Autumn Winds

by Charlotte Hubbard

  ½ C. butter, softened

  ½ C. shortening

  2 C. sugar

  5 eggs, separated

  2 C. all-purpose flour

  1 tsp. baking soda

  1 C. buttermilk

  1 tsp. vanilla

  2 C. flaked coconut

  ½ C. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

  Frosting

  1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened (use full fat)

  4 C. to one pound of powdered sugar

  ¼ C. butter, softened

  1 tsp. vanilla

  Extra coconut for garnish

  Walnut or pecan halves (optional)

  Preheat oven to 350°. Cut wax paper to cover the bottom of two round cake pans, then grease/spray the sides. Cream the butter, shortening, and sugar. Add the egg yolks and mix well. Add the flour and soda alternately with the buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in the coconut and chopped nuts. Beat the egg whites until stiff and carefully fold into the batter. Divide the batter into the prepared pans and bake about 40 minutes (center should spring back when you touch it). Cool in pans 10 minutes and remove from pans to a rack to cool completely. Peel off wax paper.

  For frosting, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Frost the top of one layer and place the other layer on it, then spread the frosting over the top and sides. Garnish by pressing extra coconut onto the sides and spacing nut halves along the edge of the top.

  Kitchen Hint: No buttermilk? Stir 1 T. white vinegar into a cup of milk and let it sit for about five minutes.

  In the story, Miriam baked this as a three-layer cake for Hiram’s birthday and for Rachel’s wedding. To do that, simply make half again as much batter and frosting: for instance, you would use ¾ C. butter, ¾ C. shortening, 3 C. sugar and 7 eggs, etc. Instead of garnishing the cake with nut halves, you could pipe some of the frosting around the edges with a pastry tube and decorative tip.

  Baked Apple Oatmeal

  Great to make ahead for a crowd—or make half the recipe, as this serves 8–10 people. I like to leave out the sugar and let folks spoon up as much as they want from the pan before adding the sweetener of their choice: honey, maple syrup, sugar, or artificial sweeteners work well. Have extra milk on the table.

  2 C. old-fashioned rolled oats

  ½ C. raisins

  C. packed brown sugar

  1 T. ground cinnamon

  4 C. milk

  2 medium apples, chopped (2 C.)

  ½ C. chopped walnuts

  Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 2-quart casserole or a 9” x 13” pan and mix all ingredients in the pan. Bake uncovered 40 to 45 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

  Kitchen Hint: Serve immediately—or cool and keep covered in the fridge. Keeps for 3 or 4 days, and can be reheated in the oven, covered; or in the microwave, one bowl at a time.

  Three-Grain Biscuits

  These biscuits offer a tasty alternative for folks who like a serving of whole grains at breakfast. They don’t rise as high as a traditional white-flour biscuit, but you’ll enjoy the denser texture and nuttier flavor with all of your favorite toppings!

  ¾ C. whole wheat flour

  ½ C. all-purpose flour

  ½ C. whole-grain cornmeal

  3 tsp. baking powder

  ¼ tsp. salt

  ¼ C. shortening or butter

  ½ C. old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

  ¾ C. milk

  Preheat oven to 450°. In a large bowl, mix the first five dry ingredients and then cut in the shortening/butter with a pastry blender or by rubbing with the tines of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in oats. Stir in just enough milk so the dough forms a ball and leaves the side of the bowl.

  Knead on a lightly floured surface about 10 times. Roll to ½-inch thickness and cut biscuits with a 2½-inch round cutter (or use a drinking glass). Place on a greased cookie sheet, about an inch apart. Brush with milk and sprinkle with additional oats, if you like. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light brown. Enjoy! Makes 10–12 biscuits.

  Kitchen Hint: You can put the dry ingredients into the work bowl of a food processor and cut in the butter/shortening with the blade, and then add the oats and dribble the milk through the top opening to mix the dough faster—although your biscuits will end up a little heavier. Butter will also make them a little heavier than shortening, but some folks (like me!) prefer that down-home taste! These freeze well.

  Boston Brown Bread

  This recipe dates back to Colonial times, when refined sugar wasn’t readily available. Molasses and raisins make it a dense, sweet, satisfying treat for breakfast—or any time!

  Makes nice little sandwiches when spread with cream cheese and cut into squares or “fingers.”

  1 C. all-purpose flour

  1 C. whole wheat flour

  1 C. yellow cornmeal

  1 C. raisins

  2 C. buttermilk

  ¾ C. molasses

  2 tsp. baking soda

  1 tsp. salt

  Preheat oven to 325°. Spray two 8” x 4” bread pans. Mix all ingredients and divide dough between the two pans. Bake about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes, loosen sides, and remove to cool on a rack.

  Kitchen Hint: No buttermilk? Pour 2 cups of milk into a measuring cup and stir in 2 T. vinegar. Let it sit about 10 minutes to thicken.

