Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts

Monday, November 3, 2014

Carrot and Ginger Soup Recipe

Now that it is fall, I feel like I can make soups again. I love to make soups!


This is Jan’s adaptation to the original recipe of Carrot and Ginger Soup in The New England Soup Factory Cookbook (171). The ingredients in parenthesis are the original components, which I did not use.

3 Tbsp. butter
2 whole cloves garlic, peeled
1 onion, peeled and diced
3 ribs celery sliced (2 ribs)
3 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced
3 Tbsp. peeled and chopped fresh ginger
4 cups vegetable stock (or chicken)
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. cumin  (1 tsp. ginger)
½ cup honey
2 cans coconut milk (1 ½ cups heavy cream)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrots, and gingerroot. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Pour the stock over the vegetables and bring to a boil. Lower the heat slightly and simmer until the carrots are soft and tender, about 30-35 minutes.

Remove from the heat. Add the spices and honey. Puree the soup in the pot using a hand blender or working in batches with a regular blender until smooth.

Add the coconut milk and season with salt and pepper. Stir (and maybe warm) until the ingredients are well combined.

Makes 8-10 servings.

From this highly recommended cookbook:
Druker, Marjorie and Silverstein, Clara. New England Soup Factory Cookbook. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007. 171.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Friday Five: Friday the 13th!

RevKarla brings today's Friday Five to RevGalBlogPals:

Happy Friday the 13th, Gals and Pals!

SO, let’s get right on it~~

1.  Are you superstitious about anything?  Like, lucky socks for competition, special necklace for preaching, etc.?
 Not really. I think I've tried to be at different times in my life by carrying some special item like a rock or cross, but I always lose track of it sometime.


2.  I’m going on vacation on Tuesday.  I have never been so ready for vacation.  What are you looking forward to?
We already had a wonderful vacation that I am currently blogging about. Husband Chuck wanted to go traveling before all the kids got out of school, so we came home about the time schools were closing.

We always look forward to a brief respite in Washington State, visiting Chuck's parents, dear friends, and our daughters, in July or August.

3.  There is a lot going on in sports right now–World Cup, Basketball finals, and much more.   If your life were a sport, what would it be, and why? 
Probably like the soccer team of young children who huddle around the ball and don't seem to know which way to go, slowly learning the dynamics of the game.

4.  Hey!  Remember orange push-up ice cream treats?  What happened to them?  What is one of your favorite summer treats?  Ice cream sandwich, popsicles, frozen grapes, fruit pizza, DQ Dilly Bar, etc.?
I used to love Dilly Bars and even ordered enough for a bus-load of kids when we took them on a field trip to the Portland Zoo and were returning to Eddyville School way back in 1978.

While my children were young, I always made many, many popsicles from fruit juices for them.  Another good treat is taking pineapple rings and laying two on top of each other on a cookie sheet, then putting an ice cream stick in between each one. Put the entire sheet into the freezer to freeze.

5.  So there is this thing called “Listserve” that picks one random person per day to write an email to like a million people world-wide.  It’s pretty cool. Some people make music suggestions, offer sage advice, or plug their latest interest/project.  If you could write a note to a million people around the world, what would you say?
 Remember what Julian of Norwich said: "All shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well" while keeping in mind that the Torah says "The highest form of wisdom is kindness."

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Recipe for Apple Cake


I took this cake to the Wisdom Class today, and it was delicious!


Double Apple Bundt Cake
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours

You can really use any kind of apples for this recipe, but the more firm they are, the easier they’ll be to grate. Also, if you opt for a store-bought apple butter, try to find the least sweet of the ones that are available (or, hey, make your own!). My cake came out a little sweeter than I might have liked due to an apple butter that was creeping near cloying, though nobody (but, um, me) complained about the sweetness of the finished cake. 

If you’ve got the time (and the willpower), this Bundt is the sort of fabulous cake that tastes when better when left to stand overnight, wrapped well in plastic wrap, before serving.

Makes 12 servings
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup store-bought (or homemade) apple butter, spiced or plain
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and grated
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup plump, moist raisins (dark or golden)

Optional glaze:
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
about 2 tablespoons lemon juice, orange juice, (or milk or water, whatever you’ve got)

Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan, or if yours is not nonstick, butter and flour it, too.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light, fluffy and pale in color, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.

Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the bowl again. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the apple butter–don’t worry if the batter looks curdled at this point.

