Damson Plums
It is a hot July here in Virginia, and the Damson Plums are ripe – their shocking blue nestled among the tree leaves. Great-Grandmother Ella Perdue used to make Damson Preserves; their flavor was sweet and tart and mysterious. Mom shared some of their Damson plum harvest with us, so today we are “putting by” some Damson Preserves. How lovely they sit in Emerson Creek’s new fruit bowl – perfect for washing and displaying the earth’s sweet bounty.

Damson Plum Jam
5 cups coarsely chopped Damson plums (2 pounds/seeds removed)
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
Combine all ingredients in large sauce pot. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly to jellying point. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Pour hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4″ head space. Adjust caps. Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield: about 3 pints.

Psalm 104:27

These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give, it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.

Don’t let that lovely stuffing dish sit empty for your gluten-free guests this holiday season! At least 1 million Americans have been diagnosed with gluten allergies or Celiac disease and this can make the festive Thanksgiving or Christmas table a sad place for these special folks. It doesn’t have to be that way. I have a gluten allergy and am eager to share my best gluten free stuffing recipe with you. As a bonus, this recipe will also feed your vegetarian guests in style, too! With just one gluten free stuffing dish, you’ll have given the pleasures of savory stuffing back to the very guests who may be longing for it most.

In my family, my mother’s cornbread stuffing is literally legendary. Frankly, I would have been happy to eat nothing else but stuffing at Thanksgiving or Christmas as a child – it was that good! Her recipe was based on equal parts cornbread and wheat bread crumbs with plenty of sage, onions, celery and the fabulous addition of hazelnuts and raisins. The result was a corn-y, supremely savory stuffing with just a hint of harvest-like fruitiness from the raisins and a wonderful nutty crunch from the nuts. But the trouble with cornbread for the gluten-free diner is that you can’t make traditional cornbread without wheat flour. Colonial housewives quickly found this out, much to their dismay. No matter how much leavening they mixed into the cornmeal, the bread just wouldn’t rise. Thus, the jony cake, jonny cake or journey cake was invented – a golden brown pancake-like creation that served as the bread of the early Colonies until wheat was under consistent cultivation. If no stuffing but cornbread stuffing says ’stuffing’ to you, stick with me here.

Technically, I think you could use crumbled jonny cake in a stuffing, but my gluten free stuffing recipe is a bit updated with…of all things…an old Italian tradition: polenta. If you dine at fancy restaurants or gourmet delis, you may think that polenta is a fussy dish, suitable only for the kitchens of master chefs. Not true. Polenta is the food of the humblest people of Italy and is as easy to prepare as oatmeal or cream-of-wheat cereal. My toasty twist on polenta will yield a gluten free stuffing recipe with the corn-y goodness you crave. Just follow these easy steps:

Gluten Free Stuffing

Ingredients
3 C. Cooked Long Grain Brown Rice (you could use part wild rice if you like)
1 C. Polenta Corn Meal (find at your local natural foods store, often in the bulk department)
2 C. Water
1/2 C. Rice Milk (keeps this dish proper for your vegetarian guests)
1/4 C. Very thinly sliced and chopped red or yellow onion
1/2 C. Vegetable broth
3 Stalks chopped celery
1/4 C. Raisins
1/3 C. Coarsely chopped, very lightly toasted hazelnuts (filberts)
3 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 T. Sweetener (sugar, maple syrup or whatever you prefer)
1/3 t. dried powdered sage
Salt & Pepper to taste

Whipping Up the Polenta
Bring your 2 cups water, 1/2 cup rice milk, 1 T. olive oil, sweetener and a dash of salt to a boil in a pot on your stove burner, set to medium heat. Put your polenta flour in a measuring cup for easy pouring. While you whisk the liquid, slowly pour the polenta flour into the pot in a steady stream until it’s all been poured out. Continue to whisk the mixture for 8 minutes. At the end of this, it will be very thick and hard to stir.

