Cut an apple or orange and place a rubber band around it. Then place it in a baggy or container.

It keeps the fruit fresh and juicy on the inside, yet it’s easy to eat.

Enjoy!

–Mama Lisa

Once you’ve gotten enough snow, add vanilla and either sweetened condensed milk or a little milk with sugar.  Stir and adjust to taste.  Eat right away!
Results of My Snow Ice Cream Experiment:

In the photo at the top, you can see two types I made.  The one on the left was made with Maple Agave Syrup, milk, vanilla and a little sugar mixed in with the snow.  At first it tasted great like maple gelato, but it got icy very quickly.

The one on the right was made with Trader Joe’s Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk, vanilla, a little sugar and milk.  That one tasted a lot like vanilla ice cream and stayed creamy longer.  That one won hands down! 

Enjoy!  -Mama Lisa

Variation: Add chocolate syrup to your recipe.

Laba is a Chinese festival that has traditionally started off the Chinese New Year preparations. It’s on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Agnes wrote about it from China:

"We eat Laba Rice Porridge and Laba Garlic for the Laba Festival. Laba Porridge is made of mixed grains and corns, like peanuts, chestnuts, dates and lotus seeds.

We put garlic into a bottle of vinegar. When the garlic becomes green, the Laba Garlic is done."

The Laba Garlic is taken out on New Year’s Eve.  The vinegar is used to dip the traditional dumplings in.

Here’s an old song in Chinese and with an English translation about the Laba Spring Festival.  It’s also about preparations for the Chinese New Year and the New Year itself.  Interesting explanations by Agnes can be found below the song.

腊月歌

小孩儿小孩儿你别馋，
过了腊八就是年。
腊八粥，喝几天，
哩哩啦啦二十三。
二十三，糖瓜儿粘；
二十四，扫房子；
二十五，冻豆腐；
二十六，炖白肉；
二十七，宰公鸡；
二十八，把面发；
二十九，蒸馒头；
三十儿晚上闹一宿；
除夕饺子年年有。
大年初一扭一扭；
初二、初三满街走。

The 12th Lunar Month

Kids, kids, don’t be impatient,
Laba is coming, the Spring Festival isn’t far away.
We eat Laba porridge for several days,
The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is coming la la la! 
On the 23rd day, kids have sticky Tanggua candy (1)
On the 24th day, we sweep the house. (2) 
On the 25th day, we make frozen tofu.
On the 26th day, we stew the pork.
On the 27th day, we make the chicken.
On the 28th day, we ferment the dough, (3)
On the 29th day, we cook steamed buns.
On the 30th day, kids go downtown at night to shoot off noisy firecrackers, (4)
On New Year’s Eve we eat dumplings every year. (5)
On the first day of the New Year, we dance the Yangge (秧歌) to celebrate, (6)
And on the 2nd and 3rd days of the New Year, we go to a temple fair or to relatives’ and friends’ houses to pay a New Year’s visit.

Song Notes:

(1) On the 23rd day, people worship the Kitchen God (灶王爷) with Tanggua (a kind of candy).  It is said that the Kitchen God of China is a god who likes to gossip very much. On the 23rd day of the last month of every year, he must go back to heaven to report on the conduct of families. So people give him some sweet and sticky candies called "Tanggua" to gag him.

(2)  From 24th to 29th days, this is a kind of description about how people prepare for the Spring Festival.

(3) The dough for making steamed buns is fermented a day in advance.

(4) On the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, all family members get together to have dinner, to shoot off firecrackers, to pass on good wishes to each other. We must stay up late together to pray for long life, we call it "Shousui" (守岁).

(5) Chuxi is another name of the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month. On the evening of Chuxi, usually at twelve midnight, Chinese people have dumplings to celebrate the New Year.

