Fudgy Spice Cake is a rich filling dessert deceptively simple to make with an eye-catching decorative design that makes it almost too pretty to cut and eat. Four layers of cake are surrounded by frosting making each moist bite a delight to eat. The Fudgy Spice Cake is ideal for holidays or a large crowd of people. You can substitute a nut cake mix or another flavor instead of spice. My Fudgy Spice Cake can be made up ahead of time as this cake keeps well. Preparation time for the Fudgy Spice Cake is around an hour and this recipe makes one large cake.

Fudgy Spice Cake

1 spice cake mix
3 (16 oz) cans of chocolate frosting
Almonds
Chocolate chips

Prepare cake mix like directed. Divide the batter into four parts pouring into greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake each layer at 350º for twenty minutes and cool. Cover each layer with chocolate frosting and then frost around the side and top. Using a tablespoon lightly depress the spoon into the frosting to make swirls around the side and top of the cake. Garnish with almond flowers!

Weekly tip: To make the almond flowers place five slivered almonds around a chocolate chip to form the petals!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Carmel Pie

Carmel Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

My introduction to veterans came when I married into Dana’s military family. Since the American Revolution, there has been a Walker from this family tree serving in every conflict that our nation has been engaged in with the exception of the Spanish-American War. My father-in-law is a veteran of World War II, the Korean, and Vietnam War. He entered the military after lying about his age to a judge, who gave him the choice of going to jail or to war. When the judge informed his mother, she told the judge that her son was only sixteen. So Dana’s dad went to another town, where lied about his age again, and joined up with the Navy ending up on one of the boats guarding the bay where the Japanese surrendered. After two years he joined the Army then thought about joining the Marines, but they told him he would have to go through boot camp again so instead he joined the Air Force serving sixteen years. He retired with twenty-one and a half years in military service. Just between my father-in-law, his two sons, one daughter, and three grandsons there has been a total of 73.5 years of Walker military service given to our country in the last three generations.

Standing erect his five sons still loom over their dad head and shoulders, but all the boys respect their dad’s ability to handle himself. He could break cement blocks in two with one hand and do one handed push-ups into his late sixties having to stop when he had trouble keeping his balance. After retiring from the military and turning his life around from being an alcoholic, my father-in-law started a rescue mission in the city of Fort Myers to help others. Word quickly got around not to mess with the head guy despite his being a preacher, small size, and age. One street fellow started giving trouble and pulled a knife on my father-in-law. He took the knife away from the fellow and threw it over to the curb about the time a policeman came by and asked, “Reverend you need some help?” Dad Walker said, “No somebody just needed to know who was boss around here. It’s all taken care of”. He then reached down shut the knife, dropped it in the man’s pocket and told him, “If you reach in your pocket, I’ll break your hand.” The poor guy was so nervous he didn’t know what to do with his hands. Another time some guys got into a fight in the dormitory. One of the fellows was enormous called Little John. Dad Walker and a son stopped the fight. My father-in-law then shoved Little John in his room, shut the door, and told him to stay there. In a few seconds slowly and very carefully Little John opened up the door and asked quietly, “Preacher can I come out now?”

My Carmel Pie has a smooth Carmel filling sandwiched between cool whip and a graham cracker crust making a rich elegant dessert that will grace any occasion. Even though this simple dessert takes hours to make it is well worth the time invested. I usually make two pies at a time. Preparation time for my Carmel Pie is a little over three and one half hours and this recipe makes one 9-inch pie.

Carmel Pie

1 (9 inch) graham cracker crust
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 oz) cool whip

Remove the label and immerse the can of condensed milk in a kettle of water completely covering the can. Bring to a boil and slowly boil adding water as needed for three hours. Let cool. Open and pour into the graham cracker crust using a spatula to smooth it out. Layer with cool whip and chill before serving. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon!

Weekly tip: When cutting frozen pies first dip the knife into warm water to make the slicing easier!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Autumn Biscuits

Autumn Biscuits
Dorcas Annette Walker

Autumn is the time when the days start to get shorter as we head toward winter. Last week after picking up my husband in town it was already dark when we started home. I noticed one house lit up and at first thought that they had already put up their Christmas lights. Instead it was lights for Halloween. With pumpkin festivals and contests held for fall décor of homes and businesses, autumn decorating has become almost as important as trimming the tree for Christmas. Don’t worry if you aren’t crazy over natural fall colors. You can find colors ranging from hot pink to brilliant purple available to dazzle the eye. I still haven’t figured out where pink and neon purple fits into autumn yet, but then teal and orange Christmas decorations puzzle me as well. I worry that with all the modern decorations at our finger tips the younger generation will never enjoy or know the delight of making homespun decorations that was in harmony with nature.

Mothers of all generations have always been concerned with feeding their family nutritious meals. I feel sorry for young mothers today constantly bombarded with magazine articles, commercials, and advertisements that often contradict themselves of what foods are necessary for healthful families. Added to the dilemma is the fact that most youngsters today are not raised hoeing and weeding gardens so wholesome vegetables appear to them as strange items from outer space. One way to introduce nourishing foods to the family is by concealing them within a familiar item. My Autumn Biscuits are a perfect way for doing this. You can substitute pumpkin or squash for the sweet potato if you prefer. The Autumn Biscuits are a delicious addition eaten plain with a meal, as a snack with honey, or your favorite jam. Preparation time for my Autumn Biscuits is ten minutes and this recipe makes eight to ten biscuits.

Autumn Biscuits

2 c self-rising flour
1 c cooked sweet potato
3 tb shortening
1 c milk
cinnamon

In a medium-sized bowl stir together the flour, sweet potato, and shortening with a fork until crumbly. Add the milk and mix well. Pour out onto a floured surface adding flour as needed. Knead the dough a couple of minutes. Shape biscuits by breaking off a handful, form a flattened ball, and place on an ungreased tray. Bake at 350º for twenty minutes until lightly browned. Spread with butter or cream cheese and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon!

