Category: Recipes

This was a brand new recipe for me. I found it online and it is great. The icing is a little sweet so if you want it less sweet you should probably use less powdered sugar.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons. baking powder
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 2/3 cup cooking oil
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

The original recipe calls for egg replacements but I used real eggs. I also only used 1/2 cup walnuts instead of a full cup to make it less nutty.

Orange Icing

• 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest

Directions

1. Grate the carrots and chop the walnuts.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and zest in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, spices, oil and vanilla.
4. In a third small mixing bowl, mix and beat the eggs and add the soy milk.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
6. Oil a 15 x 10 x 1 baking pan.
7. Combine the pumpkin puree mixture with the flour mixture.
8. Add the grated carrots and chopped walnuts.
9. Pour the batter onto the oiled baking pan and spread evenly.
10. Place in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes.

To make the icing

1. Put the powdered sugar in a small bowl.
2. Gradually add the orange juice, stirring while you add. I added a half teaspoon more to make the icing more syrupy.
3. If you wish to drizzle the glaze then it should be a bit more liquid then if you wish to spread it evenly over the top.

That’s it! This was really really good.

I found this recipe while reading a fellow blogger’s blog at vegalicious.org.

There are many variations of Chicken Paprika. This is my take on it varied from a recipe I found.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized pieces of skinless chicken breasts
• Salt
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 medium onions
• Black Pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Wash chicken and season with salt and pepper.
2. Slice onions
3. In a large frying pan, saute the butter
4. Add the chicken pieces (cut in 1/2 if too large)
5. Cook one one side until browned
6. Turn and cook the other side
7. Remove the chicken and add the onions to the pan
8. Stir well and let the onions brown on medium heat
9. Add paprika and salt and stir
10. Add the chicken broth and stir
11. Put the chicken pieces on top of the onions
12. Cover and cook through about 30 minutes
13. Remove the chicken from the pan and add the sour cream
14. Stir and add the chicken back in

The original recipe I followed with variations of my own was found at simplyrecipes.com

Enjoy!

I came across this recipe for Broccoli Sunflower Seed Soup.  It sounded a little odd but the soup is really good.

This recipe was originally created to be Vegan but I used Greek Yogurt instead of Soy Yogurt.

Ingredients

• 1 lb broccoli
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/4 cup sunflower kernels
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• Splash of Tabasco
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup Soy Yogurt (I used Greek)

A note regarding the red pepper flakes.  Adding “a pinch” means you like a little “bite” to your soup. I would have added less than a “pinch” or none at all.

Directions

1. Chop the onion and celery
2. Cut broccoli in small pieces, leaving a few larger ones for garnish
3. Heat oil in a large soup pot
4. Add onion and celery and saute
5. Add broccoli pieces
6. Stir to mix flavors well
7. Add red pepper flakes and bring soup to a boil
8. Once boiling, lower heat, simmer for 5-8 minutes
9. Add sunflower seeds and continue cooking
10. Remove a few broccoli florets from soup for garnish
11. Remove from heat and let cool a little while
12. Using a blender, put half of the soup in and puree
13. Add the remainder of the soup and puree
14. Add the yogurt and mix all together in blender
15. Add salt (I didn’t find I needed to), Tabasco and lemon pepper seasoning
16. Return soup to pot and serve using the broccoli florets as garnish

This makes about 4 servings. Since the soup is thick, I added a little more yogurt for a creamier consistency.

I found this recipe at vegalicious.org.

Enjoy!

Seems like every time I go see my Mama now she makes us chicken empanadas.  They are similar to a small calzone or a turnover. The filling can be anything you want (just make it flavorful).

The ingredient amounts are approximate as I added and then tasted as I went along until I had the “right” taste for my palette.

Ingredients

• Sofrito (see jar below or click here for how to make)
• Can of Tomato Sauce
• Green Olives
• Bakon, Hickory Smoke Style
• Package of Goya Tapas (cover for Empanadas)
• Scallions (chopped)
• Onion (chopped)
• Green Pepper (chopped)
• 1 medium sized potato
• Skinless Chicken (cut in small bite-sized pieces)
• Oil for frying

You can buy Goya brand Sofrito at the grocery store that is already made or click here for the recipe.

Bakon Hickory Smoke Style was recommended to me by a stranger I met at the local Adventist Book Center when I was shopping for some vegetarian items.  It is vegetarian and very tasty.

Directions

1. In a medium sized pot, add 2-3 tablespoons of Sofrito and warm through.
2. Add 1/2 can of tomato sauce
3. Add Bakon seasoning (to taste)
4. Heat through (does not have to boil)
5. Chop the vegetables and olives into small pieces and add to the sauce
6. Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces and add it to the sauce
7. Heat on low until the chicken is cooked (about 45 minutes)
8. While the filling is cooking, open the Goya tapas (covers) .  They have a plastic film between them to keep them from sticking.
9. After the ingredients have cooked through, add a couple of tablespoons to the middle of the tapas. Try not to use too much of the liquid or the tapa may fall apart.
10. Fold the tapa over and with the edge of a fork, press down and seal the two ends.
11. In a frying pan, heat the oil for frying. When hot, add one empanada at a time.
12. Fry one side of the empanada, then turn over and fry the other side.  Try not to over-fry them.  You don’t want them to be extra crispy.
13. Put the cooked empanadas on paper towels to soak the extra oil off of them.
14. Serve with your choice of vegetable and rice.

