Oh, how I love marmalade!

I only had one Meyer lemon on my tree this year.  The marmalade I made from it was like liquid gold.  I was feeling sad that my tree hadn't been more prolific and then....Trader Joe's came to the rescue.  They sell Meyer lemons!!!!  Oh, thank you, thank you, Trader Joe's.  I take back the negative things I've said about you not having bulk goods.  You've more than made up for it by having Meyer lemons.

Soooo, once I had my lemons, I wanted to make more of that liquid gold.  About that same time, my nephew and niece came through on their way home from Florida and left me with a bag of the best red grapefruits ever.  With those grapefruits and the Meyer lemons, my two favorite citruses, citri, citrus fruits, I made what I do believe to be the best marmalade ever!

Here's how to do it...

Chop the lemons and grapefruits into sort of small pieces.  You use the peel, too, so you don't want huge chunks in your finished marmalade.  It will look like this...

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Measure your fruit and add the same amount of water to it.  Bring to a boil and then let simmer on lower heat for 5 minutes.  Pour the fruit/water mixture into a bowl you can cover and set in a cool place for 24 hours.

Next day....

Measure out your fruit/water mixture and add an equal amount of sugar to it.  Bring to a boil and stir constantly.

Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring, til a candy thermometer reads 220 degrees (F).  The mixture will gel a little but will still be pretty liquid.  It will thicken a bit as it cools.

Pour into sterilized jars.  At this point, I simply put on the lids and refrigerate.  I've only made batches big enough to get three pint sized jars so they don't stay around long.  I give them away and use them up!  Like I said, liquid gold.

*****

Thanks to Carla at recipezaar for this easy, easy recipe.  I modified it by changing up the fruit but otherwise followed her recipe.

My all time favorite cookie

These are my favorite cookies to make, give away as gifts, and eat!  They are a bit like a ginger snap but the espresso adds a special kick and the brown sugar frosting is perfect.  One cookie with a cup of tea or coffee is a real treat.  I have some dough chilling in the fridge tonight and maybe after I bake and assemble them tomorrow, I'll add a picture or two, but for those of you who have been asking here's the recipe:

Espresso Brown Sugar Sandwich Cookies

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

3 TBSP. instant espresso powder

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. cloves

¾ cup butter, softened

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

¼ cup molasses

In a medium bowl, combine flour, espresso powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, beating on low speed until combined.  Beat in the egg and molasses until combined.  Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer.  Stir in any remaining flour mixture.  Cover and chill dough for 2 hours or until easy to handle.

Shape dough into 1 ½ inch balls.  Roll ball in turbinado sugar (optional).  Place about 2 ½ inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Flatten balls slightly.  Bake in a 350 oven for 12 -15 minutes or til edges are set.  (My note:  I do them the shorter time because I like them chewy and soft, be sure not to overcook them!).  Transfer to wire rack and let cool.  Frost bottoms of half the cookies with a generous 1 tablespoon of brown sugar frosting.  Place remaining cookies atop the iced sides of cookies to create sandwich cookies

Brown Sugar Frosting

1 cup packed light brown sugar

¼ cup butter

¼ cup half and half

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

In a heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and half and jalf.  Cook and stire over medium heat to a full boil;  boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth.  Let cool until of spreading consistency; which occasionally.  Use to frost cookies.

(I believe this recipe was from Real Simple magazine, but I don't know what issue - I cut the recipe out and slipped it into a plastic sleeve in my recipe notebook)

Cheap and Wholesome

Interesting post from Simple, Green, and Frugal on eating healthy with cheap, wholesome foods.  Check it out.

Extra healthy enchiladas

I gave the boys a choice tonight - pizza or enchiladas.  M chose enchiladas.  I decided to make them extra healthy.  Here's how:

Saute:

2 chopped onions

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tablespoon chili powder

a bit of lemon pepper

3-4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Add to the saute and cook on medium heat stirring often til warm through:

1 can kidney beans

1 can corn

1 package tempeh, chopped in 1/2 inch chunks

Put a generous serving spoonful of this filling in the middle of a whole wheat tortilla.  Fold over and place in 9x13 lightly greased baking dish (I use a light spray of cooking spray).  8-10 enchiladas will fit in the pan. 

I used about a cup of salsa to spread over the top of the enchiladas and for the boys, sprinkled shredded Mexican cheese.  (I'm cutting way back on dairy so left some without cheese on top for me).

Bake at 350 til the cheese is melted - about 15 minutes so they are good and hot all the way through.

We ate these with roasted green and sweet banana peppers from the garden and a cabbage salad. 

Really, really good!

