Filed under: Budget Meals, Soup | Tags: autumn soup, easy soup, pumpkin soup, roasting pumpkin, vegan option
We never ate fresh pumpkin growing up. We carved them. We ate zucchini, butternut, and countless other varieties of squash, but then would head off to the store and purchase pumpkin puree in a can to make our holiday pumpkin pie.
I had no idea how easy it was to cook pumpkin. I have to admit that I learned this from Martha Stewart years ago and I have not gone a season without cooking up lots of pumpkins and storing the puree in the freezer to use in various ways all winter long.
Okay, are you ready for how easy it is to roast a pumpkin…
1. Stick the entire pumpkin on a foil lined baking sheet. Yes, the entire pumpkin! No cutting, nothing!
2. Put in a 350F oven for about an hour or until pumpkin starting to soften and brown up. It will be soft to the touch when done.
3. Let cool completely.
4. Pull off skin. Discard seeds and stringy stuff.
5. Store cooked pumpkin in quart freezer bags.
Can be used in soup, pie, ravioli, etc. So many choices.
Now, let’s get on with pumpkin soup…
The ingredients are few, but you do not need much with fresh pumpkin. It simply tastes fabulous.
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 t. sage
1lb. pumpkin puree
3-4 cups chicken/ vegetable stock
2-3 T. butter
salt and pepper to taste
1. In soup pot, heat oil over med heat.
2. Add garlic and sage to oil and stir. Let get warm and garlic soften a bit.
3. Add pumpkin puree, stir. Then add 3 cups of stock.
4. I use a hand blender to blend the puree and stock together, but you can also use a stand blender. Add more stock to get the consistency that I want. Add butter one tablespoon at a time until the texture is smoother.
5. Taste, then adjust salt and pepper.
6. Heat through and serve.
Homemade soup is pure food of love. A warm cozy bowl of goodness. It is healthy and something my home always has some variety of it during the winter.
Pull up a chair, Elizabeth
Filed under: Main Entree | Tags: budget friendly, chicken, chicken with creamy mustard sauce, chicken with wine sauce, comfort food, crowd pleaser, rustic
My friend, Sarah, has been known to say, “Food is just the vehicle for the sauce.” This is one of those dishes. Twelve garlic cloves and lots of sage make this creamy mustard sauce the kind of stuff that you sop up with your bread and pour over your mashed potatoes. I was inspired by a fabulous Portuguese chef and restaurant owner, Marie Teresa Jorge. She also has a farm in Tuscany. I know, right… a farm in Tuscany. How cool is that?Her original recipe is on Food 52. I changed it up a bit, but what I still add wine and cognac and make a cream slurry in the end to give it a smooth finish. It is just so good.
I bought five amish sourced chicken thighs and legs for $3.17. Not organic, but no horomones or steroids were added. I made mashed potatoes with vegan butter and ricemilk, then topped with fried leeks. A simple salad with lemon vinaigrette compliment the creaminess of the chicken and potatoes. My friends brought the bread and wine. The lettuce and potatoes were from a local and organic source. This entire meal easily fed four adults and two children and was made up of under $8.00 of ingredients. This rustic lip smacking meal was fresh, easy to make and cheaper then feeding six people at McDonald’s. When I do the math and think about the health of my family, I can not believe that I ever go out for fast food. Oh and then I remember that I have moments of pure laziness. Oh, the guilt…
Serves 6
8 chicken thighs or 5-6 leg and thighs
12 garlic cloves with skin on
10 sage leaves
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Dijon Classic Mustard
2/3 cup White wine
1/3 cup Cognac
1 cup Chicken stock or water if you don’t have stock
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
salt
black and white pepper
1. In a large enough pan, add the butter and the olive oil, the sage leaves and the garlics with the skin on them. When the butter starts to sizzle add the chicken thighs skin side down and let them get golden brown over medium low heat. Turn them with a spatula without damaging the chicken and brown the other side. They will be cooking later so you just want to get the nice golden brown color now.
2. Heat the chicken stock.
3. Remove the chicken from the pan, add the white wine and the cognac and deglaze the pan, scraping any pieces of meat stuck on the bottom. Let the alcohol evaporate completely, then add the mustard and dissolve in the sauce with a whisk.
