Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup

Adapted from Fine Cooking

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 cups water
• 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
• 6 cups cooked black beans (1 pound dry or 4 cans)
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, diced

 METHOD:

• Heat oil in Dutch oven, add onions and cook until softened and slightly browned
• Add garlic, coriander and cumin stirring constantly for about 30 seconds
• Add water, bouillon and sweet potatoes; bring to a boil
• Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes
• With immersion blender, puree soup
• Stir in cooked black beans
• Season with salt and pepper

Pumpkin Carrot Dog Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon flax meal
• 2 grated carrots

METHOD:

• Grind oats in food processor until oat flour is formed; remove from food processor and set aside
• Grate carrots in food processor
• Leave carrots in food processor and change to mixing blade
• Add cinnamon, pumpkin, eggs and flax meal
• Process using pulse until just combined
• Add oat flour and whole wheat flour, process until ball of dough forms
• Roll out, cut with cookie cutters and bake on cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until cookies start to turn brown
• Cool on racks

Brussels Sprouts and Barley Soup

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup barley rinsed and soaked in 2 cups water for several hours
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons unbleached flour
• 4 cups water
• 2 not-chicken bouillon cubes
• 4 carrots, diced
• 2 cups green beans cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 small turnips, diced
• 3 cups cleaned and halved Brussels sprouts

METHOD:

• Add onion and garlic to oil in large soup pot and cook on low heat until onion is tender and garlic slightly browned
• Sprinkle flour into pot and stir until dissolved
• Add water, bouillon cubes, barley with soaking water, carrots, green beans and turnips.
• Raise heat and bring to boil, cover, lower heat and simmer 30 minutes
• Add Brussels sprouts and simmer 10 more minutes or until Brussels sprouts are tender
• Soup will thicken more as it cools

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from Post Punk Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/3 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup walnuts

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon flax meal

METHOD:

• Combine dry ingredients in large bowl
• Process raisins and coconut in food processor until raisins start to chop up (takes a little time), add walnuts and sunflower seeds and process a little longer until everything is chopped
• Combine raisin mixture with dry ingredients
• Combine remaining ingredients in food processor
• Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until combined
• Drop by tablespoonful on cookie sheet about an inch apart
• Bake at 350 degrees for 14 minutes

Red Chard Ragout

Adapted from The New York Times

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup dried white beans, soaked 6 hours or overnight in 1 quart water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 bunch red chard (3/4 - 1 pound)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound potatoes, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

METHOD:

• Drain soaked beans, combine with 1 quart fresh water in Dutch oven, bring to simmer, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stem and clean the read chard; dice stems and chop leaves separately
• Heat oil in skillet, add onion and chard stems and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes
• Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer
• Add potatoes and combine
• Add salt and potato mixture to beans, bring to simmer, cover and simmer 15 minutes
• Add chard leaves and thyme, cover and simmer another 10 minutes until chard leaves are tender

German Apple Cake

Recipe handed down from my German grandmother

INGREDIENTS:

• 3-4 pounds of apples, peeled, cored and diced

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• 1 cup butter (substituted Earth Balance sticks)
• 1 tablespoon milk (substituted almond milk)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 3/4 cups flour

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

• 4-5 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 ounces powdered sugar (a little less than half of a 1 pound box)

METHOD:

• Combine butter (softened), milk, sugar and egg in food processor
• Add flour and process until ball of dough forms
• Place dough in refrigerator until cold and hardened
• Roll out half of the dough and transfer to a greased jelly roll pan
• Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle half over the dough
• Cover dough evenly with the diced apples
• Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar over the apples
• Roll out the other half of the dough and transfer to the jelly roll pan to cover the apples
• Trim excess dough and use to fill in open spots
• Prick dough with fork at 1 inch intervals to allow steam to escape
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until dough turns golden brown
• Combine lemon juice and powdered sugar to make glaze
• Brush glaze over cake while cake is still warm
• Refrigerate cake when cool

It takes a lot of apples!

My grandmother taught me to loosely roll the dough over the rolling pin to transfer it to the jelly roll pan.

Fill in holes with trimmed overhanging dough - it won't matter what it looks like in the finished product.

Be sure to line the rack below the cookie sheet because juice will leak out and make a mess (and set off the smoke alarm).

The lemon glaze covers up imperfections in the top dough where it was pieced together.