The Charmed Kitchen

Spicy Beet and Tomato Soup

I had a bunch of fresh beets in my fridge and since it’s a little cool today I thought I’d make soup with them. I took inspiration from what I had on hand including onions, potatoes and home canned tomatoes. Adding the tomatoes was a last minute decision that worked out really well. The tomatoes added just the right amount of tart/sweet flavor.  The color was really pretty, too.

I must say this about working with beets. I love them. I love how they taste.  I love the color, and how everything I cook with beets turns out the most gorgeous color. I don’t, however, like the way my kitchen looks whenever I cook with beets. It’s like something out of a crime scene. Not blaming the beets. Just wondering how it is I can clean up everything, then walk in the kitchen the next day and find flecks of red all over?

Here is the recipe. It was a small bunch of beets, so I just made a small batch of soup, but it could easily be doubled.

Spicy Beet and Tomato Soup

1 bunch beets, about 1 lb.

oil

1 onion, chopped

1 t. cumin seeds

1 t. fennel seeds

3-4 c. stock- I used chicken

1 potato, cubed

1 pint canned tomatoes – or 2 c. diced tomatoes – or 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1t. dill

1/4 t. cayenne, or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Wash beets and trim leaving about 1 inch of the stem attached. Reserve greens.  Place beets in a saucepan of boiling water and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove beets and cool in cold water until you can handle them. While beets are cooling, cook onion in oil until tender. Add seeds and cook until they are toasted and onions are golden.  Peel and cube the beets. Add to the onions along with the stock, potatoes and tomatoes and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Rinse and chop up about 1 cup of the beet greens and add them to the soup along with the seasonings. Cook until greens are tender, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve. Serves 3-4.

Raspberry Crumb Cake

I have been trying to clean out my freezer. I came across some raspberries I froze last summer and decided to make a cake with them. I have made this cake with fresh berries, too. Either works, but I give the cake a few extra minutes to bake when I use frozen berries. The cake is delicate and not too sweet. The crumb topping really makes it special. It stands on its own, but is also good served with a drizzle of melted chocolate, some extra berries or a scoop of ice cream. This cake always makes me think of summer, even on a chilly day.

When I was a kid we had a patch of raspberries in the back of the yard. It was always a special treat to go out on a summer day and harvest the raspberries, warm from the sun. We did lose berries to birds and squirrels and it became my Father’s mission to save as many berries as he could. When we got a new dog, my Dad was sure berry theft would go down. But we seemed to be getting even fewer berries. One day, my Mom caught the dog eating raspberries right off the plants. Mystery solved.

Raspberry Crumb Cake

For cake batter:
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
½ stick (¼ cup) butter, softened
¾ c. sugar
1 egg
½ c. sour cream
2 t. vanilla
2 cups raspberries – I like fresh but frozen work
For topping:
½ c. sugar
¼ c. flour
½ t. cinnamon
½ stick (¼ c. butter, chilled and cut into bits)

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, sour cream and vanilla. Add flour mixture gradually until just mixed in. Fold in raspberries. Grease and flour an 8 or 9-inch pan and add prepared batter. Combine topping ingredients until they resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter in pan and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven and bake for 35-45 minutes. Use toothpick to test.

Naan Bread

If you have ever eaten at an Indian restaurant, you probably had naan bread. The bread has a soft, yet chewy texture, and is often topped with seeds. I was invited to an Indian dinner with friends, and I offered to make the naan. I bake bread all the time, but somehow I had never made naan. I was excited to give it a try. I knew there would be some challenges.

The thin rounds of dough are traditionally baked against the wall of a tandoori oven. The clay of the oven walls  gets really hot, and cooks the bread quickly. Since I don’t have a tandoori oven, I baked my naan bread under the broiler. I was nervous that it would get burnt before it finished baking, but they turned out great. Soft, puffy bread pillows that I brushed with ghee right after baking. They came out even better than I had hoped. This is a bread I will be making again.

