Copycat Brach's Gumdrop Nougat Candy

 

When growing up, I loved the Brach's candy stand in the grocery store, chock-a-block full of sweet treats. On those rare occasions when my mom would fill up one of those pink and white striped bags, these gumdrop white nougat candies would always be included.  I believe they were her favorite, as they were mine.

I was recently watching some candy making You Tube videos thinking perhaps I'll get ambitious this holiday season and whip up a few batches of candy to share as gifts and I came across a video showing how to make these nougat candies. Let me just say, they are drop dead easy to make and are very similar to the taste of the real thing.  The nougat is not quite as chewy, but at my age with the number of crowns in my mouth, that's probably good.

I asked The Husband if he liked these and he placed them as his #1 worst candy, with Circus Peanuts running a close second.  I guess I will not be putting any in his stocking.

If you have 10 minutes to spare and are interested in whipping up a confection, this might be the recipe you've been waiting for.

Copycat Brach's Gumdrop Nougat Candy 

4 packed cups of miniature marshmallows

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 Tbsp butter

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

6.5 oz box of Dots

Place marshmallows, chips, and butter in a large microwaveable bowl. Place on high in microwave and cook, stopping every 15 seconds or so to stir. Use a spatula sprayed with vegetable spray.  Once this mixture is completely melted,  quickly add salt, vanilla and gumdrops and combine. Pour mixture in a 8x8 inch pan lined with parchment paper. I used a foil pan and just sprayed with vegetable spray and it worked very well. Leave in refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours.  Using an oiled knife, cut into 1 inch cubes and wrap each cube in wax or parchment paper.

The recipe states if well wrapped, these will last for a few weeks. We'll see about that!

Blueberry Muffins Redux

 

Happy National Blueberry Muffin Day.  Who knew? An hour or so after The Husband and I had eaten our blueberry muffins I made using fresh berries picked from our blueberry bush, he sent me a tweet announcing this fruity holiday. What a coincidence....or could it just be a blatantly manufactured "holiday" created by the blueberry producers of America?  Whatever the reason, any day is a good day for blueberry muffins.

The recipe I use is from a McCalls cookbook my parents gave me when I was still in high school. I have made this recipe so many times over the years, I don't even need to open the book.  It's an easy, one-bowl recipe. I often get all the ingredients together the night before so I can get these in the oven in 10 minutes in the morning. I have blogged these before, but they are so good, they deserve an encore.

Blueberry Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 deg.

Grease 12 muffin tins

2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1 beaten egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Extra sugar for sprinkling tops of muffins

In a medium bowl mix together dry ingredients. Add blueberries and toss in flour mixture. Add milk, egg, and oil. Combine until well combined with dry mix but do not over mix. Fill the muffin cups to approximately 3/4 full.. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy!

 

Sunday Fun-Day Shrimp Chow Fun

 

This week's new recipe is a favorite in Chinese restaurants, Chow Fun. It is a rice noodle dish with various vegetables, and a protein of your liking.  I went for fat, meaty prawns for our dish, but it works with grilled tofu, chicken, or beef.  

I got this particular recipe from a popular You Tube chef and his channel is called Yeung Man Cooking.  I will not plagiarize his recipe as he has a cookbook to sell. . Instead, I will direct you to his video where he puts this dish together using tofu. 

My assessment of this recipe is that though it was flavorful and not a difficult recipe, I probably won't make it again. I always feel when I cook Asian food, it never tastes as delicious as when the pros make them.  I buy all kinds of ingredients for these dishes and then find I don't use them again. 

 

Croque Monsieur

 

I have been in such a recipe rut as this pandemic and quarantine has continued on for so long. Having to think of meals to cook every day for 15 months has taken its toll on my cooking creative juices.  Even though restaurants are opening up again, I have given myself a challenge to try a brand new recipe once a week.

This week took The Husband and I on a virtual foodie tour down the Champs Elysee where we stopped at a charming French bistro and ate this delicious Croque Monsieur and a simple green salad. It's a very rich sandwich so nothing more was needed. Okay, I'm fibbing a little. Some mousse au chocolat would have been a divine dessert. 

Croque Monsieur

Sandwiches

• 8 slices hearty white sandwich bread
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 12 ounces thinly sliced Black Forest deli ham
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (1 cup)     

Mornay Sauce

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (1 cup)
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS

1. FOR THE SANDWICHES: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray.

2. Brush bread on both sides with melted butter and place on prepared sheet. Bake until light golden brown on top, about 10 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and flip slices. Return to oven and bake until golden brown on second side, about 3 minutes. Reserve 4 slices for sandwich tops; evenly space remaining 4 slices on sheet.

3. FOR THE MORNAY SAUCE: Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk and bring to boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and quickly whisk in Gruyère, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until smooth.

4. Spread 1 tablespoon Mornay on each slice of toast on sheet. Then, folding ham slices over themselves multiple times so they bunch up, divide ham evenly among slices of toast. Spread 2 tablespoons Mornay on 1 side of each reserved slice of toast and place slices Mornay side down on top of ham.

