Pinto Bean Soup

I told you we eat a lot of soup during the cold months, didn’t I? J Don’t despair; the warmer days are just ahead and when they arrive we’ll be grilling and eating lighter fare. But, until then…

Pinto Bean Soup

1 pound dry pinto beans
1 gallon water
2 t. salt
1 diced onion
6 chopped jalapeños
2 chopped tomatoes
½ bunch cilantroWash beans and pick over to remove any foreign material. Place in a pot with water and bring to boil. Simmer 1 hour, then add salt.

In separate large stockpot sauté onion in small amount of olive oil. Addonion, jalapeños, tomatoes and cilantro. Cook for several minutes until onions and jalapeños are soft.

Add beans to vegetables. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer soup approximately 1 hour more, or until beans are tender.

Soup can be garnished with chopped cilantro if desired.

Blueberry Sorbet

Just to remind us that spring is just around the corner…

Blueberry Sorbet

8 cups blueberries
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
½ t. orange extract
½ cup water

Puree the berries. Place the pureed berries in a saucepan with the remaining ingredients and stir to mix. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and strain mixture. Allow strained mixture to cool.

Place cooled mixture in an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Strawberry Puff Cake

Strawberry Puff Cake

½ cup flour
½ cup milk
½ t. salt
3 eggs
3 T. melted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
3 T. slivered almonds
2 T. confectioner’s sugar
1 T. lemon juice
4 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl. Add flour to eggs and beat. Add milk, salt, melted butter and 2 T. granulated sugar.

Pour batter into a greased 9” cake pan and place pan in a preheated 450-degree oven.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

While batter is baking, combine strawberries with reserved sugar.

In a small bowl combine confectioner’s sugar and almonds.

When cake has cooled slightly, remove it from the cake pan. Top with the almond sugar mixture.

Before serving spoon strawberries on top of cake and top with whipped cream.

Bean Cakes with Apple Salsa

Bean Cakes with Apple Salsa

1 can black beans
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 T. taco flavoring
2 cups shredded apples
small bunch cilantro
vegetable oil
1 cup applesauce
½ cup prepared salsa
1/4 cup sour cream
2 T. chopped parsley

Chop onion into small pieces. Chop cilantro. Set aside.

Place beans, bread crumbs, eggs, onion, garlic and taco flavoring into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until mixture is nearly smooth. Pour bean mixture into a large bowl and add apples and cilantro and stir to mix.

In a small bowl, mix together applesauce, salsa, sour cream and parsley. Chill.

In a large skillet, heat a small quantity of vegetable oil. Using a ladle, scoop out bean mixture into skillet, flattening with back of ladle to form small cakes. Fry for 5-6 minutes on one side, then turn cakes over and fry for 4-5 minutes on the other side, until both sides are golden brown. Serve with chilled apple salsa.

Oatmeal Chip Cookies

Fast and easy to bake, these cookies are enjoyed by every age group.

Oatmeal Chip Cookies

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1½ cups flour
4 cups oatmeal
6 ounces mini morsels chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, vanilla, baking soda and flour.

Add oatmeal and mix. Add chips.

Drop by spoonfuls onto lightly buttered baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Simple Red Rice

I could eat rice every day. My husband? Not so much, but I could definitely have rice with everything. Almost.

Simple Red Rice

1 cup white rice
2 cups water
1 small onion
½ bell pepper
2 small carrots
½ cup corn
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Chop onion, pepper and carrots. Heat oil in large skillet and saute vegetables until they are tender. Add rice to skillet and stir to coat with oil. Saute rice for 2-3 minutes.

Add water and corn to mixture, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until rice absorbs water. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Sopa del Maiz (Corn Soup)

Sopa del Maiz (Corn Soup)

2 cups corn
1 cup creamed corn
2 small onions
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
cheddar cheese

Chop onions. In a large skillet, saute onions in melted butter until onions are translucent. Stir flour into onions and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

Reduce heat to low, and add milk. Stir constantly to prevent scorching. Add corn and water. Bring mixture to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes. Stir often.

Serve hot. Soup may be sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese, if desired.

Saturday Morning Breakfast

This is a favorite in our house! :-)

Walnut Coffee Cake

2 cups flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups granulatedsugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, one cup granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla and sour cream until batter is smooth.
In a separate bowl, combine reserved sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts.

Pour half of the batter into a lightly-greased 13"x9" baking dish. Pour half of the sugar mixture over batter. Pour remaining batter on top of sugar mixture, then top with the remainder of the sugar mixture.

Place baking dish in a pre-heated 350-degree oven and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Lemon Bread

Lemon Bread

½ cup butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
½ cup milk
½ cup finely chopped walnuts
2 t. lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice

Cream together the butter and 1 cup of the sugar. Add eggs and beat well.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture, alternating between dry ingredients and milk until everything is combined. Add walnuts and zest.

Pour batter into a buttered loaf pan. Place in a preheated 350-degree oven and bake for one hour.

Remove bread from oven. Using a skewer, poke holes in top of loaf.

Stir together the remaining sugar and the lemon juice. Pour the mixture over the hot bread. Allow bread to cool before slicing.

Apple Risotto

Apple Risotto

4-5 cups vegetable broth
½ stick butter
2 T. minced onion
1 cup Arborio rice
2 cups diced, peeled Golden Delicious apples
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 t. salt
freshly ground nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat to simmering and cover pan.

In a separate pan, melt half of the butter and saute the onion for 3-5 minutes. Add the rice and the apples. Saute for 3-5 minutes. Add the wine. Stir mixture until the wine evaporates.

Stirring constantly, add hot broth in small batches. Cover the rice with the broth and stir until broth is absorbed before adding more rice. Risotto is done when most, if not all, of the broth has been incorporated into the mixture. The rice will be tender and creamy. When rice is nearly done, stir in the cheese and the salt. Add a dash of nutmeg.

Serve with extra grated cheese for garnishing.