Did a Little Baking Today

First up, I made a second batch of some muffins that appeared in this month's Cooking Light. I had made them earlier this week, but Don and I ate them all before I could take a picture! These are hearty enough (and healthy enough) to eat for breakfast - I would take two each morning along with a piece of string cheese.

Tropical Muffins with Coconut-Macadamia Topping
from Cooking Light

Muffins:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 ounces)
1 cup regular oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2)
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple in juice, drained
1/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
3 tablespoons finely chopped macadamia nuts, toasted
Cooking spray

Topping:
2 tablespoons flaked sweetened coconut
1 tablespoon finely chopped macadamia nuts
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon regular oats
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. To prepare muffins, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Combine banana and next 5 ingredients (through egg) in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in pineapple, 1/3 cup coconut, and 3 tablespoons nuts. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.
3. To prepare topping, combine 2 tablespoons coconut and the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of topping over each muffin. Bake at 400° for 18 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.

Yield 18 muffins. (Cooking Lightsays this recipe will make 12, but even with almost-full muffin cups, it made 18. Also, since half of a small can of crushed pineapple is 1/2 cup, you might as well make two batches. What else can you do with half a can of crushed pineapple?

Next, I tried a new bread recipe in the bread machine - rye bread. I found a recipe that sounded more like pumpernickel, and thought I'd give it a try. The original recipe called for 2 teaspoons of yeast, but keeping with my practice of cutting the yeast nearly in half, I used a teaspoon and an eighth. It worked! And this bread really does taste more like a pumpernickel. I didn't put in the caraway seed - don't really care for it - and so now the bread will be good for sandwiches or toasted with jam.

Rustic Black Rye Bread
high altitude recipe

1 ½ cups water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons softened butter or margarine
2 tablespoons molasses
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup rye flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place ingredients into the bread machine in order listed. Use the whole wheat, regular crust setting. Press start. After the baking cycle ends, remove bread from pan, place on a cake rack, and allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing.


Note: In the top photo, the reason there's a dent in the top is because halfway during baking, I blew a fuse in the kitchen. When I reset the power, I couldn't finish the loaf in the bread machine (it automatically starts at the beginning), so I finished it in the big oven. My big oven mitt made the dent while I was moving it. In the photo at right, you can see a couple large air bubbles - I think perhaps I could use even less yeast next time - but the texture of the bread was perfect. Not bad for 6000 feet!

Banana Nut Bread in the Bread Machine

This was a quick bread recipe - yet it took longer to do it in the bread machine than it would take to do it in the oven. I think the only time I would do this again would be if it were in the middle of the summer on a hot day and I didn't want to heat up the kitchen by using the regular oven.

Banana Nut Bread for the Bread Machine


1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup vegetable oil
2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅔ cup mashed bananas
⅓ cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped

1. Into baking pan measure flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.
2. Add oil, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.
3. Insert pan securely into unit; close lid.
4. Select"Cake" setting; press"Start.
5. When beep sounds after about 5 minutes, add mashed banana and nuts.
6. Press"Start" again.
7. The"Complete" light will flash when cake is done.

Coconut Tart

A few weeks ago I was stitching a Christmas ornament from Just Cross Stitch Magazine. Many of the designers include recipes with their designs, and the one included with the piece I was working on was this coconut tart. This is a really simple recipe to make - just mix everything together all at once, pour it into a pie plate, and bake it. It puffs up nicely and forms a crunchy top crust that reminds me of a coconut macaroon. Underneath the crust is a light custard. Don and I tried it both warm and chilled, and I liked it both ways.


Coconut Tart
from Just Cross Stitch Magazine

1 c coconut
1 c sugar
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened *
2 c milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325˚. In a large bowl, beat all ingredients together until thick and creamy. Pour into a greased 9" pie plate and bake for approximately 30 minutes, until risen and golden.** Serve warm or cold. Makes 6-8 servings.

* I used salted butter and it was fine.
** I had to cook mine 40 minutes before it would set up.

Wurstsalat and Baked Apples

We had a simple dinner tonight - wurstsalat the way Don likes it, with rye bread, and some baked apples for dessert. While I prefer fleishsalat, with its blend of meat, cheese, pickle, onion, tomato, and vinegar, Don prefers wurstsalat. It's made using ring bologna.

Wurstsalat

1 ring bologna, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2-3 small tomatoes, halved and sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Serve with rye bread. Makes 4 servings.

I put dessert in the oven before I made dinner, and we enjoyed baked apples while helping to heat the house (it's still chilly up here in the mountains!). I saw this recipe yesterday on Frugal Friends in the Kitchen, a Yahoo group I belong to, and knew I had to make it as soon as possible. I used Braeburn apples instead of the Rome Beauty, but they're just as good for baking.

Maple Glazed Baked Apples

from Russie on Frugal Friends in the Kitchen

4 Rome Beauty or Braeburn apples
½ cup raisins
½ cup light brown sugar
⅓ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup apple juice
¼ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Core apples, leaving bottoms intact.* Peel top half of apples. Arrange apples in
8X8 inch baking pan. Combine raisins, brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon. Spoon
mixture into apples, mounding over top of apples and letting excess fall into
pan. Pour apple juice into bottom of pan. Combine maple syrup and butter and spoon over top of apples. Cover pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 55 min. or until apples are tender. Serves 4

*I cored them all the way through, and they came out fine. Also, I used a Corningware casserole dish with lid instead of a pan with foil.

