Low Country Boil…Missy Style

Quick Low Country Boil

Missy Tippens

I love a good low country boil. And today while looking at shrimp at the grocery, I decided to make it! Of course since I didn't get home until 6 pm, I had to make a quick version.

I started with a basic recipe and altered it to fit my schedule.

1 lb. shrimp, I bought peeled and deveined
potatoes, washed and quartered (or cut smaller)
4 ears fresh corn (or buy the small frozen ears)
Andouille sausage (I used two links)
Crab boil seasoning

Heat a large soup pot of water. I used my steamer basket so I could drain the food to serve. Pour in about 1 TBS of crab boil seasoning and taste to see if you're happy with the flavor and strength. I thought it was really spicy so didn't need more.

While water comes to a boil, cut potatoes. I cut the red potatoes in about 6-8 pieces each so they'd cook quickly.

Then I cut up the sausage.

Once the water boils, toss in the potatoes and sausage. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

While that cooked, I pre-cooked the corn for so we wouldn't have to wait so long. You can see the microwave cooking method in a previous post. But it only needs to cook for 4 minutes. (Click here and then come back.)

You can see this is a great way to make it so you don't have to spend time shucking it. And when you squeeze the corn out of the husks after cooking, most of the silks go with the husks.

Since the corn was basically ready to eat, I didn't need to cook it for long in the pot. I broke each ear into 3 pieces, then added them to the pot. Then I tossed in the shelled, cleaned shrimp. I boiled for 3 more minutes.

Then dinner was ready!

Either drain (using the steamer insert) or else scoop out the food. I've been to parties where they dump the food out onto newspapers and everyone helps themselves.

It's not traditional looking. But it sure tasted good. And was ready in about 30 minutes.

I added a kale salad from the deli (raw kale with orange dressing, dried cherries, pumpkin seeds, and carrots.)

Have you ever had a low country boil before?

In the Interest of Pie, Books and other Important Things

Ruthy here!

First there's THIS:

Hello, baby cicada!!!! Welcome to the planet, dear.... Take a few minutes and stretch those wings!!!!

And not too long after that there was this delightful surprise!!!!

Dave's cousin Karen came to visit and hold a baby! We were happy to oblige her and it was so very good to see her!!!! Thank you for stopping, Karen! Love the baby updates!!!!

So life has been crazy and crazy fun here in upstate New York! We have resurrected our love of veggie growing in one of the wettest summers on record, and our veggies are requesting life jackets. Better we should have BUILT AN ARK!!!!! And we're actually considering that except for God's promise about the whole flood thing. Go you, God!!!!!

We're planning our annual Cousinpalooza, a day-long celebration of grandchildren and birthdays, food, pinata, bounce house, food, games, talk, oh, and did I mention food???? This will be the first time the entire family has been together in five years...

PHOTO OP!!!!!

:)

There's this:

I JUST SIGNED A SIX BOOK CONTRACT WITH LOVE INSPIRED BOOKS!!!!!!! :)

Okay, I had to put that in all-caps because I'm looking forward to working with Melissa and the wonderful crew on Broadway to spark some new series and finish one of my faves: the final Kirkwood Lake story is done! And I loved weaving Julia and Tanner's story, it got this hard-hearted author damp-eyed more than once!

Dave is growling on the couch with cellulitis in his right leg, poor thing, so I'm taking care of him and mocking him slightly. He seems to be immune to my special brand of humor. Imagine that????  :)

GRATUITOUS BOOK PICTURE, IN STORES NOW!!!!

Come on, you knew I'd give you a link, didn't you???? And this book is so stinkin' sweet, and the cowboy on the cover alone is worth the price of the book or download!!!!  :)  CLICK HERE FOR BOOK!!!

And seen on the VERY SAME SHELVES??????

There is this:

And this!!!!!

On the shelves with Jan Drexler and Mia Ross this month, how fun to share shelf space with your friends!!! Oh, happy dancing, big time!!!!

And I had the urge to make pie again last weekend, it just shouted to me from the back room, empty pie pans mocking me.... lamenting their empty state. I had to help them!!!!

