WHEW!

Finally I have time to blog! I had several people email and even a phone call 

to see where I have been. Thanks for checking up on me Jane and Karen! I 

have been busy with baking orders and selling online and to make the 

deadlines I had to take the time away from blogging. The picture

shows just a few of the orders I have been working on.

Our yard is finished and I have pictures, so stay tuned!

AMISH PEAR PIE

My dad is visiting here from WA state for a little while. His pear tree had a bountiful
crop this year and he brought a big box to share. They fell from the tree while they
were unripe, so I put them in a paper bag for a few days to ripen them. The gases
that occur naturally in the fruit to ripen it are more concentrated when placed into
a closed bag and the fruit ripens quickly and evenly.

I have never made a pear pie before, so I looked in my The Best of Amish Cooking
book and found a simple recipe with only 5 ingredients other than the pears. It was
very easy to make and the taste was wonderful. The pears were cubed instead of
sliced so they were tender but still held their shape without turning to mush. The
tiny bit of sugar and cinnamon that was sprinkled on the top added just the perfect
finishing touch of flavor.

If you have access to a few pears I think this would be a beautiful pie to serve for
Thanksgiving along with or maybe even instead of the traditional pumpkin pie.

AMISH PEAR PIE

1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup cream (not half & half)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
5 fresh pears, peeled and diced
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar
1 9" unbaked pie shell

Sift together flour and sugar. Stir in cream and lemon juice. Mix with wire 

whisk until smooth. Gently fold in pears. Pout into unbaked pie shell and 

sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45-50 minutes until the middle is set. I always 

place a pie shield on the crust about halfway through baking so the crust 

doesn't get too dark.

Cool at least 3 hours before serving so pie is correctly set up. 

Refrigerate leftovers.

RASPBERRY CUSTARD PIE

This is one of my favorite pie recipes! It is from a very old cookbook and uses
the kind of basic ingredients that most everyone will have in their cupboard.

I was asked to make pies for a board meeting last week and they asked for
Lemon Meringue and "something berry." I made this pie with raspberry topping
and the verdict was Wonderful!

Any kind of canned berries will do--blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc.
I prefer the tang of raspberries to off set the custard sweetness. This is a great
pie for the holidays with it's cheery colors and deliciously different flavors. Try it!

RASPBERRY CUSTARD PIE

FILLING

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 Baked Pie Shell

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk,

whisking until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened

and bubbly. Reduce heat, cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and

stir a small amount into egg; return all to the saucepan. Cook and stir until

almost bubbly. Reduce heat and cook and stir 1 minute more (do not boil)

Remove from heat; stir in vanilla until smooth. Let cool completely to room

temperature. Once cooled, stir gently with a wire whisk to break up any lumps

so mixture is smooth.

Whip cream and gently fold into filling. Pour into baked pastry shell and refri-

gerate until set, a minimum of 2 hours. Pour chosen fruit filling over pie and 

return to refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

Yield: 6-8 servings

NO TIME FOR APPLE PIE

Sometimes I crave apple pie. I'm probably not alone on this, am I? I like
making Apple Pie, but I don't always have time to roll the crust out and
put the pie together. Plus you do have some down time after taking the

pie out of the oven before you can serve it or it's too runny. I was looking

for a recipe I could make right before serving if I had to.

Recently I found this recipe that is quick to put together, has the same 

ingredients as Apple Pie and tastes almost as good. Almost.

I served it warm with some hot coffee and it was a hit. I also doubled the
recipe and baked it in a glass 9 x 13 pan, so I had to cook it a little longer.
The key is to make sure the sauce is bubbling and the apples are soft before
you take it out. Delicious!

NO TIME FOR APPLE PIE

CRUMBLE BASE & TOPPING:
½ cup cold butter, cut into bits
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups plain flour
¼ tsp salt

FILLING:
5 cups peeled and sliced apples

(I always use Granny Smiths)
½ cup  sugar
2 TBS plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Freshly grated zest of ½ lemon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8x 8" baking pan, or if
doubling the recipe use a 9 x 13" pan or glass casserole dish and set aside.

Measure the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl. Stir to combine. Drop in the

bits of butter and rub the butter into the flour mixture until resembles 

fine crumbs.

Divide the mixture in half and press half of it into the base of the baking 

pan. Reserve the other half.

