Pumpkin Pancakes, December 5, 2017

I'd intended to make roast pork, Cuban-style, for dinner Tuesday night. However, I completely forgot, until about half an hour before I needed to start cooking, that I needed to marinate the meat. Whoopsie! Luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand for Wednesday night's planned dinner and it required no advance prep at all, so I was able simply to flip the nights.

I made a big ol' pile of pumpkin pancakes, an entire package of bacon, and an entire package of sausage patties. I also handed out Cuties to anyone who wanted them, in a nod to healthfulness. I'm so happy they're back in season! May I pause for just a moment to gripe about my local grocery not carrying Bob Evans sausage, though? Not that Jimmy Dean is horrible, but, for this Ohio girl, Bob Evans is the best. I could quit griping and submit a product request for that, lacinato kale, Italian parsley, and Goya Spanish-style chorizo (so I don't have to go to World Market every dang time I want chorizo), I suppose. Anyway, it was a mountain of food and, at the end, the only scrap that was left was a lonesome half piece of bacon. The pancakes vanished particularly rapidly, largely down Boot's gullet. I had no idea he would be so crazy about them. Personally, I thought they needed a bit more of all the seasonings and a bit more pumpkin. Next time, I'll up the amounts. You maybe should, too, but here's what I did. It was a good thing for Boot's girlfriend, who is not a big fan of pumpkin.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 c. flour

3 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. each cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg

Pinch salt

Pinch cloves

4 eggs

1 stick butter (plus more--or oil--for cooking)

3/4 c. pumpkin purée

1 1/4 c. milk

Dash vanilla

Whisk dry ingredients together. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Set aside. Melt the stick of butter and gradually stir into egg yolks. mix in pumpkin, milk, & vanilla. Add to flour and mix well. Fold in egg whites. Heat a little butter or oil in a skillet or on a griddle. Drop batter by 1/4-1/3 cup measures into skillet/onto griddle, a few pancakes at a time, & cook through until lightly browned on each side. As you finish pancakes, remove them to a 250 degree oven to keep them warm. Serve with warm maple syrup. It also occurs to me that some toasted pepitas would be lovely sprinkled on top. 

Curried Pumpkin Soup, November 18, 2016

I sent Jeannene, who was in Vancouver for work all week, a text giving her 3 options for tonight's dinner. She very promptly responded that she wanted curried pumpkin soup---"Yum!" We picked her up at the airport at nearly 7 and came home to throw together supper. Along with this quick, easy, very delicious soup, I heated some brown & serve rolls and opened a jar of chunky applesauce.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

1 c. chopped onion

2 tsp. olive oil

2 1/2 tsp. curry powder

Salt and pepper

32 oz. chicken broth

15 oz. pumpkin purée (I actually used an extra half can I had left over from pancakes, too)

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

Chopped parsley, for garnish

Sauté the onion in the oil, in a soup pot, until translucent. Add seasonings, stirring until the onions are coated. Add broth, pumpkin, and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, partially covered, another 10 minutes. Serve garnished with parsley. Serves 4-6. 

Roasted Cauliflower Soup, October 4, 2016

Last night, we had a delicious roasted cauliflower soup. I'd intended to serve t with rolls, salad, & some kind of fruit. However, Jeannene had picked up some asparagus and some pre-diced butternut squash she hoped I might make. I was delighted to sub those for the salad. I tossed the squash with olive oil, salt, & pepper, then roasted it for half an hour in a preheated 400 degree oven. I broke the asparagus into smaller pieces and cooked it, with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt & pepper, on high, covered and stirring often, for a couple minutes. Then, I added a dash of key lime juice because I am out of lemons. I added some bolillo rolls from the grocery's bakery and canned pears.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

A drizzle of olive oil

Salt & pepper

1/4 c. diced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 c. chicken broth (sub veggie broth for vegetarian)

1 1/2 c. half & half (I used fat-free)

1/2 c. milk (I used 1%)

A pinch of tarragon (use fresh, if you can get it & the bagger doesn't forget to put it in your sack)

Shredded cheddar (I used 2%)

Sour cream (I used light)

Chopped scallions

Crumbled bacon or veggie bits 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss cauliflower with oil, salt, & pepper. Roast, on a baking sheet lined with foil, half an hour. Cook onion until translucent in a soup pot that's been coated with cooking spray (or use a bit of butter or olive oil). Add garlic & cook until fragrant. Reserve a small handful of roasted cauliflower. Add the rest to the pot, along with half the broth and 1/2 c. half and half. Cook 5 minutes, then blend until mostly smooth. I love my immersion blender for this, but if you haven't got one, you can do this (carefully) in a regular blender in two batches. Add the rest of the liquids and heat through. If you have the time & inclination, you can simmer it another half hour. If you're impatient like me, you don't have to do that. Chop the reserved cauliflower and dump into the pot, along with tarragon. Cook another 5 or so minutes. Serve with the cheese, sour cream, scallions, & bacon. Serves 4-6.

Baked Bean Soup, October 7, 2015

I didn't get home yesterday from a day with our baby's bio mom until quite late, thanks to insane Detroit traffic, so I was very happy to have a dinner planned that was easy and quick to throw together. It is great comfort food, too! I made a pot of baked bean soup, with Jiffy corn muffins, sliced honey crisp apples, and Marzetti caramel apple dip.

Baked Bean Soup

1-2 tbsp. olive oil or butter

1 package kielbasa ( I like the turkey kind, but use what you like), sliced

1 onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 large can baked beans (I like Bush's)

1-1 1/2 c. milk or half and half or some combination thereof---even skim milk works

Salt & pepper

A few dashes hot sauce

Heat oil/butter in a soup pot. Cook the meat and veggies 5-7 minutes. Add beans and simmer another few minutes. Add a cup of milk---and more if the soup is too thick. Add salt & pepper, along with hot sauce, and heat through. Serves 4. This can be made completely vegetarian by adding another can of beans in place of the kielbasa---or you can use veggie sausage. If you're vegan, use olive oil and sub soy milk or nut milk for the regular milk. 

Beef Vegetable Soup, September 27, 2015

My wife loves to make soup and she does it wonderfully! She can never replicate what she's done and she can never tell me so that I can tell you. So, all I can tell you is that I awoke this morning to the sound of Jeannene puttering around happily in the kitchen, getting our supper soup prepped. It was full of veggies, both fresh (carrot, zucchini, and yellow squash slices) and frozen, as well as hearty chunks of beef. She served it with slices of Health Nut bread, a big bowl of grapes, and lovely composed Caesar salads. My contribution was a bowlful of addictively delicious herbed sourdough pretzel pieces and my grandmommy & mom's apple crisp for dessert. I decided this year that apple crisp is always going to be our first night of fall dessert. I was in a hotel in Miami, unexpectedly, for the first night of fall this year, so tonight was apple crisp night. Pie's girlfriend loves all things apple and she was completely swooning over this. It's my favorite apple dessert, for sure. Humble and delicious!

Herbed Pretzels

1 bag (16 oz) hard pretzels, broken into pieces

1/2 c. garlic-infused olive oil (you can use less)

1 packet dry ranch dressing mix

1/2 tsp. dill

1/2 tsp. lemon pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Toss everything together and spread on a large baking sheet in an even layer. Bake about 25 minutes, stirring at 10 minutes and 20 minutes. Serve while still warm. 

My Grandmama's Apple Crisp

7 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (choose a variety of apples with good flavor---I used Honeycrisp, Gala, and Granny Smith tonight)

A little butter, if apples are not very juicy

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 c. flour

1 c. brown sugar

1 stick butter, cold and cut into small pieces

1 tsp. cinnamon

A pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Layer apples in a 2-quart casserole. Dot with a little butter, if needed. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix the other ingredients together with a pastry blender or two forks. You'll want it to resemble coarse crumbs. Spread over the apples. Bake 30-40 minutes. Allow to settle for about 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6-8. 

Kielbasa & Kraut, September 26, 2015

I always make pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day, but I forget to make it the rest of the year. I love it so much, as does the wife, so I need to make it more often. Last night, we had kielbasa and kraut, with baked acorn squash on the side. A simple and scrumptious fall meal!

For the main attraction, I cut a couple links of kielbasa on the diagonal so I had thick, chunky slices. I coated a big skillet with cooking spray and browned the sausage pieces. Then, I stirred in a large can of well-drained sauerkraut and cooked it to heat it through and get the kraut a bit browned, as well.

The acorn squash, the orange variety, I sliced in half and scooped out the seeds and stringy part. Then, I mixed a couple tablespoons of room temperature butter, a couple tablespoons of maple syrup, a couple tablespoons of brown sugar (I favor the dark kind for most things), and a little salt and pepper. I filled the squash cavities with the mixture and rubbed it along the cut edges, too. Then, I popped it in a pre-heated oven, on a baking sheet covered with foil, and roasted it for about an hour. Jeannene's half got the bulk of the sweet, buttery filling---mine was still really deeeeeee-lish! It really doesn't need much at all to make it wonderful!

Banana Bread Oatmeal

I've been making a pot of soup for supper on the first rainy day of fall for the past few years. However, I decided I want to have something cool to do on the very first day of fall, whatever the weather. So, I decided that this year, I would begin a tradition of making oatmeal in the crockpot the night before, so we can have it for breakfast on the first day of fall. Things worked out so that I was with my father in the hospital in Miami on the actual first day of fall this year, so we celebrated this morning. All I had to do last night was coat the crockpot with cooking spray, mix everything together, and tip it into the pot. This morning, the house smelled heavenly and all we had to do for breakfast was scoop some from the pot into our bowls. Well, I stirred a little brown sugar into our bowls and topped the oats with banana slices and walnuts, but that hardly counts as work! My great-grandma Mil used to make banana bread and my grandmom used her recipe often. I loved arriving at her place & being offered a slice, so this kind of felt like a hug from my grandmom.

Banana Bread Oatmeal

2 c. steel-cut oats

6 c. water

12 oz. evaporated milk (I used the nonfat sort)

3 bananas, mashed

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Brown sugar

Banana slices

Your favorite nuts

Grease your slow cooker. If you have one with a timer, so much the better. My new one has one and it really helps prevent the blackened, rock-hard edges I got all last winter with our crockpot oatmeal. Mix everything but the brown sugar, banana slices, and nuts together. Put in the crockpot, cover, and cook on low 6-8 hours. Mix in some brown sugar (it's really yummy without it, too, though). Top with banana slices and nuts. Serves 6-8. 

Pumpkin Apple Bagels, September 6, 2015

While I was readying the crockpot pulled pork after church the other week, I also fixed us some pumpkin apple bagels for lunch. We were headed out to a festival, but I thought it was a good idea to get something in our bellies beforehand so we wouldn't get hangry. These fit the bill, but they are very filling, so I really could have done with half. 

Pumpkin Apple Bagels

1/4 c. apricot jam (I love Kissell's Apricot Rosemary Spiced Jam more than I can say)

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

A dash of cinnamon

2 smallish apples, sliced

2 bagels (you could also do the same thing with toast or English muffins)

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 c. canned pumpkin

1 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

A handful of walnuts, coarsely chopped

Heat jam with lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon, stirring occasionally, until bubbly. Cool, then toss with apples. Toast bagels. Beat cream cheese with pumpkin, sugar, and 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice. Spread on bagels. Top with apples and nuts. Serves 2-4. 

Beef Stew, January 11, 2015

Last night, I redeemed myself for the horrible pork chops I made earlier in the week. I started Sunday dinner, a long-cooking beef stew, Saturday night and cooked it an hour and a half then. Yesterday, I popped in into the oven in the early afternoon and let it cook the rest of the way. We'd planned to have Pie and Bubbles over for Sunday dinner, as we usually do, and had a beautiful round of crusty Italian bread, a honeydew melon (and blackberries to scatter on it), and a store-bought chocolate pudding cake all ready to serve them with the stew. However, we got a text shortly before serving time telling us that Pie wasn't feeling well, so we were on our own for dinner. They missed out on the best beef stew I've ever had or made. Next time you have a block of time during which you can run your oven, you should absolutely make this!

Sunday Dinner Beef Stew

3 lb. lean beef, cut into 2" or so cubes

6 slices bacon, diced

1 small onion, chopped

5 larger-sized red potatoes, quartered

3 large or 5 small carrots, peeled and cut into 1" chunks

8 oz. mushrooms, halved

3 medium onions, quartered

A big handful of mixed fresh parsley and dill, chopped

1 c. dry red wine (I used Gnarlyhead cabernet sauvignon)

10 oz. can beef consommé 

6 oz. can tomato paste

1/2 tsp. each salt, pepper, and thyme

1 tbsp. minced garlic

3 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brown beef, bacon, and chopped onion in a Dutch oven or oven-safe soup pot, about 10 minutes. Add everything else, stir well, cover, and bake, covered, about one and a half hours. Uncover and bake another 2-3 hours, stirring every so often. Remove bay leaves before serving. Serves 6-8. 

Spiced Pork Chops with Apple Chutney, or The Dinner That Was Too Terrible To Eat, January 7, 2015

Occasionally, I make a dinner that is inedible. Last night was one of those occasions. I was already leery of the meal because of my food rules, as my friend Sue has dubbed them. First, as i have mentioned here before, I don't like sweet and meat together. I can think of zero exceptions. But, I am cooking through this dang thing, like it or not (mostly, I do like it). Besides, Jeannene usually does like sweet and meat & doesn't ever get to have it. Second, I don't like cooked carrots. Well, I do if they are roasted in a pot roast or cooked in a stew. Otherwise, forget it. So, I knew going in that I would likely only want the pork without the chutney and the roasted rosemary potatoes I was going to make. 

However, I ran out of time for the potatoes and ended up just boiling them. Except I over boiled them and they dissolved into mashed as soon as I tipped a little Smart Balance spread into them & tried to stir it in. So be it. They were fine, anyway. If you want to make roasted rosemary potatoes, though, you cube them (peels still on is my preference & you can use whatever potatoes you like, including a mix---throw some sweet potato in there, if you like!), toss them with a little olive oil, several cloves of garlic, a few sprigs of rosemary, a little salt, and a healthy grinding of pepper. Roast them about half an hour in a preheated 425 degree oven. 

The pork's badness was most likely my fault, although Jeannene blames the particular blend of spices.  I decided to be smart (cheap?) and just use the pork chops in the freezer (we got a big pack of them on sale and Jeannene divided them into packets of 2, 3, or 4) instead of buying a couple pork tenderloins. I figured I could just rub the spices on one side of the chop that I would have rubbed on the outside of the pork loin. This, in retrospect, was a bad idea. I should have just seasoned them the way I usually do chops. Further, the chops themselves weren't terribly nice in the first place. Perhaps that's why the sale? I think the spice blend would be nice on pork tenderloin, probably, but is a bit overwhelming for the chops. It's garlic, 3 parts ginger, 3 parts mustard seed, 3 parts red pepper flakes, 1 part allspice, 1 part fennel, 1 part thyme, all whizzed in the blender.

The apple chutney was delicious, but I would prefer it on crackers or over a block of cream cheese or on an English muffin, perhaps. Here's my rendering:

Gingered Apple Chutney

1 apple, peeled & chopped (I used a Honeycrisp)

1 bulb fennel, chopped

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. ch. pecans

1/3 c. golden raisins

1 tbsp. crystallized ginger, chopped

1/4 tbsp. salt

1/3 c. cider vinegar

Mix everything together and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15 minutes. Remove cover and cook another 15-20 minutes. 

I thought the carrots au gratin were revolting. In fact, my stomach turned at the smell of the dish as I pulled it from the oven. However, Jeannene really liked it (in fact, it turned out to be her entire dinner---me, I had a bowl of Cheerios), so you might, too. If you like cooked carrots, give it a whirl:

Carrots au Gratin

3 c. carrot slices (5-7 carrots)

1 can cream of celery soup (I used the Healthy Request sort)

1 c. shredded cheddar (I used 2% fat cheese)

1/4 c. roasted garlic breadcrumbs

1 tbsp. butter, melted (I am sure olive oil would work just as well)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover carrots with water and cook until just tender. Drain and mix with soup and cheese. Place in greased (I used cooking spray) casserole. Mix crumbs & butter. Sprinkle on carrot mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes. Serves 6-8.

My Year in Food: Burger Night with the Kids, December 9, 2014/La Luna Cooks Gooseberry Patch: Fireside Sipper

Since Pie and Bubbles have moved closer, we normally have them over every Sunday night. Since she recently lost her job, we supplemented that last week with a Burger night on Tuesday, too, and lots of leftovers sent home so they will have plenty to eat. They both really like buffalo and we had some buffalo burgers in the freezer, along with some spinach-feta and some mushroom turkey burgers we picked up from a vendor at Eastern Market in Detroit. So, Jeannene thawed those & pan-fried them. She made fries, mini tater tots, and corn to go with the meal. Very easy, very tasty. I suspect it would be pretty easy to make spinach feta turkey burgers yourownself, by just mixing in some spinach, feta, garlic, salt, & pepper. You could also use some variety of white beans to do the burgers, for a tasty vegetarian alternative.

Bubbles really loves apple juice and apple cider, so I made one of the Gooseberry Patch recipes, called "Fireside Sipper." It called for apple juice, but I like cider a lot better, so I subbed that. It also wants brown sugar and apricot nectar, along with spices. I thought it was entirely too sweet and didn't even finish mine, but Bubbles loved it, so it wasn't a complete failure. If I made it again, I would omit the sugar entirely. Cider doesn't need sugar at all to be good. I did learn a useful trick, though. Whenever I make hot spiced cider, it's good the first day, but if there is any left and I drink it the next day, the spices are overbearing. I never want to bother with fishing them all out when I'm cleaning up. So (and this is probably really elemental, but I never thought of it), the suggestion to bind up the spices in a well-tied piece of cheesecloth delighted me! It worked great!

My Year in Food: Thanksgiving, November 27, 2014

Last year, my Aunt Miyoko and Uncle Tom in Ann Arbor hosted our family Thanksgiving gathering. This year, it was our turn. I love hosting holiday dinners and was delighted to have the family come to our house for the first time! There were 18 of us, aunties & uncles & cousins, and there is never enough time to spend with them, so it was great, great, great to be together.

Our family has a long-standing tradition of everyone bringing at least one dish. When I issued the invite, I was asked what I wanted each person to bring. I hate to dictate what people bring, but some folks have certain foods I just have to have them bring. For example, when my Uncle Jim asked what they could bring with them from Cleveland, Jeannene and I instantly knew we wanted them to bring Gloria Hardingtons. Glorias are something I've had at just about every gathering on my Aunt Holly's side, an appetizer the family has been making ever since they got the recipe from realtor friend, Gloria Hardington. They have called them after her. They are basically equal amounts swiss and cheddar cheese, shredded and mixed with olives and just enough mayo to moisten the mixture. This is then spread on party rye and broiled until quite bubbly and browned. They are ridiculous. The first platter last night came out of the oven and vanished almost immediately. My wife was not in the room at the time and was quite disappointed in me for not saving her even one. Honestly, it didn't even occur to me that she wasn't in the room, even though she and I had been looking forward to Glorias ever since we knew they would be coming. I tried to look contrite as I licked my chops at the idea of a second platter of them, which Holly kindly made to pacify Jeannene.

My Cleveland family also texted me in the morning, saying they were bringing a vegetable, as well. I guess if you classify anything containing pumpkin as a vegetable, this was true. They brought Holly's mom's Slap Yo' Mama Cake, pumpkin version. Her mom once took it to a school function (June was a school teacher for years, and a very beloved one, a wonderful woman) and a woman there said it was so good, it'd make them slap your mama. Therefore, the cake gained its name. It was, indeed, fab! I need to get the recipe.

Speaking of pumpkin, my Auntie Amy is nearly always the bringer of the pumpkin pie. She makes it well and never minds making it for us. She also did an enormous pan of green bean casserole, at my request. Yum!

Turning to Tom & Miyoko, we immediately requested that they bring her pastries, which she used to sell at her restaurant, Cafe Japon, and now sells at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market under the name Cafe Japon L'Esprit de Miyoko. Her chocolate croissants are the very best I've ever had, so we very specifically requested those. She brought her gorgeous baguettes, spinach rolls, cinnamon rolls, almond croissants, plain croissants---we were delighted to see the bounty.

My cousin, Nova, brought a gluten-free strawberry balsamic pie made by a friend of hers, along with a GF corn casserole and one with regular flour. Nova is always coming up with great, healthier versions of recipes everybody loves.

Our menu was this, then, with recipes for starred items listed available on my Practice Thanksgiving post.:
Appetizers:
-Artisan cheese (Cabot clothbound cheddar, D'Affinois, Black Pepper Bellavitano, and Stilton with Apricot and Mango---all accompanied by crackers and apricot rosemary jam)
-My rosemary cayenne walnuts*
-Marcona almonds
-Jim & Holly's Glorias
-Lots & lots of pickles
-My orange-Marinated Castelvetrano olives*

Mains (both from Gooseberry Patch Fall, Family, and Friends):
-Roast Turkey with Sage Butter (made by me)
-Praline Mustard-Glazed Ham (made by Jeannene)

Sides:
-Mashed Yukon Gold potatoes
-Sausage Pecan Dressing
-Kale Salad (recipe here)
-Cranberry sauce (I use the Ocean Spray recipe)
-Cranberry Yam Bake*

Desserts:
-Kahlúa Derby Pie*
-Pumpkin Pie
-Strawberry Balsamic Pie
-Miyoko's pastries
-My grandmom's raspberry Jell-o (with raspberries in it)

La Luna Cooks Gooseberry Patch: Cranberry Pot Roast & Creamy Butternut Squash (also, My Year In Food, November 14, 2014)

I am all for a nice, cozy pot roast, especially on the chilly evenings we've been having in the last week here in Michigan! Whenever I happen across a buy one, get one deal on a roast, I stick the other one in the freezer. So, I was all set for this recipe. However, I have to admit approaching it with incredible trepidation. I've posted before about my intense dislike of sweet & meat paired together. Well, let me tell you, as if the cranberries in the recipe were not enough, the very first direction in the recipe asked me to "dredge roast in sugar." Dredge roast in sugar??? Were they serious??? That goes a great deal farther than an apricot glaze or cooking pork with apples (both of which I oppose for my own personal plate).

Yes, yes, that was not an error in printing. Dredge roast in sugar. Really. Perhaps there are some of you out there who are thinking to yourselves, "Mmm, sugary pot roast?!? How soon can I make this deliciousness? What's wrong with her?" You can have my portion!!! Add in 12 ounces of cranberries and the zest and juice of an orange and I am pretty much ready to eat peanut butter and jelly for supper. I was so sad, juicing the orange, because it smelled absolutely divine. They are really starting to come into season and this one was a really lovely specimen that should have been eaten out of hand. I felt sad to waste the cranberries, as well, especially when the beautiful red went to a murky brown due to the long cooking and the beef juices. However, I am doing the whole cookbook and, besides, I rationalized, Jeannene does like sweet glazes on meat. We both ate it and Jeannene liked it, but it's not something I would ever, ever eat on purpose. Very definitely sweet.

I'd honestly been dreading the butternut squash casserole, as well, but not for reasons of flavor. You see, I am a complete wuss when it comes to cutting up those squashes with the super-hard shells, like butternut. Luckily, my mom was with me when I was looking for pre-cut squash and failing to find it. As she admired the beauty of the whole butternuts and I bemoaned my fate at having to figure out how to dice it, my mom shared that she uses a serrated bread knife to cut it at her house, with much success. I sincerely doubted that would work for me, but since my mom often has terrific ideas about using the proper tool for the job, I decided to give it a try despite my skepticism. And, what do you know? It actually worked! Sure, it was still a tough go, but man, that bread knife worked a heck of a lot better than any of my other knives have ever done. The casserole, along with steamed green beans, turned out to be the saving grace of the meal. Very yummy, even though I'd forgotten I needed carrots for it & had given them all away. Next time, I'll add carrots, too.

La Luna Cooks Gooseberry Patch: Chai Tea

Sometimes, I do remember to put the crockpot on in plenty of time. When my sweetie arrived home from work last Friday, I was able to offer her one of her favorite Starbucks orders, chai tea. [Just an aside---is it my imagination or have they recently changed the recipe for their chai tea, making it much spicier? I don't like it nearly as much these days] It's a perfect relaxer for a chilly fall evening at the end of a hard work week and I imagine I'll be making a lot of this over the winter.

The recipe is very, very simple, relying solely on plain old black tea (I only had family-sized Luzianne iced tea bags and whole spices, with milk at the end. Oh, and sugar. I used a little less than the scant end of the suggested spectrum and would happily go with even less. I think it can be drunk quite cheerfully with no milk, as well. When we'd each had 2 of our Good Luck Cat mugs-ful of the tea, Jeannene went looking for more and was terribly disappointed that I'd only made half the recipe. Now, I know better. I would like to get some whole cardamom pods to add to this next time, as suggested in the recipe, and perhaps some star anise, which was not suggested, but which would look and taste scrumptious!

La Luna Cooks Gooseberry Patch: Hot Spicy Cider for a Crowd

I don't know about you, but I am forever forgetting to start crockpot dishes on time. Sometimes, it means dinner is something else entirely (pizza, anyone?). Sometimes, it simply doesn't matter. The case of this cider is the latter. It has just begun to be really blustery and chilly in Michigan. My mom and I had been out at the art museum all afternoon. My sweetie has a cold, with a very sore throat. I wanted to make her something warm, cozy, and soothing on the throat. Had I been thinking before we ran off to ogle the Diego Rivera murals and fabulous African masks, I would have set a pot going when we left so my honey would have something delicious to sip, all along.

However, when we got home and I remembered that I'd intended to make the cider, my mom agreed that we should go ahead and make it to go with dinner, anyway. This is all to say that if you are making a crockpot cider recipe and run out of time, you should feel free to pop it on top of the stove, instead. This particular recipe calls for ground cloves and allspice, plus cinnamon sticks. I worried that the cinnamon sticks would not have imparted their flavor to the drink by the time it was hot, but it was plenty redolent of cinnamon.

My mom referred to this drink as "cider punch" which is an apt description. It calls for sugar and orange juice, in addition to the spices. I used half the sugar and still felt it could be reduced. Frankly, I don't think it needs any sugar added at all. The cider and juice have plenty of sugar theirownselves. So, next time, I will skip the sugar. Furthermore, I need to remember that I dislike loose ground spices in my drinks. Even making this stovetop, I believe I'd rather use whole allspice and cloves next time. Better yet, I will stick a Post-It note on the door reminding myself to throw everything in the crockpot before I go gallivanting!

P.S. "For a Crowd" is a little misleading. Perhaps the recipe creator is thinking of wee punch cups, rather than the hearty mugs we use around our house, but just 2 of us (my wife bowed out, despite the soothing qualities, when she got a whiff of the strong dose of cloves) drank about a quarter of the recipe with one serving each. I made a half-gallon, which is half the recipe, and poured the leftovers back into the jug, leaving it half-full of spicy cider. So, if you use bigger mugs like we do, count on the whole recipe serving about 8 people, rather than the 16 the recipe claims to serve. Perhaps we are simply cider gluttons, though!

La Luna Cooks Gooseberry Patch: Cranberry Yam Bake

Cooked carrots are one thing. Yams are quite another. While I suspected I wouldn't eat much of the maple-glazed carrots, I knew for certain, that I wouldn't have more than the tiniest bite of the cranberry yam bake. In fact, I was quite relieved when I saw that the half-recipe I was making called for only 1 cup of cranberries---less tart deliciousness wasted by being polluted with yams. The wife, on the other hand, was dancing with anticipation at the yams and was dreading the sourness of the cranberries ruining her yams.

When my mom was a baby, my grandmother related to me, the only food she wouldn't eat was sweet potatoes. Me, I am like my mama. I have never liked yams or sweet potatoes. Nor, I suspect, could I tell you the difference between the two. I know I've heard that true yams are rarely sold in the States. Otherwise, I could muddle my way through a faked explanation, but it's better, if you're curious, to read this: http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-yams-and-sweet-potatoes-word-of-mouth-211176. Me, I just know I don't like them.

Or do I? When I made the recipe, I felt revulsion at even putting my tongue to the little portion on my fork. Amazingly, it was delicious! Perhaps because it was more akin to dessert than to a vegetable, given the oat streusel both mixed in with the canned yams and sprinkled on top (under a layer of toasted mini-marshmallows)? Perhaps because I accidentally forgot to halve the amount of butter I put in the streusel topping, forcing myself to go back and add the other half of all the rest of the streusel ingredients, too, resulting in twice as much brown sugary, cinnamony goodness as the recipe actually calls for? Perhaps the fact that it was studded with jewel-like bursts of translucent cranberry zing in contrast to the yams' opaque richness? Whatever made the difference, I had a hard time stopping at one serving. My mom did, too. My wife? She loved it despite the (oh, horrible of horribles!) cranberries.

We'll be hosting Practice Thanksgiving on the 22nd and this dish is tops on my list of possible dishes to serve. It's a wonderfully different twist on the usual Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole. And, if you get distracted by the making of another dish (apple raisin carrot salad, in this case) and burn the marshmallows during the broiling process, it's really easy to lift off the gooey, blackened mess and toss on another round of mini-marshmallows to try again. Paying attention this time.

La Luna Cooks Gooseberry Patch Fall, Family, and Friends: A Beginning

So, I dumped the Amish cookbook. I just couldn't do it. But, with undampened enthusiasm for the idea of cooking all the way through a cookbook, I decided to choose another. My friend, Matteo, who lives in Italy and posts gorgeous photos of the food he is making, photos of which I am intensely jealous because I want to be able to create such beautiful photos, too (I suspect having the Italian countryside for a backdrop might help inspire me), gave his humble take: go out & buy the best ingredients you can and find recipes to go with them, rather than going about it the opposite way. My wife thinks he is right, with the added advice, "Buy whatever's on SALE." I love his idea, myself. The truth is, I am not so good at doing it that way. I lack the imagination. Not to mention that I love the idea of cooking through the whole dang thing. The problem has never been that I don't know how to figure out what to cook. I do just fine there. It's that I need a cookbook that won't make me groan at the thought of cooking 8 potato salad recipes, most with very little variation.

I decided that I would simply use my newest cookbook, purchased a little over a week ago and untried. It's the Gooseberry Patch Fall, Family, and Friends cookbook, a collection of harvest season recipes collected from folks around the country---but, presumably, tested prior to publication so I don't end up with 3 tbsp. lemon juice in my peanut butter pie or a recipe that stops after the making of the batter. I'm all excited about the project now and can actually picture myself not only eating the food I make, but really enjoying it!

I dipped my toes in the water on September 29th with a recipe that, it turned out, completely skewed me out. Ha! So much for brilliant new starts! It should have been delicious, a cinnamon-maple nog, warm milk, sweet syrup, & autumn spices for a bedtime treat. I made a mug for each of us and neither of us could drink it. The flavor was A-OK by me, but something about the heating of the milk and the addition of the ground spices (cinnamon & allspice) make the beverage kind of grainy and weird. My sweet wife simply didn't like the cinnamon flavor. I might try it again using only whole spices and see if that is better. For Jeannene, I will simply heat milk with a little vanilla and a little syrup.

I've been really busy in October, making preparations for a secret & huge project, serving as matron of honor for a friend's wedding, and visiting my mama in West Virginia, so I haven't been working through the cookbook. Once we return from New Orleans, though, expect to see me blogging my way through this project!

Autumn Equinox Soup & Cranberry Cornbread

For my annual First Rainy Day of Fall Soup choice, I selected a recipe from the Gooseberry Patch cookbook through which I am cooking in the coming months. It turned out thicker than I would have preferred and with a bit of an odd undertone, but was still quite tasty. Of course, I cheated and put everything in together at the same time, when the recipe called for me to hold the creamed corn and onion soup mix back until the end of the 2 and a half hour cooking period. I was in a little hurry. Next time, I think I would simply omit the creamed corn and onion soup mix altogether. The dumpling recipe also made far more dumplings than I felt the soup needed, so I ended up throwing  away some of the batter. Next time, I will halve the dumpling part, as I have done here.

The cornbread, from the same cookbook, was delicious but overly delicate, rendering it nearly impossible to eat as anything but crumbs and bits. Further, it overflowed the pan and created quite a mess in my oven, although the pan was the recommended size and shape. I will unquestionably make it again, but probably in a cast iron skillet, rather than a loaf pan. I think using both self-rising cornmeal and self-rising flour, as called for, is probably a little much.

Therefore, here are my versions of these recipes:

2014 Autumn Equinox Soup

1 lb. ground beef (96% lean; can sub turkey or veggie crumbles)

1 onion, chopped

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

5 smallish potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 cans Veg-All, drained (you can sub another brand of mixed veggies)

1 can corn, drained

10 oz. frozen lima beans

5 cups chicken or veggie broth (I like the reduced sodium version)

Salt & pepper

A pinch of thyme

1/2 c. cornmeal

1/8 c. self-rising flour

1/8 tsp. salt

Water, as needed (probably about 3/4 c.)

Brown meat & onion in soup pot. Drain any residual fat. Add tomatoes, potatoes, mixed veggies, corn, lima beans, broth, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1-2 hours. Mix cornmeal, flour, and salt with just enough water to make a stiff batter. Drop by flattened tablespoonfuls into hot soup. Allow to cook until they float to the top, then turn over. Cook a few more minutes. Serves 10-12. 

Cranberry Cornbread

2 c. self-rising cornmeal

1/2 c. flour

1 c. sugar (this can be reduced)

1 egg, beaten

2/3 c. dried cranberries (I used the lower sugar kind)

1 c. buttermilk

1/4 c. vegetable shortening, melted (I would use butter, instead)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all but shortening. Stir in shortening. Pour into greased cast-iron skillet. Place on baking sheet and bake for about an hour, until top is golden brown. 

Welcoming Fall with Pumpkin Waffles

I always like to welcome Fall with some kind of seasonally appropriate meal for dinner. I have a convoluted (and somewhat silly---but it works) method of deciding dinner menus, involving rolling dice and counting by sevens. You may think I'm kidding, but I am absolutely not. I mean, there is still a lot of deciding I do of my own free will---it's not all up to fate. I was inspired by my mom and the method helps me plan in a way that utilizes all my cookbooks. Anyway, the dice and the sevens landed on pumpkin waffles for this year's first dinner of autumn and I was delighted! To me, this breakfast for dinner captures the essence of fall dining as well as any pot of chili. I am, of course, definitely thrilled it's chili season. But last night, we really enjoyed our waffles, me with warm maple syrup, my sweet wife with her preferred Mrs. Butterworth. I love that we are able to accommodate everyone's food particularities in our house.

Another particularity is that she loves maple bacon & maple sausage. I pretty much hate sweet and meat together. So, she is often longing for maple breakfast meat, but giving it up because I don't like it. Me, I adore pepper bacon. But, I usually defer to her preference for plain bacon because, well, who's going to complain about bacon? (unless it has maple---but I digress) So, last night, when we were strolling the meat section of our local grocery, she encouraged me to get pepper bacon and I encouraged her to get maple sausage. Then, she hit upon a brilliant solution! I can't believe we didn't think of it sooner. Get both, make enough of each for one person, and freeze the rest!

I'd intended to add fruit to the meal, so at least something would be healthy. That didn't happen. Ah, well. I got lots of good root veggies at lunch with my friend, Frank's, fabulous pork & root veggie stew with cider & curry.

Welcome Fall Pumpkin Waffles

1 c. flour

1 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

About 1/4 tsp. nutmeg (I grate mine directly into the bowl, so I am just guessing)

2 eggs, separated

3/4 c. milk (skim is fine)

1/2 stick butter, melted (you could probably reduce this with no disruption to the recipe)

1/4 c. pumpkin (I might add more next time; I'm putting the rest of the can in oatmeal)

Cooking spray

Maple syrup (or whatever your preferred waffle topping is)

Preheat waffle iron. Mix the dry ingredients together. Whisk egg yolks with milk, butter, and pumpkin. Combine with dry ingredients. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into batter. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray. Add 1/2-3/4 c. batter per waffle & cook until browned & crisp. Makes 4 Belgian waffles. These freeze well. To re-heat, just pop them in the toaster. The recipe also happily doubles, although I would only use 3 eggs when doubling, rather than 4. 

Lenore's Thick Veggie Soup

My cousin, Lenore, is a fabulous cook and is always very generous with her recipes. This soup recipe is one she shared with me for a family cookbook years ago. The cookbook was never put together (one of the projects on my plate for the coming year) & I didn't try the recipe until February of this year. I needed something good, simple, and easy to keep warm for long periods of time, as we were busy packing for our wedding trip. I have been missing out on deliciousness! This with some crusty bread or rolls and a piece of fruit makes a fine winter supper. I have made some small changes, but the credit must go to Lenore!

Lenore's Thick Veggie Soup

1 tbsp. oil

1/2 c. diced onion

1 c. chopped tomato (I subbed a can of diced tomatoes, it being winter)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 c. sliced zucchini

1/2 tsp. basil (in summer, I would toss in some fresh, chopped basil)

4 c. chicken stock (you can easily sub veggie stock for a vegetarian/vegan soup)

1 c. sliced carrots

2 tsp. chopped parsley

Salt & pepper, to taste

Cook onion & garlic in oil until translucent. Add the other ingredients, except the broth, cover, & cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Add broth & bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove a cup of the veggies, using a slotted spoon, and blend the rest with an immersion blender or, very carefully & in batches or you can make a huge mess and burn yourself, in a regular blender. Return the reserved veggies to the rest of the soup & heat through.