An Easy, Cool, and Delicious Summer Treat

I’m home!!!!

I recently got home from a trip to Europe.  Well I guess I could include Asia in that because we went to Istanbul and it is technically on two continents so…  I digress.  When my friend Kim (one of the best travel partners next to besides husband), and I visited Chatsworth.  I had wanted to visit here for years and we finally got it on the trip itinerary.  We traveled up from Stoke on Trent to get there and arrived right at lunch time. 

Me, outside Chatsworth.  The home that was Jane Austen's inspiration for Pemberely

We decided to have lunch before heading into tour the house and grounds.  Our lunch was delicious but I can’t remember what it was.  What I DO remember is the dessert.  Kim had always wanted to try Eton Mess so she got some to try.  I had heard of it but didn’t know what it was.  Well she thought it was wonderful and asked me to try it and I did and it was heavenly!  It was a cool, sweet, and refreshing treat! 

This picture dose not do this yummy treat justice.  You are just going to have to trust me on this one. 

Since we have got home, we have both tested it out on our families at dinners and it has been a hit.  Especially when it is hot in Arizona, a cool dessert is wonderful!  Here is the recipe I used.  I don’t know the one Kim used but I will compare it sometime and let you know. 

Eton Mess (Serves 6)

6 oz (175 g) golden granulated sugar

3 large egg whites

 (*note- the above ingredients are to make the meringue.  I just used store bought meringues already made.  They came in 7 ounce containers holding approximately 28 cookies.  For this recipe you would need about 4 oz. or about 20 cookies.)

1 lb (450 g) fresh strawberries, hulled

1 rounded T powdered sugar

1 pint (570 ml) heavy whipping cream

To make meringue:

First, have the caster sugar measured out ready, then place the egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk until they form soft peaks. Add the caster sugar, about a tablespoon at a time and continue to whisk (beat) until each T of sugar has been thoroughly whisked in. Now take rounded dessertspoonfuls of the mixture and place them in rows on a lined baking tray (sheet) (I use either parchment or brown paper). Place the tray in the 250-275 degree oven on the centre shelf, and leave the meringues there for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues in the oven to dry out overnight, or until the oven is completely cold.

Begin here if using store bought meringues: 

When you’re ready to make the pudding, chop half the strawberries and place them in a blender together with the powdered sugar. Whiz the whole lot to a puree, then pass it through a nylon sieve to remove the seeds (I don’t do this). Now chop the rest of the strawberries and whip up the double cream to the floppy stage.

All the above can be done in advance, but when you are ready to serve, break up the meringues into roughly 1 inch pieces (I actually do this ahead of time, also). Place them in a large mixing bowl, add the chopped strawberries, then fold the cream in and around them. After that, gently fold in all but about 2 T of the puree to give a marbled effect. Finally, pile the whole lot into a serving dish, spoon the rest of the puree over the surface and serve as soon as possible.

P.S. Everyone I’ve served this to has loved it.

As Good As The Real Butter Beer

Last December I went with my husband to Florida where he was attending a Business Conference.  We rented a vacation home for a week and my parents joined us to keep me company while Bruce was at his meetings.  One of the days we were there we visited Universal Studios and “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter”. 

At the entry gates of Hogsmead

The Hogwarts Express with the Conductor.

It was the most amazing themed attraction I have ever been to! (Sorry Disney).  There were only 3 rides, but the Hogwarts ride was the best and longest ride I have ever been on, it was amazing!  Even though there were only 3 rides, we spent the entire day just in this section of Universal Studios, where they had recreated the village of Hogsmead as described in the books.  There were so many shops and things to see that the time passed quickly.  We had lunch at “The Three Broomsticks” and of course we had to have the famous butter beer! 

In front of The Three Broomsticks Restaurant

Now if I had ever written a book, especially a book of fantasy, I think I would worry about someone creating an actual item that I had in my book, and I wonder if Ms. Rowling worried about what the butter beer would turn out like.  Well, it is wonderful!  Really, it is one of the best drinks I have ever had! ( I know I am using that phrase a lot but…).   I wanted to have as much as possible because I knew it would be a while before I got to have some again!  You could have it either of two ways, frozen/slushy or just cold.  Bruce had it frozen and I didn’t.  It was quite sweet, so it was more like a dessert than a drink to have with our lunch.  I can still taste it in my memory!