Slice the apples into a large bowl. Stir the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and 

salt together. Stir this into the apples along with the grated lemon zest. 

Pour this mixture over the crumb base and press it down a bit with the 

back of a spoon (I skipped this step and my apples that were sticking up 

got kind of dark--lesson learned)

Sprinkle the remaining half of the crumb mixture evenly over top. Pat 

lightly in place.

Bake in the heated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until bubbling and 

golden on top.

Excellent served warm with vanilla ice cream--just as delicious the next day.

COOL CAKES!

More awesome cakes from my growing collection of pictures. No, I didn't 

make these! I keep a photo file of ideas that I can refer to when someone 

orders a cake. I think some of these are works of art. All of them are edible

--even the knife by the fish and the fur the boots are sitting on!

SUGAR PASTE AND MY GREAT GRANDMA

My Dad's cousin Sandra has been following my blog for awhile and

emailed me asking if I would like to have some old cookbooks she

had that were my Great Grandma's. She also took the time and wrote

some history out for me about my Great Grandma and Grandpa:

Tillie Knutson (Great Grandmother Bong) was born in Sonja, Norway in 1875. 

In the mid 1800's she traveled to America with her mother, father, two brothers, 

and a sister. They made their home in Pulcifer, Wisconsin. Elias Bong was born

 in Norway in 1867. He also traveled to America in the mid 1800's. His family 

stayed in Norway. He moved to Seattle, Wa. where he worked as a logger. The 

Seattle fire in 1889 took most of the jobs so he move to Oconto, Wis. where he

met Tillie Knutson at a logging camp where she was a cook. 

They were married Dec 7th 1894. 

Their first daughter Alpha (my Grandma) was born in 1895. Grandma Bong 

had a little cabin in Pt. Alex., Alaska where she baked bread and sold it. I don't 

know how she could do it, must have been wood stoves, wish you could have 

known her, such a wonderful loving lady.

My Great Grandma Tillie. Isn't it interesting how everything comes full circle.

Here I am in Alaska over 100 years later baking breads and cakes & selling them. 

Thank goodness I don't have to use a wood stove!

Here are the cookbooks from 1903-1937 that Sandra sent me that 

were my Great Grandma's. Sandra's Mom Hazel and my Grandma Alpha 

were sisters. Don't you just love those old names? I was very excited 

to get them--thank you so much Sandra!

What fun to look through them and realize her hands were touching them at 

one time and looking through them just like I was doing. There are some

chocolate stains in the baking book and notes written in the others about the 

recipes and it makes them seem even more personal to me. The baking book even 

has a coffee cup ring on the front just like a lot of my own cookbooks do.

I especially like this baking book with it's hints about the proper baking 

techniques for producing perfectly baked goods. After reading through it 

I find it interesting that most everything is the same as now. The wording is 

different, but the methods for making excellent cakes and breads haven't 

changed very much. Even back then they understood about the chemical 

processes taking place while mixing ingredients!

The author writes in one recipe:

"cakes will come out nicely when taken at the proper time, therefore I say

teach the boy in place of sweating and you will have no more trouble."

There are a couple of interesting items shown with drawings that you could 

purchase from the author of the book. For $2.50 you could purchase your very 

own ice cream cone maker. A common theme I noticed throughout this book is 

the emphasis on the quality of the items he was offering for sale. Things were 

made to last a long time; you purchased them once and passed them along.

There were a couple of different cake fillers offered for sale. It looks to

me like you filled it with cream from the top, stuck the pointed end into 

your pastry & pushed the plunger to force the cream into the pastry.

I am no Grandma Bong, but I have been working on learning some new 

techniques to offer people that are looking for a celebration cake. When we 

went to Juneau I purchased some ready-made Sugar Paste and I made these 

flowers for 2 cakes I made this weekend for the Meet and Greet at our church 

welcoming our pastor candidate from Texas.

They are edible because they are made from sugar, but I think you would have 

to be REALLY hungry to want to crunch through them once they are dried on the

cake. It was fun making these and not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.

I sprinkled them with edible glitter once they were on the cake and then sprinkled

it lightly over  both cakes. They were a hit!

My next project is to try covering a whole cake in fondant and see how that turns 

out. I know Marzipan has been around a long time, but now I'm wondering if they 

knew what fondant was all the way back in my Great Grandmother's time?

