Winter Eats -- Leek, Potato, and Ham Soup

I've been longing to try a leek and potato soup since... well, it's been a long time. The simplest way to go about this is to purchase both leeks and potatoes at the store, along with any necessary seasonings. But having never to my knowledge purchased a leek (or even held one), I gave in to my fear of the unknown. Which is a shame, because my husband declares that this is his second favorite soup -- our homemade version of Panera's broccoli cheese soup is forever his favorite, so second best is fine with me!

I used this recipe as a base, but beefed it up a little. Well, "hammed it up" would be more accurate, since I used leftover Christmas ham -- my husband does not eat vegetarian dinners! Really, any meat would do (though I think ham has the best kind of flavor for this soup), or it could be omitted altogether. I'll provide ingredients and instructions below, but this is a super easy and super flexible recipe that could be altered to your tastes or ingredients.

Leek, Potato, and Ham Soup

Ingredients:

• 2-3 leeks, diced (about 1/4" 'squares' -- I used quite a bit of the dark green stem, too)
• 4-5 medium potatoes, diced 
• 2+ TBSP of butter 
• 4 cups of broth (chicken, vegetable, etc.)
• Seasonings to taste (rosemary, thyme, sage, salt, pepper, minced garlic)
• 2-3 cups of ham, diced (or another meat; optional)
• Toppings (oyster crackers, bacon, and shredded cheddar are amazing!)

Instructions:

1. Melt a few tablespoons of butter in a large pot and add the leeks and potatoes. Saute until the leeks are soft, adding more butter if needed. When this step was almost done, I threw in some fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme, along with a bit of minced garlic, some freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of salt. Use your imagination!
2. Add the broth and bring to a boil; I used rabbit/chicken broth supplied by friends from church (They raise their own meat rabbits! How cool is that?), which is amazing. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes, or until potatoes are tender. I threw a piece of ham bone in while it simmered, for additional goodness.
3. Put about half of your soup -- or all of it, if you prefer -- into a blender or food processor (be careful doing this with hot liquid! Either wait for it to cool, or make sure your appliance is well vented to avoid explosions). Pulse until delicious, then add back to the rest of the soup. I actually used two "fresh" potatoes because that was all I had, and added in two cups of leftover mashed potatoes during the blending stage. I worked out just fine!
4. Add the diced ham, if desired.
5. Serve topped with cheddar, bacon, and crackers, with a side of buttered, toasted bread. And a salad, if you're feeling extra healthy.

Bon appetit!

Homely

We've been enjoying homely things of late -- "homely" in the English sense, that is. I've never understood the American usage as a description of plain features. Isn't home supposed to be beautiful, anyway? But that's neither here nor there. 

We finally found a fool-proof bread recipe that works for us -- with only a few ingredients, it's a keeper. There's something so validating about making bread. Perhaps because I've never been very successful in the past? At any rate, this bread is delicious and satisfying spread with some of the local wildflower honey we just bought.

Though nothing can satisfy like the Bread:

"Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; 

whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, 

and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. 

All that the Father gives Me shall come to me, 

and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out."

John 6:35, 37

Edited to include the recipe, as requested!

The recipe we use is strongly based on Jamie Oliver's bread recipe (video here, slightly different written recipe here). But we've made a few alterations -- or just mixed the two recipes -- until we found what works for us.

I mix everything up in my KitchenAid with the dough hook. My food processor works, but if I do more than half a recipe it gets gummy dough all over everything! Plus, my mixer is easier to clean.

