Mandarin Orange Sorbet
This is one of those dishes that is so simple, but so tasty. In the end, its just frozen mandarin oranges, blended up in a food processor until creamy. You can add some sugar, if you like, and a little vanilla. then finish off with a pinch of salt.
I served this sorbet to some friends after dinner the other night and they loved it. The color is beautiful and the flavor is refreshing. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it would taste like an elevated version of a creamsicle. I could see adding a scoop to a cold drink on a hot summer day. But it is good enough to serve all on its own.
I make a lot of fruit based sorbets. An abundance of mandarins were my inspiration for this one. I needed to use them in something!! I will certainly play around with adding other flavors or perhaps adding some zest next time. I already have frozen more mandarins to use later.
For now, I am very pleased with this simple and flavorful dessert. Here is how I made it.
Mandarin Orange Sorbet
10-12 mandarin oranges
1-2 T. sugar, optional or to taste
1 t. vanilla, optional
Pinch of salt
Peel and freeze the mandarins. Once frozen, place them in a food processor and process until mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Taste and see if you want to add a little sugar. Sweeten to taste and add the vanilla, also optional, and just a pinch of salt. Combine well then return to the freezer until you are ready to serve it. Makes about 1 pint.
Fish and Vegetable Soup
When you think of homemade soup, I am guessing you don’t think of fish. Perhaps a clam chowder, but not fish. Maybe you should. This soup is really quite wonderful. It is full of great flavors and it cooks up in no time. It is both light and satisfying. It sort of reminded me of a Manhattan style chowder, but with fish instead of clams.
You can use any mild fish you happen to like. I have used salmon, catfish, cod, perch and flounder in the past, and liked the way all of them tasted in the soup. You can also use a mix of more than one fish.
The recipe calls for canned tomatoes, but fresh tomatoes would work. I have used bottled salsa a few times. It added a nice little bit of extra flavor. You would add a pound of diced fresh tomatoes, if using fresh. I used home canned tomatoes.
So here is the recipe. Hope you give it a try.
Fish and Vegetable Soup
1 medium carrot, sliced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 large leek, white part only, cleaned and chopped
5 c. chicken, vegetable or fish stock
1 (14 oz.) can of stewed tomatoes, I used a pint of home canned tomatoes
Salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste to taste
1 1/2 lb. firm white fish cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 c. flour
2 t. paprika
2 T. oil 1/4 c. fresh parsley
In broth cook the carrot, celery and leeks 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and potatoes and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes longer. Season to taste. Meanwhile mix the flour and paprika together and dredge the fish in it. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat and cook the fish until lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Before serving add fish pieces and parsley to the soup and simmer 5 minutes. Serve with crusty bread. Serves 6.
Vegan Banana Muffins
With so much talk about high egg prices I thought it was a good time to share this recipe for banana muffins that require no eggs. I first made them years ago for my vegan niece and her boyfriend. Bananas are often listed as an egg substitute in recipes. I’ve been experimenting with egg substitutes and will be posting more recipes soon. The recipe makes a lot of muffins, but you can easily cut it in half, or just plan on freezing some.
Vegan Banana Muffins
3 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 c. mashed bananas
1 c. oil
1 c. almond milk
2 t. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin pans with paper liners, or grease lightly. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and set aside. In medium bowl combine bananas with oil, milk and vanilla until smooth. Make a well in dry ingredients and pour in banana mixture. Stir until smooth, but don’t over mix. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling just over half full. Bake 28-30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool a little before serving. Makes 24. Freeze well.
Eva’s Kolachy
Over the years, I have shared many of my family recipes. This is another family recipe- but not my family. Tia Houpt found this recipe when going through her Grandmother’s recipe collection. She was kind enough to share the recipe- and gave me permission to share it with you. Her grandmother was Eva Skero- so I have named the kolachy in Eva’s honor.
There is something special in having old family recipes. We find so many recipes online these days, we sometimes forget there was a time when recipes were handwritten. Often, they were stored in a drawer or in a shoe box. There is usually a mix of handwritten recipes and recipes cut out of newspapers and magazines.