TREASURES

My Mom arrived yesterday for a 2 week+ visit! The weather cleared 

from a torrential downpour to cloudy skies just in time for her flight 

to arrive. She will be helping out at Keith's house and visiting 

everybody since most of our family lives in this town.

It's surprising how the grandkids have a way of becoming 

almost as tall as you when you haven't seen them for awhile.

My Mom read my blog post about my Grandma's tatting and needlework, 

so she brought me a few of the pieces she had that my Grandma had made. 

This one I remember from growing up. It was on the back of my Grandpa's 

chair where his head rested. I distinctly remember his head resting on this 

as he snored with his chin on his chest. I am going to get a frame and mount 

this in to hang on the wall.

I think these Tatted pieces would look neat displayed in a frame too...

These are the best for drying dishes! My Grandma had a swing-out hanger 

in her kitchen that these would dry on after doing dishes. Her cupboards 

were so tall and if you opened certain ones you could see the candy stash 

she had. My Grandma loved sweets and her favorites were the orange sticks 

covered in chocolate (mine too) and those huge gumdrops covered in sugar.

This is the same as real gold to me...my Grandma's roll recipe that I 

remember from growing up. My uncle John wrote it out so Mom could 

bring it to me. My Grandma baked in one of those ovens that was on top 

of the stove with a glass window and we used to watch these rolls while 

they were baking. I can still smell them as they cooked and there was 

always a pressure cooker hissing on the stove top with brown rice inside. 

I can't wait to try it--I wonder if I can make them as good as I remember?

PRETTY- IN- PINK STREUSEL BROWNIES

I like cookbooks! That probably isn't a surprise to anybody that knows

me because of how much I like to cook. My good friend Jane gave me 

this book called Brownie Mix Bliss by Camilla V. Saulsbury.

I hardly ever use box mixes because I prefer to make most everything
from scratch. But, the other day the store had Brownie mixes on sale
for 1/2 price so I picked up a few for times when I might need a dessert
in a hurry.

Last Saturday was one of those times with 2 birthday cakes and a church
function all landing on the same weekend. I looked through the Brownie
Mix Bliss book and came up with Pretty-In-Pink Streusel Brownies. Just

the name alone made me want to make them! The recipe called for straw-

berry jam, but all I had was Red Plum. I figured it would probably still 

taste good and I was right. With each bite you get chewy brownie, tart jam 

and a nice cheesecake type flavor--YUM.

I like recipes that make a large batch and this one fills a 9 x 13 pan. You
do have to watch and make sure that these get done enough in the center,
but not too done or the edges will overbake and be hard (just like regular 

brownies.)

I received several enthusiastic thumbs up at church when everybody dug
in--is there a better rating system than that?

(go ahead, click the picture--I double dog dare you)

PRETTY- IN- PINK STREUSEL BROWNIES

1 Package Brownie mix 19.5 ounce
2 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
2  8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups berry jam, divided (strawberry, raspberry, plum, etc)
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Grease or non stick spray the bottom only of a 9 x 13 inch
baking pan. I foil lined the pan, leaving the foil hanging down over the short edges
so I could just lift the brownies out when they were done. That way the pan is
cleaner and the brownies are easier to cut neatly.

In a large bowl mix the brownie mix, oats and melted butter with a wooden spoon
until just blended and all dry ingredients are moistened.  Gently press half the
mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.

In another mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and 1/2 cup jam with the electric
mixer set on medium. Beat in eggs just until blended and spread over the base
layer. Dollop remaining 3/4 cup of jam in teaspoons on top of the filling. Gently
spread until the cream cheese layer is just covered. Sprinkle remaining crumb 

mixture over the jam and press gently into filling.

Bake 32-34 minutes until topping is firm and center is just set. Cool completely
on wire rack. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving so the middle is set. Cut
into bars.

Makes 24 large or 36 small bars.

I LOVE MY LIBRARY

Look what I found brand new for 50 cents on my library's donation cart. 

Oh Yeah

HE'S BAAACK!

Keith is home! He arrived yesterday by private jet. A wealthy friend of theirs in town 

heard about the potential hardship for him to fly on Alaska Airlines without being 

able to lower his legs. They offered to have a jet stop by in Seattle and pick him up 

on the way from California. Another answered prayer!