Naan Bread

1 t. sugar

1 pkt. Yeast

2/3 c. warm water

1½ c. flour

1 T. ghee*

1 t. salt

Oil for baking pans

Extra ghee for brushing breads

Sesame, fennel or poppy seeds, if you like

In medium bowl, combine sugar with yeast and warm water. Stir and allow to sit until mixture gets bubbly, about 10 minutes. In mixing bowl place the flour, ghee and salt and mix to combine. Add the yeast mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. You might have to add a little more water. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Return dough to mixing bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1½ hours. Turn dough onto floured surface and knead a couple more minutes. Unless you have a tandoori oven, you will need to cook the naan under a very hot broiler. Turn the broiler on. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with some oil. Set aside while you prepare the dough for baking. Cut dough into 6-8 pieces. Roll each piece into a circle about 5 inches across and ½ inch thick. Place dough on the prepared baking sheet and place under the broiler. I set mine about 4 inches from the heat. Turn breads a couple of times. They will take about 7 minutes to bake. Remove from broiler, brush with extra ghee or melted butter and sprinkle with seeds, if you like. Makes 6-8. Best served soon after baking.

*Ghee is essentially clarified butter, or butter where all the solids have been removed. To make ghee, gently melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. After melting, the butter will separate into three layers. This should only take a few minutes. Foam will appear on the top layer, the milk solids will migrate to the bottom of the pan, and clarified butter will float between the two. Let the butter come to a simmer and hold it here until the middle layer becomes fragrant, more golden than when you started, and clear – push the solids on top out of the way to have a peek. The milk solids at the bottom will begin to brown. At this point it is a matter of preference, you can let the solids lightly brown, or let things progress a bit further. When the ghee is finished, skim absolutely all of the top layer of foam into a bowl with a spoon or strainer, turn off the heat, and allow things to settle for a minute or so. Next, carefully pour the golden central layer through a strainer, into a clean glass jar, leaving the milk solids at the bottom of the pan.  It can be used as a cooking oil, for flavoring all sorts of foods, and is amazing on popcorn.

Very Berry Scones

I had been cleaning out the freezer and found some frozen berries from last Summer. I decided to use some of them to make these scones.  Even when the weather is chilly- fresh berry scones make me feel warmer. I used a combination of blueberries and  blackberries, but raspberries would work nicely, too. I had one with a cup of coffee for breakfast. They could also be used as a dessert in a berry shortcake. The secret to a tender scone is to be gentle with the dough. Do not mix too much. As soon as the dough holds together, you are good to go.

Very Berry Scones 

2 c. flour

1/4 c. sugar

1 T. baking powder

¾ t. salt

6 T. chilled butter

1 ½ c. berries, fresh or frozen- do not thaw berries – I used blackberries and blueberries

1 t. lemon or orange zest

2 large eggs

1/3 c. heavy cream

Mix dry ingredients together in bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Toss in blueberries and zest. Beat together eggs and cream and stir into flour mixture. Mix very gently to avoid bruising berries. Use a small ice cream scoop to scoop out batter and place on baking sheet. Place scoops about an inch apart. Press down slightly. Brush with a little cream and sprinkle with a little extra sugar. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 20-22 minutes. Makes 15-18.

Giant Peanut Butter Cup

I wanted a food gift, for a friend. I wanted to make her something special. I decided to try my hand at making a giant peanut butter cup. I’ve made small ones in the past, so I knew the basic structure. Using a 10-inch tart pan offered different challenges, but I went ahead and gave it a try. I wasn’t worried about the components. I had good quality dark chocolate and peanut butter. I knew it would taste good. I wasn’t sure it would stay in one piece. After using more than a pound of chocolate, I didn’t want to bring her a pile of broken pieces. It worked, and here is the result. Since I haven’t given it to her yet, I don’t have any pictures of it sliced. I used a pretty good amount of chocolate. You could probably use less, but I wanted the chocolate thick enough on the bottom the make it sturdy. I also used a slightly altered version of the filling I use when I make buckeyes. I am pleased with how it came out. Who am I kidding? I am just happy it came out in one piece.