Pour the polenta batter into a small-medium sized glass bowl or a miniature square baking or refrigerator dish. This serves as your mold, so it needs to be big enough to hold the polenta, but small enough so that the polenta will come out as a small, sliceable loaf. Let the polenta cool for 1/2 hour.

Run a knife around the perimeter of the bowl. Turn your bowl upside down on a dish and the polenta will fall out. Let cool another 10 minutes.

Next, slice it into 1/4 – 1/3 inch thick slices (as you would slice bread) and lay them out on the broiler pan of your stove. Broil on high until the topside is turning golden brown (maybe even a tiny bit burnt around the edges). Flip the little toasts over and brown on the other side. Remove from broiler.

While You’re Broiling Your Polenta Toasts…

Put your nuts in dry skillet over medium-high heat and toss them around until they are just beginning to look a bit toasted. Do not let them turn brown! That would be over-cooking them and overcooked nuts are not healthy to eat. Toss the nuts onto a plate.

Put remaining 2 T. olive oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee onions until turning translucent. Toss in your chopped celery and stir fry for 2 minutes.

Add rice, sage, salt and pepper. Stir fry 1 minute more.

Get out your best baking dish; either a covered one or an uncovered one will do.

Put the rice mixture into the baking dish. Add nuts and raisins.

With a sharp knife, chop your polenta toasts into a large crumb consistency (like small, flat croutons). Add them to the baking dish.

Pour in 1/2 vegetable broth. Give everything a very quick stir to blend.

Bake covered in the oven at 375 degrees for 1/2 hour. Use either your baking dish’s cover or aluminum foil.

After 30 minutes, remove the cover and let bake 8-10 minutes more uncovered.

Remove from oven and serve!

Riffing On Gluten Free Stuffing!
If you are serving vegetarian guests, this vegetarian/vegan gluten free stuffing can be used to stuff baked winter squash. Cut your squash in half, bake it 1/3 the recommended baking time and then fill with the stuffing and finish the baking, covered with foil. Remove foil a few minutes before the squash is finished. This dish can serve as the central part of the meal and is very, very good.

Many families will only have a few guests whose special dietary needs must be considered. The above gluten free stuffing recipe will easily feed 4 people. If you’ve got more gluten free or vegetarian guests, you can double the recipe.

Feel free to add other special ingredients to the above gluten free stuffing if you have different culinary traditions in your family. For example, some families love chestnuts in their stuffing. Others enjoy experimenting with dried cranberries.

Other Surefire Holiday Dishes For Your Gluten Free Guests
Happily, the cranberries and mashed potatoes are fine for gluten-free guests as are any other vegetable or fruit-based dishes. Be generous with salads at a gluten-free holiday table! Gravies can be thickened with potato flour. Most breads are out, but be sure to set out corn chips for dips or spreads if you are serving hors hors d’oeuvres. Olives, pickles and other wheat-free finger foods will offer gluten-free guests plenty to snack on before the big meal begins!

Special Notes For Vegetarian Guests
Totally mouthwatering mashed potatoes can be made with vegetable broth. Important to note is that vegan guests generally do not eat refined sugar. Cranberry sauce can be sweetened with maple syrup, instead. Green beans can be dressed with a lemon/salt/pepper/olive oil dressing or an herbed vinaigrette. Sweet potatoes can be made festive with a spiced maple syrup dressing to be poured on by the guest. Mix spices like cloves, nutmeg and ginger into maple syrup and put it in a little pitcher and you’ll have a very happy vegetarian diner!

Gluten Free Stuffing Leftovers
Because the gluten free stuffing is cooked separately from meat, it is totally safe to send home with your guests as a leftover. It can easily be reheated in a skillet with just a bit of olive oil and, frankly, it’s awfully good the next day!

Don’t Forget To Make The Table Gorgeous!
We’ve got a special line of cranberry dinnerware, servingware and bakeware that has become a tradition in American homes for holiday baking and dining. It’s handmade right here in Virginia and is lead-free for total safety for your guests. A diagnosis of gluten intolerance can initially be very depressing for the sufferer. He may feel cut out of a normal social life. Dining out has suddenly become confusing and tricky and accepting dinner invitations may cause real discomfort.

