One of the best, and most unexpected, parts of maintaining this blog is my interaction with all of you, dear readers. Back when I started VV, I never expected to gain such a wide readership! I thought maybe my mom and a few other family members and friends would enjoy my work here.

I love getting emails with questions, suggestions, and recipes from my readers. I am still methodically attempting to respond to each and every email that I get (bear with me!) because I am always touched, amazed, and intrigued by the input that I get from you all. My favorite emails are those from readers who want to share their own cherished family recipes with me. I had the chance to try one of these recipes out tonight, and it was such a hit!

Shredded apples are rolled inside a thin biscuit-like dough and sliced into individual rolls. Then the entire pan of rolls is baked in a syrup scented with cinnamon and nutmeg. The result is a surprisingly light-and-flaky roll with delicious apple filling, and the edges are mouth-wateringly caramelized – a perfect match for vanilla ice cream!

Luscious Apple Rolls
from VV reader Elizabeth C.

2 cups sugar (less if you are using sweet apples)
2 cups water
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
½ cup milk
2 ½ cups shredded cooking apples

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and grease well a 13×9 inch pan.

Combine the sugar, water, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a saucepan and stir well.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the butter, and set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.  Use two forks or a pastry blender to cut the shortening into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.  Add the milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly 4 or 5 times.

Roll the dough into a 12×9 inch rectangle.  Spread the apples evenly over the dough, and roll up like a jelly roll, beginning and ending with the longer side.  Cut into 12 (1-inch) slices, and place the slices into the prepared pan.

Pour the sugar syrup around slices (the syrup will be absorbed in baking).  Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.  If desired, serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Over the past several months, I’ve become an avid canner. I just love being able to make my own delicious jams, sauces, and spreads using fresh, local produce while it’s at its peak of flavor. Right now is a great time to think about canning some delicious apple butter. I made this batch in the fall with apples brought to me from an orchard in southern Ohio. We opened one of the last jars left over the weekend and served it on some hot biscuits for a cozy breakfast.

A word on canning: it is not as difficult as you think. All you really need are a few basic tools (which can be purchased at most grocery stores) and a really big pot to serve as your “canner.” I would recommend purchasing a basic guide or recipe book like this one, or check with your local extension service office to see if they offer any guides for home preservation. Remember that it is always important to inspect jars for spoilage before serving. Even if you decide that the canning process is just too much, you can still make and enjoy jams and jellies – just be sure to freeze or refrigerate your results, as they will not be shelf-stable.

Apple Butter
adapted from the Complete Book of Home Preserving

6 lbs. apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 cups sweet apple cider, (Simply Apple Juice will also work well)
2-3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (a little bit goes a long way!)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
12 8-ounce (half-pint) canning jars with lids and bands

In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine the apple slices and the apple cider or juice. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Then, reduce the heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft. This process should take about 30 minutes.

Working in batches, transfer the softened apples in the juice into a food mill or a food processor and puree just until a uniform texture is achieved. Be careful not to over-process – you do not want a liquefied mixture, just a uniformly smooth mixture. You should have about 12 cups of apple puree.

In a large, clean stainless steel saucepan, combine the apple puree, the sugar, and the spices. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring very frequently. Reduce the heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens to a spreadable texture and holds its shape on a spoon. To further test for doneness, spoon a small quantity of the hot butter onto a chilled plate. When the liquid does not separate, forming a ring around the edge of the butter, it is ready to ladle into the jars.

Meanwhile, prepare your canner, jars, and lids.

Ladle the hot butter into the hot prepared jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of headspace between the surface of the butter and the lid. Remove any air bubbles, and wipe the rim of the jar. Center the lid on the jar and screw the band on until it is fingertip-tight.

Place the jars in the canner, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring the water to a boil, cover the pot, and process for 10 minutes. Remove the lid of the pot and wait for 5 minutes before removing the jars. Cool and store the jars until ready for use.

Warning – this bread is totally addictive. It is just mildly sweet, perfectly spiced, dense, moist, and nutty. We could not stop eating it this morning! My husband and I easily took care of half the loaf for breakfast. I hope you will try it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Apple Pecan Bread

adapted from the lately deceased but much-loved blog, Good Things Catered

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch fresh ground nutmeg
1 pinch cardamom (optional)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups apples peeled, cored, and diced
1 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and grease a regular loaf pan.

In medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large electric mixer bowl, combine the oil and sugar and beat well. Add the eggs and beat to combine. Add in the vanilla. Turn your mixer to low and carefully add the dry ingredients, beating just until combined. Fold in the apples and pecans. The resulting batter will be thick and sticky – barely enough to hold all of the apples and pecans together!

Spread the batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60-75 minutes. Cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving if desired.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers!!

Here in the United States, we are celebrating Thanksgiving, the harvest, our families, delicious food, and life in general. This recipe celebrates all of those, fully and simultaneously.

Again, I’m afraid I have been holding out on you, dear readers. Don’t hold it against me – just know that I still have plenty of special family recipes up my sleeve… This is pretty much my mom’s family’s most prized, most loved, most famous and most delicious recipe. And here we are, over two years into this blogging adventure together, and I am finally handing over the goods!

