Sunday, November 30, 2008

Hot Cocoa

(Hershey's Favorite Hot Cocoa)

Top of stove, six servings.

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Cocoa
dash salt
1/3 cup hot water
4 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix sugar, cocoa, and salt in saucepan, stir in water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils; boil and stir 2 minutes. Sitr in milk and heat, Do Not Boil. Remove from heat; add vanilla.


Single Serving

2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons to 2 Tablespoons Cocoa, depending on how rich you like it
Dash salt
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix sugar, cocoa, and salt in large mug. Heat milk in microwave at high(100%) 1 1/2 minutes or until hot. Gradually add hot milk to cocoa mixture in mug, stirring until well blended. Stir in vanilla.

recipe found here

Friday, November 28, 2008

***Classic French Silk Pie***

We have a new method for making this classic pie -cooking the eggs- which gives the filling a soft texture. Freezing the pie makes it easier to cut, yet still retains its rich flavor, smooth texture and great chocolate flavor.

(Betty Crocker's Best of Baking)



Pie crust, baked and cooled
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chilled whipping (heavy) cream (1 pint is enough for the filling & topping)
Whipped cream, if desired

Prepare and bake pie shell; cool (preferably the day before). Combine butter and chocolate in 2 -quart saucepan over low heat until melted. Remove from heat. Mix sugar and cornstarch; stir into chocolate mixture. Meanwhile, beat eggs in small bowl on medium speed until thick and lemon colored; stir into chocolate mixture. Cook mixture over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick and glossy; stir in vanilla. Cool 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Beat whipping cream in chilled medium bowl until stiff. Fold chocolate mixture into whipped cream; pour into pie shell (the whipping cream will not fold very well into the warm chocolate, use a whisk to combine it better and it will be fine).

Cover and freeze about 4 hours or until firm. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls, if desired. Freeze or refrigerate any remaining pie.

recipe for Sweetened Whipped Cream

Chocolate curls:

1/2 cup chocolate (any kind), (3 ounces)
1/2 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Combine chocolate and oil in saucepan over low heat until melted. Spread chocolate thinly on a cookie sheet and place in freezer about 5 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to push under chocolate and it should curl (if it breaks then put it in the freezer a few minutes longer). Go here for some picture demonstrations.

Or I hear you can use a vegetable peeler on room temp. chocolate and it will curl nicely.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

***Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup***

(Mormon Cooking)


8 cups chicken broth or bouillon
1-2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup milk
1 cup quartered, thinly sliced carrots
2 cups chopped onion
1 stalk celery, sliced (optional)
1 clove garlic minced
salt
freshly ground pepper

In large kettle combine broth, chicken, milk, carrot, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are crisp and tender.

6 ounces homemade noodles (recipe below)
2 cup milk
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons butter

Add noodles and cook until almost done. In a cup whisk together milk and flour; stir into soup mixture and boil gently for 3 minutes. Stir in butter. Makes 8 to 10 servings. Salt to taste.

Homemade Noodles

If you don't have time to wait for the noodles to dry out, you can boil them and they will taste great.

(Mormon Cooking)

1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2-4 Tablespoons cold water

Place flour and salt in a large bowl; make a depression in the center and add eggs and oil. Gradually stir in flour from the edges adding water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, until flour is moistened enough to form a ball. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Roll one part at a time into a paper-thin rectangle on well-floured board. Loosely fold lengthwise into thirds and cut crosswise into strips. Lay on towel until stiff and dry, about 2 hours. Break dry strips into smaller pieces. Cook in boiling salted water until noodles are tender. Serves 8 to 10.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Curried Potatoes and Spinach

(Anne B.)

1 scant Tablespoon canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced (or 2 small red onions)
1 large rib celery, sliced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root (if you have it, I didn’t)
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (can use fresh)
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala (can use ground coriander in a pinch)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups water
3+ cups diced red potatoes, skins on
2 medium carrots, diced
6-8 cups spinach (coarsely chopped if desired)
Brown rice

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and ginger and cook for about 4 minutes. Add tomato, curry powder, garam masala, salt and cayenne and cook for 3 minutes over low heat.

Add water, potatoes and carrots and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach and cook until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let stand for about 5 minutes. Serve by ladling over brown rice or quinoa.

recipe found here

Saturday, November 8, 2008

***Anne's Sinless Hotcakes***

(Anne B.)

I use all whole wheat if I have no buckwheat and lemon rind if I have no oranges.


3/4 cup buckwheat flour (use whole wheat if no buckwheat)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Flaxseed meal (flax seeds ground)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 Tablespoon orange zest (or lemon)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups water
Maple Syrup 

Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl until evenly blended. Add liquids and mix as little as possible to make batter. Small lumps are okay, they’ll disappear in cooking. Over-mixing will make pancakes flat and heavy. Spoon the batter onto a hot, nonstick griddle. Yields about 12 medium pancakes.

The secrets to a fluffy pancake:
1) Combine your wet ingredients together first (almond extract, applesauce and water).
2) When you add wet to dry, just barely stir at all. Enough to get the dry stuff wet, and the floury stuff off the sides of the bowl. That’s it.
3) Make sure the griddle is hot enough. It should sizzle when you add the batter.
4) When you cook them, flip them when you see that the bubbles are staying open and not filling back in with batter. Don’t wait any longer, otherwise they’ll be too set up to “spring” when the other side cooks.

Anne’s favorite syrup:
Dump frozen strawberries in a bowl, cover with a plate and microwave for 2 minutes. Stop and smoosh the strawberries with a fork. Then microwave several more minutes until it’s a bit runny and steaming hot. Pour generously over pancakes. We have also been known to LOVE real maple syrup on pancakes, as well as unsweetened applesauce.

recipe found here

Monday, November 3, 2008

Split Pea Soup

(Anne B.)

You might want to double the recipe, it’s pretty delicious. Also, since you're already chopping all the veggies, chop extra and store them in a bag in the freezer, so next time you'll have them ready to dump right in the pot.

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 rib celery, sliced thinly
2 carrots, sliced thinly
1 cup dry split peas, rinsed and drained
4 cups vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon dried ground thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)

Cook onion in olive oil for a couple of minutes until softened, then add celery and carrots and cook for 3 more minutes. Add everything else and cook on low for 50-60 minutes (30 will work in a pinch). Pull out 2 cups and blend it until smooth and return it to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

recipe found here