Pie Pastry Gluten Free

In Canada we call today 

Remembrance Day 

and it is a day to remember with thankfulness the freedom we enjoy

May we never take it for granted!  

I have used the same gf pie pastry recipe for years and it is good but since I have been reworking my recipes to use my Julie's Flour Blend I came up with this pastry recipe.  The dough  handles very well and the pastry is light, flaky with good flavour.
My photos show a cherry pie  and I  also used the same pastry for Judy's quiche-tarts ... very good !

So here is an alternate pastry recipe if you want/need one!

• 11/2 cups Julie's Flour Mix 
• 1/2 cup potato starch 
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter 
• !/2 cup tenderflake lard 
• 1 egg + ice water to make 1/2 cup 
• 1 tsp vinegar 
• sweet rice flour for rolling

1. Mix dry ingredients together, then cut in lard and butter 

2. Blend egg and ice-water and vinegar 

3. Add liquid to dry ingredients and toss lightly until ball forms. 

4. Knead lightly on counter dusted with sweet rice flour. 

5. Roll out as required. 

Bread for the Journey

  I gave thanks to God for something special on each day of October.

To make it intentional, I posted what I was thankful for each day on my blog and counted my many blessings throughout  the month.

I'm sharing some of those pictures with you here today to encourage you to give thanks in all things.

I have much to be thankful for and I praise God for his goodness in every circumstance.

My prayer is that you see God's goodness around you in the little things easily taken for granted. 

You are my God, 

and I will give thanks to you;

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 118:28,29  ESV

Wishing you a blessed Sunday!

Setting a Holiday Table

As the holiday season approaches we start thinking about decorating the house.

With that comes the decision on how to set our table for the holiday meals.

Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone but our American friends will soon celebrate their Thanksgiving.  Here are a few ideas  and tips for your holiday tables. 

Over the past few years I've been collecting different kinds of pumpkins and for Thanksgiving this year I used them with a berry vine and candles on a burlap table runner.  I also bought some yellow salad plates which I mixed with my white china.

 If you have chargers, use them - they are a nice addition to the table. Mix and match your china.  

I bought several colours of salad plates when they were on sale 

which gives me a variety of colour pallets to work with.

 Make use of your printer and make your own napkin rings.  For Thanksgiving, I printed up verses about being thankful on craft paper, cut strips and taped them around a triple fold napkin.

Think outside the box when deciding on napkin placement. For another meal this fall, I put the brightly patterned napkin under each plate, adding a punch of colour to an otherwise

 monochromatic table setting.

Dollar store polished stones together with some birds that usually sit on my window sill and several sizes of mason jars as candle holders made a nice centerpiece. I bought two strips of burlap at the fabric store and had a friend serge the edges to use as table runners.

I don't have many napkin rings but here I used them to hold an accordion pleated napkin.

Often I just tie them with raffia or ribbon.

Here I used one pumpkin, some leaves from the yard and nuts from our orchard as my centerpiece.

I also used a smaller tablecloth  centered over a larger one.  This added needed colour to my table.

Red doilies ,available at dollars store around Valentines day, 

made a colourful base for the stemmed dishes.

This basket  is filled with different shaped gourds with a pedestal candle holder in the middle.

I bought the quilted pumpkin table runner from a young Mennonite girl in Waterloo, Ontario.

For an Italian themed dinner that was auctioned off to send our youth on a missions trip, I set this table. You can draw some of the ideas for your holiday table.

Small polished stones (available at the dollar store) in the bottom of each bottle keep them weighted on the table. I used 2 colours of napkins to add flair.

For the printed menus, I utilized my computer, printer and a rubber stamp from my craft supplies. 

Look around at what you have - paper, stamps, punches or stickers and get creative.

 

A simple centerpiece can be assembled out of any decorative objects from porcelein birds, Christmas ornaments, pumpkins, fruit, flowers, angels, etc. and candle holders. Set them on a cloth napkin, a platter or table runner to ground your arrangement.

I've found that a decorative vine softens and pulls together the arrangements.

Also, don't feel bound to use the traditional cutlery placement. Use your imagination and find new placements for your napkins and cutlery 

A more formal table setting. 

For a ladies dinner last Christmas, I used a scroll rubber stamp and a sponge to smudge the edges of these place cards.  Print up a Bible verse or conversation starter inside the card.

For this table I placed length of glittery fabric over a table runner, some ornaments and glittered pine branches for a silver and gold arrangement. I snipped apart a dollar store plastic branch for the gold accents under the cutlery.

As you can see, our holiday table is usually set for 10-20.  I'm fortunate to have a large table and the space so I like to make a long arrangement of candles and decorative items.

Large table or small, table runners are less expensive than tablecloths and are easily stored over a hanger or in a drawer.  With a few of them in your store, you have an limitless variety of 

table-scapes at your fingertips. They can also be used as mats if you lay several of them across the width of the table.

I tend to use paper napkins rather than cloth although the cloth definitely add class.  There are so many lovely designs of paper napkins out there for only a few dollars (check out Super Store or Ikea) and there are no stained napkins to wash later.

