Grandma Renshaw's Coconut Cream Pie

This week I baked a recipe from my Grandma, Margaret Ackerman Renshaw. Since you never got to meet her I thought I'd tell you a little about her and Grandpa, Alfred Renshaw.  Margaret was pretty cool so I'll have to save some of her story for other posts.

My grandparents weren't able to have children.  Some relatives were visiting and told them a sad story.  Another couple, also related, had a newborn baby girl.  But the new mother had died the day after the baby was born, leaving the father with a small boy and a tiny baby.  He felt he couldn't take care of both children and was looking for a good home for the baby.  Alfred and Margaret decided to adopt the baby and so my Mom,  Elizabeth Ann Schrader became a Renshaw and moved to Rushmore Minnesota.  And that is were my story takes place.

We all lived on a farm.  Grandma & Grandpa lived on the farm with us. Actually, I guess it started out as their farm, Grandpa & Dad began farming together after Mom & Dad got married.  There were 2 houses on our farm, we lived in one and they lived in the other.  When I was born our family was living in the "little house" which was a newer, smaller house that sat close to the road.  I guess this house was built for my parents to live in when they moved to the farm.  The "big house" was the original farm house and Grandma & Grandpa lived there.  I guess my Mom grew up in that house but I never heard any talk about that.

One of my earliest memories was the day our family moved into the big house and G & G moved into the little house.  Our family had gotten too big to fit comfortably in our cozy home so we just swapped houses!  All I really remember about that day was carrying my little rocking chair to the big house.  I don't remember living in the little house but I have pictures to prove I did.  Here I am celebrating my 3rd birthday in the little house!

 So, Grandma & Grandpa were our closest neighbors, we saw them everyday.  Grandpa came to our house twice daily for coffee break, in the middle of the morning and mid afternoon, on the farm this was called "lunch".   Here is the breakdown of meals on the farm: breakfast, lunch, dinner, lunch, supper, followed by a large dessert before bed.  We ate a lot!

Most days I saw Grandma because I was sent to her house for some reason.  Shirley and I were Mom and Grandma's  errand runners.  If Mom needed to give something to or borrow something from Grandma, we would go running across the yard to deliver or pickup whatever was needed. I loved to see Grandma so I didn't mind being sent, except at night when I was always worried a wolf might get me, although I have never seen a wolf on the farm.  Crazy kid!  Grandma had some toys at her house that we could play with if we needed to hang out for a while.  There were blocks, and a toy car that was kept under her china hutch.  If Grandpa was around we would play with the car.  Grandpa was getting old and slowing down, so he would sit in his comfy chair across the room.  We would roll the car to him and he would stop it with his foot, then lean down and push it back.  

Grandma always seemed to be baking.  I guess a lot of the treats she baked came to our house because the two of them could not possibly have eaten all of that food!  She made great cookies, angel food cakes and especially pies!  Her pie crusts were amazing, practically a food group by themselves!  Of course, her secret to tender, flaky crusts was lard.  You don't hear about lard much these days, not so good for your arteries!  But if you need to make a really fabulous pie crust from scratch, lard is the way to go.  She always made some extra crust or perhaps she just rolled it so thin that she had some leftover.  The leftover crust would be laid out on a cookie sheet, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, baked and served up warm to the errand runners.  Lucky us!

Grandma's pies came in lots of flavors but the ones I remember the most were lemon meringue, coconut cream and apple .  All delicious!  I don't think I have ever had apple pie as good as Grandma's apple pie. I'm not sure what else she did to make it so special but it was truly amazing!  She also worked wonders with meringue and custards, so smooth and creamy. Perfection!

I got to thinking about her pies this week and realized Aunt Shirley had given me Grandma's coconut cream recipe.  Alas, no recipe for the crust!  But the creamy coconut custard went together easily and a store bought crust did its best to fill in for the memorable pastry, topped off with a beautiful meringue.  The guys and I have been gobbling it up, sorry it won't last until Emily gets here!  But here is Grandma's recipe so you can make it yourself, enjoy!!! 

 Grandma Renshaw's Coconut Cream Pie

Custard

1 3/4 cups milk

1/4 cup white corn syrup

4 T cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs yolks

 1 tsp vanilla

1 cup coconut 

Meringue

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

  Add coconut and vanilla.  Let cool  while you prepare meringue.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pour custard into pie shell and then spread meringue over warm filling.  

Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool and then refrigerate.  

*This pie tastes better the second day.

*The custard was very sweet,  next time I might experiment with slightly less sugar.

Enjoy this pie with a cup of coffee at lunch or anytime of day!

