Velentine's Day My Way

First, I have to start by acknowledging that this is a created, consumer driven holiday.  Yes, I get that, but I have to say anything that gives me a reminder to show my love for wonderful people in my life is a fabulous thing.  There is of course a compromise (yep, that's my thing, compromising).  Husband, D, is working all day and he will come home for a 5 minute baton pass in our relay race, where I give him the 411 of the day and then run out the door to work an evening job.  The hope is that I get home by 9 pm for our weekly date.  I decided this was no excuse to not do something special for him.  So, I decided to do what I do best....bake.  I wanted to share the results, which I hope you agree are beautiful and guess what...not hard.

Here goes...

With the motto of eating dessert first in life. First is the finished picture ...

...It's been a tempting day.

Here go the recipes

First Oatmeal Bars, inspired by a very bedraggled and old version of Betty Crocker, but no an exact duplicate.

1 1/2 cups of butter softened (if you use salted butter, omit the salt in the recipe)
2 cups of packed brown sugar (real stuff here please like C & H...yum)
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups of quick-cooking oats (or do what I did and put your old-fashioned oats in a food chopper)
1/4 cup of milk (I used whole milk because I had it on hand)

Cream butter and brown sugar until light, fluffy and the color lightens using an electric mixer (I used my grandma's Kitchen Aid today...seemed appropriate for Valentines).  Mix in remaining ingredients.
Press into a butter four sided cookie sheet (I used a half sheet, which is the normal home size).

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until light brown on edges only. Better to slightly under bake, but do bake until firm.

Leave in pan to cool until you can handle but still quite warm.  Cut bars right in the pan using a heart shaped cookie cutter.  My cutter was 2 inches across or maybe 3.  When cool use a small metal spatula or off-set spreader to lift out of pan onto cooling rack.

Second, fudgy, gooey brownies, which I guarantee are not a health food...healthy ones are not as good, I don't care what people tell you.  Go for the gusto here, but just don't do it often.

In a double boiler (I used the mixer bowl of my Kitchen Aid with oatmeal bar batter still clinging to it...great trick and less clean up since I was using it already), melt the following
1 cup of butter
4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate...I didn't have any so I substituted 3/4 cup of cocoa and 1/4 cup of oil.

When melted stir in 4 room temperature eggs, 2 cups of suggar, 2 teaspoons vanilla, one teaspoon of almond extract.  Use a wooden spoon to beat in 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and 1 1/2 cups of dark chocolate chips

Spread with an off set spatula in half sheet four sided cookie sheet. bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  cool on wire rack and cut with the heart shaped cookie cutter when cool.

Ginger Carrot Soup...A Great way to warm up

Time has been stretched so thin lately that it is at risk of breaking, so I continue to write blog entries in my head...Effective right?  Well, here is one that has been bouncing around so long that I really need to get it out, so I can make room in my head for thinking about important things like how to get caught up on laundry or sleep training (more on that later)....oh so tired.

This recipe is so easy that anyone can fit it into a busy schedule.  I do not mind recipes that take a long time as long as I do not have to baby it the whole time...That probably explains my love of baking sourdough (when life slows a bit, I am contemplating a tutorial that makes the process as simple as I can).

Carrot Ginger Soup is perfect for this time of year...As I type it is dreary and rainy outside, a sure sign that Winter is looming. Soup is of course warming and ginger has natural warming properties.  By the way, this is one of those recipes that is not clear cut, but more of a cooking process that I am hoping to explain so that you can adjust how you like.

First, decide on one television show you love (I watch only one per week, myself).  While watching, peel and chunk up (about the size of a carrot stick from your fifth grade lunch pail) as many carrots as you can stopping when your fingers turn orange and put directly in your crock pot.  Actually, I fill mine leaving 1 to 1.5 inches of space. So, for my 5 quart it took 5 pounds of carrots (so I am guessing you can estimate about 1 pound of carrots per quart of crock pot).  Now, fill with either vege stock or plain water until the carrots are all just barely covered.  If using plain water, add a spice ball with 1 Tablespoon Thyme, 4 bay leaves broken in half, and 20 peppercorns).  Cook on low for 8 hours.  My husband, D (he is a great sous chef), did all this the night before and refrigerated, so the next morning I basically just put the liner back in and turned on the crock pot.  I did add 3 Tablespoons of grated ginger at this point.  (If you are not a ginger lover add just 2 T at first reserving the other for adjusting the flavor when they are cooked) When carrots are tender, take out spice ball if you used it and add one can of coconut milk (do not use the light version.  You will not taste coconut just get a creamy taste that hits your tongue right after the bright carrot flavor and pungent ginger) and 2-3 Tablespoons of brown sugar (please use real stuff. I have always enjoyed C & H pure cane sugar, affordable and yummy!).  blend until smooth using either an immersion blender or a separate blender.  I prefer the immersion type for ease of clean up and because its fun!