Here is how I did it.

Susie’s Giant Peanut Butter Cup

1- 1½ lbs. chocolate – I used a nice quality dark chocolate

1½ c. peanut butter

1 stick (½ cup )  butter, softened

2 ½ c. powdered sugar

2 t. vanilla

You will need a tart pan with a removable bottom. I used a 10-inch pan, but a 9- inch pan would work, too. Cover the removable bottom of the tart pan with wax paper. It will make it easier to get the thing out in one piece later. I cut out a square and just folded the extra wax paper under the pan and taped it down. Melt the chocolate and pour enough of it into the bottom of the tart pan that you can cover the bottom generously. Use a small spoon to push chocolate up the sides of the pan.

Now at this point you could just keep tipping the pan to get the chocolate evenly coated inside. I know my limitations. I just pictured myself dropping the pan of melted chocolate, so I used the spoon method instead. The important thing is that the entire inside get a coating of chocolate. Place pan in fridge to cool and chocolate to set up. Meanwhile, in medium bowl mix peanut butter and butter together until well mixed. Stir in sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth. Spread this mixture over the chocolate shell. Don’t press too hard. You don’t want to break the shell. I will confess that before I added the peanut butter, I played around with loosening the chocolate shell. I was worried it would not come out later. After I added the peanut butter mixture, I put it back in the fridge to firm up. Once the peanut butter mixture was chilled, I melted the rest of the chocolate and poured it over the top.

I used a lot of chocolate in the base and needed to melt more chocolate than I originally planned on. I do think the thicker shell helped when it came time to get it out of the tart pan.

To remove the peanut butter cup- make sure it is completely hardened. I gently pulled at the sides all around the edges of the tart pan, to loosen it. Then I pushed up on the removable bottom of the pan. After a few gentle pushes, it came out. I had to trim a little chocolate off the bottom when removing the wax paper, but it helped in getting the peanut butter cup out in one piece.

Spread peanut butter mixture over chocolate shell

Spread melted chocolate over peanut butter filling

Chicken with Rhubarb Glaze

Like a lot of people, when I think of rhubarb, I first think of desserts like pie or cobbler. I had some rhubarb and could not decide what to do with it. I chopped it up, and cooked it in a little water until tender. I ended up with 2 cups of cooked rhubarb. I used this as the base for the glaze. I added the other ingredients, cooked it down until it was thick, and ended up with about 2 cups of glaze. It had a nice balance of sweet, tart and heat.  I used some of it as a glaze for chicken I was cooking. I froze the rest. It would also be good on other meats or even on grilled veggies.

Rhubarb Glazed Chicken

8 chicken thighs or 1 whole chicken, cut up

1 cup rhubarb glaze ( recipe follows

salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken pieces in roasting pan, season to taste and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and drain any fat out of the pan. Pour over the rhubarb glaze and return chicken to oven for an additional 35 minutes. Baste the chicken with some of the glaze in the pan and return to oven for 15 minutes more. Serves 4.

Rhubarb Glaze

2 c. cooked rhubarb

1 c. apple cider vinegar

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 T. honey

2 T. dried minced onion

1 T. hot sauce

1 T. paprika

2 t. minced garlic

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 t. cumin

1 t. cinnamon

salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until thickened. Stir more often as mixture thickens. Cook until sauce has reduced to about 2 cups. Use as a glaze on meats and vegetables. It was great on chicken but would also go well on pork or duck. Note: I liked the tang of it but you could make it a little sweeter to suit your own taste. Makes 2 cups. Will keep a few weeks in the fridge or can be frozen.

Cinnamon Pecan Shortbread

It seems I am always making variations on shortbread cookies. I love shortbread. I am not alone- so many friends have told me the same thing. There is something about the crumbly texture of shortbread that makes them a favorite for a lot of people. This recipe is a classic shortbread, topped with cinnamon and pecans. They are really good. You just make a batch of dough, top with a cinnamon – pecan mixture, and bake. Could not be simpler. As soon as they come out of the oven cut them into little strips. I got nearly 100 out of one batch. It depends on the size you cut them. If you are looking for a simple, yet wonderful cookie, you might want to try these.

