We had weekend guests recently and I was looking for some easy, time-saving recipes for brunch that would allow me to enjoy my company rather than standing in the kitchen cooking. When I was sharing what I did with my co-workers one of them suggested this would also be a great dish to prepare while children are getting ready for school in the morning to give them something substantial for their tummies.

I wanted to serve scrambled eggs and decided to try making them in the oven. I was very impressed with the outcome! The process was very simple and very similar to making scrambled eggs on the stovetop. For mine I melted butter in my baking dish before adding the egg/milk mixture I had whisked together. I started with one dozen eggs in a square baking dish but you could easily do two dozen eggs in a 9×13 pan. The American Egg Board has a good recipe on their website. After the initial 10  minutes in the oven I was skeptical as the mixture was still very runny but they set up nicely after an additional 10 minutes. They were not quite done at that point so I put them back for 5 more minutes and they were perfect.

Scrambled eggs for a group in 25 minutes!

Marcia Steed

I graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Home Economics Education. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and traveling.

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Do you have children in your life you would like to share your love of food preservation with? My sister and I host a “Camp Iowa” for our granddaughters, who live in Chicago, every Summer. We are always looking for unique and fun hands-on projects to do with them. We enjoy preserving food together every Summer and are looking forward to when they can help us. We have been looking for research-based, tested recipes to use with them and came across a wonderful publication put out by the University of Georgia. The University of Georgia is where the National Center for Home Food Preservation is located. It  is also where testing is done on recipes for home preservation that you can find in “So Easy To Preserve” which this office recommends on a regular basis. I cannot stress enough the importance of using a research-based, tested recipe. If you are unsure about your recipe being a safe tested recipe please call us at AnswerLine and we will be happy to discuss it with you.

The publication we found is titled “Preserve It & Serve It“. It is a children’s guide to canning, freezing, drying, pickling and preparing snacks with preserved foods. It gives directions for preserving foods as well as recipes to use the preserved foods in. For example, you can make and preserve your own applesauce and then use it in Applesauce Cinnamuffins.

The picture I have included is of freezer peach jam. Freezer jams are a good starting point with children. They are pretty simple, there are recipes with and without pectin, and they look beautiful when finished. The jam can be used on toast, sandwiches, or ice cream, and used in a thumbprint cookie.

If you love home food preservation I hope you will share that enthusiasm with a child in your life. It is a lifelong skill and a great bonding experience!

Marcia Steed

I graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Home Economics Education. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and traveling.

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Sweet corn was a little bit late in my area this year but it has been here for a few weeks now and it seems the local stands sell out daily. We receive calls every year at AnswerLine concerning how long to cook sweet corn for “best” flavor. There is discussion every year among we coworkers as we all tend to do what we remember from growing up. Since there are no safety risks involved it is okay to cook the corn as we remember. However, much research has been done on the optimal way to cook sweet corn. Regardless of which way you decide to cook your sweet corn you will want to always start with the freshest corn possible and cook it as quickly after getting it as you can. Very soon after picking corn starts to convert the sugar in its kernels to starch. It also starts to lose some of its aroma and nutrients.

It is important to not overcook corn. The ears should be cooked only until the milk in the kernel is set. A very common way to cook sweet corn is to drop it into enough boiling water to cover and boil covered for @5 minutes. Penn State posted an article a while back that was interesting to me. One of their vegetable experts recommended after bringing fresh water to a boil to add 3 tablespoons sugar and a teaspoon of skim milk to the water. The reasoning was that the sugar helped the corn retain its own sugars rather than letting them be leached into the water and the skim milk enhanced the color of the corn. They recommended 7 minutes of boiling and also recommended never adding salt to the cooking water as that would toughen the kernels.

Many people like the convenience of microwaving sweet corn. One way to do that is to remove the outer husk, wash a single ear in cold water and wrap it in a paper towel dipped in cold water. Microwave each ear for 2-3 minutes on High. Another way is to remove the husks and silks, brush the ear with butter, seal in waxed paper and place in the microwave allowing at least 1 inch between ears. Microwave on High approximately 2 minutes per ear. Don’t do more than 4 ears at a time.

We have already enjoyed sweet corn at our house this season although I have not tried adding the extra sugar and little bit of skim milk to the cooking water. I’m planning to try that the next time!

Marcia Steed

I graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Home Economics Education. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and traveling.

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Peaches are in season! If you like peaches you probably have a favorite source – Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, etc. Missouri peaches are my favorite and they are plentiful right now. I enjoy freezing peaches to be able to use them in the middle of Winter. Somehow having those peaches on my cereal or on angelfood cake makes the Winter day seem much more tolerable.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has detailed instructions on freezing peaches in a syrup pack or sugar pack along with freezing crushed or pureed peaches.

I have a favorite recipe for freezing peaches that I received from a friend many years ago and have been using it ever since. I am sharing it for anyone that is interested. For one lug of peaches you will need 2 cans of frozen orange juice, 4 cans of water, and 8 cups of sugar. Mix together the orange juice, water and sugar in a large bowl. Dip the peaches one at a time in boiling water for 30 seconds then plunge into cold water to make peeling much easier. Peel the peaches and slice into the orange juice solution. Fill your containers leaving ample head space for expansion during freezing.

If I could just freeze a whole peach as is for later enjoyment I would but since I cannot this is one way I can enjoy the delicious peach flavor all year long!

Marcia Steed

I graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Home Economics Education. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and traveling.

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AnswerLine will be closed on Thursday, July 4th. We wish all of you a safe and fun day! We will resume our regular hours on Friday, July 5th.

Marcia Steed

I graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Home Economics Education. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and traveling.

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