Using up Leftover Corned Beef

Corned Beef hash is one of my favorite breakfast foods, and until my trip to Boise, I thought I preferred it from a can. Most of the homemade corned beef hash I've tried in restaurants was made with onions. I don't care for it that way. But at Goldy's, in Boise, I had some homemade hash that was wonderful. And naturally, I thought, "I can do that!" So I did. I made a corned beef brisket in the crockpot for St Patrick's Day, and kept some of the leftovers just for this. It was great! What I do with it once it's cooked is make two "wells," and put two eggs in each "well." Then I put the lid on the pan until the eggs are cooked.

Has anyone reading this ever tried making corned beef hash using canned corned beef?

Getting Away From it All

The past two weeks have been spring break in our school district, and Don and I spent the first 11 days of it in the southern Sierras. First, we went to a place new to us - Kaweah Lake. It's between Visalia and the south entrance to Sequoia National Park. We camped at Horse Creek Campground, and for most of our stay had our loop of the campground to ourselves. I called our site "a room with a view." I sat outside nearly every day while Don was fishing, just so I could enjoy that view. To our left was Lake Kaweah, and to the right was a view up the Kaweah River.




We learned that the lake was built for flood control, and it fills up every year. By the end of May or early June each year, the water comes up and covers almost all of the campground. We could see it changing each day we were there - small islands and bushes became covered by the end of our stay. The campground is not open during the summer - it's under water!







After we left Lake Kaweah, we had reservations at a Forest Service campground on Lake Isabella. When we got there, it was a nightmare. First of all, more than half of the campground was closed - and I'm sure that's where the sites were that were large enough for RVs and trailers. We drove through a few loops - getting stuck several times and tearing up the side of our trailer against some trees and rocks. When we could finally make it back to the entrance, we saw that there wasn't even a camp host there to tell us where a decent site could be found. Soooo, we decided to go to Don's favorite campground - Rivernook - a private campground with full hookups and CABLE TV. Yeah, we were really roughing it. But he likes Rivernook, since he can fish in the Kern right from the campground. He also can drive up and down the Kern and fish all he wants. The picture to the left was taken from one of the places we stopped (the day I accompanied him up the river). Six days there was nice -all I did was sit and cross stitch and read and not even think about work.

Fabulous Flavors in One Dish

For twenty years I've fixed pork tenderloin the same way: marinate in teriyaki sauce and grill on the barbecue. (Or is it barbecue on the grill?) I don't know why I never tried other ways, but once I started blogging I've gotten "adventurous." This has got to be the best so far. Don said, "You outdid yourself on this one. We've got to have this again!"

Spicy Pork Tenderloin with Ginger-Maple Sauce
adapted from Cooking Light

2 teaspoons chili powder
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ lbs. pork tenderloin, trimmed
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons bottled ground fresh ginger
1 cup chicken broth
½ cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; rub pork with spice mixture. Heat a large ovenproof skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat; add pork. Cook 6 minutes; brown on all sides. Place skillet in oven; for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

While pork bakes, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, and cook 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add ginger, and cook 4 minutes. Stir in broth and syrup, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring broth mixture to a boil; cook until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 10 minutes). Cut pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices; serve with sauce.

Chicken Parmesan without the Breading and the Fat

This recipe came to me from Sweetnicks, but was originally from Giada De Laurentis (on the Food Network). Again, like some previous dishes I've tried from other people, this one drew my attention because of Cate's fabulous photo. Don and I really liked this version - and it's one that I will definitely make again for several reasons: 1) It's quick and easy, 2) It's low carb (no breading), 3) It's low fat (no frying), and 4) it just tastes fantastic. I used plain old Ragu - which was in my fridge only because I'd had a coupon and already used half the jar on some meatball subs. I'm sure many different marinaras would be fine for this.

Chicken Parmesan
from Giada De Laurentis

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 chicken cutlets (about 3 ounces each)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup marinara sauce
¼ cup shredded mozzrella cheese
8 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 500˚. In a small bowl, stir the oil and herbs to blend. Brush both sides of the cutlets with the herb oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Heat a large, heavy ovenproof skillet over a high flame. Add the cutlets and cook just until brown, about 1 minute per side. Remove from heat. Spoon the marinara sauce over and around the cutlets. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of mozzarella over each cutlet, then sprinkle 2 teaspoons of Parmesan over each. Dot the tops with the butter pieces and bake until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Serves 4

Spicy Dinner, Cool Dessert

Here I go again, borrowing another recipe. This time it's from Joe of Culinary in the Country. Back in 2005 he posted about Teriyaki Pork and Vegetables with Whole Wheat Noodles from Cooking Light. I saw it a few months ago, and made it for diner tonight. I made a mistake, though - the original recipe called for chili-garlic paste. I didn't have any, but I did have some sambal olek (chili paste) and thought I'd use that plus some garlic to take its place. I only used two teaspoons, but boy, was that dish spicy! It was edible, and Don absolutely loved it, but it took a long time for my tongue and mouth to quit burning! Next time- I'll either go buy the chili-garlic paste or I'll use a lot less sambal olek.

