Soup Days

Menu Plan for Last Week
and how it all turned out. 

Roasted Garlic White Bean Lasagna Soup - Check!

(using the leftover lasagna noodles and ricotta)
****  I thought this soup recipe sounded unusual.  But I had those lasagna noodles,
and that ricotta, so I was willing to give it a try.  It turned out to be absolutely delicious!
 I used the recipe linked above, and cut my cooked lasagna noodles in small pieces,
instead of using the noodles called for in the recipe.  I think it was the roasted garlic
and fire roasted tomatoes that made it truly fantastic.  The ricotta went into the
bowl first and then I ladled the hot soup over it, resulting in melty, creamy cheese.
I'm thinking about making this again soon and instead of using lasagna noodles,
 I'm going to use tiny shell pasta.

Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms and Sage -Check!

Mashed Potatoes (leftovers)

Broccoli

Black Bean Quesadillas -Moved to this week's menu

(Use romaine lettuce, shredded cheddar)

Grilled Chicken Asian Salad - Check!

(Use some of the red cabbage with salad greens)

Vegetable Beef Soup  - Check!

(Use leftover roast beef and green beans )

Artisan Bread

I used the bit of pesto I had in the refrigerator and diced up some of my
dried tomatoes to add to this bread.  It was great!

This soup was especially flavorful, because I made my  own beef stock.
  I roasted the meaty bones and some vegetables

and then put it all into a huge pot, covered with water, and let it simmer for

 two days.  Really.  Two days. I then strained it and put it into jars.  

A couple of those jars went into the veggie beef soup.

Stuffed Shells

(Use marinara , parmesan, mozzarella and ricotta)

Salad and Bread
I made gnocchi instead!

I'll blog about this recipe soon.  It was fantastic topped with a fresh marinara .

Pork Roast - Moved to this week's menu plan.

Acorn Squash ( in storage)

Sweet and Sour Cabbage (use red cabbage!)

Possible Ricotta Recipes to Try

Blueberry Ricotta Scones

Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

Sweet Potato Rounds with Herbed Ricotta and Walnuts

Easy Ricotta Gnocchi

How did I do with food waste?
No food waste!

What Do I Have in the Fridge This Week?
broccoli
carrots
celery
romaine lettuce
beet greens (from freezer)
sandwich ham
mushrooms
red cabbage
some slightly shriveled apples
an orange
cheddar, ricotta, mozzarella and monterey jack cheeses
whole wheat tortillas


Menu Plan for Week of January 25
Black Bean Quesadillas
(use beet greens, cheddar, monterey jack and tortillas)

Quiche
 Make pie crusts.  Use ham, broccoli, mushrooms, cheese)
Salad ( Use romaine, carrots, celery, red cabbage)

Pork Roast
Sweet Potatoes (from storage)
Sweet and Sour Cabbage ( use red cabbage)
Apple Pie  ( use apples)


It's a short menu plan this week, because I'm leaving 
on Thursday, heading to Charleston for a girl's weekend with
my good friend, Lynette.  I'll be more than ready to get off
 this snowy mountain and soak up a little coastal sunshine and
 of course eat some wonderful seafood!  We have reservations
 at Husk, a restaurant I've been longing to visit and
 I'm looking forward to tasting for myself some of the food
 that's making Sean Brock a celebrity chef.  I'm leaving behind 
plenty of food in the freezer for my hubby, so he won't go
 hungry in my absence.  It's the least I can do...

*Take the Time Goals # 33- Make menus each week. Eliminate food waste. 

 #17 Eat less meat. 

 #20- Make pasta once a month.

The January Salad

January is the month when I try to redeem myself from all the indulgent foods of the last two months.  You too?  Although I don't try too hard (I had chocolate chip cookies yesterday), I believe in a balanced diet, so today I made a kale salad.  

I've been enjoying visiting with Travis and his family the past few days (cute baby pictures to come!).  Rebecca brought one of her Christmas presents with her and said I might like to look through it, so I took the time this morning to check it out.  What a fun cookbook, and yes I've already googled that pour top for mason jars.  Not only did I find it here, but also found this one that's pretty cool. 