Like the amazing triple berry cheesecake a few weeks ago, this is a triple berry pie. It was beyond good, it was wonderful, and everything a pie should be.... Great crust, perfect filling, not too ooozy and loaded with flavor! And: Simple ingredient list!

For the recipe for my FAVORITE PIE CRUST CLICK HERE!!!! (and then come back!)

TRIPLE BERRY PIE

6 cups frozen mixed berries (or berries of your choice)
1 cup water
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Minute tapioca

Put 2 cups of berries in 3 quart saucepan.

Add water, simmer until thawed. Mash the berries because you want this to be the "set" for the other berries. Mix flour and sugar and tapioca together. Add to berry juice in pan and mix together, stirring until mix thickens.

(This won't take long, don't walk away, don't chase a kid, ignore the phone....)  Add butter, mix in. Stir the other 4 cups (or 5, it really doesn't matter! I love berries!) of berries in gently, remove from heat. Those are now your "pie" berries.

Gently spoon into crust-lined pie pan,

add top crust. I like to have a sugared top crust, so I brushed the crust with cream and sprinkled it with colored sugar.... a sugared crust has a great top texture!

Fold foil around crimped edges, bake at 425° for about 20 minutes or so, until crust is just browning lightly, a pretty golden shade. The filling is pre-cooked so this pie doesn't take very long....

Cool and serve warm or cool with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

SO AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!!!!!

And then there was a very special birthday celebration for a lovely 4 year old girl:

Casey and Taylor putting whipped cream swirls on ice cream cupcakes....

Happy birthday, Mary Ruthy!!!!!!  :)

And then there's this: A one year anniversary this month, a time of grave concern in 2013.... Now?  All systems are GO!!!!!

Roman, one year later.... and doing well!

So that's how our week went! Celebrating little joys, some aches, a few pains (mostly Dave's!!!) but all in all, counting our blessings like clover in the grass!

What I learned on my vacation

ManO and I like to travel, in part, because we know the world is a lot bigger than our little neck of the woods, we love learning and trying new things. So every time we go on vacation I take a bit of time to reflect on what I've learned from our adventures. Indulge me.

1) Books make everything taste better. Who knew there was a restaurant/book store in Atlanta's airport? Cafe Intermezzo, great place to spend a long layover.   

ManO at Cafe Intermezzo where I stared at the books, I mean, into his eyes.

  2) Unexpected ingredient combinations rock.  We always try to go to one stellar restaurant to counteract all the places with prepared food. With my allergies, the fresher the better and good restaurants know fresh.  But when we went to Biga on the Bank, set along a quieter side of the San Antonio Riverwalk, I didn't expect one of their appetizers I chose as my entree (that is how you dine stellar and not break the bank, the money bank, that is.)  Homemade hummus, giant Texas shrimp, lamb sausage, and olive tampenade, plus a few spices I am still figuring out. I would have never thought of hummus as a base. And yes, I'll be trying this at home.

3) I  have a calling as an artist encourager.  ManO and I collect art on our trips the way some people collect tee-shirts or coffee mugs. But I didn't realize my choices were being guided until this last trip. On our trip to Paris, I bought a painting from a woman in the artists' square at Montmarte. I speak French so we chatted a while about her inspiration for the little autumn river scene. As we left, I saw several other artists gather around her and hug her. "You've finally sold a painting!"

When we were in Wyoming, after visiting Yellowstone, we found the local artist's co-op (you don't have to break the bank to tap into the art scene either).  I told ManO I was obsessed with buying a painting to reflect our time in the park. A buffalo, a dead tree, and mountains. I had to have a painting with those elements. Who buys art that way? Me apparently.  We turned into the back gallery and there it was. A lovely framed watercolor of, you guessed it, a buffalo, a dead tree and mountains. I was thrilled. We took it up front. The cashier (another artist, because that is how co-ops work) said, "Oh, I am so glad you bought her painting. She broke her back and has been really down. This will perk her right up."