Weekly tip: *Last week 1 cup of brown sugar was omitted from the Pumpkin Bread Pudding recipe!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Dorcas Annette Walker

A hand-written letter sent in the mail has almost become obsolete with how most people correspond with others. While I still occasionally send out a note written by hand, I’ll have to confess that emailing is a lot quicker and easier for me. Communicating through cyber space is not without its perils though. I first signed up with yahoo email. A couple years passed without any problems. Suddenly one day my phone started ringing as friends from out-of-state began calling asking what was going on. Someone had hacked into my email account and was sending out frantic letters asking for money using my name telling folk that I was stranded in Africa. After a couple of months yahoo was able to run this person down. I started a new email account, but was left shaken at the thought of being sabotaged again. By then my local telephone company had email accounts so I signed up with them, changed all my addresses, and notified my editors. Months passed by and once more I began to relax. Lo and behold if I didn’t discover that randomly people posting emails to me would get their emails returned with my address blocked. A friend of mine using the same telephone company would sometimes have to send an email to me three or four times before it would go through. I called the technical support a couple of times about this problem. The last support fellow I talked with, stating my frustration and trying to impress upon him the vital importance for me to be able to be in contact with my editors and them with me, I was told that the only way they could completely solve the problem was for me to forward the blocked emails. I hung up the phone feeling quite confused. How I am to get a hold of emails that never even come to me is beyond my understanding. Maybe the local company thinks that I have psychic powers. So I have signed up with gmail after being assured by friends that using gmail will solve all my email problems. We shall see. You can now reach me at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com

Thankfully food is one way of interaction that never fails. You can count on smiles of satisfaction whenever you prepare a lip-smackin dish. Not only does food satisfy a basic human need, but it also gives comfort along with an artistic touch. My Pumpkin Bread Pudding is a new twist to an old dish that makes a perfect fall dessert. You can add raisins or pecans to the Pumpkin Bread Pudding, and drizzle Carmel, honey, or maple syrup over it before serving. Preparation time is fifteen minutes (not counting baking time) and this recipe serves twelve.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

12 slices of wheat bread
4 c milk
6 eggs
2 c or 1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin
1 c brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 tb pumpkin spice
¼ tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
powdered sugar

Cut bread into 1 inch cubes and place in a buttered 9x 13 baking dish. In a medium-size bowl beat until smooth: the milk, eggs, pumpkin, vanilla, spices, and salt. Pour over the bread, sprinkle with cinnamon, and bake at 350º for one hour (covered with tinfoil for the first 30 minutes) until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Dust with powdered sugar and serve!

Weekly tip: For an even crunchier bread pudding texture, toast the bread before cubing!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Mince Apple Pie

Mince Apple Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

Every Thanksgiving at home a mincemeat pie was served. Without fail my father would always shake his head and sadly inform us that that the store-bought mincemeat was nothing like the mincemeat his mother used to make on the farm. To keep the family tradition going, each Thanksgiving I would buy mincemeat and make a pie even though a jar of mincemeat was “quite dear” or real expensive like my English grandmother would say. Both my children hated mincemeat. After awhile I finally quit making a mincemeat pie as there were always oodles of other holiday desserts. This past week I decided to add some extra ingredients to an apple pie. To my surprise and delight it reminded me of a mild version of mincemeat pies in years gone by. So I have named it my Mince Apple Pie.

Mincemeat refers to something ground or minced up. An old slang saying, “to make mincemeat”, meant to utterly destroy. Mincemeat was originally medieval containing a sweet and spicy mixture of chopped meat, suet, and fruit as way of preserving meat. English mincemeat recipes from the 15th - 17th century were used to bake a huge pie on Christmas Eve with a pastry topping effigy of baby Jesus lying in his cradle. Early New Englanders made large batches of mincemeat stored in crocks sealed with a layer of lard that could be kept up to ten years. Mincemeat recipes vary by region or ancestry. By the mid-twentieth century recipes for mincemeat sometimes substituted vegetable fats and butter or used green tomatoes to make it vegetarian. Commercial preparations package mincemeat in jars, foil lined boxes, or tins. Mincemeat pies are sometimes served with a slice of cheddar cheese.

Mincemeat was the name of a British operation during World War II that succeeded in making the Germans believe that the Allies would invade the Balkans instead of Sicily- their real objective. British naval intelligence took a corpse they named Major Martin, dressed him as a major, along with a briefcase containing sealed papers. They fitted the corpse with a life jacket and pushed the body out to sea where the tide carried it to shore. When the body was turned over to the British they noted that the papers had been resealed. Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the United States were wired: “Mincemeat Swallowed Whole”. The operation accomplished sending German vessels away from Sicily and spreading the German defensive across Europe. Major Martin, whose real identity was never revealed, was laid to rest in a graveyard at Heulva.

Mince Apple Pie

two pie crusts
1 qt apple pie filling
½ c raisins
¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
sugar
cinnamon

Spread one crust over a 9-inch pie pan. In a medium-sized bowl mix together the pie filling, raisins, and nuts and pour into the pie crust. Add the second crust on top sealing the edges poking holes in the crust with a knife. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes until the crust is lightly browned. Serve hot or cold!

Weekly tip: A piece of hot apple pie in a bowl of milk makes a scrumptious filling snack or meal!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Candied Orange Sweet Potatoes

Candied Orange Sweet Potatoes
Dorcas Annette Walker

Last Sunday our home church had its annual home coming. Along with the huge crowd there were all kinds of casseroles, meats, salads, and desserts that overflowed several tables in our church fellowship hall. Even after everyone was stuffed there were enough leftovers to make another church meal. The sight of tables filled with food always captivates me with the possibility of discovering a new recipe. I think the one thing all good cooks have in common is curiosity. Just let a different dish appear before us or a familiar one with a new twist to it and our noses start to twitch. Not only is the taste of delicious food one grand delight, but chatting with all the other cooks and discussing recipes is the main highlight of church dinners. I’ve made more new friends discussing ingredients to a casserole or dessert over the years than in any other way. No matter what area of the United States I’m in as long as there is food around it is always an instant ice-breaker. Food has a way of breaking down any age or culture barrier. It was Granny in her nineties, who passed this recipe along to me a couple of years ago. What a joy to know that if I live to be a hundred years old I’ll still be interested in trying new recipes.