When I saw this recipe for Kale and Apple Salad, I knew what I was going to have for lunch, since I had kale, apples and blue cheese in the fridge.  Notice how pretty that salad looks in the book, because mine didn't turn out looking like that at all, but it was very tasty none the less.  

The first thing I did was make the salad dressing.  The book gives you the recipe for a basic vinaigrette (1 part vinegar, 4 parts oil and salt and pepper) and then expands on that formula with four more dressings.  If that was the only thing you learned from this book, it would be valuable.  Making your own salad dressing is the easiest thing in the world, tastes better than store-bought and costs little to make. The authors call the dressing for this salad, The Orchard Dressing.  I had to adapt it a bit, as I didn't have walnut or canola oil.  I used an extra light olive oil and it tasted delicious.

The Orchard Dressing

2 T. apple cider vinegar

1/2 t. honey

1/2 t. sea salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

4 T. walnut oil

4 T. canola oil

Combine in jar.  Seal and shake for 30 seconds.

I washed and dried the kale, then cut it away from the center stem.  After spinning it once more in the salad spinner, (I wanted to remove every drop of water), I chopped it pretty fine and gave it a nice massage.  That massage helps to break down some of the fiber in the leaves and yields a more tender salad.

I thinly sliced an apple.  The recipe called for three and that's why my salad looks different from the book. Mine's heavy on the kale.  

This chunk of blue cheese has been hiding out in the cheese drawer, waiting to be used in some way.  Although, I'm not opposed in the least to eating it straight out of the fridge with slices of pears, I decided to use it in this salad.  When I'm too busy to pay attention, I'm guilty sometimes of forgetting about those little pieces of cheese and letting them go to waste.  Since I took the time at the beginning of the week to clean out and take inventory of the contents of my fridge, I knew it was there.  Yay me. 

The recipe called for toasted walnuts, but I had some candied pecans left over from a Christmas salad and I'm trying to use what I have.  Darn it.  Guess I'll just have to put those candied nuts in the salad. (wink)  They are so good.  I'm going to share that recipe with you some time soon.  I promise. 

As I was putting the ingredients back in the cabinet, I spied a jar of dried cranberries.  Since I can't seem to leave well enough alone when it comes to recipes, I decided to throw a few of those in too.  That was a good call.

Thanks to Becca,  and her cookbook, I have a new January salad.  This is the time of year to be eating hardy greens anyway.  I know that.  I have to keep a blind eye to those tempting salad mixes in the plastic containers.  Every time I buy one, I get mad, because once I start digging in the box, I find that half of the greens are slimy and I end up throwing it away.  Money down the drain!  If I can be patient, hopefully, I 'll have a garden bed full of spring mix in a few months.

Starting a cookbook project is one of my goals for this year.  I plan to pull some of my many cookbooks off the shelves and cook from them, blogging about the recipe as I go along.  Even though this isn't one of my cookbooks, it's a good place to start.  Infuse  has some delightful recipes for salad dressings, infused oils, (for drizzling over caprese salads, sriracha popcorn, grilled pizzas and steak), flavored waters and spirits.  Since I don't drink alcohol, I didn't spend a lot of time in that section.  If your looking for some ideas to easily add some pizzaz to your meals, infused oils is a way to go.  Fun book.

Update to original post: This salad is even better the second day!

*  Take the Time goals  #33 - Eliminate food waste.     #50- Start a cookbook project.

Pork Chops in a Luscious Pan Sauce

What is it about a pan sauce that makes a regular, everyday meal feel like something special?  It's so easy to make, yet packs a pretty big "wow" factor when you serve it.  Once you learn the secret of making a pan sauce, you can use it over any kind of protein, from steak, to chicken, pork or even tofu (if it's a meatless night and tofu's your thing).  It never fails to impress and sometimes we cooks need a few tricks like this up our sleeves.

There are basically four simple steps to making a pan sauce.