OUR VERSION: 

Ingredients:

• 1 kg flour -- I do half whole-wheat pastry flour, and half all purpose or bread flour (I put my mixer bowl on our digital scale, set it to 0.0, and then pour flour in until I reach a kilo)
• 4 1/2 tsp yeast (2 packets)
• 2 tsp salt 
• ~3 cups of hot water (I use less and add a bit more if needed; I like the dough to not be too sticky, but it seems to turn out better if it's "moist")
• 2 TBSP of olive oil (I think this is technically for pizza crust, but it works & I'm not changing it!)
• Generous squirt of honey -- probably 2 -3 TBSP

Directions:

1. I mix everything in our KitchenAid with a dough hook until everything is combined. I toss in a bit of extra flour and give it a couple of good "kneads" in the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it on the stove under the light to rise. 
2. After about an hour the dough has doubled in size. I knead it more thoroughly on a floured surface, probably 2 minutes or so. Then I divide it in half, shape it (roughly), and place it in two oiled bread pans. It goes back on the stove covered with a tea towel. My oven takes about 15 minutes to preheat to 375 degrees, so I usually just start the preheat now.
3. In roughly 20 minutes the dough has risen in the pans. I make several diagonal cuts on the top of each loaf with a knife (optional) and stick it in the 375 degree oven for 35 minutes. 
4. When the bread is done I put the pans on cooling racks, then remove the bread (a table knife will loosen the sides if needed) a few minues later. Leaving it in the pans too long will cause it to go soggy. Also, I've heard you should allow it to cool completely before cutting -- we don't always do that... *wink* But put it back on the cooling rack after cutting, to avoid sogginess. 

And that's that! I've seen and tried other recipes, but most either didn't work well for anything other than thick slices of toast (I wanted a good sandwich bread!) or had so many ingredients that bread making would be a chore (and sometimes an expensive one, if milk or copious amounts of honey were involved!). That's why I love this recipe -- it's so ridiculously simple, uses whole ingredients (why are they putting cellulose in bread products now?), and is very forgiving. Seriously, I forget about it sometimes when it's rising, and we've yet to have a failed loaf! Oh, and it's not frustratingly sticky like many of the recipes I've tried.  I did leave out the oil accidentally last time, and the bread is drier and not as delectable, so I'd recommend leaving it in. 

Enjoy!



UPDATE 11/18/14: I've edited the recipe to shorten the baking time -- I reduced the time while making stromboli (which this dough is EXCELLENT for, by the way! I used half of the dough for stromboli and made a loaf of bread with the other half), and realized that the bread was softer and less crumbly while still fully cooked. 

Also, I just tried using this dough for rolls and a boule (both of which I placed on a baking tray covered with parchment paper), and they came out beautifully. Obviously, reduce the time for rolls -- 20 minutes at 375 was the magic number for us.

A Wee Welcome

Some dear friends of ours recently adopted their first baby -- it has been a long journey, but now they hold a precious little one in their arms!

They're in our Bible study group, so a little celebration was in order. I volunteered for the cake (Italian Creme Cake -- oh goodness, do I love that cake!), and thought a little decoration was needed. After viewing some ideas on the web, I went for a modified cake bunting. I used scrapbook paper instead of fabric, since I don't much like the frayed look of most of the fabric cake buntings I saw. Forgive the blurred name -- I have neither permission nor the desire to reveal this little baby's identity!

I didn't think my slender bamboo kitchen skewers would quite do the job for this one, so I enlisted a pair of bamboo knitting needles to serve as my "posts." A few strands pulled from a scrap of burlap for ribbon, and the bunting was ready to go.

A wee (though very hearty) welcome seemed very fitting for such a wee (though quickly growing) baby!

Tea Time

A friend and I have been indulging our love for tea by getting together for little luncheons now and then. It's delightful to have an excuse to experiment with new recipes (and old favorites, too), and it's even more delightful to share the results with a kindred spirit.

I did discover that it is *ridiculous* to make meringues without an electric mixer. Who knew that it could take an hour to beat egg whites to stiff peaks with a whisk? Actually, I settled for mostly stiff peaks, since both arms were ready to fall off by that point. I'm not very talented at mixing with my left hand...

I had made a tomato tart years ago, and decided to try it again for one of our teas. It's so simple -- tart crust, shredded mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, olive oil, and a sprinkle of herbs. Sweet but savory!

My friend makes the best cucumber sandwiches you can imagine. I'm shamelessly greedy every time she serves them! And I wish you could try her pumpkin bread (except that you'd be as hopelessly addicted to it as I am *wink*).