Our first frost up here on the mountain recently signaled that it was time to begin harvesting the sweet potatoes in my garden. My Candied Orange Sweet Potatoes recipe is a new twist on the sweet potatoes casserole topped with marshmallows. No matter how you prepare sweet potatoes whether by baking, frying, microwaving, simmering in butter and brown sugar, doing up in pies, or making into casseroles you can always be assured of a tasty and nutritious dish. I always keep a supple of canned sweet potatoes in my pantry. Not only do the jars give off a bright orange color, but they are available for instant use.

My Candied Orange Sweet Potatoes gives a hint of summer with its mild citrus taste and embodies the fall season with its bright orange color while the topping of toasted marshmallows is reminiscent of sitting around a campfire. This casserole is quick and easy to make and can be made up ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to pop into the oven for baking. Preparation time for my Candied Orange Sweet Potatoes is ten minutes and this recipe serves eight.

Candied Orange Sweet Potatoes

1 qt cooked sweet potatoes
½ c orange juice
¼ c syrup
½ tsp ginger
3 tb margarine
pinch of salt
cinnamon
10 oz bag of marshmallows

Mash the sweet potatoes in a medium-sized bowl and add the next five ingredients stirring until well mixed. Pour into a buttered 7 x 11 baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and top with the marshmallows. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes until the marshmallows are puffy and browned. Serve hot!

Weekly tip: To can sweet potatoes: cook the potatoes until almost tender and ready to peel, then cold pack the potatoes in quart jars with a medium syrup (3 c sugar to 4 c water), and can for thirty minutes!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

PA Dutch Apple Butter

PA Dutch Apple Butter
Dorcas Annette Walker

Autumn has finally arrived up here in the Tennessee Mountains with chilly nights and warm days. I’ve been keeping a fire in my woodstove relishing the warmth of a crackling fire. The smell of wood smoke wafting on the air, dried leaves swirling downward, and the popping sound of acorns hitting the hard ground somehow makes one feel energetic once again. Even our ancient chocolate lab, Sandy, kicks up her heels and rolls around on her back in the grass as if to savor the last bit of warmth from the earth. Now is the time for gathering in the last bit of garden vegetables before the first frost hits while pumpkins and apples finish ripening. Although my pantry shelves are overflowing with canned goods, like the squirrels outside, I still want to put up more food. The sight of baskets filled with colorful apples in the market draws me like a magnet.

This is the time to make up a big batch of my homemade apple butter using an old Pennsylvania Dutch recipe. Just like it takes a mixture of the right kinds of apples to produce good cider so does the blending of certain spices make high-rate apple butter. Once you have tasted the PA Dutch Apple Butter you will never be satisfied with what they sell in the stores now-a-days. My Mennonite grandmother made apple butter in huge black pots over a fire out in her yard that she would put up and sell in their market. I enjoy keeping the family tradition going. There is something captivating about the smell of apple butter slowly cooking on the stove sending out a spicy aroma that makes all the hours it takes to prepare well worth the effort.

My PA Dutch Apple Butter has a thick dark-brown sweet smooth texture of intermingling spices that can be used in different ways: to make a filling apple butter sandwich, spread on one slice of bread, used for filling in stack cakes, and on top of fried squash. While there are recipes that cook apple butter in microwaves, ovens, or the Crockpot, I prefer cooking mine on the stove in large roaster pans like I’ve always done. Preparation time for making up a batch of PA Dutch Apple Butter is three to four hours and this recipe makes seven pints.

PA Dutch Apple Butter

12 c of unsweetened applesauce
6 c sugar
1 tb cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp allspice

Mix all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon in a large roaster pan boiling slowly for at least three hours until thickened. Pour into pint jars and can for ten minutes to seal. Let cool completely before serving!

Weekly tip: One bushel of apples quartered, cooked, and processed into applesauce will be enough to quadruple (four times) this recipe yielding thirty pints of apple butter with one quart of applesauce left!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Southern Green Beans

Southern Green Beans
Dorcas Annette Walker

One main introduction to southern cooking was beans when we pastored in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Each meal had at least one dish of cooked beans. The kind of beans one grew in the garden and ate was of major importance. At every church dinner you could count on at least one table being full of nothing but all kinds of beans. Up until that time I had never encountered so many beans in my life. Thus began my education in southern-style green beans. I soon was canning and filling shelves of white half-runner string beans just like the rest of the church folk. Since then I’ve ventured out and even grown foot-long string green beans.

The common bean has been cultivated dating back to the ancient Egyptians. There are over 4,000 classifications of beans on record in the U.S. alone. There are three main types of beans: snap, string, and green (string-less) beans that grow as pole or bush beans such as: Kentucky Blue, Kentucky Wonder, and Blue Lake. You can choose between a rainbow of colors: green, purple, yellow (wax), red, black, red-striped, white, and navy beans. Other varieties include: lima or butter, kidney, pinto, and soybeans. With some beans the tender pods are eaten, others you let dry out and store for soups (Shelly or fall beans), while bean sprouts are used in stir-fries. Oriental, Mexican, Southwestern, Middle East, and Southern folk all use different kinds of beans in their cuisine. One recipe called Fifteen Bean Soup is made up of fifteen different types of beans. Field beans are mostly bush and used for stock feed.

Green beans are available year round as canned, frozen, or fresh and are cooked by boiling, steaming, or baking. Some restaurants serve battered and fried green beans. Beans continue to be one of the principal sources of protein for vegetarians and are a healthy food alternative for the poor. Green beans are low in calories, have an excellent source of vitamin K, C, and A, contain fiber, potassium, folate, iron, magnesium, thiamin, copper, calcium, phosphorus, protein, omega-3, and niacin.

My Southern Green Beans are easy to prepare and make a colorful addition to any meal. Some southern cooks use shortening or fatback instead of bacon grease. I have also added small chunks of ham or bacon in my green beans. Preparation time for my Southern Green Beans is around twenty minutes and this recipe serves four.

