Category Archives: Stone Soup and Other Delicacies

January 24, 2016

Black Bean Soup and Beer Bread

By Kat Myrman

When the temperatures drop, I crave soup…and bread. I scanned the cupboards to see what I had on hand and found a lovely bag of black beans. I also had a few of the essentials around, so Black Bean Soup it was!

The first thing I needed to do was prepare the beans. According to the bag (1 lbs dry black beans) this meant bringing them to a boil in 4 cups of water and simmering for 10 minutes and then covering them for a one hour rest.

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While the beans were plumping, I assembled the other ingredients. Not having a tried and true recipe on hand, I gleaned several recipes online and came up with a recipe of my own based on my preferences (as in no cilantro, as some recipes called for…I am one of those peculiar people who can’t stand the stuff!) and what I happened to have on hand. This is how I do most of my home cooking. It has helped to have this blog so I can write it down. That way I don’t have to repeat the process from scratch when I want to create a dish from scratch! 🙂

Here’s what I came up with:

Starting line-up – the holy trinity for anything hot and soupy or stewy…
1 onion, chopped
3-4 celery stalks, chopped
about 6 garlic cloves, chopped

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A little spice-a isa so nice-a 🙂

“To Taste” (you’ll want to adjust the amounts based on your own preferences)
Salt
Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper (me? I like it hot! so I use about a 1/2 teaspoon of the stuff, but you may want to be a bit more conservative.)

“By the Numbers” (I saw this ingredient on several recipes. When ground, it’s aroma reminds me of chili powder (without the chilies of course) and since I’ve already added the heat a la crushed red pepper, straight cumin felt like a good add to the mix. (Hey, you’re dealing with an intuitive cook here! Preparing food is a very emotional, driven by the senses type of experience for me. I haven’t killed anyone with my cooking yet, so I’m going with it!) 🙂

So…make that, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin

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And a few more essentials:
two cans of chopped tomatoes (15 oz each or so)
1 TBS of Balsamic Vinegar (This was one of those “magic” ingredients mentioned a few times, meant to make this soup amazing!)
4 cups of Vegetable Broth (I found a cool concentrate brand…so I always have some in the ‘fridge.)

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Once you have added all of the above to your beans (don’t drain) in your soup pot, you’re going to want to simmer it for several hours until the beans are tender. It smells heavenly while it cooks.

I’m thinking I will serve it with a bit of sour cream or shredded cheese (need to check the ‘fridge to see what I have…) I always have one or both on hand.

And as a perfect side-kick, my favorite recipe of all time…Beer Bread. You can see that recipe HERE.

Check back a little later today. I’ll be posting the final pic, all bowled and camera-ready when it’s done! 🙂

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It’s later…(about 2 hours)

Even though the beans were quite soft, the consistency was a bit more soupy than I like it, so I pulled out my hand blender to thicken things up a bit. And…it needed a little bit more salt. This is your chance to make your final tweaks…

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I added a bit of shredded gouda…and oh my, it was-a mighty good-a! The perfect soup to warm the belly on a cold winter’s night. Enjoy! 🙂

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21 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Random Thoughts and Musings, Stone Soup and Other Delicacies

January 4, 2016

Banana Bread

By Kat Myrman

As promised, one more recipe from my cooking spree this weekend! This is an easy recipe. I only go for easy peasy and delicious of course! And I HATE to waste bananas that have gotten too ripe.

Here’s a handy tip for storing your bananas…I found it on Pinterest and it WORKS! To make your bananas last longer, separate the bunch into individual pieces of fruit. I promise…it really does prolong the shelf life of your bananas. The bananas in the photo below have been out for a week and are only starting to get a few brown spots. If I had left the bunch intact, it would have only taken a few days to get to this.  🙂

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Back to the recipe! When you do find that despite your best efforts you have several very ripe bananas the best thing you can do is MAKE BANANA BREAD! 🙂

Preheat your oven to 350 F Degrees and grease a standard loaf pan.

What you will need:
3-4 very ripe bananas, peeled (other recipes call for less bananas, but I like my banana bread moist and full of banana flavor! 🙂
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup of sugar (you can use as much as 1 cup or scale it down to a 1/2 cup depending on how sweet you want your bread to be.)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda (not in my photo above…but be sure not to forget this important ingredient!)
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
(Some recipes call for adding nuts, raisins, craisins, dates, etc. You can certainly add these to your recipe. In my house we’re banana bread purists, with the banana’s being the star! 🙂 )

Mash your banana. Add the melted butter, sugar, egg and vanilla and mix until blended. Add the baking soda and blend in. Sprinkle a  bit of salt in and finally add the flour and blend. Pour into your prepared loaf pan and bake for about an hour. (the time will depend on your oven so start checking the loaf at around 50 minutes. A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean and the top will be a nice rich dark brown – see below). Once I remove the bread from the oven, I cover it loosely with aluminum foil to keep the moisture in while it cools.