You will love this recipe. If you don’t, then you are pretty much crazy. Nanny’s apple pie is the BEST. There is one small secret to this recipe. It’s such a simple, innocent secret. It’s not even a secret ingredient – it’s a secret LACK of an ingredient… Nanny’s apple pie has no cinnamon in it – nope, not even a pinch, not a twiddle, not a hint – none! The simple beauty of this secret is that it lets the apples speak for themselves in all their juicy, tangy, sweet glory. It’s amazing how the ingredients we use to enhance flavors can actually end up masking them. Once you try this, you will never go back to the spice rack again.

Nanny’s Apple Pie

Pastry:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces shortening
2 ounces ice water (more or less)

Filling:
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons sugar
6-7 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and sliced

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together the dry ingredients for the pastry in a large bowl. Add the shortening and blend with a pastry blender until the consistency is like small peas. Add the ice water, a little bit at a time, and chop the mixture with a knife. Mix with your hands until the dough forms a ball. Divide in half. Roll one piece in flour, and roll out to about 1/4″ thick. Place this in a 9″ pie dish, making sure you leave a generous edge over the lip of the dish. Roll out the other piece and set aside.

For the filling mix the flour and sugar in a small dish. Sprinkle a little bit of the mixture on the bottom of the prepared pastry shell in the pie dish.

Add the apples into the pie dish. With half way full, sprinkle more of the sugar mixture over the apples.

Sprinkle the rest of the mixture on top of all the apples.

Place the second piece of pastry over the apples. Tuck under and pinch to the bottom pastry all around the edge, decorating the edge if desired. Cut four slits on top.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 375 degrees; then turn down to 350 and bake for 30 more minutes.

Allow pie to cool before serving. Top each piece with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

We’re nearing the end of peach season in the south, a bittersweet time of year for peach lovers like myself. Bitter because I dread the peach-less months of the year that loom ahead, but sweet because I try to fit peaches into nearly every meal of the day in order to savor the peak of their juicy freshness.

Here is a delicious way to add some fresh peaches into your dinner menu. The grilled swordfish pairs perfectly with this sweet and tangy salsa. Add some fresh diced jalapeno if you are looking for some heat with your sweet!

Grilled Swordfish with Fresh Peach Salsa

2 swordfish steaks
Salt and pepper to taste

1 large fresh peach, peeled and diced
1 large tomato, cored, seeded, and diced
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of one fresh lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your indoor or outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides until the fish reaches your desired done-ness. Don’t be afraid of using a meat thermometer if you don’t have experience cooking this type of fish!

Combine the peach, tomato, onion, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss to combine. Cover and allow the flavors to meld for at least 10-15 minutes before serving.

Top your swordfish with the salsa and serve immediately.

Dear readers, I was eating some beautiful strawberries the other day. They were sliced into beautiful heart-shaped pieces, and it made me think of my oldest friend, who is awaiting a heart transplant. She and I grew up next door to one another, romping and playing together since we were in diapers. She is just barely 29 years old, and is in need of a new heart. Her life depends on the generosity of some yet-to-be determined individual who decided to become an organ donor.

When we were growing up, our moms would take us to this wonderful breakfast place in Atlanta called the Original House of Pancakes. Our moms’ favorite item on the menu was the famous strawberry waffle. Up until recently when my friend’s mom moved away to be with her as she awaits her transplant, our moms  were still in the pattern of meeting every Thursday morning to eat a strawberry waffle at the OHOP and to share news of our families.

This morning, my husband and I had strawberry waffles for breakfast at home, and I thought of my dear friend, waiting for her new heart.

Have a heart? Then I hope you will consider becoming an organ donor today. The lives of my friend and many others depend on our caring and generosity today.

Click on the heart to learn more about organ donation.

Strawberry Waffles for Two

1 cup strawberries, sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
2 waffles, made from your favorite recipe or a mix
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Whipped cream

In a small bowl, combine the strawberries and the sugar. Toss gently to combine

Make your waffles so that they will be nice and warm when served.

Sprinkle the waffles with the powdered sugar. Top with a dollop of whipped cream. Spoon over the strawberries and any juice. Serve immediately.

Happy (belated) Fourth of July, dear readers! Among the many American traditions that go along with Independence Day, one of the greatest is EATING! This dish is based on a recipe from one of my favorite old fashioned American cooks: Nathalie Dupree. She calls this deliciously fresh dessert “Liberty Cobbler” for its red, white, and blue hues. It is essentially a strawberry cobbler with a blueberry sauce. The flavors are every bit as colorful as these pictures portray: a terrific combination of crispy cobbler, sweet-tart berries, and cool and creamy topping.

My dad even said that this was the best cobbler he had ever eaten. It’s definitely a winner!

PS: I need to add a special thank you to my father-in-law for picking the blueberries I used in this recipe from his blueberry patch!

Liberty Cobbler
Adapted from Natalie Dupree’s recipe in New Southern Cooking (1986)

Cobbler:
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 scant cup milk

Blueberry Sauce:
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Topping:
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar with the sliced strawberries. Toss gently and set aside.

