Pumpkin Soup

     I was visiting with my sister-in-law and she asked me to post my pumpkin soup recipe.  Although usually thought of as a fall soup, I suppose it can be made year round.  Fresh pumpkins are not available, to my knowledge, at this time of the year but I am sure canned pumpkin would do as long as it is NOT the pumpkin pie filling that is sweetened. Most pumpkin soups use heavy cream.  This one does too but not until the very end. So why not?  I may even have a can of that pureed pumpkin in the pantry. It is most decidedly soup weather today! So here goes...warning; a couple of the ingredients may appear unusual but trust that it will all be good in the end.  Enjoy Linda!

1 tsp EVOO and 1 tsp of butter  (to melt in the bottom of a soup pot)
1 med. sized onion diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 small  dried red pepper
1 small green apple diced with skin off or a couple of Tbsp of apple sauce
4 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of apple juice  (unfiltered non sweetened organic is best)
1/4 cup of Marsala wine  (sherry will do too)
4 cups of pureed pumpkin canned (or bake pumpkin pieces brushed w/ EVOO in oven @ 400 for 30 min. scoop out pulp)
s/p to taste  In this case I use white pepper.

1 tsp of fresh thyme

2 or 3 saffron threads

1 fresh large sage leaf     Leave whole.  

3 Bay leaves

1/4  tsp of freshly grated nutmeg ( a generous pinch)

1/4 cup of heavy cream at room temp.

Garnish
Whip 1 cup of heavy cream for a dollop or swirl on the top of each bowl. I have also used Greek style yogurt instead.
 2 TBSP chopped parsley

1.  Add the first 5 ingredients to a soup pot.  A light sprinkle of salt over the top of the onion, garlic, apple & red pepper.  Stir until onion and apple are limp.
2.  Add the next 3 liquids. Stir and bring to a hard simmer. (Just below a boil.) Simmer for about 5 min.
3.  Lower heat and  slowly pour in the pumpkin and stir until completely incorporated.
4.  Add the herbs  Stir.
5.  Lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
6.  Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
7.  Remove Bay leaves and sage leaf.
8.  Turn off the heat and let mixture cool for about 10 min. IT IS IMPORTANT AT THIS POINT THAT MIXTURE HAS COOLED DOWN. In small batches pour into blender and blend until smooth.
9.  Return to pot and slowly pour in the heavy cream  (you can also use whole milk) and simmer for about 10 min. If you are afraid soup is not cool enough temper the cream by adding a few tbsp of the soup to it before you add it back into the soup.
10.  Grate  nutmeg into soup and stir to mix.
Garnish with whipped  unsweetened cream or Greek style yogurt and parsley.

Cindy's Gotcha Covered Cure It All Hot Tea

    So many people have been sick that I am inclined to share this very old special "tea."  My great- grand mother "Abuelita" made it and then my grandmother, " Mamaita" and finally my momma Carmen. I have changed, deleted and added a few ingredients. In Mexico this might be referred to as a "ponche."  It's "medicinal" but does appear at parties sometimes.  Any alcohol will do but we always used tequila.  Today all I had was gin.  Never used that before.  I honestly like it even when I am not sick without the booze.  The most important ingredient is the grapefruit rind.  In a pinch I have used grapefruit juice. I like it made with jasmine tea best.  I think any tea will also work. Trevor just had some today and said he could drink this pretty much every time he got sick.  He also said he felt better. Most often I am told that it is bitter.  I think it's spicy. Make sure to drink it very hot.
     Enjoy and get better really quick!

Makes about two large cups of "tea."
1. Wash and cut in 1/4s an orange, a grapefruit, a lemon and a lime
2. Put in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil for about 10 min. Squish and stir. Reduce to simmer.
3. Grate about 2 Tbsp. fresh ginger root. Add to pot. Stir.
4. Add a cinnamon stick a couple of inches long and 1 dried red chili
5. Continue to simmer then add about 1/4 cup of fresh mint.
6. Add 4 tsp. of honey. Simmer for about another 10 min. Fruit should be very mushy.
7. Remove from stove and add a couple of green tea bags. Steep for 3 min.
8. Add 2 ounces of tequila. Any alcohol will work!
Strain into a cup...drink it very hot!