Mix in the grated apples. With the mixer still running on low speed, stir in the dry ingredients gradually. When just a few streaks of flour remain, stir in the nuts and raisins. Stop the mixer and give the batter a few folds by hand just to make sure everything’s incorporated.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean inserted deeply into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes before unmolding it onto the rack to cool completely.

If you want to glaze the cake, stir together the confectioners’ sugar and your liquid of choice, a tiny bit at a time, until the glaze falls easily off the end of a spoon. Place the cake on a serving plate. Drizzle the cake generously with the glaze, letting it drip down the sides of the cake. Alternatively, you can dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar just before serving. This cake keeps beautifully at room temperature for up to 4 days, or up to 2 months in the freezer.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Friday Five: Favorites


Image
Just getting back from four days of silence, I am suddenly thrust back into the world. Wrestling with choices and seeing elderly decline in others, I am flummoxed about a Friday Five–so think of a favorite off the top of your head for:

1. food--salmon! Being from the Pacific Northwest, I love salmon. My husband Chuck grills the best salmon in the world--much better than in restaurants in WA, OR, and here in TX! He wraps it in aluminum foil, first spreading melted butter, lemon juice and dill weed on it. Yummy!

2. drink--I like HOT tea when it's cold, so here in south TX, that's only in the winter. Visiting colder climates, it is wonderful to drink hot tea. Last year I discovered Harney and Sons Tea Blenders and really like their special Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea when it is cold.

3. animal--Dogs! Although cats seem to like me more than I like them. Visiting a friend today, her cat kept kneading my arm and purring--leaving scratch marks under my sweater!

4. color--Green! We have three rooms in our house painted green, one wallpapered with green leaves, and green carpet in four rooms!

5. time of day--Cool, quiet mornings, especially when no one else is awake.

Bonus: Any favorite you haven’t mentioned above that you want to bring up!
Writing and receiving letters, cards, and/or postcards--snail mail!! And I just received a nice note from former blogger Catherine.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Friday Five: Love!


RevKarla brings today's Friday Five to RevGalBlogPals:

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I know that some (a lot) of you are digging out from snow and ice and lack of electricity.  We feel for you, and love you!     Some of you have a love-hate relationship with Valentine’s Day.  ‘Nuff said.     I happen to enjoy Valentine’s Day in spite of having exactly one date ever on VD (before I was married).   I love celebrating Love!   So, all that is to say is that our Friday Five is to tell us about five random things that you love.

I could fill up each of the five loves with all my children, grandchildren, husband, and friends I love. Instead, I will try to branch out to other aspects of my life.

1. Cards and Mail: I love to buy and send cards. (I also love to receive them, which is sadly a rare event for me.) Whenever I visit somewhere new, I have to look at card shops, as there aren't many "different" cards offered in Corpus Christi for sale. This month, I am participating in A Month of Letters Challenge for the month of February.

Recipe Here
I love to send Valentines, maybe because of being a former elementary school teacher back in the days when it was possible to celebrate Valentines Day. Also because my grandmother always sent me beautiful, glittery Valentines as I grew up.

2. Baking: I love to bake, especially cookies. This week I made Valentine pumpkin bread which was surprisingly easy. I found the recipe on Pinterest. The pin showed chocolate cake with hearts (from a Sara Lee's pound cake), but I tried pumpkin bread for the Wisdom Class on Tuesday. It was a hit with everyone in the class and was so easy! I bet you could cut out different designs, like maybe a star or a tree.

3. Words With Friends: I love playing this game on my Ipad and Iphone. It is like Scrabble with a partner. I don't often win, because I play too quickly. My oldest son DC continually beats my by hundreds of points!

4. Soups: I love making big pots of soup, a rediscovered passion with our month of cold, cold weather (for TX!). I have made five different soups from my newest soup cookbook, The New England Soup Factory Cookbook, and each one has been judged by all as excellent. In fact, I have made their recipe for Vegetarian Muligatawny four different times already--twice for Chuck and me; for my family at Christmas; and for my family in Austin at AA's request (which greatly pleased me). I've been making such big pots of soup that I can share some with friends, too, while we have it for multiple days. I am grateful that Chuck likes soup.

5. Books: I love to read, look at, discuss books!  I even have a Pinterest board About Books with over 1,000 pins! I really love children's books, so it is a joy to find books for granddaughters Avery and Emma! It is exciting to find new ones, like Good Night, Construction Site which is so appropriate for these girls because their daddy supervises construction at apartment complexes almost every day. It is arriving for them tomorrow!

