Tea Ring or Cinnamon Rolls

This is the Tea Ring that I took from the oven just a few moments ago and the Cinnamon Rolls that I made from the other half of the recipe. Nothing smells quite a welcoming or a homey as bread baking and adding cinnamon just takes it over the top.

This recipe, Betty tells me came from on old farming magazine years ago and she has made it her own. She used the same recipe to make crescents rolls and I had one at lunch on Saturday and it was wonderful. Since she handed this recipe out while she was doing her presentation at Manchester's Spring Shop Talk, I don't think that she will mind if I share it here with you.

Bare in mind that I had to make some changes since the Denman can't handle the soy that is in shortening and margarine to use butter. He ate two in rapid succession and just came in to give me a hug.

I also made a batch of E & R Bread and Linda's Chicken Pot Pie so he is doing well for a Sunday.

The recipe that Betty shared is called Overnight Refrigerator Rolls and will keep in the refrigerator in dough form for 3 days before you need to bake it into something. I didn't have refrigerator space available for this much dough so I covered it tightly and put in the garage on top of the freezer. Needless to say it is a bit warmer in my garage than in the refrig so the dough rose and I needed do something with it. So, my tomorrow morning project became my this evenings project. The recipe will make 2 tea rings or as I did, 1 tea ring and on batch of cinnamon rolls.

2 pkg quick rising dry yeast (if you are using bulk or jar yeast, there are 2.25 tsp. in each package of yeast that you buy)

1/2 C. warm water (105-115F) (I kind of know by the feel is the temp is right but your safest way is to use a candy thermometer)

1 tbsp. sugar

Mix this together and set aside (this is called "Proving your yeast.

3/4 C melted and cooled butter or shortening (that would be a stick and 1/2 of butter)

3/4 C sugar

2 C warm water

I melted the butter, sugar and water over a low heat but kept it cool enough that I could touch it without being burned

In a large bowl combine:

4 C bread flour (this flour is higher in glutan than say just regular Gold Metal and make better flour. Robin Hood is great out of the bag but if you can't get it use a good bread flour)

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/2 tsp. salt

Add in and mix well the butter and yeast mixtures. Continue mixing adding one cup at a time (4 more cups of flour, add no more than 1/2 cup more if needed) This will be a soft dough. Put the dough into a container large enough to allow it to grow, cover tightly and put in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to use the dough, turn it out on a lightly floured work surface and knead it down. Divide the dough in to two equal amounts. Using a rolling pin work the dough into a retangular shape no more than 1/4" thick. Betty would have you brush it with melted margarine but as I said, I must us butter. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar filling below. You may add raisins, pecans or what ever you like at this point but don't over load it. Beginning on one of the long edges, gentlely roll like a jelly roll finishing with the seam side down. Now you have a choise to make, are you making cinnamon rolls or a tea ring.

Cinnamon Rolls:

Line a jelly roll pan with partchment paper. With a long sharp knife slice off rounds about 3/4" - 1" thick. Place the slices evenly on the lined pan, leaving enough space between them for the rolls to raise.

Tea Ring:

Line a large pie pan with partchement paper. Instead of cutting all the way through with your slices, use your kitchen shears and cut almost all the way through. Now kind of pull it together toward the cuts and lay it around the inside of the pan. Now gently kind of work you fingers under and up to push to cuts to the top and make sure that the ends touch nicely.

Letting it rise:

Turn you oven on to pre heat but don't let it get over 100F. Turn the oven off but turn the oven light on and set you goodies inside to rise. It will take an hour or maybe a bit more to get the plumpness that you are looking for. Remove and preheat the oven to 350F. Bake 25 minutes.

Tea Ring or Cinnamon Roll Filling:

1/2 C sugar

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix it well with a fork.

Icing:

This is kind of loosely what goes in it. It is your mom's old butter icing.

1 C confectioners sugar

dash of salt

2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

enough evaporated milk of heavy cream to make it the consistancy you want.

Things I did:

I iced them warm but you don't have to.

I used my Kitchenaid stand mixer to do the mixing but you don't have to do that you can do this with your hands, it is kind of theroputic. It might be easier to do the rolling out on a table as the counter is often time kind of high for us ladies.

Anyway, this one works well and tastes great or so say the resident expert taster. He now says that next trip to Mt. Pleasant, I should make E & R Bread and these cinnamon rolls. I hope Dave, Gwen, Tina, Steve, Tori, Martha, Randy and Erica with her family are going to be there to help consume all of this.