Sometimes you just find a list of ingredients. Measurements aren’t always precise. A handful of this a pinch of that. The phrase “moderately hot oven” doesn’t real help, does it? And what exactly is a number 2 can? Still, there are some real gems in those collections.
This is one of those recipes. A real gem.
I have made kolachy for years and have used the recipe for the crust that my mom used. I love my mom’s recipe. I love this recipe even more.
I was intrigued that the dough contains both baking powder and yeast. I had to make it, just to see what it was like.
The dough is tender and very easy to work with. It doesn’t get chilled. You just make the dough, then roll it out and make the cookies. I did let my butter soften a little before cutting it into the flour. I could see using cold butter instead.
The dough rolled out beautifully and baked up a perfect golden brown. I had to let them cool a bit before I could taste one. I am not kidding- they were heavenly. Tender and so flaky. Tia and I both see this as a very nice tart or pie dough, too.
So here is Eva’s recipe. I hope you will give it a try. Thanks, Tia, for sharing it.
Eva’s Kolachy
Dough:
3 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
1 c. butter*
3 eggs
2 pkts. Yeast
½ c. warm milk
Filling:
Assorted pie fillings, jams, sweetened cream cheese or ricotta cheese. You will need about three cups of filling.
In mixing bowl, combine flour with baking powder and salt. Cut butter into flour until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Set aside. Place eggs in a small bowl and beat until smooth. In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add to egg mixture and stir to combine. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined. If mixture is sticky add a small amount of flour. Roll dough out on floured board. Thinner the better, as this dough will puff some when baked. Cut into squares- or whatever shape you like. I did 2-inch squares. Place a spoonful of filling into center of each cookie. Fold up two of the corners and press firmly to seal. Fold over and press seam again. These like to pop open when baking, so the second fold over and pressing helps them to stay closed. Some people like to add a bit of egg wash or milk to the tops to help them seal better. I just squeeze together and fold twice. Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet, about an inch apart. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cook on a rack. Dust cooled cookies with powdered sugar or with a powdered sugar glaze. Makes about 5-6 dozen.
*The original recipe called for shortening. Tia and I both decided butter was better!! That is the only change we made to Eva’s original recipe.
Blueberry Pie Filling
3 1/2 c. blueberries
3/4 c. sugar, or to taste
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 c. water
1 T. lemon juice
In saucepan, bring blueberries and sugar to a boil, stirring often. Combine cornstarch with water and lemon juice and add to the blueberry mixture. Return to the boil and cook until thickened and bubbly. Makes 4 cups. You might not need the whole batch for the cookies.
Cooled and dusted with powdered sugar
This post is dedicated to Eva Skero and all the home cooks out there who lovingly kept their recipes for us to find.
Molasses Applesauce Cake
I can remember the first time I made a molasses cake. I was about 17. The recipe was in one of my Mom’s “women’s magazines”. I loved the earthy flavor that the molasses gave the cake.
I also remembered that the cake had applesauce in it. I canned a lot of applesauce last fall and have been looking for recipes using applesauce.
I found the original recipe last night and decided to make the cake. I did change a few ingredients around. The recipe I originally used had shortening in it. I swapped it out for butter. I also added more spices.
It is every bit as wonderful as before. Moist, not too sweet, with just a kiss of spices. So, if you have a jar of molasses and some applesauce, give this cake a try.
Molasses Applesauce Cake
2¼ c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
½ t. nutmeg
Pinch of cloves
4 oz. butter, softened, 1 stick
1 c. applesauce
1 c. molasses
1 egg
¾ c. raisins, plumped in warm water, then drained well, optional
Glaze:
1½ c. powdered sugar
2 T. lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish. Set aside. In mixing bowl combine dry ingredients and stir to blend. Cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Add remaining ingredients to flour mixture and stir until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread out evenly. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool cake then top with glaze. To make glaze, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in small bowl, stirring until smooth. Pour over the cake. Serves 8.