I love that tea can be an excuse for fellowship, encouragement -- and good eats!

All the Delights of the Season

Today is a grey, quiet sort of day. Perfect for puttering, reading, and baking. There's a batch of bread in the oven and a pumpkin carving party with friends to look forward to this evening.

I've been reveling in the beauty of my favorite season. And to my delight, we've had a month of some *perfect* Fall weather! This is my first Autumn in this particular nook of Florida, and I think the seasonal changes are more obvious here. For one thing, the wildflowers in our backyard have been absolutely gorgeous. And the adolescent maple in our front yard has been showing off its finest shades of amber.

Best of all, maple foliage makes for simple fall decorating.

Yesterday I started pulling out the Indian corn and the Sycamore achenes (some furry, some bumpy) and paired them with a candle for a centerpiece. Because candles just seem necessary for fall.

But these are not the only Delights of the Season -- not by a long shot.

Because there's Pumpkin Crisp, still warm and ready for the pumpkin carving party tonight. When I was deciding on a dessert, Pumpkin Crisp immediately popped into my mind -- but my mom had the recipe, and I knew they were leaving in less than 24 hours to go to New Zealand. Not the best time to ask her to dig it out for me...



But despite not remembering the name of the recipe, I was able to find it online.

Notes: I ended up only using half a cake mix for the topping, and half the amount of butter -- which is good, because two sticks of butter are good neither for the figure nor the grocery budget! I'd also recommend covering with foil for the last 20-30 minutes, to prevent excessive browning.

If my memories from the last few years are remotely accurate, this will definitely qualify as a seasonal delight.

Now to find a creative way to decorate the front door with Indian corn...

On the Menu

Considering that chicken pot pie is one of Pablo's favorite meals, it really is inexcusable that it's taken me approximately eight months to make him one! I think it's due to my inordinate terror of pie crusts -- but the more I practice, the easier they become, so I think it's time to get over that particular fear. This one came out golden-brown and bubbly, courtesy of my favorite Betty Crocker cookbook.



Served with a fresh salad...



...and finished with a slice of ridiuclously rich chocolate cake. Topped with Oreos, because there just wasn't enough chocolate, you know?

Natal Day Celebrations

June was Pablo's birthday month, and we celebrated with a quiet supper at home.



On the menu? His favorite, Broccoli Cheese Soup.



The recipe is modified from the Panera recipe, and I can't say that I've ever tasted a better version of this soup!



**********************************

~ Broccoli Cheese Soup ~

Serves 4

- 1 TBSP melted butter
- 1/2 medium chopped onion
- 1/4 C melted butter
- 1/4 C flour
- 2 C half-and-half
- 2 C chicken stock
- 1/2 lb. fresh broccoli (cut the florets into bite sized pieces; grate the stalk)
- 1 C matchstick carrots
- 8 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese (Pablo says 8 ounces is the minimum!)
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- Salt and Pepper

1. Saute onion in butter. Set aside.

2. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add half-and-half

3. Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Add the broccoli, carrots, and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add cheese, stirring until melted. Stir in nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste.

**********************************

And no birthday would be complete without dessert!



Pablo's dessert of choice is apple pie a la mode -- this time I discovered that cooking the apples beforehand makes for a much softer and juicier filling.



Many Happy Returns of the Day to the best of husbands, and the best of friends!

Historical Cuisine

Terrible, terrible things can happen when you decide to have dinner at 10:00 at night.

Especially if you're tired.

Especially if you're fond of history.

Especially if you're finishing off a bag of Potato Sticks and starting a bag of Tater Tots.



I blame it on Pablo -- he's the one who stands up his Tater Tots on the baking sheet. And well, when I saw those handy slabs of potato, the urge to recreate Stonehenge was too much to resist. So I didn't.



Who says you can't play with your food!

A Peaceful Christmas

I am grateful for a peaceful Christmas.



For precious time spent with my dear family.



