Fall in the Cottage

Fall in the cottage this year may include much cooking. I have really gardened a lot this year, and I love spending time outdoors and enjoying nature, but I have been missing the kitchen.

I got started on my baking right away this week with a blueberry muffin recipe out of a vintage cookbook.

I have been tweaking the cottage corner also. I am thinking the more I play around here, I almost have a functioning kitchen.

This recipe book was from 1944, and it is a jewel. The recipes are simple and to the point. You can make almost anything with this cookbook with a working pantry. It was published during WWII, and food rations and nutrition were of key importance. I find that really enjoyable to read; maybe I am kind of weird, but I can read a cookbook like any other book and enjoy it. 

The first recipe I tried out of this cookbook was Blueberry Tea Muffins. 

The recipe was heavy on baking powder because the author wrote cookbooks for Rumford Baking Powder, so the muffins were a little dry. I found that with a few adjustments you could make these similar to some famous blueberry muffin recipe, like the Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffin Recipe, and that would have made them more moist. The techniques for mixing and baking were the same. 

I am going to talk more about this cookbook in a later post. I have my own recipe for beef and noodles, and I found that this cookbook was as close to my recipe as I have ever found. I really value a recipe book that can make a wonderful meal out of such meager ingredients. This type of cooking was really the backbone of the meal times in the 1940s.

In Victory,

Sherry 

Black-Eyed Pea Grinder Salad

 

This is an original grinder salad that I modified based on what I had on hand today. I made it with black-eyed peas for a New Year's twist, since in the South where I grew up you always ate black-eyed peas. An original grinder salad would be Italian and made with beans, but my beans are in the pasta because it is made with chickpea pasta. 

Ingredients:

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 bunch flat leaf parsley, minced

1 box chickpea pasta, 8 oz.

1 can black-eyed peas, 15.5 oz. can

1/4 cup pepperoncini peppers, chopped up

1/2 cup salami or pepperoni, whatever you have chopped in half or quarters

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup good olive oil

2 tsp. oregano

2 tablespoons of lemon juice or juice of one lemon

Instructions:

Cook the box of chickpea pasta according to the directions. Usually after it comes to a boil, you simmer for 8 minutes, then it is done. Drain and chill for 30 minutes to an hour in refrigerator.

Dice the red onion, thinly slice the red pepper, and mince the parsley. Chop your pepperoncini peppers and cut up your salami, or I used pepperoni (whatever Italian meat you have on hand). Rinse and drain your black-eyed peas. Add your peas, onion, peppers, pepperoncini, meat, and parsley to the bowl of cooled pasta. Add the vinegar, olive oil, oregano, and lemon juice and stir until well combined. You could add many things to this. I used the last of the marinated olives from the mezze platter we had this week to it. You could add cherry tomatoes or mozzarella balls or anything you wanted to finish up from another small meal. You can serve right away or chill in the refrigerator. The longer it sets, the better it tastes. 

Enjoy! 

In Victory,

Sherry

The Mezze Platter

At the end of this year, I went all Mediterranean with our food, so the obvious choice for a party platter was the mezze platter. Mezze is a series of small dishes served as appetizers, all originating from the Mediterranean. 

I don't know a lot about this type of food, but, I love to try new things. So, don't consider me very experienced at Mediterranean cuisine, but I have a lot of fun cooking it. The thing I noticed right away is there is more assembling rather than long, complicated recipes and techniques for cooking. I liked that. It is also fresh food and one of the most healthy diets you can eat. 

Here is what we had on our platter, and I will give you the link to the recipes. My sons loved it! I did add an American smoked cheddar cheeseball, which used to be a staple for our holidays, and no one touched it! It was funny; everyone embraced the Mediterranean-style appetizers with eagerness. Here is the link I used to create my own mezze platter. In this picture are marinated olives, crostini, and regular salted mixed nuts.

In this picture is whipped feta spread, but I subbed ricotta instead, and it came out beautifully.

This is regular hummus from the local grocery store topped with marinated chickpeas.

In this picture we have cherry tomato caprese salad. I don't know if you would find this on a true mezze platter, but it was so pretty I couldn't resist.

This is the rest of the marinated chickpeas. 

Homemade pita chips are on this also, but they are not pictured. Here are also sliced raw carrots for dipping, orange slices, and a cluster of grapes. Now I was going to round out the year with my last post in a series I was posting about using the herbs from my garden. I got this idea from the book The Herbal Yearbook. I have posted ideas from this book for the whole year, but the book is from 1994, and I thought doing something more modern would be a great way to end my herb series for this year.

