Lemon Cloud Pie

1 9 inch baked pie crust

1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons corn starch
1 cup water
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 eggs yolks, slightly beaten
4 ounces softened cream cheese
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup whipping cream or 2 cups cool whip

Combine sugar, corn starch, and water in medium saucepan, mixing well. Stir in lemon juice and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Boil for about 1 minute. Add cream cheese and lemon peel. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Spoon mixture into cooled pie shell. Top with whipping cream (whipped) or cool whip. Let cool in refrigerator of 3 hours.

Makes 8 servings. From The Greeley Tribune's Holiday Recipe and Gift Guide, 2007

Tempura Batter

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2/3 cup water

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat egg and water with a fork before stirring into the dry mixture. Let batter stand for 1/2 hour or longer before using. This gives extra crisp coating to tempura. Add more water if thinner batter is desired. The original recipe also calls for 1/4 teaspoon mono sodium glutamate, but I don't use it.

Prepare and clean seafood and vegetables in advance and refrigerate. Heat oil in a "fry daddy" or similar appliance. Dip veggies and meat in batter, drop gently into hot oil and fry until done. Fry foods with the stronger flavor last, i.e. onions!

Excellent for shrimp!! Our favorite!
From my FHA Cookbook c. 1980 by Mollie Miyahara

Give Away on my Main Blog

I'm having a give away on my main blog, Heart Song, and would love to have you leave a comment there to be entered for the box of littles to be sent to the winner. (I copied that post here). If you wish to enter, please click here to get there.

Leap Year Day seems like a good day for a Give Away.

I'm calling it "Littles" because I like alliteration a lot!

There's something for you from head to foot.

Face Masque from the UK, Avon Foot Works, which makes your feet feel so fine, and two vintage rose candy dishes.

A tiny gilded notebook,

A tea strainer with a little teapot dangle and A Cup of Colorado tea in a box-red raspberry flavor to match the scent of the face masque!
Two protectors for your teapot so you won't break the spouts on your favorite tea pots. I should have opened this myself a few weeks ago!
A small tin of Elizabethan soap, made in Britain, a cookie cutter, a pink bookmark, rose bud soap petals that some use for crafts. They come with a warning, though. I read somewhere that they make a real mess in the bathtub.

Over at Heart Song, my main blog, I'm having a give away. If you'd like to leave a comment to enter, please click here.

I'd be happy to leap over to our little U.S. Post Office to let this lovingly packed box be on its way February 29 to one of my blog friends that leave a comment on this post. I do hope there is something that catches your fancy to help celebrate LEAP YEAR DAY.I will draw a lucky winner on the 28th so I can get the box sent out the next day after school. ♥♫

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
2 1/4 cups flour
1 package chocolate chips

Cream brown sugar, white sugar and shortening. Beat in the eggs. Add vanilla. Sift in the flour, soda and salt. Mix. Add the chocolate chips. Drop spoonsful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

I've had this recipe for years and years. It came from my mom and I don't know where she got it. My paper copy is a mess, so thought I'd better add it to the blog.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 large can pineapple tidbits
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
2 Tablespoons corn starch
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 red or green pepper, cut into strips or chunks
1/2 --1 onion, chopped
1 chicken bullion cube
cooked rice
cooked chicken or pork

Saute onions and pepper in olive oil. Add cooked meat so everything is hot when you are ready to serve the meal.

Drain pineapple and add juice to the brown sugar and vinegar. Add bullion cube. Stir in corn starch and cook until thickened.

Pour over the vegetable-meat mixture. Stir well.

Very good with popcorn chicken or shrimp and pork. Most of the time I don't even add the soy sauce as it is too saltly.

If you like lots of sauce, double the recipe. To serve, I just put it ALL in a bowl and serve.

American Buttercream Frosting

I found this recipe and want to save it! Find the post here:
http://glorioustreats.blogspot.com/2011/08/american-buttercream-frosting-recipe.html


1 cup (2 sticks) butter (salted, or unsalted)
1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (best quality available)
2-3 tablespoons

heavy cream, half and half or milk.

*Optional- As mentioned above, I like a cream cheese version of this frosting best. The cream cheese adds to the creamy texture, and cuts down on the sweetness just a bit. If desired, for a very light cream cheese flavor add 1/2 block (4 oz). cream cheese, leaving the other ingredients (as listed above) the same. For a more traditional cream cheese flavor, reduce the butter to 1/2 cup, and add 1 block (8 oz.) of cream cheese. If using a full block of cream cheese, you can reduce the cream or milk to 1 tablespoon total.

Flavoring options- An almost unlimited number of flavoring options can be added in addition to, or instead of the vanilla. Orange and/or lemon zest, citrus extracts, mint extract, coconut extract or the seeds of a vanilla bean are all wonderful options. In most cases I'll still add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, then 1/2 teaspoon of the other flavoring. For zest, add about 1 teaspoon fresh zest. For chocolate buttercream, add 1/2 cup (good quality) unsweetened cocoa powder.

Directions-
* In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter (on medium speed) until completely smooth (30 seconds to a minute). (If you are adding cream cheese, add it now, then beat until smooth)
* Add salt (if needed).
* One cup at time, add 2 cups of powdered sugar, beating after each addition.
* Add vanilla, or other flavorings and beat to combine.
* Add about 1 tablespoon of cream, and continue beating.
* Add the remaining 2 cups powdered sugar, one at a time.
* Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons cream until desired consistency is reached. If you want to pipe the frosting on cupcakes, the frosting should be nice and thick. Continue to beat another minute or so. The frosting should now be smooth and fluffy.

Troubleshooting-
* If your frosting is not smooth, it is likely because the butter was not fully smooth before adding the other ingredients.
* If your frosting will not hold up when piped on cupcakes, your frosting has too much liquid or is too warm. Put entire bowl of frosting in the fridge for 15-20 minutes and it will stiffen up. If it is still too thin, then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar, beat well.

With many thanks to Gloria for permission to include her recipe so I can find it to use it!

Filled Strawberries

1 – 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened **
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 quart fresh whole strawberries, stems removed

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners sugar, and almond extract until smooth. Spoon cream cheese mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip. Chill 1 hour.

Quarter Strawberries from tip to stem end without cutting through stem end. Pipe cream cheese mixture into strawberries. Chill until ready to serve.

from The Twiggery

Sarah made these for several tea parties and we cored the strawberries by cutting out the "woody" centers. We used *strawberry cream cheese* instead of the plain cream cheese. It is the almond flavoring that makes these so divine!