When entertaining a group, I like to set the table a day or two before the event. Setting the table is something I enjoy so I like to give myself time to play with ideas

.

Whether it's a formal event or a casual meal with friends or family, an attractive table makes 

your guests feel welcome and special.

 I hope you have found a few ideas here to inspire you as your set your holiday entertaining table.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Judging by the yummy pretzel places in the malls now I thought that soft pretzels were kind of a new thing, until I found out there is a recipe in the Old Mennonite Treasury. Under Mennonite Dishes, page 11, Mrs Neustaedter posted a recipe called Kringel. reading her instructions, sounds like she may be making bagels, but the recipe also sounds a lot like the soft pretzel recipes I looked up on line. I divided her recipe in half and mixed it up in my kitchen machine with a dough attachment. A kitchen aid would be good. The other thing I changed, the second time I made them, was to add baking soda to the boiling water process. I'm not sure if it made a big difference, but I thought I'd try it since I did not have alum (which her recipe calls for) and I noticed that to be a natural ingredient in other  similar recipes. The ones pictured on the right have a sprinkling of coarse sugar and cinnamon.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp instant yeast
• water, sugar and soda for boiling
• sesame seeds and/or coarse sugar and cinnamon for topping. If using coarse salt, go easy. 

Method:

1. Melt butter and add milk to heat. Add water to make combined liquids warm, not hot.
2. In mixing bowl, beat eggs and slowly add warm liquids. 
3. Add salt, sugar, some of the flour combined with yeast and then the rest of the flour.
4. Knead about 5 minutes until smooth.
5. Cover and let rise about 45 - 50 minutes.
6. Divide in half and then each half into ten segments. 
7. Roll segments into 15 inch ropes. Doing the rolling works best on non floured surface. I dampened my mat by wiping it with a wet cloth.
8. Take each rope and shape it into a fancy figure six.
9. Take the top down to cross, then twist crossed segments. 
10. Put on parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise about 15 minutes.
11. During this time heat about 5 cups water with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup baking soda. Bring to boil.
12. With slotted spoon dip each pretzel into the boiling water, one or two at a time and boil 45- 60 seconds on each side. Return to baking sheet. Sprinkle with desired topping.
13. Bake in preheated 450 F oven for 5 - 10 minutes until golden. Enjoy warm.

PS Another great way is to bake them plain and drizzle them with a cinnamon icing glaze. (blend icing sugar, milk and cinnamon) Can be frozen plain, reheated and iced.

Cheerios Fruit and Nut Bars

Photos of cheerio bars kept popping up here and there...and piqued my interest.  Why not use my recipe for puffed wheat squares and make a few substitutions?  That's what I did...and they were a hit!

•  4 cups cheerios
• 2 cups fruit and nut trail mix (or your favorite combination of nuts, seeds and dried fruit)
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup syrup (corn syrup or golden syrup)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Combine cereal, fruit and nuts in a large bowl.
2. Combine butter, syrup, brown sugar and cocoa in saucepan.   Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a full boil.  Boil stirring constantly for one minute. 
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4. Pour brown sugar mixture over cereal and stir well to coat.
5. Turn into a greased 9" x 13" pan  (or a 10" x 15" bar pan for a thinner bar).
6. Press flat with a spatula sprayed with cooking spray. 
7. Allow to cool 10 minutes and cut into bars of desired size.

*Tip ~ Line pan with parchment paper and remove unsliced squares to the cutting board before slicing.  Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter.

Bread for the Journey

Let my teaching fall like rain

and my words descend like dew,

like showers on the new grass,

like abundant rain on tender plants.

Deuteronomy 32:2

Saturday in the Kitchen / Chocolate Filigrees

Make Chocolate Filigrees to dress up the simplest of desserts to add that special touch. It is much easier than you think. 

1. Start with desired amount of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. I used a half cup of semi sweet chocolate chips. Use a double boiler or make your own using a bowl set onto a pot over simmering water, but not touching the water. 
2. As the chocolate begins to melt stir frequently and remove from heat so the chocolate won't cook. 
3. Place a small zippered plastic bag into a cup to pour in the melted chocolate. 

 4- If you don't want to make your designs free hand. Draw a pattern on the underside of wax or parchment paper.

5- Cut a tiny hole in the corner of the bag and squeeze out desired amount of chocolate into the designs or freehand.

6- ALWAYS put the wax or parchment paper onto a cookie sheet before making the designs. Why I didn't do it this time is beyond me, and it made transferring the chocolate onto the cookie sheet that much more difficult....so don't so as I did, but as I say...grin. Take the tray and place it into the freezer for 10 minutes to set. Once the chocolate is set and will hold its shape, place into a sealed container to use as needed. Store in the refrigerator.

I was inspired by Betty's recipe for Almond Cream Strawberries on  Page 85 of our Celebrations Cookbook. You can purchase the book at any Ten Thousand Villages, Chapters, Hallmark in Winnipeg or click here for where you can get it in your area.

Alternate filling is simply 1 cup of whip cream whipped with 2 tablespoons of vanilla instant pudding. Place into a decorating bag or tube with a star tip. This amount generously fills 24 large strawberries.