Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler- aka-The tureens and casseroles preformed wonderfully part 3

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Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler..aka-The tureens and casseroles preformed wonderfully part 3

This is part three of the dinner I made in the
casseroles and tureens I won from Jaz and Teddy at Octoberfarm (Jaz is doing another giveaway too!! so stop on over!)

any way the menu was

French Onion Soup with homemade Croutons
Red Pepper Chicken with Saffron Black Bean Rice
and
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler !!!




For my strawberry rhubarb cobbler, I used the alpine strawberries and rhubarb from last springs garden that i had put up in the freezer, but strawberries and rhubarb from the grocery or farmers market will work great in this too. They can be fresh or frozen .

The recipe I am going to give you here is for an 8 inch x 8 inch pan and can adapt to a 9inch x 13 inch pan But the fruits will be a very thin layer so I don't really recommend the 9inch x 13 inch size unless you want " a little fruit" with your cobbler top . I love to serve this warm with just a bit of heavy cram drizzled over the top or along side homemade vanilla or strawberry ice cream . If we choose strawberry ice cream , the whole dish benefits well with a drizzle of hot fudge topping too!
( We also like it with a bit of warmed brandy, or Grand Marnier, or a nice raspberry vodka, or a Blackberry schnapps Liqueur; Elderberry wine or black cherry wine warmed and sweetened just a bit with a wild flower honey or star thistle honey is Oh so nice too!)

Also I tend to mix up my dry cobbler topping and store it so it is at the ready when I want it . I prefer to mix it using vanilla sugar, but any sugar you prefer will do.

Cobbler top dry mix
3 cups flour
3 cups sugar ( I use homemade vanilla sugar)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt (Kosher)

sift all together about 3 times so it is mixed well and store in an air tight container



to use:
use 1 cup cobbler top dry mix
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 egg, beaten well

mix together ( this will make a dough about the consistency or a little thicker than say, corn bread muffin mix) drop by very scant teaspoons onto the top of the fruit cobbler mixture and bake at 375 degrease F. for 35 to 50 minutes till cooked through and golden brown ( it's OK if the fruit cobbler bubbles up through the topping. )


For the Strawberry and Rhubarb Fruit cobbler mix


1 cup rhubarb pieces ( about 1/2 to 1 inch long)
1 and 1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup organic sugar ( or up to 1 and 1/2 cups for a sweet cobbler , we like ours tart so I use less)
scant 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
scant 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
zest of 1 smallish sized orange ( optional)
1/2 teaspoon strawberry, orange, cherry or other berry liqueur of choice ( I used orange this time)









place all ingredients into a heavy sauce pan over medium heat till berried start to break down ( about 20 to 30 minutes - this will depend on the size of your berries . once they have started to break/cook down take a potato masher to the rhubarb chunks to help them along the way . Once you have reached a consistency you like ( some like it chunky, some not so much )

you are ready to assemble the Cobbler










in a lightly buttered dish ,
place the strawberry Rhubarb mix














Prepare the cobbler topping and top the fruit mixture as directed above.

i tend not to wipe the edges on a cobbler... only because it will inevitably bubble out over the edges so why remove the butter that will keep it from sticking and make the clean up harder?? that's my take on it any way .






Bake this in a 375 degrease F. oven for 45 minutes. use a tooth pick to check for doneness by inserting a clean one into the heart of the topping only, to be sure it is baked through . bake till the topping in completely cooked through.

Serve warm or cold ... and in any combination or meaner suggested above.








sweet-tart Cobbler Blessings every one
Ma Fey

Another Gift today and Hot Chocolet from Scratch

Honestly it's not my birthday or any thing .. but I must say
"What a Wonderful day this has been!"
My friend Mom J.
( not to be confused with Mrs. J-Bean)
stopped by unexpectedly !
And she brought Hubby and I a gift!
Wrapped and everything !

Coffee and Mugs! How awesome of her.
This of course warranted big hugs and a long chat sharing coffee over garden catalogs.. It was a wonderful visit.. I even gave her one of the rooster tea towels I had just completed
(the ones in the earlier post) . She oood and aaad over it and couldn't believe I hadn't ever made these (crochet tea towels) before.. it was a great afternoon!




Well after she left and I rested up a bit,
I decided that these new mugs needed to be broke in with something special .
Home made - as in from scratch - hot chocolate!
MM MM MM!


This hot Cocoa Recipe comes strait out of my Grama's ol' wooden recipe box and is one of my favorites..

When you measure out the Milk and water ( coffee) for this recipe , use the mugs you will serve in to measure them ( as in the photo below)











to make 2 mugs:

1/4 cup Cocoa powder (I use organic)

1 tablespoon flour ( I use all-purpose unbleached)

1 teaspoon vanilla ( I make my own. )

1 cup(mug) sweet milk ( fresh milk with a sweet taste)

1/4 cup sugar ( I use organic)

1 cup(mug) good hot Water

a tiny pinch of salt ( optional- I use kosher if I add it all)




In an appropriate sized sauce pan over medium heat, add and mix together :
the cocoa powder, sugar and flour

give this about 20 seconds or so to also warm and just start to melt the sugar











Next add the hot water ( or coffee)

Bring just to a boil ..
Don't let this boil over ..
don't take your eyes off it
or it will boil over very quickly!