(6)  On the first day of the New Year, we dance the Yangge (秧歌) to celebrate. We say "Niu Yangge" (扭秧歌) in Chinese. Yangge is a kind of traditional dance that celebrates a good harvest and festival in the most northern areas of China. Below you can see a video of the Yangge Dance…

Agnes wrote, "We have lost most of the old customs for the Chinese New Year in the big cities. Now, we just have dinner and dumplings together on the night of Chuxi. I loved the way of worshiping the Kitchen God of my grandpa and grandma. But I never saw the ritual myself. The atmosphere of the Spring Festival has become less and less interesting."

Many thanks to Agnes for sharing this song and for explaining old Chinese New Year traditions to us.

Song translation by Agnes and Lisa.  (We welcome help to improve the translation.)

Photo Sources:

Laba Porridge Photo
Laba Garlic Photo

A Johnny-cake is a small flat cake (akin to a little pancake) made out of cornmeal, water and salt. They were widely eaten in the U.S. in the 19th century.  Johnny-cakes are called hoecakes in the South.

The folk tale "Johnny-cake" is almost the same story as "The Gingerbread Man" except that a Johnny-cake is the main character instead of a Gingerbread Man. 

As far as I can tell, "Johnny-cake" came first.  I found reference to the Johnnycake tale in the "Journal of American Folklore" in 1888.  The earliest reference I’ve found to The Gingerbread Man tale is in the early 1900’s in The Beacon first-sixth reader, Book 1 (1913) by James Hiram Fassett. 

I welcome more info on this. If anyone has further information, please comment below!

Here’s a recording of the Johnny-cakes Tale followed by the text…

MP3 Recording of Johnny-Cake

Johnny-Cake

Once upon a time, a little old woman, a little old man, and a little boy, all lived in a little old house. One morning the old woman made a Johnny-cake. She put it into the oven.

Then she said to the boy, "You watch the Johnny-cake. Don’t let it burn. Father and I will go into the garden. So the old woman and the old man went out to the garden.

The little boy watched the oven for a little while. Then he grew sleepy. His head went nid, nod, nid.

Suddenly! He heard a noise. He looked up just in time to see Johnny Cake jump out of the oven. The little boy ran to the door, but Johnny Cake was too quick for him. Out of the door and down the road ran Johnny Cake. The little boy ran after him. "Johnny Cake is running away," he cried.

Then the old man and the old woman began to run after Johnny Cake, but they could not catch him.

On went Johnny Cake. Soon he met two well diggers. Johnny Cake made up a face at the well diggers and called to them:

“I’ve run away from a little boy, an old man and an old woman, and I can run away from you too!”

"You can, can you?" said the well diggers. "We will see about that."

They left the well and ran after Johnny Cake. But they could not catch him.

On went Johnny Cake. Soon he came to two ditch diggers. Johnny Cake laughed at the ditch diggers, and cried, "I outran a little boy, an old man, an old woman and two well diggers, and I can outrun you too!"

"You can, can you?" said the ditch diggers. "We will see about that."

They ran after Johnny Cake.  They ran and ran. But they could not catch him.

On went Johnny Cake till he met a bear. Johnny Cake growled at the bear and said, "I outran a little boy, an old man, an old woman, two well diggers and two ditch diggers and I can outrun you too!"

"You can, can you?" said he. "We will see about that."

He started after Johnny Cake.  He ran and ran. But it was of no use.

On went Johnny Cake till he met a wolf. Johnny Cake danced up to the wolf and said, "I outran a little boy, an old man, an old woman, two well diggers, two ditch diggers and a bear, and I can outrun you too!"

"You can, can you?" said the wolf. "We will see about that."

The wolf started after Johnny Cake. He ran and ran. But he could not catch him.

On went Johnny Cake. At last he met a fox. "Hey, where are you going?" said the fox.

Johnny Cake put out his tongue and said, "I outran a little boy, an old man, an old woman, two well diggers, two ditch diggers, a bear and a wolf, and I can outrun you too!"

"I cannot hear you," said the fox. "Come closer."

Johnny Cake went closer and said in a loud voice, "I outran a little boy, an old man, an old woman, two well diggers, two ditch diggers, a bear and a wolf, and I can outrun you too!"

