Pecan Pie

What's not to like about pecan pie? It's simple to make and it tastes like a true delicacy. Here's the simple recipe I use from the bottle of Karo syrup (with a couple of tweaks):

One pie shell ( I use the Pillsbury roll-up pie crusts)
1 cup of  Karo syrup (I use a combination of light and dark)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. sugar
Mix all these items together and then add 6 oz. pecans and stir together gently ( the chopped pecans or pecan pieces will work just as well the the whole ones and are much more economical)
Pour all this into the pie shell and bake around 50 minutes or so at 325 degrees. Keep an eye on it once you start smelling the great aroma.
Enjoy!

Clearing the Fridge Soup

Sometimes one just needs to clear out the fridge. No need to waste that good produce that you bought--if you have odds and ends left, make soup. Most any vegetable will go into a soup. And most any herb or spice will as well. The key is not to over-do it on the spices and/or herbs. Keep it to about four or less. Then the flavors of the vegetables and the chosen broth will blend and not fuss with the flavors of the chosen herbs and/or spices.

The other day I found myself at the end of several vegetables from my previous shopping a week previous. So, into the pot went some zucchini (leave the peel on), some cabbage, a couple of carrots, a celery stalk, an onion, and a few button mushrooms--all diced to various sizes (keep the sizes uniform to the texture for even cooking times). I had about a 1/2 can of diced tomatoes in the fridge, so I threw these in as well. To this I added three cans of beef broth (no meat this time). I didn't add any salt at the beginning; I wanted to see what the beef broth would do--the soup never needed any additional salt (and we like salt). Finally, I tossed in about 1/4 cup of slow-cook rice. Put all this to simmering on medium low heat and leave it alone to do its thing. Once it's been cooking for about 20 minutes, add in your chosen herbs and/or spices. We really like different flavors, but this time, I liked the flavor that was evolving, so I added nothing.

The soup held its texture very well as it cooked; we didn't eat it for about 3 hours after I started it and it wasn't mushy at all. It's a good hearty soup for these cooler nights we're having.

So...next time the fridge needs clearing. pull out the soup pot and have at it!

Pork Shrimp Noodles

I came upon a recipe I really liked yesterday evening. It started out as a soup recipe, but I dabbled with it some and ended up with it being more of a one-dish meal with an accompanying salad. If you like the flavor of sesame, you'll really like this. It's not a spicy dish; it's filling and the flavor has a nice lingering effect.

To prepare: Pour 2 t. of sesame oil and 1 T. of vegetable oil into a skillet. Slice one onion up into slender slices and cook in the oil until the slices start to brown slightly. Remove these from the skillet. (While you're minding the onions, you can put on a salted medium sized pot of water to boil and then add in around 5 oz. or so of egg noodles--use the smallest ones--they tend to work better).  Once they're cooked (don't overcook) drain them and return them to the pan to wait a bit. You can go ahead and stir in the onions at this point.

Now you can add around a quart of chicken broth, around 1/2 t. of ginger, 1/4 t. of garlic powder, the juice of 1/2 lime (use fresh--it's worth it), 1 t. sugar, and 2 1/2 tablespoons of oyster flavored sauce (you can find this at most any IGA store) to the skillet where you just cooked the onions. Let this come to a simmer. Add to this the lean parts of one port chop that you have sliced very thinly (avoid the fatty parts and don't add the bone). You'll also add in about 6 oz. of raw shrimp that you've chopped into small-ish sized pieced.  Let all this simmer together for a good 15 minutes on low heat. Once this has simmered and the shrimp is pink in color and the pork is white in color, add this mixture to the pot of noodles and onions. Stir together and let this cook a bit longer on lower heat until it's at a low simmer for a few (maybe 10) more minutes. While this is doing its final simmer, take a green onion (scallion) and dice off the green. Also dice up 4 or 5 cilantro leaves (do use fresh--indescribably better than dried in a jar). Serve the noodle dish into a bowl, then add a bit of the diced green onion and the diced cilantro to the top of each. A simple salad ( I used iceberg lettuce and mixed up a bit of dressing using a small amount sesame oil, vegetable oil, garlic powder, ginger, and a bit of soy sauce) and glass of good Sake and you've nothing other to do than enjoy!

