Friday, September 23, 2011

I know it's Fall when...

...instead of a vase of flowers,




I put out a bowl of shiny, red apples.




Apples don't wilt, which is nice. They do have a tendency to disappear though!


The flower press comes out of hiding. We never seem to press flowers, only colorful leaves.




Would you look at that. Still full of leaves from last Fall. Time to search for a craft that requires pressed leaves!! Fun, fun!


A sure sign that it's Fall is when I bring out the William Sonoma mulling spices. No need to be mulling wine or cider, I just toss a handful of the spices into a simmering pot of water so I can enjoy the fragrance. Now that's the smell of Fall!




And the final confirmation that Fall has arrived is when I get the hankering to make donuts!


Homemade donuts. The Husband's Grandma's recipe, passed down to his Mother and passed on to me. 


He loves them!


They are a delicious treat filled with his childhood memories. Those are the best kinds of treats!


They are easy and fun to make!


Beat 2 eggs with 1cup of sugar. Add 4 tablespoons of melted lard. (Yes, lard. Use it!) 1 teaspoon salt. 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg. (yum!) 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup buttermilk.


Sift together 4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder. (sometimes I forget to sift...still good!) Add flour mixture to egg mixture to make a soft dough.


Roll out dough on a floured cloth (I use a dish towel) to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out donuts with a floured donut cutter.





Fry donuts in vegetable oil at 370˚-380˚until nice and brown. I don't check the temp of the oil. I test the heat with a donut hole. If it browns up nicely...not to quick...not to slow, I figure the temp is good. How's that for accuracy?




Just a quick hint...after frying up your donuts, change your sweatshirt. This will prevent the embarrassment of your husband saying, while you're at your child's volleyball game or wherever you happen to be later, "I wonder why it smells like a chinese restaurant in here." 


It will not be from chinese food...donuts! 


So unless you're planning to go to a chinese restaurant, in which case no one will ever notice anyway, change your sweatshirt! I'm just sayin'!


These donuts are practically perfect in every way! Golden brown, crispy on the outside, soft and cake-like on the inside. 


YUM! YUM!!




Ahhhh Fall!


Christine


P.S. Posting this recipe was Mother-in-Law approved!


P.S.S. Making more donuts was Husband approved!

1 comment:

Kelly @ Love Well said...

Holy cow, Christine! I think that's the EXACT same recipe of the donuts I make. That's hysterical. The only difference is I cut mine into strips, so I don't have to flip them.

My Mom would make homemade donuts every Labor Day. It was our pre-school, end-of-summer tradition. So now, I do the same thing. Fall donuts indeed