"Ah, come just a little bit closer please," said the fox. "I do not hear well."

Johnny Cake went very close and said as loud as he could, "I outran a little boy, an old man, an old woman, two well diggers, two ditch diggers, a bear and a wolf, and I can outrun you too!"

“Oh, you can, can you?" said the fox, "Then run down my throat."

Then the fox gobbled Johnny Cake as quick as that.

"Goodbye!" said Johnny Cake, "I ran well anyway!"

*****

Here’s a link to a Recipe for Johnny-cakes (aka Hoecakes)

Story Credits:

Read by Jason Pomerantz
Images and Text from The American School Readers, Book 1 (1911) by Kate Forrest Oswell and Charles Benajah Gilber.  Images graphically edited by Lisa Yannucci.

Hoecakes were originally made by farmers with just cornmeal, salt and water.  I added a little sugar to make it more palatable for my family.  (Omit the sugar if you’d like.)  In the nice weather, I plan to make these outside over the fire of my grill. 

Recipe for Hoecakes

1 1/2 cup Medium Grain Cornmeal
1 cup Boiling Water
1 t. Sugar
Salt to taste
Butter for cooking

1.  Mix cornmeal with sugar and salt in a bowl.

2.  Slowly add most of the boiling water to the cornmeal mixture until it holds together.  You may not need the whole cup. 

3. Heat about a teaspoon or two of butter in a cast iron pan on medium-low heat.  You want to coat the pan.

3.  Use your hands to press the cornmeal mixture together and make little cakes.  (You can see in the photo below how this mixture needs to be press together by hand.)

4.  Place the cakes in pan and cook until golden brown.

Serve with butter is desired.

Hoecakes are called Johnnycakes in the northern United States – particularly in Connecticut and New England. Some recipes for Johnnycakes include flour and milk.

There’s an old American song about hoecakes called Snake Baked a Hoecake and a tale called Johnny-cakes.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

These Sugar Cookies are Gluten-free and made with icing that has no food dye in it!

When making gluten-free recipes, make sure beforehand that all your ingredients are gluten-free.

Recipe for Gluten-free Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. White Rice Flour
1 1/2 c. Oatmeal Flour
1/2 t. Salt
1/2 t. Baking Powder
1 1/2 t. Xanthan Gum
1 c. Butter (softened)
1 c. Sugar 
3 t. Vanilla Extract
1 large Egg

1.  Sift the white rice flour and the oatmeal flour into a bowl.

2.  Add the salt, baking powder, and xanthan gum to the flour mixture and mix well with a wooden spoon or a whisk.

3.  In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until well mixed.  Add in the egg and vanilla and combine on low.

4.  Slowly mix in the flour on low speed. 

5.  At the end you may need to combine the dough together with your hands to make it smooth.  Shape into a ball.

6.  Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

7.  When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.  Grease your cookie sheets.

8.  Put some white rice flour or oatmeal flour on the countertop, and roll out your dough to about 1/4".  (You can roll out half the dough at a time.)

9. Cut out the shapes with cookie cutters.

10.  Place cookies on cookie sheets and bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.

11.  Place on rack to cool.

See instructions below for icing your cookies….

Sugar Cookie Icing (Dye Free)

I try to keep food dye out of my family’s food as much as possible.  I’ll explain below quick simple ways to color your icing naturally.  The colors are less vibrant but they look natural!  Like real food.

If you want to use food coloring for your icing, simply use the measurements below to make the icing (doubling the recipe).  Mix together the confectioners sugar with the water until you get a smooth consistency.  Then separate the icing into little bowls and add different color food dyes to each bowl to get the desired colors.

Basic measurements for the icing:

1/2 cup Confectioners Sugar 
2 t.+ Water

If you don’t want to use food dyes, you can use some of these ideas:

Yellow: Mix the icing using the proportions above and add turmeric and a food extract that you like (such as almond, lemon or orange). This will give your icing a unique flavor.  (Note: The more turmeric you add the darker it will get.)

