Shoo-Fly Pie

Another classic recipe from my copy of The Colonial Cookbook, Shoo-Fly Pie is a Pennsylvania Dutch treat.  The sweet molasses attracted flies as the pie cooled, leading to the unusual name.  

Shoo-Fly Pie

1 cup flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
4 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup molasses

1 9" pie crust

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix the flour, brown sugar, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and ground cloves in a large bowl.  Mix the butter in with a fork.  The mixture will be crumbly.

Boil the water. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and molasses.  Stir well.

Put aside 1/3 cup of the crumb mixture.  Combine the rest with the molasses mixture. Pour into the pie crust.  Sprinkle with the remaining crumb mixture.  

Bake 30 minutes. Cool before serving.

Sweet Potatoes and Apples

I was browsing through one of my Thanksgiving books, The Colonial Cookbook, as I pulled them out for the children to read today.  This recipe caught my eye. I am going to make it for our Thanksgiving feast.

Sweet Potatoes and Apples

8 sweet potatoes
4 large apples
1 cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp butter

Bake washed, unpeeled sweet potatoes at 400 until easily pierced with a fork between 30-60 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, peel apples. Cut into very thin slices, discarding core.

Preheat over to 350.

Peel potatoes.  Cut potatoes into 1/2"-1" thick slices. Cover the bottom of a buttered 9X13 baking dish with sweet potatoes. Add a layer of apples. Repeat layers.  Dot the top with butter and pour maple syrup over all.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

BBQ Black Beans

This recipe is from Creative Canning.  What an easy way to have a side dish ready in moments, or even a main dish meal, alongside a big salad and a crusty roll.  

BBQ Black Beans

Yield 5 pints

1 lb black beans soaked 8 hours or overnight
2 smallish onions chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
2 cups bottled bbq sauce (or substitute your own favorite recipe)
2-3 drops liquid smoke per pint jar (optional)
1 small jalapeno minced and divided among 5 pint jars

Fill beans to the halfway point, add onions and jalapeno evenly.
Add 1/3 cup BBQ sauce per jar and then fill with water.

Process at 11 lbs for 75 minutes pints and 90 minutes quarts.

The beans soak up the water and you are left with a thickened sauce, in a few week the sauce will be very thick as beans continue to absorb the water.