Teriyaki Pork and Vegetables with Whole Wheat Spaghetti
from Joe of Culinary in the Country

8 ounces dry whole wheat spaghetti
4 green onions
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
12 ounces boneless center-cut loin pork chops, cut into 1/4" strips
1 ¾ cups broccoli florets
2 cups sliced mushrooms
⅓ cup teriyaki sauce
4 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid, then drain the pasta - keep warm.

Thinly slice the top green part of the onions and set aside. Finely chop the white portions and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Stir in the finely chopped white portion of the green onions, bell pepper, pork, broccoli and mushrooms - sauté until the pork is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together reserved 1/4 cup cooking liquid, teriyaki sauce and chili garlic sauce. Add pasta and teriyaki sauce mixture to skillet - toss well to coat. Stir in sliced green onion tops to serve. Makes 4 servings.
Note: I didn't mix the pasta and veggie-pork mixture together. I put the pasta on the plates and topped it with the veggie-pork mixture.

I think this would be good with the addition of some sliced water chestnuts. As it was, we really loved it. Thanks again, Joe!

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Right now you can get some good deals on fresh fruit (at least you can here in southern California) - especially at the 99 cent store where they have trays of blueberries. Any time you see blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries on sale, stock up! All you need to do is put the loose fresh fruit on a cookie sheet and put it in the freezer. When it's frozen solid, put it in zip-top freezer bags and keep in the freezer. It thaws beautifully. Currently I have blueberries and blackberries in the freezer.

I picked up some strawberries yesterday - the first ones of the season - and decided to make a fruit salad. Don's been away on a fishing trip to the Owens River north of Bishop, and I knew that he'd want some fresh fruit when he came back. I threw this together this afternoon, and we had it for "dessert" after our spicy main dish.

Sangria Fruit Salad

1 banana, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4" thick
1 large apple, chopped
1 cup blueberries
1 cup blackberries
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (you need to use the sweetened - it sweetens the sangria)
3/4 cup sangria

Note: you can also add other fruits - grapes, mandarin oranges, kiwi, for example.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill. Makes 4 servings.

Yet Another "Borrowed" Recipe

I have just found a new chicken recipe that I can use when we're camping in our trailer. This is a simple, mix-up-the-ingredients and pop-it-in-the-oven recipe from Cate of Sweetnicks. (And while it looks like we eat a lot of chicken, it's just that all the other meals between Ed's and Cate's recipes were things I didn't want to post about.) This one smelled so good while it was cooking, and we loved the flavor of the garlic, the sage, the mustard, the cheese, and the chicken.

Lemon Parmigianno Chicken
from Cate of Sweetnicks

Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup dry vermouth (or any sort of wine)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon minced garlic
8 small chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
3 tablespoons freshly grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk together the lemon juice, vermouth, mustard, butter, sage and garlic. Place the chicken thighs in a baking dish. Pour the lemon mixture over all. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, salt and pepper. Bake until done, about 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices.

Ed Tep's Thai Barbecue Chicken

I love reading other people's blogs, and then trying out some of their recipes. Before I started blogging, my only sources of new recipes were either magazines or cookbooks - both of which I needed to spend money on. But blog-reading is free, and borrowing others' recipes is fun. I enjoy Ed's blog, Is it EDible? He cooked this chicken recipe back in September of 2006, and it took me almost a year and a half to finally cook it for myself. The main reason I was drawn to it was because of the picture. It just looked good. The ingredients are always in my pantry, so it's a good meal to fix on the spur of the moment - no special shopping trip. We really liked this - the taste is wonderful, and it's a super way to fix chicken thighs.

Thai Barbecue Chicken
from Ed of Is It Edible?

3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sherry
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teapspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
8 chicken thighs, skin-on
In a large ziploc bag, combine all the ingredients except the chicken thighs. Seal and shake until well mixed.
Add in the chicken thighs. Seal bag, and shake until chicken is well-coated. Allow chicken to marinate for 15 to 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large foil-lined baking pan, place the chicken skin-side down in a single layer. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn chicken thighs over. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Flip chicken thighs over again so they are skin-side up. Broil the chicken (out 5 inches from the broiler) for 8-10 minutes or until done.

He Would Have Been 55 Today

Today would have been my brother Barry's 55th birthday. Lung cancer took him 2 years ago.

Wasn't he a beautiful young man?

Happy Birthday, Barry!

Using Real Maple Syrup

Why haven't I tried it before? Maybe it's the price; maybe it's the sugar- but I finally bought some real maple syrup a few weeks ago, and have been experimenting. I was inspired by this month's Cooking Light, and tonight we tried one of the recipes from the magazine. This dish, though, doesn't really need a recipe - but it's by far the tastiest glaze I've EVER had on pork chops.

Maple-Soy Pork Chops
adapted from Cooking Light

Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper on pork chops (I used boneless). In a small bowl, mix equal parts of soy sauce and maple syrup - about 2 tablespoons each if you're serving 2 people-and 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. In a skillet, brown pork chops in 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to low. Add soy sauce-maple syrup mixture and simmer until mixture thickens into a glaze, turning chops to coat.

++++++++++++

Work notes: I sat in on 4 more layoff meetings today. Guaranteed to bring anyone down.

