February 2021

Make some black cherry jam when cherries are at their peak!  What else can you do with cherry jam?  Add them to this buttery coffee cake!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup black cherry jam  (see below)
• Confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside. Beat butter until light and cream.  Add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Mix in sour cream and vanilla, beating until smooth.  Gradually add flour mixture, mixing just until blended. Transfer 1/2 cup of batter to a small bowl.  Stir in preserves, mixing well set aside. Pour remaining batter into prepared pan and smooth top.  Make a 1-inch trough in the center of the batter all the way around the pan.  Spoon batter/jam mixture into trough, spreading evenly. Bake for 1 hour, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake begins pulling away from the edges of the pan. Cook cake in pan about 15 minutes.  Then, invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.  The batter/jam mixture will sink to the bottom of the cake. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

 Black Cherry Jam

5 cups bing cherries, pitted and halved (about 1 pound)

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup water 

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1-1/2 tsp. fruit pectin

Combine cherries, sugar and water and bring to a boil. 

Boil 5 minutes and add lemon juice.

Return to a vigourous boil for 10 minutes.

Add pectin and boil hard one minute.

Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Makes 3 pints.

Cooks Note:  Jam should be boiled to 220 degrees.

~Recipe adapted from bakeorbreak

This soup is wonderful on a chilly evening as a first course to a Fall or Winter dinner, or alone (with bread, of course) for lunch.  Serve piping hot, this soup really warms you from head to toe!  Use broccoli instead and you will think you were at Panera’s!

•   4Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 lb. cauliflower florets
• 1 small carrot, julienned
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/4 c. white wine
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 2 cups half and half or light cream
• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (use the sharpest cheddar you can find)
• Chives for garnish

 In a deep saucepan, cook the onion in the butter until softened and beginning to brown.  Stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute.  Add broth, cauliflower, carrot, salt, mustard and wine.  Simmer about 15-20 minutes until cauliflower is tender. You can puree all or half of the soup in the blender, but I left the pieces of cauliflower and served it without blending the soup – your preference!  Return soup to the pot and stir in the half & half, Worcestershire and the cheese.  Bring to a gentle simmer and stir until cheese melts.  Serve piping hot with a grating of additonal cheese and fresh chives.

This recipe is for a cause.  Not just cause I wanted to try it, but a fellow blogger friend Jey @ The Jey of Cooking is asking for some foodie love!  Last year, her Mom received a life-saving heart transplant and is making great strides.  All that’s is required is for us to make and blog a Heart Healthy Recipe between now and March 25th!  She is donating $1 for every entry received to the American Heart Association for the one year anniversary of her Mom’s transplant.  With our help, maybe we can give someone a second chance!

 Edamame (soybeans) have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol.  They can be found shelled in the freezer section.  This stew is great served with couscous, or warm whole-wheat pita bread to soak up the sauce.  To eat as a snack, check out my post for Crispy Edamame with Garlic Sea Salt .

Ingredients:

• 1 10-ounce package frozen shelled edamame, thawed
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 medium zucchini, diced
• 2 plump cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 35-ounce can diced tomatoes (with juice)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or mint
• 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.  Add edamame and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add zucchini and cook until the onions begin to brown.  Add garlic, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil;  reduce heat to a simmer and cool until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the edamame and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more.  Remove from heat and stir in cilantro (or mint) and lemon juice.

~Eating Well for a Healthy Heart Cookbook (2008)

I love sauerkraut.  Those of you who know me…know I can eat a sauerkraut sandwich and be a happy camper.  I do consider myself somewhat of a sauerkraut snob – no tin can sauerkraut – EVER!! See My Mom’s way of making sauerkraut. While European peasants preserved the cabbage with salt in an effort to keep hunger away during the dark months, their preservation fulfilled another need – nourishment.  The process of fermentation used to transform salt and cabbage into sauerkraut increases vitamins and is extraordinarily rich in beneficial bacteria.   Cabbage is cheap.  With the sales going on now for St. Patrick’s Day, I bought a small head of cabbage today for $.18 cents!  What can you buy these days for 18 cents?  With corned beef on the horizon and a good Reuben sandwich in my future, I decided to try and make some homemade sauerkraut.  Kraut is not any more difficult to make than coleslaw.  Everyone makes coleslaw, so don’t call me crazy.  You don’t need any special equipment and only two ingredients – cabbage and salt.

