4th of July, Strawberry pie, Blueberry cobbler, vegan hot dog sauce, boiled peanuts, coffee cake

The fourth of July, although different for us this year, went over really well and we all had a great time. We have always had company but this year we didn't have any company. But thats ok. We still cooked &watched the parade. Then John, Chey, and I went to See Ice Age in #D.. It was pretty good. Chey loves 3D movies but they keep raising the price. It was $7 then $8 now it is like $9.50 per person.. Thats just getting a little to high I think. But the movie was cute. Then after the movie even though I said said we wasn't going to go to the Concert at the park... We wnet.... I couldn't help myself... It was free... It was a really good concert. I don't really listen to contry music at all ... and it was on all country.. But it was really nice. Even can I say.... good music... lol...But I didn't have my camera.. All I had was the cell and It took horrible blurry shots.. So I am so sad I didn't get any pictures... But Nana Sharp, The Davidson Brothers, And to top it all off w/ a cherry Billy Ray Cyrus was there. And I was a huge fan when I was little... He did songs from his past and present albums.. and the old songs brought back some memeries.. But good ones... The concert lasted for over 5 1/2 hours. But it was awesome... Deffinalty have to go to some more concerts. That was my first but it won't be my last. We then stayed and watched most of the fireworks In Fairmont. But Since John had to work today we decided we should come home. We didn't get home till almost midnight..so we didn't let off our fireworks. But thats ok...

Now back to the food. This year I didn't make cake although I did make dessert. I made a Strawberry Pie, a Blueberry cobbler, & a coffee cake. I also made some boiled peanuts & vegan hotdog sauce.

The Strawberry Pie was my fav dessert this year. It was nice and sweet but had that tang at the end from the lemon. It was nice. I wish I would have had some rhubarb though.


Preheat oven to 425F
5-7 cups of strawberries (depends if you want a pie that
domes or is flat.)
2-3 T Lemon juice
1 T Lemon Zest
1/2 - 3/4 C Sugar
3 T Corn Starch
2 Pie Crusts

I used half frozen half fresh but you use which ever works best for you. Thats just what I had on hand. If you use frozen let the berries thaw and dump the water off of them. Then put mix all ingredients and let them set for 10 -15 minutes before you dump them into the pie. After the 15 minutes dump into the shell place top shell on. Make sure you cut a vent hole.

Bake at 425F w/ edge of crust covered for 30 minutes. Then lower the temp to 350F for 40 minutes of until crust starts to brown. Don't let it burn. Uncover the edge of the crust about 15 minutes before you take it out.

The Blueberry cobler cake from the book " The Joy of Vegan baking" this was Johns fav. This link will take you to the recipe. This recipe I also used half fresh/ half frozen and it turned out great.









The Coffee cake came from " The Joy of Vegan baking" aswell. If you haven't guess thats my goto dessert book. All of the recipe I have made from it have turned out great. I made this primarily for my Non-vegan mom. She always goes out and buys dounuts before the parade on the 4th of Juky. So I thought if I made this it might hold her off of buying the not so animal friendly doughnets. It turned out nice and she really liked it.. and guess what.. No donuts were bought.. :) I should have got a picture after I took it out of the pan..oops.














Boiled Peanuts.... My husband was born and raised in Charelston, SC.. So that is were the peanuts come in. It has been I think 3 years since we have been down there. So to bring a little bit of the south to him I made him some boiled peanuts. We stop at the road side stands and convence stores everytime we are down there. At the convenace store they sit right beside the sweet tea just asking to be eaten...so he has me hooked on them aswell. It has been hard trying to find raw peanuts around here but just by luck last week we ran into them at an International Store in Morgantown. We bought 2 1/2 pounds. So I thought I would surprise John and make them for the 4th. They turned out really great. They are a little extra salty but I will cut that back in the recipe I post on here. They are super easy to make. So everyone should try these. And if you ever go anywhere Down south they are a big thing for locals so try them their aswell.

2 1/2 pounds raw shell on peanuts
1/2 to 3/4 cup salt

Rince all the peanuts in their shells.
Fill pot of water. I used the pot I make my soups & beans in. Its just the 6qt pot I think. The biggest pot that comes with a set. lol... Add salt and peanuts. Cover. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Then let simmer for around 4 hours. Check the bigger peanuts when they are soft not crunchy they are done. Check the little nuts aswell to make sure they are not getting to done. You don't want them totally mushy. But 4 hours should do it. Store them in your refridgerator in there liquid. If you think they are still a little salty put them in half their cooking water and half fresh water to set in the fridge.

You can also make cajun. They are really good too.

Vegan Hot Dog Sauce
When I was younger and still consumed meat I still didn't eat ground meat. So I never ate hotdog sauce. But I made this a few years ago but veganised and loved it. I even eat it like a sloppy Joe.

2T salt
1tsp Tabasco sauce
3tsp Paprika
2tsp Chili powder
1 small onion, optional
2 1/2 cups water
2T Vinegar
2T Brown Sugar
4T vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 small Bottle Katchup 12oz
1 small can tomato paste
2 packs Boca or Morningstar ground burger ( I used one of each). Brown, add 2 cups water & onion. Let the water cook out. Then add all other ingredents. Let cook till it thickens. Which shouldn't be that long. I let it simmer for about 30 minutes after it thickens. This makes 3 to 4 cooks. It freezes well.