Posts tagged ‘Mothers Day’

May 14

Happy Mothers Day, Waste Not Want Not Bread Pudding

My Mama taught me not to waste food, I had to clean my plate and sit at the table until either the food was gone or one of us, both stubborn by nature gave in. One day my Mom made liver and onions, bleh, hate it still do. I refused to eat it and literally sat at the table all night long with the food in front of me and still wouldn’t touch it. To this day I have not eaten liver and onions and won’t make it.

Honoring my wonderful Mother on this day I decided instead of baking something new I decided to repurpose leftovers and make this bread pudding. Here is what I had:

2 challah rolls (more than a day old but still good)

4 egg yolks (left over from my dacquoise)

peaches from the peach ice cream

1/2 container of blueberries

creme fraiche

With those ingredients I made bread pudding. Bread pudding is simple rustic down home fare. I remember Mom made bread pudding often and it was one of my favorite desserts. She was frugal and never wasted anything and would save bread that wasn’t eaten to make this pudding. This is not her recipe it’s mine but it’s equally as good as hers. Mom is a great cook, intuitive, creative and accomplished. I learned so much from her and wish that I were with her this Mothers Day!

Bread Pudding With Peaches and Blueberries

2 large challah rolls day old or older is best, brioche is also good

4 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg

1 cup whole milk

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup creme fraiche

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

dash of salt

Peaches (optional) chopped or crushed or even a peach jam or preserve

fresh blueberries (you decide how much to add)

Heat oven to 350 degree’s. Whisk the egg yolks and whole egg with the sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the milk, cream and creme fraiche and continue whisking until combined. Add a dash of salt and the vanilla and whisk just until mixed.

Add the torn bread and stir until the bread is completely immersed in the custard base, add the blueberries and fold them in.

Butter your ramekins or baking dishes, spread some peaches on the bottom and spoon the bread pudding mixture, dividing into 3 large or 6 small baking dishes.

Place the baking dishes in a large roasting pan or baking dish place into the oven and then add enough hot water so that it comes halfway up the sides of your dishes. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set.

I served it with some creme fraiche gently sweetened with brown sugar. It’s fantastic and adding the peaches and blueberries make this dessert so good!

Happy Mothers Day to all of you whether you have children, fur babies, a classroom of children, do volunteer work with kids or just love them it’s a day to celebrate women and Mothers and caregivers. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

May 8

77 Comments

Mom’s Texas Chocolate Cake, Happy Mothers Day

A few years ago I got an envelope from my Mom that was chock full of her recipes. Most are hand written, some are clippings from magazines and newspapers. I saw this hand written recipe for Texas Chocolate cake and immediately knew which cake it was, I remember it vividly it was one of my favorites that she made. Deeply chocolate, moist and rich, it’s a fantastic cake that is so simple and so delicious. I decided to make this cake as an homage to my Mom, she is brave, determined, kind and caring and I am so lucky to have her. She is a cancer survivor, she surpassed her doctors expectations and surprised them by remaining cancer free now for over 10 years. She is a great cook, recipe developer and an inspiring woman. She has a kind heart, loves animals and was always ready to rescue an animal in distress, her example of love and kindness was engrained in me and from her example I also am an animal lover and try to do my part with rescue. She taught me to love and appreciate and make good food, that it was important for the family to sit down to at least one meal together every day, she was the backbone of our family and thinking back I don’t know how she did it with 5 children only a few years apart. I wish I could be with her this Mothers Day and that we did not live so far apart, we talk often and I am trying desperately to convince her to use the ipad she has that still sits in the box 2 years after she got it. She’s stubborn, smart, and has more energy than I do, still mowing her lawn and gardening, that is how she stays young. She devoted her life to her family, left college when she met and married my Dad but she always emphasized the importance of learning, and when we were all old enough to fend for ourselves Mom went back to college and finished her degree in accounting. Happy Mothers Day Mom (even though she refuses to use a computer and will not see this).

The top picture is some of the recipes she has sent me, I included the cookbook from the Global Family Reunion, they published 5 of the recipes I got from my Mom and I am immensely proud of that.

I asked Mom where she got the recipe for this cake, she thinks it was circulating at a ladies bridge club thing, she loved playing bridge and was very good at it. It really is a fantastic cake, great to bring to parties or anywhere where you need to feed a lot of people. It is is substantial in size.

