...cauliflower soup....

Perhaps not the most 'beautiful' of soups...but the flavour is incredible. It is so healthy and a great soup to freeze in portion size for work or to pull out at a moment's notice for lunch.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 large head of cauliflower, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp curry pwd. (of course, me being me...I use 2 tsp. or more!)
• fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried savory
• 6 cups water
• 2 tbsp veggie bullion (sometimes I use low salt chicken broth - 2 cans thereby reducing the water amount by two cups)
• fresh nutmeg.

In a heavy soup pot, melt the butter and then add the oil. Add the onions and garlic....then add the celery and cauliflower. Saute well. Add the water and broth and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for about 1/2 hour till all veggies are tender. Remove and cool slightly. Puree in small amounts until smooth and creamy. Reheat. Serve sprinkled with nutmeg.

(I adore creamed soup....especially without the cream...but pureed this way it is healthy and delicious. I use a hand blender pumped up and down a few times into the soup pot.)

Granola Bars

With my favorite season upon us.....it not only means 'harvest' but it is time for healthy snacks for lunches! I am always looking for 'portable' goodies to bake. That is to say, things that can be packed in easy lunch bags...the 'boys' don't like the fuss of containers!

This Granola Bar recipe I stumbled across on the back of a Roger's Oats bag. The best thing about it is that you design the contents with a few basic steps. And for someone who has a hard time getting their baking to 'stick together'....this recipe is a sure thing. You will note from the pics that I did not have the SEEDS...I used poppy seed instead and guess what...it went over great!

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups oats
2 cups crisp rice
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup nuts
1 cup dried fruits
1 cup seeds
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup honey
1 cup brown sugar

Combine oats, crisp rice, coconut, nuts dried fruits and seeds; set aside Place butter honey and brown sugar in a large pot. Over medium heat stir to combine ingredients as butter melts. When mixture begins to bubble add dry ingredients and stir well. Cook about 7 mins. until mixture is a light golden brown, stirring constantly to avoid over-browning. Lower heat if mixture is darkening too quickly. Press into lightly greased 9" x 13" pan. Press firmly. Cool completely, cut into bars and wrap individually.


For Seeds: Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds (grin - and poppy seeds)
For Nuts: Sliced Almonds, Chopped Hazelnuts, Pecans or Walnuts
For Dried Fruits: Raisins, Cranberries, Chopped Apricots

Ukrainian Borscht

I used to walk in after school, smelling fresh dill.

There it was, a fresh bowl of Borscht.
So this weekend Levi and I pulled the vegetables out of our
Veggie Tale Garden.
Then he practiced saying BORSCHT!

Take a walk to your garden
Find potatoes, carrots and beets.

Add a few of the other things like cabbage, dill and tomatoes.

Meanwhile my herb garden is bursting, which gave me a few extra flavors.

VIOLA! Wash, peel, and chop and you have a tasty soup.

I searched the Menno blog for borscht, I noticed Lovella's and Trish's
but I could not find a true borscht like my Mother's.
You need to have beets.
So here goes.....

Ukrainian Borscht
(Mennonite Treasury pg.50)
I doubled the whole recipe.

4 cups soup stock ( I used beef soup broth)
2 Cups beets
1/2 cups carrots diced.
1 Cup Cabbage shredded
1 Cup potatoes diced
1 Cup tomato juice
1 medium onion, cut fine.
Salt to taste
3 Bay leaves
Fresh handful of dill
Parsley

Put all vegetables in soup stock and simmer gently until well done.
I like making my soup thick rather than thin.
So I add more vegetables. (like I double them)
Add a bit of sour cream.
Yummy!

Oh, by the way did any of you ever love
dipping your bread into the soup?
Only at home, never at company's.

Salsa

Since there's an abundance of tomatoes and peppers out there right now, I thought I would share my salsa recipe. It's a recipe I got from my sister Kathy about twenty years ago...and is a staple at our home. I cook up a large batch in fall...and we enjoy it year-round.

Salsa

10 cups chopped tomatoes
8 jalapeno peppers chopped (remove seeds from half of them)
3 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped green peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/3 cups vinegar
1 can tomato paste
1 tsp. cumin
1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
3 Tablespoons pickling salt
3 Tablespoons brown sugar

Simmer all ingredients for 1 hour.

Stir in 1/3 cup cornstarch diluted in cold water and simmer for several minutes.

Ladle into hot jars & seal. (They will seal without processing in canner.)

This is a zippy salsa...if you prefer yours on the mild side, remove all the seeds and ribs from inside the jalapeno peppers.