Grandma Anderson's Coffee Cake

For the first time Dad and I are going to Worthington without you. It is bound to seem very strange. I'm sure you will be fine. But we are not used to being there without you. Grandma keeps asking if "you'll be coming after all". We will be staying with Grandpa & Grandma. You and the Tonn's will not be there to entertain us. This could be interesting!

There are some pretty predictable things that most trips to Worthington include. We will talk about baseball. We will be going out to the Stude farm, Curt and Nancy are building a new house. We will go to Indian Lake Baptist for Sunday church. Dad and I will do some walking (or in Dad's case, running) around town. Dad hopes to get back to that little Mexican bakery and I will try in vain to find a Tazo chai latte. We plan to take G&G out for dinner somewhere, Grandma has a new/old place in mind. We will spend a lot of time watching Grandpa work the remote, I'm bringing 2 books and 4 magazines. I'm sure they will have saved a stack of newspapers for Dad to read so he better bring his glasses! There might be some drives in the country or to see some changes in town. But the one thing we can count on is food, food, and more food!

Grandma is big on feeding everyone until they are stuffed, and then feeding them again, and again, and again. Don't get me wrong, she is a very good cook. And, she certainly can feed a crowd! She is just really bad at estimating what a normal stomach can hold in a day. Grandma often is heard to say "There is not enough left to save, someone needs to eat it up"! So, trust me, we will be eating, a lot!

One of Grandma's classic creations is her coffee cake. This moist, lightly spiced cake, which is really more of a dessert, appears at the breakfast table on most of our visits. It is a favorite of Uncle Dwight's, so she always has it on hand when he is in town. It's very comforting to have a big slice of the cinnamon-y pastry when the family is all gathered for Anderson Christmas. It has become a tradition for us overnight guests.

Now, I have never baked it myself but I do have her recipe, so it's time to share it with you. Enjoy a big slice! Or two. Or three. Someone needs to eat it up!

Grandma Anderson's Coffee Cake

1 pkg yellow cake mix

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup water

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Combine and beat for 8 minutes.

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

chopped nuts, if desired

Grease sides and bottom of a 9 X 13 cake pan or angel food pan. Pour in half of the batter and sprinkle with half of the topping. Cover with the remaining batter and sprinkle with the rest of the topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

4-H Memories- SnickerDoodles

The 4-H Pledge

I pledge my Head to clearer thinking,

my Heart to greater loyalty,

my Hands to larger service,

and my Health to better living,

for my club, my community, my country and my world.

When I was growing up on the farm, all of us Anderson kids were members of 4-H. Most farm kids were 4-H club members and attended weekly meetings. Our local club was called The Rushmore Central Hustlers. I'm not sure that is a very good name these days but I checked online and they are still using it. Hmmmmm.

At the 4-H meetings we learned about a variety of things from our leaders or other kids in the club. Topics could include livestock, farm machinery, sewing, foods, gardening and well, you get the idea. You could focus on certain areas of interest and then bring your "projects" to the county fair for exhibition and judging. Ribbons of different colors were given to designate placement in the competition. We always hoped for the dark purple grand champion ribbon. If you did well at the county fair you might win a trip to the Minnesota State Fair!

Aunt Shirley and I usually brought the following entries to the county fair:

* a poster about safety or health

*one or more baked items

* a clothing item we had sewn

* 2 or more hogs

and occasionally

* an updated household item or piece of refinished furniture

Although Grandpa raised beef cattle and hogs, he had given up on letting us little girls show cattle at the fair because it had been too hard for Aunt Janice. I always felt a little cheated, but I gotta admit that showing our hogs was a lot of work. But, it was also the most fun!

I have great memories of the county fair, so it was a big disappointment last summer to see how much it has changed. Somehow, selecting a store bought outfit to exhibit is just not the same as sewing your own garment for competition! One of the highlights of the county fair, back in the day, was the Dress Revue. Girls would model whatever garment they had sewn and walk across the stage at the grandstand, kind of a country girls fashion show. The younger girls would start out with an easier project, like an apron. Each year you would try a more difficult sewing project. The picture above (taken in the 1970's) is of me in the last outfit I remember sewing for the county fair. Check out the swoopie bangs, oh my!

The same was true for baked entries. Each age group was given a recipe to make, so we were all competing to bake the best example of the same item. For example, Beginning Foods competitors would start with baking powder biscuits and then move on to snickerdoodle cookies the next year.

