The Charmed Kitchen

Sorrel Soup

If you aren’t familiar with sorrel, you should be. This easy to grow perennial produces clumps of bright green leaves that have a distinct lemon/citrus flavor. There is wild sorrel, but it is so easy to grow, why not free up a little space to grow your own? The cultivated variety is also known as French Sorrel. French Sorrel has large leaves, much larger than wild varieties. It can sometimes be found in specialty food stores and farm markets, but it is not easy to find for sale. One more reason to grow your own. I use sorrel to make soup, but young leaves are great in salads and sauces as well. I make a sauce for seafood with sour cream and sorrel. So good.

I normally have sorrel in my garden, but sadly, the deer got mine this Spring. I was lucky enough to get some from a friend. I knew right away I was going to make soup with it.  This soup is part of my growing up. My Polish grandmother would make it when she got sorrel. She had to rely on wild sorrel, until I started growing it. My mom made this soup, too.

Sorrel soup is a creamy potato soup, with lots of chopped sorrel added at the end. It changes from bright green to an olive green in a minute or two, once added to the hot soup. It gives the soup a green, citrus flavor. I love it.

Sorrel Soup

2 medium onions, chopped
2 T. butter
2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 ribs celery, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 qt. chicken or vegetable stock
1 qt. milk or half and half
1/3 –1/2 c. flour
1 lb. Sorrel leaves, washed and spun dry, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In soup pot sauté onions in butter until tender. Add vegetables, stock and 3 cups of the milk. Simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. In a container, with a tight fitting lid, place the flour with the remaining milk and shake until mixture is smooth. Pour into hot soup and simmer 3-4 minutes. Use more or less flour depending on how thick you like your soup. Toss in sorrel, adjust seasonings and serve. Garnish with snipped chives, if desired. Serves 6-8.

Fresh Sorrel

German Potato Salad

I don’t think there is a potato salad that I don’t like. I make all sorts of versions, depending on my mood, and what I have on hand. When the air gets chilly, I really enjoy making German Potato Salad. Unlike most potato salads, German Potato Salad is served warm. There are a lot of variations on this recipe, but this one is my favorite. I made it for an Octoberfest dinner and it was a big hit.

German Potato Salad

3 cups diced peeled potatoes
4 slices bacon
1 small onion, diced
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar                                                                                                                  3 T. chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Place the potatoes into a pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain, and set aside to cool. Place the bacon in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Fry until browned and crisp, turning as needed. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add onion to the bacon grease, and cook over medium heat until browned. Add the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper to the pan. Bring to a boil, then add the potatoes and parsley. Crumble in half of the bacon. Heat through, then transfer to a serving dish. Crumble the remaining bacon over the top, and serve warm.

Flaming Ghost Cake

I have posted this recipe before, but thought it might be a good time to post it again. This one is fun for Halloween. You start with a baked 9×13-inch cake. Frost it with chocolate frosting and then use white frosting to draw a ghost on the cake. You can make all sorts of images- cats, bats, pumpkins. When ready to serve the cake, the eyes are set on fire. Fun effect. Kids and grown-ups both will get a kick out of it. Just be sure to have proper adult supervision for the kids. The picture doesn’t do it justice. Very cool blue flames. Don’t forget to turn down the lights!

Flaming Ghost Cake

1 prepared 9×13- inch cake, any flavor, or white cake tinted orange

2 c. chocolate frosting, I prefer homemade

1 c. vanilla frosting, I prefer homemade

3 oz. semi sweet chocolate, optional

2 empty eggshell halves, washed well and dried

2 sugar cubes

Lemon extract

Frost cake with chocolate frosting, then spread vanilla frosting in the shape of a ghost. Melt chocolate in a small plastic bag. When chocolate is melted snip off the corner of the bag and use to outline ghost. Place eggshell halves in cake, round side down where the ghost’s eyes would be. Soak sugar cubes in extract and place in eggshells. When ready to serve light sugar cubes and turn off the lights. Serve 12-16.

Variations: You can use the flaming eyes effect on cat shapes, pumpkins or even bats. Practice drawing the shape on paper before frosting the cake. If you bake a larger round cake the whole thing can be the pumpkin. Just frost it with orange tinted frosting.

