Moosewood Monday

In addition to not having had much time for sewing/quilting over the last several months, I haven't had too much time to try new recipes, either. I finally got back into that recently and tried one from one of my favorite restaurants, The Moosewood in Ithaca, NY. It's a recipe for Creamy Fish Chowder.

I forgot to take a picture of my version, but you can see the recipe and a photo of it by clicking here. I didn't have any zucchini, so I didn't use it, and it worked out just fine. The fish I used was cod. It's a keeper!

I am fortunate to live close enough (75 miles) to the restaurant itself to occasionally dine there, so I took this photo one day recently after having a delicious meal on their patio!

More Summertime Soup

I love trying new soup recipes and thankfully, I have a family and friends who don't mind being guinea pigs when it comes to trying something new.

A few weeks ago, I made this Spicy Watermelon Gazpacho Soup (recipe can be found here), with just a few changes -- I added a bit of chopped up onion and yellow bell pepper, and used a jalapeno pepper instead of a serrano pepper. I used my immersion blender to puree the watermelon, tomatoes, and cucumber, and then added the onions and peppers for a little crunch. I didn't bother with a sieve. And since I like a few chunks in my soups, I added another cup or two of watermelon pieces.

Oh, yes, and a little Sriracha sauce for extra kick...that never hurts.

Pretty in Pink Soup

When I was growing up (in a household of WWII Russian refugees), one of my vivid memories is having soup as the first course for dinner just about every day. All sorts of soups, mostly Russian recipes by my mother and grandmother. Winters in Russia are quite severe, so of course most Russian soup recipes are for hot, stomach-warming soups. But for the times when the heat of summer discourages Russian cooks from using any kind of stove or oven, there is a traditional cold soup called Okroshka that is perfect for hot summer days.

Okroshka is traditionally made with kvass (a mildly alcoholic beverage made from fermented black or rye bread), but I don't know of anyplace that most of us can buy kvass (unless we live in Eastern Europe). I do remember my grandparents making kvass in our basement occasionally, but it was never something that I developed a taste for. The kvass gives the soup a bit of a tangy flavor, but my recipe just uses vinegar for that. You can read more than you ever wanted to know about kvass here. And about Okroshka here.

The Okroshka that I remember eating in my childhood was always made with beets in addition to the other traditional vegetables in the recipe. Most recipes that I find on the internet don't include the beets, but it's the only way that I make it.

Anyway, I've served this to some of my quilting friends a few times, and everyone seems to like it. I've had requests for the recipe, so I thought I'd just write it up here in a blog post. When you first read the ingredients, it sounds like an awful combination, but the flavors seem to work well together. And the picture is pretty, too.

I suppose you could also call this a version of a cold borscht, but I like to call it Pretty in Pink Soup.

Here you go...and please remember that a lot of the amounts are approximations. I almost never measure for this.

Pretty in Pink Soup

1 large cucumber, peeled and diced (the long ones in the grocery store or you can use the equivalent of smaller home-grown cukes)

2-3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped

4-5 radishes, sliced into small pieces

3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

12 oz sour cream (OK, use the low-fat if you must, but don't even bother with non-fat)

1 24-oz jar borscht with diced beets (found in the kosher section of Wegmans or probably any other larger grocery store with a kosher section)

1 large potato, baked, peeled, cooled, and diced (don't overbake)

1/4 cup vinegar (to start)

1/4 cup sugar (to start)

1 cup water

1-2 Tablespoons fresh dill

In large soup pot, combine cucumber, scallions, radishes, eggs, and sour cream. Add borscht and stir until blended. Add potato, vinegar, sugar, water, and dill. Stir and taste. Add more sugar, vinegar, or water to taste, but don't overdo it -- taste it after it's been refrigerated. The flavor gets a bit more intense when it's ice cold (and don't add too much water or it will be too diluted). Serve ice cold.  Add more sugar or vinegar if you think it needs it. Enjoy!

Moosewood Monday (not)

I haven't blogged much about Moosewood Restaurant recipes lately because I haven't made anything new. I've just re-made several of our favorite Moosewood dishes in the last few months, so there aren't any new recipes to share.

