Tag: Hot Water

Dinner Rolls

BEST EVER LIGHT AND FLUFFY DINNER ROLLS

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package dry yeast
1 1/2 cups hot tap water
1 egg
1/3 cup softened butter or vegetable shortening (I used margarine today)

Sift together two cups of the flour with the sugar, and stir in the yeast. With mixer at low speed, blend shortening or butter into the flour mixture. Add the hot water (the hottest it comes from your tap, all at once, with mixer running. Add the egg, and continue mixing.
Add in the remaining two cups flour to make a soft dough.
(At this point, I changed my mixer beaters for dough hooks and let the mixer knead the dough for about ten minutes and then put it into an oiled bowl to rise.)
OR YOU CAN DO IT THIS WAY.
Knead lightly on a floured board and shape into a ball. Put into an oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled, about two hours. Punch dough down. At this point it can either be refrigerated or shaped in rolls or loaves and allowed to rise a second time until doubled. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven until barely brown. May be frozen after baking and reheated to serve.

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Homemade Flour Tortilla

I got this recipe from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/homemade-flour-tortillas/

Recipe: Homemade Flour Tortillas

Prep Time: | Cook Time: | Difficulty: Intermediate | Servings: 16

 

Ingredients

  • 2-1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 2-1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 cup Lard Or Vegetable Shortening
  • 2 Tablespoons (additional) Lard Or Vegetable Shortening
  • 1 cup Hot Water

Preparation Instructions

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large wooden bowl. Stir together.

Add spoonfuls of lard or shortening (use 1/2 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons), then use a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients. Cut mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Slowly pour in hot water, stirring to bring mixture together. Lightly knead dough 30 to 40 times, or until it becomes a cohesive ball of dough and is less sticky. Cover with a tea towel and allow dough to rest for at least an hour.

Roll into ping pong size balls, place on a tray, cover with a tea towel, and allow to rest for another 20 to 30 minutes.

When you’re ready to make the tortillas, head a dark or cast iron griddle to medium/medium-high heat. One by one, roll out balls of dough until very, very thin. Throw tortillas (one by one) onto the griddle. Cook on each side for 20 to 30 seconds, removing while tortillas are still soft but slightly brown in spots. Remove and stack tortillas, and cover with a towel to keep warm. Serve immediately or allow to cool before storing tortillas in a container. To warm, nuke tortillas in the microwave, or wrap in foil and warm in the oven.

Helpful tips:

* Make sure the water you pour in is very warm.
* Allow the dough to rest, both after kneading and after forming into balls.
* Roll out very thin.
* Get the heat right on your stove: Too hot, and the tortilla will burn in spots. Not hot enough, and the tortilla will begin to crisp before you can get it to brown. I get my stove between medium and medium high heat; that seems to do the trick.
* Use a dark griddle or cast iron skillet to brown the tortillas.
* Cook just long enough to lightly brown the tortilla in spots; don’t cook too long or tortillas will crisp. You want them to be soft and pliable when you serve them.
* Finally: Have fun! And enjoy them. They’re absolutely scrumptious.

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Mullein

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I thought I would show you all a picture of mullein.  The girls and I went gathering it this morning.  We got quite a lot.

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I then looked it  (I think this might be a mountain term) and removed any that did not look good.  I have the first batch in the dehydrator now.  As I said yesterday, this is the first time I have tried drying it.    I will show you all pictures of it after it is dryed.   I usually just gather the leaves and make a tea from them, add sugar or honey and use it as a cold tea.  It is very good cold with a minty taste.   The problem with this is there are no leaves to gather in the winter.  I have never tried this as a hot tea but according to what I have read on line, you use 1 tbsp. dried mullein to a cup of hot water.  Let it steep for about 10 minutes and strain the liguid through a coffee filter or cheesecloth.  You will need to add honey to this, as it is bitter without a sweetener.  This is good for coughs and respiratory ailments.

 

I have finished drying the mullein and I thought I would just add the picture of it here on this post.

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I will store this in an airtight container to enjoy over the winter.  It actually yielded much more than I thought it would.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

 

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New Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe

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Today I am making laundry soap.  I am trying a new recipe.  I have experienced some problems with the old recipe I have been using.  I have been making my own laundry soap for about 2 years now.  The problem is that my towels, dishcloths, washcloths, napkins etc have become very non absorbent.  It is like they have a water repellent on them.  I am not joking.  I can have a spill, put a napkin down on it, leave it and come back in about l min. and the spill is still there.  The napkin is just laying there on top of the spill.  I have tried lots of different things to solve this problem and none of them seem to help.  I have used vinegar in the rinse, used fabric softener, not used fabric softener.  It is still the same.  I came across this recipe at the Hillbilly Housewife.  It is a little different from my old one.  We’ll see how it works.  Hopefully this will fix my problem. 

