Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Watermelon, rhubarb pie and cupcakes were a hit at a recent potluck lunch. The rhubarb pie might be a secret recipe, but I will attempt to coax it from the maker. The Lime Cupcakes were made by me, so that recipe is easy to come by.
I mentioned in my last column that there was a request for a cake recipe that had flavored gelatin added to the mix before baking and I passed the request on to you, the readers. Meanwhile the email newsletter I subscribe to from Southern Plate arrived and Lime Cupcakes was one of the weeks selection of recipes.
These citrus tangy cakes are easy as they are made with a purchased cake mix to which the gelatin and other ingredients are added. They are a bit firmer than regular cupcakes so they are less messy to eat and travel well to potlucks and picnics. The accompanying Cream Cheese Frosting is deliciously creamy and there is plenty to generously frost 24 cupcakes or a layer cake.
Lime Cupcakes
1 box Lemon cake mix, 2 layer size
1 package (3 ounces) lime gelatin
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 drops green food coloring
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer for one minute. Scrape down sides and mix again until smooth, two minutes more. ( the recipe did not specify a mixerspeed, but I used low for the first minute and medium for the last two minutes)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12 count muffin tins with cupcake papers. Divide batter evenly between the two pans. (cups will be about 2/3 full)
Bake 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned and they spring back when lightly pressed in the center. (don’t over bake)
Remove from oven and remove cupcakes to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 24 cupcakes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 pound confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: 3 drops of food coloring ( I used green for the Lime Cupcakes).
In a large mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and vanilla and beat again until; smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Use to generously frost cooled Lime Cupcakes, or cake of your choice. Yield: about 4 1/2 cups frosting.
I found adding the sugar all at once a bit messy and recommend adding in three additions.
The recipe that we are looking for involved a chocolate cake mix and possibly cherry or raspberry gelatin, and was baked in a 9x13 inch pan. The reader might try the above recipe substituting those flavors, but if any of you readers have this recipe, please share by With warmer days and evenings, the smell of barbeque is often in the air. Watermelon is always a welcome accompaniment to any barbeque fare. Next time you fire up the grill, try Grilled Watermelon for a savory taste treat. You can just spritz slices with a bit of oil and grill about 30 to 60 seconds With warmer days and evenings, the smell of barbeque is often in the air. Watermelon is always a welcome accompaniment to any barbeque fare. Next time you fire up the grill, try Grilled Watermelon for a savory taste treat. You can just spritz slices with a bit of oil and grill about 30 to 60 seconds a side for inch thick slices, quartered. Or, you can try brushing with a watermelon marinade such as Honey Mustard Fruit Marinade.
Honey Mustard
Fruit Marinade
3 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil
2 Tbsp clover honey
1 tsp crushed rosemary leaves
pinch salt
Combine ingredients and brush on both sides of watermelon slices, immediately place over hot coals, medium hot on a gas grill. Grill 30 to 60 seconds a side. Serve immediately. This amount does about half of a Hermiston type melon.
Need extra ice containers for nesting foods in at an outdoor buffet? Try this tip. Place one large heavy duty trash can liner inside another. Fill the inside bag about 1/3 to 1/2 full of ice. Tie bag closed with the draw string. This will leave some air space so when you place food bowls on the ice bag you can nestle them in and the ice can spread out. When the event is over, just dump out the ice and use the trash bags for cleanup.
I received a complimentary issue of Cooks Country Magazine this past week and have found some interesting recipes that I plan to try soon. The magazine also has numerous kitchen tips. Here are just a few:
When piping words or designs onto a frosted cake, use a toothpick to trace the wording into the frosting. If you don’t get the spacing right the first time, just smooth the frosting to erase and try again until you are pleased with the layout.
Use your adjust–a-cup measuring cup to make perfect ice cream rounds for ice cream sandwiches. Press softened ice cream into the measuring cup, refreeze until firm enough to cut, then press out the desired thickness and cut with a sharp knife.
Use your potato ricer to quickly squeeze all the moisture from thawed frozen spinach for lasagna and quiches. Also, if you need it more finely chopped than it comes from the package, the compressed spinach “puck” is easy to chop after squeezing.
And a quick use for your waffle iron. Prepare grilled cheese sandwiches, butter the outsides and place them in the waffle iron, closing the lid. No tricky flipping involved and you have a perfectly toasty sandwich with plenty of waffle nooks and crannies for soaking up tomato soup if that is what you are serving with the sandwiches.
Share your favorite summer barbeque, picnic and potluck recipes, and those gelatin cake recipes, or any recipe that you have tried and found to be exceptionally tasty, with your fellow readers. Mail them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email then to: therecord@odessa office.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office.
Volunteer sunflowers are fun to grow and the birds love the smaller seeds generally produced by these plants, but they are water hogs, so don’t let them grow near other plants as they may stunt their growth and production.
tered. Or, you can try brushing with a watermelon marinade such as Honey Mustard Fruit Marinade.
Honey Mustard
Fruit Marinade
3 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil
2 Tbsp clover honey
1 tsp crushed rosemary leaves
pinch salt
Combine ingredients and brush on both sides of watermelon slices, immediately place over hot coals, medium hot on a gas grill. Grill 30 to 60 seconds a side. Serve immediately. This amount does about half of a Hermiston type melon.
Need extra ice containers for nesting foods in at an outdoor buffet? Try this tip. Place one large heavy duty trash can liner inside another. Fill the inside bag about 1/3 to 1/2 full of ice. Tie bag closed with the draw string. This will leave some air space so when you place food bowls on the ice bag you can nestle them in and the ice can spread out. When the event is over, just dump out the ice and use the trash bags for cleanup.
I received a complimentary issue of Cooks Country Magazine this past week and have found some interesting recipes that I plan to try soon. The magazine also has numerous kitchen tips. Here are just a few.
When piping words or designs onto a frosted cake, use a toothpick to trace the wording into the frosting. If you don’t get the spacing right the first time, just smooth the frosting to erase and try again until you are pleased with the layout.
Use your adjust–a-cup measuring cup to make perfect ice cream rounds for ice cream sandwiches. Press softened ice cream into the measuring cup, refreeze until firm enough to cut, then press out the desired thickness and cut with a sharp knife.
Use your potato ricer to quickly squeeze all the moisture from thawed frozen spinach for lasagna and quiches. Also, if you need it more finely chopped than it comes from the package, the compressed spinach “puck” is easy to chop after squeezing.
And a quick use for your waffle iron. Prepare grilled cheese sandwiches, butter the out sides and place them in the waffle iron, closing the lid. No tricky flipping involved and you have a perfectly toasty sandwich with plenty of waffle nooks and crannies for soaking up tomato soup if that is what you are serving with the sandwiches.
Share your favorite summer barbeque, picnic and potluck recipes, and those gelatin cake recipes, or any recipe that you have tried and found to be exceptionally tasty, with your fellow readers. Mail them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email then to: therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office.
Volunteer sunflowers are fun to grow and the birds love the smaller seeds generally produced by these plants, but they are water hogs, so don’t let them grow near other plants as they may stunt their growth and production.
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