Pre-season is recipe testing time at Yelton Manor Bed and Breakfast!

Cindi and I have tested 7 new recipes in two days! This one got TWO YUMS UP!

Here are Breakfast Cookies! Just 4 ingredients!

6 ripe bananas, 2 cups unsweetened applesauce (we use our home canned of course), 1 cup dried cranberries and 3 cups oats. Just mix it up.

350 degrees for 35 minutes.

As an extra bonus, these are Vegan and Gluten Free.

We tried 3 methods of storing: room temp, fridge and freezer.  Freezer cookies were best and somehow married the flavors optimally.  Fridge was fine.  But we nixed room temperature.

Yield: 18 cookies

Ever wonder what Grandma was doing down in the cellar so long!?? Now the truth is revealed!

All you need is a great organic market and you are ready to transform the summer bounty into winter’s delight.

This is blueberry, raspberry and watermelon infused vodka!! I also made a few jars with black cherries. There is no reason why you can’t also choose peaches, plums, pear, honeydew or cantaloupe melon or any fruit that suits your fancy.

Simply place the fruit in mason jars, fill with vodka (keep the bottles), seal tightly.  Store in cool, dark place.  Flavor will deepen as weeks go by, I find that the ideal time for best outcome is 2-3 weeks.  Give them a little shake once or twice during the process.

When at peak flavor, decant back into vodka bottles.  Now wait and see how amazing it is to taste the summer season…in the winter!… in a martini glass, uh huh!!!!

Makes a great holiday gift for the tipplers in your family.

We use our fresh, homemade tomato salsa for so many recipes here at Yelton Manor Bed and Breakfast that it is always available in the fridge. It’s an easy recipe calling for, simply, diced tomatoes, green pepper, onion and green chilies (canned). We serve it in egg casseroles, omelets, dips, sandwiches, and as a topping for home-fried potatoes.

I’ve been known to eat it all by itself, right off the end of a spoon! If you’ve been a guest at The Manor you have surely seen and tasted it!

But our basic salsa rises to new heights with the simple addition of black beans. Save yourself the work of soaking and cooking and purchase cans of organic black beans. Rinse them off before adding to the recipe. And voila!

Salt, pepper and as much Tabasco as your taste buds call for…and it’s ready to serve with corn chips or tortilla wedges. You can also use it for filling in tostada shells for wonderful baked quesadillas.

How simple is that?

4 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
1 can green chilies
2 cans black beans, rinsed
Salt, pepper and tabasco to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve with tortilla chips.

This is a great hors d’oeuvre recipe for hot summer days when you surely do not wish to heat up the oven or sweat over a baked dip. Broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and mushrooms are just the basics…you can use any and all vegetables that your family or guests might enjoy. I have served this just as it is with toothpicks, or with the addition of Belgian endive leaves for scooping and eating.

1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
1 bunch cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
1 bunch carrots, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 ribs celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (lower fat by using 3/4 cup oil plus 3/4 cup water)

Blanch broccoli, carrots and cauliflower in a large pot of boiling water until just barely tender. Drain and rise with cold water.
In a large bowl combine broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, mushrooms, pepper, celery and onion. In a medium bowl, combine the vinegar, poppy seeds, sugar, mustard, salt and vegetable oil. Mix until well blended.
Pour the marinade over the vegetables and mix well. Chill overnight before serving. Keep any extras refrigerated.

We’ve become obsessed with local, organic produce and bold flavors since becoming vegetarians some years ago.

This pickle is easy to make and is as fresh and stimulating as a the memory of summer at Grandma’s dinner table. We make it weekly, serve it at The Manor hors d’oeuvre table and enjoy it with our own dinner too. Double or triple it as needed for larger events, but it’s meant to be absolutely and instantly fresh.

1 cucumber, halved, seeded and thinly sliced

1 carrot, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

1 red chili, seeded and thinly sliced (or red pepper flakes)

1 green chili, or jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced

2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

I use regular cucumbers, not English style, fresh from the Farmer’s Market, no need to peel them if they are organic. If carrots are big and round, make circles; if long and skinny make 2″ strips.  Red, green, yellow or other colored sweet peppers are a nice addition when available.

Dressing: 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup water, 1 tsp sea salt

Mix the dressing ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Set aside to room temperature.

Place sliced cucumber, carrot, shallots and chilies in a mixing bowl. Mix the dressing over the vegetables.  chill 20 minutes before serving.

We can up lots of different salsas. This delicious, gorgeous and unusual relish will get you rave reviews at your hors d’oeuvre table! Blanche the tomatoes in boiling water for a few moments and pop off their skins…this is good with winter tomatoes, but it’s positively fabulous with ripe, summer harvest. Good quality Greek olives also make a difference, so, as The Manor saying goes, “No Skimping!”. This salsa also keeps for quite a few days in the fridge, so it’s convenient to make a day ahead.
Serve with triangles of fresh pita and enjoy! For dinner, before we were vegetarians, Robert would serve this atop grilled fish and I like it tossed with angel-hair pasta…so be creative!

Olive and Feta Salsa

1 lb. feta cheese, chopped
1 cup Green Greek olives, pitted and chopped
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of one lime
2 bunches scallions, white and green parts, minced
1 Tablespoon oregano
3/4 cup minced parsley
2 Tablespoons dried dill
5 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped

My original recipe calls for this to be combined in a food processor. If you do, work it 1/2 batch at a time and pulse carefully to protect a chunky texture.
Personally, I now do the cutting manually and I like the ability to control the texture better. Either way, keep it chunky, not creamy. Chill before
serving. Makes about 5 cups.

