Bean and Barley Soup

I've been working on a few recipes to share.  This recipe is a bean and barley soup recipe that my mother gave me a few years back.  I have no idea where she got it from so I can't give that person credit (oh well). When I was first beginning to cook I followed recipes WORD FOR WORD. Now I tend to venture from the recipe more than normal. I like soups to be more like a stew--very little broth and lots to munch on. I topped my "soup" with homemade croutons and parmesan cheese (because parmesan cheese makes everything better!).

Bean & Barley Soup-Makes a ton of servings  :-)

1 tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted tomatoes)
28 oz of your favorite broth (I used 32 oz of vegetable broth but you could use chicken)
1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
(I added a 15 oz can of great northern beans also rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup pearl barley
2 cups of firmly packed spinach (I used kale)

HEAT oil in a saucepan.  Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook until tender.

ADD tomatoes, broth, beans, and barley.  Heat to a boil.  Cover and cook 30 minutes or until barley is done.  Stir in spinach and season with ground pepper.  Heat through.

A few tips for what to do with your leftover celery and carrots.  You can of course eat those two wonderful vegetables with hummus, peanut butter, or some other yummy dip.  If you don't think you'll get around to eating them in time, you can slice your carrots and celery and blanch them.  Blanching is just cutting up the vegetable, placing it in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes and then putting that vegetable in a cold water bath.  The cold water bath stops the cooking process.  I quickly pat the vegetables dry and place them in a freezer safe container.  Keep in mind, you will not be able to eat those vegetables raw again, but they are a quick addition to any dish you are cooking and the prep work is already done.

Enjoy!

Our First Thanksgiving as a family of 4!

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving.  I cooked the entire meal (except the rolls) which was a change of pace. We've always celebrated Thanksgiving with one of our sets of parents and extended family.  I don't think Thanksgiving by ourselves will be a yearly event, but traveling with a 2 month old sounded too daunting.  The quest for the perfect vegetarian meal combination started a few weeks ago and after a few blog searches, I settled on the following meal:

Quinoa stuffed Acorn Squash: http://ohmyveggies.com/a-vegetarian-thanksgiving-menu/
Roasted Green Beans
Whipped Sweet Potatoes (I just threw these together)
Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce
100% Whole Wheat Rolls: www.greatharvest.com
Homemade Ice Cream: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/06/16/recipe-homemade-maple-pecan-ice-cream/

It was refreshing to not have a HUGE meal waiting for us since this holiday is known for overindulgence. The meal was light and refreshing.  We had a wonderful, healthy Thanksgiving, and we hope you did too!

Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Breakfast Casserole Recipe from Daniel's aunt Diane:


6 Eggs Slightly Beaten
1 Pound Sausage Browned and Scrambled
2 Cups Milk
1 Cup Grated Cheese (I usually use more)
1 Teaspoon Dry Mustard


Bake on about 350 until done.

Buttermints Recipe

Buttermints

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Dixie Crystals sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup water
• 6-8 drops pure peppermint oil (http://www.lorannoils.com/)
• Food Color, (gel-type, such as Wilton’s)
• Professional Candy Thermometer (Wilton’s Brand)
• 3 Qt. Revere Ware Pot
• Marble (14 x 26 x 1 inch thick, polished and sealed)
• Rubber Spatula (high-heat resistant)
• Metal Old Fashioned Spatula
• Scissors (no teeth)
• Metal tin to store mints
• Wax Paper

Work Preparation Area:

• Assemble all the tools and ingredients to make the mints.
• Spread a light coat of butter or margarine onto the entire top surface area of the marble. Room temp marble is sufficiently cold. No need to chill the marble.
• Lay out your tools for easy access during mint preparation.
• Have a dishpan or container of sudsy water in which to put your thermometer when you take it out of the hot candy.

Making the BUTTERMINTS:

