Sugar on the bottom of pan and putting plum halves on top.

Second layer ready to go.

Topped all off with a layer of sugar.

The sugar is just starting to dissolve.

Almost all dissolved, and it's only taken 5 hours!

Boiling for 1 minute.

Using a bowl to keep the plums submerged.

And now we wait... for three days!

Of course, the Sugar Plums are only using up 2 lbs. of  the many plums hubby brought home.  So I’ve also made some Plum Sauce.

Plum Sauce:

4 lbs. plums

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

¾ cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)

2 Tablespoons mustard seed

2 tablespoons chopped green chili peppers (I used a red jalapeno instead)

1 ¼ x 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced (I didn’t have any on hand, so I used a ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger)

1 tablespoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup cider vinegar

Wash plums; drain.  Pit and chop plums.  Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepot.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat.  Add chopped plums.  Cook until thick and syrupy.  Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving ¼ -inch headspace.  Adjust two-piece caps.  Process 20 minutes in a boiling water canner.

4 1/2 pints of plum sauce!

It tastes amazing!  Just like the stuff I buy in the store.  Only better for me, since I know everything that went into it, and there was nothing artificial!

As for the last of it, I decided to just can them up.  There ended up only being enough plums for 5 more pints.  I dont’ know for sure what to do with canned plums, but I got ‘em now!

5 pints of plums.

Are you in the market for a new Crock-Pot? I am. Boy, was I happy to hear about this…
Get $5.00 mail in rebate on crock-pot slow cookers priced $24.50 & higher!
http://www.crock-pot.com/Documents/Crocktober2009.pdf

I’m off to the store today to get one! There’s a red one I’ve been eyeing lately….

Sugarplums(and other stone fruits)

1-2 pounds of plums (any variety) fully ripe but not too soft
lots of white granulated sugar
a large, heavy saucepan, preferably enamel or stainless so you can leave the plums in
a wire rack — a cookie cooling rack works very well — set up over a cookie sheet covered with wax paper or a dehydrator

Wash the plums, cut them in half and remove the pits. Do not peel the plums.

Put a thin layer of sugar in the bottom of the saucepan
Lay the plums halves, cut side down, on the sugar in a single layer. Add enough sugar to completely cover the layer of plums, then lay another layer of plums on top. Continue layering until all the plums have been used and are covered.

Put the pan on the stove over the lowest heat possible. The sugar needs to dissolve in the plum juices without burning. While this is happening, stir very gently and scrape the sugar away from the sides of the pan. Try to disturb the fruit as little as possible.

When all the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat until the syrup comes to a gentle boil.

Let the fruit boil for one minute, then remove the pan from the stove.

If you used anything but glass, enamel, or stainless, gently transfer the plums to a different pot/bowl/crock or whatever.

Carefully place a plate over the fruit to keep it submerged in the syrup. Cover with the pan lid or a clean dish towel and let soak for three days. The soaking process should be at room temperature.

After three days, carefully remove the fruit (I don’t remove the fruit) and bring the syrup to a boil. Gently return the fruit to the syrup, bring to a gentle boil again and let boil for one minute. Remove from heat and repeat the soaking process. Repeat the boiling and soaking process one more time, for a total of nine days soaking and approximately 3 minutes boiling.

After the last soaking, remove the fruit from the syrup. Heat the syrup again and dissolve one additional cup of sugar in it. Let the syrup boil until it thickens somewhat (it may darken as well, depending on what variety of plums you’ve use), add the fruit again and allow it to boil gently for four minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. With a slotted spoon, carefully remove the plums one at a time from the syrup and rinse the excess syrup away under cool, gently running water.

Spread the plums on a wire rack and put in a warm dry place.
Turn the plums every other day. When the plums are almost dry (they should still feel a bit sticky) roll in granulated sugar. Finish drying.

The drying time may be anywhere from a few days up to about two weeks, depending on local weather. When the plums are completely dry, store in an air-tight container.

Now, what else to do with all those plums???

This is called the most dangerous cake recipe
5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tbs. flour
4 tbs. sugar
2 tbs. cocoa
1 egg
3 tbs. milk
3 tbs. oil
3 tbs. chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 LARGE coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed.
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
BECAUSE NOW WE ARE ONLY 5 MINUTES AWAY FROM CHOCOLATE CAKE AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT!

• Plop your roast into a heavy ceramic or pottery dutch oven with lid (this can also be done in the crock pot).
• Top with a can of your favorite condensed soup, tonight I used Campbell’s Beefy Mushroom soup
• Add a 1/2 can of Coca-Cola.
• Put the lid on and put it in the oven.  I had about a 5lb. beef roast tonight and let it slowly cook in the oven at 350º for about 4 hours.
• For the last 30 minutes or so, cranked the oven temp up to 400º and add chopped veggies (potatoes and carrots for us).  I took it out of the oven just as hubby and daughter got home and we had a splendid dinner!