  Whole Wheat Banana Bread

  This is my all-time favorite recipe for banana bread, so I never make any other kind! The combination of whole wheat flour, butter, and nuts makes a denser, moister loaf that freezes well. Like most fruit-nut breads, this one cuts cleaner and tastes better if cooled completely, wrapped in plastic wrap, and served the next day . . . although we can never wait that long at my house!

  ½ C. butter or margarine, melted

  1 C. sugar

  2 eggs

  3 medium bananas (1 C. mashed)

  1 C. all-purpose flour

  ½ tsp. salt

  1 tsp. baking soda

  1 C. whole wheat flour

  C. hot water

  ¾ C. chopped walnuts

  Preheat oven to 325°. Blend sugar into melted butter/ margarine. Mix in the eggs and mashed bananas until smooth. Stir in the all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and whole wheat flour alternately with the hot water. Stir in nuts. Bake in a sprayed/greased 9” x 5” loaf pan for an hour and ten minutes—or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

  Kitchen Hint: This makes a dozen wonderful muffins, too—which shortens the baking time to about 15–20 minutes. Or, for smaller loaves, pour the batter into two 8” x 4” pans and bake about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

  Stuffed Shells

  Every time I make this dish for potlucks and receptions I get requests for the recipe! It freezes beautifully and combines a lot of great flavors. Think of it as lasagna in a shell!

  1 lb. bulk Italian sausage

  1 large onion, chopped

  1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, cooked and

  drained/pressed

  8 oz. cream cheese

  1 egg

  2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

  2 C. shredded Cheddar cheese

  1 C. cottage cheese

  ¼ C. Parmesan cheese

  Salt, pepper, Italian seasonings to taste

  1 box of jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained

  Large can of spaghetti sauce, any flavor

  Cook the pasta shells according to package directions, rinse in cold water, and separate them on wax paper. For the filling, cook the sausage and onion together, drain, and either chop with a pastry cutter or with a blade in the food processor. Press all the liquid out of the spinach. Combine the meat, spinach, cream cheese, egg, 1 C. of the mozzarella, the Cheddar, the cottage cheese, and the Parmesan in a large bowl and mix well. Fill the pasta shells and place in a greased/sprayed 9” x 13” pan; top with spaghetti sauce. Cover and bake at
350° for 45 minutes. Top with remaining 1 C. of mozzarella and bake uncovered about 5 minutes more.

  Kitchen Hint: I usually have an “overflow” pan because it’s better if the filled shells aren’t crammed too tightly into the 9” x 13” pan.

  Hamburger Soup

  This is one of my all-time favorite soups, because you can’t beat the basic meat and potatoes combination. The tomato juice base packs in lots of vitamins and veggie servings without adding the calories of a cream-based soup. Like a lot of soups, this one improves after a day in the fridge, but if you don’t want it sitting around, simply freeze it in 1- or 2-serving portions. Makes a good, quick meal for another day!

  1 lb. ground beef

  Salt and pepper to taste

  2 large potatoes, cubed

  3 carrots, sliced

  3 stalks celery, sliced

  1 large can or 1 quart jar tomatoes (with juice)

  2 beef bouillon cubes

  1 64-oz. bottle tomato juice

  Dill, garlic powder, salt, pepper, to taste

  In a 2-quart pan or Dutch oven, brown and drain the ground beef with salt and pepper; set aside and discard the grease. In the same pan, simmer the potatoes, carrots, celery, and tomatoes with the bouillon and seasonings until tender. Add tomato juice and stir in the ground beef. Adjust seasonings to taste and simmer to allow flavors to blend.

  Kitchen Hint: If you prefer a creamier soup, as my mom did, shake 1 C. milk with 3 T. flour in a jar until smooth and stir this in after the final step above. Stir continuously to keep the milk from scorching. Freezes well.

  Turkey-Cheese Chowder

  Here’s a tasty, economical way to satisfy a craving for comfort food on a cold day!

  2 turkey wings or drumsticks

  4 C. turkey broth (from cooking the wings or drumsticks)

  1 C. each of diced carrots, potatoes, celery, onion

  4 chicken bouillon cubes

  2 C. milk

  6 T. flour

  1 C. shredded Cheddar or Colby cheese

  ¼ C. butter

  In a large pan or Dutch oven, cook the turkey in 5–6 cups of water, discard bones and skin, and cut into chunks. Add the veggies and the bouillon cubes to the broth and simmer until tender, then stir in the cooked turkey. Stir the milk and flour together (or shake them in a jar) until smooth and stir into the hot soup until thickened. Stir in the cheese and butter.

  Kitchen Hint: This is also great if you stir in a can of creamed corn. Because this is a milk-based soup, you’ll want to lower the heat and stir continuously to keep the milk from scorching on the bottom of the pan.

  Overnight Sensation Salad

  This is an oldie but a goodie: crisp and crunchy with fresh veggies but topped with just enough bacon, mayo, and cheese to taste sinfully good. You have to make it the day before so it’s ready when you are, for any occasion!