So how did I use my herbs in this new style of cooking? 

The question might be better stated, how didn't I use them? The Mediterraneans are freely using lots of herbs. So, I found all sorts of uses for the herbs I had saved from the garden this year!

I used dried oregano and basil crushed into a powder.

I made bouquet garni and I had them in the freezer. So I used the frozen thyme in place of fresh.

I used some rosemary I had started in an herb propagating post and stripped some leaves of it for this mezze platter. This rosemary has doubled in size too! Just growing in a south window over the winter.

I also chopped down all of my parsley right before our first freeze. I took it off of the stem and used herb scissors, then froze it all. I had a lot of it. I used this to garnish the marinated chickpeas. 

So for 2024 I really found a lot of uses for my herbs. It was a great year of projects and learning. 

I wish everyone a wonderful 2025 and many blessings!!

In Victory,

Sherry

Warm Autumn Spice Mixes

 
I cook from scratch and usually don't need a baking spice mix, but when I do, I hate having to stop and look them up. So I am posting them all here in a handy reference and also posting them at the Victory Cottage Cookbook for a baking reference. I love baking in the fall, and this spice recipe list is one of the reasons it is so cozy, warm, and wonderful! 

Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

3 tablespoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Place all ingredients in a glass jar with a tight seal. Shake to combine. Store in a cabinet for up to two years. (Makes almost 1/4 cup.)

Apple Pie Spice Mix

4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Place all ingredients in a glass jar with a tight seal. Shake to combine. Store in a cabinet for up to two years. (Makes a little more than a 1/3 cup.)

Gingerbread Spice Mix

3 tablespoons ginger
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice

Place all ingredients in a glass jar with a tight seal. Shake to combine. Store in a cabinet for up to two years. (Makes a little more than 1/3 cup.)

Allspice Mix 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Place all ingredients in a glass jar with a tight seal. Shake to combine. Store in a cabinet for up to two years. (Makes about 1 1/3 tablespoon.)

Cinnamon Sugar Spice Mix

1/2 cup white granulated sugar 
2 tablespoons cinnamon

 Place all ingredients in a glass jar with a tight seal. Shake to combine. Store in a cabinet for up to two years. (Makes 10 tablespoons or a little over half a cup.)

If you are missing cloves in the ingredients, it is in the allspice. They are all made of very similar spices, just varying amounts of each. I tried to make this easy for a pantry restock and without the need to go out and buy an odd spice you hardly ever use. 

I have set up my mother's baker's rack in my cottage corner for autumn baking. I have been choosing the essentials deemed worthy of going here. What are your fall baking essentials? 

In Victory,

Sherry

Orange Chicken

Do you have orange chicken fans in your house? I sure do, and I have looked for the perfect orange chicken recipe for several years, and I have finally found it! It is requested a lot! Think Panda Express' Orange Chicken.

This recipe takes a little time to fry all of the chicken, but it is worth it. I don't fry much when I cook, and this one recipe is the exception because it makes the chicken like takeout.

Orange Chicken

Serves 6

Equipment:

Large frying pan or sauce pan

Oil frying strainer

Whisk

9" x 13" baking pan

citrus zester

citrus juicer

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (juice of 2 oranges)

1 tablespoon orange zest

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup distilled white vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce ( I use reduced sodium)

1/4 teaspoon roasted garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh minced garlic)

1 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha

pinch of powdered ginger

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

For the chicken:

1 1/2-2 lbs. boneless, skinless, chicken breasts cut into 1-inch chunks

3/4-1 cup cornstarch

2 large eggs lightly beaten

2 cups vegetable oil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F, lightly spray a 9x13 glass pan, and set aside.

Zest the oranges and collect 1 tablespoon of orange zest. Slice the oranges in half and juice for the fresh squeezed orange juice. Measure out 1/2 cup of orange juice.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, orange zest, Sriracha, ginger, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, and set aside.

Place the vegetable oil in a large frying pan or sauce pan and heat on medium-high.

Wash and pat dry the chicken breast.

Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. 

Measure out the cup of cornstarch and have it ready in a medium mixing bowl.

Whisk the 2 eggs in a small bowl, toss the chicken into the egg mixture and let it drip off.

Then place the chicken cubes into the cornstarch, coating it evenly. 