  Cinnamon Pecan Shortbread Cookies

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg, separated
2 c. flour
1 T. water
½ c. finely chopped pecans                                                                                                                        2 t. cinnamon
Lightly grease jellyroll pan (10×15). Mix butter, sugar and egg yolk then stir in flour. Pat into pan. Beat egg white with water until frothy and spread over dough. Combine pecans and cinnamon. Sprinkle on nut mixture and bake in a 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut immediately into tiny strips, makes 50- 100 .

Bacon and Swiss Quiche

I really enjoy how versatile a quiche can be. You can serve quiche for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The fillings are versatile, too. There are an endless combination of fillings you can choose. I decided to use two of my favorite fillings in this Bacon and Swiss Quiche. The smoky flavor of the bacon really works well with the almost nutty flavor of the Swiss cheese. You could certainly use other cheeses. Gouda would be great in this recipe, or perhaps, a sharp cheddar.  I used a home made crust, but use whatever crust works for you. The crust recipe makes two, so you can freeze the rest for later use. I prefer a glass pie pan. I think I get a better bake on my crust is glass, but again, use what works for you. So here is the recipe.

Bacon and Swiss Quiche

1 pie crust- recipe follows

1¾ lbs. sliced bacon

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

1 t. spicy brown mustard

¼ t. ground nutmeg

½ c. all-purpose flour, or as needed

1½ c. shredded Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out crust and place in a 9 inch-deep dish pie pan. Set aside. Place bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. In a bowl, mix eggs, milk, mustard and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, toss bacon with flour to lightly coat. Shake off excess. Spread 3/4  of the bacon mixture in the pie crust and top with the Swiss cheese. Pour egg mixture over bacon mixture. Top with remaining bacon mixture. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Flaky Pie Crust

2 c. flour

1 t. salt

3/4 c. butter, chilled

1 T. cider vinegar

4-5 T. cold water

Combine flour and salt and cut in butter. Toss in vinegar and water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough holds together. Use a fork to toss the ingredients together and as soon as the mixture holds together stop adding water. Makes 2. Chill well before using

Goldenrod

About those Easter eggs….I know a lot of my friends dyed eggs for Easter. It was always a fun activity in my family. Now the holiday is over and you might be wondering what to do with them. I thought I would share some recipe using hard cooked eggs. There is even a recipe for a cookie.

Goldenrod is a recipe my grandmother and mother used to make every year after Easter. Very tasty and a great way to use up extra eggs. You just make a white sauce and add the chopped up egg whites. Season with salt and pepper. When ready to serve pour the hot egg white mixture over toast and then put the egg yolks in a small strainer or sieve and press them through the strainer over the egg whites. The yolks turn into a powder and the end result looks quite pretty. I like it served over English muffins but you can serve it over toast, biscuits or bagels.

Goldenrod

4-6 hard cooked eggs

2 T. flour

2 T. butter

1-1 1/2 c. milk

salt and pepper to taste

2-4 slices bread, toasted

Peel eggs and separate whites from yolks. Chop egg whites and set aside. In saucepan cook flour and butter together until smooth. Stir in milk and cook until thickened and bubbly. Be careful not to burn the sauce. Season to taste and add reserved egg whites, heating through. Arrange toast on serving dishes and cover with the sauce. Place reserves egg yolks in a fine sieve and press through over sauce, dusting as evenly as possible. Serves 2-4.

Mom’s Macaroni Salad

1 lb. uncooked pasta, shells are preferred
Salt and pepper
Mayonnaise, about 1 cup
Salad dressing, like Spin Blend or Miracle Whip, about ½ cup
3-4 ribs celery, sliced thin
4-5 green onions, trimmed and sliced thin
8-12 hard-cooked eggs, cooled and peeled

Cook pasta according to package directions, but do not overcook. Rinse with cold water and drain well. Place drained pasta in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add dressings and vegetables and stir until well mixed. You may want to add more dressing to suit your taste. Chop eggs and stir into salad. Adjust seasonings if needed and chill before serving. Serves 8-10.

