Bits & Pieces

Interesting Substitution:

My 15 year old daughter, Shelbie, found a box of brownie mix in the pantry and asked if she could make it. I told her sorry, but we're out of oil. And she said "I can use mayonnaise!"

And I said, "WHAT! EWW! That's gross!"

Although I know perfectly well that mayonnaise is just oil & eggs....it just sounds nasty.

But I told her to go ahead and try it.....and guess what?
The brownies tasted just like any other brownies that had been made with oil!

So if you're ever out of oil, feel free to substitute mayo. I was also told sour cream works, and I know applesauce is also a good sub for oil.

Pears:
We have a pear tree in our back yard. I'm not a fan of eating plain pears, but over the weekend I made two pair dishes. First, I sliced some pears and put them in a baking dish. I poured melted butter over them and then sprinkled them with cinnamon and brown sugar. I cooked them for about an hour at 350, and they were absolutely delicious.

They were so good I was inspired to make a pear cobbler. I've never had one before, I don't think I've ever even heard of a pear cobbler, but again - it was delicious! I used my traditional cobbler recipe that I use for blackberry, blueberry, & peach cobblers. (I love cobblers!)

I have lots of pears still on the tree, so if you have any good pear recipes that you don't mind sharing with me, please do!

We have muscadine (a.k.a. scuppernong) grapes too....loads of them! I suppose I need to learn how to make jam......

Baking Up a Storm

It all started with the blackberries growing in our yard.
Hundreds of them.
Then the blueberries started to ripen.
So to the interwebz I went, looking for recipes. And I began to bake cobblers.
And I made many, many cobblers with alllll of those berries. Peaches, too.
I also made muffins and pancakes.
Then, I was looking at some bananas that had turned soft and mushy and the thought of banana bread popped into my head.
So for the first time ever, I baked banana bread.
And it was good.
It is now official.

My name is Cyndy, and I'm a Bakeaholic.

{I've already posted the cobbler recipe, but if you want any of the others, let me know!}

Fresh Berry Cobbler

When we moved into our home, we knew we had blueberry bushes growing in the back, and we were told that they produced well.
We were not told that they actually produce like the world is coming to an end and blueberries were the only thing that would save human kind.
We also didn't know that we had wild blackberry bushes growing all along one side of the fence. Soooo needless to say, we have an abundance of berries right now, and I am looking for things to do with them. I found a cobbler recipe in an old cookbook, tweaked it, and made two delicious cobblers. I brought the blackberry cobbler to work with me two hours ago and there is maybe one large spoonful left! The blueberry cobbler, I left at home to be devoured eaten by me hubby with vanilla ice cream. O.M.G. is it good!
So here is the recipe, which I will probably be using a LOT in the coming weeks!

*note: this recipe is for one cobbler.*
Blackberry or Blueberry Cobbler
½ cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup flour
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup milk
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
2 cups blackberries or blueberries, washed & drained

Melt butter in 8" square baking dish in 350 degree oven. (I used a round dish for one cobbler. The universe did not explode.) Blend next 6 ingredients in bowl. Pour batter into melted butter. Spoon berries into the center of the batter. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon & sugar. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees until browned.
Serve over vanilla ice cream. Eat until you are ready to POP!

blueberry

blackberry

{Do you think I need to change the stupid date stamp on my camera?}

P.S. I'm giving away FREE CHOCOLATE over at Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional!
Check it out!