2 lbs. cabbage

2 Tbsp. sea salt

 Chop or slice the cabbage.  I sliced it as thin as possible.  Toss with salt.

Squish the cabbage with a potato masher (or your fist if it’s been a rough day) to start releasing the water from the cabbage.

Wait ten minutes.  Squish down again.

Continue waiting and squishing until there is about 1″ of liquid covering the cabbage (about 30 minutes).

If you don’t have enough liquid, mix 1 tsp. sea salt with 1 cup of water and stir to dissolve.

Transfer to a clean quart jar.
If you want to get fancy….get some labels  

I saved one piece of cabbage to add to the top of the cabbage to keep it submerged.

Set a small dish under the jar and leave it on the counter for 4 days with a lid on.**  That’s when the magic happens.  All the GOOD bacteria comes out to play.  It’s safe and people have done this for centuries.

If you see any scum or “bloom” remove.

Refrigerate and store up to 3 months.

~Adapted from Wild Fermentation

Makes 1 Quart

Sometimes I get carried away with my cooking ethic:  Never throw any food away, and sometimes watching Food Network’s “Chopped” can come in handy and spark your imagination!  This next recipe came about with what I had left in the fridge.  Worthy of a holiday appetizer I’d say.

• 1 pkg. Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
• 2 Tbsp. dry red wine (just take it out of your glass)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 hot Italian sausages, cooked and diced
• 1 cup (1/2 shredded and 1/2 diced) Manchego cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and Pepper
• Coarse salt
• Sesame seeds

In a large frying pan, heat 3 Tbsp. of the oil.  Add the garlic and saute until soft.  Add the broccoli and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the wine and oregano and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  Let cool. Unwrap refrigerated pizza and dough and stretch to fit your pan.  Lightly oil your baking sheet.  Brush the dough with the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil.  Spread the broccoli mixture over the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge.  Scatter the diced sausage and cheeses over the dough and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

  Starting with the long side, roll the dough up tightly like a jelly roll.  Pinch the seam to seal and position the roll so the seam is on the bottom; tuck the 2 ends under the roll.

Brush the top with a little olive and sprinkle with coarse salt and sesame seeds.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool slightly and cut into thick slices.

Of course you can substitue any ingredients in this recipes.

Pepperoni would be great, and of course, mozzarella or provolone.

The Manchego cheese adds a nice, sharp bite to this roll.

Have I been chopped?

Suggested Wine Pairing with Manchego – Merlot  ~Adapted from Ciao Italia
Sharing with Melt in your Mouth Mondays

I love sauerkraut.  Those of you who know me…know I can eat a sauerkraut sandwich and be a happy camper.  I do consider myself somewhat of a sauerkraut snob – no tin can sauerkraut – EVER!! See My Mom’s way of making sauerkraut. While European peasants preserved the cabbage with salt in an effort to keep hunger away during the dark months, their preservation fulfilled another need – nourishment.  The process of fermentation used to transform salt and cabbage into sauerkraut increases vitamins and is extraordinarily rich in beneficial bacteria.   Cabbage is cheap.  With the sales going on now for St. Patrick’s Day, I bought a small head of cabbage today for $.18 cents!  What can you buy these days for 18 cents?  With corned beef on the horizon and a good Reuben sandwich in my future, I decided to try and make some homemade sauerkraut.  Kraut is not any more difficult to make than coleslaw.  Everyone makes coleslaw, so don’t call me crazy.  You don’t need any special equipment and only two ingredients – cabbage and salt.

2 lbs. cabbage

2 Tbsp. sea salt

 Chop or slice the cabbage.  I sliced it as thin as possible.  Toss with salt.

Squish the cabbage with a potato masher (or your fist if it’s been a rough day) to start releasing the water from the cabbage.

Wait ten minutes.  Squish down again.

Continue waiting and squishing until there is about 1″ of liquid covering the cabbage (about 30 minutes).