  1 head of lettuce, broken or cut in pieces

  1 red onion, diced

  1 head of cauliflower, cut fine

  ¼ head of red cabbage, cut fine

  1 small bag of frozen peas

  2 or 3 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced

  1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

  2 C. mayonnaise

  ¼ C. sugar

  3 C. Parmesan cheese

  Layer all ingredients in a large glass bowl for best presentation—or in a large bowl with a sealable lid—and cover tightly. Chill in the fridge overnight. Toss just before serving.

  Kitchen Hint: Don’t mix the topping ingredients; just layer them on the salad and let them blend themselves. You can replace part or all of the Parmesan with shredded Cheddar cheese, too.

  Baked Pineapple

  This side dish, warm and sweet and easy, never fails to get me requests for the recipe. And because it’s made with ingredients you have in your pantry all the time, it’s a wonderful last-minute addition to just about any meal.

  1 large can crushed pineapple with juice

  1 egg

  1 T. cornstarch

  1 T. sugar or equivalent sweetener

  Cinnamon

  Preheat oven to 350° and spray a 1-quart baking dish. Dump in the pineapple and juice, and then mix in the egg, cornstarch, and sweetener, right there in the baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake about 30 minutes, or until the center is set. Store leftovers in the fridge. Serves 4.

  Kitchen Hint: For a little extra zing, add C. dried cranberries and/or some shredded coconut!

  Colonial Oatmeal Bread

  This was one of the first breads I ever made, and is still one of my favorites. It’s soft and sweet and chewy—and the kneading works off stress, too!

  1 T. salt

  2 pkgs. (2 T.) fast-rising dry yeast

  4 C. whole wheat flour, divided

  2 C. all-purpose flour, divided

  2¼ C. water

  ½ C. honey

  4 T. butter or margarine

  1 egg

  1 C. old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

  In a large mixing bowl, combine salt, yeast, 2 C. of the whole wheat flour and 1 C. of the all-purpose flour. Meanwhile, heat the water, honey, and butter/margarine to 120°, and then add it to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add the egg and another cup of the whole wheat flour, and mix again. Add the oats and the last 2 cups of the flours to make a warm, dense dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. Let rise in a greased bowl until doubled. Punch down and shape into two loaves, and place in two greased/sprayed 9” x 5” bread pans. Let rise until doubled. Preheat the oven to 350° and bake about 35–40 minutes. Cool in the pan about 10 minutes before loosening the edges to carefully remove the loaves. Finish cooling on a rack.

  Kitchen Hint: I burned out two or three mixer motors making bread dough before my husband bought me a big KitchenAid mixer that’s built to handle the strain of bread making. Don’t even try to use a hand mixer on this or any bread recipes! If you hear your motor straining, or it starts to smell hot, stop the mixer and do the rest of the mixing/kneading by hand.

  English Muffin Bread

  This wonderful bread tastes like English muffins, complete with all the little crannies to catch your butter, jelly, or whatever you slather on it. Because it’s a batter bread, you mix it, let it rise in the pans, and then bake it—no kneading.

  5½–6 C. all-purpose flour

  2 pkgs. (2 T.) dry yeast

  1 T. sugar

  2 tsp. salt

  ¼ tsp. baking soda

  2 C. milk

  ½ C. water

  Cornmeal for dusting

  In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 C. of the flour, the yeast, sugar, salt, and soda. Heat the liquids together until very warm (120°) and add to dry mixture. Beat well. Gradually add enough flour to make a stiff batter. Butter/grease two 8” x 4” bread pans liberally and sprinkle with cornmeal; rotate and shake to coat all inside surfaces. Spoon the batter evenly into the pans,* butter/grease the tops of the loaves, and sprinkle with cornmeal. Cover loosely with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until loaves are slightly above the tops of the pans. Bake at 400° for about 25 minutes. Loosen sides and remove bread from the pans to cool on a rack.

  *Kitchen Hint: This batter is sticky and I find it easier to butter my hands and grab it rather than try to spoon it into the pans. The bread makes excellent toast and even better French toast because it really soaks up the egg mixture!

  Welcome to Willow Ridge, Missouri!

  In this cozy Amish town

  along the banks of the river,

  the Old Ways are celebrated

  at the Sweet Seasons Bakery Café,

  and love is a gift God gives with grace . . .

  Summer of Secrets

  Summer has come to Willow Ridge, but Rachel Lantz is looking forward to a whole new season in her life—marriage to strapping carpenter Micah Brenneman, her childhood sweetheart. When a strange Englisher arrives in the café claiming to be the long-lost sister of Rachel and her twin Rhoda,
Rachel feels the sturdy foundation of her future crumbling—including Micah’s steadfast love. As the days heat up and tempers flare, Rachel and Micah will learn that even when God’s plan isn’t clear, it will always lead them back to each other . . .

  ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2012 by Charlotte Hubbard

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”