Sour Cream Lemon Pie

**Sour Cream Lemon Pie**

(Caution...this is really good!)

1 c. sugar

3-1/2 T. cornstarch

1T lemon zest

1/2 c. lemon juice

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 c. milk

1/4 c. butter

1 c. sour cream

9-inch pie crust, baked

2 c. whipped cream

    Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolks and milk in a saucepan.  Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until thickened.  Stir in butter; cool to room temperature.  Stir in sour cream, spoon into pie crust.  Cover with whipped cream.  Chill before serving.  Serves 6 to 8.

Pie

 

Sweet Potatoes.

Add a couple eggs, some sugar and a few spices.

Nutmeg.

Rollin' Out the Pastry.

Gettin' Closer

Ready to Pop in the Oven.

Sweet Potato Pie!

Next on the List.

Cherry pie's a favorite!

Ahhhh....the color of cherries.

Cherry Pie!

Pie crust cookies with the left over dough!!!  Yum!

Canning

  Nothing smells sweeter than a kitchen during harvest.  The sweet scent of pickling spice and dill.  Peaches in the drier.  Pears and plums.  Grapes awaiting the juicer.  It transforms the kitchen into a small piece of heaven. 
  Kettles strategically placed throughout the kitchen, heaping with garden produce.  The water bath canner bubbling at a constant rate.  A marathon, a sweet one.  Empty jars at one end of the room...waiting.  Completed jars on the other....full....satisfaction.  The cooling rack loaded, waiting for the "ping" of freshly processed works of art.  Its harvest....its beautiful.
  There is now a well worn path from the garden to the kitchen.  Small hands carrying buckets...feet running back and forth...small bites of cucumbers and tomatoes along the way.  They enjoy this as much as I
.

  Transformation.  Hard work.  Making Memories.  All to the scent of sweet spices and smells.

 Treasure hunting in the garden.

 Tomatoes. Check.  Cucumbers. Check.

Fresh Pickles in the making:

 Cucumbers.

Add a little spice.

Dill and Vinegar.

And.....with a little time....Homemade Pickles....Yum!

A Trip to the Orchard:

Fresh Peaches.

A good bucket to pack them in.

Pears.

And...back to the Home Front:

Preparation.

A good canner.

And...these....

Become these...

Satisfaction.

My finger nails are now a shade of brown.  My floor now resembles Elmer's glue.  My kids have a winter stock pile of yummy fruits and veggies.  My kitchen smells delicious.  And...I am happy.

**I will clean my floor as soon as I am done blogging. <wink> <wink>**

Cherry Pickin' Time

  Wouldn't you know it.....an opportunity to photograph the most photogenic fruit in its native environment...and I forgot my camera!  Well....that's okay I took pictures once it hit my counter top.
  Cherry pickin' time!!!  My family loves cherries.  I am not a $3.00/lb for cherries kinda girl....rather a pick em myself for free.  Its' better on the budget as well as satisfying and kinda therapeutic.  The pickin' makes em sweeter.

  Cherries from an old farmstead.....very old trees that have no doubt seen many eager fingers.  Farm wives and children, as well as many birds, have enjoyed their fruit.  With the help of a wonderful friend we each salvaged more than our share.  The kids even helped.  I think the ladder enticed them more than the cherries themselves.  Though the cherries came in a close second.
   A wonderful day.....harvest has begun.....my most favorite season of the year.

Cherries are so beautiful.  Thank you Lord!

Vanilla Sugar

Its a yummy alternative to flavored coffee syrups.  No corn syrup or food dyes.  And.....it's easy to make!

Vanilla Beans

Take 1/2-1 vanilla bean (cut into several pieces and release seeds).  In a pint jar, add vanilla pieces to 2 cups of sugar, alternating sugar and pieces.   Place lid on the jar and allow to sit undisturbed for two weeks (time for vanilla to infuse into sugar).  Then use sugar in lieu of coffee flavoring.  Yum!! 
Use in coffee of tea....or any recipe calling for sugar. 

Vanilla Sugar

Old Fashioned Baked Oatmeal

Alright...you've probably figured out we love Oatmeal.  Alot of my "food" posts have oatmeal in them.  This recipe is one of my favorites and my kids LOVE it!!!  It takes a small amount of preparation time, but its worth it!

 Old Fashioned Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 cups quick oats (uncooked)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Mix all ingredients in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.  When thoroughly mixed place into oven at 350 degrees.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Makes 4 servings.

When baking and mixing in the same dish, it cuts down on dishes!
It really is good...especially on rainy or snowy mornings.

Recipe found on page 35:

Blueberries & Alkali Soil

Thanks to an infomercial our family has been thrust into the world of blueberries.  Though the picture above is not of ours.
  We are now the proud owners of 17 blueberry bushes (initially ordering 3, the order has gotten confused twice).  That's okay with me though....each time they goof we've seemed to benefit.  :)
With this influx of bushes, I needed to do research....make these little buggers thrive!  I have never raised domesticated blueberries before.

  Blueberries do not naturally thrive here in our valley.    Our soil pH is typically around 7.5 (alkali soil).  Blueberry bushes require acidic soil maintaining a pH of 4.0-5.0.  So...growing blueberries successfully in our valley requires dropping soil pH.  After conferring with gardeners and websites it seemed sulfur was the best way to do this.  Blueberries as well as blue hydrangeas grow very well in the presence of sulfur. 
  I was blessed and found sulfur at Home Depot....relatively inexpensive.   So I purchased it.

 As only five of our plants have actually arrived, I planted them in planters...I just happened to have five empty ones.  Planter soil is easier to control also.  Once the others arrive, I will put them in the ground.  We will see how this goes.  I am excited!!!

 It will be a couple years before we reap the benefits.  I guess its blueberries or bust!  Either way its fun learning new things. 

 There are six little eager hands waiting to grasp the first juicy berry. 

Inside a Bountiful Basket

Okay, we tried it and I am pleased!  We picked up our first Bountiful Basket today....and this is what we got for $15.00.  I am a VERY big fan now!

10 apricots (devoured before we got home)
8 bananas
4 mangos
5lb Yukon gold potatoes
1 head cauliflower
1 head broccoli
1 cantaloupe
4 cucumbers
1 lrg head of leaf lettuce
4 tomatoes
1 pineapple
The produce was also very good quality. 

Attached is the link to Bountiful Baskets:

http://www.bountifulbaskets.org