Alas...

My behind has grown too big to be blogging about food.

For now. Just give me a few months of focusing on getting some of this pregnancy/nursing poundage off and then I will be back! I have big plans for this place, baby, big plans.

Well, I don't know how big they are but they should be fun. I am going to start posting recipes from some of the vintage cookbooks I have collected. It should be tons of fun, but first I need to loose about 39 pounds. Wish me luck!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

 Cream of Mushroom Soup

• 2 10-oz bags of frozen mixed mushrooms from Woodstock Farms 
• 6 cups homemade chicken stock
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 c. finely diced yellow onion
• 1/4 lb. good butter 
• 1 tsp. minced thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp. minced tarragon
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 c. cream
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. minced fresh flat leaf parsley

Directions:

Thaw mushrooms, making sure to reserve any liquids. When completely thawed, squeeze remaining liquid from mushrooms & combine the liquids with the homemade chicken stock in a medium pot. Add two cloves of crushed garlic, sprig of thyme, and some freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain the liquid - you should have about 5 cups of stock.

Meanwhile, in another pot, heat the butter and the finely diced yellow onion. Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes until the onion begins to brown.  While onion is cooking, dice thawed mushrooms.  When onions are just starting to brown, add mushrooms into the pot and cook for another 10 or so minutes until they begin to brown. Add minced herbs & 1/4 c. thickening agent of your choice (flour, cornstarch, arrowroot). Stir well and continue to cook for about 1 minute. Add stock, salt, and pepper then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until it thickens (flour takes longer than cornstarch but remember cornstarch starts to break down after about 10 minutes!!!). Add the cream, milk, and parsley. Adjust seasonings.  Heat through but do not boil. Serve hot.

Note: To make a cream of mushroom soup that can be used as a substitute in for the condensed canned stuff, just follow the same directions but simmer the stock until it has been reduced to about 3 cups.  Once you add the cream, just ladle it into jars and refrigerate it for later use in recipes. It has more mushrooms than that canned stuff but is waaaaaaaaaaay better tasting and far more nutritionally sound, especially if you are making it with dairy from grass fed cows, homemade chicken stock from free range chickens, and organic mushrooms. You can also omit the parsley if you want.

Spreadable Roasted Eggplant Goodness

Cast of Characters:nocoupons

• 1 medium/large eggplant
• 1/2 red onion, peeled
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 sea salt kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut the eggplant and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, pepper flakes, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing occasionally during cooking.
3.  Cool slightly.
4. Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.

Prosciutto Wrap ~ "Can life get better? I submit it can NOT!"

If you are like me and overly ambitious in the gardening area, here's a little recipe that is an alternative to all that pesto you are making with the mounds of basil that you are harvesting. It's a great picnic food to - easy to make, easy to carry, easy to eat!  Try one A.S.A.P. You will thank me. I promise.

I just told Mr. Amazing Man that when we move, we need to move somewhere that basil will grow year-round.  I am in love with fresh basil. Amen.

 Here's what you need to make the magic happen:

• Prosciutto
• Ricotta cheese
• Fresh tomatoes
• Those whole wheat Roll-Up things from Costco (I am sure a whole wheat tortilla would do in a pinch)
• Fresh basil
• Salt and pepper

Slice the tomatoes nice and thin. (Sadly, these ones are from the store. Even more sadly, the deer around here ate my perfectly ripe ones the other night. I was not happy. But I am very happy with this tomato knife/Christmas present from King Arthur Flour. Who knew a knife could make me so happy?)

P.S. Fresh tomatoes and fresh basil should get married. That is all I have to say about that.

Then take one of these fantastic whole wheat roll-ups from Costco. (Ignore all the stuff about it being healthy. Just use them because they taste good. The health benefits are secondary...)

Then spread on about 1/4 cup of ricotta cheese.  Or more if you are like me and love ricotta cheese.

Chase husband away with stern looks so that he will quit stealing the prosciutto you have so carefully peeled away. Then layer some tasty prosciutto ham onto the wrap. 

Here comes my favorite part: sweet basil!!! Put more or less in there, depending on your own taste. I have tried this wrap with cinnamon basil and Thai basil and sweet basil makes the best pairing with the other ingredients.

Oh, sweet mystery of life, I have found you (again)! Slap some fresh tomatoes onto the wrap...