Stirring continuously,
let it boil till it just starts to thicken
(see the thicker liquid on the spoon that's what you want.)


When it has thickened turn off the heat and remove the pan from the hot burner .











Add a little of the hot cocoa mixture
(about a tablespoon at a time) to the milk
and stir (called tempering).
Do this several times to warm the milk
then add the milk to the cocoa mixture slowly while stirring the warmed milk in.






Now for the marshmallows







HEY!!!
whered-it-go????

DabNabIt!

Cant turn ma' back for one dern minute!
I swear!

Husband!
You better have saved me some
dang it!!


Any way add marshmallows
( home made are best)
to the cup and top with the hot chocolate!



Hope you enjoyed this as much as...um...
well as much as my husband does any way !

substitutions:
I some times substitute for 1 teaspoon of blackberry or raspberry schnapps, cherry brandy, cherry wine or orange liqueur for the vanilla extract)

I substitute Coffee (organic) for the water when I want something a little bolder ( like I did today).

Did you know
that the term Sweet Milk refers to fresh milk( as in milk right from the cow with cream just skimmed off) ?
It comes from the day when canned and powdered milks were more easily gotten than fresh milk. Today, I use the term to refer to store bought "fresh" milk that has a sweet taste rather than one that has a bitter or powdered taste to it.

Chocolate Blessings !
Ma Fey

More than one way to serve Pistachio Pudding Fluff --aka "Green Stuff"

-a Post update added later in the day ...
This is my first post for Retro Cooking Month over at Mrs. B's !
Today's topic Quick and Easy Dessert Day!
(and this is ubber easy and at least over 30 years old and that's retro right?)
We always called it "the green stuff" when we asked Mom to make this yummy desert. Now, I am not sure where she got this recipe, could have been from a box of pudding, a tub of whipped topping or a friend, I really don't know. But I do know we all loved it and us kids would be so bummed when she would walk out the door to some social event with her bowl of green goodness in tow, until we would discover she had tucked just enough in the back of the fridge for us.
As an adult it has served me well as something to whip up right quick, and me being me, I have discovered just how versatile it is because I have served it in more ways than one. It takes literally minutes to whip up and can be served right away , but is really best if left to sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 min ( but over night is even better) to give things a chance to set.

The Pudding
1 8oz can crushed pineapple
1 3.4 ounce box instant Pistachio Pudding
1 to 2 cups mini marshmallows
1 16 oz tub whipped topping
1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts (optional)















place the pineapple, juice and all , in a large mixing bowl.















next add the instant pudding mix and marshmallows and give it all a good stir!















now, patiently fold the whipped topping into the pudding-pineapple mixture.















Fold well till it is a nice light green with no dark streaks of unmixed pudding-pineapple mixture running through it. At this point you can place it covered in the refrigerator , transfer it to single serve desert cups and refrigerate. Top with the extra pistachios before serving .

~OR~
take it a step further

Play with it

and make some lovely and yummy treats!















For this version
I first placed a small dollop of the Pistachio Pudding Fluff in the bottom of a small cordial/brandy glass.
Then I placed in one maraschino cherry cut in half and sprinkled in some crushed honey gram cracker crumbs .
Then I added another small dollop of Pistachio Pudding Fluff and some more crushed honey gram cracker crumbs .
I topped that with about 1 teaspoon of the maraschino cherry juice and placed 1/4 of a honey gram cracker in the back . ( this can be held and placed right before serving so the cracker doesn't get soggy )
refrigerate till ready to serve or serve instantly.









This version gives a slice of left over cake a taste lift ( 1 piece of cake sliced about 1/4 of an inch thick will make about 2 to 4 cups.. depending on how much you choose to use in each sup . )

The cake was a yellow and chocolate cream cake , that I chuncked up.
I layered it between dollops of the Pistachio Pudding Fluff. ( starting and ending with the fluff)
Next, I melted some Hersey's special dark chocolate chips and milk to make a cheater gnash and grabbed a square of Hersey's Extra Dark chocolate and pushed it in to the Pistachio Pudding Fluff and drizzled the whole thing with the chocolate gnash .. this hold well in the fridge covered with cling wrap for up to 8 hours.








For this version
I sliced the peal from a sweet orange, then removed the segments from the pith.
The orange was layered between dollops of the Pistachio Pudding Fluff and topped with one piece of orange sliced into 2 thin pieces , a
maraschino cherry, and some orange zest curls ..



really , these are only 3 of the many ways I have worked this simple
Pistachio Pudding Fluff into fantastic family and friend pleasers..

OH this is also an excellent filling for a simple no bake pie too

this "green stuff" really is quite versatile..
I hope you try it and it inspires your KitchenWitchen Creativity



Blessings all
Ma Fey