DIY Ways To Organize/Display Your Nail Polish!

Five Fun Ways to Organize Nail Polish

http://www.youtube.com/v/LxiDlulA4k4?autohide=1&version=3&attribution_tag=ePESz1ZjdRyVxOSjkO6cRw&autoplay=1&feature=share&autohide=1&showinfo=1

How To: The Fishtail Braid!

cute polka dot nails!

There are so many cute and easy ideas to coordinate a Spring outfit. I just love the polka dots!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAygJxRTJkU
Take a look!

The glorious Glory Bowl

I loves me a big dinner salad and, with this dressing, I was in heaven. So happy my daughter is visiting as it gave me an excuse to put together this healthy salad for our dinner and we both enjoyed it with a slice of Irish Soda Bread. Salad should be cold, is that true? This one could be but after poaching the chicken and steaming the rice it remained somewhat warm and comforting.
It is finally Spring, albeit somewhat cold. The mountains are glistening with fresh snow but robins are everywhere in the yard, woodpeckers are making an impression on the newly placed telephone poles and my grape hyacinths are in bud.
Do not have this salad with any old dressing or it will not reach it's full Glory Bowl potential!

Ingredients
8 c cooked brown or basmati rice
2 c beets, grated (nice with candy cane or orange beets)
2 c carrots, grated
2 cups almonds, toasted or cashews mixed in
2 c spinach or baby kale
2 c tofu or poached chicken, cubed

Dressing
1/2 c nutritional yeast flakes
1/3 c water
1/3 c tamari or soy sauce
1/2 c apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 c veg oil (no canola! if you can help it)
2 T tahini paste

Combine first 6 ingredients in a blender and add oil in a steady stream. You will have leftover dressing which you will be happy to use on almost anything, anytime!
To assemble salad place rice in 8 bowls, top with beets, carrots, kale, nuts and chicken. Drizzle the dressing over salad.

A shout out to Whitewater cookbooks, the BEST!

And now a little about Nutritional Yeast:
Definition: Yellow in color and with a nutty cheesy flavor, nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that is a favorite amongst many vegansbecause of its unique flavor and similarity to cheese when added to foods. Sprinkle some on hot popcorn or garlic bread, or add a generous spoonful to a stir fry or pasta sauce. Nutritional yeast is also the only reliable food source of vitamin B12, so if you're vegan, it's a good idea to add some to your food regularly. Nutritional yeast can be found in the bulk foods or supplement section of your health food store. You can look for either nutritional yeast flakes or powder, but be sure you don't get brewer's yeast by mistake, as its quite similar in appearance.

Strawberry Focaccia with Maple/Balsamic Carmelized Onions

Such a lovely way to say good bread! I am always looking at bread recipes and have made Focaccia breads before but when I came across this recipe from Saveur Magazine online http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Strawberry-Focaccia-with-Maple-Balsamic-Onions
I couldn't resist. What would it taste like?

Prepare to ENJOY!

SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS:

1¼ oz package dry yeast

1 cup warm water (100–110 degrees F)

1 teaspoon honey

2½ cups flour

1 teaspoons kosher salt

¼ cup plus 5 Tbs olive oil, divided

1 medium sweet onion, quartered and thinly sliced (I used a med purple onion)

2½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1½ teaspoons pure maple syrup

1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced lengthwise into 1/8–inch pieces

8–10 fresh basil leaves, sliced chiffonade (you remember:roll those leaves tightly and slice thinly!)

Coarse sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Combine yeast, water and honey in a medium bowl; let rest for about 5 minutes, until bubbles form on the top. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and kosher salt; set aside. Add ¼ cup of olive oil to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour wet ingredients into dry. Stir well to combine, then turn dough onto a lightly flour surface and knead until dough is smooth and supple, about 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and place it in a bowl greased with ½ tablespoon olive oil. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let rest until the dough approximately doubles in size, about 1 hour.

2. Brush a 9x13–inch baking sheet with ½ tablespoon olive oil. Remove dough from bowl and press it into the sheet with your fingers until it touches the edges. Using your fingers, gently press indentations into the dough, all over the surface. Gently brush the dough with 2 tablespoons of olive oil; let rest, lightly covered, until it puffs up slightly, about 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and caramelized, 15–20 minutes. Stir in balsamic vinegar and maple syrup; let cook until liquid is evaporated, 2–3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool slightly.