Now, in San Antonio, we found a local co-op in La Vallita, a group of galleries right on the Riverwalk. We went in there three times and I spied a painting of a quiet turn in the Riverwalk. But I didn't get it. The next day, by the time I realized that painting was haunting me, we didn't have time to get it and get to the airport.  ManO knew I was miserable and I called the gallery when I was home. It was a cooperative effort for them to email me a picture of the correct painting, contact the artist. What did the cashier say when I thanked her and the guy taking the picture for their efforts? "Oh, I know she will be so happy. She hasn't sold anything in a month."

Now you are free to wonder about my ability to pick paintings. But I don't. Especially when the artist, an elderly woman who lives outside of San Antonio, called to let me know she had mailed the painting. She was so thrilled I was excited about her work.  I got the message from her but I've also gotten the message that I don't exactly pick my own paintings. 

A sweet little painting of a quiet Riverwalk turn.
 

  So, what about you? What do you learn on your summer vacations? Have you had any epiphanies, brought home recipes, or just content yourself with a new favorite coffee mug?                  

More About Pies

Ruthy's post for Peaches and Cream Pie on Saturday still has me drooling. (You can find that recipe here) So, since I've been dwelling on pie (thanks a lot Ruthy!), I decided to revisit one of my very first posts here at the Yankee-Belle.

How many of y'all love pie? Now, how many love pie, but rarely, if ever, make one because you think it's too hard? Well, today I'm going to share Grandmama's secret to easy cream pies. She developed this recipe when she was eighteen years old, then adapted it to the microwave, making it easier than ever. No more standing at the stove, stirring constantly.

Here's what you'll need for a basic cream pie:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 level Tbsp. flour
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 cups milk
• 4 beaten egg yolks (save the whites for your meringue)
• 2 Tbsp. melted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 - 9 in. baked pie crust

In a microwave-safe bowl, mix together sugar, flour, and salt. Add just a little milk to the flour sugar mixture to make a thick paste. (I don't know why that step is here,but I go with it anyway. Maybe it's to make sure there are no lumps.)

Add egg yolks, rest of milk, and butter and mix well. Cook in microwave on HIGH at 2 minute intervals, whisking between each interval. The first two times you whisk the mixture will still be watery and you'll think, "this isn't working." But trust me on this. Three times is usually enough. If not, go to one minute intervals.

While the filling is cooking, you'll want to make your meringue. Beat egg whites, along with 1/8 tsp. cream of tarter until foamy. Beat in 6 Tbsp. sugar, one tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until stiff and glossy. Beat in 1/2 tsp. vanilla.

Once your filling is ready, add vanilla and stir well. Since I was making a coconut cream pie, I also added 1 cup of angle flake coconut.

Pour mixture into pie crust. 

Top with meringue, making sure to seal your edges. Since my brain doesn't process like Ruthy's does, meaning I don't have a bag of toasted coconut in the freezer, I sprinkle more plain coconut on my meringue.

 Brown 15 minutes in a 300 degree oven. 

See, easy as pie!

An added bonus to this basic recipe is that there are so many variations. I gave you the info for a coconut cream pie, but here are some others you're sure to like.

Chocolate Cream: Add 1 pkg. Nestle's Pre-Melted Chocolate (or 2 Tbsp. cocoa) to filling before cooking. Top with meringue. Brown 15 min. in 300 degree oven.

Pineapple Cream:  After cooking, add one small can crushed pineapple, drained. Again. top with meringue.

Banana Cream:  Slice 1 or 2 bananas into crust before pouring in the filling. Top with meringue.

Most of my kids don't care for the coconut cream pie (more for me and Dad), but they'll fight you tooth and nail for the chocolate cream version.



This is at gratuitous photo of my grandson, Elijah. He's too young for pie, but he sure does make us smile.

Ah, yes...that baby is three years old now. My how time flies.

Can you believe it's August? School has started for some and will be soon be starting for others. Before you know it, we'll be putting up fall decorations. And, dare I say it...?

THERE'S CHRISTMAS STUFF OUT AT HOBBY LOBBY!

Time definitely marches on, so we may as well enjoy it.

Bring on the pie!

Three Bean Salad, Family Reunions, and a Book Release!

It's August!

That means my new book, A Mother for His Children, is now available at all of your local outlets!