Southern Green Beans

1 quart canned green beans
Water
1 tb bacon grease
1 tsp chopped onion

Rinse green beans and dump into a medium-sized saucepan. Almost cover the beans with water. Sprinkle on the onion and add the bacon grease. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and let boil for at least ten more minutes until most of the water is gone. Serve hot!

Weekly tip: My recent Lemon Squares recipe had the (three eggs) omitted from the listing of the first six ingredients that you creamed!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Toasted Banana Pudding

Toasted Banana Pudding
Dorcas Annette Walker

Every time my mother made toast we made sure to be in the kitchen. The object that kept us enthralled was a tall thin metal appliance. When plugged in a conveyer belt would start to move. My mother would put a slice of bread at the opening and inch by inch the bread would enter the tunnel-like entrance. As soon as one slice of bread disappeared, she would put another slice at the opening until it looked like a train of bread moving through a tunnel. What was even more captivating was the tiny glass window about the size of a quarter in the middle on either side of the toaster where one could see the bread as it slowly moved through the toaster. We would take turns catching the toasted slice of bread waiting until the last second before it began to fall. It wasn’t until my high school years that I discovered that nobody else had a toaster like ours. Whenever I’d invite a friend home with me they always wanted to make toast sitting spellbound besides my mother’s toaster watching as slice after slice of bread got toasted. Today it is rare to find a toaster like my mother’s even at an antique store.

People have toasted bread since the Romans era over an open fire with a simple metal frame or long-handled fork. The word toast comes from the Latin word, “tostum”, which means scorching or burning. The first electric toaster was invented in 1893 in Great Britain. In 1909 the first American toaster only toasted one side of the bread at a time. In 1913 the Copeman toaster was patented, which automatically turned the bread. Then during World War I, Charles Strite, tired of the burnt toast served in the company cafeteria invented a pop-up toaster. The first fully automatic pop-up toaster was invented in 1926 by Toastmaster one-A-one and was considered a prized wedding gift. When the first pre-sliced bread when on sale in 1928, toaster sales skyrocketed by 1933.

Toaster facts:

- In Norway, every other Tuesday, people gather and pay homage to the almighty god “Tohstre”.
- An estimated 75 million Americans eat toast every day.
- The average person spends 35 hours a year making toast.
- Toasters are the subject of a 2005 Kaiser Chiefs song.
- Toasters cause 95% of deaths in children under 5.

My Toasted Banana Pudding captures the last days of summer with its light texture and mild banana taste. Preparation time for my Toasted Banana Pudding is thirty minutes (not counting cooling time) and this recipe serves fourteen.

Toasted Banana Pudding

1 baked angel food cake
4 bananas
2 (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding
2 c milk
2 c plain yogurt
cool whip

Cut up the angel food cake into inch-size pieces, spread on a large tray, and bake at 350º for 15 minutes; turning every five minutes with a large spatula. Spread toasted cubes in a 9 x 13 dish, slice bananas, and layer on top. Mix up pudding as directed and add yogurt. Pour over bananas and stir until everything is covered. Refrigerate for a couple of hours until firm. Garnish with cool whip and serve!

Weekly tip: A toaster uses almost half the energy as an oven; energy is wasted if a toaster is left unplugged after use!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Salsa Dip

Salsa Dip
Dorcas Annette Walker

It seems like yesterday that our house phone buzzed nonstop with teenage conversations- back in the dark ages before cell phones and wireless phones. In fact I seldom answered the kitchen phone as there was always a teenage grabbing the headpiece as soon as the phone rang, with a surprised look of amazement when a caller actually wanted my husband or me. Since I didn’t believe in letting my teenagers have a phone of their own, much less in their bedroom, the cord was stretched to maximum tautness with the headpiece attached to my daughter’s ear as she’d walk down the hallway talking nonstop. Those were the days when the constant ringing of the phone became normal background noise. My younger son complained that all his sister ever did was talk and giggle on the phone with her friends. He thought it was quite boring and dumb. When Dawn started going with Randy, who lived in Nashville, the only communication we could get with our daughter was between intense private talks on the phone that somehow she managed to stretch to her closed bedroom doorway. Each chat with her boyfriend meant more analyzed and dissected discussions of feedback from her closest friends. It probably would have been more appropriate to have had the florist use phone cords instead of trailing ivy in our daughter’s bridal bouquet.

My husband and I thought that after our daughter was married we would once again have the use of the house phone to ourselves, but lo and behold if our son, who usually didn’t talk much, hit the teenage stage and he became attached to the phone head piece. All kinds of friends called for long and debated conversations ranging around car and truck parts and how many miles a gallon a certain vehicle got. Interestingly enough when I compared all the earlier girl giggles to the present boisterous boy laughter they seemed just about evenly matched and the length of the phone calls remained just the same. So after our son got married it was quite a shock to suddenly discover that when the phone rang we had to answer it. Since then our house has been quite silent without the continual ringing of a phone in the background.

The only way I survived those hectic teenage days was with my Salsa Dip and plenty of tortilla chips during sleepovers. Today there are a variety of tortilla chips that you can use. You can also add or substitute chopped red & green peppers, mushrooms, onions, sausage refried beans, black olives, or serve with sour cream. Heat the dip in the microwave or keep in a Crockpot on low for instant use. My Salsa Dip takes about fifteen minutes to prepare and this recipes makes around six cups of dip.

Salsa Dip

1 lb hamburger
1 pint of medium salsa
15.5 oz jar of salsa cheese or cheese whiz

Brown, chop fine, and drain hamburger. Mix together in a medium bowl the hamburger, salsa, and cheese. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator!