One year, Aunt Shirley and I decided to divide and conquer. She would do all of our sewing projects and I would do our baking. This seemed like a good idea because she was the better seamstress. I got frustrated easily if things didn't go so well. Plus, I have always loved baking. Okay, to be honest I don't think it ever entered my mind that this was cheating, sorry to set a bad example. Anyway, I set to work on perfecting that year's assigned recipe: Angel Food Cake. Aunt Shirley sewed a nice dress for me to enter but it only earned a Red ribbon, about equal to a D on a report card. But, the cake I baked for Shirley got the Reserve Grand Champion ribbon! One of the best ribbons I have ever won at the county fair! Aunt Shirley is still a better seamstress than me, but I can bake a prize winning angel food cake from scratch any day!

The recipe I want to share with you is not for angel food cake, why bother when you can buy a perfectly good box mix! No, sometimes the easy, beginner recipes are the best ones to share!

SNICKERDOODLES

2 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Beat the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Mix in the vanilla, salt and baking powder. Add the flour and mix until dough is smooth. If dough is too soft, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape the dough into 1 inch round balls. In a small bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 -10 minutes, or until light golden brown around edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Makes about 6 dozen cookies. This easy recipe will earn you a blue ribbon any day!

Swedish Brownies

Today at church we said goodbye to Pastor Paul & Cheryl Bengtson. Pastor Paul has done a fabulous job as our interim pastor. They came to us while our church was trying to bounce back from a very difficult situation. And they brought JOY with them! We had been without it for a long time and it has been wonderful to feel joyful again. Paul and Cheryl seem to have touched the lives of everyone at church in a very short time. It was great to see the outpouring of love for them today as people shared how they have been affected by Paul and Cheryl's ministry.

I will always think of hugs when I think of Pastor Paul. He hugs everyone! He certainly is good at making people feel included and welcomed. I know he made efforts to befriend both of you, although he may always call Tyler "Kyle"! I'm sure we will miss his big laugh and easy friendship.

One Sunday, Paul & Cheryl invited Dad and I over to the little blue house on Greenview for lunch. We had a great time getting to know them better. Cheryl served a dessert we had never had before. She introduced us to Swedish Brownies! There is no chocolate in these yummy bars because they are Swedish, they are blonde! They have become my new favorite, hope you like them too!

Cheryl Bengtson's Swedish Brownies

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp almond extract

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

Mix in order given. Spread in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle generously with sugar (and 1/2 cup sliced almonds if desired). Bake 30-35 minutes at 350. Enjoy with your favorite Swede or North Parker!

Blueberry+Muffins!

Muffins are easy to make and hard to screw up, maybe that is why I like to bake them. One of my best recipes comes from a cookbook given to me by Auntie Lou's friend Gayle. The book is entitled "Best of Friends, Etc" and inside Gayle wrote Apple Blossom - 1989. We had gone to visit the Largents a few months before Tyler was born and we were there for Wenatchee's annual Apple Blossom parade.

When I think about Wenatchee I can't help but think about all the wonderful fruit that grows in the area. Of course Washington is known for apples but they also grow great cherries, peaches and blueberries.

It was during that trip that Uncle Chuck introduced me to the Krusteaz brand of baking mixes, in particular, the almond poppyseed muffin mix! Uncle Chuck baked great muffins using this mix and added lots of good stuff like berries, chopped peaches, nuts and chocolate chips. So delicious! It was a few years later before I found the Krusteaz brand in our local stores. Soon almond poppyseed muffins with mini chocolate chips became a favorite at our house.

All this talk about muffins was making me hungry. Sorry, it is taking me longer to finish this post because I had to stop and make some almond poppyseed muffins! This time with sliced almonds and boysenberries, yummy!

Now, lets get back to work! Let me just wipe these crumbs off my mouth, ok.....ready. A few years back Dad & Emily got to travel to Wenatchee for Andy and Jenn's wedding. During that trip they went to a blueberry farm with Grandma, Uncle Chuck & Auntie Lou and took the picture shown at the top of this post. Which brings us full circle back to my title, Blueberry+Muffins! The recipe below is from Gayle's cookbook on page 79, "Huckleberry Muffins". Now, I've never had a huckleberry, but these muffins are fabulous with blueberries. So preheat your oven and get ready for some goodness!

Blueberry+Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 egg - well beaten

1/3 cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup fresh blueberries - rinsed

3 tablespoons sugar

melted butter

sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line muffin tins with paper liners. Mix together the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt in large mixing bowl. Combine the milk, vanilla, egg and oil - add all at once to the dry ingredients, stirring quickly just until moistened. (Always use a light touch with muffins, overmixing will make a tough texture).