BTW - if your Walmart is like mine, the Love Inspired Historicals won't appear on the shelves until the middle of the month. You can either be patient, or go online to Harlequin.com or Amazon, or your favorite online retailer.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Ruthy also has a book out this month! His Montana Sweetheart is available everywhere :) or you can go online again: Harlequin.com.

Why do we enjoy Love Inspired romances so much?

I think a big part of it is because we love stories about home, family, traditions - new and old, new beginnings, second chances, and God's grace.

A Mother for His Children was inspired by a story in my own family.

This family:

This is my great-grandmother, Bessie Schrock (on the far left), with her family.

Notice G-G-Grandpa Eli's plain clothes. His parents
were the first generation to leave the Amish, but they
didn't leave the plain clothes behind.

And this is my great-grandfather, George Sherck (on the far left) with his family.

The Shercks weren't quite as "Plain" as the Schrocks,
but G-G-Grandpa Isaac never wore a tie.

Eventually George and Bessie met. He courted and she accepted.

Even though he did complain that the whitewash on the tree trunks in the front yard of the Schrock home made his good suit dusty. :)

They had children - my grandmother Ethel and her sisters, Myrtle, Dorothy, Eunice and Ruby.

And in 1928, Ethel married my grandfather, Guy, and they had children. My Dad and his brother and sisters - John, Martha, James, Waneta and Nancy. 

But they never let the bonds of the past loosen too far - family is too important.

For as long as anyone can remember, the Sherck family has been meeting every year for a family get-together. (Can you really call it a "reunion" for a family as close-knit as this one?)

Sherck family, 1938

Not just Grandma, Grandpa, children and grandchildren. As many generations as possible shows up for this reunion.

And not only that, but there's also a Sherck-Weaver reunion every year. The descendants of my great-great-great-grandparents.

When I was growing up, I thought this was normal. I thought every family had close ties like this. Then my world expanded, and I started wondering what made my family unique.

I've decided that a lot of it comes from our family heritage and Amish/Mennonite background. Both of my great-grandparents descended from Anabaptists that were persecuted in Switzerland in the 1600's. The two families came from small towns in the Emmental region of Switzerland only a few miles apart.

The years of persecution, being imprisoned for their faith, ultimately exiled from their homes and taking the long and dangerous journey to a new land cemented bonds in Amish and Mennonite families that are unshakable.

The Sherck reunion is this coming weekend. I won't be there to enjoy renewing family ties - but I'll certainly be thinking about them.

And the food.

You knew I'd bring this around to food, didn't you?

Yes, I'm going to share a recipe, but you have to know it was hard to choose. The only dish I remember from my childhood was the homemade ice cream for dessert. Lots and lots of ice cream, made in hand-cranked ice cream freezers.

And someone usually brought cracklin's - but they were too rich for little girls (just like Laura was told in The Little House in the Big Woods).

I do remember the tables being so full of good food you could never try everything. There's one dish that sticks in my memory, though: Three Bean Salad. You can never go wrong with a good Three Bean Salad!

This is a repeat recipe, but it's perfect for this time of year:


Jan's Three Bean Salad

Ingredients:

1 can green beans, drained

1 can yellow (or wax) beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

1/2 small onion, sliced thin and separated into rings

1/4 cup green pepper, cut in 1/2" chunks

1 cup Italian salad dressing (the easy option)

Or for a more authentic Amish flavor, make this dressing:
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tbsp. oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate for at least 90 minutes. Drain the excess salad dressing before serving.

Do you enjoy family reunions?

Revisiting Peaches and Cream Pie, Top Rated by Ruthy!!!!

Okay, here it is, as promised!  I can't believe I didn't post this a few weeks ago. We are to say NOTHING of Ruthy's memory lapses from this point forward, 'kay????

'Kay!

:)

So here is the basic pic of recipe ingredients:

 Of course, you need pie crust so go HERE and use my Country Tearoom recipe that has won awards all over the place. I know this because the magazine said so a gazillion years ago when dinosaurs made pies.