Friday, December 27, 2013

Coconut Curried Chickpea Soup

Son BJ gave me a soup cookbook (300 Sensational Soups) for Christmas, and today I cooked my first one from that book. It is both vegetarian and vegan. Chuck and I liked it a lot, much more than I anticipated.

I will put the recipe below with my changes/additions in italics and parentheses.


Coconut Curried Chickpea Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. curry powder
2 pinches cayenne pepper
1-lb. small red-skinned potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4-6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup (1 can) unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 zucchini (yellow squash), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
(2 large carrots, scraped and sliced)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. lime juuice
2 cups packed baby spinach



1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add curry powder and saute for 10 seconds. Add potatoes (and carrots) and stir to coat.

2. Add stock and coconut milk; cook for 10 minutes. Add chickpeas and zucchini (squash); cook for 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in brown sugar and lime juice. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. If desired (I didn't), garnish with toasted coconut.

Snyder, Carla and Deeds, Meredith. 300 Sensational Soups. Toronto, Canada: Robert Rose, 2008. 124.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

It's Cold Enough for Soup!

An arctic cold front blew through TX on Friday, dropping temperatures precipitously. It was 83 degrees F. in the morning, and later in the day it was 40 degrees colder. We drove to Austin to visit our son DC and his wife AA and their two daughters Avery and Emma. It was also Avery's third birthday!

When I got there, I made soup. I love to make soup, which is not a common occurrence in south TX. (I made it so much in New Jersey when we lived there 1991-94 that oldest son DC told me he'd be glad if he never had soup again when we moved away.) Well, I made enough hamburger vegetable soup (from the old LLL cookbook) that he'll be stuck with for several days.

So we came back to Corpus Christi, and I was excited to try a new recipe for soup tonight. Chuck and I both liked it a lot. I am glad that it also is a vegan recipe--for my two Seattle daughters. It is also from a cookbook that I learned about when I visited them this past summer: New England Soup Factory Cookbook (although we were on the opposite coast).

So I am going to copy the recipe here for Vegetarian Mulligatawny Soup, which is the second good recipe I have tried in this cookbook:

VEGETARIAN MULLIGATAWNY SOUP

3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 cups (16 oz.) canned diced tomatoes (though I used a larger can)
1 can (16 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 16 oz. bag lentils
8 cups vegetable stock
2 cups tomato juice
3 tsp. yellow curry powder
3 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 can (16 oz.) coconut milk
2 Tbsp. honey
1 1/2 cups cooked basmati rice
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the oil, garlic, onion, celery, and carrots. Saute for 7 minutes.

Add the lentils, tomatoes, chickpeas, stock, tomato juice, curry powder, cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot, and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk, honey, rice, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Makes 12 servings.

Druker, Marjorie and Silverstein, Clara. New England Soup Factory Cookbook. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007. 101.

Delicious!

Friday, September 6, 2013

Friday Five: Let's Eat!



3dogmom brings today's Friday Five to RevGalBlogPals, which is now at a new site! What is somewhat interesting about being at Wordpress, some of us have different "names"--I am now "janintx."

My first ever Friday Five is dedicated to Nikki MacDonald, sister RevGal, who was hungering for an opportunity to write about Haggis. With that introduction, today’s FF is all about food!


1) Is there a food from a foreign land whose reputation led to trepidation when you had a chance to give it a try? Did you find the courage to sample it anyway? If so, were you pleasantly surprised or did you endorse the less than favorable reputation that preceded it?

 My eldest daughter AE spent three years in South Korea with the Fulbright Program after college told us about Kim Chee. Her original host family followed the tradition of cooking and fermenting Kim Chee and storing it in jars. Youngest daughter MJ and I went to visit AE and were introduced to different versions of Kim Chee at various restaurants. I tried small tastes and did not like it.
 
2) What food from your own country/culture gets a bad rap?

 From this area of the USA (Texas), there is a popular dish called "chicken fried steak." It is covered with gelatinous gray gravy and looks disgusting to me, who grew up in the north and also did not grow up eating gravy!

I was really shocked when my oldest son first ordered it at a restaurant in college. It must have been eaten frequently at A&M University in College Station. It was served at some Corps of Cadets dinner we attended with him and his Corps friends.