Weekly tip: Use mugs or foam cups instead of bowls or plates for dips, and paper towels as an alternative to napkins for holding chips!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Chocolate Oatmeal Lunchbox Cookies

Chocolate Oatmeal Lunchbox Cookies
Dorcas Annette Walker

Another school year has started and the Labor Day weekend is upon us- the last holiday of the summer signaling the beginning of a new school and work year. I vividly recall the days in yesteryears hurrying down a gravel road to meet the school bus each morning; walking through crisp autumn leaves hoping the bus would be late, shivering and stomping my feet on the snowy ground while turning one’s back to fierce winter gales praying that the bus would hurry up and arrive, to the delight and wonder of spotting the first blooming violet announcing that spring was on its way all while waiting for bright yellow school bus. Today children rush out the front door and hop on the school bus at their doorstep hardly noticing the weather.

Arrival at school meant reuniting with old school friends that you hadn’t seen all summer, checking out new students amidst the confusion and uproar of shouting and laughter, coordinating the labyrinth of different schedules, teachers, and classrooms, inhaling the intoxicating smells of thick textbooks that soon would become familiar companions, and writing down the first word in a brand new notebook.

But I think the biggest change today is the absence of lunchboxes. How important one felt starting out the school year with a brand new metal lunchbox without any dents or scratches. While I am thankful that today’s school child gets a free nutritious lunch, I feel a pang of sympathy for school children that don’t know the joys of trading sandwiches or cookies with other school chums during the lunch hour. Lunchboxes have become a relic of the past sitting in dusty corners of antique shops forgotten and forlorn. Even the working man and woman of today seldom carry a lunch finding it more convenient to buy from a fast food place. I know that time marches on, but in the hurried rush of today I’d love to once again snap open up a metal lunchbox, unwrap a sandwich folded in wax paper, nibble on some homemade cookies, and take a crunchy bite out of an juicy apple.

My Chocolate Oatmeal Lunchbox Cookies are a soft and chewy cookie dusted in sugar with a double chocolate taste. You can add raisins or walnuts to these cookies if you prefer. Either way these cookies are delicious and filling with a cold glass of milk. Preparation time for my Chocolate Oatmeal Lunchbox Cookies is twenty minutes and this recipe makes about four dozen cookies.

Chocolate Oatmeal Lunchbox Cookies

2 c sugar
1 c shortening
1 egg
1 c milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1½ c self-rising flour
1/3 c cocoa powder
3 c uncooked quick oats
6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips

Cream 1½ c of sugar, shortening, egg, milk, and vanilla together. Mix in flour, cocoa, and oats thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate chips. Form dough the size of a large walnut, roll in remaining sugar, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly and bake at 350º for ten to twelve minutes. Let cool slightly and store in an enclosed container!

Weekly tip: For softer and chewier homemade cookies substitute honey for part of the sugar called for in the recipe!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Lemon Squares

Lemon Squares
Dorcas Annette Walker

I love hearing rumbling thunder in the distance signaling afternoon rain showers coming to wash away the dust and give a brief break in the humidity, even though at times I have to scramble in order to get my wash drying out on the line inside before the raindrops fall. It doesn’t take long for wash to dry on hot days so every opportunity I’m hanging some out. There is something addictive about the fresh smell of sun-dried laundry while nothing bleaches whites better than the sun in its zenith. Another thing good for bleaching is lemons. So here is another lemon recipe to enjoy as the summer days slowly wind down.

Some lemon facts:

- The word lemon is believed to have been derived from Asian language words meaning, "sour or sour fruit."
- There are two different types of lemons — acid and sweet.
- Lemons should be firm and bright yellow. Thin skinned fruit tends to have more juice, while fruit with a greenish cast is likely to be more acidic.
- You may store lemons at room temperature for two weeks; will keep for up to six weeks in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
- Lemon trees bloom continuously all year and can produce up to 500 or 600 lemons a year.
- One medium lemon has about 3 tablespoons of juice and 3 tablespoons of grated peel.
- Get the most juice out of your lemon by warming it in the microwave for 15 seconds or rolling it with your hand on the counter at room temperature.
- Use juice on fruit or white vegetables to keep their color.
- Lemon juice can remove odors from hands, pots, and pans by rubbing with a cut lemon just before washing; run used lemon peels through your garbage disposal to keep it smelling fresh.
- Lemon and salt can be used to treat rust spots, and to clean copper pots.
- Freeze lemon juice in ice cube trays or add a twist of lemon to the water in ice cube trays for added zip to beverages
- Add a few drops of lemon juice to whipping cream if it doesn't stiffen.
- Use lemon to replace salt in your recipe for less sodium.
- It is said that the citric acid in lemon juice will dissolve a pearl.

My Lemon Squares have a mild lemon flavor and look like captured sunshine ideal for lunches, snacks, or as a dessert. Drinking mint tea with these Lemon Squares enhances the flavor. For an added contrasting garnish use chocolate curls or drizzle chocolate syrup. Total preparation time for my Lemon Squares is fifty-five minutes and this recipe makes twelve squares.

Lemon Squares

1 stick margarine
2 c sugar
3 eggs
½ c lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ c shredded lemon peel
2½ c self-rising flour
2 tb powdered sugar

Cream the first six ingredients together. Slowly stir in flour beating well. Pour into a 9 x 13 greased baking dish and bake at 350º for 35 minutes. Cool and sift powdered sugar onto the top. Cut into squares and serve with a candied lemon slice and fresh mint!

Weekly tip: To make candied citrus slices or peel: bring one-fourth cup of water and three-fourths cup of sugar to a boil, add fruit, simmer for two minutes, drain, and let cool!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Homemade Lemonade

Homemade Lemonade
Dorcas Annette Walker

When my husband, Dana, was still in Bible College in Pennsylvania we filled in at a small church on weekend’s seventy-eight miles one way from our campus cabin. It was quite a learning experience staying with an older retired couple while we were still in our teens. The lady of the house always served turkey legs and pink lemonade for her Sunday dinner menu. There was only one catch. She was quite a saving soul, who felt that sugar was way too expensive to be used freely so only used half of the sugar required in anything that she made. I’ve always like tart stuff, but her pink lemonade even slowed me down. After his first taste, Dana only drank water. That pink lemonade went a long ways as it wasn’t until our grandkids came along and fell in love with pink lemonade that I even started storing some in my cupboard. Instead come summertime I would always make up a batch of my Homemade Lemonade.

