Setting up for a Party

My friends are recently engaged and my girlfriend has decided to throw them an engagement soiree. She is so excited and she knows that their wedding them is going to be farm related since they are getting married in a large old barn on Tessa's family's farm. So I've been helping her track down items for the party.

To serve drinks we've invested in some glass milk bottles. We also purchased a few to use as vases. These will both serve as drinking glasses and as favors for the guests to take home.

For the vases, she's wanting to do something similar to this photo that she found on Flickr it is by ilovebutter.

For the cake she wants to have something farm themed, but not too cutesy. So we're still working on that. Burlap cloth is to be used as table cloth covers and red gingham for place mats. If you can't tell she loves to plan a great party and get me involved as much as possible. I'm not great at these types of things but I try for her.

Ice Cream for Spring

Spring will be here soon enough, well technically spring is here today, but it is too cold for me to consider it to be an official spring. But once the weather warms up I'm going to invite the family over, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, well you get the idea.

We are going to have a huge cook-out just like we do every year to get the warm season started. It's hard to round everyone up once spring starts turning into summer, so I do this get together as soon as it is warm enough for the kids to play outside. It is a potluck event, I provide the burgers and hot dogs and everyone else brings sides and deserts.

For the kids, if they want ice cream...well I've invested in a hand crank ice cream maker for them to make their own. The ice cream is awesome, and it teaches the kids a lesson in working for what you want. Or at least I hope it does, it keeps them out of trouble for a little bit anyway.

Hmm...I might invest in some ice cream wafers for them too so they can make their own ice cream sandwiches.

Ah, I'm off to continue dreaming about warmer days and to give the ice cream maker a test run.

Photo by ralph and jenny on flickr

Cooking with a Crock Pot

I love using my crock pot when I'm working. It is nice to be able to come home to a meal that's waiting to be eaten up. Especially in the winter when I've been out in the cold all day, having a nice warm meal to come home to can make the afternoon more tolerable.

There are tons of recipes out there for using in a crock pot, but sometimes you just want to use a comfort food recipe that's been in your family for ages. But what do you do if this recipe isn't made for crock pot cooking? Well a lot of recipes can be converted for crock pot use, I found a great blog that explains how to do it. How to Convert Recipes to a Slow Cooker.

To summarize the aforementioned blog:

Most recipes will need the amount of liquid they call for to be reduced. Crock pots hold in moisture. However, if the recipe you are using has rice, beans, or pasta in it, you may want to leave the amount of liquid the same.

For raw meats, be sure that your kitchen thermometer reads the correct temperature to be sure that they are cooked through. Or you can brown the meat before putting into the crock pot.

Vegetables typically take longer to cook than meats do. Be sure to cut vegetables to a uniform size so that they cook more evenly. Vegetables will also cook better if they are in the bottom of the crock pot.

When converting recipes to your crock pot, it may take a few tries to get everything just right so do not get discouraged.

Time Chart for Crock Pot Cooking:

Oven/Stovetop Cook Time from orig. recipe	Cooking on Low Time Conversion	Cooking on High Time Conversion
15-30 min.	4-6 hours	1.5 - 2.5 hours
35-45 min.	6-8 hours	3 - 4 hours
50 min. to 3 hours	8-16 hours	4 - 6 hours

My Top 5 Favorite Deep fryer Recipes

Even though I absolutely love fried foods, I really try to not use my Presto Deep fryer too frequently. I know fried foods are not good for me, but it is nice to have them on occasion as a treat. So what fried foods do I fix when I am going all out and having an artery clogging treat? (Links to recipes below)

1. Crispy Fried Pickles - these are my favorite fried food, honestly I could eat them every day.
2. Homestyle Potato Chips - just some thinly sliced potatoes seasoned how you like them, fried to a crispy goodness.
3. Fried Green Tomatoes - the recipe I found online is for a skillet, but I get my tomatoes ready and use the deep fryer to cook them.
4. Deep Fried Oreos - These are just way over the top artery clogging, but so good.
5. Deep Fried Chicken Pieces - these are a great dinner side, or sprinkled on top of a salad.

I've also recently found a link that has 101 deep fryer recipes, I obviously haven't had time to try them all, but thought I'd share the link here in case anyone else is interested in fixing up some stuff in their deep fryers.

http://www.fernleynews.com/092748034432/free-101-recipes-for-the-deep-fryer.pdf

Preparations for Canning

My live-in girlfriend and I have started a small garden this year, in the hopes of having fresh produce in abundance in the fall. We also want to try our hand at canning. I remember my grandmother canning foods from her garden when I was a boy and I want to carry on the tradition.

So I've done a bit of research on various canners. We were going to purchase a waterbath and a pressure canner separately, but from what I understand, you can use a pressure canner to waterbath can as well, just don't turn the lid so it cannot build up pressure.

While reading about all the different canners that are out there on the market, I came across one called an All American Canner. From what I've read, this is the best of the best. However, it is a bit pricey. So, not knowing if we are going to want to continue this year after year, we decided to invest in another canner that I've heard good things about. A Presto brand canner. (to peruse a variety of brands of canner visit Pressure Canners)

I'm hoping we have good results with the Presto. I'm waiting for it to arrive, we ordered it yesterday. I'd love to hear about other's experiences using the Presto canner. I'll keep you updated on our canning adventures.

Below is the canner we are waiting for:

Presto Canner

How to Dehydrate Apples

Well it is that time of year, when there is plenty of food to be had, more than plenty in  my case and some of it needs to be preserved. My family has been canning, freezing, and dehydrating lots of food. Today I'm focusing on dehydrating apples, because I keep getting them by the bushel from the apple trees out back.

I use a food dehydrator to dehydrate my apples, my grandfather still uses the sunlight and screen method. Kinda like this one from Blindguru.com:

I just feel like using the dehydrator is a little quicker and I don't have to rely on sunny weather. So if you are interested in dehydrating your apples, here is the method I use:

I peeled, cored, and sliced my apples (no thicker than 1/4", but I try to do them as thin as I can)
I soaked my apples in a mixture of 1/4 cup pineapple juice and 1 cup water.
I then placed my apples in the dehydrator being sure not to overlap them.  
Dry them 6 to 12 hours until they are pliable.

Now, for those of you who are new at dehydrating, here are a few tips on storing your dehydrated foods:

Wait for your dried food to be completely cool to the touch before you store it.
With apples, they will need to be conditioned before you can store them, as with other fruits. To do this you will need to put your apples into a jar, being sure they are very loosely packed. Shake once a day for 7 to 10 days to be sure that remaining moisture is evenly distributed. If you see any condensation on the jar then your fruit needs to be returned to the dehydrator.
Once the conditioning period is up and your apples are ready to go, then you can store them air tight containers or freezer bags.
I prefer to store them in small pint size canning jars, storing in small batches also helps to maximize freshness and keep down cross contamination.

Hope all this info helps you out in your dehydrating endeavors!

On a search for new and untried (by me) recipes

Since I don’t get paid until Monday and money is low and there is a weekend in between, I think I am going to stay in this evening and cook something for me and my girl. (Cooking is almost always cheaper than dining out as my mother constantly reminds me.)

I am tired of the same old dishes so I’ve been perusing Food Network to see if I can find something fun and unique to make for dinner.

I still haven’t found anything that seems to sit just right. I’m in the mood for something, but I can’t quite put my finger on what…



I need something to fill that blank space on my plate…

Anyone know of any good websites for unusual food fare recipes? Help a man out if you do!