I think it should get a bad rap with the fried fat and other types of fat it contains.

3) Of what food are you fond that others find distasteful?

A silly sandwich that I have liked since childhood is a peanut butter, jelly, and (sharp cheese) sandwich! I still like it. Everyone in my family thinks it is weird.

4) Is there a country’s food, not native to you, that you go out of your way to eat?

This is probably a "Tex-Mex" food, not necessarily from Mexico in its form now--breakfast taquitos. We'd never heard of these until we moved to Corpus Christi, TX. In the 1980's, we couldn't find them to buy north of Corpus Christi, but larger restaurant chains such as What-a-Burger have served breakfast taquitos since the 1990's. 

Take a tortilla and fill it with eggs and anything else to go with them! Our favorite for years was from Elva's Restaurant and was called a "Destroyer"--potato and eggs, with refried beans, cheese, tomatoes, and bacon in a homemade tortilla. Here is a recipe for one that sounds good.

5) What is your guilty pleasure food?

Desserts with butter! I made three different buttery items this past week for a gathering of my book club at my house--blueberry pound cake, my mother's butter almond cake, and bran muffins. The old recipe for my mother's almond cake was the hit, and it has 3/4 lb. butter!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Excellent Soup Recipe!

I had this wonderfully delicious soup at the Finn Bakery in Magnolia Village, in Seattle, last week:



Spicy Chickpea and Butternut Squash Soup

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and diced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
½ cup diced celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. butternut squash, peeled and diced into chunks
2 cups (16 oz.) canned diced tomatoes
2 cups (16 oz.) canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
12 cups vegetable stock
2 cups tomato juice
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. ground coriander
1 cup flaked coconut
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk
1 tsp. minced Scotch bonnet chile pepper*
½ bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute for 10 minutes.
Add the butternut squash and sauté an additional 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, stock, tomato juice, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, coriander, coconut, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the squash is tender, 35-40 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add the coconut milk, chile pepper, cilantro, salt, and pepper.

Makes 12 servings.

*Scotch bonnet chile peppers are loaded with heat and an exotic flavor and aroma. A close cousin is the habanero pepper. You may substitute bottled habanero hot sauce (available at supermarkets and Caribbean specialty shops) if you cannot find fresh Scotch bonnet peppers.

Druker, Marjorie and Silverstein, Clara. New England Soup Factory Cookbook. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007. 128-129.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Friday Five: Five Favorites

Deb offers today's Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals:

1. Five flowers you'd like in a bouquet or in your garden:


Lilies, pansies, daffodils, tulips, bluebonnets. (Outside in TX, only pansies and bluebonnets grow at cooler and moister times.)

2. Five books you want to read (or re-read):

These are all books I already have, some of which I've started but not finished. I am eagerly awaiting the next Louise Penny mystery and any Maisie Dobbs mysteries that may come in the future. . .and. . . and. . .


Facing the Dragon: Confronting Personal and Spiritual Grandiosity by Robert L. Moore
(This was a book recommended by Father Ron Rolheiser at the 2013 Summer Institute which I mentioned in last Friday's FF. It is by a Jungian analyst and professor.)


The Round House by Louise Erdrich

All the Harry Potter books by J. K Rowling (for the third or fourth time)

 My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer by Christian Wiman

Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness by Joshua Wolf Shenk

3. Five places you want to visit:

So many more than five!

US:
Boston, Chicago, Santa Fe, San Diego, Marfa (TX)

Elsewhere:
Greece, Spain again, Galapagos, Australia/New Zealand, Italy


4. Five people you'd invite for tea/coffee/beer and pizza:

My mother, her/my cousin Margaret from Calgary, Canada, my mother's mother (my Nana) and her two sisters (the Aunties) to have tea and yummy cookies. This family is known for its baking, so it would be fun to use my English bone china and have tea and goodies with them and learn so much about family history I don't know. I'd love to see them together, too.


5. Five chores or tasks you'd gladly give to someone else:

Cleaning out closets, sweeping, washing windows, cleaning the refrigerator, cleaning bathtub

BONUS: A five ingredient recipe! (This is harder than it sounds!)

COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKES

1/2 cup flour or rolled oats
1 cup cottage cheese or tofu
4 eggs
1/3 cup milk, approximately
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients except milk in blender and process at a medium speed until smooth. Add milk until batter is like medium-thick pancake batter. Bake as for ordinary pancakes.