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

  • 1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, shaved
  • 4 cups of hot water to melt the soap
  • 3 gallons of hot water
  • 1 cup of borax
  • 2 cups of washing soda
  • 1 cup of baking soda
  • 1 large Rubbermaid container about 4-5 gallons size

Here’s what you do:
Grate the soap into a saucepan. You can use either a box grater or a food processor for this. I recommend you do not use whatever tool you use for grating soap with food. I was able to buy an extra food processor very inexpensively at a thrift store.

Add 4 cups of hot water to the pan.  Simmer on low until the soap melts completely into the water.

Add borax, washing soda and baking soda to the hot water. Simmer on low until it desolves with the soap. If the mixture is not melting, add more water if needed.

Add 3 gallons of hot water to the large container. Add the mixture to the hot water. Mix with a large spoon until it
completely dissolves.
Let cool overnight. You will notice that it turns into a thick gel. Use 1 cup of this homemade laundry detergent per load of laundry.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

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A Good Job

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We were extremely impressed with the food strainer.  It was super fast compared to the old food mill and had very little waste.  We processed a bushel of apples in about 4 1/2 hours.  We used both big canners.  We got 12 qts and 24 pints.  YUM!  I have always used the hot water bath canner to process applesauce.  However, I read in my Mennonite cookbook, they could be processed in the pressure canner.  We tried that yesterday and it went very fast.  15 min. on 5 lb. pressure.  Much faster than using a bath canner.  Vicki and I had a great time and of course the kids had fun.  It is so much more pleasant sharing canning with a friend.  I am so thankful the Lord placed our families together.  Good friends are sometimes hard to find and I consider Vicki one of the best.

  The girls and I are planning a “girl day” out today.  We are going into C-burg to run some errands.  This will include Wal-Mart and Goodwill.  Temperatures have been very warm here in Floyd.  On the farm though, it isn’t near as bad as it is in town.  We are usually a few degrees cooler.  In the summer this is a plus, in the winter not so good.  Thankfully, we have quite a few shade trees in the yard and that really helps. 

Time for us to get ready to leave.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

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Another Cat Picture

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Another picture of Stripes.  Maybe she wants a shower.  Grace took this picture of Stripes in one of her strange places.  She lays in the sink quite frequently.  She also loves to get a drink from the faucet.   I think the word “spoiled” might come to mind.  Yesterday was lots of fun.  I went to my friend Vicki’s  and we made our own hot cocoa mix.  It is really good.  Much better than the powdered mix bought from the store  and I’m sure much healthier.  We read the ingredients of the store bought instant mix and it contained lots of things we couldn’t pronounce.  In case anyone is interested in making their own here is the recipe.  16 cups powdered dry milk, 1 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 5 cups sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt.  In a large bowl mix all ingredients well and store in an airtight container or zip lock bags.  To use measure 1/3 cup of mix into a cup and add hot water, stir.  This will make about 1 gal. of mix, perhaps a little over.  Vicki and I halved this recipe.  The powdered milk will be your biggest expense, so shop around for the best price.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we have.  God Bless.

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Cake

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My accomplishment for the day.  This cake goes by several different names.  Some call it a stack cake.  Some call it a lassie (molasses) cake.  No matter what name you call it, it is just plain GOOD.  When I was growing up in the mountains of southwest va, this cake was very popular among my mom’s family.  You very seldom had any type of family get together that someone didn’t make this cake.  Of course, as a young girl I took this for granted.  Ate the cake and never thought about learning to make it myself.  Then we moved away from family and of course I wanted me some stack cake.  I called my aunt and got the recipe.  It has taken much trial and error but I think I’ve just about got it right.  This is a recipe I want to pass down to my girls.  Old mountain recipes will be lost if we don’t teach the next generation how to make them (even if they don’t want to learn).  If anyone is interested in the recipe, here it is:  1/2 cup oil, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs,   1 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1/2 cup hot water, 1/2 cup molasses, 3 cups self-rising flour.  Mix all ingredients together.  Turn mixture onto floured surface.  Knead until slightly stiff.  Divide into 6 parts.  Put wax paper into round cake pans. ( I do three at a time)  Take each section of dough, spread out thinly in cake pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Romove from oven.  Place on cooling rack.  Repeat process for the other 3 sections.  Spread apple butter between the sections.  Let set overnight to allow the apple butter to moisten the cake layers.  Then serve.  Many enjoy this cake with buttermilk.  Any questions, just leave a comment or e-mail me.  Enjoy and God Bless.

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Salsa Recipe

I have been asked to post my salsa recipe.  This is a very good recipe and can easily be divided to make less.  This recipe makes about 10-12 pints depending upon how thick you let it get when simmering.

Salsa

7 qts tomatoes chunked
6 cloves garlic chopped
5 med. onions chopped
5 green peppers chopped
1/2 cup hot peppers chopped(this makes med. hot-lower or increase amount for your preference)
2 cups vinegar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp cilantro
2 tsp chili powder
Combine all ingredients.  Simmer until thick.  I  simmer 4-5 hrs.  Process in hot water bath canner 20 min.  I use pints.

Enjoy!

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