Ok, Ok, I don't want to hear it, you don't like yams. You will never think of yams the same once you've tried the Nelsons "Favorite things" Thanksgiving Yam Souffle. People who claim to hate Yams have changed their tune once they've put this tasty dish in their mouth. It's not to late the run out and get the ingredients. It whips up...

Nelsons #1 Stuffing
1 Loaf of good quality white bread ( I use french bread)
1 cube butter
1 onion chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sage
chicken stock
The night before, tear the bread into small pieces. Let set over night so it dries out a bit. In a large frying pan melt butter. Saute in melted butter the onions and celery. Saute until soft about 5 minutes. Place bread in a large bowl, pour over bread the sautéed onions and celery. Toss with bread. Add salt and sage and toss once more. Now add the chicken stock, starting out with a small amount. The only trick to this simple recipe is how much stock to add. To much stock will cause for a soggy stuffing. Add just enough so the stuffing feels moist. cook in an oven proof dish which has been buttered. Bake at 350 for 25- 35 minutes or until the stuffing is lightly browned on top.
Bon Appetite Peggy
I've decided i like making small little cakes. The t cake in the picture above is a small perfect little chocolate cake. I used the top pan in a set of wedding cake pans, It measures 6 inches. It serves a generous 4 or and nice small piece to 6. Who needs left over cake when one is watching their weight and sugar...
Tart Tatin is a famous french upside-down apple pie. The name came about when two unmarried sisters named Tatin, hurriedly made an apple tart and forgot to put the crust on the bottom. The famous "Maxims" restaurant was said to have sent a spy posing as as gardener to get the recipe. He did successfully and the Tart tain was made famous in...
from "Mario Batalli". If you have a fantastic lamb recipe, please share. I have a cousin in Payson who raises lambs and makes a lamb sausage. I'll let you know on that one.
Bon Appetit Peggy
GRILLED LAMB CHOPS
serves 4
3 lbs lamb rib chops (preferably organic, grass feed happy lambs like mine)
Zest of 3 lemons
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. each salt and pepper
In a food processor or a small bowl. combine the zest of 2 lemons (the rest of lemon for garnish)
sugar, mint and salt and pepper. Process until the mixture resembles sand. Rub each chop well. Cover the chops and set aside.
Preheat grill or broiler. Cook until medioun rare. About 5 minutes on each side. (internal temperature at about 130 on an instant read thermometer) garnish with remaining lemon zest. Serve with your favorite mint jelly
In honor of MARK FORESTER Killed in action in Afghanistan Sept,29 20010Our love and support goes out to the Forester Family. ...
Rozlynn, my daughter just called me and asked about making an "Apple Pie". Apple pie is actually my speciality. I learned from the best pie maker, my mom. Every year on the farm I bottle 50 or so quarts of apple pie filling. So If you aren't lucky enough to have some of my pie filling, then go out and buy some apples. What kind of apples? Any cooking apple. Ask someone in the produce department if you have questions. Before making the filing I like to make the crust first and set it aside (recipe below).
~HERE'S HOW TO MAKE THE FILING:
Peel and cut apples into wedges. About 6-7 large apple. Toss the apples with sugar (depends of the tartness of the apples and how sweet you like things. I would say 1/2 -3/4 cups sugar). Now toss in a squeeze of lemon juice, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and about 2 Tbs. flour. A little trick I do is sprinkle a little sugar onto the bottom of the pie before adding the apples. This keeps the crust crisp.
Now that your apples are in the shell. Sprinkle with a little more sugar and dot with butter. This means cutting little pieces of butter and putting them over apples, about 1/4 of a cube. You can either make a crumb topping (recipe below) or use the dough you will have left. (The picture above shows a crumb topping). I add a teaspoon of lavender just to shoot it over the stars. Cook your pie at 350 until nice and brown. If the edges get too brown you can add strips of foil.
Bon Apetit,
Peggy
PEGGYS PIE CRUST
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. sugar
2/3 cup shortening + 2 tbs.
8-10 Tbs. Cold water
In a bowl add flour, sugar and salt. Cut in Shortening. To cut in shortening a pastry blender works the best. If you don't have one a few pulses in a food processor will do the trick. Anyway the flour mixture should resemble small peas. Add cold water and barley stir. To much working with the dough causes a tough crust. Gather dough into a ball, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or so. Cut the dough in half. If not using the other half for your dough for the top crust. I always roll it out into a pie pan and freeze. Roll out dough on a boardusing a small amount of flour so dough does not stick. Line pie pan with dough leaving enough extra around the edges for a good crusty edge. If you are putting a top crust on make sure you cut some slits for the stream to escape. Happy pie Making
If your dough doesn't come out perfect, no big deal. Just patch it with extra dough. Once it's cooked no one will care or know.
CRUMB TOPPING
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup cold butter
1 tsp. Lavender buds ( opt)
Mix sugar and flour together. Cut in butter. Sprinkle over pie and bake
It's the season once again when the garden has given out, the nights turn cold and the veggies are ready to be picked. I love to bottle, don't ask me why , I just love it. Maybe because it's looks to pretty on the shelf. The family has their favorites like... Polish Dills, sauerkraut, Relish, Pickled bean salad, Pickled Hot and Spicy Vegetables...
Who buys "real" carrots anymore. Some might think carrots come out of the ground short and all magicilly the same size, but surprise, they do not. Carrots maintain our body's acidic and alkaline properties. Carrots promote healthy bones, eyes, skin and heart muscles. Did you know most of the healthy mineral content in carrots lie very close to the skin, so peeling or...