Apricot Glazed Brunch Meatballs

I got the recipe for the basic meatballs from Lovella many years ago. They came with a wonderful recipe for the spaghetti sauce as well, which I will let her post someday. Today I just want to add a variation that can be used as an appetizer, as a side dish with a BBQ, or even main meat with a late summer potato or pasta salad. If you use 1 ½ - 2 lbs of lean ground beef, you will get a large enough recipe to freeze several small zip lock bags full and have them ready to just add to any quick sauce. ( I freeze them after they are baked and cooled, so they are ready to go)

BASIC MEATBALLS

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. lean hamburger
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 Tbsp ketchup
1/3 cup skim milk powder
1/8 cup water
1 tsp dried onion flakes
1 tsp salt
pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp oregano

Mix and shape into 1 inch meatballs. Bake on foil lined cookie sheet for 20 - 25 min., at 400F. This will make about 70 - 90 meatballs, depending on size.

APRICOT GLAZE (for about 40 meatballs)

Prepare sauce by combining:
1/2 c apricot jam
1/2 c BBQ sauce
2 Tbsp chili sauce
1-2 Tbsp water (optional)
Heat in small saucepan and pour over meatballs. Keep warm or re-heat before serving. For appetizer, serve warm with wooden picks.

Bologonese Sauce

Sometime ago I purchased the Cuisine at Home Magazine that featured perfect Pasta dishes.

I love Pasta and I love magazines. . .so we have gotten along famously that magazine and I.

I've made this recipe several times and though I've changed it up a bit. .

the recipe they gave really is wonderful. It is a magazine purchase I always enjoy.

"Bologonese' Sauce refers to dishes that are slowly simmered with vegetables and meat until it is nice and thick.

I didn't add the mascarpone cheese at the end. . but I bet it would be a tasty addition.

I used more ground beef than they suggested. . since I freeze my ground beef after purchasing it from a local butcher. Here is how I made the bolgonese sauce.

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 4 Johnsonville Italian sausages . . .casings removed

Brown the ground beef and the sausages together. . .Use a potato masher to ensure even small bits. . .this will take a bit of patience but it's good to have even small bits.

• 1 large vidalia onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 carrots
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic. . . I used prechopped refrigerated garlic. .
• 1 large red bell pepper

Chop the veggies coarsely and put them in a food processor and pulse until they are even and finely chopped.

Add this to the browned meat. Simmer until the veggies are softened. . about 5 minutes.

Add .. .

• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup of red wine
• 1 cup of whole milk. . . .(invite a little child over of your choice for chocolate milk for the remainder of the carton)
• 1 small tin tomato paste
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon freeze dried basil leaves. . or use a small fist full of freshly chopped
• 2 teaspoons of dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Simmer slowly for about an hour .. .stirring occasionally. I let mine simmer for several hours and it lost a bit of liquid .. so an hour would have been just fine.

Finish with a fist full of chopped parsley. . .and serve over hot spaghetti noodles. . .or which ever noodle suits your fancy.

Maple Walnut Apple Meringue Torte

This cake has a crispy topping of meringue and with a bit of apple in the batter, it is moist and satisfying.

It is essentially a Blitz Torte but I've added some apple and maple flavouring. . .

Leave out the apple and use vanilla instead of Maple and the cake will have a bit of a different flavour.

I've adapted the

recipe from the Dessert Book of the Company's Coming Series. . by Jean Pare.

You can use purchased pudding or make a packet of Vanilla pudding if you want to save some time. It should be the cooked version if you purchase a packet.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup milk. .. 5 tbsp. if leaving the apple out
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup finely chopped apple
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Maple Flavouring or Vanilla
• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts. . I used FRESH Walnuts. . make sure you taste the nut for freshness

Filling

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla or maple flavouring

1 cup whipping cream for garnishing the sides of the cake

1. Cream butter and the 3/4 cup sugar.


2. Beat in egg yolks and milk.


3. Stir in flour, baking powder and flavouring.


4. Add the apple.


5. Spread into 2 parchment lined 9 inch cake pans that you then spray with Pam or butter.


6. Set aside while you make the meringue


7. Beat the egg whites in a glass or metal bowl that is freshly washed.


8. Gradually add the 1/2 cup sugar


9. Beat until stiff peaks form and then fold in the finely chopped nuts with a spatula


10. Spread over the batter in the pans.


11. Bake at 325 F for 40 minutes.

While the cake is baking make the filling.

1. Blend the sugar and cornstarch and salt in a microwave safe bowl.


2. Combine the egg yolks and milk in a small bowl.


3. Add the egg yolk, milk mixture to the sugar and cornstarch.


4. Cook one minute at a time on high in the microwave, stirring after each minute.


5. Cook until it is bubbly. .


6. Add the flavouring.


7. Allow to cool covered with plastic wrap on the surface of the pudding, in the refrigerator.

Once the cake and the filling are both cool, put down the first cake layer, meringue up, top with the filling and cover with the second cake layer.

Beat the whipping cream with a tablespoon or two of sugar, and I use whipping cream stabilizer if the torte won't be eaten the same day. Spread on the sides of the cake, or put a dollop of whipping cream on each slice as you serve it.

This cake can be made a day ahead. . .