4. Place the chicken in a baking pan in a 375F oven and let it cook through and crisp up the skin a little. Approximently 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, add the hot chicken stock to sauce pan. Season with salt and freshly ground white and black pepper and let simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Squeeze the garlics and sage in the pan with the back of a wooden spoon or spatula to release more flavour, then discard them.
7. Sift the flour and dissolve it in 3 tablespoons of cream using a whisk. Add the remaining cream and whisk. Keep whisking so the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom. Let the sauce reduce again to the amount you need, always stirring.
8. Remove chicken from oven and place on plate or platter. Pour the hot sauce over the chicken and serve immediately with some mashed potatoes.
By the way, you should really fry up some leeks to put on the top of the mashed potatoes. Adds a whole flavor and texture element that puts it over the top. Just toss the sliced leeks in a little flour, shake off excess and drop in some oil. Brown, drain on paper towel, and salt. So good.
So, I am working on it. You know… putting myself on the list of things that I need to take care of. I know in my heart and soul it is just as fast to stay home and make dinner, then to hop in the car and go out for fast food. My family and the planet deserve the attention that I pay to preparing meals at home. It saves money, it is healthier, and I produce a lot less waste and conserve energy by cooking fresh locally sourced food. So.. l am working on it and it does seem to be getting easier. You all are keeping me honest.
Pull up a chair, Elizabeth
Filed under: Desserts, Vegan | Tags: banana cake, budget friendly, chocolate cake, classic dessert, crazy cake, dairy free dessert, dessert, Vegan, vegan dessert, wacky cake
I am not baker by any means. Actually, I do not even have much of a sweet tooth, but do expect a quick fork jab in your hand if you even try to take a french fry from my plate. Now, I have a son with real sweet tooth and I have a inclination of indulging it because he is allergic to everything else. He is so patient when we are at school or social events and the food that is served is nothing he can eat due to his allergies. He’ll say, “It’s okay, mommy. I was not hungry anyway.” Ohhh, it just breaks my heart a little, but my pride of how well he handles these situations everytime heals the heart break immediately. So I bake…so I indulge.
Wacky cake, crazy cake or depression cake are some of the names that I have heard it called. This spongy rich cake is made with oil, cocoa, and vinegar, but no eggs and dairy. Eggs and dairy were not readily available during the Depression, so the wacky cake was born. You can make it with everything you have in your pantry. It was present at almost every Methodist potluck I attended in my childhood. I also remember that is was the only cake my mom ever made right it in the same pan that she baked it in. I revisited this recipe when I learned that my son had allergies. I have heard it touted as a vegan cake, but giggle at the thought of explaining to the ladies at the church social back in the 70′s-80′s what the word “vegan” meant. How the world has changed, huh? This cake is just good, fast and easy to make and my son can eat it.
Original Version:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
4 T. cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 T. vinegar
6 T. vegetable oil
1 cup water
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a 9inch square baking pan, mix all the ingredients through salt. Make sure that it is all blended well.
3. Then add vanilla, vinegar, oil and water. Stir well.
4. Bake in oven for approximently 25-30 minutes. You want to make sure that is not over cooked.
My version:
Add 1 banana mushed
Use only 5 T. oil
Replace 1/2 of the water with coffee
Glaze:
4 T. butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T. Cocoa powder
1-2 T. Milk/Rice Milk
1. In microwave safe dish, melt butter in microwave.
2. Stir in the sugar and cocoa.
3. Slowly add in milk until smooth
Banana Cake version:
Omit cocoa powder
2 mashed bananas added
only 4 T. oil
add extra 1/2 t. vanilla
a few grates of nutmeg
Note: We placed a few ripe pear slices on top before we baked it. Turned out great. Do not know why you could not add strawberries or blueberries. Endless possibilities.
I am here to say Wacky Cake is one sane and satisfying cake. I would love to hear about your different takes on this recipe and about the wacky family members you make it for. Super good and cost effective on top of it.
Pull up a chair, Elizabeth