Put the butter in a 9×13 inch baking dish and place in oven to melt. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a whisk, stir in the milk and the remaining cup of sugar to make a smooth batter.

When the butter has melted, remove the dish from the oven. Pour the batter into the melted butter. Spoon the strawberries and any juice evenly over the batter.

Return to the oven and bake about 30 minutes. You will know the cobbler is done when the batter has risen up around the berries and turned golden brown.

To make the sauce, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat so that the mixture boils. Meanwhile, coarsely puree 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries in a food processor. Add the puree to the sugar syrup along with the lemon juice. Bring the mixture back to a boil, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add all but a few of the remaining whole blueberries to the mixture. (The rest will be for garnish.) Cook for about 1 more minute, until the whole berries begin to soften.

Serve the sauce warm over the cobbler topped with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Dear readers, I have a special treat in store for you today.  This is a cake that I save for special occasions because it is so close to my heart.  It’s a perfect way to celebrate spring, whether it’s Easter, Mother’s Day, or a special family event.  Daffodil Cake – a light and lemony angel food cake marbled with beautiful batters and topped with a citrusy glaze.  When you make this cake for someone, you will make them feel truly special and loved.

This cake always reminds me of my dear Auntie Gladys.  The first time that I made it, I was about ten years old and she had come to town to visit us.  She raved and raved about how wonderful it was, and over the years she continues to ask whether I have made one lately. So when I made it for my mother-in-law, my mom, and my grandmother this mother’s day, I thought fondly of my sweet Auntie Gladys in California.  If only she were closer, I could have made one more for her!

Daffodil Cake
from my trusty old Betty Crocker Cookbook

1 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
12 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest

Lemon Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Stir together the cake flour and the 2 tablespoons of sugar and set aside.

In a large electric mixer bowl with the whisk attachment, ,beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt for about 60 seconds, until foamy. Add the 3/4 cup of sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Gently fold the vanilla and lemon zest into the meringue.

In another electric mixer bowl, beat the egg yolks for about 5 minutes, until they are very thick and lemon colored. Set aside.

Sprinkle the flour-sugar mixture, one quarter at a time, over the meringue, gently folding the flour in just until the dry ingredients disappear. Pour half the batter into the bowl with the whipped egg yolks, and fold gently together.

Get out an ungreased tube pan, about 10×4 inches. Spoon the yellow and white batters alternately into the pan, and gently cut through the batters with a knife to swirl.

Bake on the bottom shelf of your oven for 35-40 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched with a finger. Invert the pan on its funnel and let the cake hang until it is completely cooled.

While the cake is cooling, it’s time to make the glaze. Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and add the lemon zest. Add the lemon juice one tablespoon at a time to the powdered sugar, whisking vigorously until the mixture is smooth.  The mixture will thin very quickly as you add the juice so go slowly and stop when you get to your desired glaze consistency.

Carefully remove the cake from its pan and spoon the glaze over the top.  Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, dear readers!!

Is this recipe Irish?  Not really.  Is it hearty, warming, delicious, and cozy?  Yes.  Good enough for me!!!

These Apple-Oat-Walnut-Flaxseed Muffins are moist and tender, fluffy but chock full of good-for-you goodness!  They freeze well for a quick breakfast on the go.  And they’re packed with 5 grams of fiber per muffin!  So feel free to have seconds!

Apple-Oat-Walnut-Flaxseed Muffins

adapted from a recipe on the package for Bob’s Red Mill Flaxseed Meal

1 1/2 cups 100% whole wheat flour
1 cup quick oats
1 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup diced apple (McIntosh is best!)
1 1/2 cups natural, unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups dried apple slices, diced
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup 1% milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten.
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat your oven to 350 and line 18 muffin tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, flaxseed meal, brown sugar, soda, powder, cinnamon, and salt.  Add the diced apple, the applesauce, the dried apple pieces, the walnuts, the milk, the eggs, and the vanilla.  Stir just until combined.

Scoop into prepared muffin pan, filling the cups almost to the top.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the center of the muffin is done.  Enjoy!!

I think you can tell from the photograph where this delicious treat gets its name!

This creamy and delicious salad was a favorite in my family when I was growing up.  My mom first found it in The Congressional Club Cook Book (8th Edition, 1970) and it has been a tradition in our house ever since.  We usually have this around Christmas time, ,but I think that it makes a gloriously green addition to any St. Patrick’s Day or Easter table, too!

Sea Foam Salad

1 14-ounce can of pears, with their juice
1 3-ounce box of lime Jell-O
6 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 cup whipping cream

Place a strainer over a bowl and drain the pears. You should have about 1 cup of pear juice – if you fall short, just add water until you have 1 cup of liquid. Heat the pear juice in the microwave for about 1 minute. Dissolve the Jell-O in the hot pear juice. Let set until slightly thickened.

Meanwhile, mash the pears with a fork and mix in the cream cheese.

When the Jell-O has thickened slightly, whip it with an electric mixer until frothy. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold all the ingredients together until fully incorporated.

Chill the mixture in one large mold or in several smaller molds. Chill overnight or until set. Turn out of molds, and garnish with cherries or greenery.