Roasted Curry Cauliflower Soup
This may be one of my favorite soups yet. Creamy and flavorful it was a big hit at dinner the other night. This recipe was inspired by what I had on hand and a dinner planned with friends. It started with this enormous cauliflower I had picked up at a produce market. I knew I wanted to use it. I had thought of just roasting it and having it as a side.
I also knew we needed a soup for dinner. Ended up roasting the cauliflower anyway but using it as part of the soup. Added other veggies for color as well as flavor. I also made sure to get it really smooth. I used an immersion blender but it could have been processed in a blender. We topped it with croutons, but it could be served without, if you prefer.
Roasted Curry Cauliflower Soup
3 onions, peeled and sliced
1 large cauliflower, cut into florets
3 T. oil
salt
6 c. stock- chicken or veggie- or more if needed
2 medium or 1 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 can ( 13.5 oz.) coconut milk
1 c. half and half- or more coconut milk, if you prefer
2 T. curry powder
2 t. turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degree. Place onions in and cauliflower in roasting pan and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle on some salt and place in oven. Roast until veggies are turning golden brown, stirring occasionally. This will take about 20-30 minutes. Place cauliflower mixture in a crock pot and add the stock and other vegetables and cook on high for at least 4 hours. Add remaining ingredients and puree soup until smooth. Adjust seasonings. You can add more stock if soup is too thick. Serve as is or top with croutons when serving. Serves 6-8.
Cherry Crumb Cake
I was experimenting with a new cake recipe this week. I wanted to use some fresh cherries in a cake and I ended up deciding to make a cherry crumb cake. I already had a recipe I liked for a blueberry crumb cake. I changed the recipe a little and I really like the way it came out. I added an extra egg to the original recipe. Not because of some intuitive idea of how to improve the recipe. I just thought it had two eggs in it to begin with. Turns out I like the recipe with the extra egg.
So here is the cherry crumb cake recipe. I loved it and think you will, too. I used sweet cherries, because that is what I had. Sour cherries would also work well in this cake.
Cherry Crumb Cake
For cake batter:
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
½ stick (¼ cup) butter, softened
¾ c. sugar
2 eggs
½ c. milk
2 c. pitted cherries, coarsely chopped
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 cherries. 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.
Frozen Chocolate Malted Cheesecake
Here is yet another variation on that frozen dessert recipe I have been playing around with. This is the recipe with cottage cheese as the base and any number of add-ins for different versions. I have already made a cherry- strawberry “cheesecake” and a lemon curd one, too.
This chocolate one came out very nice. I might experiment with adding other flavors later or maybe freezing it in Popsicle molds.
Another idea is to pour the mixture in a graham cracker pie crust, rather than crumbling the crackers in the dessert. I could see that working nicely. Maybe even put graham cracker crust in muffin tins…..
They are so simple to make and require just a food processor to blend the ingredients together. No ice cream machine is needed. I called them cheesecakes because that is what they reminded me of.
You can “fatten” them up a little by adding 1/2 cup of whipping cream, but they are nice and creamy without. I also used sugar to sweeten so far, but you could use any sweetener you prefer. So here is the recipe for my latest version of what might be my favorite frozen dessert this summer.
Frozen Chocolate Malted Cheesecake
1 (28 oz.) carton of cottage cheese
¾ c. chocolate syrup
¾ c. malted milk powder
Sugar to taste, I used about ½ cup
1 T. vanilla extract
5-9 graham crackers, crumbled depending on your preference
Combine first 5 ingredients in a food processor or blender until very smooth. Taste to see if you want to add more sugar. Pour into a 2 quart bowl and stir in the crushed crackers. Place mixture in a freezer safe container that has a lid. Affix the lid and freeze. Makes 5-6 cups.
Note: I could see a lot of possible variations for this recipe. I used cinnamon graham crackers, but it might be fun to use chocolate graham crackers or crushed up chocolate sandwich cookies. You could add some instant coffee powder or mint extract. Perhaps some chopped chocolate. Have some fun with this recipe.
Giant Strawberry Shortcake
This is a great dessert for a party, picnic or barbecue. Instead of making a bunch of individual shortcakes, make one really big one. It makes quite an impression.
