Creek Side Hollow Primitives

"There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." - Dave Barry

Hello Friends and welcome to

The Hen House!

Here you will find an ever changing variety of articles, tips, farmhouse recipes, photos at our Creek Side Hollow, news and events! Please feel free to e-mail me if you would like to add your favorite Old Time recipe!

creeksidehollowprimitives@comcast.net

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Here are some great recipes to make for your sweetie on Valentine's Day!

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and patted dry, stems intact, and thoroughly air-dried
8 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, broken into chunks
1 tablespoon solid white vegetable shortening
1 ounce Grand Marnier liqueur or fruit brandy

Pour about 1 inch of water into bottom of a double-boiler and heat until hot but not simmering. Melt chocolate and shortening in top of double-boiler, stirring occasionally until completely melted and smooth. Remove top pot and place on a heat-safe tripod. Let cool for about 5 minutes. While chocolate cools a bit, carefully spear strawberries with toothpicks. Working quickly, swirl each strawberry gently in the chocolate about halfway up the fruit and place inverted on toothpicks onto waxed paper to cool and harden. When done, place in refrigerator to further set chocolate shell. When completely hardened, use a syringe to carefully inject a bit of the liqueur into the center of each strawberry, being careful not to over-fill.

Chocolate Truffles

6 ounces semisweet chocolate
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 tablespoon rum
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate—finely grated

Melt chocolate in the top half of a double boiler, set over boiling water. Beat in butter and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add egg yolks one at a time, beating well between additions. Stir in rum. Turn into a bowl, and cover with waxed paper. Set aside overnight in a cool dry place. Do NOT chill. Shape into balls 1 inch in diameter and roll in grated chocolate.

Options: Roll in grated nuts instead of grated chocolate. Use brandy, bourbon, or a non-alcoholic flavoring, such as vanilla extract, orange extract, or almond essence. Serve with dark-roast coffee.

Yields: 24 truffles.

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That Old-Time Apron

I don’t think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waived her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that “Old-time apron” that served so many purposes.

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