more soup recipes from our house

Ajiaco-Columbian national dish

1-2 chicken breasts
2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 t olive oil
3 cloves garlic
3 medium red or yellow waxy potatoes-cubed
1 large russet peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 chopped onion
2/3 c each green beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans.
1 1/2 t basil
3/4 t white pepper
3/4 t paprika
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro-optional
In large pot cook chicken in several cups water until done. Dice and return to broth. Saute
garlic and onions in oil. Add to pot. Add 4 c water and more salt and potatoes cook until soft(the russet should disintegrate and thicken the soup and the waxy potatoes remain in cubes). Add remaining vegetables, cook until tender. Let simmer a short time.
Now for the fun at the table. Garnishes:
capers
chopped avocado
chunks of corn on the cob
cream

This is a fun company dish. The garnishes really add a lot, served with bread and salad it's very tasty. It keeps well for the next day.


Turkey Wild Rice Soup

Another very tasty soup(will spring ever come???)

Saute:
1 medium chopped onion
2 diced celery ribs
2 diced carrots
1/2 c butter or olive oil
Add:
1/2 c flour
Add:
4 c broth (turkey or chicken)
Add:
2 c cooked wild rice
Add:
2 c milk or light cream
2 c diced cooked turkey
1 t parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Simmer to thick and tasty goodness. Sometimes I add more vegetables. The sum is much greater than the components.

Lentil Chili from the lentil capital of the US-2 quarts

1 c lentils
6 c water
1/2 onion-chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
1 c tomato puree
1/2 c salsa
1 T cumin
1 T dry garlic
2 T sugar
1+ t salt
dash chili flakes
dash cinnamon
dash cilantro
1/2 oz. mexican chocolate

Cook lentils in water for 20 minutes then add rest of ingredients
Simmer for 20-30 minutes until tender and blended

March 4,2009

I found a very good gingerbread recipe at last. I wanted something moist and tasty.

From The Enchanted Broccoli Forest/Mollie Katzen



In saucepan saute for 3 minutes, remove from heat

5 T butter
3 T freshly grated ginger

Beat together vigorously for several minutes, then beat in butter mix:

1/2 c honey
1/2 c molasses

Beat together combine with above:
1/2 c yogurt
1 egg

Combine:
1 c ww flour
1 c unbl. white flour
1 1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 t dry ginger
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg

Combine wet and dry mixes thoroughly but not excessively. Pour batter into buttered 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Enjoy.


The other item we have been making a lot of is scones. This recipe makes lovely moist scones. Our current favorite addition is craisons. Most of the time I make them plain so they can be covered with butter and jam.

2 c flour
2 t baking powder
2 T sugar
1/2 t salt(to taste)
3 T butter(or shortening)
2 eggs
1/3 c milk(or best with 1/2 c buttermilk)


Mix dry ingrediants. Cut in shortening. Mix milk and eggs together, then add slowly to flour mix. Add additional ingredients as desired. Bring all together into a ball and knead 22 times. Roll out 1/2" cut into wedges or circles. Brush with milk(dust with sugar if desired) Bake ~18-20 minutes at 425. Makes 8-10 scones.

Spinach Quiche

Spinach Quiche

Pie Crust
makes two 9" pie crusts or one double crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tsp sugar
7 Tbsp butter
5 Tbsp ice water
(2 tsp vodka)

Put flour, salt, sugar and butter in a food processor with the S-blade
Process until the butter is in small pieces
Add the ice water
Process until the dough looks like course crumbs
Divide the dough in half and roll to desired size
Trim and shape the edges
Freeze until ready to use.

Filling
1 10oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
2 med onions coarsely chopped
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
Cottage cheese

(Milk, Cheddar cheese, Feta, parmesan cheese, Mushrooms, chopped ham, crumbled bacon, Bac-Os, bell peppers, sausage)

Preheat the over to 375
Defrost the spinach
Saute the onions
Put the onions, spinach, eggs, salt and pepper in the blender and puree
Add enough milk and/or cheese to make 5 cups of filling.
Puree again
Stir in additional ingredients
Pour into frozen pie shells
Bake for 40 min
Let rest for 15 min
Serve

Theory of the Dish
Basically this is a custard tart. Pureeing the spinach gives it a light fluffy texture almost like a soufflé. The first time I tried this I used milk instead of cottage cheese and sprinkled the top of one pie with parmesan and the other with Bac-Os. That worked out well although the milk did separate a little. The cottage cheese version is richer. With feta instead of cottage cheese it is almost a Greek spinach pie.