When the oil in the frying pan is hot enough to sizzle when you flick a little water in it, it is hot enough to fry your chicken. Start placing the battered cubes of chicken into the hot oil. I cooked the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side. Turning it over after 4 minutes and frying for a total of 8 minutes. The batter may be slightly golden. I really liked the batter to have some color. I then took the chicken out of the skillet with the oil-frying strainer and placed it on a paper towel-lined plate. This drained off some of the excess grease.

When all chicken was fried, I placed it in the 9x13 pan and made a slurry of the tablespoon of cornstarch and the tablespoon of water and poured it over the chicken. Then I added the prepared sauce to the chicken and poured it evenly all across the chicken. The chicken looks like it is swimming in the sauce, but it will turn out perfect after you bake it. 

Place the 9x13 pan in the oven and bake uncovered for 50 minutes; stir it once at about 25 minutes. Remove and serve it hot. The sauce really bakes into the chicken and breading and makes the perfect texture, just like takeout!

*Note: I immediately read this recipe and disliked the idea of breading the chicken in cornstarch. So I tried it with a traditional tempura batter, and the family voted; the cornstarch batter won out. So don't be skittish about breading the whole recipe in cornstarch; it turns out perfect!

I serve this with a side of rice I make in the instant pot. I will add that recipe later.

It takes about 1 hour and fifteen minutes to thirty minutes to make this from start to finish.

Recipe adapted from: Life Made Simple

In Victory,

Sherry

Victory Cottage Cookbook

 
I am adding a page at the top of the blog called "The Victory Cottage Cookbook." There over 100 recipes for seasonal cooking from scratch that I have posted on my blog for the last 13 years or more. I will be adding to this weekly.  To copy a recipe, just copy and paste into a word processor and then print. Blogger doesn't have recipe plug-ins that I know of. Victory Cottage is my Instagram account: @victory_cottage_

In Victory, 

Sherry

Home Sweet Home #389

Hello and welcome to Home Sweet Home! This week: God has the details under control. We need not worry. God Keeps His Promises. #Goddoesdetails #donotworry 

Unlock your prison and set your course for God by being Filled With Spirit. #youhavebeensetfree #hebrokeyourbond 

I appreciate all who link here and I want to thank you for coming and sharing!

Sherry

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Home Sweet Home #368

Hello and welcome to Home Sweet Home! This week I shared, How Well Are You Trained?

Then I shared, Walking in the Kingdom.

There are so many good posts each week at the Home Sweet Home party! Here are a few that caught my eye.

Terracotta Pots by Thelma's Days.

Sibling Shirts by Life Sew Savory.

12 Instant Pot One Pot Recipes by Dizzy Busy and Hungry.

I will be on a break next week and there will be no Home Sweet Home party on May 17th, but I will be back to my regular schedule on May 21st. Thank you to all who join Home Sweet Home!  

Sherry

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Would you please share anything related to your home in the spirit of Proverbs 31 (such as recipes, Christian encouragement, DIY's, gardening, home decoration, sewing, crafts, etc.)
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Please include a link in your post back to my blog.

By linking up, you are giving The Charm of Home permission to use any picture  or content to share as a feature on The Charm of Home social media outlets.
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* Please note that posts on this party come from other blogs also and that they may not agree with my own personal faith.  Take this into consideration when viewing links and use your own discernment using the Holy Scriptures as your guide.

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Home Sweet Home #346

Hello and welcome to Home Sweet Home! This week I shared The Lord Is Coming.

Then, I shared I Alone Am the Lord.

There are so many wonderful posts here each week, here are a few I enjoyed.

Lily Vanilli's Festive Trifle by I Wasn't Expecting That.

"4 Ways to Make a Difference in Someone's Life" by Soul Survival.

Thank you for the Cool Blanket by Ein Dekoherzal In Den Bergen.

Sherry

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Home Sweet Home #344

Hello and welcome to Home Sweet Home! This week I shared a story from the Bible that demonstrates Spiritual Warfare and how My God is a God Who Saves! 

Then get a spiritual upgrade in your life with the knowledge in this post, May the (real) Force be With You. 

There are so many wonderful posts here each week, here are a few I enjoyed.

Adopt a Simple Amish Lifestyle by Our Simple Homestead.

Country Roads and Pretty Teacups by Rose Chintz Cottage.

Pressure Cooker Pasta and Meatballs at The Bearded Hiker.

Sherry

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*New* Starting this fall (2017) I will not allow any Halloween post. Thank you for respecting the truth of the Bible and not posting any Halloween.

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* Please note that posts on this party come from other blogs also and that they may not agree with my own personal faith.  Take this into consideration when viewing links and use your own discernment using the Holy Scriptures as your guide.

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