Posts Tagged ‘vegetables’

I tried a new recipe last week that called for this ingredient:

Do you know what these are? I plan to post that recipe soon, but I'll give you a chance to guess first.

In the meantime I tried a new recipe for supper tonight that Megan had made for us while we were up visiting her family over Christmas and we really enjoyed it. I saw the recipe posted on another blog and decided to make it this week. The recipe for this soup uses kale:

I had never eaten or used kale before this. It seems to keep its bright green color better than many green vegetables and it's not bitter like collards. (I have never been able to develop a liking for collards, sorry Cathy.) You could probably substitute baby spinach for the kale if you would prefer.

I'll be looking forward to see who is the first to identify the mystery ingredient.

Becka

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You can often find nice big heads of snowy white cauliflower at a good price in the fall and winter. If you get tired of eating raw cauliflower, this soup is a delicious alternative. I have been making it for many years following a recipe from an old Farm Journal cookbook. One year after Rob had dental surgery I tried pureeing it in the blender. We actually prefer the creamy consistency of the pureed soup, so now I do it the easy way with the immersion blender.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into small flowerets
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup chopped onion (one small)
2 Tbsps. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk (can use evaporated skim)
1 1/2 cup cooking water from cauliflower
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
fresh chopped chives or parsley for garnish, if desired

Cook cauliflower until tender. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups of cooking water. In soup kettle melt butter and cook onion until soft. Add flour and blend in. Slowly add broth and simmer until mixture comes to a boil. Add cooking water, milk, and cauliflower. Bring back to a boil. Puree at this point, if desired. Add cheese and allow to melt. Serve up and garnish with chives or parsley. Enjoy this delicious soup!

Becka

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Years ago my friend Jamie invited us over to her house for a turkey dinner where she served this delicious Corn Pudding. I asked her for the recipe and it is the one thing that must be included at all our holiday dinners. It is delicious and goes equally well with either turkey or ham. I hope you will try it.

Corn Pudding

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
hearty dash of white pepper
2 Tbsps. melted butter or margarine, slightly cooled
2 Tbsps. flour
1/2 cup milk
1 can cream style corn

Melt the butter or margarine and set aside to cool. In a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, flour, and white pepper. Add the melted butter, milk, and creamed corn. Pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Place the dish in a shallow pan of hot water. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until it tests clean when you insert a small knife in the middle.

Here is the Corn Pudding in its water bath:

If you want to bake this in the oven with your turkey or ham at a lower temperature just bake it a bit longer--it will be fine. Leftovers (if there are any) can be reheated in the microwave. It's a good idea to work out the arrangement of your baking pans ahead of time. I put my roaster which will hold the ham or turkey in first and then the other casserole dishes, etc. to see how far apart I need to space the oven racks. It's much easier to adjust everything when the pans are empty and the oven is cool!

Here's a picture of the Corn Pudding plated up and ready to be eaten:

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast with all of your favorite dishes too.

Becka

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When we were first married DH planted a pack of six eggplant plants in our little garden. This resulted in nearly 100 large Italian type eggplants. After that summer I didn't want to face another eggplant for a number of years.

More recently I have become rather fond of the longer, thinner oriental eggplants. The dark eggplant is one from our garden and the cute little striped ones are some that our neighbor grew in a pot on her deck.

We were served eggplant in China that was really quite tasty and I have discovered a way to prepare it here at home that is similar to what we had there. The secret ingredient is: Hoisin Sauce:

Rather than slicing the eggplant you cut it into small wedge-shaped pieces by turning the eggplant a quarter turn with each cut.

Next you saute it in a bit of oil until it is tender. Then stir in a bit of the Hoisin Sauce and if you like it spicy you could add some red pepper or something else to give it a little kick.

If you have ever watched the film Ratatouille you may remember the signature dish that won the little rat respect as a chef. This is a link to a delicious recipe using eggplant. It is one of our summer favorites. (If you are interested in this recipe and can't get to this link please email me and I will give you details.)

Do any of you have any favorite recipes for eggplant?

Becka

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DH was at a conference at church Friday night and nearly all day and evening on Saturday, so I puttered around the house. Here are a few things I worked on:

I made another batch of granola. This time I tried a tropical blend with chopped dried pineapple, coconut, banana chips, and chopped cashews. I didn't know if we would like this combination, but we've found it to be quite tasty.

I worked on quilting another baby quilt. This one is made from a remnant of Thomas the train fabric and an old curtain from DS Mark's bedroom. I just need to add the borders and it will be finished. I adapted an idea from this book:

I had read about the book on a sewing blog and checked it out of the library. It was still in print and DH got it for me for Valentine's Day. All the quilts are simple without a lot of fussy piecing and are planned to go together quickly and easily.

I made a Ham Loaf for our Sunday dinner using some of the leftover Easter ham that I had ground up and frozen. My Aunt Nana used to make Ham Loaf and it had been years since I had eaten any. I made the loaf on Saturday and cooked it in the Crock Pot on Sunday.

DH got up at 5:30 AM to turn it on. It was perfectly cooked by lunch time. I had read this tip about putting the strips of foil in the crock pot in one of those little Pillsbury cookbooklets.

This is all that was left when I remembered to take a picture!

Here's the Ham Loaf recipe:

Ham Loaf

1 1/2 lbs. ground ham (about 3 cups) (I chopped it in the food processor)
1 lb. ground fresh pork
1 cup dry bread crumbs or cracker crumbs (can use graham cracker crumbs)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
dash pepper
1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion

Topping Sauce
1/4 cup catsup
2 Tbsps. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

Mix all ingredients well and form into a loaf. Top with some of the sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours or in crock pot for about 7 hours on low. (I added another portion of the sauce about 1/2 hour before the cooking time was up.)

I served the Ham Loaf with these green beans, which are also very tasty:
(note, I hadn't added the bacon in at this point.)

Skillet Green Beans, Tomatoes, and Bacon

6 slices bacon
1 large onion, sliced or diced
1 bag frozen green beans or about 1 lb. fresh, cleaned and snipped
1/2 cup chicken broth
dash pepper
1 large tomato, chopped (in the winter I use about 3/4 cup drained, diced canned tomatoes)

Cook bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble. Set aside. Sauté onions until slightly browned. Add beans, broth, and pepper. Cook until beans are tender, about 10-15 mins. Add tomatoes and cook briefly. Add bacon and serve. These are very tasty and attractive.

I hope your weekend was equally full and blessed.

Becka

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