Serve hot with fresh fruit, jam, hot applesauce or butter and cinnamon-sugar. (My family prefers the melted butter and cinnamon sugar.

(This recipe is from my old, well-used copy of Whole Foods for the Whole Family published by La Leche League International in 1981.)

Friday, April 5, 2013

Friday Five: Lazy Lay Version


Rev. Pat Raube brings us this Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals.

This Friday Five is pretty simple--for ministers! In contrast, I was a much lazier lay person and so my perspective is different.

1. What, if anything, are you doing to take your Easter season sabbath? Family? Vacation? Study Leave? Some combination of all three?

I am appreciating the probable LAST cold front that will reach Corpus Christi, TX. It is heavenly to wake up to the 50 degrees F. and have the sun shining us into the 70s. This is like a Bellingham summer, where Chuck and I grew up in WA State. Unfortunately, soon TX SUMMER will be here--next week!

2. What is your favorite Easter season sabbath of all time?
Probably having my family with me for Easter, but it will still be the Easter season next weekend when we visit Houston for one night to see third son BJ and his girls friend and also go to Austin to see oldest son DC, wife AA and adorable Avery!

3. If you're not taking an Easter season sabbath, what is drawing your attention as the Revised Common Lectionary bids us bide awhile with Thomas and gang? Is there a Holy Hilarity service in your future?
Our lectio divina meditation this week was John 20:19-20 and I was struck by the image of the frightened and overwhelmed disciples huddling in a locked room. Despite the locks, Jesus appears, which reminds me that God cannot be locked out, no matter how the situation appears.

4. What would be your ideal Easter season sabbath? If you could go anywhere, do anything, with anybody?
Staying at the beach.

5. Tell the truth now: Any Easter candy left?
Thankfully, no. The most pronounced remnants after Easter were cookies I made for Easter Sunday, which I shared with the Wisdom Class on Tuesday, so they would be GONE. I posted the recipe for the yummy lemon cookies here.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Glazed Lemon Cookies


I found this recipe on Pinterest and was very pleased with the result--Glazed lemon Cookies. I took them to church to share on Easter Sunday.I also doubled the recipe, which turned out fine.

Spooning the dough and rolling balls gets very sticky, so periodically I would rinse my hands off. Damp hands made it easier to roll the balls.

Glazed Lemon Cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen
Ingredients
  • 2 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • Zest of 2 lemons (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Lemon Glaze
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Directions
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fit with paddle attachment, whip together butter, sugar and lemon zest on medium-high speed, until mixture is pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Blend in egg, then egg yolk. Mix in lemon juice and vanilla extract. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Scoop dough out by the heaping spoonfuls, form into balls and drop onto Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven 9 - 11 minutes (for a gooier cookie closer to 9 and a more set, fluffy cookie more near 11). Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool. Drizzle cooled cookies with Lemon Glaze (you can do this while they are still slightly warm if desired). Store in a single layer in an airtight container.
For Lemon Glaze
  • In a small mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and enough lemon juice to reach a drizzle-able consistency. Pour mixture into a resealable bag, seal bag and cut a small tip off one corner then drizzle glaze over cookies. Allow glaze to set at room temperature. 

  • Recipe Source: Cooking Classy
http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/01/glazed-lemon-cookies/

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Russian Cabbage Borscht

Two years ago daughters AE and KA gave me the soup cookbook Mollie Katzen' s Recipes: Soups. Tonight I made a good winter soup from that cookbook, which I will copy below.

Russian Cabbage Borscht

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced potato
1 cup thinly sliced beets
4 cups water
1-2 Tbsp.butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
(1 scant tsp. caraway seeds)
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
1 medium-sized carrot, sliced
3-4 cups shredded cabbage
 freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp.dill
1-2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1-2 Tbsp.Brown sugar or honey
1 cup tomato puree

 Toppings:
sour cream or yogurt
 extra dill

1. Place potatoes, beets, and water in a medium- sized saucepan. Cover, and cook over medium heat until tender (20-30 minutes).

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pot. Add onion, caraway seeds (I didn' t like), and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent (8-10 minutes).

3. Add celery, carrots, and cabbage, plus 2 cups of the cooking water from the potatoes and beets. Cover and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender (another 8-10 minutes).

4. Add the remaining ingredients (including all the potato and beet water), cover, and simmer for at least 15 more minutes. Taste to correct seasonings, and serve hot, topped with sour cream or yogurt and a light dusting of dill. (We did not use any toppings.)

