Cauliflower Sweet Potato Soup

I won't give exact amounts of the ingredients--I just want to remember everything that went into the delicious soup that I made up.

Saute in a large pot with some olive oil: Chopped celery, chopped carrots, and chopped onions. Add dried lentils and some stock of any kind (I used turkey stock frozen from Thanksgiving). Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. 

Add cubed, roasted sweet potato and chopped roasted red pepper. Add more stock as needed. Cover and simmer another half hour or so. Add chopped cauliflower. Cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender. 

Use an immersion blender to puree everything. Season with coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, and rogan josh. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

I froze several packages for future meals. This is my new way of eating vegetables--if they are all pureed into a soup I can trick myself into eating way more vegetables than usual. Let's face it, for me to eat any vegetables is unusual, so this soup is so good for me.

Florence's French Chicken Casserole

2 cans drained artichoke hearts, sliced

3 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed

2 cups cream of chicken soup (may substitute consomme)

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. lemon juice (more to taste)

1/2 tsp. curry powder (more to taste)

1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/4 cup croutons

1/2 cup butter, melted

Mix together soup, mayo, lemon juice, and curry.

Layer artichokes in a casserole dish, then chicken, sauce, cheese, croutons, and melted butter. 

Bake at 350 F 30 to 40 minutes until bubbly. Serve with rice, pasta, or by itself. 

The Recipe

 I didn't have potatoes

So I substituted rice

I didn't have paprika

So I used another spice.

I didn't have tomato sauce

I used tomato paste 

A whole can, not a half can

I don't believe in waste.

A friend gave me the recipe

She said you couldn't beat it.

There must be something wrong with her

I couldn't even eat it.

                                     ~Anonymous (from Donna)

Corn Toaster Cakes

When we lived in New Hampshire, Thomas' Corn Toaster Cakes were readily available, right next to the English muffins in the grocery store. We can't find them here in New Mexico and Bill has been longing for them. When he ordered a couple of packages online for almost $20 I knew it was time to find a recipe. 

This is my variation of what I found on Food.com. That recipe includes optional dried orange or lemon rind, which we haven't tried yet. We are still enjoying the nostalgic taste of the cakes without the rind. Give us time...

Fresh out of the oven

 

Place in a large bowl and warm slightly in microwave to melt the coconut oil:

2 cups milk

1/2 cup coconut oil

Add and beat:

2 eggs 

1/4 cup honey

Optional: 2 tbl. of dried orange or lemon rind

Sift together:

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups cornmeal

2/3 cup granulated sugar

6 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Stir the sifted ingredients into the milk mixture until just mixed. Spray a muffin top pan (I got mine from Amazon) with Pam. Spoon a scant 1/4 cup of batter into each well for the correct size cake to fit into a standard toaster. 

Bake at 375 F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from pan to cool. Yields 2-1/2 to 3 dozen.

These can be frozen. Remove from freezer and toast lightly in the toaster. Spread with butter.

Muffin top pan

White Bread

I think this came from a post on the Dull Men’s Club page on Facebook, but I neglected to note the author’s name. I am very sorry for that, but wanted to keep the recipe where I could find it. I thank the now-anonymous author/baker for these careful directions. 

I am surprised to see that the recipes yields four loaves, given it only contains 5 or so cups of flour. We'll see. 

1&1/2 tsp active dry yeast 

1 Tbsp sugar 

1 cup warm water 

Combine in a small bowl and set aside to proof. If it doesn't bubble after 15 minutes, your yeast is dead. Buy new yeast and try again. 

1/4 cup oil 

1/4 cup honey 

3 eggs 

4 cups bread flour (plus a little extra for kneading) 

1&1/2 tsp salt 

In a medium size bowl, combine eggs, oil, and honey. Beat with a whisk until smooth. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour. Add your proofed yeast mixture to your egg mixture. Then pour all of that into the center of the flour. Mix until all the flour is incorporated and you have a dough. 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. If you don't know how to knead dough, it's really very simple. Fold it in half, then press it down with your palm. Then do it again. And again. For 10 minutes. Do not rush this step. You will feel the texture of the dough changing as the gluten develops. Add more flour to your work surface as needed because the dough absorbs it. Remember, 10 whole minutes! 