5. Spread 2 tablespoons Mornay evenly over top of each sandwich, making sure to completely cover toast, including edges (exposed edges can burn under broiler). Sprinkle sandwiches with Parmesan, followed by Gruyère.

6. Bake until cheese on top of sandwiches is melted, about 5 minutes. Turn on broiler and broil until cheese bubbles across tops of sandwiches and edges are spotty brown, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Happy Pi Day

 

It's been awhile since I made a pie so I got motivated today to whip something together.  My choices with what I had on hand were some questionable apples in the fridge, pudding mix in the cupboard, or a can of cherry pie filling on the pantry shelf. Cherry will always win out at our house.

 

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I stuck to my favorite pie crust recipe which is the recipe my grandma and mom used when they baked tarts.  You can find it here.  Because I am inherently lazy and also because I love streusel topping, I opted for that as opposed to a top pastry crust.  Below is the basic ingredients to put that together.  I rolled out the crust and placed it in a regular 9 inch pie plate, threw in the cherry pie filling, topped with the streusel topping, and baked at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.Voila!

 

 Streusel Pie Topping

1 stick room temperature butter

1 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

dash of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

With a pastry cutter or your fingers, mix everything together until it makes a cohesive crumble. Distribute evenly over the pie of your choice.

Snowball Cookies Redux

 

Christmas is one week away and I have to admit I have not been very interested this year. I am sure I am not alone in this sentiment.  Seeing that The Husband and I will be not be leaving our humble abode and will not be receiving any visitors, I felt there was no reason to do my usual batches of holiday treats.

This afternoon I had a slight change in my bah humbug attitude and decided to make one batch of traditional cookies I grew up with, the snowball cookie.  These have a special place in my heart as they were my dear dad's favorite.  The other thing is that they are super easy to make.  I blogged about these originally here and today I used a simpler recipe that didn't even require hauling out the mixer.

Wishing one and all happy holidays and may 2021 be a much better year for all of you and for our country.

Snowball Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 pinch kosher salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans or walnuts 

1/2 cup warmed butter, cut in cubes

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

In a bowl combine flour, granulated sugar, salt, vanilla,and nuts until mixed together. Add butter with your hands and combine until mix resembles a coarse crumble. Form cookies into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden brown.  While cookies are still slightly warm, roll them in powdered sugar and place on cooling rack. Makes 15-20 cookies.

 

Yorkshire Pudding Redux

 

Going back to the well with my Yorkshire Pudding recipe..This side dish has been a favorite food my entire life.  It was served by my Yorkshire grandmother when the Chase clan would come for Sunday dinner. It was served by my mother along with our Christmas prime rib. It has been one of my favorite things to make when on occasion, I make a roast beef dinner. The smell of this entire dinner cooking certainly evokes fond memories of both my grandparents and parents home when I was growing up.

I have an entry in my blog of the recipe my mom and grandmother used but I have found a new and I think improved recipe that I find makes for very satisfying results. I use a popover recipe and have an actual popover pan that I use to make super high and puffy Yorkshire pudding. I use a dab of beef fat from the roast as well as spraying the sides of the pan with Pam to ensure easy release.  

The one thing I would recommend when making these is to put a baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven to catch any drips of batter or grease that might spill out as these puddings puff  up in the pan. The last major oven fire we had (and there have been a few in our kitchen) was caused by Yorkshire pudding drippings.

There it is. The perfect English Sunday dinner, minus roasted potatoes because,well,...who needs those when you have Yorkshire Pudding.

 

Yorkshire Pudding or American Popovers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

3 eggs

1 cup milk

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

Whisk eggs, milk, and oil together. Sift flour and salt over wet mixture. Whisk into a smooth batter. 

Put 1 tsp beef fat or vegetable oil in the bottom of popover pan. Spray sides of each cup with Pam.  Place pan in oven for approximately 5 minutes to heat up oil. Carefully remove hot pan from oven and fill each cup no more than 1/2 full. Place in oven with cookie sheet below pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, Take out of pan and serve immediately.   

Tea Time Treats

 

It's raining and windy and not a day for my much loved hike in the park so I decided to bake, my other passion.  Unlike hiking which helps me burn calories, baking can be detrimental to my health.  My excuse today was to bake some shortbread cookies to give as a hostess gift to our best friends who have invited us for a socially distanced Thanksgiving next week.

These cookies are a breeze to make. I baked two types-regular butter shortbread and a brown sugar shortbread, Quality assurance is so important so I taste tested both of them. My preference is the brown sugar version. Both go perfect with a nice cup of black tea. If you are looking for a quick cookie for yourself or to give as a gift, these might fit the bill.  They freeze and pack up very well.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Butter Shortbread Cookies  (makes approximately 24 3 inch cookies)

1 stick softened butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.Cream together butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Slowly mix in flour and baking powder. Mix until a soft dough is formed. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for approximately 30 minutes. Roll out dough on lightly floured board to approximately 1/16th of an inch.  Cut out cookies with 3 inch cookie cutter. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until pale brown. Let cool on rack.

Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies (makes approximately 30 3 inch cookies)

1 stick softened butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.Cream together butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. Slowly mix in flour and baking powder. Mix until a soft dough is formed. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for approximately 30 minutes. Roll out dough on lightly floured board to approximately 1/16th of an inch.  Cut out cookies with 3 inch cookie cutter. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until pale brown. Let cool on rack.

Declutter Dilemmas

One of my retirement goals is to declutter accumulated things from the past that I no longer have a need for.  This includes clothing, kitchen items, books, photos, etc.  I was so excited about having the time to do this but it has, in fact, brought me some angst.

I started with books first.  I have 3 book shelves filled with my books. This does not include the two bookshelves filled with over 100 cookbooks in our kitchen.  The Husband has 2 bookshelves which I will leave to him, as only he can decide what books are dear to him.

This project was fairly easy for me. There were many books I had read once and if after 20 or more years I hadn't decided to re-read them, into the donation bag they went.  I also have been carting around with me for FORTY years textbooks relating to my minor and major that I guess someday I thought I might need for reference. I didn't!  What to do with all of these books was the next hurdle.

I took all my novels, non-fiction, and travel books to a second hand book store in town that gives credit for books and then when you buy a book from them they use your credit and give you half off the price of your purchase.  Let's just say we have a lot of credit on their books that will take some time to use up.  They had no interest in some of my books, including the textbooks which I just packed up and gave to Goodwill.  Perhaps there will be some recreation or psychology student who would like to read some outdated notions in their particular disciplines.  Anyway, they are gone from my house which is all that matters.

Next project I decided to tackle was dishes.  This is where I am having some anxiety.  I started collecting tea cups when I was a young girl, perhaps in 6th grade. I wrote about this in an earlier blog here. I know exactly which one was my first but I love them all.  The thing is I never use them. I am lucky to have a built-in china cupboard in our house but most likely will not have this space when next we move.  Not only do I have all of the china and glassware, we also have an entire set of dishes and silverware from my mother-in-law we must eventually deal with.

So the reason for this particular blog entry is to get some feedback from anyone who has gone through serious downsizing.  What should I do with my dishes? Any thoughts will be appreciated.

Exploring My World

It has been almost 4 months since I retired and I have yet to be bored. My days are never alike and I so enjoy being out and about, either on foot or driving, discovering the world around me.  I feel as though during my 40 years of working I was so limited in what I was able to do because of time constraints.  Though I was able to do quite a lot of world travel, there was always a restriction on the number of days I could be away from my job and in the back of my mind loomed the inevitable having to get home to resume the rat race.


Now I wake up with absolutely no restrictions as to what I can do each day.  Of course I am mindful of our finances, particularly because The Husband is still working and I certainly don't want to be frivolous with our money. I have discovered though that there is so much to do around this beautiful part of the world that doesn't cost a thing or can be done at a very reasonable price.

For instance, yesterday I wanted to go for a walk in the morning and for some reason I thought about The Oregon Garden ( https://www.oregongarden.org/ ) found just 10 miles away in the charming little town of Silverton, Oregon.  I have been there a couple times before since it opened in 2002, but I never really took the time to explore. They have a tram that will drive people around the perimeter of the grounds which is what I did both other times.  This time I opted to walk. What a treat!  First because I was able to do so without any difficulty, and second, because there was so much to see that I had been previously unaware.

As usual, I was there before they opened on a grey, misty Tuesday morning and was Guest #1 for the day.  With trusty trail map in one hand and my camera in the other, I took off down the path.  The air was cool, there was no one about but some of the gardeners, and the only sounds through much of my walk were the birds singing.

The garden is set up in many different "rooms" highlighting various plants, trees, and shrubs.  There were water features, a sensory garden, a serpent made of oyster shells,  various types of forests, as well as a beautiful area where weddings are held. In addition to the garden, right outside the gate is the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed home in Oregon called the Gordon House. It is certainly interesting to look at close up and read the information about it's architectural style.

Perhaps it was too early in the season, or perhaps it's because we have had a rather cold beginning of spring, but there were not many blooming flowers to be found.  It didn't matter to me though because we are lucky to have so many flower gardens/farms around here that I will explore as things begin to come into full bloom.

My walk turned out to be about 1 1/2 miles altogether but it could have been longer had I gone down every path available.  I was so pleased and impressed with the garden I decided to purchase an annual membership with unlimited entry until April 30, 2020.  I will make up the cost in just 3 visits which I fully intend to do. On a side note, I was able to get my membership at the Senior price and as I said earlier, I am all about frugality, but there is still something quite shocking to my ego/reality that I qualify as a Senior. How did this happen?