Also, those same two daughters have a vegan recipe blog and recently posted another beet soup recipe: Orange Beet Soup. I may try that one soon, as we're getting another cold front in south TX tonight.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Final Friday Five for 2012!

As we take a breather from the busy weekend of Sunday/Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, it's time to reflect on the past year. It's hard to move out of this holiday season with its delights and celebrations. Here at our home, we've barely finished the eggnog. The tree is still up and our cats delight in knocking off the lower (unbreakable) ornaments. As we are rounding the final turn on the year 2012, I hope you'll play along with these questions. :)
I haven't found the time to play a Friday Five for weeks, even when I hosted it last week, so I am glad Deb came up with this fun idea!

RECYCLE:

1. What is some "old news" this year that you'd like to repeat for 2013?
Sticking with the Weight Watchers program, which helped me to get back to healthier eating again.

2. What "new thing" have you started that you want to keep going in 2013?
Piano lessons! I never practiced as a child, and now I am finding it to be fun! I loved learning to play "Away in the Manger" for Christmas and Epiphany.

RE-GIFT:

3. What event, experience or gift would you just as soon "Return to Sender"? Maybe it was a disastrous sermon, a congregational kerfuffle, a vacation nightmare, or your own mis-step. It can be funny or sad. 
Not continuing to work on the church library after it was painted. It still needs art on the walls and perhaps one wall painted a more vibrant color. Books have to be re-shelved and some removed that are outdated and in poor shape. Hoping to start over in 2013!

REFLECT:

4. Share the brightest bit of joy that was a part of your year. 
Always my granddaughter Avery and my family, but the most hopeful and happy thing going on for me is the absence of pain and RA symptoms for the past 6-8 months, which I hope will continue with the meds I am taking. 

5. Share a picture that says far more than words. (You can use it to illustrate one of the above.) 
Yearning for God post on Happiness
 
Jan and Chuck: 41 years of marriage

BONUS:
Share a recipe! I'm in the doldrums and need some healthy eating options for my menu planning. Soup, stew, main dish, side dish or a healthy dessert - any and all are welcome!

Here is a recipe (shared with me by my friend Katherine) that I re-tried last week for my vegetarian daughter MJ's visit here; it is easy and delicious (though not a vegan recipe).

Black Bean Chilaquile from Moosewood Restaurant
1 cup chopped onions
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (15 ounce can, drained)
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp salt
1/ tsp ground black pepper
2 cups rinsed, stemmed, and chopped Swiss chard or spinach
2 cups crushed baked tortilla chips
8 ounces grated fat-free sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cups prepared Mexican-style red salsa

Preheat oven to 350.

Saute onions inoil for about 8 minutes, until translucent. Stir in tomatoes, corn, black beans, lime juice, salt pepper and continue to saute another 5-10 minutes, until heated through.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, blanch he greens in boiling water for 1-3 minutes, until just wilted but still bright green. Drain immediately and set aside.

Prepare an 8x8 casserole dish with a light cooking of vegetable spray. Spread half of the crushed chips on the bottom.Spoon the sauted vegetables over the chips and sprinkle on about two-thirds of the grated Cheddar. Arrange the greens evenly over the cheese and spoon on half of the salsa. Finish with the rest of the tortilla chips and top with the remaining salsa and Cheddar. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown.

Casserole order (shortcut):
spray
chips
vegetables
cheese
greens
salsa
chips
salsa
cheese 

Monday, November 26, 2012

Turkey Chowder

I made turkey chowder tonight, which is a family tradition after Thanksgiving and Christmas. I chopped up too many potatoes, so then added more carrots--and ended up doubling the recipe. I used to do that when our four children were at home, but now there's only Chuck and me here. I'll give some soup to friends tomorrow, while we'll have some for the next few days.


