Perfect Corn Bread
- 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup yellow corn meal
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup shortening
Sift flour with sugar, baking powder, and salt; stir in cornmeal. Add eggs, milk,
and shortening. Beat with rotary or electric beater till just smooth. (Do not overbeat.) Pour into greased 9x9x2 inch pan.
Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
Corn Sticks: Spoon batter into greased corn-stick pans, filling 2/3 full. Bake in
hot oven (425) 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 18.
Stuffed Mushrooms
From Wisteria's Faery Recipes
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons diced green pepper
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped mushroom stems
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion
- 1/2 lb. large mushrooms, stems removed
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons cooked, crumbled bacon
- 12 small slices cheese (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over low heat and
saute' the mushroom stems, green pepper, and onions until tender. Mix in the bread crumbs, bacon, thyme, salt & pepper.
Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps. Place the caps on a cookie sheet. Melt one tablespoon of the butter & drizzle
over the caps. Top each with a cheese slice. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve hot.
Yield: About 1 dozen.
Noodles in Faery Butter
From Wisteria's Faery Recipes
- 4 hard-boiled egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons orange flower water (optional)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sweet butter, softened
- 1 lb. noodles (any kind), cooked
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried sweet basil
- 1 orange, sliced (garnish)
Beat the egg yolks, sugar, butter, thyme, basil, and orange water in a small bowl
until smooth. Mix enough of the butter with the hot noodles to coat the noodles with a golden-yellow color. Garnish with orange
slices.
Yield: 8 Servings
APRICOT WINE
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1 pound Dried Apricots 4 quarts Warm Water 6 1/2 cups Sugar 2 1/4
cups Brown Sugar 1 1/2 cups Raisins 1 Tablespoon Ginger, minced 2 each Lemons, thinly sliced 2 each Oranges, thinly
sliced 1/2 cup Yeast
Wash the apricots in several batches of water and then dry them and cut in
halves. Place in a large crock and pour on the warm water, reserving 1/2 cup of it in which to dissolve the yeast cake. Stir
in the sugars, fruit, raisins and ginger. Then add the dissolved yeast and mix well. Cover with top of the crock and let stand
for thirty days, stirring the mixture every other day. After thirty days strain the mixture and bottle.
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 IRISH BUTTERMILK BANNOCK
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4 cups All purpose/bread flour 3 teaspoons Baking powder 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste 3/4 teaspoon Baking soda 1 cup Raisins 2 Eggs 1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
Stir flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and raisins together. Separately,
fork-blend eggs and buttermilk, then add to dry ingredients. Stir until sticky batter is formed. Scrape batter onto well floured
surface and knead lightly. Shape batter into ball, then place in round non-stick casserole that has been sprayed with cooking
spray. Mark a cross in the center, using a sharp knife. Bake uncovered in preheated 350 degree oven for about 1 1/4 hours.
Wait
10-15 minutes before attempting to remove bread from casserole, then cool on wire rack. If desired, cut loaf into quarters
and then slice thinly.
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 BLACKBERRY COBBLER
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4 cups fresh Blackberries 3/4 cups Sugar 3 Tablespoons Flour 1 1/2
cups Water 1 Tablespoons fresh Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons melted Butter
Pastry: 1 3/4 cups All-purpose
Flour 2 Tablespoons Sugar 2 teaspoons Baking Powder 1 teaspoon Salt 1/4 cup Shortening 6 Tablespoons Heavy
Whipping cream 6 Tablespoons Buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Place fresh berries in a lightly greased 2-quart
baking dish. Combine sugar and flour; add water and lemon juice, mixing well. Pour this mixture over berries; bake at 350
degrees for 15 minutes while preparing the pastry. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees
Pastry: Combine flour,
sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; stir in whipping cream and buttermilk.
Knead dough 4 or 5 times; roll to about 1/4" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough to fit baking dish. Place the
pastry over hot berries; then brush with melted butter. Cut a few vents in the top of pastry with knife. Bake at 425 degrees
for 20 to 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Serve cobbler warm with vanilla ice cream Servings: 8
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 CORN PUDDING
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2 cups young, fresh corn 3 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup milk 1/2 stick
butter, melted 1 teaspoon salt
Melt butter into 12 X 12 glass baking dish. Beat eggs and other ingredients.
Mix thoroughly and pour into dish. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Bake for 1 hour, or until firm. A small pan of water in the
bottom of the oven prevent drying. Serves 4 - 6
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 GAME HENS WITH ROSEMARY AND GARLIC
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3 Cornish Game Hens, halved 3/4 cup Olive oil 4 Garlic cloves, crushed 3
Tablespoons Dry sherry 1 Tablespoon Fine chopped fresh rosemary juice of 1 lemon Salt to taste Freshly ground
black pepper to taste
Split each bird in half. Set aside. Using a very large bowl mix the remaining
ingredients together. Marinate the bird halves in this mixture for 1 hour, turning often. Broil in oven 7 or 8 minutes on
a side, or on a charcoal barbecue. I prefer the charcoal, but be sure the coals are not too hot. Cook to your liking.