Rocky Road Cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup mini marshmallows

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350
Cream the butter and sugars together
Mix in the egg and vanilla
Mix in the flour, salt, and baking soda
Mix in chips, walnuts, and marshmallows
Drop onto cookie trays (I use a #40 disher and parchment paper)
Bake for 15 minutes or until they begin to brown at the edges.
Makes 18 cookies

Theory of the Dish
I need to find recipes to use a bunch of mini marshmallow. So I experimented with making Rocky Road Cookies using a Chocolate Chip recipe as a base. The first batch came out too thin so I added more flour. These came out very nice.

The last November post

Now that we're really into late fall here, that is , it is gray and the days are short, we are thinking a lot about new interesting recipes. Liam and I discovered this recipe from Bon Appetit and it was a hit . I have also included a recipe for white sandwich bread.

Roasted Yam and Apple Salad
Combine:
3 pounds of peeled, cubed yams
2T oil
1T sesame oil
1T cumin seeds(I used ground cumin)
1t salt
Roast this at 375 until tender and lightly browned~ 45-60 minutes then cool
Combine with:
3 large Fuji/Gala apples cubed
2 c green grapes
1 c dried cranberries
1/2 c sliced almonds
Include juices from yams scraping the baking sheet.
Add vinaigrette:( and toss)
21/2 T apple cider vinegar
1T curry powder
21/2t honey
3/4t Dijon mustard
1/2 c oil

White Sandwich Bread
1c warm water
1 1/2c buttermilk(you can use milk instead, the buttermilk keeps it moist)
2T yeast
1/4c sugar
1/4c oil
1t salt
5-6 c flour
Dissolve yeast in water, add next 5 ingredients and 2 cups of flour and let proof for 15 minutes. Gradually add enough flour to make soft/firm dough. Knead about 5-10 minutes until smooth. Let rise until double. Punch down, form into 2 loaves(I roll out an oval and roll it up ,tucking the seam side down) and put in 2 8x4 1/2 greased pans , let rise until slightly above pan. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes until golden and hollow sounding when rapped.

Gypsy Soup...this is the name given by the Spokesman Review in the recipe section. I was in the mood to try something new and it was well received. I did make a substitution of carrots and cubed Yukon golds for the yams as I didn't want to go to the store. The flavor combination was very nice and the cinnamon gave no overt flavor but enhanced the other spices.
2 T. olive oil
3 c. Diced onions
1T. garlic chopped
3 c. yam-diced
2 ribs celery chopped
Saute in stock pot 5 minutes
Add:
1 green bell pepper diced
1 T paprika
1 1/2 t tumeric
1 1/2 t basil
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
dash cayenne or dried chilies
saute 3 more minutes
Add and simmer until vegetables are tender- 20-30 minutes
1 1/2 c diced tomatoes
2 c. garbanzo beans (2 15 oz cans)
4 c vegetable broth(I actually used left0ver turkey broth)

Flax Meal Cookies

Flax Meal Cookies (gluten free)

Ingredients
1 cup flax meal
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 or 2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F
Mix the ingredients
Line a cookie tray with parchment paper
Drop batter onto lined tray with a #40 disher (makes 1 doz)
Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges begin to brown
Allow to cool before removing from tray

Theory of the Dish
I was trying to find some use for Flax Meal. Most sources say it can substituted for oil 3 to 1. That is not very helpful. Flax meal may be the nutritional equivalent of oil but it is not the culinary equivalent of oil. In thinking of something to compare it to I thought about peanuts and of my simple peanut butter cookies. This was my attempt to substitute flax meal for the peanut butter in that recipe.
With just one egg the batter is very stiff and the cookies need to be flattened. The result is like oatmeal cookies. With two eggs the cookies really spread out and are very thin and chewy, like caramal with nuts.