About ready to taste for the first time, Butter Beer!  YUM!!!

When I got home, my mom sent me a copy cat recipe that tastes almost as good as what they had at the park.  She found it in an article by Heather Witherspoon (McClatchy Newspapers), along with a few other “Harry Potter” recipes in addition to the Butter Beer.  I made it for my family one Sunday night when they were all over for dinner, and then I also had it for the neighbors when our street had our Christmas luminary and dessert night.  Everyone that tried it LOVED it!  I slightly tweaked it when I made it for my family to make it a bit easier and it was just as good.  I will put her recipe here then explain the variation that I made:

Butter Beer

1 c light or dark brown sugar

            2 T water
            6 T butter
            ½ t salt
            ½  t cider vinegar
            ¾ c heavy cream, divided
            Four 12-ounce bottles of cream soda

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, combine the brown sugar and water.  Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240° F on a candy thermometer (I just did the drops in cold water until it forms the soft ball stage).  Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar, and ¼ c. of the heavy cream.  Once the mixture has cooled, stir in rum extract (this is not a typo, I know it is not listed in the ingredients, so I just added 1 teaspoon and it was sufficient.  You may want to add more to according to your taste). 

(*see below))  In a medium bowl, combine 2 T of the sugar mixture and the remaining ½ c of cream.  Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened but not completely whipped, about 2-3 minutes.  To serve, divide the sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about ¼ c per glass).  Add ¼ cup cream soda to each glass and stir to combine.  Then continue to fill each glass to the top with the cream soda, and then spoon some of the whipped topping on top of the soda. 

*(Here is where I changed the recipe)
My alternative:  Instead of following the recipe at this point, here is what I did.  I had 12 ounce cups.  I put 2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture into the cup, 1-2 tablespoons of un-whipped heavy cream and mix those in the cup until combined.  Then pour the cream soda into the cup.  It makes its own foam, just like when you make root beer floats, so you don’t need that extra step of whipping up the flavored foam. 

Looking up at Hogwarts from Hogsmead

The Village of Hogsmead

The Frog Choir from Hogwarts singing "Bubble bubble, toil and trouble..." See, Shakespeare is EVERYWHERE!!!

So, try this delicious treat on your Harry Potter fans and it will tide you over until you have a chance to try the real thing when you go to “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Studios in Orlando Florida. 

The Much Sought After Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Until recently, I was asked at my church to help the church members in being more self-reliant and prepared for emergencies as families. I had taught monthly classes and one of the subjects that I got the most requests from was for my recipe of homemade Spaghetti Sauce and how to bottle it at home.

There are very few people who don't like some form of spaghetti whether it had meatballs, meat or meatless. It is also very easy to store the ingredients on your shelf to have as an emergency meal or quick meal in a crunch. Anyway, here is my recipe for a large batch and how to bottle the rest for future use.

Bottled Spaghetti Sauce

½ cup olive oil
3 onions chopped
10 cloves garlic
In a LARGE pot, soften onion and garlic in oil. Then add:
2 cans (#10 size) tomato sauce
2 cans (#10 size) crushed tomatoes
2 cans (#10 size) diced tomatoes

(***note: the #10 size cans are the giant cans that you get in warehouse stores. They contain about 104 oz. of product.)

Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Put in jars, (I like to use quarts for our family), and seal with softened lids and rings. Process in a pressure canner for 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.


I have an All American Pressure Canner that I LOVE!!! (Presto makes pressure canners that some of my friends have and they like them also). I can meats, vegetables and soups and stews. It is wonderful to have a jar of something on the shelf already made that just needs to be warmed up if you're in a time crunch for dinner, or in case of emergencies. Homemade chili, spaghetti or soups are much more of a comfort food than a energy bar for emergencies.

One other thing on preparing for emergencies that I learned this week. The Red Cross has a new campaign called "Do More Than Cross your Fingers in an Emergency". The celebrity spokes person is Jamie Lee Curtis and she suggests you check out the Red Cross web-site for information on supplies or emergency kits to have at your home in case of a local disaster. Here is the link:
http://www.redcross.org/en/domore
This is a great site with great ideas for taking care of and planning for your families in case of emergencies.

I will start to share some of the things I have learned over the past few years that may help you and your families to become more self-reliant for emergencies.