4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly press strawberry slices into the top of the dough, then scatter onions and basil evenly across the top. *(see below) Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with sea salt to taste. Bake until the focaccia is golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before cutting into pieces. Serve drizzled with more olive oil or spread with fresh goat cheese.

* I used the strawberries on the entire loaf but stopped about 3/4 with the onion and basil as I knew 'some' would not like the combination. I put rosemary, cracked pepper, sea salt and strawberries on the final 1/4 thinking I might like that with some nutella! Which I did. Also cream cheese. YUM. I believe you will enjoy this one. We certainly did! Thank you cookbook author Leah Koenig for this tempting strawberry sensation! 

Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Slow Cooker

Winter seems to have settled in and I can't think of anything I would rather have than hot and spicy soups to warm me up!
The past few nights we have been listening to a single owl 'hooting' most of the night. Last night it was pleasantly quiet and serene went we tucked in for the night and around 4 a.m. I was startled awake to the sounds of not one but three owls outside communicating with each other. It went on for awhile and suddenly strange 'Jurassic' noises and cackling sounds made me sit up and take notice. Then it was all quiet. I'll leave all reasons to your imaginations and get on with the soup...
Do not be put off with the long list of ingredients. Most of this you will have in your well stocked kitchen. Run to the store the day before and grab the missing ingredients. The only thing I was missing was fresh lime and cilantro and they weren't needed until the soup was done.
Prepare and leave for the day!!
One pot cooking is better than meditation. :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Slow Cooker

Ingredients:

1 24oz tin diced tomatoes
1 24oz tin red enchilada sauce
1 small can diced green chillies
1 19 oz tin black beans
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 med onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
3 c rich chicken broth (Better Than Bouillon, tetra box, cubes or homemade)
1T cumin
1T chili powder (ancho or regular)
1T oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp allspice
1tsp cinnamon
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c cilantro chopped
2 limes, juiced or quartered and squeezed
Garnishes: tortilla chips or sliced and fried fresh tortillas, sour cream or Greek yogurt, avocado slices, green onions

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients up to and including chicken in the slow cooker (crock pot)
Cook on High for 3-4 hours or Low for 6-8 hours
Remove Chicken and pull apart with 2 forks and return to the cooker
To each bowl add cilantro and lime wedges or juice and set out garnishes to serve.

Adding all ingredients for Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ready to slow cook Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Vegetable and Pork Egg Rolls

It seems to be an Asian inspired few weeks for me and today I looked at the meat and poultry I had purchased from http://www.hopcottmeats.ca ,my terrific local fresh butcher, and I had a pound of ground pork. Besides making wonderfully moist patties for the barbecue or meat loaf or added to spaghetti sauce, ground pork lends itself so well to Asian dishes. I had a package of egg roll wrappers in the fridge and was able to round up the other ingredients. I am reminded it makes sense to plan menus for the week and always have a well stocked kitchen.

Chinese Egg Rolls (Pork)
Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork or chicken or very fine strips of meat
2 cloves minced garlic
2 T minced ginger
2T soya sauce
2T sugar
2T rice wine vinegar or sherry
3T green onion chopped
2 tsp cornstarch
5-6 cups shredded cabbage and carrots (small bag of coleslaw mix substitute)
3 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
dash 5 spice powder
dash sesame oil
add soya to moisten if too dry
salt to taste after adding soya sauce
egg roll wrappers
small bowl with water and dash cornstarch (or use egg and water wash to moisten edge of egg roll before frying)
veg oil for frying

