June 25, 2010

Blueberry Lemon Pie

Our family visited Persimmon Hill Berry Farm on Wednesday night in Lampe (which is just about 18 minutes from our house) and had an incredible time! The farm is a berry farm and agritourism destination for many each year…as the farm is famous for their Blueberry Thunder Muffins!


We picked up some muffins and blueberries while on our visit. And sampled the farm's newest treat- Blueberry Bread Pudding. We plan on going back next week for some blackberries!

With 3 pounds of blueberries I decided to try out a new pie recipe. I haven’t yet sliced the pie, but how can you go wrong with this list of ingredients? Enjoy!

Blueberry Lemon Pie
by Lane


Single Pie Crust (My grandmother Garrison’s recipe)
1 1/3 c flour
½ tsp salt
½ c Crisco shortening
3 T ice cold water
½ tsp vinegar

In a food processor pulse flour and salt. Add shortening and pulse into combined (it will resemble cornmeal). Add water and vinegar and pulse until combined- the mixture will form a ball. Roll out first dough and then repeat for second dough.

Filling:
¾ c sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ c water
3 c fresh blueberries
1 T lemon juice
Zest of 1 large lemon

Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and water in a saucepan and bring to a rapid boil. Cook until thickened (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let mixture cool. After the mixture has cooled add blueberries, lemon juice and zest.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pour filling into pie and top with second crust. Brush top of pie dough with mixture of (1 egg and 2 T milk).

Bake for 18 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce heat to 325 degrees for another 20 minutes. Let pie cool before slicing.

June 16, 2010

It's Dairy Month

June is Dairy Month, so let's celebrate with recipes full of dairy products!

Check out a recent cook article I wrote about the Grisham Dairy in SW Mo...Sheena (pictured) shares some of her favorite dairy recipes that are perfect for summer bbq's!

Cook article in Missouri Farmer Today.

Other great dairy recipes here.

If you are looking for some local SW MO milk- check out Ozark Mtn. Creamery in Mtn. Grove.

June 7, 2010

Roasted Leg of Lamb

I tried to have the Roasted Leg of Lamb recipe up earlier, but Blogger was having some issues. But, here it is!

It turned out beautifully...paired it with Augusta Norton. It's fairly simple, but we did have a little challenge cutting it perfectly- since it was a bone-in leg of lamb.

I bought the leg of lamb from my friend Nancy Rasmussen of Sunny Lane Farms in Lockwood. She sells at some area farmers' markets in SW Mo.

Lane’s Roasted Leg of Lamb
Marinade:
2 lemons, juiced
2 T. garlic powder
1T. onion powder
4 springs of fresh Rosemary
5 springs of Thyme
¼ c olive oil

Mix all together in bowl. Coat a 5-7 lb. leg of lamb with the mixture and place lamb in bag and place in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place roasting tray in a roasting pan and place lamb on tray.

Roast for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for another 1 to 1 and half hrs. longer to medium rare. A digit thermometer will read 145 degrees. Remove lamb and let the meat rest for at least 15 minutes.

Sauce:
Place roasting pan on stove and turn heat to medium. Add to the pan:
1 c. chicken stock
1 c. dry red wine
1 tsp. Herb De Provence
3 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. sea salt

Deglaze the pan to release the pan drippings from the leg of lamb by cooking mixture and scraping with a wooden spoon. Cook the mixture down, while continuing to scrape drippings on the bottom of pan. Strain mixture and drizzle sliced lamb with sauce.

June 5, 2010

More Pictures from Caston's 6 Month Session

I love this photo of me and my baby boy! He is just "a joy" that's what Charlie calls him.


I'll post the Leg of Lamb recipe tomorrow...for now here are more photos from Caston's 6 month session and our family session with Tiffany Kelly.

View all photos online on Tiffany's great photo blog.

June 4, 2010

Special Day

This photo was a recent family photo we had taken and it just brings a smile to my face. I think about how much our lives have changed and how blessed we are to have our little boy.


Tomorrow is a special day. Our wedding anniversary - 6 years! Where does the time go?

We usually go out to a nice romantic dinner for our anniversary, but I decided to make it more personal this year. I wanted to cook our anniversary dinner.

So, I went to the farmers' market last week and bought a leg of lamb from my friend Nancy Rasmussen of Sunny Lane Farms. Told Nancy that it was going to be for our anniversary dinner and she smiled and was happy I shopped with her for the special occasion! (I love shopping with our local farmers...)

I've never cooked leg of lamb before and I'll admit - I'm a little intimidated!

But, I called a very good friend of mine who is a chef and he gave me the 411 on cooking the perfect leg of lamb.

Check back tomorrow for the recipe!
(PHOTO: From TiffanyKelly.com)