FROMONLINE | 2014-06-25

  • By Daphne Ross
  • June 25, 2014
  • 410
                        
Yard sale regrets Column Summary Having a yard sale can be a lot of work, but it can be fun work, especially if you join up with family and friends. And when it's all over, we can all sit down without having to move a pile of stuff off the chair. Before having my annual tent/yard sale I am in a de-cluttering frenzy. Every drawer, every closet, every shelf, every stash-away space is examined. I inventory my kitchen cupboards with a big box next to me; a trash bag for clothing collection hangs on the doorknob in our bedroom. The garage, the porch, and the barns are cleared of unwanted items as well. Making money at a yard sale is a priority for many folks; it’s a great FUNdraiser for families and organizations. For me a yard sale is all about clearing out the clutter, moving out the things I no longer need, want, or love. The only things I keep in excess during this time are shopping bags for my yard sale customers. I have read many books about weeding the household and have scrolled through blogs and other websites related to the subject. When my husband leaves the room, I flip to the hoarding programs on cable television. I feel bad for them, I feel better for me. We can’t save everything; we don’t need to save everything. I understand the mind set of those raised during The Great Depression, and criticize no one for using that as a basis of their keeper attitude. But for the rest of the keeper nation, it’s time to clear the kitchen table and counters so meal time is less of a chore. Avoid the clutter dance, moving this, to get to that, shifting this pile to get to that pile. This needs to stop, today. I cut up strawberries the other day and wanted to make an angel food cake, where is my angel food cake pan? Oh yea, I sold it at a yard sale last summer. The happy ending, this past week when stopping to buy produce at my Amish friend’s little shop, I bought one for 35-cents. The Pinterest website craze is helping greatly the yard sale market. The site provides many ideas for re-purposing, up-scaling, and gives many suggestions for multiple uses of an item, and because of this, the discards of others can make your Pinterest plan come together. Who knew an electric waffle iron could make more than just plain old waffles? I have found a recipe for placing refrigerated cinnamon roll dough within the grids. I wanted to try cooking frozen, shredded hash browns in my waffle iron. I became over-whelmed with all the recipes; quesadillas, pizza pockets, cookies, and so much more. I couldn’t wait to write my grocery shopping list for ingredients. But I guess I am going to have to add waffle iron to the list as well, seems I sold mine in the yard sale last year. What are your favorite pasta and vegetable salad combinations? Send your quick fix recipes to: Country Cupboard, 5973 Blachleyville Rd., Wooster, OH, 44691. Emails are always welcome: thewritecook@sssnet.com Summer Cool Lemon Bars Crust: 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, diced 2 cups flour 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt Filling: 4 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks 2 cups sugar 1/3 cup flour, sifted 1 teaspoon lemon zest Juice of 8 lemons (1 cup) Make the crust: Grease a 9 x 13 pan, line with foil, leave a 2-inch overhang on all sides; grease the foil with oil. Pulse the butter, flour, both sugars and the salt in a food processor until the dough comes together, about 1 minute. Press evenly into the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of the prepared pan, making sure there are no cracks. Bake at 350 degrees on middle oven rack, until the crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk the whole eggs and yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in the lemon zest and juice. Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees. Pour the filling over the warm crust and return to the oven. Bake until the filling is just set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack, then refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Lift out of the pan using the foil and slice. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Campfire Fruit Dessert 3 cups dried apricots 1 (16 ounce) can peaches 1 cup sugar Dash cinnamon Dash nutmeg Pie dough for a large, double crust pie 1 egg, beaten Cut apricots into quarters. Cover with water and let soak overnight in the refrigerator. Chop the peaches into bite-size pieces. Drain most of the water from apricots and put in a saucepan. Add the peaches, sugar, and spices and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer until thickened. Line the bottom and sides of a Dutch oven with pie dough. Roll out the top crust and cut into strips. Pour the hot filling into the Dutch oven, over the crust. Lay strips of crust across the top. Brush the top with beaten egg or cream if you have it, and sprinkle with sugar. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and set to bake over medium coals top and bottom. Turn the Dutch oven and lid every 10 minutes or so, or it will scorch. Add more coals if needed until pie is light brown. Remove from coals and let cool until ready to serve. Orange Julius (Lisa Zimmerman, Shiloh) 3 ounces frozen orange juice 1/2 cup water 3/4 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup sugar 5 to 6 ice cubes Put in blender, blend until smooth and serve. You can use more milk. A cool drink on a warm summer day. Iced Coffee (Susan Zimmerman, Shiloh) 1 cup coffee, ready made 3/4 cup sugar 2 cups milk 1 teaspoon vanilla Chocolate syrup to taste 2 ice cubes Blend and serve immediately. White Cake (Ella Yoder, Shiloh) 2 1/3 cup sifted flour 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup sugar 2/3 cup oil 1/2 cup milk 3/4 cup water 2 teaspoons vanilla 4 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 3/4 cup sugar Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together. Add oil, milk, water, and vanilla and then first mixture together; stir very well. Beat egg whites until stiff, then add sugar. Fold into cake batter. Bake and enjoy; very good! Soft Pretzels (Sarah Yoder, Shiloh) 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water 3 tablespoons yeast 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon salt 7 to 8 cups bread flour Mix warm water, yeast, brown sugar, and salt together and let set for 5 minutes, then add flour. Let dough rise once then cut in shape desired, dip in soda water (2 tablespoons soda to 1 cup water) lay on towel to drain, put on a cookie sheet and sprinkle salt on. Let rise, just a little. Bake at 350 degrees till golden brown. Dip in melted butter. Eat warm dipping in honey mustard, cheese sauce, or honey. Very good! Root Beer (Sarah Yoder, Shiloh) 1 gallon lukewarm water 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast 1 tablespoons Root Beer extract 2 1/4 cups white sugar Stir all together until sugar and yeast are dissolved. Put in any size jars or bottles you want to and turn lids tight. Let set 6 or more hours where it’s warm (but not in hot summer sunshine!), then refrigerate. Very good on warm days. Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies (Lisa Zimmerman, Shiloh) 2 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup margarine, softened 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2/3 cup powder instant vanilla pudding 2 eggs 1 (12 ounce) package chocolate chips Combine butter, sugar, vanilla, and pudding mix in large bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, then flour and soda. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes. Do not over bake. Quick and Easy Tomato Soup (Gail Powell, Homerville) 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, low or no-salt 1/3 to 1/2 cup milk 2 tablespoons flour Taco seasoning or other seasoning to taste Lightly puree diced tomatoes, add milk, flour, and seasoning. Heat to boil and simmer 5 to 10 minutes.


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