God Bless and Hugs To All,

Linda

Linda's Raspberry Dressing, Spinach Salad and Raspberry Vinegar

My favorite cousin, Martha, asked if I would send her the recipe for my spinach salad and the dressing that I make for it. But before I do that let me tell you where this recipe for the salad came from. A number of years ago some friends that now live in the Chicago area who have 2 children and Den and I contracted an outfitter in Montana to do a 2.5 day backpack in to Glacier Natl. Park and then 2.5 days of white water rafting on the Flathead River that forms the southern boundary of Glacier Natl. Park. There is a drawing for which area in Glacier that you have a hiking permit for and we drew Atlantic Creek. I think that Dan and Cindy's kids were like 14 and 10. The daughter is the studious, reading type and the younger son is one of those kids that have a string of never ending questions and ideas. The park was the most beautiful that I have seen with it's pristine wilderness and I would recommend it hands down. I have so many great memories of this trip. The first nights camp the guide made this salad and I can't tell you what else we had so it made an impression. Maybe it was the fact that we had a salad where were at, I don't know. They used a prepared dressing and as Den ages his legume allergies are more pronounced so I have developed my own recipe for the dressing.

The dressing takes a bit longer to make so let's start with the dressing.

Linda's Raspberry Poppy Seed Dressing

2/3 C. frozen or fresh raspberries (I use the red raspberries)
1/4 C. sugar
1/4 C. raspberry vinegar or red wine vinegar (made my own raspberry vinegar this time as I have been unsuccessful in finding it in the stores of late, I will add at to the bottom of this dressing recipe)
1/4 C. honey (if you spray your measuring cup with PAM the honey comes out pretty well and you don't leave as much in the cup)
1 med. shallot, pared and coarsely chopped (if you want you can use about 3 tbsp of minced red onion)
1 Tbsp. dry mustard (don't leave this out, it really helps the flavor)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 C. Canola oil
1/4 C. walnut oil
1/4 C. EVOO
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds

In a blender or food processor combine all but the oils and poppy seeds and process until smooth. Remove the center cover of the blender for the finish here. I like to use a glass 2 cup measuring cup to blend the oils. With the blender or food processor running, drizzle in the oils slowly (there is a reason that you do it this way, by doing it this way it emulsifies that whole thing and you don't have to go shaking it like crazy when you want to use it). Lastly add in the poppy seed and blend well. This dressing will store, covered in the refrigerator for quite sometime.

Raspberry Vinegar

4 C. white wine vinegar or just white vinegar
1 C. raspberries
Bring the vinegar to a boil and remove from the heat. Add the raspberries. When this has cooled enough to handle pour into a clean quart jar and cover. Allow to rest for 5-6 days. Strain through cheese cloth or a very fine sieve. If you would like the sweeten, 1/2 C of sugar added to the vinegar before boiling and stir to make sure the sugar is dissolved before adding the fruit.


Spinach Salad

This is very easy and you make as much as you will eat or your guest would. For purposes of this email let's say the entire bag of spinach.

Fresh baby spinach leaves, washed and stemmed, if you want you can cut it up a bit
1/4 C. toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds (In a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Make sure that the skillet is hot and don't turn your back on this at all. Put your nut meats into the skillet and keep them moving, turning and lightly tossing to bring a lightly brown color to the nut meats. These burn very easily so keep and eye on them)
1 pt. fresh strawberries, hulled, washed and sliced
Raspberry dressing to taste.

Good morning, this is Den and I at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix March 2009. Those big red things are glass creations by Dale Chilhuly. They were all over the gardens in so many different colors and shapes. Some hung like light fixtures and others were in the ground. Some were lit from spots and others from within. The sun and warm were great and the trip was successful. We both had to have some major stuff done at the dentist and I needed to have my bridge checked. It has been in place for over 13 years so I think Dr Rush did a pretty good job of it. Oh, one suggestion, word to the wise. If someone tells you that brushing your teeth with listerine is a good thing, think again. You need th floride. I had done that for a number of years and yes it was great for some things but it left my teeth unprotected for cavities. I had 7 that Dr. Dave had to fill. OUCH!!!!!!!!
If you get to Phoenix and have to time before it leave at the end of May schedual in seeing this exhibit. It is well worth the price.

God Bless and Hugs To ALL,
Linda

Spinach Pie (kind of like a thick quiche)

I finally got the time to make this pie at home. Betty has made it a couple of different ways at the tea room and had some really great reviews. She added 1 1/2 C. heavy cream this last time and it lightened the filling up quite a bit while not diminishing the flavor. She has always used frozen spinach, moisture squeezed out and weighed to make the 14 oz that it calls for. She has always added sun dried tomatoes which I like but didn't have any on hand to toss in.
This is a picture of the finished product from this mornings effort. Please allow me to tell you what I did and what my brother-in-law has suggested as well.
I used a my standard pie crust recipe to start with.. This pie pan/dish is one from William Sonoma that I picked up years ago on sale and would be like a 9" deep dish pie so I ended up with 3 ramekin full to bake out as well. These were about 3/4C each and sprayed with PAM.
I baked the pie for 15 minutes at 425F and then an hour at 350F.

