Pepper Jelly and Easy Oatmeal Cookies

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

It has been a busy day in the Exile’s Kitchen. Fresh bell peppers were cored, blanched, shocked and placed in freezer bags for future meals.

Jalapeno peppers were made into jars of pepper jelly.

A simple recipe, here is what I did:

Finely chop 1 small red bell pepper. In a blender, puree 1 cup jalapeno peppers that have been seeded and deveined. Place both kinds of peppers in an 8 quart pot. Over medium high heat, add 1 1/2 cups white vinegar. Bring this to a boil and add a box of Sure-Jell. Stir in, gradually, 6 cups of white sugar and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Return mixture to a boil and add a few drops of pink food coloring, if you wish. Ladle into hot sterilized jars, seal with lids and waterbath process for 5 minutes. Remove from canner and wait for sound of the lids sealing. That delightful, happy pop is so satifying. I taste tested with a potato chip in place of cracker.

Next in the recipe line up was Easy oatmeal Cookies. This recipe makes a bunch, sure to fill up your favorite cookie jar.

Preheat oven to 350° and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a big mixer bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup lard, 1 egg and 1/2cup brown sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Add 1 yellow cake mix, 2 cups quick oats, 1/4 cup of dried craisins, raisins, salted sunflower seeds and pecans. Incorporate well. Using a cookie scoop, drop onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Using a small glass dipped into granulated sugar, gently press each cookie. These cookies spread a little, so don’t crowd them. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet, then move to a rack to finish cooling.

Kitchen Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.

A Weekend in August

Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

    I haven’t written about Marigold in a while. She made three years in late March. An easy going bloodhound, she’s a good companion in all ways but one: riding in the car. She enjoys the car ride, but alerts everyone on the streets that she’s out for a ride. Saturday afternoon was no exception. Big barks, happy whimpers, nose smudges on the windows; she fills the back seat.

    Just before getting to a crossroads, I saw a long white hearse, followed by a big white van. Oh no, I thought. A funeral procession, followed by many cars with their lights on. Now, in our part of the world, it is a courtesy to pull onto the shoulder of the road, as the funeral passes. So, our progress to our destination was delayed. Marigold doesn’t like to wait. Here was her reaction.

    Impatient Marigold.
    Yes, lots of dog hair in my car.
    And no, I am not the best videographer.

    Here is something I am good at.

    Bread pudding Bread Pudding the Best Way to Recycle

    Blessings for a great August from the Exile’s Kitchen.

    Continue reading A Weekend in August

    Sum, Sum, Sum, Summa, Summa, Summatime

    Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

    It is very satisfying to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Flower gathering this morning netted buckets of flowers. After lunch; a banana split made with homemade mayhaw ice cream. Oh, my word! https://www.instagram.com/p/CCgoLbnBYbsz3ggIILZeXTki0lE4a2IOws1uU80/?igshid=15glrnwfpkdhc

    No churn ice cream taken up to the top level, with mayhaw syrup swirled in. Last week was blueberry homemade ice cream, this week mayhaw. Such a pretty pink. The berry taste of mayhaw makes this ice cream a delightful change from your ordinary chocolate or vanilla. Follow the recipe for my No-churn Ice Cream from Try These Two Together, using a simple syrup made with the juice of mayhaws and sugar.

    Continue reading Sum, Sum, Sum, Summa, Summa, Summatime

    The Bees Are Drunk

    Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

    The bees are intoxicated every day. They can be shaken or scooped off the sunflower faces, to fall to the ground in a drunken stupor.

    Gardening Blessings from Flowers Proper.

    Easy Pickings

    Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

    Homemade blueberry ice cream and choco chip cookie bar. Yum! Happy 4th of July!🇺🇸 https://www.instagram.com/p/CCO7rf3B5UR30v6Z7n6JKMKdv0cMVBOuT8r2v00/?igshid=6n1r36ax29k2

    After picking two gallons of blueberries the conventional way, staining figures purple, sweat covering our brows and running between shoulder blades, a brilliant thought entered our collective heads.

    “Don’t they have machines in commercial blueberry fields to shake the berries off?” my middle son asked.

    “Yes, I believe they do,” I answered. “How ’bout you go in the house and get a sheet and we’ll spread it under the bushes and shake them by hand.”

    Eureka! Plump purple berries bounced to the tarps; it worked like a charm. Of course, there were sticks to clear from the gathering of berries, but still a good method for berry picking.

    For our Independence Day celebration, my no-churn ice cream recipe got a new flavor. I mixed about a cup of fresh blueberries, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup water and cooked that down into a syrup. Cooled a little bit, the blueberry syrup was swirled into the whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk. Here’s my recipe No-churn Ice Cream

    Fourth of July Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.

    Working smarter, not harder.

    Continue reading Easy Pickings

    It’s Friday

    Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

    Good morning, sunshine. It is Friday, y’all. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBVX6XPBWmBQZ-9v9eNbU69lXsYgZIXLj5rN1o0/?igshid=1etlmevt6q62t

    I can’t not talk about the weather. It takes hold of everyday life and changes my plans. A tropical storm started out on one side of the country Amanda, crossed the Ucitan and became Cristobol, bringing with it rain and high winds.

    The storm knocked down most of my flower patch. Roots are exposed. Plants, still living, are growing crooked. The stems travel along the ground, but the bloom at the end turns upward, trying to face the sun. I will endeavor this weekend to righten the storms battering. Wooden stakes, jute twine, hammer and elbow grease should do the trick.

    This is a picture of what our nation is going through. We are battered by a storm whose name keeps changing. We’re knocked down. Running low. But at the end, we need to look upward.

    Blessings for a safe weekend from the Exile’s Kitchen.

    Yella

    Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

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    Summer is knocking on the door, with its great big yella hand. The yellow eyes of the daisies and cosmos are bright. The yellow squash is abundant. It has already graced our supper plates this week. I hear Bubba reciting various squash dishes: fried squash, stewed squash, squash casserole, squash hushpuppies.

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    A yella chair next

     

    A craft project of refurbishing old metal chairs, using cans of spray paint, lacks at least one being yellow. Weather permitting, I’ll get that done this weekend. The sunflowers have come up, along with old maid zinnias; no blooms to show yet.

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    This old metal chair, blue as the sky, needs a seat mate in yellow.

    Summer blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.

    Potager

    Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

    Beginnings of my potager. Raised beds made from reclaimed 100 year old tongue and groove boards and same-age former fireplace bricks. Started in February, planted in March and blooming in May. I see supper.

    Windfall, Lagniappe: Unexpected Goodness

    Posted on by theexileskitchen by Amanda Ellison Anglin

    It’s mayhaw season. The first part of the year, though trying in many ways, must have had the right weather conditions to produce the biggest mayhaws I’ve ever seen. Storms last Sunday night brought a great windfall of these little red fruit. I picked up a gallon this afternoon and the fact that many were the size of pennies and nickles was lagniappe. A windfall because the wind made them fall and all I had to do was pick them up. Lagniappe because they were a generous size. They filled 2 quart bags! And like the dish towel says, I’m grateful.

    Windfall and Lagniappe Blessings from the Exile’s Kitchen.