Banana Raspberry Muffins

Banana muffins are one my new favorite thing - they make a great breakfast on the go and stay great tasting all week long, due to their moistness.  It took me a few tries to find a banana bread recipe that I really liked - one that tasted of bananas and was not dry.  I finally discovered my secret ingredient - yogurt!

I then turned the banana bread into muffins and added in some raspberries and a sweet topping.  Delicious! Leave off the topping if you want a slightly healthier breakfast.  I now get really excited any time I find a collection of browning bananas in our kitchen.

(adapted from various allrecipes.com recipes - here and here).

Muffins:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup yogurt
• 2 -3 bananas, mushed with fork
• 1 cup frozen raspberries (fresh work too)
• chocolate chips - optional

Topping:

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tb Flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tb butter

`DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place paper linings in 12 muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. 
3. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. 
4. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the butter mixture until smooth. 
5. Finally, fold in the yogurt, mushed bananas and raspberries. Spread evenly between muffin cups – I make a dozen large muffins, but you could make 18 smaller ones.
6. Make and sprinkle on crumb topping (see below), if using.
7. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, The muffins should spring back when firmly poked.  Remove muffins from pan after 5 minutes, and cool on a wire rack.

Crumb topping:

1. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, I use my fingers to mush up the butter. 
2. Spread crumb topping evenly over muffins – yes it’s a lot of topping!
3. Bake as directed above. 

If making a loaf instead of muffins - cook for 60 minutes in a greased loaf pan.

Matzah Ball Soup!

Living in a new house, in a new country, I suddenly found myself without a box of matzah ball mix during passover time. The grocery store had a nice selection of passover goods, but not matzah ball soup mix - which they carry all year round in the States. Usually I make my own broth and then use the mix for the balls, But this year I was forced to venture out to make the whole thing from scratch. And it turned out delicious!

While Kyle and I were sad to not have a large group of friends coming over to share a seder with, it was nice to have as many matzah balls as we each wanted :).

This is my favorite chicken broth recipe for when I want to impress guests. While it takes more effort than the usual recipe (throw everything in a pot, simmer 1/2 a day), it yields a very flavorful rich broth, and is finished in an hour.

Matzah Ball Soup!

serves 6

Chicken Soup

1 Tb vegetable oil
~4 lb of chicken. I used half thighs and half breasts, alternatively use a whole chicken.
2 medium onions - cut in medium dice
3 quarts boiling water (Add more if you are making for a larger group. Cook broth longer for more flavor)
salt
2 bay leaves
2 large carrots
2 ribs of celery

1. Heat oil in large stock pot over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers and starts to smoke, add chicken breasts. Saute until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside.
2. Add half of chopped onions to pot, and saute 2-3 minutes until colored and softened slightly. Remove from pot and set aside.
3. Add remaining chicken pieces to pot, and saute until no longer pink, 4-5 minutes.
4. Add onions back to pot with chicken pieces (excluding breasts). Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes.
5. Increase heat to high, add 3 quarts boiling water, along with chicken breasts, 2 tsp salt, bay leaves, 1 carrot and 1 rib celery. Return to simmer, then cover and barely simmer until chicken breasts are cooked and broth is rich and flavorful, about 30 minutes.
6. Set up a strainer over a large bowl and pour soup through it. Let sit till cool (broth may go in the fridge for up to 2 days). When cool enough to touch, discard cooked vegetables and seasonings. Pull and shred chicken meat off breasts (and other pieces if you like dark meat), and discard bones and skin.
7. Skim fat off broth, and save 6 Tb of it. (This is easier to do after the broth sits in the fridge for a while, the fat will form a thick layer on top).



Matzah Balls (From foodnetwork)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons chicken fat (from the above soup)
1 cup matzoh meal
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup hot water or broth
2 tsp baking powder (if you like a firmer matzah ball leave this out, or halve it)

1. mix together eggs and chicken fat. Stir in matzah meal and salt. Add 1/4 cup hot water/chicken stock.
2. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.



Assembly
1. Add reserved 2 Tb chicken fat to pot and saute remaining onions, carrot and celery until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add broth along with shredded chicken.
3. Bring to low boil - this is important - do not add matzah balls until soup is boiling. Form small matzah balls (the size of walnuts) in wet hands or drop from spoon and plop into boiling soup.
4. Simmer with lid on for 20 minutes, until matzah balls are cooked.

(For storage, I recommend storing the matzah ball separately, or they may absorb broth in the fridge).

Pumpkin Empanadas

In my mind it is ALWAYS seasonal to cook with pumpkin, though the gardener may disagree with me.

For our last cooking club we had a Mexican inspired dinner with homemade guacamole, homemade salsa, homemade margaritas, and chicken enchiladas. My contribution was the pumpkin empanadas.

Unlike most (meat filled) empanadas, these are sweet, rather than savory, and can be served as desert or as a side.

Growing up we made them to go with tacos after we moved to Wyoming and could no longer buy them at the Mexican bakery. Here is how to make them as written by my sister. (With a few additions of my own).

Cream of Mushroom Soup

My neighbors and I in NC have started a dinner/cooking club. The plan is to collaboratively cook something new at one of our houses every week. This is the third week of cooking club and so far the results have been scrumptious. (Last week we tried one of Katie's blog posts http://sharedoven.blogspot.com/2012/01/spicy-roasted-red-pepper-and-eggplant.html).

