Category Archives: Desserts

Many Hands Make Light Work

…along with a lot of planning and organization.

I agreed to take on an event at our church for the sending off  and 10 years of service of our dear Youth Pastor’s family. They are heading to a new ministry in Georgia. The event was a three hour drop in event and I wanted it to be as simple as could be with finger food and no heating necessary but also have some elevation in taste and presentation.

This is the beautiful family we were celebrating.

Volunteers were enlisted for three shifts of service. My first 5 shift volunteers from 1pm until 4pm did all the peeling, chopping, mixing, slicing, stuffing, frosting, arranging and clean-up for West Coast Chicken Sliders, Veggie platters, and elevated brownie bites. Once the sliders were stuffed they were stacked in stainless pans between waxed paper and stored in the refrigerators for the event. Before the volunteers arrived I staged the serving tables with tiered servers and some sparkly accents and candles. My second shift of volunteers had the task of keeping the buffet tables stocked with the goodies we prepared. Husband, Greg, was in charge of the water and coffee. We had a third shift of two families who were in charge of the final clean-up, putting away tables and chairs and taking out the trash. The first two shifts of volunteers kept the kitchen clean-up to a minimum washing prep items as we went along. What a fabulous crew.

We will miss this dear family but send them off with prayers for their continued growth in their love for the LORD Jesus Christ and the Great Commission to go out into the world and make disciples.

I’m battling with Plantar Fasciitis for the first time ever . With lots of prayers on my behalf, I was able to make it through the event with little or no pain. As is the case with this condition after coming home and sitting for a while and then standing up again my feet ceased to function well. I’m trying some remedies to ease the problem along with good supportive shoes. I woke up on Wednesday with very little pain and am thankful. Hopefully icing, massaging, and doing a few exercises before I get out of bed will help the condition and make it cease.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Coeur A la Creme

This is a fluffy sweet cheese/cream dessert that has a great presentation for Valentine’s Day but a nice treat any time.
I use a Coeur a la Creme mold that I bought at a specialty kitchen store but you can use any 7 inch sieve.

Coeur a la Creme with Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients:
8 oz. ricotta cheese
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

Sauce:
1 pound frozen or fresh strawberries
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 Tablespoons sugar

With the paddle attachment beat the ricotta cheese and confectioners sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Change to a whisk attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, lemon zest, and vanilla bean seeds and beat on high speed until the mixture is very thick, like whipped cream.
Line your mold or sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels so the ends drape over the sides and suspend over a bowl, making sure there is space between the bottom of your mold/sieve and the bottom of the bowl so liquid can drain. Pour the cream mixture into the cheesecloth, fold the ends over the top, and refrigerate overnight.
For the sauce place the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the cooked strawberries into the bowl of a blender and blend until smooth. Chill.
You could substitute raspberries for the strawberries to make the sauce.

To serve, discard the liquid, unmold the cream onto a plate, and drizzle strawberry sauce around the base. Serve with strawberries and extra sauce.

Spread the Love Hodgepodge

 

Joyce From This Side of the Pond is sharing the love with our new set of Wednesday Hodgepodge Questions.

1. Did you watch the Super Bowl? Did your team win? What’s your favorite game day snack for  whatever sport is happening? 

We did watch the game and were so surprised at the blow-out. The Eagles played a great game. I’m glad the Chiefs finally got some good plays in. We really didn’t have a favorite team. For game day snacks I like Charcuterie with meats and cheeses and veggies with dips like artichoke and a baguette cut up in thin rounds and nuts and I could go on and on.

2. What’s your ‘superpower’? 

Detective work is one of my super powers and along with that comes spotting danger. Those powers made me a real good Playground teacher.

Another super power, because I love to do it, is planning a trip.

3. Will you do anything special on Valentine’s Day? If so do share. Any thoughts on/about this particular holiday?

I’m thinking I’d like to do a chocolate fondue again.

