A Farm Girl's Menu: Timeless Recipes - Softcover

Gillette, Frances A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0963606689 ISBN 13: 9780963606686

Publisher: Fran Gillette Cookbooks, 2016

Synopsis

The cookbook that’s like cooking on the farm

The core of family values begins around the table. The smell of food is a swirling memory of it. That’s why family dinners are so important, and this country cookbook by Frances A. Gillette is packed with favorite foods that appeal to all ages. These recipes feature the best and most down home eats to help you spend less time in the kitchen, so there’s more time for joy, quality of life, and the best menu choices for your family and friends. And you can rest assured that everything within these pages is tried and true! Cooking for loved ones is a labor of love, but a labor of love is not work. It’s a passion that comes from some deep part of ourselves, making us who we are. Beautiful full-color photographs, fun stories, and history complement the recipes for meals that are sure to please!

About this title

About the Author

Frances A. Gillette is the author of six acclaimed cookbooks, including The Old Farmhouse Kitchen and The Heartland: America’s Cookbook. She and her husband, Francis W. Gillette, have been married for 57 years. They live on a small farm overlooking Mt. St. Helens and surrounding hills in Yacolt, Washington. God has blessed them with 8 children, 50 grandchildren, and 48 great-grandchildren. It is a happy and beautiful time when they all get together! Their son, Jude Cameron, is waiting for them all in heaven. He died when he was 3 years old. Fran is still working part time as an RN, and Sonny continues to garden. He does landscaping for others, also. Fran’s brother Jack has lived with them for over 20 years.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Memories on the Farm Are the Best

Growing up in the 1940s and 50s on a farm at the end of nowhere was a terrible life to a teenager. Milking the cow every night was my job. Washing clothes with the wringer washer on Saturday (without fail) was a shared job with my sister. And worst of all was cleaning the chicken house every week (it’s a wonder I ever eat eggs). Looking back I can see that I was the luckiest girl in the world. It makes me sad that teenagers today have no idea where milk or eggs come from. It was as they say “a wonderful life”. I just didn’t know it!

Written By Sharon Sorenson

Sharon and I were close buddies down in the Valley. We had each other to play and get into trouble with. Together, we discovered the challenges of growing into the people we are today. Of all my cousins, she and I were continually looking for something beyond the fence, and we usually found it! Our farm had so many animals. There was always lots of pigs, (I mean between 100 to 200) and their troughs ran for many yards down the field. Our job was to help feed them! Sharon, her two sisters and her mom and dad lived close to me, my six siblings and my mom and dad. In those days as a small child, trying to grow older, it felt like that is all we had was each other. When I was twelve, we finally got electricity and running water. My job like Sharon’s, was to hitch up the work horse, Prince, go to the spring and haul water to heat on the cook stove for the wringer washing machine. We were both young when we milked the cows and made lots and lots of butter on the farm. As Sharon stated, “It was a wonderful life”.

Buttermilk Pecan Waffles

A great recipe from Stacey Foley. She tells me her family loves these waffles topped with Greek honey yogurt and chokecherry syrup from a sweet lady at the farmer’s market in Watford City, North Dakota. Any tart syrup is good. We use jam on top.

3 eggs
1 2⁄3 C. buttermilk
1 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 to 1 C. pecans, chopped

Mix eggs and buttermilk in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients into larger bowl of eggs and buttermilk. Blend in melted butter. Add 1/2 cup of the batter to a hot waffle iron. Sprinkle some of the chopped pecans on top of batter. Cook. This batter can also be used for pancakes.

Berry French Toast

Fresh berries make breakfast special. We are lucky to have several rows of raspberries and Marion berries. You can make this the night before serving and just pop it in the oven the next morning. When done we like to sprinkle with fresh berries.

2 1/2 C. berries of choice
1 pkg. lemon flavored Jell-O
2 C. milk
8 eggs
1 C. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. sugar
Sprinkle of cinnamon
10 slices Hawaiian Bread
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350°. Mix berries and dry Jell-O, toss to evenly coat berries. Beat eggs, milk, sour cream and sugar and lastly add vanilla and sprinkle of cinnamon. Cover bottom of greased baking pan with 5 slices of bread, cutting as necessary to fit. Pour berries over bread. Pour half of milk mixture over berries. Top with remaining bread, then pour the remaining milk mixture over the top. Cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown or until knife comes out clean, removing foil 20 minutes before done. Cool about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and more fresh berries.

Edition details

• Publisher: Fran Gillette Cookbooks
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0963606689
• ISBN 13: 9780963606686
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192