Pumkin Cake with Orange Frosting

~Sylwinn posted this on FB and it is now one of my favorite~

I altered the icing for a less sweet drizzle on top~

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

1 can of pumpkin (15 oz)

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

3 t cinnamon

1 t ginger

1/2 t cloves

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

heat oven 350, beat eggs, sugar, oil, pumpkin until smooth.

stir in flour, b.p. , b.s., salt, spices.

Spread into greased 15x10 glass baking pan.

Bake 25-30 mins- although I go 40.

Let cool before frosting.

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

Orange Frosting

1/3 cup soft butter

2-3 cups confectioners sugar

3-4 T orange juice

1/2 t vanilla

grated zest from orange

beat ingredients until smooth~ ice your cake

Enjoy!

Carrot Halwa

Ted got this recipe from one of his co-workers. It is rather time intensive, but totally worth the effort.

Carrot Halwa by Ratna Kumria

Carrots (grated) 4 cups
Milk 2 cups
Sugar 1 ½ cups
Butter Ghee or Veg Oil ½ cup
Cardamom Seeds (crushed) 5 pods
Allspice (crushed) 2 berries
Golden raisins 3 tablespoons
Cashews or Almonds(sliced) 3 tablespoons
Time 2-3 hours

1.Wash, peel, and coarsely grate carrots. Soak raisins in enough water to cover them.
2.Cook carrots in milk on medium heat stirring occasionally until the milk has evaporated. This step can take an hour or so.
3.Stir in sugar and spices. Cook well until all moisture has evaporated and carrots are dry. This step takes time too.
4.In the meantime cook the raisins and cashews in 2 tablespoons ghee until nuts are slightly browned. Remove raisins and cashews with a slotted spoon. Reserve ghee for next step.
5.Add the reserved ghee as well as the remaining ghee and cook on high heat until the color changes and carrots become slightly crisp.
6.Mix in raisins and cashews.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

There are a bazillion recipes for this all over the internet. This is the version I've adapted for our family. It's quickly become a family favorite and is pretty simple to throw together in under an hour for dinner. Plus, it's a lot less processed than many of the versions floating around.

Ingredients

Filling:
• 1 lb chicken, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2tsp Mexican oregano
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• green chile, diced (optional)


• 8 8-inch flour tortillas, softened
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or other Mexican/southwestern type cheeses)

Sauce:
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tsp oregano
• salt to taste
• 3 green chiles, roasted and diced (1, 4 oz can)
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions
Make filling:
1. In large frying pan, heat oil & cook onion til soft. Add chicken, garlic, oregano, chile, salt & pepper cooking together over medium-high heat until chicken is just done.
2. Divide cooked filling evenly between 8 tortillas; add 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla.
3. Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in 9x13" baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with no-stick cooking spray.

Make sauce:
4. While chicken is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan; whisk in flour to make a roux. Gradually whisk in chicken broth small amounts at a time (to prevent clumping). Bring to boiling, stirring frequently. Add chiles, oregano and salt. Correct seasonings.
5. Remove from heat and let cool a bit; whisk in sour cream. Pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.
6. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese and bake at 400° for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce near edges of baking dish is bubbly.

Enjoy!

Korean Cucumber Salad

This is the dish I brought to Sylwinn's mama blessing.

2 large cucumbers, thinly sliced
3 tsp coarse salt
1 cup water
2 Tbs white vinegar
1 tsp suger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 spring onion, minced
1 Tbs toasted sesame seeds, ground

Put sliced cucumbers in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and add the water. Soak for 15 minutes, then drain off liquid. Combine other ingredients, pour over cucumbers, mix well and serve chilled.

Beet Risotto

This comes from my new favorite food blog, A Good Appetite. I made it tonight and loved it.

1 T olive oil
1/2 c diced beets, about 1/4" dice
1 garlic scape, sliced (or one clove garlic, minced)
10 beet leaves & stems, chopped & separated
pinch of sugar
4 c chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 T unsalted butter
1 spring onion, white & green parts chopped (or one scallion, chopped)
1/2 c + 2 T arborio rice
2 T sherry
3 T grated Parmesan + extra for serving
salt & pepper

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beets, garlic scape & about one half the beet stems (save the remaining stems for another use). Sauté for about 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Set aside.

Bring the broth to a simmer in a saucepan. Keep the broth simmering the whole time you are cooking.

In another saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil & the butter over medium heat. Add the onion & sauté for a minute. Add the rice & cook while stirring for another minute, coating the rice. Add the sherry & cook while stirring until evaporated. Add the stock 1/4 - 1/2 cup at a time. Cook & stir each addition until evaporated before adding the next. Test the rice from time to time to see if its getting tender. When it's tender & creamy with just a slight bite it is ready (you may not use all the broth). As you are adding your last addition of the broth also stir in the beet mixture & the chopped beet leaves. Once that final broth addition is absorbed stir in the Parmesan until melted. Season with salt & pepper as needed.

Serve sprinkled with extra Parmesan if desired.

Carry-In meals... Vegetarian enchiladas

Maybe I'm the only one, but I have to make a meal to carry to someone at least once a month. I usually double the recipe and make 1/2 for us and 1/2 for the family receiving the meal. So, I get bored making the same 4 dishes and have been trying to come up with a list of recipes that I can turn to when the usual mix-up is either over my budget or I'm just plain sick of it. I'll be listing recipes here as I come across good ones and if anyone else wants to join the party, post the recipe and tag it "carry-in" and maybe potluck too :)

First up:
Vegetarian Enchiladas
(this makes about 12 enchiladas)

For the filling:

Saute until soft
1 med-large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced

When soft add:
2-4 cloves garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli pepper
Cook for 1 minute

Add:
2c. diced tomatoes (or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)
2c. cooked black beans (or 1 can)
2c. cooked pinto beans (or 1 can)
2c. cooked rice
salt to taste
Stir and cook til heated through. Adjust seasonings as needed. Add water or broth as needed to prevent sticking.


