Mexican Ham Bean Soup & Oatmeal Molasses Bread

Do you know why I'm not a very good blogger? I hate to type, I don't have a good camera, and I'm not humorous. So I do wonder sometimes why I continue doing this. I've decided it's for me. It's my journal, my recipe box, my reminder of how much I love my kids, my reminder that I accomplished something, made a new recipe, did something that was hard for me (like writing a blog post). So, I press on...Here's one of our favorite winter soups. I make this 4 or 5 times every winter. It's really quite a forgiving soup, so amounts don't need to be exact. You must put the toppings on; they make the soup. Also, the bread is so good with this. You really should eat them at the same time!

Mexican Ham Bean Soup (adapted from CL)

Ingredients
2 cans pinto beans (or 4-5 cups cooked from dried beans)
8 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 ½ c. chopped carrots (around ½ inch slices)
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups cubed smoked ham steak (I always use leftover ham, great with the bone)
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
1 T ground cumin
1 T. dried oregano
3 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 t. chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce (Use more or less to suit your taste, but don’t leave it out!!)
Toppings
shredded Manchego cheese or Monterey Jack cheese
minced fresh cilantro
sour cream
Preparation
Cook onions, celery, and carrots in a Dutch oven size pot over medium heat for about five minutes. Add garlic for a minute .Combine the rest of the soup ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 1-1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender.
Discard bay leaves. Ladle soup into 8 bowls. Top with cheese; sprinkle with cilantro.

Oatmeal Molasses Bread (adapted from CL)

2 loaves (12 servings per loaf) (serving size: 1 slice)
Ingredients
2 cups fat-free buttermilk
1/2 cup regular oats
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
around 4 cups whole wheat flour (I've also subbed a little for wheat germ and liked it)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins (if you don't like raisins you'll be missing the best part of this bread)
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. (Ileft this part in , but you all know I just throw it all in with the liquids :-)
Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist; stir in raisins. Stir until dough pulls together in a shaggy mass. Let rest 2 minutes.
(The recipe says to knead this. Impossible. If you put enough flour in to knead this bread, it's too dry.) Mix a couple of times more and drop half of dough into a 6-inch round loaf on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Repeat procedure with remaining dough. Make 3 diagonal cuts 1/4-inch deep across top of each loaf using a sharp knife.
Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375° (do not remove loaves from oven); bake an additional 15 minutes or until bottom of each loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing. Don't overcook!!!

Thumb Sucking Saga

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All but one of my children have been/are thumb suckers. I sucked mine till I was eight. I shouldn't complain. We got M. some Thumb guards that she has to wear 24/7. Of course, she keeps pulling her thumb out and sucking it at night. This is going to be a long process. We called the company, and they recommended taping her thumb so she couldn't bend it and pull it out--tried that, didn't work. Any ideas, anyone?

Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Cookies

Peanut Butter filled chocolate cookies(Adapted from BHG)

1 1/2 cups flour (I used all whole wheat)

1/2 cup dutch cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, softened (I subbed 3 T. of the butter with prune puree)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Peanut Butter Filling
3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 T. milk, add until a dough forms

Preheat oven to 350

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a large bowl beat together butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and 1/4 cup peanut butter until well combined. Add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat well. Mix in the flour mixture about 1/3 at a time until incorporated. Form the chocolate dough into 32 balls.

For the filling

Combine confectioners' sugar and 1/2 cup peanut butter in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Form into 32 balls. Flatten the chocolate ball in your hand. Top with peanut butter ball. Carefully fold chocolate dough over the peanut butter ball and seal the edges. Place balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. (This part was a little tricky. They stuck a little bit to the glass.) Bake cookies for 7- 8 minutes,until the surface begins to slightly crack. DO NOT OVERBAKE!! Let cool for 1 minute on the sheet. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