1- Sear your meat in a pan (don't use nonstick, you want a little sticking here), over high enough heat to get lovely browning, without burning.  Don't get too involved with the meat.  Be patient.  Let it sit long enough on each side to brown to a beautiful bronze color.  If the meat doesn't want to lift from the pan, it's not ready to turn yet.  You are wanting to have some bits of sediment in the pan, because that will make your sauce taste wonderful.  Once the meat is cooked on both sides, remove it from the pan and let it rest.

2- Add your aromatics if the recipe calls for them.   We're talking onions, shallots, garlic, spices, etc. and cook until tender.

3- Deglaze the pan with wine, broth or juice, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen all those yummy bits left behind by the first two steps.  Simmer the liquid until it is reduced and thickened.

4- Add a little fat back into the liquid to make it creamy and luscious.  Think butter or cream.  Don't worry, it doesn't take much. Serve over meat. 

 I recently tried a recipe from this cookbook, that called for pears, cider and pork chops.  Sounds good, huh.  Very seasonal.  Here's how it came together.

I diced some pears and browned them in a skillet with a little butter.

Once they were a nice golden color and tender, not mushy,  I removed the pears and set them aside.  I took two center cut pork chops and brushed them with oil, chopped up some fresh thyme and sprinkled it on the chops along with some salt and pepper.  I've discovered that I like the bone in chops better than boneless.  I think they're more flavorful.  

I seared the chops in the same pan in which I cooked the pears, until they were nicely browned on both sides.

After removing the meat, I added apple cider ( the recipe called for pear cider, but I had apple and used it) and scraped all the bits from the bottom of the pan.  Then I let it simmer until reduced by about half.  At this point, I added a splash of cream and then put the pears back in the pan to heat.

And that's it.  Spoon that sauce over the pork chops and oh my, it's so, so good.  Now you know you could easily do this same thing with apples instead of pears, but I love pears and am always looking for ways to use them in the fall.  The pears and pork were delicious together.  This would be fantastic with garlic mashed potatoes on the side, but that was an afterthought.  

Instead, we had it with oven roasted sweet potatoes and sautéed kale.  Not complaining or anything, because that was pretty tasty too.  See how easy it is to make a pan sauce.  It's really just a glorified gravy ya'll.  And that makes this southern girl happy any day of the week!

Pork with Pears and Cream
a little olive oil
4 pork chops
4 bushy sprigs of thyme
2 pears
a thick slice of butter
3/4 cups pear or apple cider
heavy cream - to taste

Lightly oil the chops. Strip the thyme leaves from their stems and chop them finely.  Use them to season the chops, with some salt and pepper.  Peel the pears, remove the cores and cut into large dices.  Melt the butter in the pan, add the pears, and cook until golden, approaching tenderness.  Turn them now and  again with a spoon , letting them take on an even color.  Remove from pan.  Return the pan to the heat and lower in the chops, and leave them to cook over moderate heat until they are done to your liking and have formed a sticky residue in the pan.  Remove and keep warm.  Pour the cider into the pan and stir to remove the sticky bits from the bottom of the pan.  Leave to bubble and reduce by half.  Pour in the cream, whisk lightly and let simmer for a couple of minutes.  Return the chops and pears to the pan to fully heat before serving.

*Adapted from recipe by Nigel Slater

The Soup From Heaven

We all have our favorite recipes, those we make over and over.   This soup is at the top of that list for me.  As soon as the leaves begin turning color and there's a nip in the air, I start making this and it becomes a regular menu item around here until spring.  I've given the recipe out countless times and everyone who's had it, loves it.  Packaged in jars, along with a loaf of homemade bread, it makes a nice gift at Christmas.  The last recipient said she needed the recipe because her husband thought this soup was from heaven.  Now, that's quite a compliment for a pot of soup made from a humble squash.  

I will admit that it takes a little time and effort to put together.  It's cutting up that squash that makes it a labor of love.  But, it's so worth it!  And once you have that job done, it's easy as can be.

Once I've peeled and removed the seeds, I cut the squash into chunks and set them aside.   

I use pancetta in this soup.  Pancetta is an Italian bacon that's cured with salt and spices, but not usually smoked like traditional bacon.  You can substitute a good thick sliced bacon if you don't have the pancetta.  But try the pancetta if you can.  It's so good!