Turkey Chowder
1 ½ Tbsp. butter
1 onion, thinly chopped
(optional ¼ cup chopped green pepper—I don’t use)
1 ½ cups chicken or turkey broth
2 cups diced carrots (about 3 medium)
3 cups peeled, diced potatoes (about 3 medium)
1 cup thinly sliced celery
½ tsp. salt
3 cups cooked, diced turkey or chicken
1 17-oz. can cream-style corn or pour in frozen corn kernels
½ tsp. dried thyme leaves
½ + tsp. Mrs. Dash
some drops of Tabasco Sauce
3 cups milk

  1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter, and sauté the onion (and pepper) until they are tender.
  2. Add the broth and carrots. Heat the chowder to boiling, reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer the chowder for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the potatoes, celery, and salt. Simmer the chowder, covered for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
  4. Stir in the turkey, corn, other spices, and milk. Heat the chowder thoroughly, but do not let it come to a boil.
Brody, Jane. Jane Brody's Good Food Book. NY: W. W. Norton and Company, 1985. 347.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Backwards or Forwards?

That's a rhyme to play with small children, but it describes how I probably look like to you readers of my blog:

I have scarcely been blogging lately because of all my reading of mysteries, but am now planning to put forth future postings while we are gone on our vacation. It is funny/odd that while I am home, there are absences but while I am away, there will be daily posts. It all goes back to intentionality.

Now today is my husband's birthday. For the first time in our married life (of 40 years) I did not bake him a cake! Instead, he agreed that he would like hot fudge sauce over vanilla ice cream. Way back in 2009, I posted the recipe for hot fudge sauce. It is the best recipe I have ever found for chocolate sauce. We really enjoyed that tonight.

Today MJ came home from college, leaving friends and her beloved chemistry professor behind. She has the hefty task of going through her belongings to decide what she should take to Salt Lake City where she will be going to graduate school at the University of Utah. In two days she must choose and pack up her car.

On Monday she and her dad will leave on the long drive to Salt Lake City in MJ's small car (Jetta). They will leave the car at her new apartment in Salt Lake City and then on Friday will fly to Seattle where I already will be--visiting MJ's older sister AE and friends.

I am also leaving on Monday, but on planes to Dallas and then to Seattle. That is why I am blogging ahead of time for all the days that we'll be in Washington State. While Margaret cleans and sorts this weekend, I'll be blogging!


Friday, April 6, 2012

Good Friday Five


Kathrynzg brings today's Friday Five to RevGalBlogPals:

Tell us what you are up to, share the way you're pacing your week, ask for prayer or offer it, seek liturgy suggestions or hit the conversations going on over at Ye Holy Facebookee.
For verily, verily we are all in this together.
1. Not being a pastor, I have less liturgical preparation for this Holy Week. Instead, I am anticipating the arrival of family today: oldest son DC with his wife AA and our GRAND baby Avery--and youngest daughter MJ with her boy friend CM. Anticipation, cleaning (not enough), and preparation for all this company, while missing our other two children and their partners.

2. Hot Cross Buns! I fondly recall my mother sometimes baking Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday. I've done it a few times before, but decided this year to make them for the company and my Friday morning Renovare Group. I found a recipe here, but made twice as many as recommended by the recipe, which made a better-sized roll for me! It only took about 3 1/2 hours to bake them, counting the two times for rising.

3. I've been surprised by the invitation I have received in the last two sessions of our Wednesday Lectio Divina group, as we have meditated on small portions of the gospel from the Lectionary. Both times I have received a strong invitation to travel the journey with Jesus as one of his followers--being swayed by the cheering of the crowds on Palm Sunday; the misunderstanding of Jesus' mission; and being consumed with fear and doubt at his arrest and crucifixion. I am trying to stay in the moment, so I will be surprised at the early Easter Vigil on Sunday.


4. I volunteered to read scripture at the Good Friday service at All Saints Episcopal Church, so I will be gone during the dinner hour tonight. In preparation for that, I am making a chicken and vegetable meal in the crockpot this afternoon.


5. For Lent I am reading daily the selections from Small Surrenders by Emilie Griffin and Simplifying the Soul by Paula Huston. However, I have not read any of the devotionals for Holy Week, so I will spend time doing that after I post this Friday Five.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Irish Apple Cake


In the past few weeks, I have made this Irish Apple Cake twice. Both times it turned out looking like the picture above and was delicious.

It has so many apple slices in it that there doesn't seem to be enough batter, but it cooks together very nicely. While the cake is baking, it smells like an apple pie!