Then salt and pepper that baby to taste. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the wrap up and slice on a diagonal. I used the tomato knife because I am to lazy/efficient to wash two knives! In the words of my favorite stand up comedian, "I can’t be opening and closing all kinds of jars... cleaning, who KNOWS how many knives!?"!!!"

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming of pesto 101.

Great Coffee Cake Flop of '10

I fancy myself to be quite accomplished in the kitchen, rarely turning out something that is not beautiful to look at and tasty to eat. (Thanks Mom for letting me make messes in your kitchen all those years growing up!)

The last true culinary disaster was the Flaming Roll Incident of '97 (not counting the Curry Catastrophe of '05 - that one wasn't my fault!). I had been broiling some chicken and needed to pop the rolls in the oven. I forgot to turn the oven down. Ten minutes later, there was smoke billowing from my oven, smoke detectors screaming at me, and rolls that were literally flaming on top and gooey on the bottom.

It was hilarious once I got the flames put out. Not too funny until then.

Tonight I tried a new recipe from The Pioneer Woman's website, "The Best Coffee Cake. Ever." Every single recipe I have tried from her site has been a huge hit with the men in my family and I was fully expecting to have the same level achievement with this recipe. 

Let's just say my 13 year string of success has been broken.

In the recipe, Rhee says you can use a smaller pan to make "thicker slices." I used the 8 x 11 pan and this is what I ended up with.  (Trust me, it was even more comical in real life! Tasty, but comical)

Don't get me wrong - it still tasted incredible (as evidenced by the fact the men around here inhaled half of it before it had the chance to even cool down - I am sure they will polish off the rest of it tomorrow).  Let's face it - anything with that much butter and sugar in it is going to be tasty!!! Fortunately, my super-spidey baking sense told me that there might be "some" overflow and so I put the coffee cake on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat mat. Ha. Some overflow, eh?

I am so glad I did. And so is my oven.

Smooches and happy eats to all of you -

M.

Broccoli and Chicken Casserole

2 packages frozen broccoli spears
4 chicken breasts, cooked & diced into large pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1/2 c. mayo
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top

• Preheat oven to 350 F. 
• Spray 9x13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a bowl, mix cream of chicken soup with 3/4 quarter of the can of chicken broth. Stir in mayo and lemon juice.
• With remaining 1/4 can of chicken brother, steam the broccoli spears until barely tender (DO NOT overcook!). Drain.
• Layer ingredients to the pan in the following order:
• Broccoli
• Chicken pieces
• Sauce mixture
• Grated cheese
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
• Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes. 

Oatmeal Fudge Cookies (AKA "Goat Doo Doo")

So here's a family recipe that should really take us all back - Goat Doo Doo. 

Before I went looking for the recipe I had no idea that (a) they were really called Oatmeal Fudge Cookies and (b) Grandma June submitted this recipe to a cookbook at some point. When I am feeling better, I will scan in the page from the book so you can all see it! One of the things I love about it is the hand-scrawled words, "Goat doo-doo" underneath the recipe title.

Just for kicks, here's a story to go along with this recipe:

One time summer during cherry season when I was 12 or 13, I really, really, really wanted to make these cookies. Unfortunately, it was a time period when the parents were on one of their NO SUGAR IN THE HOUSE kicks.  So I went and borrowed 2 cups of sugar from the Leemasters across the street and the chocolate chips from the Johnson's next door.

When Mom got home and found out that I had borrowed the sugar, she was so upset with me she made can quarts of cherries at 10 cents a quart until I had earned enough money to buy a 10 lb. bag of sugar to repay the Leemasters.  I am not sure I learned any kind of lesson, other than how to bottle cherries very efficiently.  I still borrowed sugar from the neighbors to make forbidden foods while the parents were away. I guess I can share that secret now - all of you know I did it because you would eat what I would make but I have a feeling that at this point Mom won't make me bottle cherries anymore.

So without further delay, here's the recipe:

Goat Doo-Doo

In a heavy sauce pan mix:

• 2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. evaporated milk
• 1/2 c. butter

Boil for one minute, then pour over:

• 1 1/2 c. quick oats
• 1 c. chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix well. Drop from teaspoon onto wax paper. Let cool. Makes about 4 dozen.