Dice the pancetta into small pieces and add to your soup pot, along with a tablespoon or so of olive oil.   Over a low heat, brown the bacon and then remove to a small plate.  Hide it, or you might not have enough to add to the soup later on.  

While the pancetta is cooking, peel and dice an apple or maybe two, if they are on the small side.

Dice a shallot or half of a small onion and mince a clove of garlic.

Make sure and leave all the rendered fat in the pot after you take out the pancetta, and then add the diced shallot.  Cook until tender.  At this point, add the squash, give it a stir and then let it sit undisturbed for a few minutes, so the squash gently browns on one side.

Stir and let it brown a little on the other side.

Add the apple, garlic, sage and chicken broth.  Cover and cook until squash is tender, stirring every so often and adding more stock or water if needed.

When the squash is easily pierced with a fork, remove from heat and puree in a blender.  I do this in several batches.  If you have a stick blender, you could do this right in the pot, but I like the silky texture of the soup when I process it in the blender.  I blend part of the pancetta with the soup and reserve some for garnish.

Return the soup to the pot and add cream, half and half, more stock or water as needed to bring the soup to a nice consistency.  This is where you get creative and add what you like.  I normally use half and half, but I've been making it with coconut milk this past month and I like it that way too.  Sometimes I add a little butter and let that melt, because you know, butter makes everything just a tad bit better.     

If you want to get all fancy, you can garnish each bowl with some of that pancetta, and chopped nuts.  Maybe a little brown sugar would be nice.  Enjoy this heavenly soup!

Butternut Squash Soup

3-4 slices pancetta

1 T. olive oil

large shallot or 1/2 of a small onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium - large butternut squash, peeled and chopped

1 apple, peeled and diced

1 1/2 T. freshly chopped sage or 1t. dried sage

4 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup cream, half and half

(can also use coconut milk)

Cook pancetta until crisp.  Transfer to a plate with 

paper towel.  Add onion or shallot to pan and cook 

until softened.  Add squash and let it sit undisturbed for

a few minutes, so it can brown.  Stir and let it continue

to brown.  Stir in apple, garlic, sage and broth.  Scrape

browned bits from bottom of pan.  Bring to boil and then

reduce and simmer until squash is tender.  Stir occasionally

and add more broth or water as needed.  Remove from 

heat.  Puree in blender (or using stick blender), adding

some of the pancetta.  Reserve some for topping.

Return pureed soup to pot and on low heat add cream,

half and half or move stock as desired.  You can also

add some butter and brown sugar if you like your soup

on the sweeter side.  Top the bowls with pancetta,

chopped pecans and brown sugar if desired.

Christmas Granola

I have a wonderful recipe to share today.  I call this my Christmas Granola because, well, it tastes like Christmas.  Cranberries, pistachios, molasses, maple syrup, cinnamon, cloves... see what I mean?  Making granola is so easy and much less expensive than buying it in a store.  Have you priced those fancy granolas lately (or any dry cereal for that matter)?  Good grief!  Make your own and pocket that extra money for something else, like really good chocolate, for instance.  If you double the recipe, you'll have plenty for yourself and some to give away.  This makes great gifts.

The first thing you need to do is melt the coconut oil and let it cool while you mix the dry ingredients.  In a large bowl, mix old fashioned oatmeal, shredded coconut, slivered almonds, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt.  When the oil is cool, pour it over the dry ingredients and mix well.  In a small bowl, mix maple syrup (the real thing), molasses and vanilla.  Add this to the oatmeal mixture and stir, until everything is well coated.

Spread the mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet.  A doubled recipe will make two sheets.  I always make double, because it's no big deal to make twice as much, and it seems like a good time investment.  All you need are a few more ingredients and a bigger bowl.  Parchment paper or a silpat silicone sheet keeps it from sticking to the pan.  Bake at 350 degrees, stirring every ten minutes.  I use a spatula and flip the granola on the outside into the center and move the mixture from the center to the edges.  The edges will brown more quickly.  It will probably take about 30 minutes to turn golden brown.  Watch it closely though, so it doesn't burn.  So sad when that happens.  It will become nice and crunchy as it cools.   I put it all back into a big bowl when it's cool and add the cranberries and pistachios.   The original recipe calls for white chocolate chips, and that would probably be good if you were eating it trail mix style.  I omitted the chips because I like my granola with milk and yogurt.

