Christmas Notebook

Oldest Daughter asked for tacos for supper. I decided to make Homemade Flour Tortillas. They were delicious! I made two modifications to the recipe. First I used Crisco instead of lard. I have never cooked with lard and didn’t want to buy it for the small amount needed in this recipe. Second, I used hot tap water instead of cold water after reading several recipes that claimed hot water was a must. I think the heat kept the dough soft and pliable, making it easy to roll out.

Mix together:
4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder

Add and mix until crumbled:
2 T. Crisco

Add and mix until well blended:
1 1/2 c. hot water (from the tap is fine)

You can mix it by hand, but I used the mixer. When all the ingredients were totally incorporated, I kneaded it with the dough hook for three or four minutes.

Divide the dough into 16 pieces. The recipe said it would make 24, but that would have made them too small. I formed each piece into a smooth ball, then used a rolling pin to make each one into a thin circle of about 8-10 inches.

Cook the tortillas, one at a time, on a preheated pan. A cast iron pan would be best, but I don’t have one, so I used DH’s pancake griddle. Worked well enough.

Each one will cook a minute or two on each side. I fiddled with the burner through a couple of tortillas before finding just the right temperature. A medium-high was perfect. Even though each tortilla cooks quickly, it does take some time to cook them all. If you plan to try them, start well ahead of dinner time. As the tortillas cooked, I put them on a plate inside a folded kitchen towel to keep them warm, soft, and pliable.

These are a whole different animal than the tortillas that come from the grocery store. Oh, so much better! DH and all three girls thought they were great and gave them a big thumbs up.

We’ll be having these again. I’ll probably cut the recipe in half next time and just make eight tortillas. I made eight for supper, then made the other eight afterward to use up the dough. I stored them in a square container and layered them between small pieces of waxed paper. We’ll see how they are tomorrow, warmed up, or perhaps we’ll cut them into wedges and bake them with a little cooking spray and some salt and garlic powder.

~~Rhonda

For years, I’ve used a recipe from the August/September 1998, Taste of Home magazine, called “South Carolina Cobbler.” But it didn’t take long to know the recipe called for too much sugar for our tastes. I’ve revised it over the years until it fits a 9×13 baking dish and uses less sugar. I also added some spices.

Here’s the recipe at Taste of Home online…South Carolina Cobbler. Interestingly, as I compared my magazine page to the online page, the amount of sugar was reduced online as well as the amount of butter. The recipes are for an 8×8 pan. Here’s my version for a 9×13 pan.

1/2 c. (1 stick) margarine or butter, melted

6 c. fresh, sliced peaches (or canned peaches in light syrup, drained)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (original recipe did not call for this)
pinch of freshly granted nutmeg (original recipe did not call for this)

1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350*.

Melt the butter and pour it into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.

Combine the peaches, sugar, almond extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir well. Set aside.

Combine the milk, sugar, baking powder, salt, and flour. Stir to mix well. Batter will be runny. Pour over the butter. Do not stir.

Top with the peach mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top. Here it is before the cinnamon was added to the top.

Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes, until golden brown.

Delicious served warm with ice cream! Also good cold for breakfast…ask me how I know…

The peach measurement doesn’t have to be exactly as given above. When I make this from peaches I’ve canned myself, I use two quart jars, drained. If you use store-bought, probably three large cans (are they about 29 oz.?) of sliced peaches in light syrup would be about right. And use ground nutmeg if you don’t have whole nutmeg to grate yourself. The taste of the two are not the same, but close enough. Freshly ground is better in my opinion, though. A brighter, fresher taste. I don’t measure it, just grate some in. Doesn’t take much.

~~Rhonda

…It’s jam every other day. So said the White Queen, but we have enough jam for every single day!

I made strawberry jam last week, and plan to make more tomorrow. Strawberries are cheap right now. Aren’t they pretty?

All it took was a couple of pulses in the food processor and the strawberries were just right.

Filling jars with ruby red goodness.

Some folks just invert their jars and call them done. I prefer to give them a ten minute hot water bath.

36 jars of summer yum.

Jam and homemade bread. It’s sooo good!

The Pick Your Own site has great step-by-step instructions for canning and freezing your summer produce.

~~Rhonda