Chocolate Hazelnut Fondue
  • 1-1/2 cups half and half
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1-1/2 pounds bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped. (I used 2 bags of semisweet chocolate chips that I didn’t need to chop)
  • 1/4 cup Frangelico liqueur (If you do not want to use this you can substitute 1/4 cup of strong brewed coffee)
  • 1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts (as always you can omit the nuts if you’d prefer)
Method:
  1. Place the half and half and heavy cream in a double boiler.
  2. Heat the creams until they bubble.
  3. Reduce the heat and gradually stir in the chocolate chips 1/2 cup at a time whisking while adding. When the chocolate is completely blended in, add the liqueur.
  4. Keep warm and sprinkle with hazelnuts just before serving.
  5. You can divide the chocolate into individual dipping bowls and serve with dipping fruit and other items or you can put the chocolate into a fondue pot at this time, too, to keep it warm.

Some dipping suggestions: cookies, biscotti, cubes of cake, dried apricots, pineapple, fresh berries, sliced pears, orange slices, and marshmallows.

This recipe easily served 8 people with leftovers. If you are serving a smaller group half the recipe.

I enjoy hosting a little Valentine dinner and decorating in pink, white and red for a change.

Share a favorite verse or quote relating to love. 

1 John 4:7-12

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loves us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

4. Are you a fan of the rom-com genre? If so what’s one of your favorites?

Not a fan of this genre in movies or books. Give me a good murder mystery with a faithful loving relationship in the plot line and I’ll be happy.

If you’re not a movie go-er then what about a book you love that features a great love story?

Going back to murder mysteries the relationship between Gamache and Reine-Marie in the Inspector Gamache series of murder mysteries is a great love story. Their relationship is loving, faithful and an everyday kind of relationship, not far fetched but inspirational.

How about a favorite love song? 

This song about God’s love in sending Christ to save us is a current favorite.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a more earthly note, from my high school days, I’ll go with Cherish by the Association. There were so many popular love songs in the 60’s.

I love good music sung by talented singers. Even if they sing something that isn’t necessarily classified a ‘love song’, it brings out the love in me. Andrea Bocelli can be singing anything and it sets a amazing mood. Nat King Cole is another singer who’s voice is ‘music to my ears’. Music is very key in my personal history. God has used it in powerful ways in my life.

5. Let’s get creative…write an acrostic using the word L-O-V-E. 

Living in love

On the cusp of heaven

Visualizing with hope

Eternity

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My favorite Valentine’s! Photo from Valentine’s Day 2024.

Thanksgiving Leftovers…

…are the best!

On Friday of our long Thanksgiving weekend we enjoyed Swedish Pancakes and little smokies while we waited for Josh and Laura to arrive from the west side of the Cascades. We enjoyed some Bible Challenge questions read by Dan and Addy before and after Josh and Laura arrived, too. They arrived before dinner and it was good for the 10 of us to be together. The guys hauled the Christmas tree in and set it up which was a special treat for me.

After dinner and a game of Uno the grands were given instructions on playing solitaire.

Saturday morning the girls went shopping along Main Street in Colville before we all gathered on Bayles Mountain for Charcuterie for lunch. The rest of the afternoon was filled with crafts, a walk, making dinner and decorating for the special birthday we would celebrate.

Our Grands love their Auntie Lolo and they made a special sign to let her know. Hers was the special early December birthday we were celebrating on this Saturday evening. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of Ribs, Smashed Potatoes and a Broccoli salad before it was time for a special lemon birthday cake that Dan made for LoLo!

Presents were opened with our special thoughts for Auntie LoLo included in the cards. I forgot to get photos of all her special gifts.

We watched the Sounders v LA Galaxy game and unfortunately it ended in LA’s favor. Boohoo. We all retired to our own and our guest beds for the night.

On Sunday Katie and Andrew left early for home spotting a herd of elk crossing the road.

The rest of us gathered at the early service at church before Josh and Laura hit the road to travel home. We enjoyed the first of many worshipful Christmas Carols for the Advent season and a sermon to set our minds on God. Everyone made it home safely and we thank the LORD for that mercy.

Josh and Laura left us a gift of Daily Advent readings for December by Alistair Begg, Let Earth Receive Her King. I’ll share this small portion for December 1st:

“Christ’s divinity has no starting point in time. He always was. He was God before time began. He is God at this very moment. And He will continue to be God forever.”