There is nothing quite like the taste of Homemade Lemonade to quench a person’s thirst on a hot sweltering summer day. For some reason though my husband refuses to drink my homemade drink declaring that one swallow is enough to pucker you up for a week. Fortunately, both my kids like my lemonade. So the other Sunday I mixed up a pitcher of lemonade to go along with the meal. My daughter-in-law, Amanda Rose, took one swallow, made a funny face, and asked for sugar. She added a good amount to her glass, but still she hardly drank any lemonade. Later she told my son, Dwight, to be sure and remind her never to drink his mother’s Homemade Lemonade ever again. For those of you brave souls, who love lemonade, I thought I’d share my special lemonade recipe that is a perfect addition to picnics and family reunions.

My Homemade Lemonade is very simple, quick, and easy to make. Even though the Homemade Lemonade resembles the color of water don’t let it fool you as it packs a little kick. If you find my Homemade Lemonade too strong just add more water. Preparation time for my Homemade Lemonade is five minutes and this recipe serves six to eight.

Homemade Lemonade

1 c sugar
1 c reconstituted lemon juice
water

Mix together the sugar and lemon juice in a 2-quart pitcher adding water until it is filled completely up to the top and chill in the refrigerator. Fill a glass with ice and add the lemonade. Garnish with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint!

Weekly tip: You can frost a glass by sticking it in the freezer and chilling it until the glass is completely cold or for a quick frost top the glass with ice, fill with water, pour out the water, and then add your beverage for an ice cold frosted glass!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Auntie Dorcas' Tomato Juice

Auntie Dorcas’ Tomato Juice
Dorcas Annette Walker

It never fails to surprise me how different threads of life intertwine and push you in a new direction. Making up a batch of tomato juice was the last thing on my mind until last week I received a call from a lady in Cookeville– who shall remain nameless in case anyone that hates tomatoes should decide to throw rotten tomatoes in her direction- asking me if I had a recipe for tomato juice. I searched in vain for a recipe so I began doing research. I was amazed at the high nutritious content in tomato juice. Then I came down with the flu. One day when I was having trouble keeping anything on my stomach I remembered an old home remedy how tomato juice can help settle an upset stomach. I drank some and was amazed how quickly it worked.

Meanwhile about a year ago my niece, Stacy, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. It came as a total shock as Stacy had always been healthy. She was in college at the top of her class, spent a semester in England as a transfer student, and became engaged to her high school sweetheart. Stacy at first figured that the stress from her schedule was the cause. A local doctor made her symptoms worse with is wrong diagnosing until Stacy was able to see a specialist. For months she went to a wound clinic for deep oozing sores on her leg that wouldn’t heal. I’m all for the latest medical science, but sometimes home cures work when nothing else will. I told my sister to have Stacy soak her leg in Epson salts and the sores began to heal. Right now Stacy is run down, a pale shadow of herself, who had to quit her job while waiting for the insurance company to agree to the treatments prescribed to get her Crohn’s into remission.

My sister and I have been taxing our brains with foods to build Stacy’s weakened body back up without setting her system off. Remembering how the tomato juice helped my stomach, I called my sister that I was going to make up a batch of homemade tomato juice and promised to send her the recipe. I decided to call it Auntie Dorcas’ Tomato Juice in honor of Stacy. I’m determined to get Stacy back on her feet and healthy by the time she walks down the aisle as a radiant bride next April even if I have to bring her down to the mountains of Tennessee and doctor her myself.

My Auntie Dorcas’ Tomato Juice is so packed full of vitamins that nearly jump out of the glass. This soothing blend of eight garden vegetables creates a supper wallop of nutrition perfect to start out your day. There are zillions of recipes for fruit and vegetable juice enabling one to make their own homemade blend. You can substitute or add red & green peppers, cabbage, lettuce, watercress, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, or lemon juice to suit your taste buds. Preparation time for my Auntie Dorcas’ Tomato Juice is 4½ hrs (not counting canning time) and this recipe makes around 18 quarts.

Auntie Dorcas’ Tomato Juice

25 lb box of ripened tomatoes
2 lb bag of carrots
stalk of celery
1 qt canned red beets with juice
1 bunch of fresh spinach
4 large onions
3 cloves of garlic
½ c parsley flakes
½ c sugar
4 tb salt
1 tb pepper

Peel, chop, and puree all the vegetables including the parsley flakes adding water as needed in a blender or food processor. Scald tomatoes in hot water to loosen skins then liquefy. Add sugar, salt, and pepper. Pour into a large canner and bring to a rolling boil that you can’t stir down. Then simmer for thirty minutes. Pour the hot juice into clean canning jars and process for fifteen minutes.

Weekly tip: A ripe tomato has a uniform color. You can ripen tomatoes by placing them in a paper bag for a day or so. Then store in a cool place, but not the refrigerator!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Zucchini Cheddar Corn Muffins

Zucchini Cheddar Corn Muffins
Dorcas Annette Walker

One garden vegetable that is guaranteed to give you an abundance harvest is zucchini or squash. All you have to do is plant one packet of seeds and you will get zillions of squash in return. A lot of gardeners become overwhelmed with their squash harvest not knowing what to do with it all. Thankfully besides giving some away there are lots of ways that you can eat and put up your squash harvest. One way to use your zucchini is by making these delicious colorful Zucchini Cheddar Corn Muffins.

I read an article this week about survival seed banks, which brought to my mind some folks that we became acquainted with years ago. I was slicing up tomatoes during a visit when she asked me how many years of food we had saved up. I nearly dropped my knife in amazement when she confided that they had put up eight years worth of food in a safe underground storage cellar. Their total goal was for twenty years of food. They believed that we would have to go through the tribulation and were getting prepared when the end of the world came. Emergency seed banks are nothing new with their waterproof military grade containers claiming to keep seeds good for 100 years for you to grow your own food when a worldwide crisis shuts down the food supplies.