Fry ground meat with garlic and ginger until no longer pink. Add next 5 ingredients. Mix well.
Steam-fry shredded veg until wilted. Add sprouts and chestnuts. Add next 4 ingredients.
Mix meat and veg mixtures together.
Add soya sauce if mixture is too dry. Mine was fine at this point and I didn't want it to be too wet and weep through the wrappers. I abhor splattering oil in my kitchen!
On a clean surface put 1 wrapper with a point facing you. Put about 1/3 cup filling on the bottom 1/3 of the wrapper and fold away from you, wrapping one side in and then the other. It should look like an open envelope now. Before making the final turn moisten the edges with the water or egg mix and lay it folded edge down and proceed to make as many rolls as you will be using right away. If you make them all up, you can freeze them and deep fry later.
I made 6 which gave us 3 each and that was very filling!
Fry in about 1 inch of veg oil at 350 degrees until brown on 1 side, turn and repeat. Drain on paper towels.
Serve with plum or sweet and sour sauce or honey mustard or rice wine and ginger threads.
I made a quick sweet and sour sauce with 1/4 c ketchup, 1/4 c soya sauce, 1/4 c rice wine, 1/4 c sugar and 1/4 c pineapple juice mixed with 1 T cornstarch and 1/4 c water to thin. Heat until thickened and thin if necessary with water.

Ground Pork, Ginger and Garlic

Veg, Sprouts, Water Chestnuts, Pork Mix, Spices

Egg Roll Wrapper facing you

Filling on bottom 1/3 of wrapper

Final roll, brush with water or egg mixture and lay facing down

Ready to Fry

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Hot and Tasty!

KFC please move over....

This needs a new name, Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken sounds Asian, which this is not. It's far closer to a deep fried chicken breast with a honey garlic dip aka KFC. It's really good. It's cold outside which requires spicier, full flavored foods, don't you think? I called my mom, she was having rigatoni loaded with a pork and beef sauce and even at 5PM was wearing cozy pj's and her sweatshirt. I could relate. It was already too late to put on a slow simmering pot of chili or curry, but I had chicken breasts thawed. Double Crunch Honey Garlic sounded good and you will see as the coating ingredients come together that it is loaded with flavors. Tongue-tingling flavors. I was surprised and pleased it was better than I anticipated. Don't you love it when that happens. The last recipe I made was a spicy Mexican version which I also loved and of course who hasn't tried the Asian version of honey garlic take-out chicken? I must post the Mexican version so you can compare it to this recipe.
Recipe adapted from http://www.nlrockrecipes.com/2010/04/double-crunch-honey-garlic-chicken.html

Ingredients:
4 large boneless chicken breasts sliced horizontally, seasoned with salt and pepper
Flour mixture:
2 c flour
4 tsp salt
4 tsp pepper
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp sage
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
3 T ginger
2T nutmeg
2 T paprika
This mixture makes a little more than you will need for 4 chicken breasts so dump in portions into your dredging bowl. Save the remainder in the freezer for the next time you make this.

Egg wash:
2 eggs
4T water
Directions:
Dredge chicken breasts in flour mix, then egg was, then flour mix, coating well.
heat about 1/3 c oil in large fry pan until med hot and begin frying the coated chicken breasts until dark golden brown turning after about 4-5 minutes each side.
Drain cooked chicken on a wire rack over a paper towel while the sauce is heating up.

Sauce:
In a med pot add
2 T olive oil
3-4 cloves chopped garlic
Cook to soften but not brown the garlic
Add
3/4 c honey
1/4 c soya sauce
1 tsp black pepper
Simmer together for about 8 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool and thicken. Reheat and dip the chicken in the sauce and serve over rice or noodles and with steamed greens.

Mongolian Beef

It started out with the crockpot eyeing me. I was debating on putting a stew in there and waiting for the magic to happen but honestly I had a craving for Chinese.

I found a recipe for crock pot Mongolian Beef but suddenly it was afternoon (funny how that happens, oh, you Pinterest and FB junkies) and I needed a quicker fix! 

I found a recipe at Table for Two as it were and I adapted it ever so slightly.

http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2013/01/07/take-out-fake-out-mongolian-beef/

Mongolian Beef with Rice and Spinach

Take-Out, Fake-Out Mongolian Beef

4 healthy servings in under 30 minutes

Oil for frying

1T ginger minced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 onion, chopped

3/4 c low sodium soy sauce

1 c water

sesame oil a few drops

1 1/4 c dark brown sugar

1 1/2-2 lbs flank steak partially frozen and sliced across the grain

1/2 c cornstarch

green onions sliced

In a small saucepan over med heat, add 2 t veg oil and sauté ginger, garlic and onion about 2 minutes. Add soy, water, brown sugar and stir to combine. Bring this mix to a boil for about 3 minutes then remove and set aside.