Yellow (2nd way):  Instead of using water in the recipe above, use orange juice with no pulp.

Pink: Use all-natural raspberry syrup or cherry juice as a replacement for water in the recipe above.

Purple: Use all-natural grape juice or blueberry syrup instead of water in the icing recipe.

Brown: Make chocolate icing with chocolate syrup and confectioners sugar.  This tastes particularly good!

Be creative with the ingredients you’re able to find… look for all-natural juices and syrups… add extract for flavoring.  Experiment!

Then ice your cookies…

And enjoy!  Yum!

Mama Lisa

This is the best cranberry bread I’ve ever had!  My family loves it too.  It just happens to be gluten-free. If you’re on a gluten-free diet, please read the labels of your ingredients to make sure they’re all gluten-free.

Recipe for Gluten-free Cranberry Bread

Ingredients

1 cup White Rice Flour
1 cup Oat Flour
1 cup Sugar
1 t. Xanthan Gum
1 1/2 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Salt
1/2 t. Baking Soda
1 Egg
1 cup Orange Juice
2 T. Vegetable Oil
1  T . Grated Orange Peel
1 1/2 cups chopped Cranberries
3/4 cup chopped Walnuts

Note: I chop the Cranberries and Walnuts together in the food processor until they’re medium chopped.

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9 x 5" bread loaf pan with butter.

2.  Sift both types of flour into a bowl. 

3.  Add the sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Mix it all together with a spoon.

4.  Beat the egg and add it to the dry mixture with the orange juice, oil and orange peel.  Mix together well.

5.  Stir in the cranberries and walnuts.

6.  Pour mixture into the pan and spread it out evenly.

7.  Cook for about an hour until a toothpick comes out clean.

8.  Let cool a bit before eating… it’s good warm!

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

Mother’s day = "onde" day

December 22nd is Mother’s Day in Indonesia.  In indo-chinese tradition, we always make "onde" on that day too. They’re made of glutinous flour and filled with peanuts & sugar inside. The taste is sweet.

Onde is also called onde-onde.  Sometimes it’s served in a sweet syrup like in Linda’s photo above and sometimes it’s coated with sesame seeds or grated coconut.

Thanks for sharing Linda!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in Indonesia!

Mama Lisa

Gingerbread Houses are made at Christmastime in Germany, the US and other countries around the world.

Gingerbread Houses are intricately linked to the Grimm fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel.  In the story, two children, Hansel and Gretel get lost in the woods.  They come upon a house made of gingerbread covered in frosting and candy.  Unfortunately, it’s the house of the wicked witch.  She befriends the kids, fattens them up and tries to eat them.  Fortunately, Hansel and Gretel escape in the end.

No one knows for certain if making Gingerbread Houses was inspired by the story of Hansel and Gretel, or the reverse, if Gingerbread Houses were already being made and that inspired the tale. 

In Germany, there’s a rhyme that’s said about Gingerbread Houses that comes directly from the story of Hansel and Gretel (the witch says it in the story).  You can read it below in German with an English translation:

Knusper, knusper, knäuschen,
wer knuspert an meinem Häuschen?
Der Wind, der Wind,
das himmlische Kind.

English Translation:

Nibble, nibble, gnaw
Who is nibbling at my little house?
The wind, the wind
The heavenly child.

The first two lines are the ones most often quoted in connection to Gingerbread Houses.

Another fun fact is that in German Gingerbread Houses are sometimes called ‘Hexenhaus" (Witch’s House).

In the US, when people make Gingerbread Houses they don’t usually think of Hansel and Gretel.  They mainly associate Gingerbread Houses with the joys of Christmastime.

It’s interesting to see how traditions develop and change around the world.

In the book Grimm’s Fairy Stories you can read the story of Hansel and Gretel.

Enjoy!