The Need for Comfort Food

All of us know how it is - we get stressed, and we turn to comfort food to help ease the stress. Last year, for a long time, I wrote about the long negotiations crisis we were going through at work. Now we're going through something just as critical, just as stressful, yet even worse for a few of my members. Due to the budget crisis California is going through, partly due to the housing market, and partly due to our totally ignorant and inept governor, our district decided to cut some of its budget by laying off teachers. On Friday, I sat with 5 of my members as they received the notice of layoff - with 6 more to do tomorrow and 6 on Friday. This is heartbreaking. Things are already tough enough in this state, and these people now have to worry about whether or not they'll be able to feed their families.

I think I'm looking forward to the end of Schwarzeneggar's term as governor almost as much as I'm looking forward to the end of GWB's reign of ineptitude as president. I hate paying taxes as much as the next person, but for crying out loud. How do you think you got that paved highway? The teachers in your school? The police who protect your community? I will gladly pay more taxes to have California become a nice place to live again.

For those of you who don't live in California, we're now number 47 out of 50 in pupil spending. And THIS was supposed to be the governor's "Year of Education." Hah!


On to the good stuff:

This morning I made one of Don's favorite breakfasts - German Pancakes. They're so easy - and so delightfully yummy!

German Pancakes

1 tablespoon butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
your choice of jams (I like raspberry; Don likes boysenberry)

Preheat oven to 425˚. In an ovenproof 10" skillet or pie plate, melt the butter. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high until fluffy. Gradually add flour and continue to beat on medium. Slowly add milk and salt. Pour into skillet or pie plate, and put in oven. Cook 13-16 minutes until puffed and golden. (It should look like the one above). Serve immediately, topped with powdered sugar, almonds, and jam. (Below)















Dinner was burgers. Instead of making the usual beef hamburgers, though, I used a recipe from Cooking Light that offered a great change from beef. We were able to cook these on the grill since we used the vegetable grill pan - looks like a square skillet/basket with holes in it.

Turkey Burgers with Curry-Lime Mayo
from Cooking Light
3/4 lb. ground turkey
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
(the recipe calls for your choice of jams - I don't think one of the red or purple ones would have been good, but I'm sure apricot would be just as good as the orange.)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon lime juice
hamburger buns
lettuce


Combine turkey and bread crumbs; moisten with marmalade. Form three patties; grill in skillet or grill pan until well done. Combine mayonnaise, curry powder, and lime juice; spread on toasted hamburger buns. Serve burgers with lettuce. Makes 3.

Anticuchos (Peruvian Beef Skewers)

These were in Cooking Light, and since I love beef skewers of any kind, I thought I'd give these a try. It's the middle of winter here, and when I made these last week we still had 4 feet of snow on the ground. I used my Cuisinart griddle to cook them and was pleased with how they turned out. When I make them again, however, I'm going to cook them on an outdoor grill, and add onions and bell peppers to the skewers.

Anticuchos (Peruvian Beef Skewers)
From Cooking Light


Beef:
1 ½ lbs. boneless sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons ground aji amarillo or hot paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
Fiery rub:
1 teaspoon ground aji amarillo or hot paprika
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
To prepare the beef, combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well. Cover and chill 3 hours.
To prepare fiery rub, combine 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, turmeric, and parsley.

Prepare grill.

Remove beef from bowl, discarding marinade. Thread beef onto each of 6 (10-inch) skewers. Press fiery rub onto beef. Place kebabs on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning once.

Martha Green's Hawaiian Chicken

I've written about Martha Green before - she owns a restaurant called The Eating Room and a bakery called Dough'lectibles, and does a mini-cooking show on our local NPR station. My favorite lunch item at The Eating Room is the Hawaiian Chicken - and it's easily duplicated at home.

Here's how:

1. Grill a boneless, skinless chicken breast (or sauté it in a skillet).
2. Grill a slice of pineapple.
3. Toast an English muffin.
4. Mix up a couple spoons of mayonnaise with a little dried dill and chives.
5. Spread the toasted English muffin halves with the mayonnaise. Top with chicken breast, then pineapple, then a slice of cheddar cheese.

The combination of flavors is divine, and now that I can make it at home, which we did for dinner tonight, I can move on to try some of the other items on Martha's menu!

Sweet Cabbage Salad

I like cabbage salads - and I'm just beginning to try different ones. This one was in Cooking Light, and I changed the sugar to Splenda. We loved it.



Sweet Cabbage Salad
adapted from Cooking Light


6 cups shredded cabbage (about 1/2 head)
1 cup shredded carrot (about 1 medium)
1 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
½ cup chopped red onion
½ cup sugar
½ cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon celery seeds
½ teaspoon salt
Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well. Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour vinegar mixture over cabbage mixture, tossing gently to combine. Cover; chill 1 hour. Makes about 8 servings, and the leftovers keep well an extra day.

Two Bentos from Last Week

This one was quick and easy to throw together - chicken fried rice in individual bags in the freezer, some soy sauce in the mini-bottle, and two mini-brownies.















My German-themed bento: kartoffelsalat (potato salad) in the sidecar, sliced weisswurst, sauerkraut, and mustard in the left (top) tier, and mini brownies and cherries in the right tier.

Breakfast Bento

I'm being treated to lunch today, so I packed a breakfast bento: Orange Pain Perdu, two Jimmy Dean sausage links, and syrup (in the red heart).

Another Foot Last Night and Bento #3

This is from my front door, looking over our garden (yes, there's a garden there!) at our cars. Between our cars, and on either side, are the piles of snow that are almost as high as the cars. Don shoveled me out, but got frustrated because he ran out of places to put the snow. Every time he put it on one of the piles, it slid right back down. Maybe it will melt some today.