But I am showing something new -- a recipe that I made up a few years ago for Chunky Creamy Tomato Soup. It's been popular with family and friends, so I thought I'd share it here.

1 24-26 oz jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 14-oz can of diced tomatoes, Italian style
1 pound Italian sausage or ground beef, browned
1 cup beef broth
2 Tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute)
handful of fresh basil, chopped
oregano, pepper to taste
12 ounces evaporated milk or half-and-half
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
some cooked small pasta (I use ditalini)

In large soup pot, combine spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, browned meat, beef broth, sugar, basil, oregano, and pepper. Simmer for about an hour. Add evaporated milk or half-and-half and mozzarella cheese. Add some water or more half-and-half if too thick. Cook for an additional 10 minutes or so or until cheese has melted. Add cooked pasta and heat for a couple more minutes. you can experiment with other meat if you like -- my last batch had sliced Hillshire Farm Cheddarwurst sausages (no need to brown).

I've also made this in a crockpot. Just combine all the ingredients except for cheese and pasta and cook on low for several hours until hot. Add the cheese and pasta about ten minutes before serving.

For some crunch, I made Parmesan Ranch Chex Mix as a topping (click here for the recipe).

This has been a keeper recipe of mine for a number of years. Yum!

I Can't Help Myself

I've been doing a lot of baking lately -- it helps that I have a college-aged son home this summer who needs to keep his energy up!

The recipe for this Strawberry Shortcake Cake can be found here. The only change I made was to use a yellow cake mix instead of white.

Now I have to get back to quilting!

Oh, My!

I made this yesterday and just have to share the recipe...it is sooooo good...!

Brownie Delight

1 package brownie mix (for a 9 x 13 pan) or your own brownies from scratch

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

1 3-oz package cream cheese, softened

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

16 oz Cool Whip, thawed

2 cups cold milk

1 small package instant chocolate pudding mix

2 tablespoons chocolate chips or chopped walnuts or toffee baking bits

Prepare brownies as directed. Cool completely.

In a large mixing bowl, beat all the cream cheese and sugar for 2 minutes.

Fold in 2 cups of Cool Whip. Spread over the brownies.

In another bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix; beat until smooth, about two minutes. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes or until thickened a bit. Spread the pudding over the cream cheese.

Top with chocolate chips, walnuts, or toffee bits.

Serve with a dollop of Cool Whip.

Moosewood Monday

Not as pretty a picture as usual for my Moosewood Monday posts, but I wanted to show that my latest creation, Jamaican Tomato Soup, was a big hit. I first made this for dinner at home (thumbs up), and then took the leftovers to share with my quilting friends. As you can probably tell from the photo, it was a hit there as well.

The recipe for Jamaican Tomato Soup was this one, which says it was adapted from a Moosewood Restaurant recipe. I just made a few minor changes. Instead of mixing steps 5 and 6 in a blender, I just removed about 2 cups of the vegetables and used my immersion blender to mix the rest. Then I added the vegetables back in and continued with the recipe. Oh, and I added a little bit of ditalini pasta (any small pasta will do) because I think most tomato soups benefit from an addition of pasta. The next time I make this, I may reduce the orange juice by 1/4 cup.

Definitely a keeper of a recipe in my kitchen!

My Other Hobby

I haven't been doing too much quilting or sewing lately because of two many other things that are occupying my time. Besides the chores related to spring cleaning and yard work (yuck!), the fun chores have been related to cooking. I've been spending many hours looking through some of my favorite cookbooks and surfing the internet for all sorts of interesting recipes. And boy, have I found some.

Here's what we had for dinner last night...

Gingered Salmon in a Packet from the Moosewood and Pan-Fried Potato Hash with Indian Spices. With a nice glass of wine, my husband said it was like a meal prepared in a five-star restaurant.

Other recipes I've made recently (and will make again) include Easy Mulligatawny by the Pioneer Woman, Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup by the Pioneer Woman, Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew, Chicken Country Captain by Wegmans, Tomato Basil with Orzo Soup by Wegmans, Sweet Potato and Sausage Bisque, Grilled Lemon Salmon by my blogging friend/fellow guild member Kathy of Cotton Cellar blog, Creole Beans and Rice by Moosewood, and Indian Spinach and Chickpeas, just to name a few.