Maryann Serra was kind enough to contribute her recipe for Anise Cookies…

Anise cookies are a popular tradition for Italians and other families around the world, especially during the holidays. This light fluffy cookie tastes much like licorice cake, so people who like the flavor licorice especially enjoy them.

Making Italian anise cookies is fun and easier than you might think. My recipe below explains how to make these delicious cookies, appropriate for all occasions as well as the Christmas season.

Recipe for Italian Anise Cookies

Ingredients

¾ cup Sugar
1 stick (½ cup) Melted Butter
1 t. Anise Extract
2 ½ t. Baking Powder
2 Large Eggs
¼ cup Milk
2 ¾ cup Flour
¼ t. Salt

Ingredients for Glaze

1 cup Confectionary Sugar
1 t. Anise Extract
4 to 5 t. Milk

Sprinkles

Multi-colored Nonpareils

Now we’re ready to begin:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Beat the first five ingredients in a bowl until blended, Then add the next three ingredients and mix well.

3. Drop teaspoons of batter onto a greased cookie sheet. (They can be close together because these cookies do not spread out on the pan.)

4. Bake about 20 minutes until lightly golden brown. (Time might vary depending on your oven.)

5. Mix the ingredients together for your glaze. If it’s too thick add a little more milk.

6. Let cool and then ice and sprinkle immediately with nonpareil sprinkles.

Makes 46 cookies.

As you can see the completed product looks colorful, festive and appetizing.

These cookies are great both as gifts and snacks. You might give them to friends and teachers at school during the holiday season. You can also arrange your cookies nicely on a plate and serve them to your visitors with other homemade treats.

Anise cookies are nice for weddings, graduations, anniversaries, birthdays, christenings, communions, Christmas, Easter, and other celebratory occasions. Everyone appreciates home made gifts, and these are both tasty and decorative.

Maryann Serra is a graduate of Purchase College, and a recent graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature.   She spends most of her free time writing articles and stories for book and magazine publishers for children and teens. Maryann’s getting her first book published soon. It’s geared toward children 4-8 years old. It’s a Halloween humorous rhyming picture book story called Monster’s Halloween Challenge.  Wish her luck!

Thanks for sharing Maryann! -Mama Lisa

This recipe is for the sweetened cookie method. According to Monique in France, "It’s a cheaper substitute that anybody could make.  Before supermarkets existed, you couldn’t easily find almond paste in local, small stores." In the recipe below, I also explain how to make this with almond paste.

Recipe for "Fruits Déguisés" (Fancy Fruit)

Ingredients:

250 g. (about 7 oz.) Ladyfingers
200 g. (about 1 3/4 sticks) Softened Butter
200 g. (about 1 1/2 cups) Powdered Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
2 T. Rum (optional)
Food Coloring (optional)
Dried Prunes or Dates

1. Grind up the ladyfingers in a food processor.

2. Mix together all the ingredients (except the dried fruit and the food coloring).

3.   If you use food coloring you can make the mixture all one color or separate the mixture into 2 or 3 bowls to make different colors.  You should make the mixture in pastel colors if you want to follow the French tradition.

4.  Let sit in the fridge.

5.  Meanwhile, slice the dates, figs or prunes in the middle of one side so that you can open them (sort of like opening a book but don’t cut open the ends). If there are pits in the fruit you can take them out now.

6.  Then take some of the mixture in your hands and shape it to fit inside the fruit. Fill the pitted dates, figs or prunes with some of the mixture with your fingers.  You can put a little almond paste on top if desired.  (The other choice is to fill the fruit with just almond paste.) 

7.  Store in the fridge.

Alternative to Fruit: You can also take a little paste and press it between two walnut halves.

Note: I made the fancy fruit in the photos above using store-bought almond paste.  I added just a drop of food coloring to get the pastel pink and the pastel green colors.  You can mix the food coloring in with a spoon at first, but then knead it in by hand to get a consistent color. 

Monique Palomares sent me this recipe from France.  She works with me on the French version of Mama Lisa’s World.  Thanks for sharing Monique!