Soup for a Crowd

It was a busy weekend, food-wise. With company arriving Saturday afternoon, a nice dinner for them that evening, more guests coming over for dessert that night, and a large crowd anticipated for lunch Sunday, I wanted to serve something on Sunday that I could prepare ahead of time and then get on the table right after church without much fuss. It needed to appeal to young and old and be delicious and filling.

Soup and sandwiches.

I know. Not terribly exciting, but that menu fit the bill and turned out to be a very good choice.

Kids happily reached for PB and J. A few non-Southerners wondered what the pimento cheese sandwiches were, tried them, and liked them. The chicken salad with grapes sandwiches disappeared. Tuna salad sandwiches were the least favorite. I will remember that next time and not make as many.

So many people commented on the soup. Three or four people said something like, "I wish I knew how to make soup."

Well, folks, it really, really, really is not that hard. This really, really is one of those "I just" recipes. Really.

So, if you need to prepare soup for a crowd, here's my standby. But I must warn you, none of the measurements are precise and the soup is never the same. It always seems to be good, though, and it does feed a crowd. Even with almost 30 people here for lunch yesterday, I have some left in my fridge and put two zip-loc bags full in the freezer. I love the fact that I have several meals worth of soup in the freezer!

Here goes...

Saute three or four large onions in a bit of olive oil the biggest pot you have. Add a couple of tablespoons or several cloves (5-6) of chopped garlic. Watch it carefully so the garlic doesn't burn.

Now the fun starts. Add an institutional size can of crushed tomatoes. Yes, the very large one. Mine said it was 6 lbs. 6 oz of crushed tomatoes. Dump that in and then refill the can with water and add to the pot. Now add whatever combination of veggies you want. You will need to add a bit more water at this point. Sorry, I can't tell you how much. Just make sure the veggies are covered. You don't want it thick like stew, but you don't want it too watery, either. As it cooks, of course, it will thicken a bit. You can always add more water if it seems too thick.

Anyway, about the veggies...remember, this is supposed to be easy so use frozen veggies. I used four bags of veggies - one of broccoli, two of mixed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots), one of corn, and one of peas.

I have a very huge soup pot and I do mean huge, folks. It has been called "the soup pot big enough to bathe a baby in." If you don't have soup pot this large, you will probably have to divide the soup and cook in a couple of pots. Or you could just make less.

Anyway, let this simmer along for an hour or so. I added a generous amount of 2-3 tablespoons of dried basil, a couple of teaspoons of dried thyme, and several tablespoons, maybe 4, of lemon pepper. Funny thing about this combination. One of our friends who is himself quite a gourmet cook, upon tasting the soup, asked me what gave it the floral aroma. I wasn't really sure but when I told him the spice combination, he said it must the be thyme and lemon pepper together. Serendipitous, that.

So, I guess I would say that this soup has a hearty vegetable flavor with light floral hints and a bit of a kick (from the pepper).

I did want to have some vegetarian soup and some with meat. So, I took about a pound and a half of stew beef, boiled it in about a quart of water and then added it to some of the soup.

To give you an idea of just how much soup this is, I ended up dividing it into three pots. One holds about 6 quarts, the other 8. The third pot was my large crock pot.

You may have to add more water, if you think the soup is too thick. Salt to taste.

This really is a bare bones outline of a recipe with few measurements, but take courage. You can do this.

I made it the day before and and, as I said, divided it into three pots. I had no space in my fridge so I put all three pots in the freezer. Sunday morning before church, I took them out of the freezer, broke up the icy parts around the edges and left them to thaw all the way during church. When I came home, I heated them, employing a gracious helper to stand and stir to make sure they didn't scorch. The crock pot of soup I set on low before I went to church.

We served up bowls of soup and set them on the counter. The table, pushed up next to the windows to make more room for people, was spread with plates of sandwiches. Everyone introduced themselves and then lined up for food. According to the tradition in our home, those who have never eaten with us and the eldest among us go first.

Generous folks brought cake, pies, and cookies for dessert which we ate later, and the coffee pot did double duty.

I do think it was a meal enjoyed by all. I loved serving it. I loved it that 30 people were eating, talking, laughing, enjoying old friends, meeting new ones in every room downstairs and spilling out to the porch and deck. I loved it that the food wasn't the point, but that in it's simplicity it said Welcome. Eat. Enjoy.

Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread

I used the cooking method in this recipe the other day but not the souring or no-knead features. I'm trying the recipe "as is" starting tonight.

No-Knead Bread
Yields one 1 1/2 pound loaf

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Recipe not my own. It came from here.

New sweet potato recipe

We ate this for dinner. Very, very good! It will become a regular part of the sweet potato repertoire around here.