Orange Nut Bread

This wonderful recipe is simply amazing. I was blown away by how good it was.

I think Carson is going to add this to his holiday line up when he does his Christmas 

baking! The dates, walnuts, orange rind, and vanilla all come together to complement

each other in an sweet blend of flavors. You will not be able to stop with just one slice

of this bread, so go ahead have another, we won't tell. :)

Orange Nut Bread

2 c Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 c Orange juice
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 c Sugar
1 lg Egg, slightly beaten
2 tblsp. Melted butter
3/4 c Chopped Dates 
3/4 c Walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 ts Orange zest (Zest is grated orange rind.)
1 tblsp. Flour 

Sift together into a large bowl the first 5 
ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the juice,vanilla, sugar, egg, and butter; 
gradually add to the flour mixture, stirring well. In that small bowl, combine 
remaining ingredients; stir into the batter. Pour into a greased loaf pan 
(approx. 8 1/2"x4"x3"). Bake in a 350 degree oven about 1 hour or until 
brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack in pan for about 10 mins.

Remove from pan and cool completely on rack. Makes 1 loaf -- about 10 servings.

Green Tomato Cake

Green Tomato Cake

When we first saw this recipe we had serious reservations. I mean how can a cake with Green Tomato's be any good? Well let me tell ya it was delicious! I took some to work and everyone raved on how surprisingly good it was. If you have an abundance of Green Tomato's right now, then try this!

Green Tomato Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil or melted shortening
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup pecans or walnuts
• 1 cup raisins
• 2 1/2 cups diced green tomatoes
• coconut (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°. In mixing bowl, beat sugar, vegetable oil or shortening, eggs and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; slowly beat into egg mixture. Blend well. Stir in pecans, raisins and tomatoes.
Pour into greased 9x13-inch pan. Top with coconut if desired. Bake for one hour, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. .
Serves 12.

Peach Banana Jam

I bought a bunch of fresh peaches at the local farmers market over the weekend and decided to try this wonderful jam recipe. The banana helped to slightly cut down the peach flavor and gave this jam a unique twist. I used the food processor to grind up the peaches, it worked like a charm. This will make a nice batch of Jam for you to store or give to your lucky friends. :)

Ingredients
1 dozen medium size peaches (2 1/2 - 3 pounds peaches)
1 medium size greenish banana, chopped
1 pkg. (1 3/4 ounce size) powdered fruit pectin (Sure Jell)
2 tbsp. lemon juice
5 1/2 cups sugar
Directions
Peel, pit and coarsely grind the peaches, and measure 4 cups ground peaches.
In a large pan combine the ground peaches, chopped banana, fruit pectin, and lemon juice, and bring mixture to a full, rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir constantly to avoid sticking and burning.
Stir in the sugar, and return the mixture to a full rolling boil.
Boil hard, uncovered, for 1 minute, stirring constantly to avoid sticking and burning.
Remove mixture from heat, and quickly skim off the foam with a metal spoon.
Ladle at once into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/4 headspace.
Wipe jar rims, adjust lids.
Process jars with jam in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, starting the timer when the water returns to a boil.
Makes about 6 - 1/2 pint jars of peach jam.

Mamaw Ruth's Chocolate Gravy

My Mamaw made the best chocolate gravy for us kids. It was always a special treat when we would wake up on Saturday mornings and she would fix it. Now most people have never even heard of chocolate gravy and think eww, but trust me when I say one bite and you will be in love!  An old southern term to describe it is, "It's so good, it will make your tongue slap your brains out".

Chocolate Gravy

2 Tbls. Cocoa

2 Tbls. Flour

1 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Hot Water

1 Cup Evaporated Milk

1/2 Cup Water.

Mix Flour, Cocoa, and Sugar in large skillet. Over medium high heat, add hot water into skillet and stir until well blended. Add Evaporated milk and remaining 1/2 cup water and cook until mixture boils and thickens. Stir constantly to avoid sticking.  Serve over hot biscuits and top with butter.

Blueberry Jam

We just picked a lot of blueberries at Old Orchard Creek Farms in North Carolina over the 4'th. A great farm owned by two wonderful people. Check them out at www.oldorchardcreek.com . With all the blueberries we decided we would make some Blueberry Jam! This is the first time we have ever made jam and it turned out wonderful! I highly recommend trying this recipe as the added spices give it a unique and wonderful flavor.

Ingredients

• 8 cups fresh blueberries
• 6 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 pouches (3 ounces each) liquid fruit pectin

Directions

• Place blueberries in a food processor; cover and process until blended. Transfer to a stockpot. Stir in the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, lemon peel and nutmeg. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from the heat; skim off foam. Ladle hot mixture into hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. head space. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water caner. Yield: 9 half-pints.