Eat as is, enjoying the beautiful orange hue or add a dollop of something creamy. We love homemade plain greek yogurt, but I imagine creme fraiche would put this over the top.

And please do not tell people just how easy this recipe is, but then you may need to change the name to something like Carrot Ala Ginger...wow I am not so good at the fancy shmancy...I will stick to simplicity...

The Compromise:  Orange fingers and so much yummy soup, you will begin contemplating a deep freezer purchase...mine is getting a little full....shhhh don't tell D.
 
The Sweet Reward:  A healthy soup you really can not stop eating...serve it with good bread and everyone will be happy.  I just made a new one, Swedish Limpa, which is a rye bread with orange rind, fennel, and caraway.  One slice toasted with this soup and I could forget about the dreary outside for an evening :)

PS I think I have a photo somewhere, which I will attempt to locate when I have free hands again.....

Enjoy,
Tracy 

A Yummy way to stay warm while camping

A while back, I learned an interesting social service provided in Canada.  To help the homeless, warm baked potatoes are given away inside a new tube sock in the evening. It serves many purposes including warmth for the night, food the next day, and a new sock.  What an awesome idea!!! Cost efficient, humanitarian...what's not to love. Thus, I quickly adopted this idea for my own use.  Several years ago, I started with two white potatoes baked in a camp fire.  One for my feet and one for my trunk to stay warm in my sleeping bag and the next morning for yummy, warming campfire hashbrowns.  This weekend during a family camping trip, we tried it, but with a new twist.  We didn't actually need the warmth (ironic, given the weather shift that has me huddled under a blanket right now).  This time I used sweet potatoes with the intent of soup.  Although I must confess I have never made this type of soup, I love a challenge and tend to prefer cooking without recipes.  Because measuring spoons do not get packed for camping, I am estimating the amounts based on sight, so feel free to season to taste. 

By the way, one compliment I received is "I just want to bathe in it."  It was yummy and soothing and as I savored its warmth it blanketed my mouth and stomach in every important way.  I am adding this to my winter repertoire...black bean, chili, minestrone, squash, Provincial White Bean Soup, Kidney Bean and Kale Soup, Black Eyed Pea and Greens, etc.  I make a very large batch of each and deep freeze, typically only making each 1-2 times per year. 

So without further ado, here is my new Sweet Potato Soup, which serves 10 adults a good sized serving. Cut in half if this is too much for you.  I will probably double this the next time I make it.

Bake in either your oven (great way to decrease potentially wasted energy when preheating for baking bread) or a campfire or your fire pit out back when you have friends over, 6 pounds of sweet potatoes. 
Peel potatoes, waiting until a little cooled if you  like your fingertips to remain in place.

Chop 1 lb of onions and cook in oil in a large soup pot
When beginning to brown add 2 prunes (next time I will likely try 8 prunes)...this adds depth of flavor and natural sweetness, much like my homemade BBQ sauce.
Then add 1 Tablespoon of each of the following sweet curry powder, Chinese 5 spice powder, garlic powder, and ground ginger (the kind in the jar). Also add 1/2 Tablespoon black pepper. Stir and cook for one minute. Then deglaze pan with 1/2 cup of orange juice.
Add all the potatoes and 1 quart of vegetarian stock.
When warm, puree with an immersion blender (small and easy to take camping if you have electricity at your cite)
Then add, one more quart of vegetarian stock and 1 cup of cream or half and half (we used the latter since we had it already for camp coffee.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy either alone as we did or with a dollop of creme fraiche or candied orange peel.

Sorry there are no pictures, it was a busy weekend...3 families, 2 dogs, 1 playground, 1 festival, 2 loaves of homemade bread...yum, loud neighbors, 2 hours drive each way, 1 stroller strapped to the roof of a car, 1 pack n play (seriously recommended when camping with a little one), and 1 visit to medical professionals ;) yep, that's how we roll.

Autumn Ginger Apple Salad

This is the promised recipe.  The one that led me to find out that apples may come shellacked, what food producers tell you is a same animal  insect by-product, so vegetarians and vegans in particular be warned.  Wow, I sound depressing today, maybe it is the gloomy rain.  Actually, I love rain...the smell, the sound, the calming effect, the coziness, the filtered light that can be perfect for my eyes and mood and taking pictures :)