For the delicious aroma of our beautiful live tree (our first in over a decade).




For wonderful memories of these last days at home.





For the food, warmth, and shelter that our Savior did not have at His nativity.



For the joys of the changing seasons -- even though our seasons don't change quite as drastically in this tropical climate!



For thoughtful and generous gifts from loved ones.



For Christmas dinner in all of its delicious splendor.



For humor and love and laughter. And just in case you're wondering about this one, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" has been our theme song this Christmas...




I am grateful for a peaceful Christmas -- for the peace that only comes through the Savior whose birth we celebrate. But as we celebrate His birth, we must also celebrate His death and resurrection. It was His sacrifice and His triumph over death that gave us hope and peace. And that is truly something to be grateful for!



"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not... He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

~ John 1:1-5, 10-14 ~

Caramel Apples

My father is the king of caramel apples. While he was attending Covenant College on Lookout Mountain, he worked in the Candy Kitchen at the top of the Incline Railway. Two elderly ladies owned the shop then, and they got a kick out of the way he pronounced "pecan" -- "Are they peekin' at you?", they'd ask.

But they also shared their recipe for caramel, and even though it's been a few decades, my dad still isn't rusty:



Sweet, sticky, never-give-up caramel apples -- after eating half of my apple, I had to give my jaw a break to finish the rest!

Just another thing to love about fall. And long live the king!

Fun for a Fiddler

My dear parents surprised me with a belated birthday present a few weeks ago -- a result of our recent move, combined with my mother's tendency to purchase gifts and forget about them. *wink* But there's nothing so fun as a gift when you least expect one!



Especially when it's a cutting board in the shape of a violin. Really, does it get any better? I'd love to meet the person who came up with this idea! Of course, such a gift involves another purchase -- because what's a violin without a bow?

Hmm, I wonder if cutting something on this board counts as practice time?

Oatmeal Applesauce Muffins

For our church's annual Easter brunch, I decided to pull out a favorite muffin recipe that I hadn't used in a while.

Oatmeal-Applesauce Muffins 

 ~ 1 cup Quick Oats 

~ 1 cup all purpose flour 

~ 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 

~ 2 tsp. baking powder 

~ 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 

~ 1/4 tsp. baking soda 

~ 1/4 tsp. salt 

~ 3/4 cup applesauce 

~ 1/3 cup vegetable oil 

~ 1 egg 

~ 1 tsp. vanilla extract 

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease or paper line 12 (2 1/2") muffin cups. 
2. Combine oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.
3. Combine applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla in separate bowl. Add all at once to oat mixture, stirring just until moistened. 
4.  Divide evenly among prepared muffin cups. 
5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 12.

Pretty frugal, pretty healthy (for muffins, anyway!), and entirely delicious!

English Toffee Balls

When I mentioned the cookie exchange at our church, several readers asked for the recipe for English Toffee Balls -- and here it is!

Ingredients:
~ 1/2 cup powdered sugar
~ 1 cup margarine or butter, softened
~ 1 (3 1/2 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding/pie filling mix
~ 2 cups all purpose or unbleached flour
~ 1 tablespoon milk
~ 1 teaspoon vanilla
~ 3 (3/4 oz.) chocolate-coated English toffee bars, crushed
~ Powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees

2. In large bowl, beat powdered sugar, margarine, and pudding mix until light and fluffy. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Add flour, milk, vanilla, and crushed toffee bars; mix well.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 325 for 13 to 18 minutes, or until edges are light golden brown.

4. Remove from cookie sheets; cool completely. Dip top of each cookie into powdered sugar.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Note: If you don't have chocolate-coated English toffee bars on hand (and who does?), you can find toffee and chocolate bits sold in bags in the baking section. I just weighed out 2 1/4 oz. into a Ziploc bag and wielded my meat tenderizer until it was thoroughly crushed!

Mutant Potato

I have to admit, I have never come across a potato quite like this before.

I'm still trying to figure out what it looks like. Maybe a butterfly? At any rate, it tasted like a normal potato!

