Garlic Kale Eggdrop Soup with Lemon

We try to consume lots of greens.  Kale is the one we use the most (along with salad greens).  This recipe was refreshing and delicious and could be made with other greens should you desire.  

1 T. oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bulb of garlic (yes, a whole bulb)
1 quart broth
Sprig of fresh oregano or 1/2 t. ground
Salt and pepper
1/4 c. fresh basil or 1 T. dried
1/4 c. lemon juice
5-6 cups kale
2 eggs, beaten

Sauté onion and garlic cloves in oil until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add broth, oregano, and salt/pepper.  Simmer for as long as you want (I left mine on for ~40 minutes just for that warm, garlic soup smell.

Blend broth mixture adding the basil, lemon juice, and as much kale as you desire. Taste test for flavor - more lemon/salt/pepper to taste.
  
Return to pot, bring to a simmer.  Slowly drizzle in eggs as you stir the soup.  Let cook a couple minutes and serve.  We added more kale, cherry tomatoes, and Parmesan to ours.  

Ranch Dressing

Craig and I have always appreciated a good salad.  We tend to prefer vinaigrette dressings, with balsamic vinaigrette being a favorite. In a desire to increase the kids salad consumption we asked what we could do to make them more desirable.  Eva wants no toppings, just lettuce and the balsamic dressing - easy enough.  Elias claimed that anything works, but he likes going to Sweet Tomato's for the ranch.  Ranch isn't something I use often.  My grandma always made a fabulous homemade one, so I set out to recreate a homemade version that Elias would appreciate.  He is now requesting salads.  

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise


• 1/2 cup buttermilk


• 1/2 cup sour cream


• 1/2 teaspoon dried chives


• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley


• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed


• 1    teaspoon garlic powder


• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


• Dash of cayenne

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

These are a tradition for Christmas morning, served with quiche and fruit. We do make them other times...a rainy day always make me feel like a good, gooey cinnamon roll.

The Dough:
2/3 cup milk
4 Tablespoons butter
1 cup canned/fresh pumpkin puree
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
2 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
(I use all white whole wheat flour and add a couple tablespoons of gluten.)

I heat the milk and butter until the butter is almost melted. Beat the eggs. Adding all the ingredients to my bread machine. I place this in my bread machine on the dough setting. :) Easy.

If you don't have a bread machine: Heat the milk and butter until butter is mostly melted into the milk. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter, pumpkin, sugar, and salt until evenly combined. Add 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast to the bowl and mix until smooth. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and knead/mix until a soft dough comes together. You may need to add a little extra flour to make the dough workable, but only add a bit at a time. This is supposed to be a very soft dough! Lightly flour your countertop and knead the dough for a couple turns until you have a smooth dough. Lightly grease another large bowl and turn dough into it. Rub the surface of the dough lightly with a neutral oil, such as canola, cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.


The Filling:
This changes...
~3/4 c. butter
I add cinnamon until it is the color brown I want...maybe 2 Tablespoons.
~ 1/2 c. sugar

Sometimes I add other spices, or brown sugar. Mix this into a smooth mixture and spread over rolled out dough. Sprinkle with nuts, dried cranberries, raisins...whatever your heart desires.

Roll length wise and cut into a dozen 1 1/2" to 2" wide portions. Place in an oiled 13 x 9 pan.

Now you can let rise in a warm place for 40 min or so. Or you can cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. This makes Christmas morning much easier.

If you rise right away: After rising, place them in a 350 degree preheated over for 30 minutes. Remove and glaze/frost.

If you opt for overnight: About an hour before you want to serve the rolls, remove plastic wrap from the rolls and set in an oven with the light on. Place a pan of boiling water on the rack below the rolls, close the oven and allow to warm for about 30 minutes. When you can no longer feel a chill coming from the dough when your hand is lightly placed on top, remove pans from the oven and preheat to 350F. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and glaze/frost.

Glaze/Frostings:

I oftentimes just use a basic glaze of powdered sugar mixed with orange juice/lemon juice to make it runny. You can use as much as you want.

The picture is a cream cheese based frosting with a bit of extra oj glaze. I had a tub of Trader Joe's Orange Cranberry Marscapone Cream Cheese leftover and decided to use it. You can easily make a cream cheese frosting with:

4 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 T. milk/orange juice

Mix until creamy and spread on top of warm rolls. You can add cinnamon, lemon juice (less sweet), marscapone, or cranberries.