Smoky Pumpkin Soup

I was asked to make a pumpkin bisque for a recent party. The soup actually had a lot more than just pumpkin in it. A mix of veggies, simmered with smoky ham, then pureed and finished with half and half, the soup was creamy and full of flavor.  It turned out just great. It makes a big batch, (it was a big party), but it freezes well so you can have some whenever you want.

Smoky Pumpkin Soup

2 qts. Water
2 lbs. uncooked smoked turkey on the bone, or a ham bone with lots of meat
2 onions, peeled and halved
3-4 large carrots, peeled and chunked
1 cauliflower, cut into flowerets
2-3 ribs celery, sliced
1-2 sweet red peppers, seeded and cut up
1 can (about 14.5 oz.), tomatoes
4 c. cooked pumpkin or winter squash (you can use 3-4 sweet potatoes instead)      1 qt. half and half
2 T. Italian seasoning (I use Tuscan, recipe follows)                                                         salt and pepper to taste, plus a healthy dash of hot sauce

Place all ingredients, except half and half and seasonings, in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until vegetables are very tender and meat is cooked and tender, at least 1½ hours and up to 3 hours. Remove meat to cool and add half and half and herbs. Use an immersion blender to puree the vegetables. It does not have to be completely smooth, but it should be close. Adjust seasonings if needed. Cut the meat off the bones and return meat to the chowder. Serves 10+.
Note: I make it in even larger batches because this chowder freezes well. You can add other vegetables like corn, potatoes, green beans or whatever else you have around. I often add cabbage and zucchini. If you want thicker chowder add a potato or two to the recipe. You can also add smoked sausage, if you like. Just remove the sausage, puree the chowder, slice sausage and return to the pot. I also use leftover chicken or turkey and just add a little liquid smoke for another way to get the smoky flavor. This is also a good way to use up a ham bone or leftover ham or turkey ham.

Tuscan Seasoning

½ c. dried basil
½ c. dried oregano
½ c. dried marjoram
3 T. dried minced onion
2 T. dried minced garlic
2 T. dried rosemary
2 T. dried parsley
1 t. crushed red pepper

Use this blend in tomato sauce or other Italian dishes. Also, you can add to vinegar and oil with a little salt, if desired, to make a quick salad dressing.

Halloween Burger Buns

There has been some talk in the news lately about hamburger buns. Seems a fast food restaurant decided to make black hamburger buns for a Halloween promotion. Some people had issue with all the food coloring in them, specifically the black food coloring. I came up with an idea for a Halloween burger bun that I think is better. I used cooked pumpkin in the buns for a little touch of orange color and black sesame seeds on the top. You could certainly add a little orange food coloring if you want them a brighter shade of orange. Turmeric could add some natural color, too. I like them the way they are.

Halloween Burger Buns

1 c. water
1 c. cooked pumpkin or squash
¼ c. brown sugar
2 t. salt
2 pkt. Yeast
4½ -5½ c. flour
2 eggs, beaten, reserve 2 T. for brushing the rolls
Black sesame seeds

Heat together water and squash until warm. Place sugar and salt in large bowl and pour in squash mixture. Cool to lukewarm. Add yeast and 2 cups of flour. Beat at medium speed with mixer for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup flour and eggs and continue mixing. Add flour gradually to form a stiff dough. Knead on floured board for 7-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning dough to coat evenly. Cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled, about an hour. Punch dough down and divide into pieces. You should get about 18. Shape into rolls. Place on greased baking sheet and flatten a little. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-40 minutes. Combine reserved egg with a couple of tablespoons of water and brush over the rolls. Sprinkle with the black sesame seeds. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. Makes 1 ½ dozen. You can certainly make the rolls larger, or smaller, depending on the size burgers you want. For slider sized buns, you should end up with about 30.
Variation: you can also add ½ t. ground nutmeg, 1-2 T. chopped chives or 1 T. parsley flakes or ½ t. cayenne for a little different flavor.