When ready to serve it, just cut into slices, like cake or pie. I often serve this shortcake with ice cream on the side. Feel free to switch up which fruits you use. I used kiwi fruit with the strawberries, but you can add different fruits. Peaches would go well with the strawberries or blueberries. Just have fun and use fruit combinations you like. We made it with strawberries and blueberries in class yesterday.
For the 4th of July, you could use a combination of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.
Giant Strawberry Shortcake
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1/2 t. lemon juice
2 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 stick cold butter plus 1 T. softened
1/2 c. plus 1 T. sugar
1 qt. strawberries, sliced thin
2 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced thin or use other fruit like blueberries or blackberries
1/4 c. nuts, toasted, I left the nuts whole
whipped cream, optional
In small bowl combine egg, milk and lemon juice and set aside. In larger bowl combine the flour, brown sugar and baking powder. Cut in cold butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Add egg mixture and stir until mixture forms into a soft dough. Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface about 10 times. On greased baking sheet pat dough into a 15×6-inch oval. Sprinkle dough with the 1 tablespoon of sugar and dot with the softened butter. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Place on wire rack to cool. Toss the berries with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Allow to stand 30 minutes. Split the shortcake lengthwise and remove the top. Spoon over the half the berries and replace top of shortcake. Combine the kiwi with the remaining berries.Spoon over the remaining fruit and sprinkle with the nuts. Dot with whipped cream, if desired. Cut in wedges to serve. Serves 8.
Note: you can bake shortcake day ahead and prep the fruit day ahead, keeping it chilled and just assemble when ready to serve.
Mini Fruit Tarts
These little tarts are a perfect dessert any time or place. They are a wonderful dessert for picnics. They pack and travel well and make use of seasonal fruit. I used blueberries this time, but cherry or peach pie filling would also work. You can also fill them with jams. I have a nice supply of cherries in the freezer and I think cherry tarts might be next.
I used coconut oil in the crust recipe instead of butter. The crust worked out fine, although it is very crumbly. The texture after baking is amazingly tender, but I found the dough a little harder to handle than when made with butter. It’s a nice choice if you need a vegan dessert.
I used a jar of homemade blueberry pie filling made with wild Maine blueberries. You can use store bought, but I include the recipe at the bottom of the post. The recipe makes 4 cups of filling- you can use all the dough and all the filling and have 48 tarts. I didn’t need that many.
I made 24 and used a little over half of the dough recipe. Had I rolled them out a little thinner, half a recipe would be enough. I had a little blueberry filling left over, too.
Blueberry Mini Tarts
dough for 1 pie crust
About 2 cups blueberry pie filling, room temp or chilled
Flaky Pie Crust
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
3/4 c. coconut oil, chilled – you could use butter, lard or shortening
1 T. cider vinegar
4-5 T. cold water
Combine flour and salt in food processor and add coconut oil. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Toss in vinegar and water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing as you add, until dough just holds together. Remove from processor and press dough together to form a ball. Chill at least 30 minutes before using. Makes enough for 2 pie crusts or up to 48 tarts.
Blueberry Pie Filling
3 1/2 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen
3/4 c. sugar, or to taste
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 c. water
1 T. lemon juice
In saucepan, bring blueberries and sugar to a boil, stirring often. Combine cornstarch with water and lemon juice and add to the blueberry mixture. Return to the boil and cook until thickened and bubbly. Makes 4 cups. You will not need the whole batch for the tarts.
Note: This recipe could also be made with blackberries or raspberries.
To make the tarts: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness on lightly floured board. Cut out with 2-inch round cutter and place dough circles in mini muffin tins or mini tart pans. Re-roll scraps and keep cutting out until you have 24 circles. Save the rest of the dough for another use. It can be frozen. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in each tart. I used fairly shallow pans, you can add more filling if your pans are deeper. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn down the oven to 350 and bake about 15 minutes longer, or until edges of the tarts are golden brown. Cool a little before you remove from the pans. Makes 24.