Basic recipe with Ruthy flair:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 Tbsp. quick cooking tapioca
Dash salt  * Note for you purists.... Add it. Look at what Lindt has done for dark chocolate by adding a hint of sea salt???? Chocolate covered pretzels??? Delish, right? Trust me, adding incidental hints of salt and savory tastes will not (most likely) end the world. And it gives a background pizzazz.

1 1/4   cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon  or nutmeg or both (if desired)  It's great with or without the spices, but I love the scent and taste of fall.

Peel and slice 6-7 cups of fresh peaches, or use frozen peaches, thawed and drained

Combine all dry ingredients. Mix all but a tablespoon or two of the heavy cream with the vanilla. Save the extra bit of cream for brushing the top crust...  Add to sugar mixture.   Add peaches. Toss lightly. Let sit for 10-15 minutes while you do the crust.

Take two sections of pie crust, either fresh or frozen. Roll one out to fit a deep dish 9" pan. Don't roll top crust yet...

Once peach/sugar/cream mixture has sat a while and maybe you've had a cup of coffee or a glass of tea, roll that top crust out. Using a sharp knife or 'ruffle edge' cutter, make a bunch of 1" (one inch wide) ribbons of crust. To do a lattice crust, start in the middle of the pie with the longest pieces. You usually only use about 10-12 pieces of crust, and if you start in the middle, you can easily raise the piece below up enough to "weave" the next piece of crust. It's like making a potholder only more delicious than any stretchy cotton yarn I've ever eaten. And I've had my share!

Tuck the edges under, then flute the edge by pinching. Brush remaining cream over the pie crust and sprinkle with sugar. When the little boys help me sprinkle with sugar we get LOTS OF SUGAR.

They were nowhere to be found today, so we have NORMAL sugary sparkles!!!

I use aluminum foil strips to prevent the edges from over-browning. I'm fussy that way. I like them golden, not brown. But then, I like wimpy toast, too. Clearly, I'm a wuss.

Eat. Eat. Eat. Truly, this is by far the best peach pie I have ever eaten. I'm not a peach pie person, although I love peaches. I hate soggy pies. I get SO MAD when a pie crust is ruined by day 2 because the crust is soggy. Obviously I'm a little OCD when it comes to pie, but this pie????

Oh.... THIS PIE doesn't do that. It's just perfect, even several days in.

'Sall I'm sayin'.

Lavender Honey Balsamic Dressing

Lavender Honey Balsamic Salad Dressing

with Missy Tippens

One of our favorite restaurants in a nearby town, One Blue Duck, serves an amazing salad with shaved beets (usually golden) and some sort of bleu chese (gorgonzola, I think). And to top it off, it has this amazing lavender dressing made with lavender they grow out back. So I decided to try to make my own copy at home.

First, I did a search for dressings. I found this recipe that sounded similar at a blog called The Kitchen is My Playground. My photos can't compare to her gorgeous ones, so be sure to drop by to see it. Here's a link to the original dressing recipe (click here).

I made a few small adjustments. Here's my version…

6 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar (will try white balsamic next time)
2 T honey
1 T lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed (I used jarred minced)
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. dried lavender flowers

First, I took the advice from several of you to go to Penzey's Spices because I needed a trustworthy source of dried lavender.

Once that arrived, I was able to make my dressing.

I used my small, portable Hamilton-Beach smoothie blender. Put all ingredients inside and then blend.

Then I put it in the refrigerator to chill and got to work on the fresh beets.

Wash and peel one small beet. Then either slice thinly and chop into small pieces. Or shave it with a vegetable peeler. I think the shaving is probably better but I didn't think of it until later.

Place greens on the plate. Top with beets and other vegetables as desired. Add crumbled bleu cheese (I didn't have any). Then, after shaking well, drizzle on the chilled dressing.

It makes a beautiful salad!

P.S. My daughter doesn't really like the smell of lavender, so she didn't really care for this dressing. Just a warning. :)

ADDENDUM!

I forgot to do the promised RWA Part 2 post. But I'll post the cowboy photo I mentioned. Mary Curry will kill me for sharing it with her eyes half closed. :)

www.missytippens.com