Speaking of pictures. I love my new camera, but I am still getting in the routine of downloading pictures to my computer and thus I am getting a log jam of blog posts again.  It truly is unfortunate that I can not telepathically blog as I tend to write posts in my head while walking or driving.  Okay, here it is.  There is peanut butter in this, so if you have an allergy, simply leave it out. In this it is more for depth of flavor, umami on the tongue (I love this word...I have a love of words that sound interesting...check out this website I just found and plan to explore more in the future...What is umami? .... yes curiosity does get this cat sometimes, but satisfaction certainly brings me back).  You could sub tahini for the peanut butter.  Here is another interesting tidbit.  I agree that food allergies are frightening and I am so thankful we do not deal with that.  If you do I have a good website in my list for you.  The new theory is that we are overprotecting our kids from foods and need to introduce them sooner rather than later to prevent allergies and build immune response.  So armed with this new knowledge and my pediatrician's blessing (which I don't typically get given my unusual parenting choices at times), we tried  (gave it in the morning on a weekday with carseat ready and phone ready in case an emergency loomed...the only emergency was needing more PB quickly...yep he is a PB fiend and certainly not allergic) PB very early. I think Mr. B was 10 months old.

Okay without further ado, I am really good at tangents. Here is the recipe

1/2 cup greek yogurt (we make our own so my thickness might be different than store bought, so adjust as needed to your taste)
3 Tablespoons peanut butter (we like natural type, so you have to work harder at stirring...good exercise for flabby arms...no comments on my arms please)
1 Tablespoon Honey (any sweetner of choice could be subbed
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1-3 teaspoons of ground ginger to taste (the kind in the jar...we love Penzey's brand...look for them in my website list...we are lucky to have a local store front though)
If you love ginger top with chopped crystallized ginger, about 1/4 of a cup

Top with granola if you like a little crunch like I do.

Dip about 3/4 of a 3 lb bag of apples, into boiling water for 20 seconds to melt away wax and shellac.  Dry and rub with a towel to remove extra residue.

Chop apples.

Stir together all other ingredients, except toppings.  Add to chopped apples in a pretty bowl.

Serve immediately, although leftovers are fabulous.  I ate the leftovers for the next two days...yum.

Here is a picture of the leftovers topped with homemade ginger granola, sitting in dappled light in my window.

The Real Gooey Butter Cake

The title alone tells of my first compromise.

Compromise:  Making possibly the least healthy cake.

The Sweet Reward:  Do I really need to tell you?

This happens to be so quintessentially St. Louis that it is an absolute must on a visit or celebration of the Gateway City.

I do not like cake mixes...they are overly processed and likely contain the cheapest ingredients (ironic given the real ingredients are not expensive).  Yet, I needed to make this for a St. Louis themed night, so the best option was to at least make it homemade and maintain enough self-control to not eat most of the pan. I did lovingly lick the beaters.  Don't give me that hairy eye ball, you would too.

This is not my own recipe, but here is the link I used 

Homemade Gooey Butter Cake 
on a side note, this is a fun site.

It was rich, buttery, sweet, evenly moist texture, a nice but not too thick crumbly crust, appropriate amount of goo, thin top layer of crisp, and a beautiful golden color.

Eat me!!! Eat me!!!

If you don't mind ignoring what you know about nutrition, please do try this.  

By the way, this one lacks cream cheese which seems to allow the buttery flavor to fully shine.

Oh and without a cake mix it still only took about 15 minutes to mix up.

It met with rave reviews from man, woman, and child (aka Mr. B...at least he shared with his best bud the dog)

Kidney Bean Kale Soup

This may sound redundant, but I am getting sick of all the sickness in our house, so I am trying to cure it with food, specifically soup.  I have been making soups (including Provencial White Bean Soup already posted and a simple white bean, spinach, onion ones and defrosting previous ones, such as last winter's chili from my deep freeze.  Last year I realized how limited my time was with an infant, so I made two stock pots of chili at the same time.  Voila chili for an entire winter with one afternoon's worth of work!!!

I have been creating new soups to add to our normal reptoire and documenting my method and recipes as best I can to share with others.  Since I had already decided my bean for this week would be kidney beans, it made sense to center a soup around this.  I also noticed that my kale was ready to harvest again, so in it went in my imagination (that's where I concoct new recipes before actually cooking).  This soup is warming thanks to the bit of paprika and so comforting with a silky broth thanks to the fire roasted tomatoes (you should try them).

1 lb dried Red Kidney Beans
4 Bay leaves borken in half
1 1/2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried whole thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 1/2 large onions chopped
4 cloves of garlic thinnly sliced

2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper (I used a pepper medley mix)
1 teaspoon dried whole thyme
1-2 teaspoons paprika (I used Hungarian.  Some have a bit of a kick to them so add to your taste preference)

6 oz. can tomato paste
2 cans fire roasted tomatoes

8 cups of liquid (drain beans and reserve cooking liquid and add enough water to get total amount)
1/2 of cooked beans (reserve in either refrigerator or freezer for later use or add them all for a more hearty soup)
large bunch of kale chopped (I stack leaves on cutting board and due a few slices every 3 inches goign same direction as stem, then slice 1/4 inch thick)

If you don't like kale, spinach would be yummy

Soak beans overnight, rinse and add fresh water covering by 2 inches. Add the next four ingredients.  Bring to a boil (Note: you must boil any red beans for a few minutes and then either finish on the stove about 2 hours on simmer or in the crock pot for 8-10 hours).