Now, isn't that pretty granola?

Christmas Granola

4 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups shredded coconut

1 cup slivered almonds

2 t. ginger

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. cloves

2/3 cups coconut oil, melted and cooled

6 T. maple syrup

3 T. molasses

1 t. vanilla

1 cup lightly salted, roasted pistachios

1 cup dried cranberries

Mix together dry ingredients.  Pour coconut oil over and stir.

Combine maple syrup, molasses and vanilla.  Pour over oats.

Stir to evenly coat.  Spread on rimmed baking sheet, lined with 

parchment paper or silpat.   Stir and flip granola every 10

minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on sheets and then 

add pistachios and cranberries.

Meals from the Garden, A Birthday Party and Celebrating with My Daddy!

The kitchen is my favorite hangout, where my creative juices flow best.  I like to keep my camera close at hand so I can capture the moment; the one when the recipe works, or doesn't, when I've just brought in fresh produce from the garden, or when the kitchen counter is in a state of chaos because there is something wonderful cooling in the background.  These things make my heart sing.   I believe that good, real food given in each season is a gift from God and is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated with those we love.  This month's photo collection spotlights fresh food from the garden, a birthday party and a Father's Day lunch.

Offerings from a June Kitchen

We enjoyed the last of the lettuces from the garden with a variety of salads, one of my favorites being this one,with chopped strawberries, Point Reyes blue cheese, walnuts and balsamic viniagrette.  So delicious!

The butter lettuce leaves were perfect for making these asian wraps with a spicy dipping sauce.

I always hate saying goodbye to strawberries, but all good things must come to an end.  Until

next year I'll have to make do with the bags I've put in the freezer. 

We had a pasta week as I practiced, and practiced making pasta for a class I taught at church.  

Worse things could happen, you know?  I had a great time teaching the class.  

My kitchen smelled wonderful as a I zested and juiced lots of lemons for our favorite lemon cookies.

Sugar snap peas from a friend's garden.  What a wonderful gift.

We had them for dinner,

 and I put the rest in the freezer.

On one of those, "I don't have time to cook nights", I picked up a rotisserie chicken.  

A few days later I made a rich stock from the leftovers with a ton of fresh herbs from my garden.

Fruit smoothies are so refreshing and I love to whip up one after I work out.  But, I always

make more than I need.  I've started making popsicles out of the excess.  A brilliant solution if I 

say so myself.   Yes, these rocket shaped popsicle molds have been around a while.

Dillon's thinking hard about that birthday wish.  I made a carrot cake at his request.

I had more frosting than I needed and since it would be a crime to throw away

cream cheese frosting, I stashed it in the refrigerator and later in the week made

these carrot cake whoopee pies for my sister.  She loved them.

I surprised my Dad with a visit on Father's Day.   As a bonus, I got to visit with my sister and her family too.

We had Dad's famous roast with carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes and rolls.  I made a 

chocolate layer cake for dessert, but I guess we didn't get a picture of that.   It was all delicious.

I finally made pesto from the garlic scapes that had been waiting patiently in the refrigerator.

The next day, we enjoyed a pesto pizza with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella.

Italian artisan bread made the perfect cheese sandwich,

to go with creamy tuscan tomato soup, made with more of that fresh pesto.

My favorite new recipe of the season is this Lemon Pie Ice Cream.  I just can't tell you how good it is.

Blueberries are here!!! 

The first thing I made were blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

I made a big batch of Dad's BBQ sauce and canned some for grilling in the months ahead.

Last, but not least, I whipped up some individual banana puddings in these cute little

ramekins that my friend gave me for my birthday. The lucky recipients of this gift  from

the kitchen gave them a big thumbs up.  I have to admit, they were pretty darn good.