The Recipe

When my dad first tasted a friend's pound cake a few years ago, he begged her for the recipe. She very kindly obliged, and wrote out the recipe (which had been passed down from her grandmother) in beautiful scripted handwriting. It was labeled, simply, "The Recipe."



My dad requested one this week so that he could share it with his fellow teachers at his school. And, should you ever be in need of a tried-and-tested pound cake recipe, I'll share it here:

~ 3 cups sugar
~ 1 cup Crisco (not thrilled about this, but this cake is worth it!)
~ 1/4 lb. real butter
~ 5 eggs
~ 3 cups cake flour
~ 1/2 cup regular flour
~ 1/2 tsp. salt
~ 1/2 tsp. baking powder
~ 1 cup milk
~ 2 tsp. real vanilla extract

1. Cream sugar with Crisco and butter; add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

2. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, alternating with milk. Add vanilla.

3. Pour into greased and floured tube pan. Start in COLD OVERN and bake 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees.

4. Let cool ten minutes and then turn over on to serving plate. Wrap with plastic wrap to keep in moisture.



I couldn't believe how perfectly this cake came out -- I love tube pans with releasable bottoms! And the cake itself was dreamy; moist, delicious, and beautifully golden.

We opted to pre-slice the cake and arrange it on my mother's vintage cake plate. Much more glamorous than plastic wrap, don't you think?



(Just in case you couldn't figure out what was under the dome...)

A Journey to Narnia

In celebration of the opening of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, my sister and I decided to have a Narnian party. One of my dear friends was able to come for a visit and attend the opening with us.



This is our second Narnia party -- our first party was two summers ago, and my friend attended that party, as well. For this party we resurrected our costumes from the first movie and wore them to the cinema. It was an early afternoon showing, so we didn't get too many funny looks.

Since there were just three of us, we didn't have an elaborate party this time -- last year we had Turkish delight, Marmalade roll, Raspberry fools, and many other delicious things mentioned by C.S. Lewis in his books, all divided into "areas," such as The Beaver's Dam, Mr. Tumnus's Cave, and Cair Paravel. But small numbers meant a small party this year. I scoured my copy of Prince Caspian a few weeks before the film debuted, noting down any mentions of food. Most of the food featured in the book is fruit, which meant that party preparation were fairly simple. I couldn't believe how many references there were to apples!



We had a basket of Narnina-looking origin filled with apples.



Pattertwig the squirrel gives Caspian nuts and the Bulgy Bears give him honey -- we pretended they had a collision in the woods, and invented granola:



Fruit and cream are mentioned in the final feast, so we used blackberry crisp and fresh whipping cream.



The centaurs offer Caspian oaten cakes, represented here by oatmeal applesauce muffins (more apples!) -- alas, they didn't release from their molds quite as nicely as they should have. But they were certainly delicious.



In the final feast, C.S. Lewis mentions "pyramids and cataracts of fruit." This was our best attempt!



And lastly, pictures of my costume and my sister's costume. I recreated the dress worn by the adult Lucy in "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." You can see pictures of the original dress on Narnia Web.



I used Butterick 4571, and had to make surprisingly few alterations! I raised and rounded the neckline, and also changed the oversleeve shape to resemble Lucy's. I was very pleased with the pattern.



My sister modeled her dress after a Pauline Baynes illustration of Susan in "A Horse and His Boy." My Narnia treasury has color illustrations, and Tiffany fell in love with the blue and gold dress that Susan wears while dancing with Mr. Tumnus. This picture is from our first Narnia party two years ago:



Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of my friend's lovely dress, a recreation of Susan's green archery dress from "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." She and her sister, both incredibly talented, collaborated on the dress. Also, my friend created the crown I am wearing, a copy of Lucy's crown, as a birthday present.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the film. Of course, I can think of a thousand things I would have done differently, but I do not feel incline to quibble (too much) over the director's choices. Lovely cinematography, lovely music, lovely costumes -- I may just have to recreate one of them!