When beans are almost done, heat enough oil to cover bottom of stock pot and when it looks shimmery add onions and saute until translucent.  Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds longer.

Add next 4 ingredients and saute for one minute.  Add tomato paste, stirring well, and cook for 2 minutes.

Add Fire roasted tomatoes with their liquid and add the 8 cups of liquid.

Bring to a low boil and add beans and kale.  It will look like more kale than you can imagine, but it really cooks down. It amazes me every time.

 Cook until the Kale is tender but still a vibrant green as the picture below shows.  It took about 5 minutes for mine to get tender.

 I love this picture...Mmmm...come to mama!!!

We enjoyed a big bowl of this soup topped with grated parmesean along with homemade sourdough cornbread on the side (still tweaking that recipe, so you have to be patient for that one).  It would be fabulous with pasta in it as well, just make sure that you add the pasta each time you eat it, otherwise the pasta swells and gets soggy as it soaks up all the liquid.  Everyone loved it including Mr. B although he prefers broth and chunky stuff seperate when eating soup.  Yep, he's already forming strong opinions.

This week's bean and an actual recipe

My husband D likes to call my food one-offers since I do not use recipes unless cooking very unusual food. Some would say I can do this because I am a good cook, but the truth is that recipes make me terribly anxious. I go back and forth between the recipe and my bowl or pan, double and triple checking.  Makes me nervous just to think about it. So, coming up with recipes for what I do is a big stretch, but probably good for me.  You know doing things in a new way develops neurons and staves off Alzheimer's Disease. So here we go.  Drum roll please......the bean of the week is Great Northern Beans.........a bean with "great" in the title deserves a drum roll don't you think.  I have enjoyed this bean since I was a kid. This is the bean of beans. Cook it a little longer and gets just a bit softer releasing some starchiness to the dish, yet still holding its integrity.  It is truly Grace Under Fire.  In continuing my bean resolution, I got out the crock and 2 pounds of this glorious bean without a plan for what I wanted to make with it.  Then, the weather cooled down and we are in week 2 of the family illness with ongoing lack of sleep.  The answer of course to all the questions and problems is soothing soup.  I made a re-do of a soup that I made for a family gathering/game night last winter, but this time wrote down how I did it....yes, I can be a bit of procrastinator. So, I soaked the beans in crock for 8 hours (actually in a bowl because I was making yogurt in my large crock; more on that later) and then cooked the beans in crock over night.  Then, I began my soup about 1.5 hours before I wanted to eat it.

4 Tablespoons butter
4 medium or 5 large carrots diced
4 ribs of celery diced
1 1/2 large onions diced
all celery leaves from the bunch chopped (trust me these are good)
6 cloves of garlic minced
3 shallots diced
4 Tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons white pepper
2 Tablespoons Herbs De Provence
2 teaspoons garlic powder (not a typo, two types of garlic early adds depth of overall flavor and adds more garlic yumm without overpowering which would happen if using only one type)
salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds of Great Northern Beans cooked with cooking liquid

Melt butter in large soup pot over medium heat.  Once you see the white foamy stuff called butter solids it is ready to cook.  Add carrots, celery, and onion and do whats called sweating, which means cooking until they get tender, but not soft and onion begins to get translucent.  Add celery leaves, garlic, and shallot.  Saute for one minute more and then add the flour and all herbs, cooking until the flour becomes golden. At this point you could deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of white wine you like.  With Mr. B, I'd rather not cook with wine at this point, so I omitted it.  Now add beans and all cooking liquid. If you want it less beany, add 3/4 of beans which would be 1 1/2 pounds and all cooking liquid.  The remainder is about 4 cups and perfect amount to freeze for incorporation in a later meal (I freeze food staples like beans, rice, pilaf, risotto ahead to make easy meals, but never freeze pasta). You have a choice to make now regarding soup thickness.  Left alone it is a thick stew type soup.  If you want it more soupy simply add ready to go vegetarian stock until you reach consistency that you like.  Cook on a low simmer for 45 minutes to one hour. Enjoy!!!  We had it with homemade sourdough bread and butter (of course butter, my mama taught me well), and a salad.  Mr. B LOVED it first and second time he had it.

Sorry no pictures of this one, the camera batteries were completely dead...but trust me a creamy tan bean soup with flecks of light green and orange is very appealing...Soups on!!!

Comfortingly yours,
Tracy