What's in the box?

Left: 4 meatballs, haiga rice with Sweet & Spicy Bacon Furikake.
Right: Ranier cherries, miniature bonita banana, and some Yoshida's sauce for the meatballs.


Review: This didn't look like enough food, but I'm full. There's just enough bacon furikake, as it's pretty spicy and sweet. The meatballs recipe is below:


Freezer Stash Meatballs
from Kim Tilley

3 lbs. lean ground beef
1 ½ cups soft bread crumbs
3 eggs
6 tablespoons minced onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, mix beef, crumbs, eggs, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Shape into 11/2-inch meatballs. (A miniature ice cream scoop makes fast work of shaping.)

Arrange in two 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pans. Bake in preheated oven until meat is browned, with no trace of pink and juices run clear, 10 to 13 minutes.

Drain, let cool to room temperature, divide into fourths and freeze each portion in vapor-moisture proof containers. (I use my FoodSaver). Each portion serves 2.

Enough Already with the Snow!

This latest storm started yesterday, and we've gotten another couple of feet. Right now there's a pile of snow between our two cars out front that's higher than the cars. It's also on both sides, so Don's wondering where he'll put the rest of it that's supposed to come during the night. At least I didn't have to go anywhere today - we've hunkered down with a fire in the fireplace and the Super Bowl on the TV. During some of the pre-game hype, we had some brown-outs - I'm sure it was because of heavy snow on trees and power lines. Don was ready to go get the generator ready just in case.

This morning I had some mushrooms left over from last night's dinner, so I decided to make Paradise Potatoes. Paradise Cafe is a fabulous little restaurant in Crested Butte, Colorado - the best place to get breakfast in the whole area. They serve a breakfast dish called Paradise Potatoes - which I've attempted to duplicate here at home. I'm sure mine's not exactly like theirs, but it's pretty tasty.

Paradise Potatoes

1 large russet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
5-6 oz. fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper (any color)
1/2 cup diced tomato (I used grape tomatoes)
salt and pepper
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
salsa
sour cream





In a large skillet, cook the potatoes in the oil until lightly browned on one side. Add mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper. Continue to cook until potatoes are brown and vegetables are cooked. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add tomatoes; top with cheddar cheese. Turn off heat and over until cheese has melted. Serve with salsa and sour cream. Serves 2-3.


Continuing with my cook-ahead weekend, I made up a batch of my special Orange Pain Perdu. I acquired a free container of mascarpone, and knew it would be perfect for this. If you don't have mascarpone, cream cheese works very well. (I usually make it with cream cheese.) "Pain perdu" is French for "lost bread," and got its name because it originally was made to use up stale bread. My version is more than the usual French toast. It's a stuffed French toast using mascarpone or cream cheese and some orange marmalade.

Orange Pain Perdu

16 slices sandwich bread (I use whole wheat)
1 8-oz. container mascarpone or cream cheese
approx. 1 cup orange marmalade
4 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Spread each slice of bread with mascarpone or cream cheese. Top one slice with a heaping tablespoon of orange marmalade, and put two slices together to form a sandwich.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Preheat a griddle or flat skillet, and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Dip each sandwich in egg mixture, turning several times, and then place on griddle. Cook until browned on both sides. Serve with powdered sugar or your favorite syrup. Makes 8.

Dinner tonight was a recipe from Cooking Light that I saw on Joe's Culinary in the Country. I had the exact amount of cranberries in my freezer that I needed to use, and we wanted some meat for dinner after last night's pasta. (Yes, we eat too much meat, but I'm trying to cut back.)
The thing I liked about this dish is that it wasn't too sweet, even with the honey.

Easy Pork Chop Sauté With Cranberries
Cooking Light

¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
¼ teaspoon salt, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
4 boneless pork loin chops, trimmed of fat
⅔ cup orange juice
2 ½-3 tablespoons clover honey
2 teaspoons canola oil
¼ cup chopped onion
1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped

Mix thyme and 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with the thyme mixture.
Stir orange juice and 2 1/2 tablespoons honey in a small bowl until well blended.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the chops and cook until browned on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Push the chops to one side of the pan, add onion to the empty half and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft and beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour half the juice mixture into the pan. Add cranberries. Reduce heat to medium and cook, turning the chops occasionally, until cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes.
Transfer the chops to a serving plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Add the remaining juice mixture to the pan. Increase heat to high and cook until the mixtures reduces to form a syrupy sauce, about 2 minutes. Season with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper and up to an additional 1/2 tablespoon honey to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chops. Serves 2 (if you use thin chops) or 4 (thick chops)

What a Day! Hospital, then Home

We had a little scare today. While we were reading the newspaper and drinking our coffee, Don looks over at me and announces, "I need to go to the emergency room. And I can't drive myself." For several weeks he's been complaining of tingling in his arms, pain in his neck and chest, and other scary symptoms. He's been thinking it was side effects of some meds he's taking for cholesterol, high blood pressure, and gout, but apparently he's been worried about it being more than that.

So, off we went to the emergency room, where they immediately took him back for an EKG. It was normal. They took some chest x-rays. They were normal. They took some blood. Nothing found there.