Wishing a very Happy Mothers Day to all of you, you don’t have to be a Mother of human children to celebrate this day, how about our fur kids, they count right? I think Mothers day is a celebration of women, all women who love, nurture and nourish.

I am bringing this Texas size cake to Fiesta Friday #118, I am not just celebrating Mothers and Women but I finished my courses and passed and renewed my Real Estate License. YAY!!! This week sweet Angie has 2 great co hosts Kaila @ GF Life 24/7 and Laurena @ Life Diet Health!

Thank you all for being here on the sometimes rocky road with me, sticking with me and being so supportive. Happy Mothers Day to all!!

Makes One 9×13 cake
The cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 sticks salted butter or margarine
1 cup water
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons good quality unsweetened cocoa
2 large eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
In large mixing bowl whisk together the flour and sugar and salt, set aside. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour (to optimize chocolate flavor instead of flour use cocoa powder) a 9×13 baking dish.
In saucepan combine butter, cocoa and water. Bring to a boil stirring frequently. When it comes to a boil and is smooth turn off heat.
Lightly beat your eggs in small mixing bowl, measure your buttermilk and add the baking soda to the buttermilk, stir to combine. Add this to the eggs along with the vanilla. Add the egg buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients along with the butter and cocoa,water mixture. Mix with hand held mixer until smooth approximately 2 minutes. Pour into prepared cake pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. A few minutes before the cake is done start making the frosting. You pour the frosting on the cake right after it comes out of the oven.

Frosting:
1 stick butter or margarine
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk or cream
1 box confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In saucepan on med/high heat add the butter, cocoa and milk,whisking to combine let it come to a boil then remove from heat and add confectioners sugar and vanilla mix well. Pour over hot cake. Let cool on rack. The frosting will be soft and gooey. Serve while cake is slightly warm or room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream

May 11

59 Comments

Happy Mothers Day Blueberry Waffles

Breakfast in Bed

Mothers Day Breakfast is homemade blueberry waffles with melted butter and real maple syrup. My favorite waffle recipe is on Food52, Aretha Frankensteins Waffles of Insane Greatness. They really are wonderful, light, crispy and utterly addictive. I sometimes like to add blueberries either frozen or fresh to the batter. I always double the recipe because I freeze them and heat in the toaster or oven, they make a fantastic quick breakfast!

Serves 2 to 4
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk or buttermilk (or a combination)
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Optional blueberries, frozen or fresh at least a cup
Butter and pure maple syrup, for serving
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.
Heat a waffle iron. Follow the directions on your waffle iron to cook the waffles. Serve immediately with butter and pure maple syrup or hold in a 200 degree oven, directly on the rack (don’t stack them or they’ll get soggy). These also reheat very well in the toaster.

I want to wish all of you a very Happy Mothers Day I hope you are going to relax and spend time with loved ones. Have a wonderful day!

Ready to Freeze

Mothers Day

Mothers

May 12

53 Comments

My Mom

My Mom and Me

I love this photo of me and my Mom, I was about 15 months old. My Mother was wearing a bathrobe and high heels. You’ve got to love that, her hair neatly coiffed and this was first thing in the morning. She was only 20 years old in this photo. I just called her to wish her a Happy Mothers Day, I love hearing her voice and am so glad she is still here with us. You see, it’s a miracle she is still here and healthy. Almost 8 years ago she was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer, stage 4, they thought she might live 6 months to a year, that was devastating news, I couldn’t imagine life without her. With quick medical intervention which included aggressive chemotherapy, mastectomy and radiation she is now cancer free and has been for all this time. She lives far away from me and I don’t get to see her very often, she doesn’t like to travel, but we talk all the time and see each other as often as possible. She was the rock in our family, the practical one, she got us through lean times so well, we were barely aware of it. She is an amazing cook, always putting a delicious homemade meal on the table and so often she did it on a shoe string budget.

Mom is French and Scots- Irish and my Dad was Italian, she was accepted into a very Italian family, first generation in the US. My Grandfather didn’t speak English or only a few words and she was taught to cook amazing Italian food from my Aunts.

Birthday Party for my cousin

Mom won’t see this because she doesn’t have a computer and only just recently got a cell phone. On Mothers Day I like to look back and think about all the wonderful things my Mother did, how hard she worked taking care of all of us and I really love and appreciate her and I wanted to share a little bit about her with you. Here are some photo’s of some of her recipes that I have shared on this site.