And I have so many more I want to try. At this rate, even though all of these recipes (and all of the others I've posted on my blog in the past) are definitely keepers, it may be a while before I make them again.

Just like quilting...too many recipes and not enough days to make them. And that doesn't count the desserts I want to make!

Not Exactly Moosewood Monday

My regular readers know that I'm a big fan of Moosewood Restaurant recipes, but I've been branching out and trying other yummy soup recipes I find online. This one is a copy of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana by The Pioneer Woman. You can find the recipe here.

My husband and I both really liked this soup. I made it with russet potatoes instead of the red potatoes that the recipe calls for, but it was just fine. I also added our own dried chili pepper. My only problem with recipes like this is when the ingredients call for "two bunches" of kale...What exactly is two bunches? The Pioneer Woman's grocery store (or garden)  may have its bunches in a different size than mine, so how do I know how much to use? The answer is just to wing it. And it works just fine.

Another keeper of a recipe.

Moosewood Monday

Here's my last Moosewood Restaurant recipe for 2012..it's their Scallop Chowder. I used the small bay scallops and added some imitation crab meat (the kind made from pollock and some crab). My family likes to have some chunks of veggies in the soup, so I remove about half of them before I use my immersion blender for the other half and then add them back to the soup along with the scallops and crab. We all agreed that this recipe is a keeper.

You can find the recipe I used here. To see the other Moosewood recipes I've shared in the past, click here. And if you're not familiar with the Moosewood, check them out here.

Moosewood Monday

Yes, I'm at it again. But I can't help it. Winter is the perfect time to try new soup and stew recipes. This time it's Savannah Sweet Potato Bisque from the Moosewood Restaurant (where else?) in Ithaca, NY. I used this recipe here (scroll all the way down on that page to find the recipe for the soup). I made just one change -- I didn't have any pimentos, so I just substituted diced red bell peppers and cooked them with the veggies. Roasted red peppers would be good, too. The next time I make this, I'll top it off with croutons, but this time around I just added some (leftover from Thanksgiving) french fried onions.

Served with pork BBQ on a foldup piece of flatbread and a glass of The Rut red wine from Benezette Winery in Benezette, PA.

Moosewood Monday

Here's yet another recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY. This time it's Caribbean Shrimp and Vegetable Soup. I used this recipe. Only a couple of changes -- I used a can of Rotel tomatoes with chili peppers instead of the fresh tomatoes and chili pepper and I was out of turmeric, so I left it out. That's OK, it's mainly for color.

Another thumbs up from my hubby and me. And it went perfectly with some quesadillas and a glass of Mango Slide wine from Nimble Hill Winery in Tunkhannock, PA.

And for those who are wondering...Yes, we had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner...

P.S. One word of warning...if you choose to use the can of Rotel tomatoes, be prepared for a very, very, spicy soup. If you don't like your food so spicy, just use regular tomatoes and add your chili pepper to taste.

Moosewood Monday

I can't help myself -- I am addicted to trying new Moosewood Restaurant recipes. And thankfully, I have a husband who enjoys eating food with exotic and interesting flavors as much as I do.

This time it's Mushroom Peanut Tofu Stew With Greens (minus the tofu). My friend Madalene told me about this recipe (she used tofu and said it was delicious), so I thought I'd give it a try, with just a few changes. I used pork instead of tofu, frozen spinach instead of fresh, and I added a dried chili pepper from our summer garden. I didn't add the full amount of water because we wanted it to be thick enough to serve over rice. I think this would work just as well with chicken.

This, along with a glass of Nimble Hill Winery's Niagara wine, was delightful!

To see previous yummy Moosewood recipes I've shared, click here.