Yesterday we had cream of mushroom soup, a leek and goat cheese tart, a mixed green and herb salad, plus, lots of little dips and bread for appetizers.

My cream of mushroom soup is based off of the Hungarian mushroom soup recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook*....of course I made a few changes!

Here is what you need:
Soup tureen
Blender or food processor
Small sauce or frying pan

2 Tbs. butter
2 cups chopped onion
12 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp. salt
2 to 3 Tbs. Fresh dill
2 Tbs. paprika
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbs. flour
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup sour cream
Finely minced fresh parsley

 1.First sautee your chopped onion in a tablespoon of butter and a little bit of your vegetable broth, cook for about 10 min

2. In a small frying pan make a rue by slowly stirring the 3 tbs flour to your melted butter. Feel free to add more butter if you need it!

3. Slowly add the rue to your main pot. Next add the mushrooms, dill, salt, and paprika, and the remainder of your broth. Cook for about 15 min more covered.

4. Slowly stir in milk/cream and blend on high. Pour back into soup pot and add lemon juice.

5. Serve with paprika, parsley, and sour cream on top.

*The New Moosewood Cookbook
By Mollie Katzen
Ten Speed Press, January 2000

Pumpkin Lasanga

Pumpkin lasagna has become one of my go-to favorites. This recipe is based on a recipe Rachel found on delish.com. I made it for a potluck at our house in Seattle and it was pretty good, but not amazing. After changing the recipe a bit I made it for a dinner party in Minneapolis and I have been making the new version ever since.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 onions, chopped
2 pounds spinach or Swiss chard, tough stems removed, leaves washed and chopped
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 cups pumpkin puree (or one 28-ounce can)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
1/2 cups milk
9 no-boil lasagna noodles (about 6 ounces) 
1 cup low fat ricotta cheese




Here is how to make it:











 Cut one small sugar or pie pumpkin in 3rds or 4ths, bake until soft (45 min to an hour). Scrape away skin and puree in a blender.



Add salt and olive oil and roast the seeds!

Or open a can of pumpkin...
        Preheat your oven to 400 F. Mix together 2 cups of pumpkin, 3/4 cup cream, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup ricotta, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon sage, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.




  Sauté your onion in the oil and then add spinach or chard. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon sage, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Cook, stirring, until the leaves are wilted and no liquid remains in the pan. 






 Pour the milk into an 8-by-12-inch baking dish. Top the milk with one third of the (uncooked) noodles and spread half the pumpkin mixture over the noodles. Layer half the spinach or chard mixture over the pumpkin and top with a second layer of noodles. Repeat with another layer of pumpkin, vegetables, and noodles.

For the top of the lasagna mix together the remaining 1 cup of pumpkin, 1/2 cup ricotta and 3/4 cup of cream and spread on top. Next sprinkle the left over Parmesan.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, for 15 minutes.

芙蓉蛋 Egg Foo Young

Egg Foo Young is an American-Chinese omelet dish. It is easy and fast to make, if not terribly healthy. When I was little I used to order chicken egg foo young every time we went to a Cantonese restaurant.... even though my Dad made it for us at home. Here is my Dad's recipe exactly as he sent it to me by email.

The Basic Ingredients

"Elizabeth:
   The egg-foo-yong recipe is as follows (serves 3-4 depending on how
hungry)

1 package of beansprouts (fresh), or one can of the same (if fresh not
available)
  (rinse and drain if fresh; drain off juices if canned.
1 cup of diced chicken (or pork or shrimp)
1 heaping tablespoon (approximate) of finely diced onion.
   (I usually dice up a small onion, putting one portion in the mix and
reserving one for the gravy)
2-3 tablespoons of powdered cornstarch.
4-5 fresh eggs.

Combine all of the above into a large mixing bowl and thoroughly mix
together.  Meanwhile put one tablespoon of butter or the
like into a large skillet until melted, at medium heat.  Then, using a 1/2
cup scoop (check first by dropping a tad of egg into the pan to see if it
congeals), form patties in the pan/skillet; brown one side; flip (gently)
and brown on the other.  Once patties are solid, transfer into a warming pan
and place in preheated (300-350 degrees) oven, while gravy is being made.

Using same pan/skillet from making the patties, add another tablespoon of
butter or whatever and melt; then stir-in the remaining
diced onions and brown;   Also add 3-4 bullion cubes (chicken or beef
depending on taste; we usually use chicken) that are dissolved in a cup of
water.  (Add slowly to prevent grease from splattering.  Refill the
measuring cup with water and carefully stir in 2-3 tablespoons more of
cornstarch until it is dissolved.  Bring the mixture of onions, water,
bullion cubes in pan to a slow boil and slowly stir in the cornstarch-water
mixture until to the desired thickness is achieved.

Serve with rice (which you can start about the same time you put the patties
in.   Enjoy!                                                                               Dad"

 I added peas and carrots with the bean sprouts

Spinach Cheese "Quiche"

I have always called this dish "Spinach-Cheese Pie" because a real Quiche requires a custard base and not just some eggs and cheese and milk in the blender. However, common sources with no credentials state that I need not adhere to such a stringent definition.   

This quiche is easy, almost healthy, and has a two ingredient crust that is nearly impossible to mess up.

Here is what you need:

2 scallions
2 teaspoons butter
4 cups tightly packed spinach

dash of grated nutmeg
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water

Blender or food processor 

Frying pan

Oven preheated to 375 degrees F