Azoresgal~Life on an Island

This is an old-fashioned cake recipe, made with a surprise ingredient...a can of fruit cocktail. I bet you have a can forgotten somewhere in your pantry, right now. When I was growing up,  my mom would  sometimes serve fruit cocktail for dessert. I always tried to scoop out extra cherries into my bowl. Sadly, there were never enough of those bright red cherries in the can..I wonder why? Anywho... by adding a whole can of fruit into the batter, the syrup too, you do not add any fat to the mix.   Now there may not be any fat in the cake,  but the scrumptious butter sauce is another story!  This cake is so delicious and easy to make!I promise you, this will become a family favorite. 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar ( I like brown sugar) 2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1  can fruit cocktail with juice (840g) 2 cups flour Sauce 1 cup sugar 1 cup milk/ cream/ evaporated milk 1 tablespoon butter 1 tsp. vanilla Instructions To make cake: Be...

Cracker what ?? You read that right, a cracker pudding! This dessert is a classic from my childhood, my mom and my aunts always made this for our family parties,birthdays, BBQs. It is fantastic, lots of layers,  nice and light but not to sweet and super easy to make. If you don't tell your guests it is made with saltine crackers, they will think it is puff pastry. The crackers soften up, don't worry they do not get mushy, they flake up, ending up with a puff pastry texture. You will not regret making this, your friends and family will love it ! I promise! Saltine crackers 2 small pkg.  Jello vanilla instant pudding (+ 4 cups of milk) Large tub of  cool whip Topping (pie filling, or fresh fruit) Mix the pudding as directed on the boxes. Put a thin layer of cool whip in a 9x13 pan. Just enough to keep crackers in place. Now start the layers.... 1-Crackers 2-1/2 the cool whip 3-Crackers 4-1/2 the pudding 5-Crackers 6-Rest of pudding 7-Cracker...

This very simple 3 ingredient recipe is perfect for a fruit plater and perfect for summer ! Yes you read that correctly, 3 ingredients, cream cheese, marshmallow fluff, and vanilla extract. I serve this creamy dip with strawberries, but you could add pineapple, apples, other fruit or even cookies —  I barely need the fruit,I can eat this with a spoon ! 1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, room temperature 1 jar marshmallow fluff 1 tsp vanilla extract In a medium bowl whip with beaters the room temperature cream cheese, until completely smooth. Add marshmallow fluff and vanilla extract and whip very well to combine until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve with cut up fruit of choice.

Apple fritters are  so delicious, and easy to make, you can have them any time of the year. The outside is crispy, the inside is soft, bursting with little bits of apple. Sprinkled with icing sugar and some cinnamon, the only thing missing is....a nice cup of coffee or tea. Oh and famliy and friends to share them with ! 2 large apples, peeled, cored and dices 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 eggs 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted 3/4 cup milk 2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring Oil for frying                                                         Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl with a whisk. Next add the milk, eggs, vanilla, butter and beat with whisk.  Peel, core, and dice app...

Today is the first day of autumn, perhaps my favorite season. I love the cooler weather, I even enjoy that it gets darker out early. I think for me it's even a return to the kitchen, baking, and cooking comfort foods. You  almost feel the need to have foods that are warm and cozy. This is also the time of year, when I do most of my jam making, sadly this year, the fruit pickings are so very slim. Our figs and grapes, this year did not fair well, not only us, but on the whole island. Last year was so bountiful, it resulted in plenty of jars to enjoy during the winter month's. The next best thing is, to purchase frozen fruit, which is the case with these blackberries. One kilo of berries, resulted in about 4 jars of jam, some what costly, but it will still be nice to open up a jar of jam during the winter. The perfect pairing to blackberry jam, has got to be warm bread. So I set to it and baked a loaf, of quick Irish soda bread. It was nice to get back into my kitchen, and it...

I had some leftover plums, sitting in the fruit basket, waiting to be used up. Plums aren't at there best now, they are quite sour. So tucking them in the lunch boxes, and sending them to work or school to be eaten up, was not an option. I decided on a Plum Crisp, I used the recipe for the Strawberry Crisp  I made in the summer. Seeing as there were only about 12 little lonely plums, I halved the crisp topping, and baked it in little ramekins. I have to say , I was glad I did not, let them go to waste, and my family was very happy to have some dessert for after dinner. xo,Diana

Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward.  ~Terri Guillemets we bring in almost every day more than a dozen strawberries I added a teaspoon of vanilla PLEASE don't look at my old muffin tin I filled them almost to the top I believe "more is better" ;) sprinkle with icing sugar Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins 1 cup cornmeal 1 cup flour 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 beaten egg 1/4 cup oil 1 cup milk 1 cup diced strawberries, plus 1/2 cup for garnish In a large mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add beaten egg, oil and milk, stirring until just combined. Fold in 1 cup diced strawberries Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, then garnish with a few chopped berries.  Bake at 400F (200C) for 20-25 minutes or until testing done. Allow the muffins to cool before removing from the muffin tin. Run a sharp knife a...