Wondering what else you can do with those cans of coke?

One of my favorites:

Diet Soda Cake!

• Preheat oven to 350º
• Take a regular sized cake mix from the box (like Pillsbury, Duncan Hines, or Betty Crocker), dump it into a bowl.
• Add your favorite diet soda.
  
• Bake according to box directions.
  

Some of my favorite flavor combination’s are:

1. Diet Coke with Chocolate Cake mix;
   
2. Spice or Carrot Cake with Ginger Ale;
   
3. White or Yellow Cake can be mixed with flavored sodas for some unexpected fun (grape, orange, root beer, cream soda, etc.);
   
4. Orange soda can also be mixed with Chocolate cake for an Orange/Chocolate flavor.
   

This is so much fun and so cheap and easy that you can just play with different flavor combos.  Have fun with it!

Well, I got these recipes from the February 2009 issue of “All You” Magazine…

Cola Baked Beans

Prep: 15 min.

Bake: 1 hr.

Serves: 8

Cost per serving: $1.15

6 slices thick-cut bacon

1 large onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans (1 can drained and rinsed, 1 can undrained)

2 15-oz. cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

3/4 cup cola

1 15-oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained

2 tsp. dry mustard

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large ovenproof skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp and golden. Drain bacon on paper towels. When bacon is cool enough to handle, crumble and set aside. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp. bacon fat from skillet.

2. Add onion and garlic to skillet and cook, stirring, until onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Add cannellini and kidney beans, brown sugar, molasses, cola, tomatoes, dry mustard and crumbled bacon and stir to combine.

3. Cover skillet, transfer to oven and bake until mixture is bubbly and juices have thickened slightly, about 1 hour. Serve hot.

PER SERVING: 322 Cal., 6g Fat (2g Sat.), 11mg Chol., 10g Fiber, 15g Pro., 53g Carb., 954mg Sod.

Chocolate Cola Cake with Cola Frosting

Use sweet soda to add sparkle to main dishes, sides and desserts

Prep: 10 min.

Bake: 45 min.

Serves: 16

Cost per serving: 36 cents

CAKE:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

2/3 cup cola soda

FROSTING:

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

6 Tbsp. cola soda

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.

2. In a pan, combine butter, cocoa and cola; cook over low heat, stirring, until butter has melted. Stir into flour mixture, then whisk in egg mixture.

3. Pour batter into cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.

4. Make frosting: Cook butter, cocoa and cola over medium-low heat, stirring, until butter has melted and ingredients are well mixed. Place confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl. Pour cola mixture over sugar and whisk well. Stir in vanilla.

5. Poke holes all over top of hot cake with a fork or toothpick. Pour warm frosting over cake. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack.

PER SERVING: 329 Cal., 13g Fat (8g Sat.), 58mg Chol., 1g Fiber, 3g Pro., 52g Carb., 95mg Sod.

Sneak in some cola bubbles

Shh! Don’t reveal your secret ingredient. No one will be able to guess where that extra bit of rich flavor comes in.

Use cola as a glaze. Score a 5- to 6-lb. ham in a crisscross pattern, then rub with brown sugar. Pour cola over to create a simple, sweet glaze, and season with pepper. Bake ham at 450°F for 3 hours, basting occasionally.

Bake with cola. Instead of soaking chopped dates in hot water for your favorite date-nut bread, soak them in cola for added flavor. Bring cola to a boil, add dates and let stand until softened. Continue with recipe as directed.

Try cola on poultry. Mix ketchup and cola; pour over chicken. Bake until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens.

Cola Marinated Flank Steak

Prep: 10 min

Chill: 2 hour

Cook: 12 min

Serves 8

Cost per serving: $2.11

2lb beef flank steak

1cup bottled teriyaki sauce

1 cup cola

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp hot sauce

salt and pepper

1 – with a sharp knife, lightly score both sides of steak in a crisscross pattern. Place steak in a large ziplock bag.

2- In a medium bowl, combine teriyaki sauce, cola, onion, garlic, vinegar, oil, and hot sauce, whisking well to combine. Reserve 1/2 cup of marinade. Pour remaining marinade over steak in ziplock bag, seal bag and turn over a few times to thoroughly coat. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

3- Preheat broiler and place a rack 3 inches from heat source. Let steak and marinade sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Remove steak from bag; discard excess marinade. Season steak on both sides with salt and pepper. Place steak on a broiler pan and broil for 6 minutes. Turn steak, brush with reserved marinade and broil for 6 minutes longer (for medium rare).

4- Remove steak to a cutting board, tent with foil to keep warm and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve steak into thin slices and serve.

I guess I just really needed to play for the summer.  But, this week, school started again.  So, as everyone knows, thats the unofficial end of summer.  I know that we’re supposed to have 90 degree weather this Saturday, but let me tell you…. Summer is gone!