Recipe for French Truffles

Ingredients

400 g. Dark Cooking Chocolate
200 g. Softened Butter (a little under 2 sticks)
200 g. Powdered Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (to coat the truffles)

1. Melt chocolate over a double boiler.

2. Mix everything together, adding the butter last.

3. Put in the fridge.

4. When hardened, make chocolate into 1" balls, rolling them between your hands.

5. Then roll them in the cocoa powder.

6. Store in the fridge.

Thanks for sharing your recipe with us Monique!

-Mama Lisa

Monique Palomares works with me on the French version of Mama Lisa’s World.

The other day I was making Juice Gumdrops for the kids in my family, and I thought, "What if I made gumdrops with liquor for the adults?"  That’s what led me to making this Anisette version of gumdrops.  All of the adults I’ve given it to so far have given it the thumbs up!

Recipe for Anisette Gumdrops (For Adults)

3 (1 ounce) Packets of Plain Gelatin
3/4 cup Anisette (+1T. for good measure)
1 cup of Sugar
Anisette Extract (if desired)
Water

1. Thoroughly mix the packets of gelatin with 1/2 cup of water.  Let sit for at least 5 minutes.

2.  Spray a 9 x 5" glass pan with cooking spray.  Use a paper towel to spread the spray evenly around the pan if needed.

3.  Mix Anisette and 3/4 cup of water in a small pot and bring to a boil.  Then add the gelatin mixture.  Stir until the gelatin is dissolved.  Then stir in the sugar.

4.  Simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, stirring often while the mixture thickens.  You can test the mixture for taste, adding a little anisette extract if needed.  (Be careful when testing because the mixture gets hot.)

5.  Pour mixture into pan.  Let sit until cool.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 days.

6.  Use a smooth knife to gently loosen the edges of the hardened mixture from the pan.  Then use a wide bladed spatula to remove the whole thing (in one piece) from the pan and  place it on a plate.  Cut the hardened candy mixture into 1" squares. 

7.  Dip each square in a bowl of sugar to coat the candy on all sides. 

8.  Put the candy in a container, separating each layer of candy with wax paper.  Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

Gumdrop candy is associated with Christmas in many countries. 

Gumdrops are used to decorate gingerbread houses.They’re also part of The Nutcracker, a popular ballet that’s performed at Christmastime.  In the ballet, sugarplum fairies and gumdrops dance.  Visions of dancing candy got me to thinking of making gumdrops for Christmas this year.

Most of the gumdrop candy you buy in the store or find recipes for include food dye.  I try to avoid using artificial coloring, so I came up with this gumdrop recipe that uses all-natural fruit juice instead of food dyes.  There’s also a little less sugar in this recipe than the typical one. Here’s it is….

Recipe for Gumdrops (Made with Natural Juice)

3 (1 ounce) Packets of Plain Gelatin
1/3 cup Water
3/4 cup All-Natural Juice (I used Concord Grape Juice)
1 1/2 cups of Sugar

1. Thoroughly mix the packets of gelatin with 1/3 cup of water.  Let sit for at least 5 minutes.

2.  Spray an 8 x 8" glass pan with cooking spray.  Use a paper towel to spread the spray evenly around the pan if needed.

3.  Bring juice to a boil in a small pot and add the gelatin mixture.  Stir until the gelatin is dissolved.

4.  Add sugar and simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes, stirring often while the mixture thickens.

5.  Pour juice mixture into pan.  Let sit until cool.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 days.

6.  Use a smooth knife to gently loosen the edges of the hardened mixture from the pan.  Cut the square in half to make the candy into 2 big pieces.  Then use a wide bladed spatula to remove each piece from the pan and place on a plate.  Cut the hardened candy mixture into 1" squares. 

7.  Dip each square into a bowl of sugar to coat the candy on all sides. 

8.  Put the candy in a container, separating each layer of candy with wax paper.  Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

There’s a traditional kids song about gumdrops with this great line: "If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops".  You can find the lyrics to If All the Raindrops with some videos at the link.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

P.S. Later I made yummy Anisette Gumdrops for adults.  Check out the recipe at the link.