1. Place pot on burner. Add water and butter. Turn heat on low and melt.
2. After the mixture dissolves, add sugar and mix well with spoon. No need to stir anymore.
3. Place and clip professional thermometer on side of pot. Do not use cheap glass thermometers. They can break and they are not calibrated.
4. Turn heat up to approximately medium high. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil. Note: You have to learn to adjust the heat under your pot. You want it just hot enough to bring the candy to a full rolling boil. My unit has numbers from 0 to 10. I start my candy on 9, then after 5 minutes turn it up to 9.5 and then at about 8 minutes, I turn it up to 10.
5. Set a timer for 15 minutes and watch your time. You never need to cook this candy over 15 minutes. It will reach the right temperature in about 15 minutes.
6. After the candy cooks about 5 minutes, the mixture will “settle” down in the pot some. It is chemically changing and thickening. At this point I turn my heat up a tad. Watch the thermometer, the temperature is rising.
7. At about 8 minutes to 10 minutes, I turn my heat up to 10. The mixture is thickening and at about 15 minutes, you will reach the desired temp of Hard-Ball stage, which is 260 degrees. During the last 5 minutes, watch the temperature very closely. Do not be distracted or you will overcook it!
8. When it reaches this temperature, remove the pot from the unit. Put the thermometer into the sudsy water you have prepared, and with the spatula in hand, pour the hot candy mixture up and down the length of the marble. Clean out the pot quickly with the spatula and run hot sudsy water into the pot to soak while you finish the mint process.
9. The hot candy will spread out very thin on the marble. The cold marble will cool the candy very fast. ADD the peppermint oil with a dropper and a very very tiny amount of food color if you want color. They are very pretty with no color at all. Do not make them dark colors, looks awful.
10. Test the edges of the cooling candy by lifting them slightly with your fingers. The middle of the candy area is still very hot, but the outer edges are getting cool and harden. Turn all of the outer edges of the candy into the center of the candy area and smush it down with your fingers and palm of your hands.
11. You want to keep this entire mass of candy cooling consistently on the marble. No hard edges or lumps, etc.
12. You maximize three areas of the marble to cool the candy mixture: the center of the marble first, then the left-hand end of the marble and then the far right-hand end of the marble.
13. After the candy has been at the center of the marble for about 2 minutes, roll it down to the left-hand end of the marble and smush it out to absorb the coldness of the marble on that end. (Keep and old-fashioned metal pancake flipper utensil handy to use in case candy tries to stick to the marble) Wait about 1 minute for it to cool at the left hand end.
14. Then roll up the candy and move it to the other end of the marble and smush it out. It will be much firmer and cooler now and you will really have to smush it hard to spread it out. Only experience can dictate the right time to pick the candy up from this point to start pulling it.
15. When you first pick up the candy off the marble, squeeze it into an oblong shape, and pull it out just a little bit. Then loop the end furthest away from you (hold it with your right hand) back over the end that you have in your left hand. Don’t position the ends evenly; lap them over a couple of inches. Then twist the entire loop together and pull it out some. Don’t get carried away and pull it out too far. Just pull it a little ways and then loop it over again, and then twist it together and pull it out again. It only takes about 3 to 5 minutes for the candy to get to the right consistency. You can’t go too fast or too slow or it won’t do right. If you pull it too long, it will mess up. So, timing is everything! The candy gets glossy and harder to pull as it reaches the time to stop pulling it.
16. At a clear spot on your counter (not on top of the marble) pull and twist out the candy into a long rope that looks like a big lasso rope. Cut into 3 or 4 equal segments. Then stretch and twist these pieces out until they are about two feet long. Twisting it makes it pretty and you can just more effectively stretch out the candy if you twist and pull it out into long ropes. With old scissors or OXO brand spring-loaded scissors, snip the candy into half-inch long pieces.
17. Use candy tins that are wide and flat. Put a layer of wax paper in the bottom of the tin. Place half the mints here. Add one more layer of wax paper and add the other half of the mints. A few may stick together, that is fine, as they will break apart after they cure out. Shut the tin and let them cure out for at least 12 hours. If not eaten in one week, store in refrigerator. They freeze really well.

More Insights.....

Identifying The Correct Temperature for Your Buttermints:

• The most difficult task when you make buttermints is determining the correct temperature for cooking them at your home. It varies because of differences in elevation, humidity, and different brands of thermometers. At my house, I cook them to 258-260 degrees. Keep in mind a rainy day can affect the temp a few degrees. You know you are really good when you can make these on a rainy day!
• If you undercook the candy mixture, it will be too stringy and soft in your hands when you start to pull it. If you overcook the candy, it will get hard on the marble way too fast and you will panic and try to pick it up and pull it and that is when folks get blisters trying to pull hot candy.
• Beginners should start with half recipes so it will be easier to handle and pull and if it messes up they won’t have wasted as much. Humidity affects them in the summer, best to turn the air conditioning on and they will behave. It takes them longer to cure out in the winter.

Practice and persistence is all it takes to make buttermints. They are a chemical process and when they mess up, you have to figure out why and correct it when you make the next batch. If you undercook a batch, you can put the candy back in the pot and cook it over. Add the same amount of water and you will have to add the peppermint oil again as it will evaporate out when boiled. Ironically, a batch cooked over tastes even better!

It is now your honor and responsibility to pass on this old tradition of candy making. May you meet as many nice folks as I have in this endeavor.

Recipe from Our State magazine.

Zucchini Nut Bread

Jan's Recipe for Zucchini Nut Bread

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups raw grated zucchini, drained
• 1 cup cooking oil
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 3 cups self rising flour
• 3 t. cinnamon
• Half cup of chopped walnuts

1. Beat eggs until foamy. Add oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix well.
2. Stir in grated zucchini
3. Add flour & cinnamon to it and stir well
4. Fold in nuts
5. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 325 for an hour

Cheese Straws

Daniel's aunt Diane's cheese straw recipe:

• 8 oz Sharp or Extra Sharp Shredded Cheese (Not preshredded)
• 2 Sticks Margarine – Blue Bonnet or Parkay
• ¾ Teaspoon Salt
• ¾ Teaspoon Red Pepper
• 2 Cups Plain Flour

1. Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. Sift flour, salt and redpepper together. Slowly add flour mix to the cheese and butter. Put through cookie press. Cook for about 15-20 minutes @ 375 degrees.
2. You have to feel the cooked straws to make sure they are done. I have not tried it, but someone told me to use a ziplock bag and cut the corner off it and put a straw tip to squeeze out the straws.

The Easiest Lemon Pie Ever

Grandma Jane's famous lemonade pie (and it's easy enough for Daniel to make):

Ingredients:

• 8” graham cracker pie crust
• 6 oz can frozen lemonade, defrosted
• 1 can fat free Eagle Brand condensed milk
• 8 oz fat free cool whip, defrosted

Directions:

1. Pour lemonade into bowl, stir in condensed milk
2. Fold in whipped topping
3. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust, cover w/ plastic wrap, and freeze at least 1-2 hours before serving. Pie does not need to be defrosted before serving.