Place 1/2c of filling into a 8"flour tortilla, roll and put into casserole dish. Repeat til your dish is full or you're out of filling. Top with your favorite enchilada sauce (I like this ranchero recipe) or not. Finally sprinkle about 1c of shredded cheese (queso, cheddar, monterey jack, etc.) Wrap in foil and carry to it's final destination with instructions to bake, uncovered, at 350' til cheese is melted and sauce (if you're using any) is bubbly.

Master Baking Mix

I've used this a couple times on our group camping trips. I've been asked for it before and always forget about it... but, finally, here it is :) Modified from the More with Less cookbook.

makes 4 lbs (or 2 lbs, in parentheses)

Sift together 3 times:
10c (5c) flour
6T (3T) baking powder
1 1/2T (2tsp) salt
1/4c (3Tbs) sugar

cut in to consistency of cornmeal:
2c (1c) shortening

To use for pancakes:
1c. milk
1 egg, 1 1/2c baking mix.

Mix well and cook as usual.

For biscuits:
1/2c. milk/water
1 1/2 c Master mix

My notes:
I use a 50/50 (sometimes 75/25) mix of whole wheat and unbleached white flours. I do use shortening in this, but I go to the health food store for the non-hydrogenated, expensive stuff. You could use a mix of butter & oil, but then it would need to be stored in the fridge. The original recipe also calls for 1 1/2 tsp (pinch) cream of tartar with the dry ingredients and 2c (1c) milk powder to be mixed in at the end. I've never used these and it's been fine.

This is pretty cheap and definitely healthier than that bisquick or krusteaz crap, even with the shortening. We don't use it at home much, but I always have a batch on hand through the summer for camping trips, etc. It seems to keep forever, so long as it's airtight from bugs!

BROCCOLI BACON CHEDDAR CHEESE W/ RAISINS SALAD

Remember that recipe email thing some of us did a long time ago? Someone sent this one to me and I happened to stumble upon the message when I was looking for something else. So I thought to myself, "Wow, I have all those ingredients," and I made it. And it's good! I'm really looking forward to lots of yummy salads in coming warm months.



8 slices bacon, cut in bite-size pieces
and cooked slightly crisp

½ cup mayonnaise (light, or salad dressing
such as Miracle Whip as preferred)
Lemon juice,* about 2 teaspoons
2 tablespoons sugar (this seemed like too much to me, I used about a tablespoon)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup raisins (or currants)
1/4 cup red onion, sliced, cut up but not chopped*

3 bunches broccoli, about 2 pounds

In small cup or bowl mix the mayo dressing ingredients.

Cut up broccoli in florets, place in large bowl. Add the cheese and raisins, then toss lightly with the mayo mixture. I like to leave the red onion slices (*not chopped for a nicer appearance) and the bacon last for presentation. Shortly before serving, toss them so they are coated with the dressing.
(Certainly a lot of room for personal preference) but people seem to really like it and there are more variations...leave out the bacon for vegetarians, add sliced almonds, currants instead of raisins, sunflower seeds, etc.
*No lemon juice on hand?...substitute vinegar.

Sweet and spicy sauce!

I have discovered the secret to delicious, quick meals. You take a 12 ounce jar of apple jelly (I've heard that grape jelly works too) and cook it in a sauce pan with about 2/3rds (less if you don't like incredibly hot food) of a 5 ounce thing of tabasco sauce. Then you can just use the sauce on any meat and in any way--dip chicken nuggets in it, cook meatballs in it, baste chicken breasts with it and bake it, etc, etc. Throw in some veggies and rice/noodles to make it complete. Use a little or a lot depending upon how much flavor/hotness you want. I have seriously used this on all my meals in the last few days. It is an addiction.

Chai tea Concentrate

I love chai, but it's really a pain to make from scratch. I'm also a snob and don't like most of the mixes available at the store. They're either too sweet or not spicy enough or whatever. Today I was reading Angry Chicken and came across this recipe for a mix that's kept in the fridge for 6 months. It is perfect! No too sweet and with the addition of 1/4 tsp ground pepper is definitely spicy enough! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
(adapted from Bon Appetit and originally posted at AMU) (posted by Carol)

Yield - 2 servings

1 15 oz can pumpkin (or equivalent amount of fresh, cooked pumpkin)
1 15 oz can coconut milk, regular or light
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
2 tsp ground cumin
lime juice
chopped cilantro to taste
salt to taste

In heavy saucepan, heat cumin over medium heat for ~ 30 seconds. Add pumpkin, beans, coconut milk and stock. Cook until hot and flavors meld. Add 1-2 Tbsp of fresh lime juice and cilantro to taste. Add salt if needed. Serve with chopped cilantro on top.

My Notes:
I discovered this recipe on a forum I frequent. I assume sharing is good! I love how fast and good this is.

I use parsley or skip it as DH hates Cilantro.

Toast with Apples & Cheese

We had this today and it was SO yummy! It's a good snack or part of a lunch.

Slice of bread
1 apple sliced thinly (I used my mandarin for really thin slices)
some raisins
two or three slices of cheese

On a cookie sheet, layer the apples, rasins, then cheese on top of the bread. Put under the broiler for two or three minutes til cheese is melted. Enjoy! If you want some crunch to your bread, it would be best to toast it lightly first since the broiler will just make it soggy.