In a large bowl toss sliced steak with cornstarch and place in fridge for about 10 minutes to allow cornstarch to stick to the steak.

After 10 minutes in a large pan, heat 1/4-1/2 cup of oil and in batches sear the steak on both sides. Do not cook through. Remove and place on plate with paper towel as you do the same to all the steak. Pour off any excess oil in the pan.

Place the pan back on the burner over med heat and add the sauce, bringing it to a boil. Add in the steak slices and coat with the sauce. The sauce will begin to thicken and shine.

Serve hot over rice or noodles and add onions. Add greens (spinach, broccoli, bok choy) to complement this highly fragrant and delicious meal. I hope you have leftovers because they make a great lunch next day and another chance to practice with chopsticks.

New Year New Posts begin

Mongolian Beef

Bacon Wrapped Burger

Chicken Pho




Funny how you think January will never get here. I'll never get through December with all the baking, shopping, family happenings BUT here we are welcoming 2013. 
Whether you are feeling pensive, melancholy or looking forward to another year of possibilities, there is nothing one can do to stop the march of time. 
So, I say we eat well, eat often and love those who love us, with abandon. Perhaps try a little harder to love those who ignore us or don't seem interested in us. 
Keep up our strength for each day with prayer and exercise and hugs.

I have been baking less since the first few weeks of December but ultimately cooking more. More main dishes and, after all, this cold season demands more soups and stews and other hearty fare, wouldn't you agree?
This week it has been Mongolian Beef, Chicken Pho, Bacon Wrapped Burgers. Yum to all!
RECIPE:
Chicken Pho
(adapted from Love and Olive Oil)
http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2010/01/quick-vietnamese-chicken-pho.html

Makes 4 large servings

Ingredients:
1 lb dried rice vermicelli

Soup Base:
2 T whole coriander seeds
5 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 T heaping chicken bouillon in 2 Q water or 2 Q chicken stock
2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless is my choice)
1 whole onion
2 garlic cloves
2-3 inch chunk of ginger smashed
1 T heaping brown sugar
1 T fish sauce

Accompaniments:
2 c bean sprouts
fresh cilantro
fresh mint
fresh grn onion
fresh Thai or reg basil
1/2 lime cut in 4
chili flakes

Directions
If using whole seeds toast until fragrant about 2-3 min and remove from heat.
In a large pot add spices, stock, chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, sugar, fish sauce.
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to med low and let simmer at least 20 min.
Remove chicken and shred the meat.
Taste the broth and add sugar or fish sauce to taste.
Strain the broth and discard the solids.
Prepare the rice noodles as per directions.
Ladle the broth into bowls. Divide the chicken and noodles into each bowl. Top with sprouts and other add-ins to taste.
Thoroughly enjoy!

Keeping Garden Chickens - Selecting Your Chickens

Mennonite Girls Can Cook: Hot Cross Buns (a little late but I am going to make them this week!)

Mennonite Girls Can Cook: Hot Cross Buns: I broke the tradition a few days early and made my Hot Cross Buns in the beginning of the week. My Mom made them every Easter  and we a...

