Apricot Lemonade

So... I have a really awesome friend (she was my birth class instructor) and she has a really awesome food  blog.  I really recommend it. 

It has a simply scrumptious recipe for Apricot Lemonade.  I am drinking it right now and I just might die of happiness.  Yum.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups Sugar
1 cup Water
5 cups Water and Ice Cubes
1 1/2 cups Lemon Juice (~ 6-8 Lemons)
20 whole Apricots

Directions:

Boil sugar in 1 cup of water until dissolved.
Add syrup to the ice/water mixture to cool and stir to mix.
Juice lemons.
Halve and pit apricots.
Add 1/half of the syrup mixture, ½ of the lemon juice, and ½ of the apricot halves, and about 6-8 ice cubes to the blender. Blend on high until a smooth consistency. Mix the other halves of the ingredients with some more ice cubes for the second batch.
Makes two 8 cup batches; 16 cups total.

Note: Wes and I quartered the recipe and it barely all fit in our blender... but maybe we have a small one?

Strawberry Bread

This is the bread I brought to the Parley P. Jensen reunion in Chesterfield.

2 C fresh strawberries
3 1/8 C all-purpose flour
2 C white sugar
1 TB ground cinnamon
1tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 C vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 C chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter and flour two 9x5 in loaf pans.

Slice strawberries, and place in medium-sized bowl.  Sprinkle lightly wiht sugar, and set aside while preparing bread mixture.

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in large bowl.  Mix well.  Blend oil and eggs  into strawberries.  Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until dry ingredients are just moistened.  Stir in pecans.  Divide batter into pans.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until tester instertedcomes out clean.  Let cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Turn loaves out, and cool completely.

Blueberry Rolls

These are DELICOUS!  Go make them.  Now.  You won't regret it. :)

Blueberry Rolls

From the 1939 Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
Prep: 25 minutes Bake: 20 minutes
Oven: 425 degrees F Makes: 9 servings

1 16 1/2 oz can blueberries
1 recipe Rich Shortcake (see below)
1 T butter or margarine, melted
2 T sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 C sugar
2 T all-purpose flour
2 t lemon juice
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

1. Drain blueberries, reserving juice; set aside.  Grease a 2-quart square baking dish; set aside.  Prepare Rich Shortcake dough.  On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into an 11x9 inch rectangle.  Brush dough with melted butter.  Combine the 2 T sugar with the cinnamon; sprinkle over dough.  Sprinkle 1 C of the drained blueberries over dough.  Roll up, starting from a short side; pinch to seal seam.  Set aside.

2. In a small saucepan combine the 1/4 C sugar and the flour.  Add remaining blueberries and reserved juice.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubble.  Remove tfrom heat; stir in lemon jice.  Pour blueberry mixture into prepared dish.  Cut roll into 9 equal slices.  Place slices, cut side down, on top of blueberry mixture.  Bake in a 425 oven for 20 minutes or until rolls are golden.  If desired, serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Rich shortcake: In a medium mixing bowl combine 2 C all-purpose flour, 4 t baking powder, 1 T sugar, and 1/2 t salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/3 cup shortening until mixture resembles course crumbs.  Make a well in the center of mixture.  Add 2/3 cup milk and 1 beaten egg all at once.  Stir just until dough clings together.  On a heavily floured surface, coat the dough lightly with flour.  Knead the dough gently for 10-12 strokes.