Molasses Cookies

The cookie jar is empty! Time to get with it and find a good, durable cookie. Can't think of one better than old fashioned molasses cookies. They're easy to make, they keep well, and they're just plain good.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While the oven is heating, stir together 2 1/4 c. flour, 2 t. baking soda, 1 t. ground ginger, 1 t. cinnamon, and 1/2 t. ground cloves and 1/2 t. salt.  Now toss in 1 c. of dark brown sugar, 3/4 c. Crisco, 1/4 c. molasses, and 1 egg and beat all the ingredients together.

Roll into little balls, roll lightly in sugar, and put onto a baking sheet, baking each batch for 10 minutes. This recipe will make 48 small cookies.

Enjoy!

Pita Bread

The other day I had a craving of sorts for homemade bread, but I didn't want anything heavy or cake-like. I looked in the pantry, found some whole-wheat flour and when decided upon pita bread. There's a really good recipe for it in the cookbook I received in 1984...one of my first "real" cookbooks, The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Page 75.

To make the bread, you combine 1 pg. active dry yeast (1/4 oz. from a jar) with 1 1/4 c. warm (110-115 degree) water in the mixing bowl.  Add 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1/4 c. Crisco, and 1 1/2 t. salt. Blend this on low speed for 30 seconds, and then switch to high speed to beat the mixture for 3 minutes. Once this is done, then mix in another cup of white flour with a spoon into the mixture. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 5 good minutes kneading in a bit more flour (around 1/4 to 1/2 c.) to make it nice and pliable and smooth (It makes a very pretty dough.) Then let it rest in a warm place covered for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 separate portions, and roll each gently into a smooth ball. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. Next, gently flatten each into a disk with the fingertips. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest in a warm place for 10 more minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Take the disks out, one at a time, and roll them into  a flatter disk, about 4-5 inched across. Use a good floured board to do this to prevent sticking. Two by two, bake the pitas for about 3 minutes on each side in the 450 degree oven. Be sure to keep the unbaked portions covered with the damp cloth until you're using them. Once the pitas are done and cooled, when you use one, slice in half and then carefully slice into the pita (life filleting a fish.) Enjoy!

Provencal Vegetable Soup

When the temperature dipped and we saw rain for the first time in a long time, my thoughts went to make a good comfortable pot of soup.

My first trip was to the crisper; I came up with carrots, cabbage, leeks, celery, and a bit of spinach.  In the freezer I found peas. In the pantry I found a couple of potatoes, an onion, a can of diced tomatoes, 4 small cans of chicken broth, a pint of green beans.

In a bit of olive oil in the bottom of the soup pot, I sauteed diced onion, thinly sliced leeks, diced  celery, a bit of salt, and some garlic powder until they were soft. I then added the four small cans of chicken broth, the can of diced tomatoes, the peeled and diced potatoes, and the peas. To this I added two big bay leaves and around a teaspoon of herbes de Provence. Then it was time to simmer and simmer. The great thing about soup is the aroma that greets a person at the door and drifts through the house...true comfort.

This is a soup that gets better over the next couple of days as the flavors continue to blend. Enjoy!

Lovely Custard with Brown Eggs

A very nice lady where Tom works had an abundance of little brown eggs the other day. In addition to their being pretty to look at, they also had lovely yellow yolks. I took one look and immediately thought custard.

The recipe is very simple; to make four ramekin servings, heat 2 c. milk and 1 t. vanilla to a simmer. Once it's had a chance to simmer a bit, remove it from the heat and then add the combination of  8 whisked egg yolks and 1/4 c. sugar. The heat will cook the eggs without curdling them. Pour into the ramekins and put into the fridge until they set up to the consistency you like. Enjoy!