It turns out that he's probably been shoveling too much snow at one time without resting, getting stressed about things (like our daughter's health, money, etc.) and holding it in, being dehydrated, and trying to get back in shape too quickly. The meds may also be causing some side effects, as he guessed, and he sees his regular physician next week about it.

It was quite a relief to come home and know that there's nothing wrong with his heart.

After we came home, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen, building up my Johbisai and doing some make-ahead cooking. This is what I accomplished:

1. Cooked 2 cups of Haiga rice.
2. Froze 4 1-cup bags of cooked rice.
3. Made fried rice with the remaining cooked Haiga, and froze 4 1-cup bags of fried rice.
4. Roasted 2 heads of garlic for tonight's supper.
5. Made a batch of Bittersweet Brownie Bites.
6. Made a batch of Sweet & Spicy Bacon Furikake.
7. Cooked and froze 12 Jimmy Dean sausage links.
8. Made Rigatoni with Roasted Garlic, Mushrooms, and Chili Pepper.

Tomorrow I plan to do some more!

I just picked up another mini-muffin pan, meaning I almost have enough to cook regular recipes - I still need one more, I think. But with three pans I can now make 36 little muffins or brownies or whatever else I want to miniaturize. Two of my pans have very small cups, and one has cups that are amost twice as large. This recipe is from Cooking Light, and it was for brownies in a pan. It made 24 little brownie bites, 12 medium-sized ones, and then two even larger since I ran out of room in the pans.


Bittersweet Brownie Bites

¼ cup boiling water
1 tablespoon instant espresso granules or 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
¼ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter, melted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons powdered sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine 1/4 cup boiling water and espresso in a medium bowl. Add chocolate chips, stirring until chocolate melts; cool slightly. Stir in butter, vanilla, egg, and egg white.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk. Add coffee mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter into mini-muffin tins coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.


To go with the plain rice, I made some Sweet & Spicy Bacon Furikake, a recipe adapted from Maki of Just Bento. The way it works, for those of you new to Japanese food like I am, is that you sprinkle it on your rice to season it. This is so good, I want to eat it with a spoon-forget the rice!

Sweet & Spicy Bacon Furikake

6 slices bacon
1 Tbsp. white wine
2 teaspoons raw cane sugar
1 Tbsp. Yoshida’s gourmet sauce
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Chop up the bacon quite finely.

In a large frying pan, sauté the bacon over a low-medium heat until it’s rendered a lot of its fat and is fairly crispy, but not burned. Drain the bacon on paper towels. Wipe out the pan to get rid of any bacon fat. Add the other ingredients over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar is melted. Return the bacon and stir around until the liquid is gone. Let cool completely. Whirl it in a food processor until very finely chopped. Makes about 3/4 cup. This will keep in the refrigerator for a week or two (if it lasts that long).

I'm also going to try two other furikake recipes, plus a soboro. Do you have any to share?

Okay, I'll Go Back to the Old Title

You voted, and the winner is "Cookin' with Cyndi," the old title. I was considering it but wanted input first. Thanks!!

Bento and Barbecue

This bento is my "fruit basket" box, and I took more little sausages and barbecue sauce, 3-bean salad, and dried mangos. I'll be able to start having some variety next week since I went to the commissary today and got some more staples and supplies. The term for my bento-making "stash" is Johbisai (also spelled Joubisai) - in Japanese it's 常備菜. This weekend I'll be cooking some things to put in the freezer - things like mini-pancakes, Jimmy Dean sausage patties, pain perdu (recipe will follow), and other breakfast items, as well as some rice, soboro and furikake. I think I'll try Maki's Sweet and Salty Bacon Furikake and her Meat Soboro. I don't care for Nori or fish, so using bacon and beef sounds good to me!

Dinner tonight is a recipe I got from one of my sisters - a quick way to use crescent rolls. This was easy to put together and takes only about 20 minutes (max) to bake. No pic, though.

Beef and Cheese Foldover
from my sister Eileen

3/4 - 1 lb. lean ground beef
1/3 cup chopped onion (about half a small onion)
1/2 - 3/4 cup barbecue sauce (I use Bullseye)
2 8-count rolls refrigerated crescent rolls
4 slices American, Velveeta, or cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 375˚. In a large skillet, crumble ground beef and cook with onion until meat is browned. Stir in barbecue sauce. On a large cookie sheet* unroll the crescent rolls into two squares; place side by side to form a long rectangle. Press seams and edges together. Spread meat mixture onto crescent rolls, leaving about 1/2 inch on the ends and 4-5 inches on the sides. Lay the slices of cheese on top of the meat. Fold sides of pastry towards the middle (it can still be open), pressing to seal the ends. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 17-20 minutes or until golden brown.

* If you're using a stoneware cooking sheet, you'll need to use a longer cooking time to ensure that the bottom gets cooked. If you're using a metal cooking sheet, you'll need to watch it to make sure the bottom doesn't burn. Serves 4-6.

Do You Bento?

"Bento" in Japanese translates roughly to "box lunch." It's the concept of assembling a meal that is pleasing to the eye as well as the taste buds. Bento boxes are the different kinds of containers used to take the lunch in, and these come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. There are also all kinds of accessories - from egg and rice molds to little bottles for sauces to fake grass dividers and more. I now have 4 bento containers - I needed them for the different kinds of lunches I bring to the office. If you want to see different bentos and accessories, go to ebay, type in "bento." It's amazing what you'll see. If you want tutorials, resource information, recipes, and more, go to Lunch in a Box - Biggie's blog is the best I've seen for information and ideas. If you want to see lots of pictures of different bentos (with food in them) go to Bento Lunches - that's a community of numerous bento users who post all about their bentos.


What's in the Box?

This is the first bento I got-and the largest. It came from a bento store on ebay. It can hold lunch for two, or both breakfast and lunch. Today it was the latter. Top left is an egg, sausage & cheese on a multigrain English muffin, and bottom left is a banana. That was breakfast. Lunch is crackers and cheese (top right), mini-sausages and barbecue sauce (bottom right), and blackberries. They're still frozen in the picture, but by lunch they're thawed. The little green container the sausages are in is a rectangular silicone muffin cup, available in packages of 12 at JoAnn for $9.99, and since I used a 40%-off coupon, they cost only $6. The little heart box holds barbecue sauce, and I got 12 of them at Big Lots for $1.99. I can use them for sauces, syrup, and other small items.


This is a microwave-safe box, which I can use for leftover one-dish meals. I got this one on ebay.












This is a two-tiered box, with a little third compartment for chopsticks, a napkin, or flatware. I used it last week for a sweet potato, a container of syrup and nuts for the potato, a hard-boiled egg, and some grape tomatoes. I got this one on ebay.











This is my newest bento. It's a single-tier box, with chopsticks in the lid and a bag for carrying it. I plan to use it for salads. I got this one at Mitsuwa in Little Tokyo last Friday.













At Mitsuwa, I also picked up some Haiga rice and some soy sauce. I have absolutely no idea what kind of soy sauce this is, but the shopper who was helping says it's one of the better-quality ones. She says it's made with a better soy bean.











The Haiga rice is something I've been wanting to try. It's a short-grain white rice, but is a fully-milled kernel that still has the rice germ. It tastes and cooks similar to Japanese rice, yet preserves many of the kernel's natural vitamins and other nutrients. It also has more fiber than white rice, making it sort of a cross between white and brown rice. It can also cook up well for making onigiri - next on my list of things to try!





So, do you bento? (Yes, I know it's not a verb, but let's pretend it is!) Let me know if you also have bento boxes and what you put in them.

Ham & Spinach Pasta

This might have been a recipezaar recipe - I forgot to note where I got it in my files. Don really liked this one - he's a pasta-lover. I liked the spinach in it, and think that it needs more ham.

8 ounces dried mostaccioli pasta or ziti pasta or elbow macaroni (I used Dreamfields)
3 tablespoons margarine
3 medium onions, cut into thin wedges (about 3 cups) or 5 medium leeks, sliced (about 3 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ cups half-and-half or light cream or milk
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 ½ cups cooked ham, cubed
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1. Cook pasta according to package. Drain and rinse.
2. In large saucepan melt margarine. Add onion or leeks and garlic. Cover and cook about 5 mins or till onions are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in flour, thyme, and pepper.
4. Add half and half, light cream, or milk and the chicken broth all at once.
5. Cook and stir til thick and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more.
6. Stir in pasta, ham, and spinach.
7. Spoon mixture into a 3 quart casserole.
8. Cover and bake 30-35 mins at 350 or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir gently before serving.

This is for Ruth's Presto Pasta Night!

Peanut Butter Muffins - Your advice needed

I made these muffins the other day using a recipe I got from Nic of Baking Bites. Her recipe called for all-purpose flour; I substituted half of it with white whole wheat flour. I also used Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, following the directions for its use by using half of the amount in the original recipe for regular brown sugar.

They were absolutely wonderful out of the oven - but within a day, they were very dry. How do I make them moist when I substitute like that?

PB & J Muffins

from Nic of Baking Bites

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
approx 1/3 cup jam (any kind. I like raspberry)

Preheat oven to 375F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, peanut butter, eggs and milk until smooth. Pour into flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Fill each cup of the prepared muffin tin about halfway up with batter. Top each with a heaping teaspoon of jam and cover with remaining batter. Each muffin cup (of a standard 12-cup muffin tin) should be filled to the top.
Bake for 17-20 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the top of the muffin springs back when lightly pressed.
Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12.
(I made 36 mini-muffins and 6 large ones)

"Downtown, Where All the Lights are Bright..."

Last year, due to some political issues, CTA moved its quarterly State Council meeting to downtown Los Angeles. This was my first time to go, as I'm an alternate now by choice. There's something about downtown that's magical to me. Maybe it's because I live in a cabin in the mountains. Maybe it's because I'm used to suburban and rural living. But when I stepped out of the Westin Bonaventure Friday night to walk to dinner, I thought this view was just beautiful. Most of the skyscrapers are to the left, out of the picture, but the sight of all the taillights on one-way Figueroa was pretty nice. I'm guessing that this is a combination of going-home traffic and people heading to the Garth Brooks concert at the Staples center, less than a mile down the street on the right.

Not Much Going On

No Thursday Soup or Stew tonight - only one person sent me a recipe. I may have to give this up. Let me know what you want me to do. Should I keep on doing this event?

I'm going out of town for the weekend, then Sunday night our daughter's treating us to Brad Garrett (brother Robert from "Everybody Loves Raymond) at the casino where she works. I've heard he has a great standup routine.

Then Monday, she's having another medical procedure in Irvine.

I'll be back!

