The perfect evening

               Starts with the perfect sunset

             And ends with the perfect shortcake

Strawberry Brunch Bread

         Last week Mom pulled out a cookbook that had belonged to Aunt Karen. 

 

     Aunt Karen had marked the recipes she had made so we decided to try one.

 Strawberry Brunch Bread
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil (we use vegetable)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cups firmly packed sliced strawberries (think brown sugar)
2/3 cup firmly packed sweetened flaked coconut  (once again, like brown sugar)

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour a 9-inch fluted tube pan.  Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger and cinnamon.  Set aside.

In a large bowl beat eggs.  Beat into the eggs (in this order) sugar, oil and lemon juice.  Stir in strawberries.

Add the flour mixture and stir just until  the dry ingredients are moistened.  Fold in coconut.

Turn into prepared pan.  Bake at 350 for 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool further.  Store on a covered cake plate or wrap in foil.

                  We made this delicious cake twice in 3 days.  A new family favorite!

Fabulous Friday Find

Another week, another book.  But this book is more like an encyclopedia.

   No self-respecting southern cook's library should be without this volume.

 

I received it as a gift from my wonderful Nana.

She really is wonderful!

Not just because she always has a treat of some kind up her sleeve, or in her bag.

She is wonderful because she gives more than presents.

She gives her time, her wisdom, and her love.  Three things I cherish.

How much do I love her?

She is the only person I let call me "Katie Bug" to this day.

That speaks volumes!
____________________________________

You can find it pretty much anywhere online.

Here are links to Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Have a great weekend!

Photos from this morning

Homemade jam-here today, gone tomorrow

The jam jar after breakfast

The jam jar after Photoshop

Fabulous Friday Find

Today I wanted to share a wonderful book with y'all that I have truly been blessed by, Joyfully at Home by Jasmine Baucham.  I really appreciate her honest, down to earth writing style.  She shares many important insights on how we as daughters can serve our families with joy and purpose.

Jam Session

Well its summer which means scorching heat, long days of sunshine and best of all fresh produce.  We LOVE fresh fruit in our house.  The rate at which we consume fruit has led to the family saying, "Eat now, or forever lose your piece".  One thing we love to do with our fruit is make jam.  And alot of it!  Our family uses an 8oz jar in a single breakfast so having a large supply is very important!  Today we made 18 jars in our first canning day of the season.  This is just a drop in the bucket, or jar.  Lord willing we will have 75 jars by the end of the season. 

This year we used the Ball Instant Fruit Pectin over the traditional Sure-Jell. 
In the past we always used the Sure-Jell recipe which calls for 4 cups of sugar. 
The Ball Instant recipe however only uses 1 1/2 cups.  Now you would be hard pressed to find someone who loves sugar more than me.   But despite the lack of sugar I think this recipe is better.

Fresh Jam in 3 Steps
4 cups crushed fruit (we used strawberries)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 packet of Ball Instant Fruit Pectin

Step 1
Stir sugar and pectin in a bowl.

Step 2
Combine wth crushed fruit.  Stir for the 3 minutes.

Step 3
Ladle jam into clean jars.  Cover and let stand for 30 minutes.
Store in refrigerator for 3 weeks or freezer for 1 year.

This little gem was priceless

 

Georgia Peaches

The first peaches of the season have arrived!  I'm so glad I live in Georgia!

Fabulous Friday Find

Today I have another great site to share with y'all.  Raising Homemakers has been a wonderful source of encouragement for me and I hope it will be for you.

Busy weekend ahead, but lots to post soon.

Love y'all,
The Southern Homemaker

Brownie Trifle

Last week we celebrated my big brother's birthday.  I love it when my brother has a birthday. Not just because he is the best brother I have (being the only brother I have cuts down the competition) and I love his taste in desserts.  His favorite is Brownie Trifle.  Now since I dubbed my birthday cake "Heaven on a Fork" this would be "Heaven in a Trifle dish".

Brownie Trifle
1 (19.8oz) package fudge brownie mix
3 (3.9oz) packages chocolate instant pudding
1 (12oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
6 (1.4oz) English toffee flavored candy bars, crushed

Prepare and bake brownie mix according to package directions in a 9x13 baking pan. Cool brownies, and cut into small pieces.
Prepare 3 packages pudding mix according to package directions, using a total of 4 cups of milk instead of 6 cups, and omitting chilling procedure.
Place 1/3 of the brownie pieces in a 3-quart trifle bowl: top with 1/3 each of pudding, whipped topping, and crushed candy bars.
Repeat layers twice using remaining ingredients, ending with crushed candy bars. Cover and chill trifle at least 8 hours.