June 2005
Dear Friends,
Summer has finally arrived and it certainly is nice enjoying the warm weather and longer evenings. I hope you found the Spring cleaning tips helpful last month. I just put away the flannel sheets and heavier clothes. Yes, in North Florida we do get some freezing temps in the winter! Invest a little time now to wash or dry clean winter clothes and bedding, then put them away so they don’t collect dust all summer long. When the first cold front comes through next Fall, your family will be ready.
June is blueberry season here and we enjoy going to a U-Pick farm and stocking up on this very nutritious fruit.
Fresh blueberries will keep 2-3 weeks in the frig and at least 9 months in the freezer. I try to use frozen blueberries within 6 months because over time they get tough on the outside and mushy on the inside. Remember, don’t wash the berries before you freeze them; they will be very mushy when they thaw. Wait until you use them and then rinse them. In many recipes, such as blueberry muffins and pancakes, you do not need to thaw the berries before baking. Just rinse them and set them on some paper towels to dry the excess moisture.
Here’s a recipe for an easy
blueberry sauce that is absolutely delicious on French toast, pancakes, and even on ice cream.
1/3 Cup water
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 Cup sugar
2 Cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Mix the cornstarch in the water until dissolved. Put the berries in a medium saucepan and sprinkle with sugar. Add the water mixture. Stir constantly over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and simmer for one minute. Remove from heat; enjoy!
Carefully taste the sauce as it simmers. You can add more sugar if you think it’s needed but the berries are usually sweet enough that it doesn’t need more. I’ve never tried this with honey or Splenda or another sweetener. If you do, please share your recipe with me and I’ll share it with everyone later.
Cornstarch is a wonderful thickener for gravy, pies, pudding and sauces. It is made by extracting the starch from the corn kernel. A couple of important things to remember: always mix cornstarch in a cool liquid first, then add to a hot mixture. This helps prevent lumps. Also, cornstarch is twice as strong as flour, so if a recipe calls for 2T. flour, and you want to use cornstarch, use just 1T. cornstarch. Cornstarch cooks up brighter and clearer than recipes that use flour as a thickener. I always use cornstarch when I make the filling for an apple pie.
Here’s another recipe that uses cornstarch and it’s one of our favorites. I’ve had for this recipe for Sweet & Sour Sauce for over 30 years. It is quick and easy. I like to serve it with stir-fried chicken and veggies, and it is wonderful with meatballs. For an easy appetizer, make small meatballs, drain the fat, place the meatballs in a dish and pour this sauce over them. Serve with toothpicks. I’ve taken these to church potlucks and they’re always a hit. Keep the meatballs and sauce warm in a slow cooker & serve from there. You can double or triple the recipe, as needed.
Easy Sweet & Sour Sauce
2 T. cornstarch
1/3 Cup vinegar
1 Cup pineapple juice
1/3 Cup brown sugar
1 T. soy sauce
Mix the cornstarch in the vinegar; stir to dissolve. Pour pineapple juice into a medium saucepan. Add the vinegar mixture, brown sugar and soy sauce. Stir constantly over medium heat until sauce is clear and thickened. This makes a thick sauce; if you like it a little thinner, just add ¼ - ½ Cup more pineapple juice.
A little tip: pineapple juice is cheaper when purchased in the large cans, but we don’t use the entire can. After making the sweet & sour sauce, I freeze the leftover pineapple juice putting one cup in each freezer container. The next time I need it, it’s already measured and I can thaw it quickly in the microwave.
You can freeze the pineapple juice, but do not freeze the Sweet & Sour Sauce! Thickened sauces come out like a rubbery mass when you thaw them. Some years ago I thought I would be quite clever and cook up an extra batch of gravy and freeze it. My husband’s parents were visiting and I went to heat the thawed gravy. Here I am stirring this rubbery mass, praying it would turn into nice smooth gravy. Not! My mother-in-law was so sweet and helped me as I put the whole thing in the blender to try to reconstitute it. It was better, but not like the gravy I usually make. Take my word for it; don’t freeze gravy or thick sauces!
You’ll find another fruit recipe using cornstarch on page 141 of The Future Christian Homemaker’s Handbook. Also check the back of the cornstarch box or visit
www.argostarch.com for lots of recipes.
We’re looking forward to a visit from several of our grandchildren this summer. For a fun activity, especially on a rainy day, make play dough with your children. I have frequently used this recipe over the years; it is a pliable, soft dough that I think is better than what you buy in a can! It’s certainly less expensive. Let the children help measure the ingredients.
Homemade Play Dough
1 Cup salt
2 Cups all-purpose flour
4 t. cream of tartar
2 Cups water
2 T. vegetable oil
1 t. oil of wintergreen
Food color (Add enough to achieve desired color)
Mix everything together in a large saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until everything comes together to form a large ball. It will get quite stiff, but stir until it forms a ball. Set out on a clean table. Cool for a minute or two and knead. Play! Use cookie cutters, rolling pins, forks, and whatever else is on hand to shape and make marks in the dough. Store in a sealed container or plastic bag.
You can buy oil of wintergreen in most pharmacies. It acts as a preservative and keeps the dough smelling good. This dough will dry out and get a bit “crusty” if not covered, but it does not harden like salt dough that you can paint.
For a clay dough that hardens and can be painted, go to the Argo cornstarch site mentioned earlier and click on Kid’s Corner. That dough, made with baking soda and cornstarch, can be rolled and cut with cookie cutters to make ornaments or just shaped into fun shapes. Depending on how thick the finished creation is, it will take a day or two to dry out and then can be painted or decorated.
Enjoy the beginning of summer. Be sure to take some time to relax and smell the roses! In my next letter, I’ll share some summer fun from the Fifties!
Until next time ~
Yours in Him,
Copyright, 2005, Laurie Latour.
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