It’s so nice to give homemade gifts! This year I decided to make homemade vanilla extract to give to my friends and family.  It’s easy!  Here’s the recipe…

Recipe for Homemade Vanilla

Ingredients:

2 to 2 1/2 Vanilla Beans (I used organic vanilla beans)

1/2 cup Vodka (or Brandy)

1. Slice the vanilla bean pods down the side leaving about an inch at the top to keep it connected.  (This makes it easier to handle the vanilla bean pod without damaging the seeds inside.)

2. Split the pod open to reveal the little beans inside.

3.  Place beans in a bottle.

4. Place a little funnel in the bottle and pour in alcohol, making sure to fully cover the bean pods.  (Vodka will taste more like normal vanilla extract.  Brandy will have a stronger flavor.)  After adding the alcohol, put the lid on the bottle.

5.  Store in a dark place for 6 – 8 weeks.  Shake the bottle once a week.

I made mine this week, so it won’t be fully mature by the holidays.  It will be given out with instructions to wait before using. 

The best things in life are worth waiting for!

-Mama Lisa

Note: Make sure the vanilla beans are always covered with alcohol. As you use it, add more alcohol to keep the beans covered.  This has the added benefit of restoring your supply of vanilla.

Barmbrack is an Irish fruit bread that’s served for Halloween and for Samhain, a similar holiday celebrated on November 1st.

Barmbrack has traditionally been cooked with objects inside that are used for “fortune-telling”.  Below are some objects used.  Whoever receives the slice with that object is supposed to have the corresponding fortune in the upcoming year:

A Toy Coin: That person will get rich.
A Piece of Fabric or a Bean:  Poverty
A Matchstick:  An unhappy marriage with fighting.
Gold Ring: Marriage
A Button: Bachelorhood
A Thimble: Spinsterhood
A Pea: That person will not get married in the upcoming year.

Nowadays, barmbrack is sold in stores with only a toy ring baked inside. The person who gets the ring is supposed to be the one who will get married.

Barmbrack comes from the Gaelic term for the bread which is “bairín breac”.  This translates to speckled bread.  It’s speckled because there’s dried fruit in it. 

There’s an Irish Gaelic song with Barmbrack mentioned in it called Oíche Shamhna (Halloween).  It’s sung to the tune of Frère Jacques.

There’s also a recipe for Barmbrack online!

Image: Wikipedia

They even have a rhyme about potatoes (aside from the popular One Potato, Two Potato).  When spoken out loud, this rhyme also makes gentle fun of the accent of Cork, Ireland:

Are you from Cork?
I am are you?
Do you eat potatoes*?
Indeed, I do.
How’d ye eat them?
The skins an’ all.

*Or “spuds”

Check out the article to learn more about Irish cuisine.

Now I must go out and buy a pomegranate!

Boy times have changed!

Today I cooked homemade stewed apples and pears.  It’s really easy to make, and much healthier than store-bought canned fruit.  It’s delish!

You can make this recipe with just apples, just pears or a mixture of both.  I used both in my recipe.

Recipe for Homemade Stewed Apples and Pears

6 Apples or Pears (or a mix of both)
6 – 7 oz. All Natural Apple Juice (I used 1 Juicy-Juice Box)
About 1 – 2 t. Sugar to Taste (I used Turbinado Sugar)
About 1/4 – 1/2 t. Cinnamon to Taste

1.  Peel the fruit and slice it into 1 inch wide slices.
2.  Put it in a small frying pan or pot and mix it with the juice, sugar and cinnamon.
3.  Cook on low to medium heat stirring occasionally until fruit is soft to the prick of a fork.  I took the pears out earlier than the apples so they wouldn’t get mushy.
4.  Place in glass bowl and let cool.
4.  Cover and Chill (this thickens the juice and makes it like a syrup).

Feel free to change the recipe to suit your taste.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa