Barley Soup with Caramelized Onions and Pecorino Cheese

This soup is a bit of work, but very satisfying; it does marvelous things for such humble ingredients. It's a great way to use up any lingering carrots, onions, and celery that might be hiding out in the crisper or in the back of the fridge. You can substitute parmesan cheese for the pecorino if you need to, but you do need a hard, salty cheese on top to set off the sweetness of the soup. I've never added the mushrooms to it, so I don't know if they're crucial or not! 

Recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 3 onions, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 quarts Basic Vegetable Stock (see below), and water
• 1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, about 1/2 cup
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1 T. minced rosemary or 2 t. dried
• 1 c. pearl barley, rinsed
• 1 c. diced celery or celery root
• 2 carrots, diced
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 c. grated Pecorino cheese

1. Warm the oil in a heavy soup pot. Add the onions, cover, and cook over low heat for 4o minutes. Remove the lid, raise the heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are browned. While the onions are cooking, make the stock and include the dried porcini (if using). Retrieve them when the stock is done and chop.
2. Once the onions are browned, add the tomato paste and rosemary and cook for a few minutes more, working the paste into the onions. Add the barley, vegetables, chopped porcini, and strained stock; bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the barley and vegetables are done, about 25 minutes. Taste for salt, season with freshly milled pepper, and serve with cheese grated over the top.

Basic Vegetable Stock

• 1 large onion
• 2 large carrots
• 2 celery ribs, including leaves
• 1 bunch scallions, including half of the greens
• 1 T. olive or vegetable oil
• 1 T. nutritional yeast, optional
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 8 parsley branches
• 6 thyme sprigs or 1/2 t. dried
• 2 bay leaves
• salt

1. Scrub the vegetables and chop them roughly into 1-inch chunks. Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the vegetables, yeast, garlic, and herbs and cook over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. The more color they get, the richer the flavor of the stock. Add 2 teaspoons salt and 2 quarts cold water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Strain.

Stock makes 6 cups; soup will serve 4-6

Granola

My mom and I have been making granola for a good 10 years now; with some plain yogurt on top, it makes a hearty (and delicious) breakfast. You can experiment by adding in all sorts of different rolled grains, nuts, dried fruits, etc. Some dried fruits (like apples) will require you to refrigerate the finished product. I recommend sticking with raisins or craisins (my favorite). My mom and I usually double this because it keeps a while!

From Dairy Hollow House Cookbook

• 1/2 c. oil
• 1/2 c. butter 
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/2 c. honey
• 1/2-1 T. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. salt
• 4-5 c. oats
• 1/2 c. sesame seeds
• 1/2 c. wheat or oat bran
• 1-3 c. chopped nuts or more* (pecans, almonds, etc.)
• 1 c. wheat germ
• 1 1/2 c. coconut (we often leave out)
• 1 c. sunflower seeds
• 1 c. raisins or craisins

*My mom uses sliced almonds and pecans; I use a cup each of sliced almonds, chopped pecans, and chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix oats, seeds, nuts, wheat germ, coconut, and sunflower seeds in large bowl. Heat the following until you can mix them: oil, butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt; add vanilla after heating. When mixed pour over remaining ingredients (except raisins). Stir thoroughly. Bake in a shallow pan* (like the bottom of the broiler pan) for 5 minutes, 4 minutes, 3 minutes, and 3 minutes, stirring after each. After granola has cooled add raisins or craisins.

*Spraying the pan lightly with Pam will help keep the granola from sticking.

Honey Whole Wheat "Quick Bread"

This is a quick bread, not a yeast bread; as a result, the texture is more similar to cornbread instead of a light and airy yeast bread. It has a nice, strong flavor from the honey or molasses (or sorghum) and is great warm with a little butter! I think it would go nicely with good cheese or a bowl of hearty soup.

Recipe from How to Cook Everything, 10th edition

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. cornmeal

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1/2 c. honey, molasses, or sorghum

1 2/3 c. buttermilk or yogurt (or 1 1/2 c. milk plus 2 T. white vinegar*)

*If using milk/vinegar, warm the milk slightly in the microwave (1 minute or so), add the vinegar, and let sit while you get the other ingredients ready

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8x4- or 9x5-inch loaf pan (I used an 8x4-inch).
2. Combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle and add the buttermilk and sweetener. Stir just until combined. Pour into loaf pan. Bake for about an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling. (Let cool almost entirely before cutting or it will be very crumbly.)

Makes 1 loaf

Simple Cornbread

This is basic, plain cornbread; crumbly and slightly dry. It is the easiest of the three recipes on this blog (although Grandmother's Cornbread and Skillet-Sizzled Cornbread are not hard, either). It is also the most frugal of the three since it uses only 1 egg (significant only if you are planning to make a bunch!). It freezes just fine (although you'll lose a bit of the crunch in the crust) and works well with soups, beans, etc. 

Recipe from How to Cook Everything, 10th anniversary edition

• 1 1/2 c. cornmeal (I use stone ground yellow)
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1 T. sugar, more if you like your cornbread sweet
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 c. buttermilk or yogurt
• 2 T. drippings, butter, or olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place fat in ovenproof 8-inch skillet or baking pan (cast iron is best!). Place over medium heat; heat until good and hot, about 2 minutes, then turn off the heat. 
2. Combine dry ingredients. Mix eggs and buttermilk; add to dry ingredients all at once, stirring just until moistened. Pour batter into hot skillet and put in oven.
3. Bake for about 30 minutes, until sides start to pull away from pan and top is lightly browned. A toothpick inserted in middle should come out clean.

Makes one 8-inch cornbread

Cranberry Orange Bread

A holiday favorite!

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

3/4 c. orange juice

1 t. grated orange peel

2 T. butter

1 well-beaten egg

1 1/2 c. coarsely chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen) (1/2 a bag usually)

1/2 c. chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Stir in orange juice, orange peel, butter, and egg. Mix until well-blended. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Turn into a greased loaf pan (9x5 or mini loaf pans). Bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a rack 15 minutes; remove from pan.

Makes 1 loaf.

Skillet-Sizzled Buttermilk Cornbread

At first glance, this looks nearly identical to my grandmother's cornbread recipe; the truth is that a few small changes in the ingredient list make a big difference in the finished produce. Both are delicious. This one is cakier (from more flour in the batter), sweeter (more sugar), and more moist. It's best with real buttermilk, as opposed to the powdered buttermilk you can buy for baking. This the cornbread my husband requests most often.

Recipe from Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread

• 1 c. stone ground yellow cornmeal
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• 1 1/4 c. buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 2-4 T. sugar (I use 3)
• 1/4 c. mild oil (corn, canola, vegetable)
• 2-4 T. butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Stir baking soda into buttermilk. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, and oil; then whisk the buttermilk into this mixture.
4. Put an 8- to 9-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat and melt the butter in it (you can also put the skillet into the oven while it's preheating--this will melt the butter and save you having to turn the burner on). Tilt the pan to coat the bottom and sides.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, quickly stir together just until evenly moistened, and pour/scrape the batter into the hot, buttered skillet. Immediately put the skillet into the oven and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cut into wedges to serve.

This is best eaten promptly!

Grandmother's Cornbread

This is our grandmother's cornbread recipe; easy and slightly sweet (not as sweet as Jiffy!). It freezes well, too, although you'll lose a bit of the crunch in the crust). This is Southern crumbly cornbread as opposed to the cakey, sweet Northern cornbread; it's similar to Cracker Barrel's cornbread. It's also my favorite of the three recipes I'm posting this week.

Grandmother's Cornbread

1 c. yellow cornmeal (can also use white)*

1/4 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

2 t. baking powder

1/4 c. flour

1 T. sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 c. buttermilk

2 T. bacon grease or real butter

8-9-inch cast iron skillet

*if using self-rising cornmeal, omit soda, baking powder, and salt

**You can also 1 1/2 this recipe if you have a larger skillet; I use a deep, square 10-inch skillet with 1 1/2 times the recipe. 

1. Put fat in cast iron skillet and turn oven onto 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together. Add eggs and buttermilk.
2. Pour batter into hot, melted fat (in the hot skillet). Bake for 15-30 minutes, depending on size of pan; toothpick will come out clean/dry from middle of bread and bread will start to pull away from sides of pan slightly.
3. If using regular glass pan, you can pour hot, melted fat into batter and just pour into a greased regular pan. (won't form the great crust!)

Mmmmmm.... 

**If you want to make REAL Southern cornbread dressing, you can make this up ahead of time and freeze until you're ready to make the dressing...

Quick Breads for a Month

Quick breads are so easy to crank out, loaf after loaf. Because they require no rising time (or kneading), they are easier than yeast breads to make in bulk. If you're looking for a way to get a jump on "from scratch" cooking, this is a great way to start.

Quick breads vary from Whole Wheat Bread (texture like cornbread, not yeast bread), cornbread, and banana breads to biscuits, scones, and muffins. All of these can be made ahead of time and frozen; thaw overnight and toast briefly to warm up. 

Making quick breads in bulk is also a great way to use up seldom-used ingredients. Buttermilk, wheat or oat bran, specialty flours, and various dried fruits or nuts come to mind. They're also a great way to use up fresh produce that you have an overabundance of (zucchini, apples, carrots, and bananas are the most common here). 

Finally, if you've never done much baking, quick breads are much easier to start with than yeasted breads. They're straightforward, widely varied, and can be used for any meal of the day. I make up a batch of muffins for lunch one day and we eat the leftovers for breakfast the next, for instance. 

For my family, I made up 4 batches of cornbread, 4 loaves of Quick Honey Whole Wheat Bread, and a couple batches of biscuits one Satuday afternoon. This took me about 3 hours (but I did other things in the middle of that time, like writing this post!). I now have a wheat-based bread, a "pan" of cornbread, and a batch of biscuits for each week for the next 4 weeks. Pretty nice, eh? We'll eat the breads with soup or beans and rice at night, eat the leftovers toasted the next morning, and eat the biscuits on Sunday mornings. Mmmmm.... Stay tuned this week for some of the recipes (although my favorite biscuit recipe is here; check the bread index for more ideas).

Happy Cooking!

Homemade Cottage Cheese

After being without power for a couple of days, I had an abundance of milk that needed to be used quickly... so I made a few quarts of yogurt and then did a little research. Homemade ricotta and cottage cheeses are super easy to make! The finished cottage cheese product actually reminds me of ricotta cheese in texture, but is infinitely better than either of those storebought products. It's sweeter than storebought, creamier than storebought, and doesn't come with any weird additives. This is so good that I think it would make an excellent warm weather dessert with fresh berries!

Recipe from Alton Brown (I halved it below)

• 1/2 gallon milk
• 3/8 c. vinegar
• 1/2 t. salt (slightly more if you use kosher salt)
• 1/4 c. heavy cream or half-n-half

1. Heat the milk in a heavy-bottomed pot until it reaches 120 degrees (about 5 minutes over medium heat).
2. Stir in vinegar; remove from heat and stir for a minute or two until the curds and whey separate (this is so cool! The whey is a yellowish, greenish liquid; the curds are the solids that will come together). Let sit, covered, for 30 minutes.
3. Pour into a dishtowel (or cheesecloth) lined colander.* Drain for 5 minutes. Gather up the towel, and rinse the cheese under cold water for 3-5 minutes, squeezing and moving it the whole time.
4. Dump cheese into container, add salt, and stir/cut into smaller pieces. It will be slightly dry at this point and look more like ricotta cheese than cottage cheese. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
5. When ready to eat, add the cream and stir. Mmm....

*If you make bread, you can save the whey and use it in your bread making in place of water! In this case, make sure you drain the cheese over a large bowl. You'll get about 7 cups.

Makes 1 1/2 cups or so.

Chick Pea Salad

This is my friend Cassie's recipe, and it is wonderful!!! It must marinate for an hour or so, making it a great make-ahead luncheon option. It's also quick, inexpensive, and healthy--bonus!

• 2 cans chick peas, rinsed and drained
• 3 T.-1/2 c. olive oil (I just pour some in)
• 2 t. salt
• 1 t. pepper
• 1-2 cloves minced or crushed garlic
• 3 T.-1/4 c. lemon juice (I use about the same amount lemon juice to olive oil)
• 1/2 c. -1 c. parsley or chopped spinach

Optional:

• dash red pepper
• 1/4 c. sesame seeds
• 1/4 c. feta cheese (very good with this)

Mix and marinate 1 hour in fridge. Serve on bed of spinach or wrapped in tortilla or pita.

Skinny Chimichangas

These are a family favorite. They also freeze well once cooked. The filling freezes by itself as well, so that's another easy way to stock your freezer without taking up much space. I always double this recipe so we can each have 2 chimis.

Recipe from Take-Out Tonight!

• 1/2 pound ground turkey breast
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 t. chili powder
• 1 t. dried oregano
• 1/2 t. cumin
• 1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
• 2 T. chopped mild green chilies
• 1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 (8-inch) flour tortillas

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray; set aside.
2. Spray a medium skillet with nonstick spray; set over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Cook, breaking up the turkey with a wooden spoon until browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce and chilies; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the flavors are blended and the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar.
3. Meanwhile, wrap the tortillas in foil and place in the oven to warm for 10 minutes.
4. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the filling into the center of each tortilla. Fold in the sides, then roll to enclose the filling. Place the chimichangas, seam-side down, on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the tops of the tortillas with nonstick spray. Bake until golden and crisp, about 20 minutes. Do not turn.

Serves 4

Chocolate Cups

This is a super quick, elegant dessert to throw together if you have unexpected company. My good friend Betsy (really, I have a friend with my same name!) made these for us, gave us the recipe when we requested it, and we've been making them ever since! Garnish with fresh mint, chocolate shavings, a few raspberries, or whatever you like.

• 2/3 cup whole milk
  
• 1 egg
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar
  
• pinch salt
  
• 1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
  
• 1 tablespoons liqueur or dark rum
  
• whipped cream  
  

Heat milk to boiling. Put chocolate chips, sugar, liqueur, egg, and salt in a blender. Blend on lowest speed and slowly add boiling milk in a steady stream. Blend 1 minute more. Spoon (pour) into 4 small cups or ramekins. Allow to set in refrigerator at least 30 minutes. Top with whipped cream and mint garnish before serving. 

Serves 4

Homemade Pudding

This is a great substitute for "instant" vanilla (or chocolate or butterscotch) pudding. The texture is similar, the taste is better, and the ingredients are all good for you (well, the ingredients are all "real" ingredients*). It doesn't take too long to make, but it does have to chill thoroughly and, since you're heating the milk when you cook it, it will take a while to chill. Make it right after breakfast, while you're finishing up the breakfast dishes, and it will be ready by dinner.

Ingredients from How to Cook Everything, 10th edition; method my mother's (you can add 3 eggs after it starts to thicken if you want "real" pudding--temper the eggs with a bit of the hot milk mixture first)

• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half or whole milk
• 3 T. cornstarch
• pinch salt
• 2/3 c. sugar (brown if you want butterscotch)
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 T. butter, optional
• 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine, if you want chocolate pudding

1. Combine 2 cups milk, sugar, salt in microwave safe bowl. Microwave at 80% power for 2 minutes or so and stir. Milk should be hot. 
2. Combine cornstarch with remaining milk and stir until there are no lumps. Add this to the hot milk mixture and microwave at 80% until thickened (stir every minute). Mixture will look like a thin cream sauce and coat a spoon; it will thicken more as it chills. Stir in vanilla (and chocolate if using).
3. Pour into 1-quart dish or 4-6 ramekins. Cover with saran wrap unless you don't mind a "skin" forming on the pudding.
4. Chill thoroughly.

Serves 4-6

*In case you're curious, here are the ingredients on a box of sugar-free, instant butterscotch pudding: modified corn starch, tapioca dextrin, artificial flavor, sodium phosphate, nonfat milk, caramel color. Contains less than 2% of the following: salt, titanium dioxide (for color?), microcrystalline celluluse, aspartame, mono- and diglycerides, acesulfame potassium, xanthan gum, soy lecithin, yellow 6 and 5.

Compare to non-sugar-free, homemade butterscotch: whole milk, brown sugar (sugar, molasses), cornstarch, vanilla, salt. (Butter is optional; it would fall after the cornstarch in this line up). 

Classic Brownies

These are wonderful, basic brownies--and a great substitute for boxed brownies (let's face it, folks--the boxes often taste better and have better texture). Part of the reason these are good is the amount of butter in them! If you don't have cake flour, put a tablespoon or so of cornstarch in the bottom of your measuring cup; add flour and sift.

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, #67 (March-April, 2004)

• 1 c. pecans or walnuts, chopped medium (optional)
• 1 1/4 c. cake flour
• 1/2 t. salt
• 3/4 t. baking powder
• 6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
• 1 1/2 sticks (12 T.) unsalted butter, cut into six 1-inch pieces
• 2 1/4 c. sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 T. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13x9-inch pan with foil. Spray with cooking spray.
2. If using nuts, toast lightly (5-8 minutes in oven). Set aside to cool.
3. Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside.
4. Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost-simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. (Althernatively, heat butter and chocolate in large microwave-safe bowl in microwave on high for 45 seconds; stir and heat for 30 seconds more. Stir again and, if necessary, repeat in 15-second intervals; do not let chocolate burn.) When chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove bowl from saucepan and whisk in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, folding tith rubber spatula until batter is completely smjooth and homogeneous.
5. Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatual, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle nuts (if using) evenly over batter and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan by lifting foil overhang. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares and serve.

Serves 24

Menu Planning on the Fly: ANOTHER Power Outage

Does anyone else have weeks like I do? Weeks where what you'd planned to eat was no longer an option for whatever reason? 2009 has been a record year so far for menu planning on the fly....

This past week, our challenges were these: (1) out of the house/busy every day from Tuesday-Friday. (Very unusual around here and definitely a challenge to from-scratch cooking).  (2) Power outage from 4:00 p.m. Wednesday until 9:00 p.m. Thursday (freak 10-minute storm...did some definite damage). (3) Hubby out at book club meeting on Thursday (told me about it sometime earlier in the week).

What sorts of food did we have to work with? Well, we had LOTS of milk after the power outage that needed to be eaten/consumed/cooked faily promptly. I had a few half gallons with dates of Feb. 13th (the day after the power came back on). Some sausage thawed in the freezer, so that suddenly became a menu necessity. Some chicken suddenly needed to be eaten as well. Nothing outright spoiled, but I figured that if something was almost thawed, it shouldn't be re-frozen....

Breakfasts included lots of homemade yogurt towards the end of the week (from the milk that needed consuming) as well as lots of egg-related items Friday and Saturday. Lunches were sort of random.

Sunday: Tofu Stir-Fry with snow peas and regular peas (they liked it!) 

Monday: can't remember

Tuesday: Creamy Peanut Chicken, green beans, rice

Wednesday: to church for dinner (good thing since we had no power!)

Thursday: still no power: pb&j for dinner, along with chips and grapes

Friday: Spinach Tiropites, sweet potato fries, bananas

Saturday: Homemade Calzones (using up some sausage); Homemade Vanilla Pudding (using up some of that milk!)

Sunday: Chicken Fajitas, Pinto Beans, Salad, and Homemade Chocolate Pudding (using up some of that milk!)

Fajitas

This is my mother's recipe and is the best fajita marinade, hands down. I don't even try others anymore. I've used this for steak and chicken. We've grilled, broiled, and even baked the meat, depending on circumstances. The flavor is wonderful either way. Serve with tortillas, sauteed/grilled peppers and onions, cheese, and salsa. I usually serve pinto or black beans with this, cooked in the crockpot. As with most marinades, you can mix up the marinade, dump it in a ziploc bag with the meat, and freeze until the night before you want to use it! 

• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1/3 c. lime juice
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/3 c. finely chopped onion
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 t. sugar
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. oregano (dried, whole--not powdered)
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/4 t. cumin (ground)
• 2 pounds steak or chicken

Pound steak to tenderize. Mix all ingredients in large ziploc bag, turning to coat meat. Marinate 8 hours or overnight.

Grill (or bake) meat and serve with tortillas and preferred toppings.

Serves 6-8

Carrot Apple Muffins

These moist, sweet muffins are loaded with carrots and were inhaled by my three children! Like most muffins, they freeze well, so pull out your food processor and make a double batch. They're a terrific way to use up some carrots and apples that might be lingering in the crisper and looking a little wrinkled....

Recipe from Muffins A to Z (original title: Favorite Steiger Haus Carrot and Apple Muffins)

• 2 T. sugar (for optional topping)*
• 2 t. cinnamon (for optional topping)*
• 2 c. flour (I did half white whole wheat)
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 t. baking soda
• 2 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 c. peeled, grated carrot (about 4 medium carrots)
• 1 c. peeled, cored, grated apple (about 1 large apple)
• 1/2 c. finally chopped hazelnuts (I left out)
• 1/2 c. dried currants or raisins
• 1/2 c. flaked sweetened coconut (I used unsweetened)
• 1 c. vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 2 t. vanilla extract

*I didn't use the extra topping--these muffins are already plenty sweet, so I didn't think it necessary.

1. To make the topping, if using: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and the cinnamon; set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter 12 muffin cups (or coat with nonstick spray or use paper liners).
3. To make the batter: Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the carrots, apple, hazelnuts, currants or raisins, and coconut. This will form a large, gloppy-looking "batter."
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients all at once and fold just until evenly moistened. Do not overmix.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. (You might need more than 12). Top with apple slices and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar topping if desired. Bake until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Cool on a wire rack before removing from pan (I found it better to actually remove them as soon as I could touch them because some of the oil stayed in the pan rather than soaking back into the already-moist muffins).

Makes 12 large muffins (or more!)

Creamed Spinach

This is a great, fresh tasting creamed spinach recipe. I used a recipe at allrecipes.com as a base and made a few alterations. Below is my version, which got great reviews at our church potluck. Try it! I think it would be easy to reduce this by half or fourths if you want just enough for a small family.

• 2 cups whole milk
• 4 (10 ounce) boxes boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 4 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 bunch green onions, white and light green parts chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4-1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and ground black pepper

1. Combine milk, garlic, and green onions in a 1-quart microwave-safe measuring cup or small bowl covered with a saucer, and microwave (or heat slowly in a medium saucepan) until very hot and steamy. Let stand for a couple of minutes to soften onions and garlic.
2. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat (I used a 2-3 quart pan). Whisk in flour. Add hot milk mixture all at once, then whisk until smooth. Stir in spinach; cook until sauce is thick and bubbly and spinach is tender but still green, about 5 minutes. Stir in cheeses, nutmeg, and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Serves 10+ (original says it serves 8, but we got many more servings than that out it)

Cookbook Review: Muffins from A to Z

Muffins from A to Z by Marie Simmons is a specialty cookbook and probably not needed by everyone. However, if you're at all into making muffins, this is the cookbook for you! Every muffin recipe is delicious and most are unique. Many are packed with extra fruit, vegetables, or nuts, and many can be easily made with part whole wheat flour since there is plenty of spice and other flavor. The muffins range from decadent Devil's Food Chocolate Chip Muffins to delicate Lemon-Drizzled Lemon Muffins to savory Zucchini Romano Muffins to homey Molasses Bran Muffins (and there's lots more!). The Nantucket Morning Glory Muffins and the Vagabond Muffins are some of our favorites for hearty, filling muffins.

This cookbook also provides great instruction for the art of mixing muffin batter--a skill that is simple, but important to master. Pictures accompany the recipes; no nutritional information is provided. There are 40 recipes in all; I have tried 24 recipes and loved them all. Wow! I still have more to try. The problem is, I keep coming back to the ones I've already tried because I enjoy them so much. Mmmm Toasted Almond and Apricot... Christmas Muffins (with cranberries and pistachios)... Streusel Coffee Cake Muffins.... time to get baking!

Whole Wheat Bread

Even with my three little munchkins floating around, I still find time to make bread. From my perspective, it's easier to make bread than to drag the kiddos to the store to buy it. Plus, my preschooler LOVES to help me make it--she's been helping me since she was tiny. Haven't you ever thought about where the name "play-do" came from?

This is my favorite recipe, from a now out-of-print random little cookbook called Chattanooga Favorites by Helen Exum. It's a good, basic, slightly sweet whole wheat bread. You can adapt it in several ways. I'll put those options at the end of the recipe. If you use rapid rise (instant) yeast, see the rapid rise version below the original.

Whole Wheat Bread--2 Loaves

• 1 package active dry yeast
  
• 1/4 cup water
  
• 2 1/2 cups hot water
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 3 teaspoons salt
  
• 1/4 cup oil
  
• 4 cups whole wheat flour
  
• 1 cup wheat germ (not toasted)
  
• 3 cups unbleached white flour
  

Soften active yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Combine hot water, sugar, salt, and oil: cool to lukewarm. Stir in whole wheat flour and wheat germ. Stir in yeast. Add remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn out on a lightly floured surface: knead until smooth and satiny. Shape dough in a ball: place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover; let rise in warm place till double (about 1 1/2 hours). Punch down. Cut in 2 portions; shape each in smooth ball. Shape in loaves.* Let rise till double (about 1 hour). Bake about 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

*Recipe doesn't specify, but I typically use lightly greased 8x4 loaf pans for this recipe.

Options:

• For 100% whole wheat bread, substitute King Arthur white whole wheat flour for the white flour.
  
• You may also substitute bread flour for the white flour.
  
• You may substitute a slightly smaller amount of honey for the brown sugar if you're cutting back on refined sugars. This makes a wonderful honey-whole-wheat bread!
  
• To use rapid rise (instant) yeast: (this is what I do now--I never use ordinary active dry) Use 2 3/4 cups of hot water when mixing it with the sugar/honey, salt, and oil. Stir in whole wheat flour and wheat germ. When mixture is warm (not scalding hot), stir in yeast (no need to proof it in water--just dump the dry yeast in). Add remaining flour to make the dough, following kneading instructions. Instead of the first rise, you can simply let the dough rest for 10 minutes or so, then shape it into loaves. You'll get a more full, yeasty taste if you do two rises, but I frequently just do one these days.

Spunsters and Chick-Fu (with Frosty Peas)

We gambled tonight and served only the following for dinner: tofu stir-fry with green peas, snow peas, and onions on a bed of rice.... Risky, eh, with 1 preschooler and 2 toddlers?

They liked it!!!! Well, one toddler and the preschooler liked it. When I say liked, I mean the toddler who liked it had 4 helpings of tofu (we called it chick-fu) as well as several helpings of peas, the preschooler ate multiple helpings of everything, and all three kids ate the snow peas. We also served "frosty peas" (frozen peas straight from the bag--they love those).

We've decided that our kids need to eat what we eat, within reason. Tofu and stir-fry are normal meals for lots of kids around the world, so we offered it to our own kids. We divided up the stir-fry ingredients (a pain, but usually worth it) into different sections of little TV trays. That way, they can eat the familiar (the chick-fu looked like chicken) and tentatively sample the unfamiliar, rather than avoid the entire creation. We also have rigged up a kid-friendly version of chop sticks for our preschooler so she can eat like Daddy. (You can order kid-friendly chopsticks here.) Our preschooler calls chopsticks "spunsters" for some unknown reason, hence the title of this post.

So, try risky things with your kids of all ages. Presentation is usually everything. Divide up "one-dish" meals into the familiar and unfamiliar. Don't always offer them things that you are eating--this frequently ups the chances they'll want to try it because you're eating it. Skip the snacks so they're hungrier for real meals. Kids love to dip things into salad dressing, peanut butter, hummus, etc. And, occasionally, throw in the towel and give them chicken nuggets and boxed mac-n-cheese.

So far, our kids will frequently eat the following vegetables (it's never a guarantee, is it?):

• peas
• sugar snap peas
• snow peas
• green beans
• lettuce
• cooked spinach, doctored up
• pumpkin
• sweet potatoes
• white potatoes
• broccoli
• butternut squash
• acorn squash
• red peppers (one kid...)
• cucumbers
• raw carrots (occasionally)
• cabbage (in cole slaw form--the preschooler)

We'll try zucchini on them this summer if the garden cooperates. We're still working on some of the Asian greens, like bok choy. We rarely see all three kids eat all that's offered any given meal. Our boys are much better vegetable eaters than our daughter; she has become better, though, watching them scarf down their food. I've been assured this can all change, so this is what they will eat as of February, 2009! 

The Perfect (Stir-Fry) Recipe

This is a simple, infinitely customizable, stir fry recipe. You can do a number of steps ahead of time, making it quick. It's inexpensive, healthy, and requires no exotic ingredients. I'll give the basic recipe first; at the end of the recipe, you will find tips on making ahead/freezing ingredients! Because you can use any combination of vegetables you want, this can be made with whatever's in season, whatever's lingering in your crisper, or whatever you've just harvested from the garden.

Based on recipe for "Stir Fry with Marinade" in Extending the Table

Marinade:

Mix:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1-inch ginger root, thinly sliced
  
• 1 1/2 T. soy sauce
  
• 1/4 t. salt
  
• 1/4 t. pepper
  
• 1 t. sugar
  
• 1 T. cooking sherry (optional)
  

Add: 

• 1/2 pound beef tenderloin or sirloin, pork, or chicken, cut in thin strips (could probably do tofu, but I've never tried)

Marinate at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours.

After marinating, add to meat and set meat mixture aside:

• 1 T. cornstarch
• 1 T. oil

Stir Fry:

In wok or wide skillet, heat a little oil and saute:

• 1 clove garlic, minced

When garlic is fragrant (30 seconds or so), add 5-6 cups chopped vegetables* (the more variety the better!):

• onions
• green peppers
• red peppers
• carrots
• celery
• broccoli
• bamboo shoots
• bean sprouts
• snow peas
• cauliflower
• cabbage
• green onions
• etc.

Stir-fry vegetables until just tender, adding salt and soy sauce to taste; do not overcook. *Add quick-cooking vegetables like bean sprouts, snow peas, green onions at the very end and just heat them through. Remove vegetables from pan. Place marinated meat in pan with a little oil. Stir fry until tender, 3-5 minutes. Return vegetables to pan and heat through. Serve with rice or noodles.

Serves 4

To make ahead or freeze: Meat portion can be chopped and combined with marinade ingredients in quart ziploc bag; it can then be frozen as is! Pull out the night before you want the stir-fry, and you're halfway there! I cut up a few pounds of chicken and make up several quart bags at the same time. I put them all in one bigger gallon-sized bag, label it, and throw it all in the freezer.

Most vegetables can be chopped ahead of time and refrigerated.

Rice can be cooked, frozen, and pulled out of the freezer the morning of. You can reheat in microwave or mix in with stir fry in the skillet.

The Chinese Grocery Store and a Bold Step

There's a little Asian grocery store near my Bible study (at a different church than I normally attend), so frequently the kids and I wander over to see what's "in" after our Thursday morning study time. I think of it as the "Chinese store," but it's really quite Asian in scope. There are Thai, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese items in the tiny, crowded, staffed-by-Asians-who-don't-speak-much-English place. Why do I drag my double stroller with 21-month-old twins plus pre-schooler into this tiny little place? Why go to another store? (And I'm adamant that I won't go to more than 1 store plus a produce market each week.)

Here's why: it's always an enriching experience (I once wrote about the bond of motherhood I experienced with an Asian mom in there). My kids and I definitely stick out; we're American, don't spick a lick of any Asian language, can't tell what we're buying, and people have to move out of our way because the aisles are only wide enough for 1 stroller or person to walk down. This ensures we will have an interesting experience because we have to interact with the aforementioned, non-English-speaking store personnel. I first went to the store with my husband; we'd been referred by a friend who'd spent time in China (as did my hubby) and said this was a good place to get the genuine goods. My hubby helped me learn what things looked like that I might want to buy. Now, I'm brave enough to venture in with my just my kiddos.

What do we buy? Produce, tea, steamed buns with red bean paste (yum, yum, yum!!!), sesame candy, gyoza wrappers, brown jasmine rice, .... We once got a TON of real (loose) Jasmine tea for about $4. I found out that their produce truck comes in on Wednesdays, that the store is too crowded for me (and the kids) on Wednesdays, and that coming in Thursday at lunch-time was a good time to have a nice selection of produce without a crowd of people (that info came from the one time I ran into an English speaking Thai girl).  

Well, this week I took the ultimate challenge: to buy my produce for the week at the Asian store instead of my usual, beloved Pratt's (the produce market I often refer to that is right around the corner from my house). We went in yesterday on one of our little Thursday excursions and there were tons of vegetables this week! I made a spur-of-the-moment decision that I would indeed find enough here to feed the family for the week (well, I do have a nice stock of frozen veggies on hand as well). Remembering our terrific discovery of baby greens there this past summer, I headed down the tea aisle, which was made possible because a nice Asian man moved out of the way for us, walked past the frozen food section where I spurned the pork belly, weird seafood, and such, picked up some frozen gyoza wrappers and steamed buns with red bean paste, and began the produce adventure:

• unnamed baby greens in plastic bag in refrigerated section (look like mustard greens?)
• baby bok choy-looking baby greens in plastic bag in refrigerated section
• snow peas
• Taiwanese cabbage (looks just like regular American cabbage, but is much lighter in weight and is "sweet" according to my limited English exchange with nice Asian store lady)
• 4 Kirby cucumbers
• 1 head broccoli
• 1 red pepper
• passed over meat in water in a little tub in the midst of the veggies--liver, maye? hmmm
• green beans (they're soooo much better than ours!!)
• big bag of bean sprouts for $1.39
• big head of green leaf lettuce ("yes... lettuce" to my inquiry)
• passed over the chickens in plastic bags sitting in a carboard box near the veggies--3/$10. Hmmm.... still into my American ideals of food safety, thank you.
• 4 Florida oranges
• 8 red apples
• weird bunch of Thai bananas--"more sour" and "more chewy" and "yes you can cook them same" (to my query as to whether I could cook them like plantains). "three days" and "more yellow" (to my query as to were they ripe). This was because I didn't see any other bananas and thought we'd make this the culmination of our Asian produce experience.

The cashier (with whom I'd conducted the inquiries already described) told me that I did not have baby mustard greens or baby bok choy but something else--I caught something about a flower and that I could cook them the same way.... I got home and did a small google search. I think I have flowering cabbage and another version of baby bok choy.

So, what are we going to cook/eat this week? Since many of the things I got need to be eaten pronto, we're going to have sauteed unnamed greens as a side dish to our Pad Thai with bean sprouts and chicken tonight (the Pad Thai is a sauce mix from Kroger). Tomorrow, we'll have the baby bok choy alongside Creamy Peanut Chicken. Sometime Sunday or Monday, we'll try those bananas--maybe as a side dish to beans and rice. 

Our next adventure: the Mexican Grocery store! I do speak a wee bit of Spanish and am much more familiar with Mexican and South American cooking--now that I've braved the Asian store, the Mexican store should be a piece of cake! (or piece of flan if you want to be technical...)

Menu Planning on the Fly: Toddlers, Leftovers, and Asian Grocery Store!

For the first Menu Planning on the Fly, click here. This past week involved a few unique challenges, and here's how we solved them....

Challenges included: last minute cancellation of church Wednesday night (we only go the first Wed of the month because my husband has a deacon meeting that night); unexpected gift of 2.5 dozen eggs from local farm; spur-of-the-moment decision to use Asian grocery store for remaining produce needs; power outage lasting all day; cancellation of Sunday dinner company on Friday night,.... (soups below are from the freezer)

Sunday: Grilled cheese and tomato soup and salad (kids ate all with us!)

Monday: Can't remember--this might have been the night we had Creamy Pesto Sauce with Penne and leftover roasted chicken (and broccoli).... hmmm....

Tuesday: Butternut squash soup, salad, Cuban Rolls (kids LOVED the soup--go figure)

Wednesday: Pot luck with other family in church: we made Sweet Potato Muffins and scrambled eggs; they brought bacon and fruit salad! Used up some eggs and made do for a last minute dinner/fellowship

Thursday: out to eat (power outage)

Friday: Sauteed Chinese Flowering Cabbage, Pad Thai from mix (with added chicken and bean sprouts); kids ate leftovers from night before

Saturday: Stir-fry with chicken, snow peas, bean sprouts, carrot, etc. Steamed buns with red bean paste for dessert! These are so good! (will also make a barley/vegetable soup for lunch that can be eaten again for Sunday's lunch)

Kielbasa, Cabbage, and Onions (Crockpot)

This is a great fall or winter supper; we serve it with sweet potatoes, but regular potatoes would also be good. It's a little German in inspiration and simple to make. Since everything ends up tasting primarily of kielbasa, kids will often eat the cabbage when they normally turn their nose up at it.

Recipe from The Everyday Low-Carb Slow Cooker Cookbook

• cooking spray
• 1 small head of cabbage, cored and cut into wedges (about 2.5 pounds)
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 2 T. brown mustard
• 2 pounds kielbasa, cut into 3-inch pieces

1. Coat the slow cooker crock with cooking spray. Add all ingredients except the kielbasa to the crock, tossing to that the cabbage is well-coated with the broth and seasonins. Top mixture with the kielbasa.
2. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours; give mixture a good stir, then cook 1 hour more.

Serves 6

Cream of Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Plan to make this soup with your Thanksgiving turkey leftovers this next fall (or go buy a turkey and make it while it's still nice and wintry!). It's become one of the main reasons we cook a turkey even if we are having one at relatives' houses on the actual holiday. It makes a significant amount, so you can plan for this as a big dinner party sometime during the holidays. I make my turkey broth and cut up some extra turkey pieces the day after I roast the turkey. Then, I freeze the broth and meat until I'm ready to make the soup! It's very similar to the cream of chicken and wild rice soup at places like Panera or Atlanta Bread Company. Mmmmm... 

Cream of Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

• 1 leftover turkey carcass plus pan drippings*
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 cup butter, cubed
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups half-and-half cream or a comparable mixture of heavy cream and whole milk
• 1 cup uncooked long grain rice**
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules*
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper

*I roast my turkey with chopped onions, carrots, and celery in the bottom of the roaster. When I make my stock with the carcass, I throw in ALL the pan drippings and bits. If you don't have that option, use the bouillon granules as directed. I don't use/need them.

**I use a wild rice soup blend from a natural foods store--it includes some dehydrated veggies.  

1. Place turkey carcass in a soup kettle or Dutch oven along with any bits and drippings from the roasting pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for at least 1 hour. Remove carcass; strain and cool broth. You will need at least 3 quarts for the soup. Remove turkey from bones and cut into bite-size pieces; set aside (or freeze if making the soup later). Recommended: make the stock the day before you want to make the soup; store stock in fridge and then scoop out the hardened fat before making the soup.
2. In a large soup kettle or Dutch oven, sauté the onions, carrots and celery in butter until tender. Reduce heat; stir in flour until blended. Gradually add 1 qt. of reserved broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
3. Add cream, rice, salt, bouillon, pepper, remaining broth, and reserved turkey. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until rice is tender.

Serves 16

What's On Hand

Blatant copying from new blog I just discovered: Chaos in the Kitchen (check it out!). 

I often keep a running list on a dry erase board leading to the basement of the food in the freezer (big stand alone freezer in the basement), but the random scratch pads listing food in the basement pantry-extension and the "stuff" in my pantry in the kitchen itself are getting booted off the kitchen counter in my efforts to declutter. So, this seems like an ideal place to store that info and update it when I get a chance. After all, half the reason I have this blog is to get my favorite recipes into a format that won't be chewed up, drooled on, thrown away, etc. (And I have gotten rid of a few cookbooks which only ever contributed a few great recipes to my life... those great ones are now on this blog and will be published someday if they haven't been already!).

Every few months, I go on a grocery store fast, vowing to eat from the pantry/freezer because we have so much food. That helps tremendously because it forces us to eat up stuff in the freezer in particular before adding more food to it. I shop on sale and keep some things on hand nearly all the time. If I have a coupon and there's a sale, even better! 

So, I'll update this list before each grocery store fast and include the meals I've made from the random ingredients. I do allow myself to run to the produce market on grocery store fasts, so it's amazing how long we can last on the ingredients I've stockpiled and the produce market. 

I should also mention that I inherited a bunch of nuts from someone who was moving, have lots of random stuff that I got on sale, and am coming off of a 2-year period where it was mighty hard to "run out" to the grocery store if I ran low on something. My kids are all much easier to cart around--an errand is still never quick, but their schedules are much more flexible and so we actually can run to the grocery each week. So, I need to prune!

(There are, of course, things we always keep on hand that we continually use up and buy afresh: oats, flour, some meat, canned tomatoes, pasta, etc.).

What's On Hand as of January, 2009

See my explanation of "What's on Hand." (and I have a problem with little moths in my pantry, so I store a lot of grain products in my freezer that most would have in their pantry.) Looking at my list below, I realized a few things: (1) no one else is going to read this whole list but me, (2) I have a tendency to hoard things that I get at specialty stores, like our food co-op pr the Chinese grocery store, because I get there so seldom--this is not a good tendency, (3) I've managed to create quite a stockpile on a modest budget since I never buy extra of anything unless it's on sale--and I NEVER pay full price for meat, bread, and a few other things, (4) I should be able to create a nice cushion in our budget because I won't need to buy much in the coming months other than perishable foods. This is not perfectly organized and does not include spices, open bottles of vinegars/oils, flour/sugar in canisters, etc.....

Freezer Items

Baking/Miscellaneous Supplies

• 3.5 pounds pecans
  
• 7 pounds walnuts
  
• 2 pounds whole almonds
• 1 bag popcorn
  
• 3 pie crusts
  
• whole wheat pastry flour
  
• wheat germ
  
• raw sunflower seeds
  
• some other flour? got to call the co-op and double check the number
  
• 4 bags King Arthur white whole wheat flour (sale plus coupon!)
• 1 bag King Arthur whole wheat flour
• gyoza/wonton wrappers (these freeze great!)
• 
  

Fruits and Veggies

• 5 bananas
  
• 1/2 gallon sized bag blueberries (that I picked last summer...time for blueberry pancakes!)
  
• 1/2 gallon sized bag blackberries (that I picked last summer.... need to use those up!)
  
• 2 storebought bags raspberries
• 1 whole red pepper
  
• 1/2 red pepper in strips
  
• 8 3/4 bags chopped green peppers
  
• 2 bags chopped onions
  
• 1/2 bag cranberries
  
• miscellaneous and partially opened bags frozen fruit 
  
• 2 c. cooked, seasoned pinto beans
  
• 3 cooked sweet potatoes
  
• 1 box broccoli spears
  
• 1 box chopped broccoli
• 2 boxes Garden Blend (w/potatoes)
• 2 bags Garden Blend
• 1 bag cut green beans
• 2 boxes GG "healthy weight" with black beans and veggies
• 1 bag peas
• 1 bag corn
• 1 box French style green beans
• 3 boxes sugar snap peas
• 7 boxes spinach
• 1 ginormous bag sweet potato fries
• 2 cups homemade apple sauce

Breads and Grains

• 2 c. brown basmati rice (cooked)
  
• 2 c. brown rice (cooked)
  
• 3 c. (in 1 1/2 c. packs) of wild rice blend (cooked)
• 10 pounds brown jasmine rice (uncooked)
• steel cut oats (lots--uncooked)
  
• 2 whole wheat rolls
  
• 2+pounds whole wheat spaghetti (uncooked)
  
• 6 loaves Nature's Own whole wheat bread
• 1 loaf homemade whole wheat bread
• 2 artisanal loaves
• 1 bag mini whole wheat bagels
• 1 bag whole wheat pitas
• 1/2 box Phyllo dough
• 2 boxes puff pastry
• 1 big bag white tortillas

Meats/Chicken/Fish

• 4 pounds ground turkey
  
• 3 Italian sausage links
  
• unidentified chicken parts....hmm...
  
• 3 whole chickens
• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 3 pounds chopped boneless, skinless chicken (in 1-pound bags)
• 6 pounds or so leg quarters (in 2 bags)
• 2 pounds kielbasa
• 2 pounds breakfast sausage
• tilapia
• 2.3 pounds boneless beef shoulder
• 1.5 pounds beef stew meat
• 3-4 pork chops (can't remember)
• 1 cup chopped pork

Finished Meals/Products

• 5 egg mcmuffins
  
• 7 tiropites (spanakopita in individual triangles)
  
• 2 big "bags" butternut squash soup
• 1 tupperware chili
• 3 small bags tomato soup
• 3 small bags spaghetti sauce
• 1 bag peanut sauce for chicken
• 1 bag peanut sauce for Thai fish 
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 6 cups turkey stock
• 6 cups cooked pinto beans
• 4 cups cooked white beans
• 2 cartons Cool Whip
• 14 Lean Cuisines
• 16 tuna sandwiches
• 2 packets chicken for stir-fry
• 1 packet cherry chipotle chicken

Pantry

Grains/Cereals/Pasta/Etc.

• oats
  
• raisins
  
• homemade pancake mix
  
• miscellaneous chocolate, cake decorating stuff, etc. (most of which I also inherited with the nuts)
  
• honey
  
• ~2 c. brown jasmine rice
  
• ~1.5 c. brown rice
  
• 1/2 quart jar full of quinoa (had forever...)
  
• 2/3 quart jar full of whole wheat couscous
• 1 bag plus 1/4 c. barley
• 2/3 quart jar full of bran (oat or wheat--can't remember, but think it's wheat)
• 1 quart jar full of bulgur
• 1 pint jar full of nutritional yeast flakes--this supposedly gives a "chicken" flavor to vegetarian grain dishes
• 1 quart jar full of homemade granola
• couple of boxes of opened storebought cereal
• partially full box of cream of wheat
• partially full box of malt-o-meal (should use this up or throw away...)

• 1/2 box lasagna noodles (enough for 1 pan lasagna)
  
• 2 pounds whole wheat Penne pasta
• 1 pound whole wheat macaroni
• 250 g brown rice sticks (soften in Thai pasta dishes)
  
• 12 oz. whole wheat egg noodles
• 2 small packets bean thread noodles

• partially full box of Panko bread crumbs
• partially full canister of plain bread crumbs
• partially full canister of seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 canister Royal Blend rice/wheat berry mix (uncooked)
• 1/2 canister whole wheat orzo
• 2 boxes mac-n-cheese
• 1 box Jiffy cornbread
• 1 box Spanish rice-a-roni (yuk)

Crackers and Snack Items

• 1 box cracked black pepper triscuits
  
• 1 box Rosemary and olive oil triscuits
• opened box of graham crackers
  
• unopened pack of Wasa crackers
  
• opened box of sweet Ryvita crackers
  
• unopened box of sweet Ryvita crackers
  
• 1 box Townhouse Crackers
• 2 bags Goldfish

• opened box unflavored gelatin packets (for homemade jello)
• 1 box fat free butterscotch pudding mix
• 1 box fat free lemon pudding mix
• 1 box sugar free strawberry jello
• 1 box sugar free cherry jello
• 1 box sugar free red raspberry jello

• 1 box peach melba cheeseball mix
• 1 box lemon raspberry cheeseball mix

Baking Materials

• 1 quart jar sorghum (like it better than molasses)
• miscellaneous chocolate baking bars white chocolate, semi-sweet, unsweetened)
• miscellaneous cake decorating stuff (sprinkles, decorator icing)
• butterscotch chips
• white chocolate chips
• peanut butter chips
• semi-sweet chips
• bittersweet choc chips
• food coloring
• peppermint sprinkles
• honey
• large box powdered milk (to add to bread dough or homemade yogurt)
• 3 cans sweetened condensed milk
  
• 3 cans evaporated milk

• Big bag of powdered sugar
• Crisco
• Baking soda 
• 1 pint jar sesame seeds
• brown sugar (LOTS)

Dried  and Canned Beans

• 1/2 bag red lentils
• 1 bag plus 1 1/4 cups black beans
  
• 1 bag red beans
• 1 1/2 cups navy beans
  
• 3/4 cup kidney beans
  
• 1 bag mung beans (for sprouting)
  
• 1 bag regular lentils
  

• 1 can Great Northern beans
• 2 cans Canellini beans
• 2 cans chick peas
• large can Bold and Spicy Beans
  

Condiments

• 1 jar black bean sauce (Chinese condiment)
  
• 1 packet Creamy Pesto sauce mix
• 1 packet weird Chinese seasoning mix (from Chinese grocery store--it's in Chinese and I can't read it, but my husband knows what it is...)
• 1 packet Pad Thai Sauce mix
• 1 jar chili garlic sauce
• 1 jar sweet chili sauce (I think I may have moved with this three and a half years ago... maybe should throw it out)
• 1 jar Chicken Korma sauce (this is so good!!)
• 1 bottle Kraft BBQ sauce
• 5 bottles Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
• 1 jar mild Black Bean and Corn Salsa
• 1 jar medium Black Bean and Corn Salsa
• 1 jar medium traditional salsa
• 1 jar alfredo sauce
• 1 jar sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce
• 1 huge (Sam's sized) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 bottle Ranch dressing
• 1 jar Dijon mustard (date is still in future)
• 1 jar Dijon mustard (date was Nov/08, but it's never been opened...)
• 1 jar spicy brown mustard
• 1 can cream of coconut (also moved with this--you know, hate to throw away food... probably bought it for some recipe I never made)
• 1 bottle fish sauce
• 1 bottle ketchup
• 1 bottle good Balsamic vinegar
  
• miscellaneous Kool-aid packets (we've never made...)

• 1 jar natural peanut butter (unsweetened)
• 1 small jar regular (sweetened) peanut butter
• 6 jars organic peanut butter (sweetened, but with honey)
• 1 large jar unsweetened natural crunchy peanut butter

• 2 jars "just fruit" grape jelly
• 1 jar "just fruit" apricot jelly
• 1 jar hot mango chutney
• 1 jar sweet mango chutney
• 4 8-oz. jars homemade blackberry jam
• 3 8-oz. jars homemade jalapeno jam

Soup/Stock-Related Items

• 1 box chipotle potato soup mix (a couple years old...)
• 1 baggie dehydrated "soup veggies"
• 1 package oriental flavored ramen
• 2 cans beef broth
  
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 can condensed chicken soup
  
• 3 cans chicken soup
• 2 cans chicken stock

Canned Vegetables

• 1 can Ro-tel tomatoes
• 2 small cans tomato juice
  
• 8 cans tomato paste
  
• 1 can green chiles
• 2 cans corn
• 3 cans diced tomatoes
• 2 large cans solid pack pumpkin

Miscellaneous

• 1 jar Marshmallow fluff
• partially full can "nut topping" (hmm)
• Hummus mix
• Falafel mix
• whole almonds
• dried minced onion
• lemon juice
• French's fried onion rings
• 1 can Man-wich
• 4 small boxes raisins
• 2 packets salmon
• 2 packets "mango chipotle" salmon
• 14 packs tuna (huge sale and coupons!)
• 2 boxes liquid Certo (this is for jelly making)
  
• 2 boxes pectin (also for jelly making)
• small bag of peanuts in the shell
  
• makings for spiced tea mix (Tang, instant iced tea mix...)
• 2 quart jars full of oolong tea... not sure I like it, actually
  
• cinnamon sticks
• 1 jar imitation vanilla (but I have a huge jar of the real thing...??)
• 1/2 Sam's sized bag Craisins
• TONS of olive (2 big Sam's sized containers...should have checked more carefully before the last Sam's run)
• Big Sam's size box of Power Bars
• Vinegar
• 27 juice boxes
• 2 boxes green tea
• 1 bottle cranberry juice
• 2 bottles apple juice

"The" Coconut Cake

This is my mother's, aunts', and grandmother's all-time favorite cake. According to them, it must be made with real coconut. Carrie made it for our mother's birthday this year (Feb. 1st); Carrie and I thought the cake part tasted like an ordinary, made-from-scratch white cake, so if you don't have time to beat the egg whites, find a simpler white cake recipe. Make the icing as directed. This is our grandmother's recipe.

Cake

• 2 c. cake flour, sifted
• 2 1/2 t. baking powder
• 3/4 t. salt
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. shortening
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1 t. vanilla
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 c. sugar

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup sugar in one bowl. 
2. Beat egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar to meringue consistency in a separate bowl.
3. Add vanilla to milk in a separate bowl. 
4. Soften shortening with mixer on low speed in a separate bowl (yes, this is the 4th bowl!).
5. Sift dry ingredients into bowl with shortening. Add milk/vanilla mixture and beat at low speed for 2 minutes (fairly thick batter at this point).
6. Add meringue and beat 1 minute longer on low speed. 
7. Pour batter into greased and floured pans (2 8- or 9-inch pans).
8. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

Icing

• 1 coconut (enough for 2 cakes if you can grate all of the coconut)

The night before, grate the fresh coconut and let dry in refrigerator overnight. Mix some into 7 minute frosting (recipe below) and sprinkle some on top of cake. 

7 Minute Frosting

• 2 egg whites
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 6 T. cold water
• 1/4 t. cream of tartar

Combine all ingredients and place in a double boiler over boiling water. Beat with electric mixer, gradually increasing to high speed. Beat 7 minutes or until it candies (until stiff peaks form). Remove from burner and spread on cake. Coconut can be added before spreading on cake. To soften frosting if it gets too hard, place over hot water again to soften.