Happy December everyone! This will be a very busy week here at our country bungalow with decorating and gatherings and travel. Time will tell how blogging will go. How are things in your corner?

Say Cheese Hodgepodge

Joyce has a new set of questions to get our brains going for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. It’s National Cheese Day (June 4)…does anyone not like cheese? What’s your favorite? Last thing you ate or made with cheese? 

We do keep cheese around and enjoy it. I enjoy sharp cheddar, gouda, swiss and a specialty cheese thrown in here and there. The last thing I ate with cheese was a cheese and meat roll-up. Not too exciting. We enjoy Mexican food that seems to have a lot of cheese. Cheese filled Blintzes or cheese filled Vareniki are my favorites. We do enjoy a good cheesecake, too.

 

2. Last time you were instructed to ‘say cheese!’? How do you feel about having your picture taken? 

This probably happened the weekend we were on the other side of the mountains with our ‘coast’ kids. I’m okay with having my photo taken digitally since we can see the results immediately and know right away if we need a re-do! 🙂

3. What’s your travel packing strategy? Are you typically a light packer or do you throw in everything but the kitchen sink?

Depends on where we are going and the form of transportation. If we are driving somewhere I’m not concerned with throwing in everything we might need on the trip. When we are traveling internationally the strategy is totally different. We try to take as little as possible and only take one small rolling bag and a backpack. We purchased smaller lighter weight bags with great rolling ease for our last trip overseas and didn’t regret it.

When flying do you check a bag or aim for carry on only? 

We generally are okay with checking a bag when traveling. When there are connecting flights we try to carry-on so our bags don’t get sent off to a different location than our final destination.

4. What is it about people’s cell phone habits that you find most annoying? 

It is annoying when people talk loudly on their phones in a restaurant or other indoor public space.

5. What will be your summer mantra/slogan? 

Eat less, exercise more.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The end of this week we are participating in a group garage sale and I’ve been busy pricing our stuff for that. Today we deliver all of our stuff to the site and set things up. Having a group that trades shifts to man the sale is a huge bonus. Continuing in the process of downsizing our stash of stuff has great rewards. I’ll be slow getting around to everyone this week.

Happy June, Hodgepodgers!

Apple Bundt Cake

This is an easy apple cake recipe with a nice moist result.

The most time consuming part of this recipe will be preparing the apples.

Apple Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sugar
    2 eggs
    1/2 cup oil
    2 cups flour
    1 Tbsp. cinnamon
    2 teaspoons baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    4 cups diced apples (approx. 4 apples)
    1 cup chopped walnuts
    1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:

  1. Beat eggs and sugar well.
  2. Stir in next 5 ingredients and mix.
  3. Add next 3 ingredients and mix well.
  4. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
  6. Let cool in pan 10 minutes before removing onto serving plate.
  7. When the cake has cooled completely dust it with powdered sugar.

I used Pam baking spray with flour for my pan and the cake came out nicely.

When the cake has cooled completely dust it with powdered sugar.

Co-op Cultural Day

The week leading up to Easter our Grands Co-op had a cultural day with presentations from each family. I was invited to be part of that presentation since their country was Russia. It was good to be at Co-Op the whole day and see and hear from all the family units. Several families presented interesting facts about their countries that were new to me. In between presentations there were breaks and a lunchtime potluck with dishes from all the countries/cultures represented. Our DIL served Piroshky and Perog.

It was a full Thursday for everyone.

This is a new puzzle I completed before Easter forgetting to take a photo when it was finished. It is one from the collection of The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady. There was so much going on between Addy’s Birthday weekend and Easter weekend!

Are you anywhere in the clear path of the Total Eclipse today?

Make sure you protect your eyes! We wore these for the 2017 Solar Eclipse.

Have a great week everyone!

Seernaya Paska ~ Sweet Cheese Spread for Kulich (Paska)

My Russian heritage affords me some really good Easter eats. Every year we look forward to having our Easter Bread which we call Kulich in Russian and my Mennonite Friends called Paska.