After 10 minutes, transfer dough to a clean bowl, lightly greased with oil. Brush a little more oil on top of the dough. Cover the bowl with a layer of plastic and then a heavy towel. Leave in a warm spot in your kitchen for 1 hour. I like to turn the oven on very low and let the dough rise on the stovetop.

After 1 hour, the dough should have doubled in size, and when you poke it, the indent stays and doesn't spring back. Divide dough evenly into 4 portions and grease 4 loaf pans. If you don't have loaf pans, you can use a large sheet pan covered with parchment paper. You just won't get as consistent a shape. The braiding step is really optional, but if you want to and you don't know how to braid bread, I suggest you go look up some instructional videos on YouTube. It's easier to learn by watching someone do it. Otherwise, just put each piece of dough in a loaf pan. 

Cover and rise for another 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. If you want to brush the loaves with an egg wash and add some toppings, do so. If you didn't braid, you'll need to make a slash in the top of each loaf to ensure the inside cooks evenly. Braided loaves don't need this. 

Bake 35 minutes. Depending on the size of your oven, you may need to do it in batches. Do not crowd the oven to save time. I have learned from bitter experience that the bread will burn if you do this. You want at least an inch of space between each pan so they get even heat distribution. 

When the loaves are done, remove them from the pans and leave them on a cooling rack or upside down on a towel. Once they're completely cooled, they can be frozen in Ziploc bags or enjoyed immediately.

Gaston Beef Stew

From The Joy of Cooking

 

Brown Rice

Bring to a boil at least four cups of water for every cup of brown rice you plan to cook. Exact measurements are not necessary. 

Rinse the rice in a colander for 30 seconds. 

Boil, uncovered, on medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, 

Remove from heat, pour rice and water into colander, let drain for 10 seconds. 

Put the rice back into the pot, away from the burner, cover tightly for 10 minutes. 

Fluff with a fork, add salt as needed. 

It took me so many years to learn this simple method.

Blueberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze

1 cup of butter, room temperature

1 - 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt or buttermilk, or a combination of any of these)

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 - 2/3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 - 1/2 cups blueberries

Mix first six ingredients in a stand mixer, beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder onto the creamed mixture. Don't mix it in yet. 

Carefully pour the blueberries on top of the flour, Gentle stir with a spoon until the blueberries are covered with flour (this will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Then stir all together until well mixed. 

Prepare the bundt pan. Use a piece of waxed paper to grease the pan, even if it has a non-stick coating. I use coconut oil. Pour out any excess oil. Dust the interior of the pan with granulated sugar. Don't forget the center column. Pour out excess sugar. I like using sugar rather that a dusting of flour, because the flour looks unattractive on the surface of the cake. Sugar, on the other hand, gives the cake's crust a bit of crunch. 

Spoon the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top. Bake at 350 F. for 45 minutes or until done. Remove pan from oven, let it rest on a rack for 15 minutes. Gently slide a spatula down the sides to loosen the cake, cover the pan with a serving plate and turn the whole thing over, releasing the cake. Let cool completely. 

Drizzle with Lemon Glaze: 1 - 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tbl. lemon juice, 1 tsp. vanilla. Stir well, add a tiny bit of milk to make the glaze liquid enough to pour.

Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

Note: This makes a pretty acidic sauce. To lessen the bite, take a small amount of this sauce and add some plain chocolate syrup to taste. 

Drizzle over vanilla ice cream; or over watermelon and feta cheese chunks for a cool salad. Also good over fresh berries. 

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark chocolate, broken into pieces

Combine the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan, stir to dissolve sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vinegar has been reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir in chocolate pieces until dissolved. Serve warm or store in refrigerator in a covered jar.