To some ears, that may sound sad, but to mine, it’s a pleasant sound.  That means that it’s practically time to make and can my salsa and my speghetti sauce, and that it’s time to start thinking about the holidays!

Halloween… that’s like the only time of the year that I make stuffed bell peppers.  Why?  Because I call them “Baked Monkey Brains!”  How can you have that at any other time than at Halloween?!?

Thanksgiving… Getting the whole family together to eat a single meal.  What fun!  It’s just the clean up that I hate! LOL!

Christmas… This year we all (hubby and me, my daughter and her boyfriend, both of my parents, and my brother and his two girls) are getting together at the coast for a week in a beach house.  I will be coming up with recipes that will feed us all and also incorporate the leftovers (if there are any) soon.

New Years!.. has there ever been a better reason for dip???

Oh, the joys of feeding ones friends and family!

I just purchased 10 bottles of Joint Juice water, 4 packages of Wacky Mac spiral noodles, and a package of Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomatoes…. and I only spent 54 CENTS!!!

How’d I do it?  Well, here it is:

My Local Safeway is having a deal this month that if you buy the 10 bottles of Joint Juice, you get $5.00 off instantly.  By the way, Joint Juice is on sale for 99 cents.  So, I bought 10 bottles for $9.90, subtract the $5.00 and now we’re at $4.90.  But I had 3- “buy one, get one free” coupons, so that took off another $2.97, and now we’re at $1.93.  I had 7- “55¢ off” coupons for joint juice and that took off another $3.85.  And now we’re at $-1.92.

Since my Safeway allows double coupons, I picked up 4 packages of Wacky Mac noodles which were on sale for $0.99 each, that makes it $3.96, but I had 4- “50¢ off” coupons and was able to double these coupons, taking off $4.00, now we’re at $-0.04 for the Wacky Mac!

Add those together and we’re now at a negative $1.96.  Since it is illegal for stores to give you money back when you use coupons, I had to buy something.

So I bought the package of Sun Dried Tomatoes (which was my only reason for going to the store today) for $2.50.  Sadly, I had no coupons for the tomatoes!  BUT, with all the other items that I bought, I only had to pay 54 CENTS!!!

Come check it out if you’re in the area.  If not, I’ll post some photos tomorrow.  There is a carnival, vendor booths, both crafters and commercial, karoke, bands, the worlds largest strawberry shortcake, a parade on Saturday, SO much to do and see.  It’s their 100th anniversary, so it should be a good one…. with or without sunny weather!

http://www.lebanonstrawberryfestival.com/

I hope to see you there!

dough on the stone, waiting to raise

I let them raise for an hour and then drizzled them with olive oil and added Parmesan cheese.  Then put them in the oven at 450º for 15 minutes, then took them out long enough to sprinkle mozzarella cheese on them.  THIS is why I think I should have let them touch!  Cheese all over the board!  I popped them back in the oven for only about 2 – 3 minutes.  Just long enough to melt the cheese.  And served them next to a bowl of marinara sauce.  Ooh wee!  This was Tas-Ty!

Mozzarella and Parmesan make these breadsticks cheese-erific!

Hubby and I discussed it tonight.  I’m going to stop making so much bread goods for a while.  We really don’t need the carbs EVERY night like this.  So I’ll start working on something a little better for us.

Why is it that all the good stuff is not good for you?

Time: About 45 minutes, plus 3 hours’ resting and rising

Place a broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450ºF; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes. Dust dough with flour and slash top with serrated knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour 1 cup hot tap water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes.  Cool Completely. Yields: 4 loaves.

Since making this one change, I have done so much with this bread.

One day I cut off a piece, flattened it out with my hands, and spread a bit of Olive Tapenade on to the surface, topped this with some fresh grated Parmesan Cheese, Rolled it up, and followed the rest of the directions.

With some more, I rolled it out into a rectangular shape and topped it with a mixture of brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg.  I then rolled it up from the long side, I found that it rolled easier when I rolled it towards me.  I cut them into 1 1/2 inch pieces with a bread knife and put them in a bread pan…. Cinnamon Rolls!!!  Top with cream cheese frosting and ooh, la, la!

Last night, I took some of the dough, made it into a ball and made my slices in it before it raised.  It ended up looking a little funky, so I lightly brushed olive oil onto the top and sprinkled toasted sesame seeds on top.  I think it probably should have had an egg wash to really attach the sesame seeds, as it was, they just fell right off when we tore into it.  With making the slices before raising, it seemed to make it more flat on top, but still spread out well on the tray. Also, with using the olive oil on top, the top was not as crusty, and hubby liked that more.  So I may be doing that more often.

Tonight I’m going to try making bread sticks!  I’ll let you know how it goes.  But really, I just wanted to update you all and let you know of some of the many things you can do with this bread!  The possibilities are (maybe) endless!!