 Polish Butter Cookies

This cookie dough includes cooked eggs yolks. I wish I remember where I got the recipe. It is a Polish recipe, at least according to the name, but my Mom never heard of it. So, wherever the source, it is a good cookie, with nice flavor and texture.

Dough:

1 c. butter

3/4 c. sugar

5 hard-cooked egg yolks, pressed through a fine sieve

1 t. vanilla

2 1/4 c. flour

1 t. salt

Glaze:

1 egg white

1 t. water

1/3 c. sugar

1/2-1 t. cinnamon

Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt. Wrap dough and chill for at least an hour. Roll out 1/4 of the dough at a time into scant 1/4 -inch thickness. This dough is soft, so I use a pastry cloth to prevent sticking. Use extra flour sparingly and use a marble rolling pin or one with a cloth sleeve.  I also keep extra dough chilled until ready to roll. Cut out with cookie cutters and place on greased baking sheet. Mix egg white with water and brush on cookies. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on cookies. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 10-12 minutes. Cookies will be golden. Makes around 5 dozen, depending on the size of the cutters.

Wilted Kale Salad with Bacon

2-3 slices thick sliced bacon, chopped

1 onion, sliced

4-5 cups kale, washed and torn into pieces

2 T. cider vinegar

1 T. maple syrup

dash of hot sauce

2 hard- cooked eggs, peeled and cubed

In skillet cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon from pan and set aside. Remove some of the fat from the pan- leaving about 2 tablespoonfuls. Add onion and cook until golden. Return bacon to pan and add the kale. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until kale in wilted. I don’t mind my kale on the firm side-cook it longer if you like it more tender. Drizzle in the vinegar, maple syrup and hot sauce and stir to coat evenly. Place on a serving dish and top with the eggs. Enjoy!!

Curried Egg Sandwiches

These tiny sandwiches are perfect for a tea party.

3 T. mayonnaise

½ t. curry powder, or to taste

½ t. salt

¼ t. fresh ground pepper

4 hard-cooked eggs

6 T. butter, softened

¼ c. chutney, chopped, or sweet pickle relish

16 very thin slices whole wheat or pumpernickel bread, crusts trimmed

Combine mayo with seasonings. chop eggs and add to mayo mixture, stirring to blend. In small bowl combine butter with chutney. Spread a slice of bread with some of the butter mixture then top off with some of the egg mixture. Top with another slice of bread that has also been spread with the butter mixture. Cut sandwich into quarters, diagonally, making 4 sandwiches. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Makes 32 sandwiches.

Hot Cross Bun Bread Pudding

The first time I made this dish, it was sort of an accident. It was right after Easter, a couple of years ago. I was having dinner with friends, and I was in charge of making dessert. I had leftover hot cross buns, so I decided to re-purpose them into bread pudding. The end result was really good. So good, that I now bake extra hot cross buns, just so I can make this bread pudding from them. You could use home made or store bought buns for this recipe. My recipe for hot cross buns is at the bottom of this post.

Hot Cross Buns Bread Pudding

12 c. torn up hot cross buns- I used 8 buns

2 c. half and half

1 c. milk – I used almond milk

1 c. sugar- or less if you are using frosted buns

5 eggs

1 T. vanilla

1 T. cinnamon

Frosting:

1 c. powdered sugar

4 t. milk

In large mixing bowl place the torn up buns. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the buns. Stir to moisten evenly. Spoon mixture into a buttered 9×13-inch pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until bread pudding is set and a little golden on top. While the bread pudding is baking combine powdered sugar with milk to make a frosting thin enough to drizzle. Let bread pudding cool 10 minutes and drizzle with frosting.  Serves 8-10.

Hot Cross Buns