This is a great biscotti recipe, not too hard and not too soft.....just right1/4 cup butter4eggs1 cup sugar2 teaspoons vanilla extract2 teaspoons almond extract2 teaspoons anise (or orange) extract1 teaspoon dried lavender buds2 + 1/2 cups flour1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 cup sliced almondsStart off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.Grind the lavender in a grinder or a mortar. Melt the butter in...
My daughter Brooke made these lavender sachets from vintage handkerchiefs that I have been collecting for a while now. They are filled with our freshly harvested and dried English lavender. One of these sachets can fill an entire room with a wonderful fragrant lavender smell. I have been busy harvesting my veggies and picking my tall beautiful sunflowers. I also have some delicious...
35 glorious heads of garlic is what the harvest yielded. Now what to do with it all ? well you know I'm a fan of garlic , and it's flavor is unsurpassed. The following is recipe for HERB BUTTER is one I've used for years. This butter enhances anything you can put it on. So try it! you'll be hooked. Buying the fresh herbs may...
For recipes using lavender please click the link on the right hand side of this page titled "The Purple Apple's Recipes".Here you can find fun, easy, delicious and creative ways to cook your lavender. ...
This weekend we had a booth once again at the Cache Valley Farmers/Gardeners Market. I sold my French and English Lavender.We spent Friday afternoon removing the buds from the lavender and then sifting them to remove any unwanted leaves and stems. It was a tedious process but we sure smelt good when it was done. ...
H O L Y ~ G A R L I C Look what has popped up in my garden...GARLIC!! Garlic isn't apart of the Holy Trinity in Cajun cooking, but it's holy to me. Garlic along with onions are so intertwined in what and how I cook, I feel stifled without them. My parents were great cooks who knew how to season so...
It is time to plant here at our farm in Cache Valley. I am excited to plant vegetables, potatoes, beans, pumpkins, gourds and much much more. Not to mention our raspberries, strawberries, and plethora of perennial flowers that I am waiting anxiously to bloom. Isn't it just beautiful? This is a picture of me in our vegetable & lavender garden last year. ...

What is sherry?
What is sherry? Not being knowledgeable myself I had to learn what makes this liquor different from wine, and a must in your kitchens pantry. So What is sherry...It's a fortified wine. Meaning once the wine becomes fermented it's fortified with Brandy. And if the Label says "Sherry" that means it can only come from the "Sherry Triangle", in Spain.
Okay, now that you know the history. Here is a recipe for an easy sherry mushroom sauce That is so yummy and tastes great over everything.
To Begin...
As I mentioned this sauce is fabulous over Chicken, Pork or beef. The basic flavors begins with using the dripping and the goodness that comes from the pan you've cooked your meat in.
For example if I cooked chicken I would saute and cook the chicken in a skillet where I have melted 3 Tbs. butter, and 2 Tbs oil. (Adding oil to your butter allows you to cook at higher temp without burning the butter). Using this same method you can saute steaks or my favorite a pork loin. I use my Mom's treasured cast Iron skillet.
Season the loin well, melt the butter and oil. Brown the loin on all sides, pop in the oven and cook at 325 until meat thermometer reads 155-160.
NOW you are ready for the sauce...
Sherry Cream Mushroom Sauce
2-4 Tbs butter
2 Tbs. oil
1/4 Lb mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbs. chopped garlic
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 cup heavy cream
If the butter has overly browned, pour off and add another 2 Tbs. butter. Add mushrooms, garlic and onions and saute over high heat until mushrooms are soft. Add Sherry, bring to a boil, and reduce by half (this means allowing half of the liquid to cook out, do not pour out half of the liquid). Making sure you stir up all the bits of goodness left in the pan from your meat. Add cream, bring to a boil and reduce to desired thickness. Taste to correct seasonings.
This sauce is so good you'll want to DOUBLE it!
Bon Appetite,
Peggy
This is Brooke, Peggy's daughter. I am posting this picture to show off my moms fabulous and delicious Easter Dinner. Potatoes au gratin, roasted asparagus, chevre salad, Lawry's seasoned spinach and baked ham. yum. I think my mom needs to post the recipes for all of these, what do you think? :)I also wanted to let you know I am the reason her...
So what the heck is "Eggs on the golden rod"? it's a fantastic, simple meal that gets rid of those extra Easter eggs, and left over ham. My mother made this every year right after Easter. Above are our leftover Easter eggs. You can't tell from the picture , but they are what a farmer would call a pee wee egg. Even a...
Boiled Alive! A sure sign that spring here, and Easter is near is the price of asparagus. Now that the price is manageable and the Asparagus is in season, take this opportunity to use it in many dishes. I will give you a couple of asperagus recipes I use. My mom was a fabulous cook. But she like many women of her era...
This weekend I had the pleasure of hanging out with the grandkids, Max and Mimi. Now when you're at grandmas there is always cooking going on. When I have guest or family over I always ask them what would they like for dinner. Well the grandkids are no exception. When I asked them what they wanted for dinner the reply was "we want...
Sleeping Lavender, cold days and colder nights..When is winter going to end? Here I sit crossing fingers and toes, hoping that all is well with the Lavender crop. Only Spring will tell. Not only has the Lavender been sleeping, but I feel like I've been moving in slow motion all winter, in a sleep like daze. This is evident in the lack of...
Sorry I have been absent from this blog for a while, I have worked really hard the last few months putting most of my recipes in a cook book for my daughters and daughter-in-law. I am proud to say that I gave my first of these cookbooks away to my oldest daughter Brooke on Sunday at our Valentine's dinner. So be looking for...