Now I believe in putting up and storing food, but twenty years supply? Can you imagine the expense of buying all those jars, the work involved, not to mention finding storage place? If such a crisis would to occur and you had lots of food what kind of person would turn their back on those starving around them? My Bible tells how God daily fed at least four to five million Israelites in the middle of a wilderness where there wasn’t any ground fit to grow a garden and the prophet Elijah with ravens during a severe drought. As long as there are gardeners and farmers around there will be plenty of food. Just grow squash. Meanwhile instead of fretting about the future I plan to enjoy each day that the good Lord gives me.

My Zucchini Cheddar Corn Muffins are a nifty addition to any meal with their summery tasty. You can add mushrooms, peppers, black olives, or salsa for a different twist. Preparation time for my Zucchini Cheddar Corn Muffins is ten minutes and this recipe makes eight to nine muffins.

Zucchini Cheddar Corn Muffins

1 (8.5 oz) box of corn muffin mix
1 c shredded zucchini
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg
½ c milk

Mix together all the ingredients and spoon into a greased muffin pan. Bake at 350º for twenty to twenty-five minutes until golden brown. Serve hot with butter!

Weekly tip: Shred and freeze individual cups of zucchini for year round baking use!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Plum Delicious Dessert

Plum Delicious Dessert
Dorcas Annette Walker

The last couple of weeks I have had been going plum crazy as I harvested the fruit off of my two loaded plum trees each day. My plums are dark purple when ripe bursting with sweet juice that runs down your chin as soon as you take a bite. Talk about plum good! There is nothing like picking and eating a fresh plum that has been warmed and ripened by the sun. I’ve been plum busy canning jars of plums and cooking plum jam. So I thought I’d give you a recipe for a Plum Delicious Dessert to enjoy.

Plums are a smooth-skinned fruit that comes in a wide variety of color, sizes, and taste (sweet or tart) with a creamy yellow or bright red flesh containing a flattish pointed stone in the middle of each fruit. The Romans introduced plums to Northern Europe and by 1864 there were 150 species of plums with hundreds of varieties. Plums are native in China, America, and Europe with most placed into two categories: Japanese and European. The plum tree can reach a height of 20-33 feet, is considered a stone fruit tree that is different from other fruit trees in that the shoots have a terminal bud, and blossoms in early spring. California is famous for its export of plums.

Plums are often dried as prunes, but can be stewed, canned, made into jams, jellies, puddings, or used in pies, and cakes. Fermented plum juice when distilled produces brandy. Although plums are high in carbohydrates, they are low in fat and calories, and are free of sodium and cholesterol. Plums contain iron, Vitamin C and A, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and fiber. They are good for allaying thirst, are proven to have just as much or more antioxidants than blueberries, used in the treatment of arthritis, and helps regulate the function of the digestive system.

Plum Delicious Dessert

1 c crushed graham crackers
1 qt canned plums
½ c sugar
½ c cornstarch
½ tsp almond extract
1 (8 oz) cool whip

Place graham crackers in the bottom of a glass dessert dish. Pit the plums and place in a medium saucepan with sugar. Add enough water to make a liquid paste with the cornstarch, add to plum mixture, and bring to a boil stirring with a Wisk until smooth. Take off the heat and add the extract. Cool for half an hour than pour over the graham crackers. Let cool for another half an hour before spreading the cool whip on top. Take a knife and swirl through the cool whip and fruit. Chill overnight before serving! Preparation time for my Plum Delicious Dessert is about fifteen minutes (not counting an hour for cooling time) and this recipe serves eight.

Weekly tip: Store fresh plum in a cool dark place. And here’s an idea for you- how about using plum jam with your peanut butter and jelly sandwich or instead of sliced bananas and peanut butter substitute fresh slices of a plum? Be plum inventive!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Speedy Sweet Potato Snack

Speedy Sweet Potato Snack
Dorcas Annette Walker

This year I decided to try and grow sweet potatoes in my garden again. Usually I just buy a box at a produce stand as I enjoy having my own canned sweet potatoes year round. I couldn’t resist buying some though the other weekend to tide me over until my own sweet potatoes are ready for harvest. Not only do I like canned sweet potatoes, but I also enjoy eating fresh ones as well. These summer days when I am busy in the kitchen canning, I love to grab a sweet potato and nuke it in the microwave to make what I call my Speedy Sweet Potato Snack.

Sweet Potatoes are not related to regular potatoes. They are classified as a trailing perennial plant whose tubers are eaten instead of the roots. There are only two types of sweet potatoes; the northern drier yellow fleshy ones and the southern moist bright orange colored flesh often referred to as yams. Sweet Potatoes were cultivated in ancient times by the Aztecs, grown in Peru as early as 750 B.C., and introduced into Europe in the 16th century. In the 18th and 19th century sweet potatoes became popular due to Louis XV and Empress Josephine’s fondness for them. Native Americans were already growing sweet potatoes when Columbus arrived in 1492 and were the main source of nourishment for early homesteaders and soldiers during the Revolutionary War. During World War I the UDSA used sweet potato flour to stretch wheat flour. Since 1843, the first Monday in April, Benton, Kentucky holds an annual three-day Tater Day Festival devoted to sweet potatoes.

The sweet potato is the 6th principal world food crop; 90 percent grown in Asia. In the United States the sweet potato is chiefly cultivated in the south. Mississippi claims to be the sweet potato capital of the world. 1.8 billion pounds of sweet potatoes were produced in 2007; in 2004 98,300 acres of sweet potatoes were planted in the U.S. Although mainly harvested from August through October they are available in supermarkets year round due to being stored in controlled warehouses. It takes six to eight weeks after harvest for sweet potatoes to reach their peak in sweetness. Sweet potatoes are considered to be the most nutritious vegetable high in vitamin A, C, B6, iron, potassium and fiber.

My Speedy Sweet Potato Snack has the warm buttery taste of candied sweet potatoes that melts in your mouth. This Speedy Sweet Potato Snack can also be used with a main meal or eaten by itself. You can add marshmallows, raisins, or eat the sweet potato plain with butter and salt. Preparation time for my Speedy Sweet Potato Snack is 3-5 minutes and this recipe serves one.