Always good, but I like them warm with a good cup of coffee.

Crepes

Sweet, savory, fruit, veggies, cheese, fresh herbs...fill them with whatever you want.

Tonight we had them filled with cheese and vegetables. I used sauteed red onion, mushroom, zucchini and garlic. The cheese was a mix of sharp cheddar and cottage cheese with lots of oregano and pepper.

Morning crepes are great filled with fruit, yogurt and cottage cheese. Top with whip cream and powdered sugar.

Crepe Batter
(This batter needs to sit for at least an hour or overnight.)

4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of flour (I used WW Pastry)
1 - 2 cups of milk (any type or combination of types)

Blend together all crepe ingredients, using one cup of milk, to a smooth batter. Let rest 1 hour or overnight. Blend briefly before using. If the batter is still thick after a cup of milk add more until you have a runny mixture. I have in the past added up to a cup more depending on the flour. Heat an 8-inch skillet or crepe pan to med-low. Grease pan and pour in enough batter to lightly coat bottom of pan. Cook until just starting to brown. Flip gently and brown the other side. Remove from pan. Fill and roll up. Enjoy the versatility.

If you are doing a sweet crepe and want a sweeter batter, add a tablespoon of honey to the batter.

Hot Artichoke Spinach Dip

1 lb. cream cheese, softened

1 c. yogurt/sour cream/mayo (any combination will do)

1 c. chopped artichoke hearts or any tapenade

1 c. chopped spinach

1/4 c. chopped basil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 c. grated Parmesan

salt/pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Place into a casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees until the top is bubbly and starting to brown. Serve warm with bread, veggies and crackers.

This is quite versatile. I have used olives, bell pepper, eggplant or green chilies instead of artichokes. I've also mixed in other cheeses. It is always a hit at a party and you can easily scale the recipe to accommodate any size crowd.

Ginger Broth

I made a simple ginger stock tonight and made a tray of raw sliced veggies to add to it. It was delicious and the kids ate theirs over rice. I love the way this broth makes my house smell!

Ginger Broth

2 T. ginger (more if you like it really ginger-y)
1.5 T. garlic
oil to sauté
2 T. cornstarch
1 c. cold water
7 c. water
3 T. veggie bouillon

Sauté the ginger and garlic until soft and starting to brown. Mix cornstarch and cold water. Add water and bouillon to cornstarch mixture, then add to garlic/ginger. Bring to a boil and serve with diced raw veggies. I recommend several of these: carrots, spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, green onion, snap or snow peas, bamboo, tofu

Vegan Chocolate Cake with a Vegan "Buttercream" Frosting

I took this cake to a Fourth of July party last night and have been asked for the recipe. So since I am not great at measuring or remembering exactly what I did, I am quickly posting while it is still *mostly* in my head! Hope it works for everyone as well as it worked for me. I only had a small piece left, so not the best picture ever...

3 cups flour (I used a mix of whole wheat pastry and rice)
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons vinegar (I used cider)
1 cup water
1 cup milk (I used a mix of coconut and whole grain milks)

~ Oil, flour and line two round cake pans or one 13 X 9. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
~ Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the sugar and stir.
~ In a mixing bowl mix oil, applesauce, vanilla, vinegar, water and milk.
~ Add dry mixture to wet mixture in several parts and mix until smooth.
~ Bake for 30 t0 40 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean.


Elias asked for a sweet frosting like on a normal cake. I am a huge fan of cream cheese/whip cream frostings and don't care for buttercreams, but he prevailed. I think the frosting was too sweet, and would cut back on sugar next time. I did spread it thin and topped it with unsweetened coconut. I didn't want to distract from the coconut I put on top and didn't add a larger amount of lemon juice as I normally would have. So here is an estimate on what I did do....

1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup vegan shortening
~ 3 cups powdered sugar (I have no clue how much I just dump in until I get the right consistency)
1 - 2 Tablespoons of milk (I used coconut)
a teaspoon of vanilla
a dash of lemon juice

~ Beat the margarine and shortening until creamy.
~ Add powdered sugar until you have the consistency you like taking turns with a bit of milk, vanilla and lemon juice.

I topped this with coconut, but you could add any flavor you wanted including cocoa powder and top with nuts, seeds, fruit etc.