A New Adventure

Since Costa Rica didn't work out for this winter, I'm going to embark on a new culinary adventure. Most of you would say, "Don't you cook weird enough already?" A former friend of mine introduced me to the "raw diet." It does sound kind of extreme to some, but who can really deny that eating more fresh veggies and fruits is good for you? Carrie, you might try, but I need some empirical evidence to back up your claims. I've now made about 8 different things. Most of them pretty good, a couple of big duds. You do have to step a little bit out of the culinary box you've put yourselves in, but now's the time. I'm trying to make 2-3 new raw recipes a week. The recipes I got off the internet were marginal, but I've checked out a book from the library that's been great. I've checked books out before, but most of the recipes in the other books required a dehydrator, and I don't own one. I'm not yet ready to put a financial commitment to this adventure. To those of you who think we're going to consuming E coli and salmonella by not cooking our eggs and meat, this is a raw vegan diet. No dairy, no meat, no animal products, and nothing cooked over around 118 degrees (this number varies depending on who you talk to). No, I'm not going all raw, or all vegan, or all vegetarian. But I do want to continually search for new, healthful options for my family. I could never be vegan because I adore cheese entirely too much.

Mango Cobbler
(very adapted from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

Crust
1 cup pecans
1/4 t. vanilla extract
1/4 c. ground flax seed
1/4 c. wheat germ
scant 1/2 t. sea salt
1/3c. pitted dates (cheap from Costco)
Syrup
1/2 c. pitted dates
2 T. coconut oil (I used canned coconut milk)
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 water, as needed
Filling
around 3 mangoes, peeled seeded, chopped
1 cup blueberries (thawed , if frozen)

To make crust, process pecans, flax seed, wheat germ, vanilla, and salt into a powder in your food processor. Add 1/3 cup pitted dates and process until mixed well.
Sprinkle half of the crust onto bottom of pie dish, and set aside.
To make syrup, process 1/2 pitted date, oil (or coconut milk), vanilla, and water as needed to make a thick syrup. Set aside.
To make filling, place sliced mango into a large mixing bowl. (Being the lazy cook, I put the mango in the food processor bowl and stirred it with the syrup.) Toss with the syrup. Spoon onto cobbler crust.
To serve, top with remaining half of the crust, then sprinkle blueberries on top.
This will keep for a couple of days, but it's best served fresh that day.

This picture isn't that appetizing. I was in a hurry, and this was Ch.'s plate. Everybody enjoyed this, kids included.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Marinated Onions in Mustard Seed Dressing
(adapted from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen)

Marinated onions
3/4 c. red onion, sliced
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. soy sauce (called for Nama Shoyu- very pricey)
Mustard Seed Dressing
1 1/2 T. honey
4 T. apple cider vinegar
2 T. EVOO
1 1/2 t. mustard seeds
1/2 t. sea salt (cheap from Good Earth)
Salad
8 cups of spinach (I've never measured greens)
2 carrots, grated on large grater blade on food processor
fresh gound black pepper

Combine onion marinade ingredients. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together dressing ingredients.
Toss spinach, carrots, and dressing. Arrange red onions (and juice) over the top.
Delicious!

Pics of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Here are some pics from our play. We didn't get any during the play, so you don't get to see me in my favorite outfit. The setting of the play was the 50's, and I loved being able to wear the funky dresses. Scot filmed the play so he didn't take any pictures. He also helped with the lighting on some nights. This was an incredible experience and completely a dream come true!

Remember, you can always click on a picture to see it full size.

Pecan-topped Pumpkin Bread

Here's a great bread recipe that we all enjoy. I think it tastes fine to cut down the oil a little bit more (per my instructions). Let me know if you try it and like it!

(adapted from Cooking Light)

2 loaves; 12 servings per loaf (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients
3 1/3 cups whole-wheat flour (about 15 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup canola oil ( I sometimes cut this down by 2 T. and sub plain yogurt)
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
Cooking spray
1/2 cup chopped pecans

chocolate chips, if desired

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through allspice) in a bowl.
Place sugar, egg substitute, oil, buttermilk, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add 2/3 cup water and pumpkin, beating at low speed until blended. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Spoon batter into 2 (9 x 5-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle pecans evenly over batter. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans.

Dress Rehearsal for Best Christmas Pageant

This is to get you guys all excited. We had our first dress rehearsal tonight. Let's just say if we had to perform this thing tomorrow night, you'd all be sorely disappointed and demand your money back! But, never fear, we still have 4 days left. What a fun experience for all of us to do this.

Two of the Herdman clan. No acting involved.