Speedy Sweet Potato Snack

1 medium sweet potato
2 tb margarine
¼ c br sugar
cinnamon

Poke holes in the sweet potato with a fork, warp up in a paper towel, and microwave until soft. Cut in half and spread 1 tb of margarine on each side. Divide up the br sugar and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon!

Weekly tip: Sweet potatoes should not be refrigerated unless cooked, always use a stainless steel knife when cutting a sweet potato as a carbon blade will cause the flesh to darken, and select only smooth plump dry potatoes!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Peachy Pizza

Peachy Pizza
Dorcas Annette Walker

In the orchard my plum trees and pear tree branches hang heavy with ripening fruit nearly touching the ground. Last week I picked wild blackberries and made up a dozen pints of blackberry jam. Soon my house will hold the aroma of cooking plum jam and another pantry shelf will fill with a new color adding to the existing rainbow of canned goods. In case you haven’t figured out by now I’m rather proud of my pantry. My grandmother stored all her canned stuff in her basement on rows of shelves. For years I dreamed of a pantry as I stored boxes of canned produce throughout the house under beds; tomatoes were in my daughter’s room while the green beans resided under my son’s bed.

Finally the day came when my husband lined the walls of the small room next to my kitchen (originally Dwight’s bedroom) with shelves. I involved the entire family in helping me put my canned harvest on the shelves dithering over whether to organize by vegetables and fruits or color. Even though my family was used to my wild flights of fancy, they soon began shifting impatiently and rolling their eyes over my intense concentration of where each item should go. We’d fill a couple of shelves only for me to change my mind and want to switch the jars around. My kids soon disappeared convinced that I had gone off the deep end for good while my husband tried to reason with me that the point of building all the shelves was for me to fill them not to dither over where food product went. Today any visitor is treated to a tour of my pantry whether they are interested in foodstuff or not. In my mind I can’t understand how anyone cannot appreciate the vivid colors of my pantry. Now that Dawn is married and stores her canned goods under her beds she is an avid admirer of my pantry.

While there are fresh peaches still to be had my Peachy Pizza is a perfect summer dessert, although you can use canned or frozen peaches year round. The Peachy Pizza is lush and filling starting with a sugar cookie crust, topped by a creamy cheese filling, and finishing off with sliced peaches in a clear glaze. For a softer crust leave sit overnight. Preparation time for my Peachy Pizza is around thirty minutes (not counting cooling time) and this recipe serves twelve.

Peachy Pizza

2 c self-rising flour
1 stick of margarine
1 c sugar
½ c chopped pecans
1 (8 oz) cream cheese
½ c powdered sugar
1 (8 oz) cool whip
1 (3 oz) peach jello
1 c water
4 tb cornstarch
4 c sliced peaches

In a small bowl mix together flour, margarine, half a cup of sugar, and pecans to form a dough. Spread on a pizza pan and bake at 350º for fifteen minutes. Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and cool whip until smooth. Spread over cooled crust. In a small pan mix together jello, rest of the sugar, water and cornstarch. Bring to a boil and cook until clear. Fold in the sliced peaches and let cool before spreading on top of the filling. Chill the pizza before serving. Garnish with cool whip and a slice of peach!

Weekly tip: Peaches are best eaten fresh within days of being picked. Otherwise store peaches in the refrigerator for up to a week then can, dry, or freeze for long-term storage!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Summer Potato Salad

Summer Potato Salad
Dorcas Annette Walker

The scorching hot “dog days” of summer are upon us. For those of you who don’t live in the mountains “dog days” are when you are extra careful walking in the woods to watch for snakes as this is the time of the year when they shed their skins and are more likely to strike out with their fangs. The name comes from the ancient Romans, who considered Sirius to be the “dog star” because it was the brightest star in the constellation shining between early July and August and responsible for hot weather when rainfall is at its lowest levels. During this time my dogs hide out under the back porch seeking a cool spot to snooze the day away while I stay indoors enjoying the modern convenience of an air conditioner. The mind feels sluggish and the body slow as the heat outside rises with temperatures that stays humid even when the sun has set.

So I only work outside in my garden first thing in the morning while it is still cool. The experts are now informing us that gardening is beneficial to your physical and mental health. They figure that forty-five minutes of gardening can burn that many calories and is as good as thirty minutes of aerobics. How my farmer grandparents would shake their heads and laugh to see all the hype going on today about tanning beds and aerobic classes. Every time I turn around another weight loss or body building gym is opening up. All a person has to do to get a tan and a plenty of exercise is to plant and maintain a garden. Instead of staying indoors riding circles on an exercise bike hoeing rows of corn is guaranteed to give you a full body workout. No weight-lifting equipment can compare with eating fresh corn off the stalk that you have grown yourself or digging into a hill of new potatoes.

My Summer Potato Salad is a brand new recipe that originated from an idea I read about. This Summer Potato Salad has the tangy taste of a freshly tossed garden salad. My son, who generally doesn’t care for potato salad, actually took a second helping of my Summer Potato Salad. You can add shredded carrots, radishes, black olives, diced red and green peppers, fresh peas, green beans, or substitute your favorite salad dressing. Preparation time for my Summer Potato Salad is around thirty-five minutes (not counting cooling time) and this recipe serves eight.

Summer Potato Salad

8 medium size potatoes
1 tsp salt
1 small onion and clove of garlic minced
1 tb minced chives
½ c bacon bits
salt & pepper
2 c mayonnaise
1½ c blue cheese salad dressing
1 c ranch salad dressing

Cover and boil potatoes with salt in water for twenty minutes until the potatoes are soft. Rinse in cold water and let the potatoes cool. Peel and cube into a medium-size bowl. Add onion, garlic chives, and bacon bits. Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. Mix in mayonnaise, blue cheese and ranch dressing until well blended. Cover and chill. Garnish with a sprinkle of paprika and serve on a lettuce leaf!

Weekly tip: White potatoes are low in starch and are good for boiling; yellow potatoes or Russet potatoes are high in starch and are good for mashing and baking; while red and yellow potatoes are best for steaming, boiling, soups, stews, roasting or scalloped!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com