We also make this yummy cheese spread to spread on this Easter Bread!

Seernaya Paska for Kulich (Russian Easter Bread) The X and the B are for Xpucmoc Bockpec (Christ Arose)

paska class 005

 

Seernaya Paska  (Сырная пасха)

Ingredients:

18 – hard boiled eggs /
3 pounds Farmers cheese /a dry curd cheese like a dry cottage cheese can be substituted.
1 pint whipping cream /
3 cubes unsalted butter (12 oz.) /
3 cups sugar /

Press the Farmers cheese through a sieve. (This is the hardest part of the recipe) If you find a very small curd cheese you won’t have to do this to the cheese. I usually use a wooden spoon and press it through a wire strainer a little at a time. Separate the egg yolks from the whites. (You will not be using the whites).

Press the egg yolks through the sieve. Cream the sugar and butter together. Beat in the egg yolks. Beat in the cheese. Add whipping cream and mix well. You will place the mixture into a strainer lined with about 3 layers of cheesecloth. You will need enough cheesecloth to wrap up and over the top of the cheese. Place the cheese mixture into the cheese cloth lined strainer or another container to mold into shape. Bring the ends of the cheese cloth up and tie the ends on top of the cheese in a knot. Place the sieve into a larger bowl suspended with enough room for the cheese to drain without sitting in the drained liquid. Place a plate on top of the cheese an place a heavy rock, brick, or other weight on top of the plate. Refrigerate over night.

I have used different shaped plastic flower pots to drain and mold the cheese into a higher domed result. If you choose to use a flower pot make sure there are enough holes in the bottom of the pot so the liquid can drain well.

This recipe is enough to feed an army. If you don’t have to feed an army here’s a scaled down version :0)

If you just want a normal amount, cut the recipe in thirds. (6 cooked egg yolks, 1-lb. cheese, 2/3 cup whipping cream, 1 cube butter and 1 cup sugar. Enjoy!

Farmers Cheese or Hoop Cheese can be hard to find. There are Russian delis that sell a dry curd cottage type cheese that will work. If you can find a dry cottage cheese at the grocers that will work too.

Here are examples of the Seernaya Paska I have made over the years.

Simple Strawberry Sauce

 

This simple sauce would be a nice topping for shortcake or you could try it on your Blintzes or Easter Paska.

Simple Strawberry Topping

1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pint strawberries stemmed and halved

Combine sugar, vanilla and 2/3 of the strawberries in a saucepan. Over medium high heat cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, approx. 5 minutes. Remover from heat.

Smooth out sauce with a whisk, immersion blender, or standing blender. Stir remaining 1/3 strawberries into sauce.

Serve as a topping over ice cream, angel food cake, shortcake, waffles, etc. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Note: You can throw in some fresh blueberries, too, with the remaining strawberries.

 

Table Set for Nine

It was fun to plan for seven guests, two families, from our church on Tuesday evening.

Since the nine of us were together around the table for the first time we had name cards with a conversation question written in each place card.

I should have done the age math better because one of the questions was, “Where were you when John F. Kennedy was shot?” None of our guests were alive when Kennedy was shot!!

Thankfully the other questions were appropriate for the audience!

The dessert photo is the only photo that captured our guests at the table, sort of. Just as well since I didn’t ask permission to plaster their faces on my blog.

We had tri-tip, rice with raisins and almonds, pea salad (brought by a guest), southwest beans, and Strawberry Ice Cream cake for dessert.

Are you curious about the other questions besides the John F. Kennedy one?

  1. What high school did you graduate from and tell us about the city it is in?
  2. Do you have siblings? Tell us about them and where they live.
  3. Which foreign countries have you visited? If you haven’t which one would you like to visit?
  4. What city and state were you born in? What is it’s claim to fame?
  5. Where were you when you became a follower of Jesus?
  6. What is your favorite season and why?
  7. Tell us your: Favorite Book. Book of the Bible. Bible Verse.
  8. As a couple how many churches have you attended and tell us about them.

We had a lively discussion even without the questions but it was nice to have a concentrated ‘listen’ to each of our guests voices while they answered their question.

Welcome to March!