Tomato & Bean 15-Minute Stoup

This stoup calls for a whole cup of basil and I just happen to have a whole lot of basil goin' on.  I intended to make a bunch of pesto fresh from my garden, but my garden has been a dismal failure.  The flowers have been wonderful.....but the veggies have been a wee bit disappointing for the work I (we...) put in to their cultivation.  If learning were my aim, it'd be one thing, but my goal was a mini-supermarket.  I am happy to report my Chinese Red Long Beans are prolific and adding vibrant color to my cooking!

Of course the pictures above have nothing to do with this recipe, so.....Back to stoup - a catchy new cooking term for a cross between soup and stew, though long known in religious circles as the holy water font in the front of the church.  Considering it's the [amount of] water that makes the difference here, stoup fits. You'll love this tomato-based version, and though it seems a lot of basil, trust me, you'll love it.  Or trust the critic on this one!

Hardy Appetit!

Copper Penny Carrots ...p83

One of my favorite Thanksgiving or Christmas side dishes, Copper Penny Carrots is as tasty as it looks.  The perfect blend of flavors, they make a beautiful gift in lieu of cookies or wine during the holidays, but since carrots are plentiful all year in any market, you should be able to enjoy it any time of year! My husband loves this one.

 

Also, this keeps for weeks in the fridge and, though I've never tried, I would suspect these can be canned for later consumption.  Let us know if you try (esp. you, Les!). 

Hardy Appetit!

Hungarian Goulash ...p42

Four beef goulashes grace our cookbook, so which one to choose?  This one comes from Les, and while we all thought it was tasty, it was the first recipe that I wished I had a middle rating, something like Yumk! or Yukem! ... as our critic was middle of the road on this one.  We have a policy that Nana cannot know whose recipe it is before tasting lest it influence her buds.... Of course, she knew right away it wasn't her recipe because this one lacked green peppers and tomatoes and that is the goulash she prefers.

The men thought this was a little too sweet; my men like everything spicy. We women didn't mind the sweet.  If you do,  just cut the sugar in half or eliminate it.

Hardy Appetit!

Yellow Cake with Nana's Caramel Frosting ...p92

Nana's hard caramel frosting stirs up memories of gulping down leftover chili served over macaroni noodles to get to the "main course" - dessert.  On the farm, you had to eat quick and declare dessert war to reserve your own slice of palate heaven.

I'd like to hear from Bob on this one because I remember he particularly loved this cake.  Here, too,  I think I would have liked it better if someone else (like Nana?) had cooked it.  From the instructions, I wasn't sure how long to beat the frosting - how thick is thick, whether to beat it while heating; whether to use dark brown sugar, or light.  I remember her frosting would crack when you tried to slice it; mine didn't, so I was disappointed thinking maybe the molasses in dark brown sugar kept the frosting too moist, or maybe the humidity in this part of the country kept it soft.  Not sure - if anyone else has made this particular Caramel frosting and it turned out crisp, let me know.

That being said, what's not to like about the combo of brown sugar and cake?

Hardy Appetit!

Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad ...p33

What's not to love about a salad that combines mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, bleu cheese and romaine with chunks of warm pecan crusted chicken?  Family loved it, the critic loved it, but truth be told, with all those yummy ingredients, I found it confusingly lacking something.  Maybe just the need for someone else to cook it.  You know how food always tastes better when someone else cooks it?  So why else would there be restaurants?

Or....... maybe the missing ingredient was my zing.....  I'm missing my kitchen partner.  You know who you are!

Exciting news:  my sunflower has blossomed and my, what a seedhead!  The seed catalog said the stalk would be a 10-footer, and, true to form, mine measures in at 115 inches (just shy of 10 ft.).  If you haven't followed its growth, take a look at my previous post.  I don't know much about TALL sunflowers so when the head started to droop, I assumed it was mimicking my own behavior as our zing flew the coop.

Make this chicken salad yourself; or better yet, have someone else make it for you,  then tell me what you think.

Hardy Appetit!

Lemon Pudding Cake ...p94

So when trips to Galveston, the Kemah Boardwalk, and NASA didn't send her over the moon, we tried to lure her to stay by creating the most amazing bar-b-q steak, bleu cheese, healthy potato skins (incidentally the first recipe from the cookbook to be made twice due to its yum!) dinner, topped off with Lemon Pudding Cake.

Unfortunately, surprisingly delicious as it was, even the subtle zing of lemon couldn't persuade her to remain in the great state of Texas.  Now we have all lost our zing.....

Lemon Pudding Cake seemed the perfect light dessert to finish off such a heavy meal, but I must admit I was surprised when I made it.  The egg whites beaten stiff and folded into the flour mixture made me anticipate a uniform texture throughout, but the title is apropos: the mixture separates into a light cake on top and a lemony pudding on the bottom. 

As an added subtle sweetener, we heated up Jenn's Spruce Tip Jelly with added wild blackberries to spoon on top.  For you chemists, why did the blackberries turn red when heated? 

My family thinks my cooking up Gene-E Recipes is going to my head as they are starting to hear the eerie mmmmm's of Rachel Ray escaping from my mouth.  In sincere flattery to you Rachel Ray (and the recipe contributer!), we agree that "my hubby is gonna love it," and yours might too!

Hardy Appetit!

Peach Cinnamon Pudding ...p106

If my memory serves me right (and so often it doesn't these days!!!), I clipped this recipe from the Calgary newspaper back in 1980 or 81.  Still one of my absolute favorite places, Calgary held some of our funnest times - the Stampede, gardens that grew gargantuan veggies proportionate to the daylight hours, trips to Banff and Lake Louise, fabulous young friendships.  Could I recapture a moment in time, it would be somewhere in Alberta, no doubt.

Unrelated to cooking, but totally related to gargantuan veggies and the highlight of our 20ten garden... check out the growth sequence of my "mammoth" sunflower (thank you, baker creek) - the lamp post is my marker.

AMAZING GROWTH FOR 16 DAYS!!!  You heard me right - 16 days.

But back to cooking.

There is a disclaimer at the beginning of the recipe that the looks of this pudding might alarm you.  You dump two cups of water on the dry ingredients, but don't mix it in.  As a result, the batter bubbles to the top, the sauce sinks to the bottom and disperses in a random way throughout the pudding.  Because of this, it's a fun recipe to make with your kids :-)

Serve it up this summer while the peaches are juicy and delicious (and you don't mind a dose of sugar)....   à la mode might be a nice enhancement.

Hardy Appetit!