My Mama usually makes this as a quick snack food for us. Use ingredients that you like.  Then – enjoy!

I recently made these Carrot Cake Muffins.  They are very tasty but if you want a little more sweetness you need to add more raisins to the mix.  I added half a small individual box of raisins.

The recipe is from the New York Times.  (Thanks to my brother for sharing it.)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (I used ground)

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs (at room temperature)

1/3 cup raw brown (turbinado) sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 1/3 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup golden raisins with 1 tsp unbleached all-purpose flour or

2/3 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the oven rack in the upper third of the space.  Oil or butter muffin tins.  (I used PAM)

Sift together the whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla.

Using a whisk or spatula, stir the dry ingredients with the wet and mix until well combined.  Do not beat; a few lumps are fine but make sure there is no flour at the bottom of the bowl.

Grate the carrots.

Fold in the carrots, raisins and pecans.  (Feel free to leave out the raisins or pecans if you don’t want them in the muffins.)

Using a large spoon, put the mixture into the muffin cups filling them to just below the top (about 4/5 full).

Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake about 25 minutes or until lightly browned and well risen.

My recipe made 18 muffins because I used the smaller muffin tin.

Enjoy!

On a recent visit to my brother’s house, he made an absolutely made-from-scratch delicious sour cream coffee cake.

Here is the recipe, from The Colonial Garden Bed & Breakfast, so you can try it at home.

Mix Together

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sour cream

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Then mix in:

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3 cups flour

Add apples, pineapple, blueberries or whatever you’d like (ours was blueberry)

Stir all.

Pour into a 13″x9″ greased glass pan

(Optional: sprinkle with brown sugar and crushed nuts)

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until set.

Cool slightly before removing.

Absolutely delicious!

The recipe for these muffins was given to me by my brother who recently made it for us when we visited him.  He found the recipe in the Iowa City Press-Citizen newspaper dated December 25, 2010.

I have not made them yet but have tasted them and want to pass the recipe along quickly so that you can all enjoy it sooner rather than later.  They are delicious!

Cinnamon Muffins

A friend of mine made this delicious barley soup when I lived in Seattle.  It can be seasoned with whatever flavors one likes. I happen to like thyme and cumin.

The ingredients are as follows:

6 cups water

1/4 cup medium barley

3 medium red potatoes

1 1/2 large onion

4 carrots

3 celery sticks

Salt to taste

Thyme to taste

Cumin to taste (not pictured)

Garlic to taste

Rinse the barley in cold water.

Put 8 cups water in a pot and boil.

Add the barley and simmer for about 45 minutes until the barley is cooked.

Coarsely chop the carrots, celery sticks and onion.

Put them in the pot with the barley and stir.

Add the garlic, thyme, salt and cumin — stir.

Chop the potatoes coarsely and add to the soup mixture.

Let the soup simmer for about an hour.

Taste and adjust the flavorings as needed.

Simple Barley Soup

Simple Barley Soup

This soup tastes especially good the following day.

I’ve heard it said that oatmeal is good for the heart so to see The American Heart Association label on the top of the Quaker Oats box wasn’t surprising.

When I’m home, I try to have oatmeal in the morning.  A tiny bit of salt, a dab of sugar and lots of cinnamon.

Now, I wonder if eating oatmeal cookies is as healthy as having oatmeal in the morning.  I guess it would depend on how many cookies I eat.

Being curious, I decided to try the cookie recipe on the Quaker Oats box to see if it stood the test of my palate (which I’ve been told is not very discriminating).

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups Quaker Oats

I left out the raisins in my ingredients, used butter instead of margarine and added a wee bit more cinnamon because I’m a big fan of cinnamon.  I also cut the recipe in half so the ingredients above are halved already.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy.
Add the egg and vanilla.  Beat well again.
Your batter should look like the one below.

Okay, so I had a craving for cornmeal.

I called my sister up and asked her for her recipe for something we called “rocks” when we were growing up.  It was a simple recipe that mainly used cornmeal.  The answer came back “I don’t remember.”  Eeekkk!  That just made me want the cornmeal more.

So — since my cookbooks are still in storage in Seattle, I did the next best thing and did a search on the internet for anything cornmeal-ish.

I came across this recipe that I found at cooks.com.  I have to warn you though, it’s not a perfect recipe and although it satisfied my craving for cornmeal, I still felt like I was shortchanged.

Part of the problem I think is that the recipe is not clear enough in one area — whether to oil the griddle or not.  I am a basic cook.  I always tell people “don’t assume I know anything.”  I wish recipes would do the same unless they say “for the professional cook only.”

Anyway, here’s my experiment.  It wasn’t too bad but I know there’s a better recipe out there.

Here are the ingredients:

3/4 cup cornmeal
6 tblspns flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1 cup milk
1 egg, well beaten
1 tblspn oil

Put all dry ingredients in a bowl.

Sift the dry ingredients together.  I use a whisk since my sifter is still in storage.

Beat the egg well.

Combine the egg, milk and oil, then stir.

The consistency will be a little liquidy.

Drop 1/4 cup full of the mixture onto a griddle.  I put a little bit of oil on the bottom because I was afraid it would burn.

When the cakes have bubbled on top, turn them and cook them on the other side.

The cornmeal cakes should look like this.

Cornmeal Cakes

I served the cornmeal cakes with vegetarian links and maple syrup.