I used the following:
15 oz. fresh baby spinach, chopped and micro waved for 1 minute (I used my food processor and did the chopping in small batches, it didn't really take long at all)
5 oz. Boursin w/Shallots, softened (in place of the 4 oz. cream cheese)
1 1/2 C. shredded Swiss cheese
scant 1/4 C. feta (all that I had in the draw)(David's idea)
1/3 C. Blue Cheese, crumbled (this wasn't a Maytag quality cheese, it was from Fareway)(David's idea)
3 drops of Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce
3/4 C. Parmesan (the recipe calls for 1 C. but I was adding these others so I didn't think I needed all that much)
1 C. evaporated milk (I didn't have cream or half and half in the fridg. and wasn't going to go shopping today)

I think that a bit of ham or bacon crumbles would have tasted good in it. Den polished off 2 of the ramekins in nothing flat so I would say that it was the flavor and creamy consistency that you expect with a quiche.

Give it a try and see what you think. It definitely was a hit at our house.
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Hey, I need your help on this one. I am going to give you this recipe the way it was written and tell you what I would change, what Betty thinks should be changed and you give me what you think. It is good but needs something.

Spinach Pie

10" pie crust

14 oz. spinach, chopped and micro-waved for 1 minute (this would be fresh spinach not the frozen in a box kind)
8 eggs beaten
2 Tbsp. parsley (I would suggest fresh over dried)
3 Tbsp. onion flakes
1 tsp. salt (this I would not put in with the amount of Parmesan cheese that is used)
Pepper to taste
2 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese (I would use Swiss and aged if I could get it,instead of the cheddar.)
4 oz. cream cheese softened
1 C. parmesan cheese
5 roma tomato slices for the top
Bake @ 350F for 1 hour

Betty would add 1 Cup of cream or half and half to make the pie more creamy and a few sun dried tomatoes in place of the slices on top, mix them in the pie. Betty also would changed the cream cheese to Boursin (it has more actual flavor than cream cheese does)

I would add 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper or a few drops of Tabasco (maybe in the crust) and as I said above I would use Swiss instead of the cheddar, I like the nutty taste of the Swiss against the spinach. I would maybe add a touch of nutmeg, not much, just a touch. A very small about of chopped shaved ham would be a change up for this.

Some of you are better cooks than I ever will be so tell me what you think.

Whte Vinegar and Peroxide

Hey, Good Morning,

Did you all enjoy St. Pat's yesterday? We spent most of the day in Cedar Rapids, doing some stock-up shopping (you know the paper products and such). We hit the Super Wally, Menards and Hy-Vee for things that we need. In the middle of the day we headed down town to see the St. Pat's Parade. Lot's of green and lots of kids. I heard talk that there were quite a few playing hooky since school was in session yesterday. Den, our household parade fan, was kind of disappointed that there were no bands but lots of radio stations had big vehicles with sound on board and there were no horses.

Den parked the car near the Wicker Hill Tea Room and of course, I had to go see what it was like and pick up a menu. Their gift shop is large and offers some really nice things. The Tea Room had no reservations so it was closed for the day. I did walk through the dining room and in a lot of ways it is kind of like Betty's. Betty's is one large room where Wicker Hill is a series of small rooms. Wicker Hill's menu isn't as extensive as Betty's and the prices are about 20% higher.

You know things have been kind of tight for many of us since this recession thing started and we have been watching as our retirement funds fade to about half what they were a year ago and a third of what they were the year before. It is scary for many of us. I know that Den and I have been living off of our minimum wage part-time jobs and what we made on the sale of our home in Chandler three years ago. That is getting very thin and we are still in our early 60's. Den could claim Social Security this year as he will be 62 but I have another year before I hit that mile stone.

Health care is costly if you are on your own and you tend to try really hard not to use it as any use will likely raise the rates for next year. Our boys and girls in Washington are looking hard at universal health care but they are also looking hard at taxing our health care benefits, which kind of smacks of giving something to you with one hand and snatching it away with the other.

I have been given a couple of economic tips that are quite a bit less expensive than some of the cleaners that you buy these days. I thought that I would share two of them with you today. So this one isn't about food prep but about saving some green on your cleaning needs. If you have some ideas, please, share them, we are all in the same boat and could use any wee bit of help we can get.

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White Vinegar vs. fabric softener

Pam from Cedar Rapids gave me this tip last fall and I have been doing it every since.

1 C. white vinegar (doesn't have to be Hines or some other name brand, just generic or store brand works fine) to a full load of wash in place of the fabric softener. I use drier balls (got them at Wally-World for about $5. a pair)in the drier as well. I use soaps that have no perfumes or as few additives as possible. You will find that your towels are still soft and more absorbent.