The Care-A-Van in town picked him up right on the tarmac and carefully 

lowered him right onto his driveway. The tricky part was how to get him up 

all the stairs into the 2 story house though. My sister is on the Mt. Search 

and Rescue team here and they came over with the stretcher they use to carry 

injured people down off the mountains. They put Keith in it and 6 guys carried 

him right over the top of the railing up into the house. It was perfect!

THANK YOU LORD

We have wild blueberries growing all over this island that are ripening this month. 

This is one of my favorite recipes that I wait to make until I have fresh blueberries. 

This is so good though, that sometimes I will even pay the $$$$ to buy them from 

the store so I can make a batch!

Lots of good stuff in here--apples, blueberries, oatmeal--they almost qualify as a 

breakfast bar. They are pretty easy to make and other than the blueberries I usually 

have everything I need already in the cupboard (a big bonus in my book!)

Give yourself some time before serving these after they are made if you want them 

to be cookie bars, as they do need a few hours to set up and let the flavors blend. If 

you want to serve them more like a cobbler, they are delicious warm from the oven 

with a scoop of vanilla ice cream--yum!

APPLE BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE BARS

BOTTOM LAYER

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar-packed

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1  1/2 sticks butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 425 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. In a large bowl 

combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in the 

melted butter and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Press this mixture 

into the bottom of the pan making sure it is flat and even.

MIDDLE LAYER

2 cups blueberries

3 generous cups chopped apples (approx 5 small)

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Place blueberries and apples in bowl. Add sugar, flour and spices--

mixing gently until well combined. Pour evenly over the first layer.

TOP LAYER

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar-packed

1/2 cup (one stick) softened butter

Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine thoroughly with a pastry 

blender, fork or your fingers until the mixture resembles large crumbs. 

Sprinkle evenly over the middle layer.

Bake on middle rack of the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then 

lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 25-35 

minutes until the top is golden and looks kind of "dry"  You don't want 

the edges to get too dark. Cool in pan on a wire rack. You can serve warm 

by scooping into bowls or let it cool completely and serve cut into bars.

Store remaining bars in a cool place or refrigerate. Bars may be individually

wrapped and frozen.

WE FINALLY PASSED 60 DEGREES

Another busy weekend for me! I was hired to provide food for 40 people that
were in town for a wedding and birthday in the same family. This brunch was

the last get together before everybody left to go home. The menu included 

Smoked Salmon Quiche (x7), Broccoli Souffle, Fruit Salad, Cinnamon Rolls 

and Orange Juice.

Since I needed so many cinnamon rolls I used the recipe from The Pioneer
Woman Cooks. It makes a GOB of cinnamon rolls and I doubled that so that we 

could have a few to eat too. I ended up rolling out 3 huge batches of dough and 

filling 7 cake pans with rolls. They were delicious! The icing on top was really 

good even though I left the coffee out of the recipe simply because I didn't know

if the customer would like it. I do know they smelled overwhelmingly good in 

the car at 8:30 this morning on the way to deliver them!

Everything was well received with a huge smile and lots of "perfect, perfect!" 

Whew.

All set for a Tea Party...toasted cheese sandwich cut into bite size 

pieces, grapes, chocolate buttons and 2 little plates of doggie treats.

A Tea Party under the blanket fort with best friends and Daddy.

A Raspberry-Laced Vanilla Cake, just for us! I should have taken a 

picture of the inside of the cake once it was cut; it's really pretty with a 

layer of raspberry jam and the pink raspberry frosting in the other layers. 

The recipe is on the back of the Softasilk Cake flour box. Perfect if you need 

an impressive dessert for a few people that tastes really good. A little trick with 

butter cakes--put them in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving to firm 

them up, then pull them out to room temperature about an hour before serving.

After church the sun was shining (61 degrees!) so we decided to go out in 

the boat. The fast ferry passed us on it's way to Juneau.

We went and looked at a cabin that just came up for sale on an island.

The woodwork inside the entire cabin was really beautiful.

The woodstove keeps everything toasty and a generator charges a bank of 

batteries for electricity.

The view from the front porch--pretty sweet. Look at that ocean 

today--it was like a mirror.

Keith had surgery on his left foot this last week and is recovering for the 

next surgery on the right foot. It was scheduled for Monday, but today he 

said it may be pushed until Tuesday because of scheduling back ups at the 

hospital. He is still coveting your prayers for a successful outcome and a speedy 

healing period. Thank you for remembering him and I hope you had a great weekend

in your part of the world!