The Leaf in a Page

      You have to try this jelly recipe if you are gifted or buy a container of crab apples or dark purple  concord grapes. It is so easy and you do not need to buy pectin for the jelly as there is plenty in the fruit. My mother brought me a box of concorde grapes one day when she dropped in to see me on her way home from the grocery store. She was subtely keeping me busy as I was about 5 months along in my first pregnancy. We lived in a little house just outside of Oromocto New Brunswick that belonged to the Irvings. Our rent was 125.00 a month. It was like a little cottage house and the Irving gas station was in the front yard. Both the Gas station and the house have since been tore down. Once I made the grape jelly and it turned out so well, David, myself and the baby in the belly, who we named Julia, took a little hike down the street to an abandoned farm house which had a few crab apple trees. We filled a backpack and went back home to make the apple jelly...

  Winston Knot Challah baking in the oven.   Challah is a Jewish Celebration Bread and has much significance to the culture. It is often braided with three strands standing for truth peace and justice. Twelve humps on a braid stand for the miracle of 12 loaves for the 12 tribes of Israel. If you shape your braid into a circle it means no beginning and no end. Each style are used in different celebrrations. The cultural meaning of so many breads gives us much to learn. Wait until I do the white bread post! For a spiritual meaning of the ingredients I found one from a web site: https://www.ohelsara.com/women-and-the-home/hafrashat-challah/the-symbolism-of-challah/ which reviews the ingredient and the significance of each. It is interesting, but the main point of bread for most is that we share it, it tastes great and it fills us. Challah has loads of protein because of the milk and eggs, which makes it especially perfect for sharing and filling you up. It makes a beautiful f...

  Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies Sometimes you just feel like loading up on chocolate and a triple chocolate cookie is just the thing to satisfy that craving. Chocolates' earliest history can be traced back to the Ancient Olmec tribes of southern Mexico where it was used in sacred rituals. Perhaps there is something almost sacred about chocolate. Enjoy these cookies in a most ritualistic way by thanking the Olmec and Ancient Mayans for introducing chocolate to the world. Feel free to add a little heat to these cookies like a small amount of cayanne pepper, to mex up the chocolate a little bit. Unsalted Butter                                                   375g                        1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar           ...

    This recipe came from one of those cookbooks that go for sale to raise funds that mom had. The cover is no longer on the book but it did contain most of this recipe. Finding a great banana bread recipe is like finding a shiny coin while out walking.When it turns out perfectly an instant grin spontaniously forms on your face and you have no control over your glee. This one is the shiny coin. For this recipe you can add walnuts, chocolate chips or leave plain. Make muffins or banana bread. If you choose to make muffins you increase the temperature and bake for less time. If you are making the banana bread the temp is 350F for 40 -50 minutes. Most of the quick bread recipes can be either in loaf or muffin form. For these muffins I had a bucket full of mini chocolate chips and really want to use them up. They work perfectly here but there is a saying, "go big or go home". Which means regular size chocolate chips will do just fine. I am a walnut fan and would not hesitate to p...

  Before making muffins it is good to know you can make the batter a day or two ahead of time and leave it covered in the fridge until you are ready to bake them. This is so great when you have company coming for a few days. You can wow them by serving home made muffins and not even look like you worked hard preparing them.  Preheat your oven, put the coffee on, drop the batter in the muffin tray, press the timer on your microwave as you put your muffins in the oven and by the time the first cup of coffee is ready the muffins are almost out of the oven.   Basic Muffin Batter   Creaming method   Unsalted Butter                                                ½ cup/125g      Sugar       ...

  Soft Molasses Cookies You have to try this recipe. Especially if you long for a soft molasses cookie you probably had as a child. They are great on their own as a large cookie that fits your whole hand, or made smaller to tease the taste buds. I have put a spicey buttercream in between and turned them into a mini molasses woopie pie. It was so good.  Ingredients: Sugar                                     1 cup Shortening                          ½ cup Butter                                   ½ cup Molasses  ...

 Who doesn't like a tea biscuit with a warm bowl of soup or a quick snack with molasses poured all over it. Maybe a side of baked beans to go with that? I remember making tea biscuits for visitors to accompany a lobster boil. It was perfect. We also made a huge batch of apple jelly from apples we brought home from an outing, and decided it was perfect thing to put it on a warm tea bisucit. There was what seemed to be an abondoned farm house down the road from where we lived in a town called Geary, 44 years ago. I was about 5 1/2 months pregnant with our first child. David and I hiked over to the apple tree mid September in that farmyard and filled a book bag with beautiful red apples. I know what ends up in book bags kids. Stollen contraband for one, hehe!! If you are in the mood for memories here is the " Tea Biscuit' sure to bring a few memories of your own.  Tea Biscuits Recipe:   Preheat 425F/218C There are two recipes here. One for cups and one for grams. All purpo...