WHY? Well, over the years my sensitive Irish skin has become more so. I avoid the sun and use sun screen when I can't. The laundry soaps and fabric softener were making me itch where they laid against my skin and especially where my bra's bottom band constricted or my underwear elastic bound. My sister has had to double wash (second wash in just water alone) her clothing for years due to the additives in the detergents even using the "Free" products.

White vinegar has many uses in the home and the following are just a few

Clean your grill grates (wrap the grill grates with paper towels. Put into a large plastic trash bag and pour white vinegar over the paper towel wrapped grates. Tightly close the bag and set in the sun for 4 hours. You should find that the cooked on grease and guck comes off easily with a garden hose at this point. Throw the bag of wet, soiled paper towels, in the trash. This works for your oven racks as well. In fact that is how we used to do the deed when we were clearing military housing years and years (let's not go there) ago.

White vinegar makes a great degreaser in your kitchen as well as a deodorizer. I leave a custard cup full of white vinegar on the back of my sink. It help eliminate cooking odors and I can dip a paper towel in it to clean off the cooking film from my ceramic cook top and the rest of my stove, appliances and counter tops.

A small amount of white vinegar in warm water is the way to mop your wood floors as well as your tile ones. Probably good for all of the other types as well.

White vinegar has, for years, been used to clean windows and mirrors together with a crumpled up news paper.

It is the acid content in the vinegar that does the trick. I bet you folks have even more uses. I know I try to keep 2 gallons of the stuff in the house at all times.

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Liz, from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa sent this one on Peroxide. I wonder if my dentist likes this mouth wash idea???

Peroxide vs. Bleach This was written by Becky Ransey of Indiana (a doctor's wife), and I want to share it with you. She was over recently for coffee and smelled the bleach I was using to clean my toilet and countertops. This is what she told me: "I would like to tell you of the benefits of that plain little ole bottle of 3% peroxide you can get for under $1.00 at an drug store. What does bleach cost? My husband has been in the medical field for over 36 years, and most doctors don't tell you about peroxide. "Have you ever smelled bleach in a doctor's office? NO!!! Why? Because it smells, and it is not healthy! Ask the nurses who work in the doctor's offices, and ask them if they use bleach at home. They are wiser and know better! "Did you also know bleach was invented in the late 40's? It's chlorine, folks! And it was used to kill our troops. "Peroxide was invented during WWI. It was used to save and help cleanse the needs of our troops and hospitals. Please think about this: 1. Take one capful (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out. (I do it when I bathe.) No more canker sores, and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash! 2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of peroxide to keep them free of germs. 3. Clean your counters and table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters. 4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria. 5. I had fungus on my feet for years until I sprayed a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry. 6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. My husband has seen gangrene that would not heal with any medicine but was healed by soaking in peroxide. 7. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will. 8. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold, plugged sinus. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes, and then blow your nose into a tissue. 9. If you have a terrible toothache and cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for ten minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly. 10. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections. 11. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour it directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary. 12. I use peroxide to clean my mirrors. There is no smearing, which is why I love it so much for this. "I could go on and on... It is a little brown bottle no home should be without! "With prices of most necessities rising, I'm glad there's a way to save tons of money in such a simple, healthy manner!" This information really woke me up. I hope you gain something from it, too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't be afraid of the space between your dreams and reality. If you can dream it, you can make it so.


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Well, that is about all I have for this time. I hope that you all have a great day and hope to hear from you really soon.

God Bless and Hugs To All,
Linda

Orange Carrot Cake

Denny's Favorite Orange Carrot Cake
from Pillsbury's "Let's Celebrate" cook book 1985

Heat your oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13 cake pan.

Cake:
3 C. all purpose flour
2 C. sugar
1 C. coconut (doesn't matter, flake or shredded)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon ( this is where, I kind of mess with things a bit, I put in 2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg)
2 C. (4 med.) shredded carrots
1 1/4 C. cooking oil
2 tsp. vanilla (do me proud on this one and use the real think, OK)
1 tsp. grated orange peel
3 eggs
11 oz. can of Mandarin Orange segments, undrained

Blend all of this well and them beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 350F for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack until completely cool (this is the part that is hardest for me. I have to keep Den out of it that long)

Frosting:
3 C. powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese softened
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla

Blend well. This makes more frosting than is really needed for the cake but get out the graham crackers and make some treats for the kids for after school. If you like sprinkle the frosted cake with chopped walnuts or pecans.

This is a dense, moist cake. I have never tried to make a layer cake out of this one but I guess you could. Hope that you enjoy it. I has never failed for me in the 18 years that we have been married.