White Bean and Kale Soup

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   I was reminded recently that I had not posted lately.  The truth is, I want to be able to post with pictures but I am experiencing difficulties doing this.  Now my camera has a little battery flashing but I don't know where the charger is hiding. So...anyway.....
   Soup....I love soup!!!! I especially like soup when it's blustery and stormy outside. My mom ALWAYS had soup on the stove. Her soups were what I grew up thinking all soup was supposed to be, leftovers appearing one last time. There were some exceptions.  Albondigas (Mexican meatball soup,) posole (imagine a soup with a salad on top,) caldo de lentejas (lentil soup made an appearance during Lent,) caldo de res (beef soup) and menudo (the famous Mexican hang over soup.)  These soups had defined ingredients and tasted pretty much the same each time. My Tia Vet, (my mother's sister) made a soup that I still can't duplicate.  My son Jason remembers it fondly.  It had chicken and cabbage and then, by season, the veggies changed. But dang, it was so good! The other soups differed because they were made with leftovers and those changed every time.
   A few years ago, I discovered pho that delicious Vietnamese soup. My husband and I eat this after mass every Sunday.  A mom of one of the kids I was teaching many years ago taught me to make Greek Lemon Soup. This was the soup my kids got after  they had been sick with a tummy bug. I make soups, all kinds of soups but this recipe is for a soup that has the wonder food kale in  it.  Admittedly, I had not used kale when cooking.  Other greens appear often in my cooking but kale ...not so much. I like kale a lot and I am including it in more of my recipes. Since we are expecting  a mother of all storms  tonight, I started a pot of soup.  Enjoy!!!!

1 tbsp of EVOO to cover bottom of a large pot.
1 bunch of kale coarsely chopped (easiest to clean if you soak it in water and let the grit sink to the bottom)
1 large onion coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper coarsely chopped
4 stalks of celery coarsely chopped (use the little tender inside stalks with the leaves)
1/2 of a fennel bulb coarsely chopped  (You can chop the ferny top part and save for garnish.)
5 cloves of garlic chopped pretty fine
4 bay leaves
1 tsp. of dried oregano ( double if using fresh)
1 pinch of cumin (I use ground)
a pinch of nutmeg (I use fresh)
1 heaping TBSP of chili powder (I used cayenne)
1 cup of ham bits (I used leftover ham although you could use a ham hock.)
2 cans of white beans (If you want to soak beans overnight use about 2 cups dry beans. You can do a quick soak.  Follow directions on the bean packaging.)
6 cups of liquid... mix it up ( use broth, water, wine etc.) This time I used 4 cups broth, 1 cup of white wine and 1 cup water
s/p to taste
Optional
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 sour cream
fennel fronds


1.  Coat the bottom of a pot with oil. Heat should be med/high flame.
2.  Add the next 6 ingredients. Stir until kale is limp.  Takes awhile.  (5 to  10 min.)
3.  Add next 5 ingredients.  Stir before you add the next.
4.  Add the ham
5.  Add the cans of beans with the liquid.  Stir.
6.  Last, add your 6 cups of liquid. Stir. Bring to a boil.  Boil for a couple of minutes.   Lower heat and simmer for  as long as you'd like. The soup is ready to eat now but tastes best if allowed to sit and get all comfy with itself.  Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
I like to garnish this with some sour cream, Greek plain yogurt (equal parts) mixed with a little s/p and then fennel fronds. Just a tad on the top.
Serve with crusty bread.

Avocado Pie

     I know that I said I'd write up the pork tamale recipe but something else came up.
     "Do you want to know a secret?  Do you promise not to tell.....Closer, let me whisper in your ear..." This song has been spinning on my mental turntable since this morning when I became privy to a "secret recipe."
     I was sitting outside our neighborhood Starbucks chatting with some dog owners.  Our convivial conversations slipped easily from one topic to another.  They ran the gammet from tree rats and gophers  and how to get rid of them  to the growing of the very thirsty avocado tree.  One woman stopped mid sentence and said, "Have you ever eaten avocado pie?" All of us sitting around the tables stammered remarks from, "Sounds dreadful!" to the less impolite, "No, can't say I have." My ears perked right up because I have 3 trees. We often have an abundance of fruit from said trees.  Having said that, it's been awhile since we have had a bumper crop. I leaned in close and asked her for the recipe. I have to say upfront that I had NEVER even  heard of this pie but was game to try it. She told us that it had been a "secret recipe" in her family with only a handful of the matriarchs in the know.  When she was finally deemed "of age," she was granted the ingredients to the recipe.  She is now the only one left with the recipe since no one else has survived her.  So here it is.  Oh by the way, I did "Google" Avocado Pie and came up with basically what she shared.

Avocado Pie

2 large avocados (softball sized)
juice of 1 large lime and it's zest (zest first then juice   :)  Do not use key limes.  Do not substitute with  lemons.
1 can of condensed milk  (large can)
2 egg yolks  (these will be raw, so buy accordingly)
a dash of salt
1 graham cracker crust (homemade or store bought)
1 or so cups of whipped cream  (homemade or store bought)

Now here the recipe from the internet differs from hers. It added
1  8oz bar of cream cheese.
I did not add this.

1.  Mash avocados.
2.  Add juice of lime and it's zest.
3.  Whip in the milk until well incorporated.
4.  Beat the eggs and add the salt.
5.  Pour this egg mixture into the avocado/ milk mixture. Gently combine.
6.  Pour into pie crust.
7.  Must refrigerate at least 6 hours.  Better if overnight.
8.  Top with whipped cream

Must say that it has the texture of a pudding pie. It is very rich and amazingly delicious.  I will try it with the cream cheese next time but honestly...this was pretty damn good as recorded!