Bring Back My Bar

Bring Back My Bar

Palm Sunday

We celebrate Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem today as we begin the week of Easter.
It also happens to be April Fools Day. Did you play a trick? Have a little fun? Hope so. My sister had her husband peeking behind bushes looking for a deer that wasn't there. I was all set to drop a spider from the ceiling but woke up to snow, a joke on it's own. The weather went from worse to bad to good, ending with a lovely clear and mainly sunny day. Cool enough to have shepherd's pie for dinner and munch on a deluxe peanut butter, chocolate chip, pb cup cookie for dessert.
Had my favorite cutie girls here for a day and we made up a few batches of Easter bark. Oh my, so pretty and so many possibilities. We kept it simple with lovely Spring colors and pastel m&m's, but you could add pretzels, vanilla or chocolate oreos and drizzle white chocolate overall. For that matter, you could use dark chocolate as well, but I love the paleness of this one. Tomorrow I will break it up, put it in little clear bags and wrap it with Easter ribbon I picked up at Michael's. Then I'll try and save it until next weekend....
Easter Bark
3 or 4 bags of melting chocolate (I used white,pink, yellow, lilac and turquoise)
2 bags of Spring colored m&m's (I also plan to use the speckled egg m&m's)
-Melt each color separately about 40 sec in the microwave (being careful to not quite melt them and then stir like crazy while they finish melting)
-Pour random blobs on a wax paper lined large cookie sheet making sure to have some of each color on all areas
-Sprinkle with m&m's (add cookies and pretzel sticks, if using)
-Swirl with a toothpick to make all those lovely paisley patterns
-Cool in the fridge about 10 minutes
-Break into chunks

Happy Neufchatel Day

You didn't know? Just kidding, of course but I was whipping out appetizers and desserts and it seemed I went through about 6 kilo of Neufchatel. Lucky girl, I am. The Neufchatel being made at Golden Ears CheeseWorks is superb for baking.
I was also asked to use and review a product made by C-Dubs Get Naked Rubs. I loved the freshness and flavor of the BBQ Rub I chose for the appetizer. I was perplexed with what to make as I have seen the grape/basil leaf/gouda mix on a toothpick but I knew that children would accompany their parents to the open house at Fuller Watson this evening so decided to make something more 'kid-friendly'. At the same time I needed it to fit the venue of the gorgeously re-modeled store.

Pretzaco Cheese Balls

 Aren't they cute?
Appetizer
I rolled mini Neufchatel Cheese balls flavored generously with C-Dubs BBQ Rub (www.cdubsrub.com) in crushed Spicy Nacho Doritos and stuck them with a pretzel. So simple, so delicious. No mess, no fuss and certainly "kid-friendly". Moms not worried about choking hazards is a good thing. I think they would be wonderful with a glass of wine or a cold beer for the adults.

Since there would be over 100 people milling about at the open house, I needed a simple dessert that would showcase the cheese. Neufchatel to the rescue. For those of you used to putting cheesecake together with regular creme cheese, please take note. Neuchatel is luscious, creamy and rich and once you try it you will be hooked. Normally I make cheesecake in 6inch tall springform pans or a standard 10 inch but for samplers I used 2 9x13 inch pans lined with parchment.
Cheesecake for 1 9x13 pan
Crust:
2 c graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
1 kilo Neufchatel
1 c sugar
3 T all purpose flour
5 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 c heavy whipping cream (I use creme fraiche)
1 T lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
For the crust mix all together and spread over bottom of 9x13 pan lined with parchment paper. (If using a springform pan, grease sides and bottom and bring the crumbs up about an inch on the sides)
Refrigerate while you make the filling.
For the filling place Neufchatel, sugar, flour in mixing bowl and beat until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Scrape the sides of the bowl well, add the creme, lemon zest, vanilla and beat until incorporated. Remove the crust from the fridge and pour in the filling. Place cheesecake in the 350 degree oven.
Bake 15 minutes and then turn the oven down to 250 degrees. Cook approximately 60 minutes more (60-90 minutes for a 6inch tall springform or 10 inch round) until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the centre. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Let cool completely and then put in fridge overnight. If possible cool at least several hours before cutting.
For the samples I kept it plain but normally would have used a blueberry sauce which compliments the lemon so beautifully. We have a 'lime peppa chocolate sauce' at work that swirls on cheesecake and is such a unique flavor burst! Of course you can eat this 'plain' ( an understatement) or with your favorite topping (strawberry, caramel, crushed belgian chocolate bars, toasted nuts...)

Neufchatel Cheesecake Samplers ready to party

To go along with the theme I also made 150 mini quiche and 2 litre containers of Feta Dip. Recipes to follow....I need a little break. I'm all mini'd out! :)
Be sure to visit http://goldenearscheeseworks.com for some of the finest cheeses made locally and a whole host of interesting products.