This recipe is one of my favorites,  this cake is so very easy to make. The apple and spice flavors are wonderful.

We serve this in slices at breakfast but it also makes a great coffeecake for afternoon guests.

I love green apples, so I make my cake Granny Smith apples. I also like to add
a 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom in all recipes were cooked fruit is used. I love Cardamom.If you have never tried this spice, you will *LOVE* the results when used with cinnamon.

Simple Apple Cake

1 1/2 C Vegetable Oil
2 C Sugar
2 Eggs
3 C Flour
3 C Apples, peeled and chopped fine (about 4 apples)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 C (230g) Pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour or use Pam-type spray to
prepare a bundt cake pan.Mix all ingredients together adding apples last.
Do not over mix. Pour batter into the prepared bunt pan.

Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour.

When cool turn out onto a serving dish an sprinkle with cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar.

  I love apples, and on the shores of Lake Michigan they are abundant and affordable, so I preserve hundreds of jars of this great applesauce for eating all winter long. This applesauce stays chunky because it’s made with firm, tart Jonathan apples.

It’s fabulous to just eat, but it also performs wonderfully filling strudel, turnovers and apple pancakes.

A local farm woman generously taught me the clever trick of thickening while only lightly sweetening by using the miniature marshmallows.
You can add cinnamon if you like, but I prefer the natural flavor and color. Serve fresh or process jars using proper canning techniques and timing.
Makes 8 quarts

40-50 perfect, ripe Jonathan apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced
1-2 cups miniature marshmallows

As you work, keep the apple slices in salt water so that they do not turn brown. Drain and put in a large stock pot. Add a few inches of fresh water. Cook slowly over a low-medium heat so you don’t scorch the apples. Stir gently.

Heat to almost boiling, then add the marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are melted and blended. Monitor the length of cooking so the apples stay chunky.

Remove from heat. Stays fresh in the refrigerator for a full week. If you are making sauce each week of the fall harvest, put up half each time you make it and you’ll have applesauce all winter long.

The very best quality blueberries I have ever tasted are grown right here in South Haven, Michigan.

At The Manor, we make as many wonderful recipes as possible from this exquisite, delicious, healthful fruit, the single best source of antioxidants of any fruit there is! Now that I’ve touted the “healthy” aspect, how about the “just plain good fun” aspect?

Here is a recipe for a blueberry cordial, the delicate, blueberry flavor as intoxicating as the vodka ingredient.

Created by you at the fruit’s peak freshness and sweetness in July, you wait to drink it until February before a raging fire to spice up a romantic evening! At The Manor, we use the syrup for topping pancakes/waffles, or for a base for  non-alcoholic drinks combining it with chilled club soda. But at home and with friends? Combined with good quality vodka (“no skimping!” we say), this clear, beautifully bluish sip is like heaven.

2 pints perfectly ripe blueberries
6 cups sugar
3 cups water
2/3 cup strained fresh lemon juice
Good quality vodka

Sort and stem, then rinse and drain the blueberries. Puree the berries, using a blender or food processor. Place the puree in a ceramic bowl, cover with a towel and let stand for 36 hours. Stir the puree occasionally. Don’t worry if the puree forms a crust or gets foamy. Pour the puree into two layers of cheesecloth set over a large bowl, and let it drain. When the flow dwindles, twist the cheesecloth and pulp to extract as much juice as possible. Toss away the pulp and retain the juice, which should measure about 2 2/3 cups.

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat until it reaches about 235 degrees on a candy thermometer (will form a small ball when dripped into ice water). Add the blueberry and lemon juice. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Add 1/2 cup vodka to each cup of syrup. Funnel into clean, dry bottles with cork or cap.
Makes about 3 quarts. Feel free to double the recipe!

  Yum! What’s better than homemade jam, both on the breakfast table and as a gift to friends? But don’t do all the work just to create a forgettable jam that you can just as easily find at the supermarket (I hereby decree a ban on grape and  strawberry jams!). Here’s a spread that captures the bold sweetness of summer blueberries offset by the eye-opening tartness of fresh lemon zest.

It also has a wonderful texture because the pulp of the blueberry is not discarded.

In August I preserve a slew of pints for serving at The Manor, but also dozens of half-pint jelly jars for “taste of the Manor kitchen” gifts.

What’s even better? If you gobble up your entire summer’s harvest, you can still make this in the dead of winter with frozen blueberries! What are you waiting for?

9 cups fresh or frozen (unsweetened) blueberries
6 lemons
9 cups sugar

Sort, stem, wash and drain the blueberries. Using a zester, peel the lemon into thin strips. Be careful to peel only the yellow part, not the bitter, white pith. In a saucepan, cover the peel with water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Feel free to experiment with extra peel if you want to increase the tartness and/or texture of the marmalade.

Juice the lemons. Measure the juice and add water to obtain a total of 1-1/2 cups.

In a large preserving pan, crush the berries with a potato masher. Add the blanched peel,sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Continue to boil gently until the marmalade reaches 220 degrees F on a candy/jam thermometer. Ladle hot marmalade into sterilized jars, with 1/2 inch headspace, and process in a water bath according to standard methods.

Makes 6 pints or 12 half-pints.