Pork Roast with Honey, Garlic, & Sage

No pic tonight. I forgot to take one! I did this in my clay cooker; the one I have is glazed on the bottom, so you only have to soak the lid.

Pork Roast with Honey, Garlic, and Sage

1 2-3 pounds pork sirloin roast
2 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tablespoon fresh sage, minced
OR
2 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 Tablespoon honey

Original Directions: Heat oven to 400˚. Line shallow roasting pan with foil for easy cleanup. Place pork in pan. In small bowl, stir together oil, lemon juice, garlic, sage and pepper; brush over top and sides of pork roast. Roast for 30-45 minutes; brush honey over top and sides of pork. Roast for 20-30 minutes more, until internal temperature, measured with a meat thermometer, reads 155˚.

My Directions: Soak lid of clay cooker in a sink full of water at least 30 minutes. (If you're using a Romertof, soak both pieces.) Place pork roast in bottom. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, sage, and pepper; pour evenly over roast. Put lid on cooker, place in cold oven. Turn heat on to 400˚. Cook 45 minutes. Drizzle honey over roast; cook another 30 minutes.

We ate about half of it and will use the remaining meat for roast pork sandwiches Monday night.

Baked P'Sketti Squares

Once in a while I'll come across a good recipe in the newspaper. This one appeared a few weeks ago in our local paper, and I just knew I had to try it and submit it to Ruth's Presto Pasta Nights! It's very easy to make, and can be tinkered with to add different "toppings." I used salami, and think that I could also try crumbled Italian sausage, black olives, mushrooms, or pepperoni. This recipe made a 9 x 13" dish--we ate nearly half of it. There's one square in the fridge for Don's lunch today, and the other half is now in the freezer for another night.


This is truly a healthy pasta dish - I used Dreamfields spaghetti, and there are two whole zucchini shredded up and added. Ms. Reihhold said that her children gobbled this up and never complained about the zucchini. Don and I really didn't notice the zucchini at all (or we're just used to zucchini).

Baked P'Sketti Squares
from Dorothy Reinhold in the San Bernardino County Sun

8 oz. dry spaghetti
1 ½ cups shredded zucchini, (about 2 small)
½ cup milk
1 egg
¾ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. onion powder
3 tablespoon grated Parmesan
1 26-oz. jar spaghetti sauce (I used Newman's Own Cabernet Marinara)
1-2 oz. thinly sliced salami or pepperoni, chopped (I used salami this time)
1 8 oz. bag shredded Mozzarella

Heat oven to 350˚. Mist a 13 x 9" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well and pour cooked noodles into prepared dish. Sprinkle with shredded zucchini and stir to mix. In a 2-cup measuring cup, measure milk and add egg, oregano, garlic powder and onion powder. Whisk with a fork to blend well. Pour milk mixture over cooked spaghetti and stir a bit to make sure ingredients are mixed in baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Pour sauce evenly over top. Sprinkle with salami or pepperoni, and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle evenly with mozzarella, and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 5-10 minutes, to allow it to firm up enough to hold its shape when you cut it into squares. Serves 8-10.

Finally, Thursday Soup or Stew Roundup!

Computer problem fixed. It was my computer, I guess. I restarted it and now it works just fine!


Two more new-to-me blogs to read! First is Alison of Someone's in the Kitchen. Alison hails from Hot Springs, Arkansas, where she has a commercial kitchen and a gourmet market. She also works as a personal chef. I wanna go to Hot Springs! The closest we have to a gourmet market around here is Trader Joe's. Alison's contribution this week is a dish I know my husband would love, Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Don really likes soups with rice in them, and since I don't make them often, this is one I just might have to try!






Solange has a blog called Pebble Soup, and her contribution this week is a Mediterranean-inspired soup called Chickpea Soup with Mint and Garlic. It's from a cookbook she received for Christmas--A Celebration of Soup by Lindsey Bareham. Since my mother's a soup fanatic, I think I'll get a copy, copy out the recipes I want to make, and send her the book for her birthday!












I put soup in the crockpot Thursday morning, and was able to come home to the chilly house and have an instant hot supper. This soup also has chickpeas in it, and I learned that the slow, all-day cooking made them quite tender. This soup also has diced sweet potatoes - I've never put sweet potatoes in soup before - and they held their shape. They're just on the edge of falling apart like they do when they're baked, but they're still in once piece. I think if I stirred the soup too much, the sweet potatoes would turn to mush. The flavor of this soup was wonderful, so this recipe's definitely a "keeper."
Slow-cooked Vegetable Soup
from Taste of Home's Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook

* 3/4 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 large potato, peeled and diced
* 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
* 1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
* 2 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
* 1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
* 2 teaspoons soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
* 1 bay leaf
* Dash cayenne pepper
In a large skillet, saute the onion, celery and green pepper in oil until crisp-tender. Add potato, sweet potato and garlic; saute 3-5 minutes longer. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or until vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaf. Yield: 12 serving (about 3 quarts).

Try to join me next week, will you? I'm looking forward to what you'll make!

Problems Posting Tonight

I'm supposed to be doing a Thursday Soup or Stew Roundup, but every time I try to post a picture, my computer freezes. Is it happening to anyone else? I click on Browse, then go to one of my pics, and as soon as I click on it I get the colored spinning wheel and have to force quit my browser. I've tried it in both Firefox and Safari. Same thing. I posted about it in Blogger Help, so as soon as I can, I'll do the roundup.