Moosewood Monday

Yes, I'm afraid I'm going to bore you with another Moosewood Restaurant recipe. This time it's Moroccan Stew. Again, another one of their great recipes, but my husband didn't like it as much as he's liked previous Moosewood dishes I've made (I suspect that's because this one had eggplant in it). I didn't have any saffron, so I left that out, and I just realized that I forgot to add the raisins as directed in the recipe. I'm not a big fan of regular raisins anyway, and I had been planning to add golden raisins, but simply forgot. I may add some when we reheat the leftovers later this week. Oh, yes, I added some slow-cooked beef to this for my carnivore spouse.

Moosewood Monday

Yes, I'm on a Moosewood kick...

Here's another top-notch recipe from my favorite restaurant, Moosewood. This is Very Creamy Vegetable Chowder -- the recipe can be found here. Lots of vegetables -- onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, red peppers, and green peas. The only change I made was to use some chicken broth instead of veggie broth. And I used my immersion blender to mix it all together (I removed two cups of the veggies before blending and added them afterward because we like a few chunks in our cream soups). Another keeper recipe.

Moosewood Monday

Another recipe that my husband and I both agree is a keeper....from a Moosewood Restaurant cookbook  It's their Black Bean and Chipotle Soup. Served with beef and bean quesadillas (sorry, no recipe for those...I just threw some ingredients together). Went great with a glass of Mount Hope Winery Sangria.

Moosewood Monday

I haven't posted a Moosewood Restaurant recipe lately...Here's one that's perfect for a winter's day. It's Russian Cabbage Borscht.

Having grown up in a Russian household where we had soup as a first course for dinner almost every day, I can vouch for this being the authentic stuff...Unlike other restaurant borschts (including in overpriced delis in New York City), this recipe is the way real Russians make borscht. Someone needs to tell those delis that BORSCHT IS NOT JUST BEETS WITH BEET JUICE! It's supposed to have lots of other vegetables besides beets and you can also add meat if you live with a carnivore like I do. I grew up with both the meat and meatless (served during Lent) versions. Add some fresh bread (preferably dark rye) and a dollop of sour cream. Yum!

If you're not familiar with the Moosewood...run, don't walk, and get to Ithaca, NY to try the food in person. If you can't do that...run, don't walk to buy a Moosewood cookbook. (No affiliation, I just LOVE their food). The menu at the restaurant changes daily, so you can try something new every time.

P.S. If you don't have tomato puree as the recipe says, just use any kind of tomato sauce...it can be from a can, jar, or (gasp!) even ketchup.

Moosewood Monday

Another great recipe from the famous Moosewood Restaurant. This time it's Southwestern Black Bean Burgers. I made them smaller than the recipe suggests and served them as a side dish for a Tex-Mex meal for guests instead of on a roll with various toppings like a burger as they do in the restaurant. I also made a fresh mole salsa to garnish them with. Everyone gave their thumbs up, so this one is a keeper!

Moosewood Monday

I can't stop making things from the Moosewood Restaurant's recipes. Everything I've made so far has been sooooo good! Just like everything served in the restaurant itself.

This is their Mixed Vegetable Curry (I added chicken to satisfy the caveman carnivore in my house). The spices used to make the curry flavor (not curry powder in a jar) work so incredibly well together. I served it over jasmine rice topped with yogurt, cashews, and golden raisins as suggested in the recipe. (Oh yes, I added a few chickpeas as well, but I picked mine out and gave them to the caveman chickpea-lover.)

Served with a glass of Leidenfrost Vineyards Log Cabin White wine.

The recipe is definitely a keeper!

Moosewood Monday

Here's this week's Moosewood Restaurant recipe. I made this Sweet Potato Apple Chipotle soup and it turned out wonderfully!! The ingredients are so varied, yet the flavors work incredibly well together. Who would have thought that sweet potatoes, apples, celery, onions, garlic, cinnamon, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce would make a delicious soup? Apparently, someone at the Moosewood did once. It's in their Cooking for Health cookbook, but I found it here.

The recipe calls for blending the soup until it's creamy, but I skipped that step and just mashed the veggies a bit when they got soft. Tasted just as good as the creamy version served in the restaurant.

Served with a glass of Catherine Valley Winery White Cascades wine.

Maybe I'll try the Mixed Vegetable Curry next....