Irish Apple Cake
Ingredients:
5 apples
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
Pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
Splash of milk
1/2 cup of sugar
Handful of granulated sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Throw flour, baking powder, and salt all together in a large bowl. Go for a bowl bigger than the one you usually use as you'll need a little elbow room to mix in the apples.
3. Cut in your butter until the mixture resembles lumpy breadcrumbs.
4. Peel and core your apples.
Note: Irish apple recipes always call for "cooking apples," a wonderful oversized apple perfectly designed for apple tarts and cakes. Of course, there is no such thing as a cooking apple in the States, I suppose because there are so many apples this side of the Atlantic fighting for the title. I use Granny Smiths, because I favor the tart taste, but you can use the apple of your eye, whatever variety it may be.
5.
Slice your apples thinly and them fling them in to the flour mixture, along with the half cup of superfine sugar.
6. Now, dig in there with your paws and mix it up. This is a hearty--not pretty--cake, so don't be shy.
7. Add the eggs and the splash of milk to make a messy doughy mix, and slap it all into your baking pan. I use a silicone cake pan, so I don't have to grease a pan or struggle to release the finished cake. 
(Jan: I used a spring form pan, which easily released the cake, even when warm.)
8. Sprinkle generously with your handful (or more) of granulated sugar and then pop it in the oven for 40--45 minutes, until it is golden brown and you can no longer control yourself with the smell of hot apples. Tip: stick a toothpick in the middle of the cake and if it comes out gooey, give it another five minutes in the oven.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Friday Five: Recommendations


Revkjarla brings today's Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals:

1. Recommend a favorite worship resource or devotional book.
Just today a friend reminded me of Thomas Keating's Daily Reader for Contemplative Living.
I really like the various email subscriptions I have, especially the quotes I get from:
2. Recommend a blog that you like to read that you think others might find enjoyable.
For book recommendations (for all ages and interests) I like to read Bonnie's Books.
Blue Eyed Ennis is a prolific blogger of inspirational quotes, videos, songs and more.

3. Recommend a fiction book that you think people might like.
Since my shoulder surgery last week, all I am doing is reading Charlie Moon mysteries by James D. Doss from the library. IF you enjoyed the Hunger Games, you'll probably like the novel Divergent by Veronica Roth.

4. Recommend a favorite recipe website. O.k., if you aren't into cooking or food, then just recommend a random website that you find useful, hilarious, mind numbing or thought provoking.
Recipes at Cookin Canuck. For vegetarian recipes Rainy Day Veggies--by my two daughters in Seattle!

5. And for the last recommendation--it's bloggers' choice! Make a recommendation for anything!
Handbound books Watermark Bindery.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Friday Five: Birthdays

April is a month of family birthdays for me: Today is my mother-in-law's 80th birthday and on Sunday my third child's 26th birthday, so I am thinking about birthdays. Easter would have been my mother's 93rd birthday, but she died when she was only 72 years old.

I love to celebrate birthdays, but I know others don't like to as much. My second child doesn't care about birthdays that much.

How about you? What do you think of birthdays?

1. What are your feelings about celebrating birthdays, especially your own?
I LOVE birthdays. I love preparing for them, especially food and presents and/or cards.

2. Do you have any family traditions about birthdays?
Food plays a large part in our family traditions:
  • Husband CB has made me a birthday cake every year since he was in graduate school at Oregon State University in the 1970's--the best cheesecake I have ever eaten; the recipe is here.
  • Ever since 1980, I have made my friend Lisa's birthday cake every year--a carrot cake. I started because I was so disappointed to find out that her husband gave her a watermelon that year for her birthday (though now I know that Lisa loves watermelon, too).
  • When I had my four children at home, each one could choose breakfast and dinner menus for birthdays, as well as which cake would be baked. Oldest son, DC, always made the most complicated requests--different recipes for the cake, the filling, and the icing!
3. Is it easy to remember friends' and family members' birthdays? If so, how do you do it?
It is important for me to remember people's birthdays. Every New Year, I write the names of friends and family on their special dates of my new calendar. It's also easy now that FB posts friends' birthdays.

4. What was one of your favorite birthdays? (or your unhappiest?)
For my ninth birthday, while my dad was stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA, my parents took me to Disneyland for the first time.

My mother planned a surprise birthday party for my 10th birthday, but I was at my best friend's house when she received the invitation. I still remember looking over her shoulder as she read the instructions of "keep the secret." AND I kept that secret all my life, never telling my mother I was not surprised.

5. Post anything else you want to share about birthdays, including favorite foods, songs, and/or pictures.

Uncle BJ and 4 1/2 month old Avery

This Sunday is BJ's birthday. While husband CB is in Seattle visiting his mother for her 80th birthday, I am going to drive to Houston for BJ's birthday.