Gently mix the 3 tablespoons sugar with the berries, (add 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel if desired). Fold lightly into batter. Fill muffin pans 2/3's full, should yield about 12 standard muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until tops are lightly browned. While muffins are still warm remove from pans and dip tops in melted butter, then dip in sugar. Oh! My! Goodness!

*Note to Tyler: Sorry you didn't get to enjoy any of the trips in this post, but you did get your drivers license and you got to eat some of the fresh muffins this morning :)

Pasta Salad- School Days. Some things change.... Some things stay the same!

This month marks one year since Emily graduated from North Park. And one year from now Ty plans to graduate from North Park as well. I can't believe you are so grown up! Of course this gives me the perfect opportunity to become very sentimental. So today we looked through a box of old photos and found these pictures of each of you on your first day of kindergarten.

Check out those cute faces! Ty still has the same haircut. You both still like a good Disney movie (see the Belle backpack & Pumba t-shirt). But you have changed so much! You have grown taller, older, wiser and ready to take on the world! Those aren't the only changes. You went from Westscott to Maple, to GBN and then on to NPU. You went from tricycles to training wheels to bicycles and then to driving cars. You needed babysitters and then became sitters. You used to get an allowance and now you get paychecks. You have traveled the USA from coast to coast and seen far away places. You have lived at home and lived on your own.

So many changes! And yet one thing remains a favorite, pasta salad! We were first introduced to this recipe by Ann Albinson. To be honest, it comes straight from the "McCormick Salad Supreme" seasoning bottle. Of course we have our own regular way to prepare it, but we'll get to that later.

Ann first served it to us using spaghetti noodles. Even when you were little you liked the zippy taste. Over the years it has turned up at lots of events. Emily requested it for our family party to celebrate Tyler's Dedication & Emily's 3rd birthday. It turned up most recently for Emily's graduation party, this time with a more grown up twist. Summer is the perfect time to make up a big bowlful! Invite some friends over to enjoy!

Ann Albinson's Pasta Salad

Warnygora Style

Mix 4 cups cooked corkscrew or penne pasta, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup frozen peas, 1 cup chopped carrots, 20-30 slices pepperoni cut in 1/2, with 1 cup italian salad dressing and 4 tbsp Salad Supreme seasoning mix. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Toss before serving, may add some more salad dressing if too dry.

This is how you have liked the pasta salad, you have gotten upset if I made changes! Although Ty would be happy with no carrots, they are easy to avoid. But now that you have changed so much, here are some suggestions for changing our favorite salad. For starters it would be great with other chopped fresh veggies like tomato, cucumbers, red onion & peppers. Or add chopped roasted veggies! Try different varieties of cubed cheese like we did for Em's grad party. Substitute cooked chunks of chicken for the pepperoni. Throw in some olives! The possibilities are endless! You really can't go wrong, it will still remain a favorite........ some things never change!

Sweet Momma Turns 50! Carrot Cake

This week I turned 50! Wow! What a great reason to throw a big party, and you did!!! What a wonderful surprise, I LOVED IT! Thank you!

I love planning a party. It brings me joy to get people together to celebrate. We have enjoyed some good parties over the

years. Milestones like birthdays, confirmations & graduations have all been opportunities to host a gathering of friends. Remember Emily's American Girl tea party in the Garden Terrace room, Ty's pirate party with moustaches and bandannas, and Dad's 50th b-day at CVON with all of the residents! Don't forget the Halloween party in our garage! But we don't need a crowd or a big event to celebrate. Everyday things like sleepovers, the arrival of fall or good report cards have been a chance for me try to create a party atmosphere.

Whatever the event, nothing says party like a cake! I love cake! I enjoy any chance to bake a cake and pretty much haven't met a cake I don't like. For my party you chose Carrot Cake, what a great choice! That sweet, creamy frosting covering a spicy treasure of goodies. Great with just carrots, some recipes also include nuts, raisins and pineapple. I have several recipes for this yummy favorite, but Uncle Chuck & Auntie Lou made a carrot cake for the two of you that made you fans. So here is the Largent's Carrot Cake recipe. Remember: life is too short, we should have more parties!

Uncle Chuck and Auntie Lou's Carrot Cake

4 beaten eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups grated carrots

Beat eggs one at a time. Mix in sugar and oil. Add flour, soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir in grated carrots. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan or two 9 inch round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting and refrigerate before serving.

Mom's tip: Peel and grate the carrots yourself. You may be tempted to purchase the shredded carrots. Don't do it! Your cake will not be as moist and delicious.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sifted powdered confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy, use a mixer if you've got one. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar. Don't over do it with the mixing! Store in the refrigerator.

Start planning your next party!