Grandma Ruth's Pea Salad

     As I was cleaning yet another bookcase, I happened upon a copy of a recipe that was in my mother-in-law's handwriting.  I believe my sister-in-law Barb made these up for us one Christmas.  What a thoughtful gift! My mother-in -law was a wonderful woman and fantastic cook.  I was her only "daughter-in-law" because she only had 1 son so I always felt a little special.  Thing is, she made everybody feel special. I have tried to pattern myself as a "mother-in-law" after her great example.  I hope I have come close.
      I remember this salad fondly. I made it my own by adding to the original recipe. I believe I kept the integrity of the  original recipe. When I am teaching my little cooking class, I often tell my ladies to "make it  their own" once the have the basic recipe down by adding according to their tastes. Knowing Ruth, she would have been very pleased with my additions.
     A little trick I learned from my mom.  Often recipes do not have amounts for the salt and pepper.  At one time my mom and my dad owned a restaurant.  That was a disaster but not because of the food.  Anyway, she taught me to *lightly sprinkle the surface with salt.  Stir then taste.  Same with the pepper. Lightly sprinkle across the surface and then stir to blend, then taste.  Now you can adjust by adding more.  Better to have a "light" hand than to ruin a good dish by adding too much salt or pepper!!!
     I made the Pea Salad  last night and it was a blast to the past!  So in memory of Grandma Ruth, here it is for all to enjoy.


1 box of frozen  peas   I used a bag of frozen petite  peas.
6 slices of bacon
1 cup of cashews
1/2 cup of sliced thin white onions      I used the frozen pearl onions and it was more like 1 cup.
1 heaping TBSP  sour cream     I used lite.
1 heaping TBSP plain yogurt    This was not in the original recipe.
1 tsp. of lite mayo    This was not in the original recipe.
a scant tsp. of lime juice   Also not in the original.
1 sprig of green onion chopped
1 small handful of parsley coarsely chopped.           Not in the original.
I also added about a TBSP of some diced jarred pimientos on the top for color.    Not in the original.
*s/p to taste

Fry the bacon until very crisp.  Crumble.
Put the peas and cashews in a bowl.
In another bowl make the dressing by combining the sour cream, yogurt, mayo and lime juice.
Fold the dressing  into the peas and cashews.
Sprinkle the top with the bacon and the green onions.  Fold gently.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle with parsley.

New to this

I am apologizing for the spelling in these Blogs upfront.  I am having trouble editing when I save a draft.  I'll work it out eventually but please be patient as I learn the ropes.

Eggplant Lasagne

      As I mentioned in another posting, I ask the young ladies whom I teach, what food "scares" you because you don't know what to do with it?  And that is how this particular  dish was created. I think it is super healthy (why are people saying "healthful?")  because of all the veggies. And the fact that we didn't use pasta, I think you can add more cheese=fat.  No?
     Although usually our meals are on the table in 30 minutes or less, this dish will take a little extra time.  So I told them it was a "company" dish with the leftovers for a weekly meal. To my delight, they have made this dish for "company" and their moms to rave reviews. That's what it's all about.

Prep:
Preheat oven to 400.
Into a large bowl of water add the juice of 1 lemon and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Grease a glass baking dish with about a tsp of olive oil. Remember to cover the sides
2 layers of paper towels


Olive oil enough to cover the bottom of a large skillet.
3 large skinny eggplant, I believe they are called Japanese eggplant, cut into long strips.(Think lasagne noodles.)    If you can't find Japanese eggplant  the fat ones will do. As you cut these strips put them into the water.
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 medium onion diced
2 stalks of celery diced
2 carrots diced
1 lb. of ground meat.  (You can use beef, turkey, chicken, pork etc.) For this dish "lean" is best. Mix pork with one of the other ground meats.(1/2 of each.)   You can also use an Italian sausage.  Just remove from casing.
1 can SW petite cut tomatoes (Any brand will do but these truly are the best except for Marzano which will break the bank!)
1 small can of tomato paste
red wine after you empty the paste fill the can with wine.
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp. Italian spice mix w/o salt (I make my own blend from my garden but you can buy a blend at any store.)
 3 cups of shredded mozerella cheese




Heat oiled skillet.   Brown meat.  Cut into the meat to break it apart with a wooden spoon.
Add the garlic and onion.  Continue to saute.
When onion is translucent continue with the other ingredients.
Add the canned tomatoes. Stir until combined.
Add celery and carrots.  Continue to stir.
Add the tomato paste.  Fill the paste can with red wine.  Stir to combine.
Add the pkg. of chopped spinach.  No need to thaw.  Stir it in until it breaks apart.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Let simmer for a few minutes.
Put 1 ladle of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.
Take the strips of eggplant and lay them on the paper towels to dry.
Put a layer of eggplant being sure to overlap a 1/8 of an inch.
Ladle sauce to cover eggplant .
Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese evenly over eggplant/sauce layer.
Continue layering.
End with cheese.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
Place into oven and reduce heat to 350.
Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly and oozy.