ShowFood Chef: Olive & Smoked Gouda Gougere - Perfect Party Pal

ShowFood Chef: Olive & Smoked Gouda Gougere - Perfect Party Pal: Have you made Gougere lately (or at all)? I think they're the perfect little appetizer for a party, a family movie night, a tea, a bridal
Really love these little guys, I have been making Gouda gougere for several months now and can't keep them around more than a day!

Will You Marry Me? Cheesecake

Honestly, I never thought I could feel the pressure of another persons request. Until. The call came in to make a cheesecake for someone whose fiancee had tried cheesecake everywhere, yes, around the globe, and had never been able to recreate 'the' taste she had experienced from one particular cheesecake. Armed and ready with the very best neufchatel cheese, creme fraiche and eggs, I whipped and beat and stirred and poured the filling in my wonderful aluminum 8 inch cheesecake pans (yes, I made more than 1, what if one cracked or fell or was uneven!?). The results were....well...great. I whipped up a little blueberry lemon sauce on the side not knowing what she might like. Keep it plain. real. simple.
A call came in to ask if we could write on the cake...they said no. I waited for our customer to arrive because I had a feeling. He came in, his face a little swollen on one side, shy but expectant. I asked what he might have liked on the cake..her name..Happy Birthday? He answered, actually I was hoping it would say....pause...breath intake....Will You Marry Me? How could I say no to that. Could I be responsible for breaking his dream? No. period.
I put Will You Marry Me in raspberry coulis and as I spelled out Marry the 'y' turned into a heart. awwwwww.
We packed the cake in it's clear shell, stuffed it in a box lined with blues and purple tissue and sent him on his way. Did he get a YES? Don't know yet. Did I explain the swollen jaw? He had an abcess. Ouch!

Will You Marry Me? A Cheesecake Story needs a happy ending....

Golden Ears Cheeseworks by day

Busy Baking
I've had a busy 6 months baking 3 days a week at Golden Ears Cheeseworks / http://goldenearscheeseworks.com. The wonderful thing is I have been fortunate enough to use the most wonderful(they should win an award!!) neufchatel, gouda, cheddar, feta, creme fraiche, milk, unsalted butter and the list goes on. How could my cheese buns, cakes, cookies, dips, soups not turn out? I have been blessed.
I was able to formulate my recipes using their products. We have been serving up poutine the past month and it has been well received. Festival Du Bois was this past weekend and we provided over 250 pounds of curds to be used with their poutine. Should that bring a few new customers out our way....I think so.

I will be leaving my big demo kitchen to be back home baking very soon and honestly, I will miss everyone and everything about Cheeseworks. It is not everyday that you find work that is satisfying. But I know my baking will continue, my blogging will become less erratic, spring is in the air and gardening is on the horizon again. Stay tuned.

Stacey Snacks

Stacey Snacks

Have Plums, Will Platz!

The black plums were on special today and so it was easy to see what I would be making. Plum Platz, not the cakey recipe but the crispy, chewy pastry crust, topped with plums and crumble topping. This recipe was given to me by my daughter via a friend who remembered Mennonite style baking treats. It's an easy to prepare dessert. We served it warm with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt. You know you want some and being as it is made on a large cookie sheet, I could have shared...
Plum Platz

Crust:

2 3/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp sugar
3/4 cup cold butter
3/4 cold water

Mix crust ingredients as you would for a pie crust
(Adding water after butter has been cut in with a pastry blender)
After adding water stir until it becomes dough. (never handle with your hands, JUST LIKE A PIE PASTRY.)
Pat into a well greased (I also use parchment paper) cookie sheet.15" X 10"
* i take this recipe and and increase by 1 1/2 and use a 17" X 11" cookie sheet*

2 pints of prune plums washed , halved and pitted.
Laid inside up.

Topping:

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cold butter
Blend with a pastry blender until it's a fine crumbly texture.Sprinkle over plums and bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Notes:
If you use frozen fruit increase flour for topping to 1 cup and if you use peaches increase to 1 1/2 cups.
You can use almost any fruit you like. Tart Cherries, apples (add a bit of cinnamon for apples)or nectarines for example.
- I recommend sour cherries, apricots or plums for the
filling. Apples would also work well. Try any fruit
you like! Apparently the South American Mennonites use
bananas or other tropical fruit.