If you don’t have enough liquid, mix 1 tsp. sea salt with 1 cup of water and stir to dissolve.

Transfer to a clean quart jar.
If you want to get fancy….get some labels  

I saved one piece of cabbage to add to the top of the cabbage to keep it submerged.

Set a small dish under the jar and leave it on the counter for 4 days with a lid on.**  That’s when the magic happens.  All the GOOD bacteria comes out to play.  It’s safe and people have done this for centuries.

If you see any scum or “bloom” remove.

Refrigerate and store up to 3 months.

~Adapted from Wild Fermentation

Makes 1 Quart

Sometimes I get carried away with my cooking ethic:  Never throw any food away, and sometimes watching Food Network’s “Chopped” can come in handy and spark your imagination!  This next recipe came about with what I had left in the fridge.  Worthy of a holiday appetizer I’d say.

• 1 pkg. Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
• 2 Tbsp. dry red wine (just take it out of your glass)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 hot Italian sausages, cooked and diced
• 1 cup (1/2 shredded and 1/2 diced) Manchego cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and Pepper
• Coarse salt
• Sesame seeds

In a large frying pan, heat 3 Tbsp. of the oil.  Add the garlic and saute until soft.  Add the broccoli and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the wine and oregano and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  Let cool. Unwrap refrigerated pizza and dough and stretch to fit your pan.  Lightly oil your baking sheet.  Brush the dough with the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil.  Spread the broccoli mixture over the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge.  Scatter the diced sausage and cheeses over the dough and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

  Starting with the long side, roll the dough up tightly like a jelly roll.  Pinch the seam to seal and position the roll so the seam is on the bottom; tuck the 2 ends under the roll.

Brush the top with a little olive and sprinkle with coarse salt and sesame seeds.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Let cool slightly and cut into thick slices.

Of course you can substitue any ingredients in this recipes.

Pepperoni would be great, and of course, mozzarella or provolone.

The Manchego cheese adds a nice, sharp bite to this roll.

Have I been chopped?

Suggested Wine Pairing with Manchego – Merlot  ~Adapted from Ciao Italia
Sharing with Melt in your Mouth Mondays

I love sauerkraut.  Those of you who know me…know I can eat a sauerkraut sandwich and be a happy camper.  I do consider myself somewhat of a sauerkraut snob – no tin can sauerkraut – EVER!! See My Mom’s way of making sauerkraut. While European peasants preserved the cabbage with salt in an effort to keep hunger away during the dark months, their preservation fulfilled another need – nourishment.  The process of fermentation used to transform salt and cabbage into sauerkraut increases vitamins and is extraordinarily rich in beneficial bacteria.   Cabbage is cheap.  With the sales going on now for St. Patrick’s Day, I bought a small head of cabbage today for $.18 cents!  What can you buy these days for 18 cents?  With corned beef on the horizon and a good Reuben sandwich in my future, I decided to try and make some homemade sauerkraut.  Kraut is not any more difficult to make than coleslaw.  Everyone makes coleslaw, so don’t call me crazy.  You don’t need any special equipment and only two ingredients – cabbage and salt.

2 lbs. cabbage

2 Tbsp. sea salt

 Chop or slice the cabbage.  I sliced it as thin as possible.  Toss with salt.

Squish the cabbage with a potato masher (or your fist if it’s been a rough day) to start releasing the water from the cabbage.

Wait ten minutes.  Squish down again.

Continue waiting and squishing until there is about 1″ of liquid covering the cabbage (about 30 minutes).

If you don’t have enough liquid, mix 1 tsp. sea salt with 1 cup of water and stir to dissolve.

Transfer to a clean quart jar.
If you want to get fancy….get some labels  

I saved one piece of cabbage to add to the top of the cabbage to keep it submerged.

Set a small dish under the jar and leave it on the counter for 4 days with a lid on.**  That’s when the magic happens.  All the GOOD bacteria comes out to play.  It’s safe and people have done this for centuries.

If you see any scum or “bloom” remove.

Refrigerate and store up to 3 months.

~Adapted from Wild Fermentation

Makes 1 Quart