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Can you say YUM?! Enjoy! 🙂

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26 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Stone Soup and Other Delicacies

January 3, 2016

Root Veggie Medley

By Kat Myrman

I stopped eating meat about 6 months ago and I am always experimenting with new and interesting ways to prepare veggies. I was excited to find some beautiful purple sweet potatoes recently at our Fresh Market. And I also had some red potatoes and brussels sprouts on hand. There is nothing I love more than roasted veggies! I don’t know why I ever thought boiling them was a good idea! So the wheels started turning and I thought…mmmm…a medley!

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Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.

You will need:
1 large baking sheet (with edges)
1 lb of Brussels Sprouts / sliced in half
1 Large Purple Sweet Potato / peeled and cubed
4-5 Red Potatoes / peeled and cubed
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Powder (or if you have it real garlic) 🙂
Parsley Flakes
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt & Pepper
(You’ll notice I do not give you any measurements for the spices. I like things spicy. So I would say…season to taste!)
Butter for serving

Once you have sliced, peeled and cubed all the veggies put them in a large bowl with the spices and toss with enough olive oil to completely coat everything. Pour them onto the baking sheet and spread them out to form one layer. Doesn’t that look pretty! 🙂

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Bake until the potatoes are tender and the brussels sprouts are brown and caramelized. Serve with pats of melted butter.

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It was hearty, spicy and filling…and I even have enough to pack for my lunch tomorrow! This kitchen experiment is definitely a keeper!

 

 

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Stone Soup and Other Delicacies

January 3, 2016

Magic Cake

By Kat Myrman

I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while now. Of course the name is most intriguing. Magic. Anything MAGIC has to be good, right? So I assembled the ingredients and got to it.

 

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You’re going to need:

4 Eggs / Separated at Room Temp
3/4 cup of Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Stick or 1/2 cup of Butter / Melted
3/4 Cup of All Purpose Flour
2 Cups of Lukewarm Milk
Powdered Sugar for Dusting the Cooled Cake

8×8 inch baking pan (I only had a 9×9 inch pan, which made the cake height less than optimal for the cool layered affect, but it was still DELICIOUS!)
Mixer
Spatula
Several bowls for ingredients

Preheat the oven to 325 F degrees and grease the baking dish.

Start off by whipping the egg whites until they were stiff, and then set them aside. Next beat the egg yolks and sugar until light. Add the butter and vanilla, beating for a few more minutes. Add the flour and mix until incorporated and then add the milk and continue mixing until everything is well blended. Finally, gently fold the egg whites (1/3 of the batch at a time) until all the egg whites have been folded into the batter.

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Pour into the baking pan and bake for 40 minutes (you’ll need to figure out the time for your own oven. I have seen the baking time extended to 70 minutes). You’ll want to look for a light golden brown top to let you know it’s done.

Let the cake cool completely and dust with powdered sugar before serving. The “Magic” is in the way that the cake appears to have a crust layer, a custard-like layer and a cake top layer. (As I had mentioned earlier, if I had used a smaller pan the layers for my cake would no doubt have been much more dramatic.) But the taste was delightful. It had a vanilla custard  flavor and each slice was the consistency of a brownie. It would be a very nice recipe for a pot luck or perfect for packing in a to-go lunch or picnic. There are variations in other flavors like lemon and chocolate. I will definitely want to try those.

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The anticipation was definitely worth the wait!

I found this particular recipe on Jo Cooks at www.jocooks.com/bakery/cakes/magic-cake/. There are a lot of variations out there but I liked her list of ingredients the best.

 

28 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Random Thoughts and Musings, Stone Soup and Other Delicacies

November 8, 2015

Kat’s Vegan Chili

By Kat Myrman

I love chili, but since I stopped eating meat I hadn’t found a recipe online that I liked. They all added extra veggies that I’m not used to having in chili. Things like sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, corn…even avocado. I’m sure these are all good if you want a tomato-based veggie stew, but they would likely fall short when what I am craving is chili!

So I tweaked the ingredients, borrowed a few from here and a few from there, and came up with my own recipe. It’s extra spicy and the quinoa is a perfect substitute for “meat”.

One never knows how these kitchen adventures will end up, but I am delighted to report that I have a keeper here. Throw in a side of cornbread and it’s the perfect comfort dish for a chilly Sunday afternoon!

You will need a cutting board and knife. Measuring cup and tablespoon. A stew-sized pot and a medium saucepan with lids.

First:
Prepare 2 cups of cooked quinoa (1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water)

Next Step:
1 large onion diced
5 cloves garlic chopped
Tbs olive oil
Carmelize onions and garlic while quinoa is cooking.

Then add:
1 12 oz can tomato paste
1 can rotel
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups veggie broth

Next add a bit of heat!
2 tbs chili powder
1 tbs Sriracha sauce
1 tbs crushed red pepper
1 tbs salt
1 tbs cocoa powder

Add 4 cans of beans ( your choice – I like a tri-bean blend but you could use kidney or black bean)
And add the quinoa.

Simmer for at least 30 minutes on low heat, stirring often to keep the quinoa from sticking on the bottom.

Enjoy!

11 Comments | posted in Stone Soup and Other Delicacies