As a host or hostess, your primary duty is to make all guests welcome. Be sure to let your gluten free guests know that you have researched and understood their condition and that you will be serving great food that they can dig into without fear. Let them come into your home, see your charming decorations, your beautifully laid table, maybe with candles, special dinner service, flowers! Let them catch the scent of that gluten-free stuffing coming to the table – rich with the fragrance of toasted corn, sage and onions. The mood is set, the food is fantastic and you’ve given someone you care for a very happy holiday.

These are delicious and tangy. The sauce makes your entire kitchen smell wonderful. I love making these for cocktail parties.

2 (8 oz.) cans whole water chestnuts, drained
1 T. cider vinegar
1 package of fully cooked bacon (or precook some bacon in your microwave)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut bacon slices in half. Wrap one half slice of bacon around one water chestnut and secure with a wooden toothpick.

In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, mustard and garlic. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat and cook for five minutes or until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Carefully dip each wrapped water chestnut into sauce and place on baking sheet.

Bake 20 minutes or until sauce is thick and darkened. Place on serving platter and serve warm!

Makes 30 appetizers.

This recipe came from my friend Annette. Her grandma makes it every year for her family. I love giving it as a gift!

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer for two minutes. Gradually add sugar, beating five to seven minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Add vanilla, mixing well.

Combine flour and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan or loaf pan.

Bake at 300 degrees for one hour and 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10-15 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Are you planning a cookout this summer but not looking forward to working at the grill while your guests are mingling and having fun? Who says outdoor summer parties have to revolve around the grill? I have a fabulous recipe for a pasta dish that would be wonderful served with some soft Italian bread and perhaps a Caprese Salad. A Caprese Salad is simply a salad of sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. You top it with a drizzle of olive oil and I like to add balsamic vinegar.

You can make the pasta salad and the Caprese Salad ahead of time as they are both delicious chilled. Serve with a nice white wine and you have the makings of an elegant summer dinner party.

Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad

1 rotisserie chicken (precooked)
1 pound fettuccine cooked according to package directions
4 oz. feta, crumbled
2 roasted bell peppers, julienne
4 Tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, divided
1 pound fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, combine warm fettuccine, feta, red bell pepper, 3 tablespoons oregano, and baby spinach. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and white wine vinegar and while constantly whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make a dressing.

Finely chop the remaining tablespoon oregano and add to dressing. Pour dressing over salad. remove chicken parts from the whole bird. Slice or shred the chicken and add to pasta salad. Toss to mix.

The last step in preparing your meal is making sure that you serve it in an elegant and memorable way. I would suggest using some pieces from the Emerson Creek Pottery Dragonfly design. I would slice up the Italian bread and stack it up on the Dragonfly Frilly Round Tray. The pasta dish would go in the Dragonfly Ceramic Pasta Bowl. I would serve the Caprese Salad on the Dragonfly Large Frilly Tray. Lastly, I would keep some Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the Dragonfly Drizzle Bottle to serve along side all of these dishes.

Entertaining can be simple if you have a couple of tasty recipes on hand and attractive serving pieces. Let Emerson Creek Pottery help you plan your next dinner party. If you have any questions for me about what you should serve for a particular event, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll give you some ideas!

One thing we all probably do more of in the winter months than we do in the summer months is bake. And for good reason, who wants to heat up a kitchen in an already too hot house? Plus, everyone seems to be a lot busier doing outdoor activities in the summer. I found a recipe for no bake cookie bars on www.allrecipes.com that won’t heat up your kitchen OR take a lot of time. See if you enjoy them as much as I do.

No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars

1 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter

Grease a 9×9 inch square pan.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Mix in the oats. Cook over low heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until ingredients are well blended. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Reserve the other half for topping.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture over the crust in the pan and spread evenly with a knife.

Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate layer, pressing in gently. Cover and refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before cutting into bars.

Place sliced cookie bars in an Emerson Creek Pottery cookie jar and watch them disappear!

I’m happy to say that my daughter is just finishing up her first year in school. Kindergarten has been a wonderful experience for her as well as for me. I’ve really enjoyed volunteering in her class and meeting all of the other children. Her teacher has made it very easy for me to be a part of this important year in my daughter’s life. For that reason, I really want to do something special for her as an end of the year gift. The entire class is donating money to get her a digital camera that she wants to have for her classroom to take on field trips and to capture various activities. But, I’d like to also get her something special that she and her family can enjoy.

So, I’m going to make her one of my famous “Cream Cheese Pound Cakes” and give it to her in Emerson Creek Pottery’s Large Blueberry Loaf Pan. To continue with the theme, I thought I would buy an Emerson Creek Pottery Blueberry Drizzle Bottle and fill it with blueberry syrup from the grocery store. She can then serve up her pound cake with a drizzle of blueberry sauce on it to her family. I’ll fill an Emerson Creek Pottery Blueberry Bowl with some fresh blueberries and serve it all on an Emerson Creek Pottery Large Frilly Blueberry Tray.

I think she will love the blueberry serving pieces and I already know she likes my pound cake because I tried it out on her over Christmas. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer about two minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating five to seven minutes. Add eggs, on at a time, beating until yellow has disappeared. Add vanilla and mix well.

Combine flour and salt in a separate bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Pour batter into a greased and floured loaf pan.

Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in a pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes; remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Are you looking for a simple and delicious dip for your Cinco de Mayo celebration? Here is my favorite dip and the one my friends always insist that I make! It is great served with nacho chips or try it with your favorite crackers. Don’t forget to serve this dip in our Frilly Pie Plate with your chips or crackers in our Cracker Baskets.

Taco Dip

1 can bean dip (found in grocery stores near the chips)
1 8 oz. block of cream cheese (softened)
1 T. taco or southwest seasoning (or more to taste)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 scallion sliced thinly
1/2 cup black olives sliced(optional)
1/2 cup diced and seeded tomatoes (optional)

Line the bottom of your Emerson Creek Frilly Pie Pan with the entire can of bean dip. In a separate bowl mix your softened cream cheese, taco seasoning, pressed garlic clove, and sour cream. Spread on top of bean dip. Top the cream cheese mixture with cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until the cheese melts. Remove from oven and top with remaining ingredients. Pour your chips into the cracker basket and prepare to WOW your guests!

Now that the weather is warming up here in Virginia I’m pulling out my tried-and-true lemonade recipe. If you want to change things up with your standby lemonade recipe, I’d like to suggest an herb to complement the lemon flavor and relax you. Of course, I’m talking about lavender! The first thing you need to do is steep the flavor of the lavender into a bowl by pouring 2 cups of boiling water over about 1/2 cup of lavender. This should set for about 10 minutes before you drain off the lavender and mix the infused liquid with your lemonade.

Only two things could make your tasty creation any better…lots of ice and one of Emerson Creek Pottery’s cool pitchers. This lemonade would be lovely served in our 54 oz. Lavender Iced Tea Pitcher. Save a few extra lavender sprigs and tie them with raffia around an iced tea glass to really create a memorable setting.

This sandwich is always a hit at my tea parties! Everyone loves the flavor of the cream cheese paired with the sweetness of pineapple and the salty nuts. Try serving this on Emerson Creek Pottery’s Small Frilly Tray. Your guests will love seeing the beautiful handpainted artwork on the tray appear as the delicious sandwiches disappear!

1 can crushed pineapple, drained

3/4 cup sugar

8 oz. block of cream cheese

1 cup chopped pecans

Toast pecans in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. In a food processor, mix crushed pineapple and cream cheese. Add toasted nuts to mixture with spoon. Spread on thin slices of favorite bread. Trim crusts and cut into squares.

Enjoy!