Fried Brown Rice with Veggies

 This might not be what comes to mind when you think fried rice. I love fried rice from the local Chinese restaurant, but I like this recipe so much better. For starters, it is made with brown rice, which I really prefer. It also has a lot more veggies in it than more traditional fried rice. The additional veggies add a lot of flavor and texture and also makes it a pretty dish. I make it often, swapping out veggies based on what I have, and what is in season.  This is the version I made the other night.

Fried Brown Rice with Vegetables

3 T. oil
1 c. thinly sliced carrots
1 onion, sliced thin
1 clove minced garlic
1 large sweet pepper, seeded and sliced thin
1 c. thin sliced zucchini
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 T. water, optional
2 c. green beans, sliced or pea pods, washed and trimmed
1 c. cold cooked brown rice
4 T. soy sauce
chopped green onion, optional

Place wok over high heat. Add oil when wok is hot. Add carrots and stir-fry 1 minute. Add onion, garlic and pepper and stir-fry 1 minute more. Add zucchini, mushrooms and beans or peas, stir-frying until vegetables are tender crisp, about 2-3 minutes more, adding water if needed. If needed, add extra oil as well. Add rice and stir-fry until just heated through. Add soy sauce and top with onions if you like. Serves 6.

Apple and Pear Cobbler

While cobblers can be made with any number of different fruits,  I really love the combination of apples and pears. It is one of the simplest desserts you can make from scratch, and one of my favorites, for sure.  In the time it takes to preheat the oven, you can have it ready to bake. This recipe calls for baking mix, like Bisquick. I make my own- recipes follows, but use what you like. The cobbler is fine served plain, or with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream. It can also be served cold, but I prefer to serve it warm.

Easy Apple and Pear Cobbler

4 c. peeled and sliced apples and pears

½ c. sugar

1 T. plus 2/3 c. baking mix (Like Bisquick or Jiffy Mix or even homemade)- recipe follows

1-2 t. cinnamon

2 T. packed brown sugar

¼ c. butter

2 T. milk

In 1-quart shallow casserole, combine fruit, sugar, 1 tablespoon of the biscuit mix and cinnamon. In medium bowl combine remaining biscuit mix with sugar. Cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in milk to make a soft dough. Drop by spoonfuls over fruit mixture. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into dough comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Serves 4-6.

Baking/ Biscuit Mix

8 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
1 c. powdered milk
1 c. powdered buttermilk
¼ c. baking powder
1 T. salt
2 c. shortening*
Sift dry ingredients together 3 times. Cut in shortening to resemble cornmeal. Keep in an airtight container. Store in a cool dry place and use within six months.

*You can use butter or coconut oil in place of the shortening. Just store in the fridge, if you do.

Apple and Bacon Saute

 I wanted a side dish to go with a dinner that I was having with friends. I had plenty of apples, but not much time. I also wanted something other than applesauce. I decided to saute apples with bacon. It was a big hit. The smokiness of the bacon worked great with the tart apples. We had it with roasted chicken, but I could see this dish pairing nicely with a pork roast, too.

Apples with Bacon

6 slices thick-cut bacon

7 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced – I used tart apples

1/3 c. brown sugar, or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

hot pepper sauce to taste

Chop bacon and cook in skillet until crisp. Spoon out some of the fat from the pan- leave a couple of tablespoonfuls in the pan. Add apples to the bacon in the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring often, until apples are tender and have started to caramelize. Add sugar and seasonings and heat through. Serves 4-6.

I remember having crumb cake as a kid and loving it. The tender cake and crunchy topping seemed the perfect combination to me. Even today I would rather have a crumb topping on a cake than frosting. This recipe hits all the right notes. Sweet with pear and apple chunks throughout, and that crunchy topping that I love. If you prefer, you can also make the cake with all apples or all pears- just have 2 cups of chopped fruit, in total.

Pear and Apple Crumb Cake

Pear and Apple 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. milk

1 c. chopped peeled, cored apples*

1 c. peeled, cored and chopped pears*

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 and milk. Add flour mixture gradually until just mixed in. Fold in fruit. 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.

Note: I used a 9-inch square pan and it worked fine.

*You can also use all pears or all apples, if you prefer.