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 PITCAITHLY BANNOCK (Scottish)
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8 ounces Flour 4 ounces Butter 2 ounces Caster Sugar 1 ounce Chopped
Almonds 1 ounce Mixed Candied Peel
Set Oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet. Sift the flour into a bowl.
Add the sugar and butter and rub in to form a dough. Add the almonds and mix in the peel, making sure they are evenly distributed. Form
into a thick round on a lightly floured surface and prick all over with a fork. Place on the sheet and bake for about 45-60
minutes. Allow to cool and serve sliced thinly and buttered
From the booklet Scottish Teatime Recipes
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 POTATO, ARTICHOKE & LEEK SOUP
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2 Tablespoons Butter Or Margarine 1/2 cup Chopped Onion 1 1/2 cups whole
leeks, chopped (whites only) 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic 1 quart Chicken Broth 13 3/4 ounces Can Artichoke Hearts, rinsed
& drained, cut into quarters 2 1/2 cups Peeled And Cubed Baking Potatoes 2 small Sprigs Thyme 1 1/2 cups Milk 3/4
teaspoon Tabasco Pepper Sauce Salt To Taste Fresh Ground Black Pepper Chopped Fresh Parsley
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onion and leeks, covered,
for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Uncover and cook until the leeks are very soft, about 5 minutes, adding the garlic
for the last minute. Add the broth, artichokes, potatoes and thyme; simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Add the milk and Tabasco sauce; simmer for 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and discard the thyme. In a food processor or
blender, puree the soup until very smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or cold, garnished with parsley.
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 BROWN RICE WITH PINE NUTS
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1 1/2 cups Long-Grain Brown Rice 3 cups Water 1 medium Onion, chopped 2
Tablespoons Vegetable Oil 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin Black Pepper, to taste 1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, minced 1/4
cup Pine Nuts
Soak brown rice in water at least 2 hours, or overnight. Heat oil in a heavy
skillet with tight-fitting lid. Add chopped onion and sauté until golden brown and limp. Add rice and soaking water along
with cumin and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover. Cook at a simmer for about 20 minutes. Rice should be tender
and water should be absorbed. When rice is done, add chopped parsley and pine nuts.
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 SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD
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3/4 cup butter, softened 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 cups white flour 1/2
teaspoon salt
Mix butter and sugar until well blended. Work in the flour and salt. If the
dough is too dry, add 1 to 2 Tablespoons (30 ml). more butter. Roll 1/2 inch thick on a slightly floured board. Cut into rectangles
approx. 3/4 inch by 2 inch. Prick each rectangle twice with the tines of a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Makes
30 cookies.
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 REAL IRISH STEW
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1 1/2 pounds Mutton, cut into pieces Parsley sprigs 6 Carrots, sliced 2
pounds Potatoes Salt and pepper 1 pound Onions
Place meat and vegetables in saucepan and cover with cold water. Add salt
and pepper as required and flavor with a few parsley sprigs and add carrot slices. Slowly bring to a boil and skim off the
top. Simmer over a very low heat for approximately 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Note: You can probably substitute
lamb for the mutton and not need to cook as long.
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Crafts
Corn Dolls/Straw Dolls Working with plant fibers
This project uses leaves and more from corn stalks, straw, reeds or other members of the grass family. There are some
things you need to know before trying to work with this material:
- Green: If the leaves are still green, they are supple, bendable and don't neet too much preparation before working
with them. However, they will get smelly as they age, so you should think about the ultimate disposition of this project (are
you burning it in a ritual? are you keeping it for a year? are you buyring it? will it be a family heirloom for the next 3
generations?)
- Dried: If you are using dried plant material, you will have to soak it in water before you work with it. Soaking
in water restores pliability to the plant fibers and they won't break when you bend them. Soak times can be short for corn
leaves, or long for reeds and vines (those with a hollow core).
- Preparing a corn cob: Cut away the corn from a cooked corn cob. If the corn cob has been eaten rather than cut,
you may want to cut away the chewed bits to make the surface uniform and smooth. Let the corn cob dry out in the sun or in
a low temperature oven. With the weather the way it's been here, leaving it out in the sun for the afternoon should
do the trick. Once it is dry and hard, it is ready to be worked.
Make a Corn Doll
Materials Used for this project
- Prepared corn cob
- Leaves from a corn plant, or the husk of the corn
- Ribbon or string (optional), or you can prepare ribbon or string from leaves
- Twigs, sticks or reeds. These do not have to bend, so do not soak them.
- Paint, or markers
- Straight pins or glue (optional)
Procedure
- Fashion the body and head out of the corn cob. You can carve a human shape or not, as you prefer.
- Cut or fold the husk or broad leaves into a skirt. You will need 4 or so.
- Using 2 sticks or reeds of the same length, stick them into the corn cob where the arms should go.
- Measure 2 more leaves to go over each stick. This is the blouse, shirt or top of the dress.
- Place the skirt around the waist of the doll.
- Tie it all together at the waist. Fasten with any of the following:
- Ribbon or string tied around the skirt.
- Glue
- Straigt pins
- Paint or draw a face on the doll.
- Use Corn silk or thin leaves for hair.
- Tie the hair on with string, or make a hat out of another husk leaf.
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